For more than two centuries into the College’s existence, professional maids tidied up after the Harvard boys. Known on campus as “goodies,” “sweeps,” and “biddies,” the crew of female workers scrubbed floors, made beds, and dusted dorm rooms. They also fought for better working conditions. A campus union formed in 1936 won the maids a six-day workweek and 41 cents an hour. By 1952, they were working 20 hours a week at 96 cents an hour, “as well off as any other college maids in the country,” a Crimson story noted. But within a few years, as the University began phasing out deluxe dorm service, replacing it with a student porter system, a precursor to Dorm Crew.
The shift came at a time of post-World War II budget measures—and as maids were reportedly requesting another pay hike. On campus, according to another Crimson story, reactions to the announced change ranged. Some students were nonchalant. One applauded the addition of needed student jobs, while another thought that hiring some students to clean up after others could foster an undemocratic caste system. A proctor voiced concern that eliminating the maids was the College’s answer to their request for higher wage. At least one student archly lamented the loss: “One of the best things of living at Harvard is the elimination of that menial task of bed-making. The one last remnant of gracious living is in serious proximity to death.”
