teletalking

SOME YEARS BACK, STUDENTS demanded improvements to the poorly planned Katherine Bogdanovich Loker Commons. The administration's knee-jerk hiring of a consultant produced radical reform, including the installation of a TV room. Yet Loker's rep has not considerably improved; many still clamor for a student center. The TV room reveals one major hurdle to any proposed student center: Harvard social ineptitude.

The room is "intrinsically antisocial," according to Niels M. Tomijina '99. Tomijina points to two factors: the room's main activity, TV watching, and its crowd, male first-years.

Many viewers observe the awkward silence. "Usually you don't know the other people," says Uttam K. Tambar '00. "So usually you just sit there, and that's weird--cause you're used to watching T.V. with your friends."

In close company, smart-alecky wisecracks are standard. Most know to curb their critiques in a strange environment. Not these guys. "But I don't participate," Tomijina says. "I don't mingle. I just watch the show. Most of the guys here are kinda surly." Tomijina, self-diagnosed as "fully disassociated with the whole community," also admits that this fact might explain why he is Loker-lounging solo in the first place.

Six-year-old Fatima, who declined to provide Fifteen Minutes with her last name saying, "I don't really know how to spell it," also notes the antisocial behavior of the room's occupants. After sitting there for a few days, she still has not spoken to any college students.

If not for socializing, why come? Cable. Fatima also said adding a VCR would make the room better than first grade. Currently, the selected programming ranges from Fatima's choice, Disney's "The Big Blue House," to "The Jerry Springer Show," while ESPN and CNN get high approval ratings. Eli A. Poliakoff '00 says "Springer" and sports shows are the "only purpose of this room." Loker employee Robert C. Amaral enjoys watching "Springer" on his breaks, chortling that "watching this show makes me feel my life just isn't that bad at all."

Tragically, the awkwardness will only continue with Jerry Springer as Harvard's leisure-time mentor. To those who brave Bogdanovich's TV room: tune in to "One Life to Live" and talk amongst yourselves.