During a recent visit to Hendrie Hall, while waiting in line with hundreds of my phone-starved Yalie brethren, I couldn't help but notice how unfriendly the Yale Telecommunications employees were.
Admittedly, my own disposition at the time was not all sunshine, as I, too, was being forced to cope with the oppressive heat and all of the stresses that come with a new school year.
But, in addition to thinking impure thoughts about Yale Telecom, it reminded me of a lingering sentiment that I have been harboring about the majority of Yale's service-oriented organizations.
This sentiment is that Yale, for all it's academic and social splendor, seems to me to be one of the most inflexible institutions of education with which I am familiar. When compared to the various colleges and universities which my relatives and friends attend, Yale's performance is lackluster in almost every category of customer service.
For example, parents descend on Yale in October for Parent's Weekend to tour the gothic glory and experience the academic aura that is Yale, but they pay inordinate sums to eat in their child's dining halls. Yale doles out the cash for gouda cheese to nibble on and insignia napkins for our parents to wipe their proud mouths with, yet our parents can't understand our everyday dining experiences without paying ridiculously high prices.
Similarly, the Yale Bowl hasn't been filled to capacity since the Carter Administration, yet my parents must pay to watch some classic Yale football.
A friend of mine had some furniture stolen from her room over the summer, only to find the head custodian saying it wasn't his responsiblity to keep the rooms secure. Another student reported a missing TV, but later noticed some Yale employees catching a game on it in the basement.
In short, the sense of annoyance at the presence of a student that is conveyed by many Yale employees can make one uncomfortable at the very school at which that student's parents mortgaged the house to afford.
Yale is correct in assuming that their reputation alone is enough to attract students, and that the potential of a Yale degree in the family is enough to make most parents fork out the cash necessary to achieve one. Lesser schools must indeed attract students with perks, but why can't Yale, which is fortunate enough to have been blessed with international repute, provide these same, simple services?
I know that Yale is not made of money, and also understand that some of the perquisites enjoyed by students at other schools cost a lot of money. But along with the school I love and the $28,000 I once loved, I would like some signs of appreciation. A certain amount of thanks in the form of some simple courtesies would make a great school even greater.