the guy by the door …

“>
Harvard University Graduation Day Spring 2005 - A grand occasion for many. Yet some not so grand activities must also take place. I speak only a few words of Spanish, ” Si! Se puede!”*. That’s about it. My conversation with this gentleman was a bit strained. He is Mr. Aguilar. I remember because I know an Aguilera. His first name is Jaime like in “Stand and Deliver”. I believe her first name is Christina … I’m kidding.

Jaime and Harvard’s other custodial workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union through it’s Local 615 which has had a Justice for Janitors campaign for 20 years. S.E.I.U has also begun organizing security guards and has made some recent progress. Harvard’s security guards are currently not represented by any Union. [HUSMPGU still represents museum and parking guards. The security guards were outsourced two years ago.]

The Harvard’s contract with S.E.I.U. expires on Noverber 15, 2005 - at least according to the copy on the Harvard University website. [The locals have reorganized since the contract started.] This contract was renogtiated to good effect as a result of the Mass Hall sit-in coming out of the Living Wage Campaign
of the Progressive Student Labor Movement. In any case, this word from a soon to be named student worker group on behalf of S.E.I.U.

It begins with hello. And you can continue with hello between structured activities. You don’t need a grand strategy to do that, and it will certainly help with whatever else you decide to do. It is, afterall, at least in part, about the workers.

*Yes! We can!

Yesterday in the Science Center there was advising en masse for the
incoming students. Tables were lined up around the atrium personed by
faculty, students, and staff. Mechanistic perhaps. Bureaucratic perhaps.
I certainly believe in ideas, models, and systems as useful tools. But
I am an empiricist, experimentalist - somewhat of a nominalist. I
believe that ideas, models, and systems must always be questioned. Are
they serving us well?

I had to find the physics table. I found what Harvard is really about.
Not physics, or scholarship - scholarly relationships. An old scholar
was talking to a young one. The old man was brimming over with
excitement. The old man would have won the Nobel if protons were not so
stubborn. But the truly remarkable is the Nobel class attention he gave
to this most newly arrived young scholar.

That’s why I’ve kept the books on the shelves for lo these many years.

 I did my best to get Matt to talk to his advisor, Professor
Andy.  Matt went in another direction. It’s not mine to judge. But
am I allowed to have hopes?