Harvard Works Because We Do

by Greg Halpern (Photographer)

Photographs of custodial, maintenance, and food service workers of Harvard University are accompanied by brief statements by those pictured, including Bill Brooks, janitor to three university presidents and David Noard, security guard at the Fogg Art Museum.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2003

Reviews

[Gloria Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unusual look at the hallowed halls of Harvard University -- as seen through the eyes of the "unseen" -- the laborers, electricians dining hall waitstaff, and low-paid, overworked housekeeping staff. They are the wheels and cogs that put the veneer on the Harvard image that is so well known.
These are the people that we may not so much think about on a conscious level, but without them, the university does notoperate so seamlessly. This volume shows how they work tirelessly oftentimes, and for the most part, are unappreciated, both momentarily and emotionally, like used aluminum foil. These are the people who deserve to enjoy the "Fight for $15" and more; we must remember that higher institutions of learning are more than professors, students, and frat life -- there are "real" people behind the scenes who make all of the star players look so good.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I'm always a fan of pairing photos with words and all the more when they tell a story that effects change. Learning about just how hard and long Harvard's staff work really needs knowing. Harvard's staff are a fill in for staff in practically any organization. It's good to see the Harvard students fight for the rights of the staff as often they felt like they weren't seen by the students. And, self-interest can't be the glue of society. They didn't get the living wage in the end but they did get a significant wage increase and concession to hire staff or other agency workers at the same rate so there's less of an incentive to undercut staff with other poor workers. Aside from the portraits, I like Halpern showing building lights on late at night while custodial staff worked and in particular showing Harvard's tax returns. It's all the more galling Harvard went about cutting staff wages as its endowment generated billions - its best returns of all time (to that point). The most memorable line in the book for me was by Barbara Ehrenreich citing the people who make up Harvard's staff (and most any staff) as the greatest philanthropists of our society:

“The “working poor,” as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else."

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straightforward, unpretentious reporting of events at
Harvard after some students, including this author, saw
the stark contrast between Harvard's burgeoning endowment
funds and its penny-pinching way with the hourly wages of
the people doing menial ("of or relating to servants")
work on campus. That student concern became the
Living Wage Campaign which worked several years to finally
see the lowest-paid workers getting about $11 an hour
instead of less than $7. Most of the text consists of
transcripts of conversations with the workers about their
work and their efforts to support their families decently.
As Studs Terkel says in his foreword, "The custodians of
Harvard now have faces and voices and they are eloquent,
natural-born storytellers." Much of the power of the book
is in the author's fine photographs (portraits) of workers
in their work settings, and of the campaign's sit-in, and
of Harvard's negotiating team as they considered the demands
for some step toward reasonable wages.

[Anie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so I'm biased: I know the author/photographer, and have heard him tell the story of this book several times. However, I do honestly like the book. It tells a story that we so often forget - that society treats some of its hardest workers like shit. The narratives collected here, though from a wide variety of people, all have one thread in common: it's tough to get by when you're scraping the barrel. The photos are crisp and well-composed, and tell stories in themselves. The text may tell you something; the photograph makes it impossible to ignore. And combined, they have a pretty strong effect.

[Jameson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice collection of interviews with service staff at Harvard, but edited in such a way that leaves the reader feeling cheated. The best interviews were the anonymous ones, the book would have been better with anonymous only entries.