Rebellion, Eliot Style

Acontingent of Eliot House residents betrayed their pampered past and aristocratic heritage last week when they "went kind of berserk" (according to one protest organizer) and threw a tantrum over the removal of paper items in their dining hall. Like latter day courtiers in 17th century France, the Eliotees banged demi-tasses of dining services-grade coffee and demanded their paraffin wax.

Dining hall officials had removed paper items--down to the packets of honey in Cabot House--from dining halls as part of the "Shared Responsibility" plan to make Harvard more environmentally friendly. Students received free Harvard mugs at the beginning of the year and were encouraged to bring them to all meals.

"Shared Responsibility," as dining hall workers will chide students when they forget their mugs, is a two-way street. In order for Harvard to be an eco-sound community, students have to be willing to participate.

In all seriousness, students all over campus have insisted on using paper cups to remove beverages after meals. But that's the exact purpose of the free mugs. And if you find yourself without your mug, you can always take a plastic or glass cup and return it at the next meal.

Students should be willing to sacrifice a tiny bit. That means using dining hall cups even though they may be inconveniently small. It also means turning off lights, closing windows and keeping water use to a minimum.

Those in Eliot House--and in any other house, for that matter--who want to whine and complain about not having paper cups should suck it up. Through their John Harvard mugs, of course.