Kind Energy

Over the past few weeks, the Undergraduate Council (UC) and its presidential election have dominated the campus dialogue. Will Tom D. Hadfield ’08 and Adam Goldenberg ’08 actually be able to put all course packs online by the next study card day? Will the Ryan A. Petersen ‘08 and Matthew L. Sundquist ‘09 ticket deliver on its promise to effectively promote student advocacy on campus? And could they please start selling Hostess cupcakes at the Lamont Library café?

The amount of time haggard, harried Harvard undergrads have devoted to campaigning, reporting, and generally gossiping about this election—akin to a middle-school class president election on amphetamines—is absurd. Through student publications and blogs such as Cambridge Common and Team Zebra, this year’s election has received more press coverage than the Lewinsky scandal.

With so much buzz surrounding a cause as trivial as this—where badgering the administration into opening Lamont 24 hours a day is heralded as a momentous victory—it is easy to accuse Harvard’s entire student body of being overly consumed with petty, ivory tower politics and personal advancement. After spending two hours at the entirely student-run Harvard Square Homeless Shelter (nicknamed UniLu as a result of it being situated in the basement of the University Lutheran Church) this past Saturday, it has become evident to me just how unfair such an accusation is.

While inebriated revelers hobbled by the shelter in pursuit of piping hot Sicilian slices from Pinnochio’s, I assisted four student volunteers and two especially dedicated leaders staff the shelter’s 9 to 11 p.m. shift. We put away the food taken out during the previous shift, cleaned dishes, took turns scurrying to various Harvard Square shops such as Tealuxe that donate leftover food, and offered companionship to the shelter’s occupants. We also made sure to sate the appetites of ravenous late arrivals—grilled cheese sandwiches were particularly popular items that night. And hunched over a sizzling frying pan flipping grilled cheeses, I can honestly say that I was having fun. At 11p.m., the overnight volunteers strolled in and it was time to depart.

These students who devote their Saturday nights to volunteering at UniLu—the only college student-run homeless shelter in the nation, according to volunteer coordinator Jill F. Stockwell ’08—do so out of a desire to make a real difference in the world, not to pad resumes. In their view, the homeless denizens of Harvard Square that we constantly walk past and all too often ignore provide tangible evidence of unfairness and inequality in society.

As one volunteer, Luke M. Messac ’08 puts it, “I first started volunteering because seeing homeless people everywhere just really struck me. We are the richest non-profit organization aside from the Catholic Church, and it is extremely troubling to me that such poverty exists right next door.”

To Messac, one of the most rewarding aspects of volunteering at the shelter is that it is an organization where helping others, and not personal advancement, is placed at a premium. In his opinion, this makes volunteering at the shelter unique, as it is “contrary to so many other things you see at school.”

This is not to say that volunteering at UniLu is the only opportunity to do societal good on campus. The Phillips Brooks House Association oversees numerous student groups that are similarly committed to making a positive change in the world beyond Harvard Yard.

But we can do more. Imagine how much positive change we would effect if all the energy expended upon the UC elections were channeled into organizations such as UniLu. This holiday season, as we give thanks for all we have been blessed with in this world, we should each take a moment to ignore our own personal ambitions and reflect on what we can do to help others less fortunate than ourselves.


Stephen C. Bartenstein ’08, a Crimson editorial editor, is a government concentrator in Lowell House.