Student Waiting Reported Generally Successful by Five Colleges---Social Distinctions and Inefficiency Are Rare

The following statements concerning student waiting have been written for the Crimson by five publications in reply to the questions, Are student waiters considered Inferior? Does academic work interfere? and, is the service satisfactory?

M. I. T.

Student waiters at Technology do not consider themselves inferior to the men upon whom they wait. This seems to be a unanimous declaration of all waiters interviewed. Neither do the other students consider these men in any way inferior. In fact some of the most prominent men on the campus do this work.

As far as I can ascertain, waiting does not affect the academic work of the students. I am told by the management that a system is used whereby a waiter can put on a substitute for any time in which his academic work needs special attention, and I believe that this system accounts for the general feeling that the waiting does not interfere with academic work, or vice versa.

The waiting by these students seems quite satisfactory to a great majority of the students. In fact, many believe that it is better than could be had from professional waiters. There is a small minority who believe the opposite to be the case. *---The Tech.

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Amherst

Student waiting is universally employed at Amherst, most of whose students eat in fraternities or boarding houses taken over by various fraternities.

Primarily, I believe, because of the fraternity system, there is no feeling of social inferiority implied in earning one's board at Amherst. Since there is no commons here, I cannot say whether this would be true for larger groups, but am inclined to suspect it would not.

Studies and academic engagements do not interfere with work to any extent. This is largely a matter of so arranging free hours, etc., to correspond with the time at which various duties should be performed.

The service is by no means as efficient as that provided by your professional waitresses at Harvard. Social equality and unobtrusive service do not go hand in hand with many persons. However, if it is understood that there are plenty of people waiting for, and needing jobs, and that retention of jobs depends on quiet efficiency, this defect could, in my opinion, be remedied.   ---The Amherst Student.

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University of Michigan

To a certain extent the men who wait here do feel that they are regarded as inferior by the men upon whom they wait, but this may be neutralized some by the fact that most men who oat in the fraternities and other places where students wait are barely conscious of the fact that the students are waiting upon them. However, in other houses, reports show the situation to be the exact opposite of this.

Regarding the second point, we can definitely say that academic obligations do often interfere with the regularity of the waiters' schedules. Some are forced to find a substitute in order to be able to take a certain course that meets at a time they would normally be working.

On the whole, the service which student waiters give is very satisfactory. For the purpose, authorities here agree there could be no better system.  --The Michigan Daily.

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University of Illinois

Student waiting jobs in the fraternities are filled by fraternity men, not men in the same fraternity, but men "traded" with a nearby fraternity. As a result there is an utter lack of snobbishness in regard to waiters in fraternities, except in a few very rare instances. This attitude extends to the waiters in the sororities and public restaurants, many of the latter of whom are students.

Student waiting here is not as satisfactory as professional waiters would be, because in the fall it takes a while to train new men, and the men have 8 o'clock classes in the morning. Occasionally waiters take advantage of their position and impose on the good nature of those with whom they are working. Often they are late to meals. But all these objections are very minor matters; certainly of not enough weight to consider discarding student waiters.  --The Daily Illini.

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Williams

At the fraternities there has come to be no distinction between the waiters and the non-waiters. Waiters are disposed to think themselves neither superior nor inferior to the other men. This is probably brought about by the fact that each fraternity, as far as possible employs its own members as waiters, and consequently the waiters and those they serve are more congenial.

Academic obligations interfere with the regularity of waiters' schedules to a great extent at noon, although the morning and evening meals cause little difficulty. Service is satisfactory is all instances in which we have come in contact.  --The Williams Record