In Praise of the Tutors

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I will be evicted from my room on Friday, June 5. Since I will not be able to move into the graduate dorms until the 12th of June, I have one week of dead time--and no place to store my stuff.

Joshua W. Shenk '93 turned his problems with the (admittedly extremely annoying) Harvard end-of-term move out into a lambastation of the tutorial system ("On the Harvard Dole," June 2).

I pity Shenk. When I confronted an Eliot House tutor with my moving out problem, he offered to let me store my boxes in his basement office.

Shenk's attack on the tutorial system demonstrates the pathetic misconception so many Harvard undergraduates share. Almost every student I know has complained about the lack of good advising. Yet almost no one ever seeks advice.

Unless you do something really stupid (like fail a course or get checked into University Health Services for alcohol poisoning), nobody will call up and offer words of wisdom. But if you want help or advice, you can get it. All you have to do is ask.

And guess what? That's why the tutorial staff exists. It's sad that Shenk has never "engaged with any [tutor] over some intellectual matter" or "received course advice from them" or "had a fresh insight into a tutor's field of study." Did you ever ask? Obviously not.

I just glanced at our facebook, and of the 21 resident tutors, I have had intellectual discussions with every one. I know fewer non-resident tutors, but I have had frequent contact with three of them.

I like these people, and some of them are the closest friends I have at Harvard. I never would have undertaken an independent study unless a tutor suggested it to me. I would never have read Moby Dick unless a tutor had shown me the importance of its political symbolism. I weep for Shenk. I cannot imagine house life without tutors.

But alas, as every non-financial aid receiving student gripes, I pay $22,000 and I want them to come to me. You've missed the point!

We're adults. If you want some help, go get it. It should not be handed to you on a platter--that's not real life, even when you've got the money.

Overpaid? No way. Every resident tutor delays the completion of his or her dissertation by at least one year, if not two, by living in a house. That's a pretty expensive price, but good tutors sacrifice that time.

In fact, resident tutorships count as income, which means they often reduce the financial aid packages granted by the University. (I know this because I am beginning my Ph.D. here in the fall.)

In cold economic terms, Mr. Shenk, you've squandered your money by not seeking the advice, encouragement and friendship of tutors. You alone are guilty of waste. Don't blame the tutors. George C. Eliades '91-'92