tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post6315308435518259944..comments2024-03-12T14:31:50.264-07:00Comments on Bits and Pieces: Support from unexpected directionsHarry Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-60570659305321588352013-05-19T02:11:35.161-07:002013-05-19T02:11:35.161-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14208505069015760196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-45889333004366967552013-03-29T05:55:27.300-07:002013-03-29T05:55:27.300-07:00I think there would be very significant value to b...I think there would be very significant value to both approaches. University-wide meetings would not be about governance per se; rather, they would be an opportunity for the diverse stakeholders in what makes this university thrive to have something to say about their experiences, positive or negative, in a setting which one could actually refer to as being about community. It would be up to administrators as to whether and to what extent they might want to be involved and responsive, but I think (and quite a few others with whom I've spoken about this agree) that it would be very much to Harvard's benefit to engage in this way, as there are topics which could be of value to both operational functionality and quality of life here which aren't readily conveyed through the existing, often convoluted or non-continuous channels of communication. So it's not about socialism, but about enhanced communication between community members.Alastihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13953712927557028668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-66318675478723239622013-03-27T06:20:04.091-07:002013-03-27T06:20:04.091-07:00I understand the impulse, but you're confirmin...I understand the impulse, but you're confirming what I thought about strange bedfellows. A meeting where everyone from groundskeepers to freshmen to the President would show up and talk to each other makes better socialist artwork than governance. You would not get more candor that way from the people from whom candor is most needed. Somehow smaller conversations are needed in groups where trust already exists or can be established.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-6354069168736494442013-03-26T23:20:27.788-07:002013-03-26T23:20:27.788-07:00The Undergraduate Council has been trying for a fe...The Undergraduate Council has been trying for a few years to get agreement from Harvard's administrators on scheduling community "voice" forums for exactly such purpose as you describe. Since there hasn't been receptivity to this being an officially approved phenomenon, discussion has occurred about independently organizing convenings of students from throughout the university, staffers, faculty and any others from our community who might wish to participate. There is often reference to our university's community in commentary about issues, trends, policies, cultural considerations, prioritizing and developments which are of importance to many of us, but what actually exists, within schools and facilities as well as Harvard-wide, are populations significantly balkanized by social groupings, job functions and hierarchies. Much communication which could contribute to the betterment of our collective endeavor takes place in a limited fashion if at all, and for many of us, such community as exists is within our own cohort. So: Less pander, more candor; more caring and sharing - perhaps a way can be found to help Harvard become a model to which other academic communities might aspire.Alastihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13953712927557028668noreply@blogger.com