Although I applaud the efforts of those at Harvard who are fighting for the university's underpaid employees, the problem in question undoubtedly is not confined to the university's campus in Cambridge. I suspect that universities and colleges throughout this country pay their lower-level employees on the cheap, failing to incorporate the so-called "living wage." Is Harvard any different than Yale in this regard? Or Columbia? Or Princeton? And how about non-academic workplaces? I seriously doubt that the "living wage" has taken root across the board; the federal government's minimum wage standard, which is substantially lower than the "living wage," provides most businesses with the authoritative cover to underpay their low-level employees (a cheap excuse, if you will). The sad fact of the matter is that student grumblings at Harvard, which are essentially Harvard-specific in nature (or at least are treated as such by the mainstream media), often drown out or otherwise overshadow societal ills that encompass a much larger segment of the population and reach far beyond the hallowed halls the nation's most prestigious institution of higher education. What's going on at Harvard to be sure is a public relations disaster, and I suspect that the administration will eventually be forced to capitulate (or at least compromise) so as to smooth the hackles of irate alumni and do-gooders the world over. But when the dust has settled and the protestors have returned to their classes at Harvard, the "disaster" will continue to thrive in other precincts...without the moral outcry and media attention.

John