For the first time in the 380 years since Harvard University was established, cafeteria workers there have gone on strike during the academic year. But here’s the really strange thing: The threat of this strike has caused Harvard students to react like a bunch of doomsday hoarders.
Flyby, the blog of The Harvard Crimson newspaper, has published a survival guide. The university is said to be stockpiling massive amounts of frozen food. Harvard College’s dean of students, Katherine G. O’Dair, emailed the student body, telling them that “in the event that information needs to be shared regarding changes to your dining service, the College will immediately communicate those details with you through email.”
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According to The Washington Post, in advance of the strike, students loaded hot food from the cafeteria buffet into Tupperware containers and jammed them into already overflowing mini-fridges. There’s also supposedly been plenty of talk about ordering mass amounts of ramen online. And surely, somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, there’s a single prepper weeping tears of joy into an industrial-sized vat of gumbo.
Phew—glad you’ve got yourselves covered, Harvard students. But if all else fails, here’s a suggestion: Cross the street and go to one of the many restaurants or supermarkets in Cambridge. Just a thought. Seriously, though, no one knows yet whether students will be reimbursed for pre-paid meals.
Maybe all the hoarding comes down to the fact that Harvard students don’t want to take time away from their studies. “I understand [the strike is] for legitimate purposes, but I’m worrying about midterms right now,” one freshman told WaPo. “I don’t need to worry about where my food is coming from.”
Could it be that being able to set priorities is how they got into Harvard in the first place? We wouldn’t really know, but what we do know is this: 750 food services workers are protesting months of failed contract negotiations with Harvard administration over wages, full-year work schedules, and health-care costs.
Harvard told MUNCHIES, in part, “We have proposed creative solutions to issues presented by the union, and hoped union representatives would contribute to finding creative, workable solutions at the negotiation table. They have been unwilling to do so.” The Union clearly disagrees.
Bummer is that this is all coming to a head during midterms.
Nevertheless, some students are keeping a cool head: “In high school, I lived off of TV dinners. I can do it in college,” freshman Tauheed Islam said. “Worst case scenario, cannibalism.”
No one ever said Harvard students aren’t resourceful.
