Oh boy.
My understanding of the federal work study program: the funds are awarded to the student (but administered by their college), to help them get a job (by paying 2/3 of their wage), to help them earn money to pay their expenses in college. The are jobs that are offered to students by the college (all students, not necessarily just WS students, although college departments like to stretch their budgets by hiring WS students whenever possible). The WS students can apply to any jobs that the college offers… whether they get a job depends on their qualifications, and supply and demand (and thus the timing of their application for the job).
Some subset of “College X” students qualify for federal work study funding. College X employs students in a wide variety of capacities, as do most other colleges. Just one of those many job options happens to be Dorm Crew, which may involve cleaning the bathrooms of other students. Some of the students who qualify for WS funds choose to take the Dorm Crew jobs, over other options because it pays more, has more flexible hours, or some other perk, or maybe those jobs are all that is left by the time that student searched for a job…
What’s the big deal?
Oh, it’s Harvard…