Roommate Matching In the News

Over at The Daily Free Press, Northeastern University is an example of how an institution can match incoming students up for housing in an effort to put compatible roommates together. They write:

At Northeastern University, students have been matched to their soon-to-be roommates based on an electronic compatibility questionnaire since 2004. The relatively new program has found big success, Northeastern Student Affairs Director Anne-Marie Regan said.

"We did a survey of how many did a room change, and less than 2 percent did [since the program came out], not necessarily because of roommate problems, but because they wanted a different type of room," she said. "We don't get a lot of complaints."

The Daily Free Press is the independent student newspaper at Boston University (similar to our Huntington News but published daily instead of twice a week), and at Boston University they lack such roommate matching. Boston University's Director of Housing cites that students often do not tell the truth on questionnaires, change behavior between high school and college, and also says that "assigning students who are similar in likes and dislikes does not challenge students to learn and grow."

Upcoming Legislation

This week the Resident Student Association and Student Government Association will be hearing legislation in the form of a Joint Sense of the Council / Senate to provide support for the Fraternity and Sorority Life Leadership Living Learning Community. You can see the legislation that will be brought forward here. If you have any comments or concerns, post them here, send us an e-mail, or talk to a General Councilor in your building.

Dining Hall Issues

The last two editions of the Huntington News have featured some disturbing information about the dining halls. While nothing was a major health risk for students, it's a good idea that if you ever notice something off in the dining halls that you let one of the managers there know or let us know. You can always e-mail your dining issues and concerns to the Resident Student Association: RSA@neu.edu.

In case you missed the most recent story, the issue at hand was that non-critical food inspections were failed in both Stetson Hall West and Stetson Hall East (Irving M. Levine Marketplace). By the third summer inspection, however, Stetson East passed with no violations, which is good news.

See The Capitol Steps

The Capitol Steps are coming to campus on Monday as a part of NUVotes. The show is just $5, and it will be at 8:00 PM in Blackman. You can get tickets at the Blackman box office in Ell Hall. For more information, you can visit NUVotes.com.

Presentation on the Proposal for a Fraternity and Sorority Life Leadership Living Learning Community

Last night at the General Council meeting, there was a presentation on the Fraternity and Sorority Life Leadership Living Learning Community that is being proposed. If you missed it, you can see it here in PDF format.

Feel free to post questions and comments.

The Huntington News Reports on HuskyCable Additions

Mark Rizzo of The Huntington News reported yesterday the news from last week's General Council meeting that two new channels would be added to HuskyCable this fall. The channels are FitTV and G4TV, and we are awaiting more information on an exact add date.

October Movies

The Housing Services Committee has made its picks for RSA Cinema movies for October 2008. Here are the movies you'll be able to enjoy on RSA Cinema next month:

• Anchorman
• Crash
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Leatherheads
• Speed Racer
• Made of Honor
• The Forbidden Kingdom
• Baby Mama
• The Love Guru
• 28 Days
• Sex and the City

Building K

The Huntington News reports today about Building K, the residence hall planned for St. Boltoph Street on what is currently Cullinane Hall. Building K will open in the fall of 2011, and once it opens Northeastern will be able to house around 60% of the undergraduate student body on campus.

Laundry Problems

When you notice a laundry problem let us know! If no one finds out, the problem won't get fixed, so please e-mail laundry@neu.edu or report a problem at laundryview.com

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:

Vote

Remember that hall council elections are tonight in your building lobbies from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. This is your chance to vote for President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

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.

Patriot Day

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.

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.

Students Caught Trying to Get Liquor

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.

Fall General Council Starts Today

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.

Win $100

This is not spam, we promise!

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 the Cashier Asks for ID, Say No!

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.

Our Skits Made National Public Radio

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

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:

• We were told by one administrator that this was "the best they've seen in years" with regards to the smoothness of move-in.
• We noticed great work from the Facilities Division helping with move-in and responding to work orders quickly. New students and parents were surprised at their great work, and on behalf of the residents I passed a thank you e-mail onto the head of the department.
• If you just moved in and are having issues with anything, you can reach Facilities at (617) 373-2754, or put a work order in at www.workreq.neu.edu.
• Students are excited about Laundry Bucks! It's a great program and I thank the hard working folks in Student Government who helped bring this to campus. If you haven't heard, Laundry Bucks gives you 15 free loads of laundry a semester, a $45.00 value.

A couple other things:

• We've heard rumors of Northeastern University police on the prowl trying to catch people handing off alcohol or drinking underage -- so be smart and don't break the law otherwise you may wind up before OSCCR or the Roxbury District Court!
• All the Welcome Week events can be found at the Welcome Week website.
• If you're interested in joining or learning about RSA, our first meeting is in 335 Shillman Hall at 7:30 PM on Wednesday