Seven years ago today, hundreds of innocent Americans and dozens of other innocent men, women, and children were killed by al-Qaeda terrorists in the hijacking and crashing of planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Patriot Day is designated in memory of these people whose lives were taken too soon.
Did you know you could check your Laundry Bucks balance anytime you want?
It's simple, just logon to the myNEU Portal, click on Self Service, and then on the right side "View HuskyCard Balances." Laundry Bucks show up, for now, as an "Unlisted" plan under your Dining Plan. This can be a bit confusing, and so the Student Government Association is currently working to change how this is displayed, but for now you can check how much you have left in Laundry Bucks this way.
We warned a couple days ago here on the blog about rumors of efforts to catch students drinking underage. Turns out, it's true, and Northeastern University students have been caught. In a Boston Globe story, it was reported that, "Dozens of underage drinkers didn't get the good time they were looking for after a trip to liquor stores over the weekend in Boston," and that the students were reported to their parents and institutions. The report further states that an estimated 400 students were stopped from obtaining alcohol and that "the students attended a number of local institutions, including Newbury College, Lesley University, Boston University, Boston College, Suffolk University, Northeastern University, and Emerson College." The students from Northeastern University who were reported will likely end up before the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, where they could face disciplinary action.
We are less than 14 hours away from the first Resident Student Association General Council meeting. I heard a lot of interest at Welcome Week events in Housing Services area items and improving the residence halls, and some people even expressed interest during the summer orientations! I hope to see you there.
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The Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, otherwise known as OSCCR, is holding a contest where you can win $100 by filling out a short survey. They'll be surveying during the Activities Fair on September 11th and you can also enter the contest at the OSCCR website starting Thursday and continuing for a week.
When you're doing shopping for your apartment or residence hall room, buying lunch, getting new clothes, or picking up some snacks at the supermarket, if the cashier asks you for ID to use your credit or debit card, politely tell them "No!" By showing your ID, you increase your risk of costly identity theft, which can take years and cost thousands of dollars to clean up. Sadly, the problem stems from corrupt employees who will copy down information off your ID or memorize it and write it down later for misuse.
Under policies from the major credit card companies (Visa and MasterCard, and any establishment that takes Visa and/or MasterCard plus American Express), identification cannot be required for a sale provided the cardholder has signed the back of their credit or debit card. If you haven't signed your card, be sure to do so because not signing it can also increase your risk of identity theft, makes your card void in some cases, and could even make you liable for fraud that is typically covered by your bank if you followed their directions and signed the card.
If you hear of merchants in the Northeastern University area that are requiring identification for credit/debit cards, or breaking the rules by having minimum purchases or surcharges to use a credit card (which is even worse because it is against the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), let us know or report the fraud by calling 1-800-VISA-911 for Visa cards or by submitting an online report for MasterCard cards.
This summer at orientation, the Resident Student Association was involved in the "Husky Hello" skits that were shown to all incoming freshmen. Members of the Association took part in the skits, one of which featured what can happen to people who drink a little too much. The skit was mentioned in a story by Monica Brady-Myerov on National Public Radio that aired this morning focusing on how Northeastern University has been changing its approach to educating students about drinking and disciplining students who break the rule. The story and features clips of audio from the skits (including the voice of an RSA member in the skit) as well as audio clips from Valerie Randall-Lee of the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, Amaura Kemmerer of the Office of Prevention & Education, and Captain Albert Sweeny of the Northeastern University Police Department. The story also mentions how seven area College and University Presidents signed onto the Amethyst Initiative to start a dialogue on the drinking age and a clip from a parent who was happy that they explained the rules well. You can hear the story here through Real Player.
Move-In Weekend 2008 has come and gone, and all-in-all it seems to have gone smoothly. Here's a few points about the weekend:
A couple other things:
