Shots In The Dark

Dormaid's "general counsel," a sophomore economics concentrator named Joseph T.M. Cianflone, makes the case for Dormaid in this Crimson op-ed.

Key quote: <<The most important issue at hand is economic freedom. The principles of free enterprise and the right of every citizen in a just and fair society to decide how and when to purchase what they will are the cornerstones of any democratic meritocracy. Dorm life is not a mandatory egalitarian process imposed upon us by the College to distort our view of how societies run best. Nor is it a system designed to paternalistically decide what is fair and unfair consumption based upon income brackets.>>

Well, there you have it: For today's students, the most important right is the right to purchase whatever they want. That's the "cornerstone" of meritocracy.

Kudos to Cianflone for stating the case so forthrightly. But I couldn't disagree more. Harvard College should not simply be a luxury mall at which shoppers purchase the services they want--courses, maids, a diploma, whatever--and then depart, prepped for success in the outside world. Any college that means something should aspire to educate its students outside the classroom as well as inside. Who really wants to attend a college which teaches that money is everything?

Wait a second—don't answer that question.

It's not fashionable to say that a college should teach values, I know. But Harvard should—and Dormaid doesn't.