Harvard University Housing announced last week that it will hold rents for the 2021-22 academic year flat in comparison to the cost of rent this academic year across all of HUHâs properties.
In addition to holding rents flat, HUH announced on Jan. 22 that it will continue pandemic relief policies established during the early months of the crisis. These policies include offering more latitude in subletting, flexibility in lease dates, and individual roommate rent charges. Across all units, HUH will extend a pandemic relief adjustment of $150 per month from March 1 through June 30, 2022 across all units.
Harvard spokesperson Brigid OâRourke wrote in an emailed statement that HUH has attempted to address pandemic-related economic hardships through several policies.
For Morgan R. Pratt, a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Kennedy School, a daunting obstacle stands between them and their dream of pursuing a career in climate activism following graduation â student loan debt.
âI have a lot of student loan debt and a really high propensity to do something in the public service industry,â Pratt said. âRight now, I have this huge incentive to just follow in the footsteps of my classmates and get a consulting gig â which would help eliminate my student loan debt, but put me into this workspace that creates all these perverse incentives.â
âEssentially, Iâd be exacerbating the problems I really want to solve. Or I can just toil away and put myself in a bad place financially,â they added.