Tales in Bureaucracy II

[cos]

Some years ago, I was at a party, and several of us got to talking about how bureaucratic the colleges we had gone to were. We shared some stories, and by the end, everyone agreed that it was a tie between Brandeis and Harvard for "most bureaucratic". For Brandeis, I told this story, the one I posted last week. Here is the story the guy from Harvard told us.

(Note: This is not my story, I'm retelling it as well as I can remember it, but can't guarantee accuracy.)

He worked for Harvard University, and his office was located in a building owned by Harvard. All Harvard-owned buildings are managed, he said, by the Harvard Real Estate Office. When any tenant wishes to move into space owned by Harvard, they have to negotiate a contract with the real estate office. The standard procedure is that the tenant hires a lawyer to represent them, the real estate office hires a lawyer to represent Harvard building management, and the two lawyers negotiate a contract - even if the tenant is itself a department of Harvard University.

This guy said that he worked for the Harvard Real Estate Office, and that they had recently moved their office into new space owned by Harvard. They followed the same standard procedure.

Comments

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

That's.... beautiful.

[estheruth.livejournal.com]

*least burocractic college superiority dance*

[goljerp]

One thing that made the Brandeis Bureaucracy really lovely when we were there (I'm not sure if things have changed around) was the fact that the Bursar's office was on one end of campus (er, Bernstein-Marcus), and the Registrar's office on the other end of campus (somewhere up in Rabb?). If there was ever a problem, the one office would claim that it was all the other office's fault (or the other office had to act before they could). And, of course, standard operating procedure seemed to be to take the phones off the hooks at 9:01 AM and to put 'em back on at 4:59 PM. So anything involving these offices almost always entailed a lovely hike from one end of campus to the other, and back again... (and I was lucky - my situation was totally and completely brainlessly easy, which meant they only screwed up a little bit...)

I just got out an old map of campus: I was right: the Bursar was in Berstein-Marcus (C-2 on the map), the Registrar was in Kutz Hall(E-1). By some oversight the Financial Aid office was not in a third building, but rather in the same building as one of these. If you guessed they were in Kutz with the Registrar, you're right. (Different floor, though, I think.)

[cos]

No need to guess. I very clearly remember where all three offices were, because I walked back and forth between all of them many times. I remember their locations even more clearly than that of my freshman year dorm room.

Clarification

[goljerp]

I meant the guessing bit to be addressed to those who didn't go to Brandeis 'round the time that we did. Of course you knew where all three offices were.

[laurens10.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

... Having been at both places, I'd describe the difference between the bureaucracies as one being sloppy and the other obsessive.

[cos]

Brandeis sloppy, Harvard obsessive?

[skreeky]

Ow. My brain.

[chaoticerotic.livejournal.com]

on an associated note, I'm curious what appeals to you about kaoskytton....I've added her and so far she doesn't really strike me keenly at all, so I wanted your input before i unfriend her.

[cos]

This comment belongs on the previous entry :)
(I'll answer for real when I got a bit more time, later - though I'd rather answer on that entry so other readers see it there.)

[chaoticerotic.livejournal.com]

um, that last comment should have rad 'un-associated note'. Yeah.