The relations between employees and students on this campus are dysfunctional. The possible reasons for this predicament are endless-racial issues, class differences, "rude" students, "lazy" workers, etc.-but the true reason is often overlooked. It's as simple as old-fashioned labor relations.
When I first arrived on campus four years ago, many referred to the University as a "plantation" environment. Black workers serving white students with white supervisors reminded some of the social structure of a slave plantation. African-American students get along fine with African-American employees, says the theory, but white students do not. Combat racism, and the problem is solved.
Others attributed the rift between the two groups to class differences with employees jealous of students and students looking down on employees. This classic Marxist problem demanded a classic Socialist solution. Pay workers more, they advised, and the grumbling will cease.
But neither assessment is entirely accurate, as the following example illustrates. A couple of days before finals ended last semester, I was standing in the grill line at the Rathskellar, trying to decide between the mesquite or the teriyaki chicken sandwich. I heard somebody yelling and caught a scene out of the corner of my eye. Actually, it was more like someone causing a scene.
Your average University student (we'll call him Joe Dukie to protect his identity), was venting his pre-finals frustration on the lady behind the pita-wrap counter. Apparently, she had forgotten the guacamole on his "California Turkey" sandwich, and he was quite upset about it. In fact, he let the whole Rat know just how upset.
So I went up to the guy, tapped him on the shoulder and told him to stop treating this woman like trash. I embarrassed him in front of everybody who was in the Rat at the time. I felt proud of myself for about the next three hours, until I remembered the times I had growled or snarled at food service workers for messing up my own orders.
Most students treat employees rudely more due to their irritation with certain aspects of the University dining services than racial or class issues. This was the case with Joe Dukie, who happened to be an Asian-American student yelling at a white woman. When I approached Joe Dukie later, he told me he was simply frustrated with the general quality of service from dining employees in the past.
Based on this incident and other experiences, the obstacles between students and employees seem mostly due to faltering labor relations. Students expect employees to be courteous as if it is a part of their job description. Employees, especially in dining services, are often very busy or have been standing on their feet all day. The last thing they want to deal with is yet another whiny undergrad. A lack of time or energy does not excuse employees from being obnoxious by any means, but a bit of understanding from the students might help.
Labor relations are a two-way street. On a daily basis, students and employees need to treat each other with the basic respect that they would afford anyone in the real world. Students tend to forget that these people are not their personal cooks and maids, and employees tend to forget that not all students are like Joe Dukie.
The most basic remedy for what ails student-employee relations is to simply cut each other a little slack, but it is obvious that this University needs a stronger prescription than that. Student-employee relations mirror the difficulties of the University's relations with Durham and its residents. In order to strengthen relations between students and employees, the University must improve its relationship with Durham. Durham residents, including employees, tend to look upon the University with a sense of scorn. To alleviate this attitude, University employees should be made to feel like they are a special part of the Durham community.
The responsibility to make employees feel wanted lies not only with administrators but also with students and faculty. Programs such as trick-or-treating in the dormitories for employees' children or regular breakfasts for housekeepers are great examples of what students can do to foster student-employee interaction. These infrequent activities alone, however, cannot counteract the negative aspects of daily student-employees relations.
The Student-Employee Relations Committee has made great strides, but the onus of improving this relationship ultimately falls on the students. By making an effort to reach out to employees and planning activities where the two groups can interact, students can make the University a nicer place to live and work. Many of these employees work their butts off for us, and every once in a while, it is important that we do something nice for them. A Christmas bonus to your housekeeper or a nice word to Larry in the Rat isn't enough. It's time we gave something back.
Ivan Snyder is a Trinity senior and senior editor of The Chronicle.
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