{"id":576,"date":"2022-08-16T18:38:06","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T18:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wbbm.digitalprojects.brynmawr.edu\/dev\/?page_id=576"},"modified":"2022-10-14T15:53:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T19:53:43","slug":"service","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wbbm.digitalprojects.brynmawr.edu\/why-build\/exhibit\/health\/service\/","title":{"rendered":"The Health of Service Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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While the Bryn Mawr administration took extreme care in providing for student health, other residents of the College did not receive the same consideration. Dormitory service staff\u2019s lodgings were cramped, lacked privacy, and had small windows, which would have impacted both light and air circulation. This was especially straining in warm weather, when the upper floors of Merion Hall became hot and stuffy. \u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These conditions were not only uncomfortable, but also potentially unsafe. When Bryn Mawr opened, the infirmary was located on Merion’s fourth floor, adjacent to service staff\u2019s lodging. This proximity put them at greater risk of contracting illness. Moreover, the service staff were expected to care for ill students, delivering them meals and nursing them to health, without additional compensation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Figure<\/a>
Alexis G. White, Student and Staff Room Comparison, 2022.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Room Comparisons of Students and Staff (view as PDF)<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the three windows in the chamber [on the fourth floor of Merion Hall] designed for the use of the domestics are too small, the building committee was authorized to have them enlarged if it could be done with reasonable outlay.\u201d \u200b<\/p>\u200bMinutes of the Meeting of the Bryn Mawr College Board of Trustees, November 28, 1883, 83. Bryn Mawr College Special Collections, College Archives. \u200b<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With growing understanding of how disease spread, ventilation\u00a0was considered to be\u00a0of\u00a0utmost importance, yet the Board of Trustees hesitated to improve the circumstances of staff\u00a0lodging because of financial concerns.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Return to: Health By Design<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Continue to: Larger Systems at Work: Perfect Proportions<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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