Johns Hopkins boasts a group of peer counselors with a hotline similar to MIT's Nightline service. Benedict also faces pressure from graduate students to alleviate the housing crunch in Cambridge and Boston. At Johns Hopkins and USM, Benedict oversaw the purchase of buildings near campus and their subsequent conversion into affordable graduate housing, but added that a similar solution may be infeasible in Cambridge's pricier housing market. Benedict also must work to improve relations with Cambridge residents and government officials. A tight, increasingly expensive housing market in Cambridge combined with a growing number of graduate students looking for housing near MIT has increased friction with Cambridge residents.
Every university also has the issue of the town feeling that it needs more reimbursement.
To improve relations, Benedict suggests increased community outreach by MIT students, a suggestion proffered by Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio in an interview with The Tech last term. Over one-third of Johns Hopkins students participate in community service, from tutoring in math and science to running youth sports leagues. To reach those numbers at MIT, Benedict suggests cultivating relations with specific schools in Cambridge's public school district. This story was published on Wednesday, July 12, 2000. Read other stories in this issue.