Markel's Love Humor Misfires

I am writing in response to Dan Markel's misfired attempt to facetious, "Getting to Yes' Redux" (April 13, 1994), in which he invokes the newly-found Harvard Mediation Service (HMS) to play Cupid. Whether driven by his nostalgia of his first Crimson editorial piece on "hooking up" at Harvard or by his wish to spread publicity for the fledgling HMS, Markel most successes at making a mockery of the hopes and intentions of this group.

By calling on the HMS to resolve "eros-driven passions," he makes light of the issues the HMS hopes to address. Although founded by the Dean of Students' office, it is not an arm of the University. Comprised of students, faculty and administrators, it hopes to mediate conflicts revolving predominantly around race and ethnicity, which do--believe it or not--exist on this campus. Perhaps our campus appears to be, as Markel points out, "relatively at peace with itself" precisely because people have not perceived an adequate forum in which their complaints could be heard and true dialogue could be started.

The HMS hopes to provide this forum in which to create meaningful dialogue, where parties are speaking with--not at--each other. While they have opinions and ideas of their own, the mediators are there to be non-judgmental and have been trained to facilitate dialogue. They are confidential, and wish to coerce no one into entering or remaining in a dialogue of which they wish no part. An attempt at true dialogue--imagine that.

Unfortunately for Markel, we will leave the matchmaking work of Venus alone. I think that in this case he would better serve his readers to channeling his passions away from the editorial page and toward the personals page of the Boston Phoenix. The HMS members' great interest in promoting dialogue arising out of conflicts and concerns on race and ethnicity have brought them through intensive training. And how they wait.. Member Harvard Mediation Service