Annual Electrical Shutdown

Each year over the weekend of the Federal Holiday of Independence Day (4th of July), an electrical shutdown takes place across campus as they perform inspections. On Saturday, July 4th between 6 AM and 8 PM, several buildings will experience power loss. The below notice from the Facilities Division lists the buildings affected and provides guidance on how to prepare for the shutdowns as well as why the shutdowns must happen:

As part of the required annual inspections and preventative maintenance program of the Northeastern University electrical utility system, the buildings listed below require a prolonged electrical shutdown or interruption of power. This shutdown is necessary for proper isolation and inspection of the buildings’ step-down transformers, high-voltage switchgear and distribution switchboard equipment.

As has been the case in previous years, to minimize disruption to University operations, this maintenance shutdown will occur over a weekend.

The electrical outage will commence on Saturday, July 4 at 6:00 AM and it will conclude by 8:00 PM that same day and will affect the following buildings:

Architecture Studio (located at MBTA station)
Behrakis Health Sciences Center
Cargill Hall
Dana Research Center
Dockser Hall
Egan Engineering/Science Research Center
Holmes Hall
Kariotis Hall
Knowles Center
Lake Hall
Latino/a Student Cultural Center
Meserve Hall
Nightingale Hall
Ryder Hall
Shillman Hall
Snell Engineering Center
Stearns Center
West Campus Building A
West Campus Building B
West Campus Building C
West Campus Building E
West Campus Building F
West Campus Building G
West Campus Building H
West Campus Parking Garage
Willis Hall
Power Plant

Only the buildings/locations listed above in this communication are affected by this electrical shutdown. All other campus buildings/locations will not be affected.

It should be noted that as a building/location passes inspection and testing, power will be restored to that particular building. As such, some buildings may have their electrical power restored ahead of the established restoration deadline of 8:00 PM.

To reduce the risk of damage to computer and other sensitive electronic equipment, please turn off all such equipment prior to the shutdowns.

The Facilities Division undertakes these actions to insure that the Northeastern University community is provided with safe and reliable electrical energy. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation and apologize for the inconvenience.

Committee Notes

A few quick notes & questions from committee last night:

• If you have had any issues with move in/out or move to/from, please e-mail them to RSA@Northeastern.edu or comment here. If you want to be anonymous, just post a comment on this blog as an anonymous user. The blog system does not provide us with your IP Address or any other identifying information, so rest assured that you'll be anonymous.
• Do you think International Village should have a display of flags from around the world? If so, how should it be arranged? Send your thoughts to RSA@Northeastern.edu or post them here.
• On an average cross-campus walk, count the number of outdoor recycling bins you see on the way. Odds are, you'll see zero or one if you go by Snell Library. Trash cans are plentiful, however. If you had just as easy an opportunity to recycle a bottle or can versus trashing it, would you?
• Your residence hall probably will lose power on July 4th, for some part of the day, due to electrical inspections and testing.
• Audits are being done to see if people actually moved in. We still don't understand why Residential Life & Housing Services use a better method for this process, but will be working to see if it can be improved.

International Village To Have Trays!

The Huntington News this morning has printed a story about yesterday's news that International Village will have trays available to students, along with modifications to make it so that students won't need a tray to return their dishes. You can read more here.

This news brings to a conclusion a months-long debate in which the Resident Student Association worked to defend the integrity of student opinion and defend the rights of students living in the residence halls. We are going to be continuing work on educating students about sustainable practices in the dining halls, while still ensuring that students' rights are being protected and preserved.

Laundry Bucks Are Active

The Resident Student Association received word from Campus Life and independently has confirmed that Summer II 2009 Laundry Bucks are now active. Residents should now have $22.50 available to use towards washing and/or drying clothes in the on-campus laundry rooms.

Where Are My Laundry Bucks?

If you were hoping to start using your Summer II Laundry Bucks today and have some nice, clean clothes... you're out of luck. Due to what has been deemed "a slight delay" by staff members in Enrollment Management & Student Affairs, Laundry Bucks were not activated at the same time as meal plans. We have been told they should be coming forward within "the next few days."

Dining Tweets

For those of you who utilize Twitter, Dining Services now has a Twitter account. You can follow @NEU_Dining on Twitter, along with @NortheasternRSA.