Bennett improves student standings with community

By: Payal Patnaik

Posted: 5/1/08

Carrie Bennett has been living in an apartment building filled with college fraternity boys for the past three years.

As a resident house adult who moved into to Alpha Delta Phi's new apartment in summer 2005, she is affectionately known as Alpha Delta Phi's "house mom."

"I think you'd have to be a little crazy, have a lot of patience and a good sense of humor to do something like that," chapter advisor Ed Donahue said.

"I think it is fantastic," Carrie Bennett said. "It was an experiment."

Approximately 10 years into her job on the campus police force, Bennett read a News-Letter article proposing that a position as a liaison between students and the community should be created due to the increase of neighborhood complaints about Hopkins students branching away from Homewood campus. Three years later, when Bennett was a sergeant and had no other position to earn other than lieutenant, a more administrative job, she took on the job as student community liaison.

She was simultaneously offered the position as the live-in house adult at Wawa, which was relocating to its current building on North Charles Street.

"When we bought a new building and sold our old chapter house, we were not able to spend three million dollars and turn it over to 18 to 21-year-olds without adult supervision," Donahue said. "We wanted a calming influence to the place, not someone to replace their mother or disciplinarian, but to encourage them to behave like adults."

According to Donahue, the alumni association was planning to advertise within the faculty for a graduate student to live at the building and take RA training. He called Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell for suggestions, who mentioned Bennett's name.

"She said I was the only person crazy enough to take the job," Bennett said, laughing.

"The boys weren't enthused at first, because that was a fairly radical departure from the status quo. It wasn't really negotiable," Donahue said. "But since then, the guys love her, even if it took some convincing at first."

Alpha Delta Phi's standing with the Hopkins administration went up without too much hindered fun, Carrie Bennett said, adding she was proudest of this accomplishment since it reaped tangible benefits for the fraternity.

"We've decided to do that nationally - we're encouraging local alumni of Alpha Delta to give a long and hard thought of going back to the concept of a house mother," Donahue said.

"It's been rewarding, but I was very worried. I didn't know if people were going to be happy having an adult in there," Bennett said.

Bennett moved in the summer of 2005 to bond with the brothers living there over the summer. Bennett pinpointed the last day of her move-in as the first time that she felt a sense of acceptance.

"I was bringing my last load to the house and my car was packed to the ceiling. I pulled up front at 11 p.m. and one of the brothers asked if I was the house mom. Fifteen brothers came out and emptied my car," she said.

"I just help them not do blatantly obvious things," Bennett said, recounting an incident a few years ago during which she had to intervene in a police situation.

The move of Alpha Delta Phi to North Charles Street helped its reputation considerably, according to Bennett. Because there are few non-affiliated neighbors, the fraternity does not get too many complaints.

"We've fallen off the radar," Bennett said. "Other fraternities have moved into established areas, so it's more of a challenge in other neighborhoods."

Bennett believes that her position as a live-in adult is only a microcosm of her job as student community liaison.

"Carrie has realized, with regards to reducing student-neighbor tensions, she has done a terrific job of balancing the interests of students, community and the University's administration," said Salem Reiner, the director of the Office of Community Affairs.

According to Reiner, 107 complaints were registered against Hopkins students in 2007, which is a decrease of complaints from the 235 complaints filed in 2006 and 300 in 2004.

"The significant and proactive work by Bennett played a large role in producing the above noted outcomes, as did the leadership of the Charles Village Civic Association which provided valuable guidance," Reiner said.

Bennett said that she is now even more convinced of the need to have a fraternity row, pointing out that, "fraternities have difficulties with zoning issues and the availability of good pieces of property."

Bennett said there should be a Greek row close to campus, possibly along North Charles Street, that reduces exposure to non-affiliated students.

Three main problems that a fraternity row would encounter are zoning from the city, obtaining money from alumni and buying property rights from the University itself.