Palaeopitus Senior Society kicks off its "Students Say Thanks: Staff Appreciation Week" campaign today. The initiative will afford students an opportunity to express their gratitude to Dartmouth employees.
"The administration does some things to recognize staff members, but there really aren't many ways for students to show their appreciation," society member Margie Graham '04 said.
Palaeopitus will honor Dartmouth Dining Service employees on Monday, ORL custodians on Tuesday, Facilities Operations and Management workers on Wednesday, administrative assistants on Thursday and Safety and Security employees on Friday.
On each day, the group will distribute distinctive lapel pins to Dartmouth employees in the branch of service recognized, according to member Ali Kelley '04.
Graham said that the idea of hosting an employee appreciation week particularly appealed to her because of the shallow depth of many student-employee relationships.
"A lot of the time, you don't even know the name of the person who serves you food and cleans your room, and that's very unfortunate," Graham said.
At least one event will address that barrier of anonymity between employees and students, Kelley said.
On Thursday, Palaeopitus will hold a community hour in Collis Commonground, where Dartmouth students and employees are invited to meet each other and sit down together at roundtables to talk.
According to Kelley, Palaeopitus considered holding a panel discussion instead, but ultimately decided that roundtable discussions would better encourage employee-student interaction.
Graham said that many of the week's programs strive to give students the opportunity "to take the initiative to put in as much time as they want to toward thanking the College's employees." In one example, Chi Gamma Epsilon Fraternity plans to host a Friday barbecue for Safety and Security officers.
In another example, Graham said that on Monday, Palaeopitus will have a table set up in Thayer Dining Hall where students can fill out "thank you" cards for DDS employees. Card-signing opportunities for other employees will follow throughout the week.
According to Jason Ewart '04, another Palaeopitus member, the idea of holding a week entirely dedicated to thanking Dartmouth employees was conceived at a Palaeopitus retreat early this fall.
"We decided it was a good way to kick off the year with something big," Ewart said. "We thought it was appropriate with what was going on at Harvard and Yale."
Early this fall, two Yale employee unions went on strike for about three weeks over a conflict with the Yale administration over pension benefits. There were also disputes at Harvard last year concerning employee salary and benefits.
Ewart said, however, that the event is not as much about what happened at Harvard and Yale as it is about making students conscious of how Dartmouth employees affect their day to day lives.
"The main focus is to make students aware -- to make sure students appreciate who makes the College run," Ewart said.
Palaeopitus is a society composed of 20 seniors. The society's primary purpose, according to its charter, is to "encourage working harmony among the various campus organizations, facilitate communication between undergraduates and the College Administration, and to promote Dartmouth's welfare and to protect her name."
According to the 2004 delegation's mission statement, the society currently seeks to "raise awareness of, and encourage respect for, the unique contributions and roles of each individual, both as a member of Dartmouth College and the greater community."
In order to help fund the weeklong event, Palaeopitus received contributions from the Department of Student Life, the office of the Dean of Faculty and the office of the Dean of College.
