RA Guest Passes

Thanks to the great work of our Student Government Association, it has been announced that starting Fall 2010 all RAs will get guest passes with their meal plans that are provided to them. The full announcement can be found here, and comes after years of work by both SGA, RSA, and RAs.

Another Bin Update

During the move to/from period, there was a major shortage of bins around campus. We have found out that the reason for this shortage was partially due to students who in the past had used the moving bins to move off-campus and then never returned the bins. There currently is no mechanism to actually bill people or charge them for not returning the bins, which results in a lack of money being available to replace bins that are not returned.

Last month I visited the Renaissance Park Garage with the President of the Student Government Association where we found tons of bins that were being unused. Knowing that these bins would be helpful, we asked if they could be transported to the residence halls for student use. We were told that those bins, unfortunately, needed to be cleaned and made available for the general move-in period coming up.

Going forward, the Resident Student Association is going to work with Campus Life to see what can be done to ensure that bin shortages aren't a huge problem in the future. This may include working to get approval from University Senior leadership to actually charge for unreturned bins, and then put the money collected into replacing the unreturned bins. Additionally, it may include allocating funding towards purchasing more bins, and looking at what options exist to acquire cheaper moving apparatuses.

Outdoor Recycling Arrives

The first outdoor recycling containers have appeared on campus! They are currently all located in the West Campus near the entrances to Building B, Building D [Behrakis], and Building H. The Student Government Association has posted a picture of the new recycling containers outside of Behrakis on their Twitter.

Residents have long asked for recycling to be available outdoors. If you want to see more outdoor recycling on-campus, rest assured that this is on our list of projects to improve campus, and let us know where you would like to see the recycling containers.

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.

Warm Weather, But Still Business as Usual

Despite the warm weather today and expectations of 50+ degree weather tomorrow, the Housing Services Committee and its members have been quite active working for the residents. Some of us started the day off at 7:00 AM with a trip to Parcel 18 to look at the dining facilities that are under construction. We saw that the pizza oven was put in, and that the new dining hall is going to be huge and have a lot of options available that just weren't possible due to the limited size of Stetson Hall East and Stetson Hall West. We also had a nice discussion with Dining Services about improving our existing dining hall and Outtakes.

This morning and afternoon we were working on OSCCR matters in conjunction with several dedicated members of the Student Government Association who stayed up late into the morning working on finalizing a proposal regarding disciplinary sanctioning reform. A big shoutout goes to them for their hard work!

At noon today, we held the second meeting of the Party Registration Subcommittee. The subcommittee talked about the possibility of looking at social events in the Curry Student Center as well as the residence halls, and reviewed research.

This evening the Resident Student Association General Council meets. It is my hope that the General Council will pass two pieces of legislation tonight. The first regarding disciplinary sanctioning, and the second regarding housing prices for next year. With these tough economic times, we are looking out for the students and want to send a strong message. The meeting is at 7:30 PM in 305 Shillman Hall.

Legislation Passes, Part II

The legislation passed by the Resident Student Association on Wednesday regarding the Student Disciplinary Bill of Rights was passed by the Student Senate today. We don't have the exact vote count for you, but as someone present for the recorded vote, I can report that not a single Senator voted against the legislation. There was not, however a X-0-0 count like RSA had on Wednesday as some Senators abstained from the vote.

Legislation Passes

Last night the General Council heard legislation regarding a Student Disciplinary Bill of Rights. The legislation passed with a 74-0-0 vote! It is being sent onto the formal Code of Conduct Review Committee this afternoon.

Help Inform Students About Upcoming NU Athletics Events

Our friends over in the Student Government Association have come up with a great idea to help inform the student body about upcoming NU Athletics events. Known as the Spirit Crew, it will be a group of students that will go around campus promoting the Huskies the night before big athletic events. Students who are interested in helping out can learn more by attending one of this week's meetings on the topic:

• Tuesday, 1/13/2009 @ 6:00 PM in 433 Curry Student Center
• Thursday, 1/15/2009 @ 7:00 PM in 433 Curry Student Center

We in the Housing Services Committee always encourage students to attend NU Athletics games. This week there is men's and women's ice hockey at home as well as women's basketball. For the full schedule of athletics events, check out GoNU.com.

Money Matters

Jared Schlar, the founder of the website Youbux.com will be speaking about budgeting, credit scores, debt, and other topics as a part of the Money Matters seminar being put on by Student Financial Services and the Student Government Association. The seminar is free to students and is on November 20th at 6:00 PM.

Legislation Passes!

With a vote count of 65-0-0, the General Council passed SC FA-08-2 last night to support Gender Neutral Housing! You can read a bit more in the Huntington News. You can read the legislation here.

Gender Neutral Housing Legislation Passes Senate; Will Go to General Council

The Student Senate today passed a piece of joint legislation [pdf] supporting the creation of a Gender Neutral Housing program at Northeastern University. The legislation passed with a vote of 35 in favor, 3 against, and some abstaining. On Wednesday, in 335 Shillman Hall at 7:30 PM, the General Council of the Resident Student Association will hear, and hopefully, in accordance with the recommendation of the Housing Services Committee, pass, the legislation allowing it to be sent onto the administration along with the proposal [pdf] for Gender Neutral Housing.

Laundry Bucks Balance

Last Wednesday we blogged about checking your laundry bucks balance and how it was showing up as a "unlisted" dining plan. Well, thanks to quick work by Vice President Ryan Fox of the Student Government Association, on myNEU your Laundry Bucks now show up with their own description:

Forum with President Joseph E. Aoun

On September 25th at 7:00 PM, Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun will be holding a forum where students can ask questions and hear about plans for the future of the University. If you're interested in attending, you'll need to R.S.V.P. by e-mailing SGAForum@gmail.com.

Check Your Laundry Bucks Balance

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.

Why Do We Have NUIDs?

At Northeastern University, every student has a student ID number. Students often wonder why they need to remember their Northeastern University ID number, known as "NUID" for short and why the University doesn't just use an existing number such as a Social Security Number.

It turns out, the elimination of using Social Security Numbers is the entire point of the NUID. Social Security Numbers, in the wrong hands, can lead to serious, costly fraud. The Social Security Administration has a good website about the problem of identity theft. By having a NUID, in the normal course of business you won't need to use your Social Security Number unless you are doing something where the law requires a Social Security Number such as employment or financial aid.

On a historical note, the first major call for Northeastern to replace Social Security Number use with something else came back in 2005 as a resolution from the Student Government Association. The resolution called for the change to happen with the next incoming class, but because dozens of University systems needed to be changed, the NUID transition didn't happen until February 2007 over a three-day weekend.

Live Blog: Parcel 18 Vendor Meeting

Members of the Housing Services Committee attending a meeting today regarding a recommendation from the student body about a vendor to go into the retail space in Parcel 18. With Wi-Fi internet access covering all of the Curry Student Center, we're taking this opportunity to blog live and post updates throughout the meeting.

6:10 PM: The total survey results came back in alignment with the residential votes having Panera Bread and Jamba Juice.

6:19 PM: The committee talked about the current Au Bon Pain contract, which ends in 2011 but gives a five year option to Au Bon Pain for extension. The initial contract was a ten year contract with two options for five year extensions, and we are currently in the first five year extension. Because of this contract, it is not likely that Au Bon Pain can be replaced until 2016.

6:22 PM: A discussion took place about vendors and their hours. The City of Boston has limits on how late businesses can be open, and an issue is that some vendors may not want to be open late. Panera traditionally closes around 9 or 10 PM, but students want an option that is open all night or at least until 2 or 3 AM.

6:24 PM: The square footage in Parcel 18 is a total of 3400 square feet, so one option is having two vendors. Some places are only around 1500 square feet, so fitting say a Johnny Rockets and a Jamba Juice is possible.

6:26 PM: We talked about the location on Columbus Avenue and how students may not want to travel to the other side of campus. However, with 1200 people in Parcel 18 plus the other students in the area from buildings like Davenport A, and Coventry. It's interesting because when there are more things to go to, people might actually go there. We also talked about possible issues related to bad groups of people from the Roxbury area that might end up coming to the vendor place.

6:30 PM: It was brought up that people are able to get burgers and fries all over the place -- but then it was mentioned that people said they want a place for a good burger.

6:32 PM: A major point in the discussion was that Panera requires the most space. If we take a Panera, we won't be able to have another vendor. The chair of the meeting suggested that we need to look beyond the numbers from students and look at other aspects. It was mentioned that some options provide more variety. It also was mentioned that some options are similar -- for example, Cosi and Panera are similar in their offerings of salad, soup, and sandwiches.

6:37 PM: Here's the vote count from the student survey:

• Johnny Rockets: 38
• Cheeburger Cheeburger: 15
• Fuddruckers: 15
• Panera: 60
• Viga: 25
• Cosi: 23
• Jamba Juice: 42
• Other: 13

6:41 PM: The chair (Vice President Ryan Fox of the Student Government Association) brought up that a recommendation might not be made tonight, as he isn't sure he is comfortable. It was brought up that the comments from the survey need to be looked at, because students made comments. A lot of students apparently have said they want a heathy option and then a "burger" option as well.

6:43 PM: Vice President Fox expressed that he believed the survey was misleading. However, after a review of the documents it was found that this wasn't the case and there was consistency. It was brought up that Panera is the leader of the survey, and that if students want it, that we should support a Panera. It was also brought up that a similar number of students asked for one healthy option such as Jamba Juice and one other. The chair suggested that the pairings and the intent be looked at.

6:47 PM: The idea of satisfying the most people was discussed. The goal isn't to please people who want a certain option, but rather to please the highest number of people.

6:50 PM: I raised a question about the survey and how choices were limited by the committee. We discussed the possibility of maybe doing another survey. There seems to be a debate in the room about following the survey result of Panera coming out on top versus following the desire of many students to see two options.

6:52 PM: Debate continued about the survey and the data interpretation. The recommendation from the student body needs to be done "as soon as possible" per request of Marina Iannalfo, the Dean of Campus Life. The meeting ended so everyone can go to the GrandMarc presentation.

This concludes the live update... feel free to post your comments, thoughts, and feedback on the comments section of the blog!

Meeting About Parcel 18 Vendor Postponed

The meeting regarding the vendor at Parcel 18 has been postponed until next week. It will be July 16th at 6:00 PM in 435 Curry Student Center. We hope to see you there.

Meeting About Parcel 18 Vendor(s)

This week an important meeting is being held where a recommendation will be decided for the vendor(s) in the retail space in Parcel 18. Myself and other members of the Housing Services Committee will be there. The meeting is in 435 Curry Student Center at 6:00 PM, and I encourage anyone interested to attend.

GrandMarc Not Recommended At UC Riverside

Last week Assistant Vice President Gagnon and I attended a public meeting about the re-proposed GrandMarc on St. Boltoph Street. Also in attendance from Northeastern was Ryan Fox, who will be SGA Vice President for Student Services starting tomorrow; Robert Ranley who will be SGA President starting tomorrow; and Jeff Doggett, who is Northeastern's Director of Government Relations & Community Affairs. Cut down to 24 stories, and with a capacity of about 800, there are still many community concerns over the proposal. (Unfortunately, photos and renderings of the new design are not yet available in electronic format for us -- but you can see the old ones at this website.)

The GrandMarc proposed for St. Boltoph's Street is not an entirely new concept. There are a couple other GrandMarc's in the country. One of them is located near the University of California - Riverside. The building, called GrandMarc at University Village, is not recommended by current and previous students who lived in the building. In fact, 78% of students who posted reviews of the building at ApartmentRatings.com said "No" when asked if they would recommend the building to others. While this alone is an indication of the problems related to the GrandMarc and its management companies, the specific issues mentioned in some of the reviews are even worse.

One student, who actually recommended the building, wrote about some of the security problems with the building:

The gate is usually broken which means that ANYONE can come in and do anything. There are frequent break-ins for the people who live on the 1st floor.

Clearly, the safety of students is a priority for us in the Resident Student Association. Our campus ranked #2 in safety in the nation in Reader's Digest. While the proponents of the GrandMarc at St. Boltoph's Street claim they will provide a secure environment where students will be safe, their performance record at UC Riverside is concerning. Another reviewer wrote about the theft issues, saying:

Terrible place to live. No security, lots of things get stolen.

Yet another reviewer wrote about security issues with their door lock, and the lack of response to correct it:

The locks on the doors to your individual rooms serve no purpose since me and my roomate found out that all you need is a plastic card to pick the lock and open the door. On top of that, somehow the lock on our front door broke, and all u had to do was turn the handle and it openend right up. It took maintenance a week to finally come by and fix it.

The GrandMarc at UC Riverside

More concerning is the number of students who wrote about issues with the building's management. I've heard bad stories about student experiences with Housing and Residential Life at Northeastern, but some of the reviews about the GrandMarc at UC Riverside are horror stories compared to the problems students have had at Northeastern. One student wrote about how management lied to them about the amenities of the building:

I had nothing but problems from the moment I moved in. First of all, I was told that internet access and parking for myself and my guests were included in the rent. A few months later, I was told that to get a parking space close to my apartment I would have to pay $15. Also, my guests had to park all the way across the street or they would get their car towed. Tow trucks are part of the parking lot scenery. The internet that was promised cost me 15 additional dollars a month. And the place is filthy! They clean it maybe twice a year when offering tours for prospective residents. And don't count on management to help you with any problems or issues you have. Please don't live here!

Another student wrote about how management was difficult to find or help residents:

The office assistants at GrandMarc seemed to be only trained in getting people to sign contrats to live here and little else. Customer service is great for prospective customers but once you live here there is no help to be found. Management are somehow always busy or away on extended lunches/breaks.

As a representative of the students who live on-campus at Northeastern, I would hate to see any student leave Northeastern University housing for someplace like the GrandMarc. Additionally, many community members oppose the building and attended last week's meeting to say so. The track record of the company behind this is not good. If they can't manage a set of four-story buildings for student housing well, why should the community and students trust them to manage a 24-story building? Even worse was the refusal of the GrandMarc's proponents to provide straight answers to questions from community members and from the Resident Student Association. It seems that the best solution for both students and the local community will be for the Boston Redevelopment Authority to join with the community and reject this building.

More on the West Campus Wollastons

I have more bad news to report on the West Campus Wollastons: it's only open until 9 PM. Last year, RSA advocated for a 10 PM close of the West Campus Wollastons, but the store has decided to go back to closing at 9 PM.

The Housing Services Committee is currently investigating the issue and will be trying to see if we can get the Monday through Friday closing time changed back to 10 PM for Summer II and the store open on Sundays. As a part of the proposal, we will offer our assistance to Wollaston's in promoting the fact that the store is open for business until 10 PM and on Sundays. We're also talking with the Student Government Association about the matter as well. We'll keep you updated