A Foot in the Door; or, How Not to Meet the President

WHEN I saw the sign that read, "Office of the President, Harvard University," I couldn't resist at least making an attempt to see Harvard President Derek Bok. Although the little I had heard about Bok made me hesitant, I chose to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, I reasoned, as a law student I had a "foot in the door" for two reasons: a) I'm not an undergraduate, and universities are supposed to ignore undergraduates and cater to their graduate students; and b) Bok himself had graduated from - and been dean of - the law school. In addition, I had what I considered to be a wildcard: As a senior at Dartmouth I had been the student intern in President Kemeny's office, spending 15 to 20 hours each week with Kemeny, his staff, and students who had concerns which they wanted brought to his attention. I figured that Bok would be interested in the work I did for Kemeny, my perceptions of Kemeny's impact on Dartmouth, and the College's reaction to him as President.

With all,this reasoning in mind, I opened the outer door of the building that bore the sign. On the inner door was another sign that read, "Please Announce Yourself to the Receptionist." Although I was unsure of the proper way to announce myself, I proceeded through the second door into a room about two-thirds the size of the receptionist area in President Kemeny's office (where in Parkhurst there are situated three of the office's full support staff of four). I encountered a single receptionist and made my plea: "Hello. My name is Rob Saltzman. I am a first-year student at the law school and I am wondering if I could make an appointment to see President Bok." She looked at me obviously rather confused and said, "I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood you."

I repeated my original statement, at which point she evidently understood me since she then gave me an incredulous look and said, quite simply, "Why?" This blunt retort took me by surprise. I had expected her to launch into an explanation of how busy President Bok is and why I would have to wait at least several weeks before I could see him, but I did not expect to be put on the defensive so quickly. I was disappointed that I would have to use my wildcard so soon, but since it did not look like I would make any progress otherwise, I explained that I had worked for Kemeny, that I would be interested in meeting Bok, and that I thought Bok would be interested in the work I had done for Kemeny. With some hesitation, she acknowledged the possibility and said that she would get back to me.

Before I left, she asked for my name and address. I gave my address, which was a dormitory room at the law school. She responded, "Is that in Cambridge?" At that point I should have known my quest was hopeless, but a full three weeks later, after I had received no response from anyone on President Bok's staff, I returned to determine what was happening. I was surprised to find a different receptionist to receive my "announcement." I again explained my goal and she apologized for "the mix up." She also provided me with the information that President Bok had been out of town for most of the past few weeks and implied that this would explain why no one had responded to my request. She assured me that the proper people would be informed of my return visit and that someone would be in touch soon.

Again I waited three weeks without a response before returning. This time I "announced myself' with the fact that I had worked for Kemeny Gust for identification purposes) and that I didn't mean to be impertinent, but was wondering if any progress had been made with my request for an appointment with President Bok. The receptionist (the original one, this time) said that she remembered me and apologized for the total lack of response. She said she would leave another note and make sure herself that President Bok saw it. Since I wasn't too confident of any result coming from a second repeat of this procedure, I asked if I could instead come in during Bok's student office hours. She gave me another incredulous look and sustained it as I explained that Kemeny sets aside an hour and a half each week for students to come in to see him without appointments. She informed me that President Bok's schedule has no such provision. So I left once again with the assurance that someone would get back to me with an answer as to whether President Bok would be interested in meeting with me.

Another three weeks passed with no response, so I again went to President Bok's office to check on the "progress" of my request. The receptionist recognized my name and once again expressed surprise that no one had gotten back to me. I said that I was not upset but that I thought after two and a half months and four visits I was entitled to a definitive answer one way or the other. She then spoke with someone on the phone who provided the answer: "President Bok expressed interest in meeting with you, but his schedule will not allow it. If you would like to write him a letter, please feel free to do that. He reads all his correspondence personally." I asked if I could speak with the person on his staff whose responsibility it is to respond to students and was told that no one on the staff has that responsibility. With that, I thanked the receptionist and left President Bok's office.

I find it significant that the president of this university - who only a few years ago was merely a dean, and before that a professor, and once upon a time a student - was unwilling to take the time to meet with a student, much less spend enough time with one to be influenced. Of course, my feelings do not center on never receiving a response from Bok's office, for I assume that was accidental and unusual. Nonetheless, as a Dartmouth alumnus, I am pleased that Dartmouth is still a college with a president who does make the time to talk to students. With every student Kemeny talks to, he becomes a better administrator - and Dartmouth remains more like Dartmouth and less like Harvard.

Rob Saltzman is a second-year student at Harvard Law School.See also the "Undergraduate Chair" in this issue.