In Defense of the Five-Day Mandate

School’s back in session, and it’s time to take attendance.

Earlier this month, Harvard College began implementing its new in-office mandate requiring staff to work on campus five days a week while classes are in session. The mandate comes as part of College Dean David J. Deming’s stated priority of strengthening Harvard’s sense of community. While the policy reportedly drew backlash from prominent administrators, Deming defended the rule as a way to honor the work of College staff and further bond our academic community.

Indeed, this mandate meets the moment — six years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s time our administrators join us where we are: on campus. Reinforcing a sense of community demands it.

Of course, rolling out this policy will come with growing pains. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual work has become much more common, so many workers may struggle to readjust to commuting and working in person daily.

Not to mention, the new in-person work requirement could also inconvenience Harvard employees with caregiving responsibilities. Thankfully, the policy addresses this: The effective date will be pushed back to January 2027 for certain staff members who need time to arrange childcare.

But in any case, friction can’t be the reason Harvard doesn’t return to a general norm of working together in person. Transitioning to a physically present work model will come with its challenges, but ultimately, in-person administrators will be more informed administrators — and that’s what the student body needs.

We’ve consistently expressed concern about Harvard’s administration growing disconnected from the students it aims to support, whether because of its out-of-touch Administrative Board or a zero-fun Dean of Students Office.

By keeping student-facing administrators on campus during the school week, they’ll be able to work more directly with students and better understand student life and concerns.

Even if this makes the College’s work somewhat less efficient, we believe that is a cost worth paying. The College’s job is to deliver an exceptional educational experience, not become the fastest bureaucracy at Harvard.

Still, the onus doesn’t entirely lie on College staff.

As students, we should be interacting with advisors and staff in person as much as possible. After all, in-person courses have been shown to help students stay more engaged than online courses. Similarly, face-to-face contact with our administrators, advisors, and academic coaches should help students have a better experience.

The worst outcome would be if administrators rehaul their schedules and start commuting to campus five times a week while students remain unwilling to make the trek to see their advisors in person.

As a generation that spent our youth in Zoom school, we all know you don’t build deep relationships over video call.

And while online tools may get questions answered faster, they keep us isolated from the relationships that make us deliver on those answers — an argument we made in opposition to the new freshman advising system. Community building won’t always be convenient, but is well worth the effort.

The new five-day mandate is an exciting opportunity to build a more connected campus — and we, for one, are eager to see our administrators walking in the Yard alongside us.

We’ll see you when the bell rings.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

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