Drinking-Related Deaths on the Rise

Researchers at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism published a report this week that found out that the number of drinking-related deaths among students age 18-24 rose from 1998 to 2005 by 26.7%. Researchers also found slight increases in students driving while intoxicated and binge drinking.

Of course, such trends only go to make college students appear to be irresponsible and encourage those who want to raise the drinking age or keep it at 21 instead of going to age 18 like many other countries have.

The Resident Student Association is always looking out for ways to help discourage irresponsible drinking on-campus, and we have typically participated in Alcohol [Awareness] Week each year.

Reclaiming Fridays...

An article from Friday over at Inside Higher Ed, a website that reports on news in the world of Higher Education, discusses the concept of "Thirsty Thursdays" and how some institutions are attempting to curb the trend by scheduling more Friday morning classes or encourging departments to have more classes on Friday. The report is based off a study at Maryland's Loyola College that found that students who don't have Friday classes drank four times as much on average as students with a Friday class before 10 AM.

At Northeastern, during the Summer I and Summer I term, there are no Friday classes and in the Fall and Spring many students have Friday free of class. Do you think University's should try to "reclaim Fridays?" Post your comments and let us know.

Voting is November 4th & There is No Tax

There have been a couple rumors going around campus about voting in the General Election. These rumors have been spread by both the far-left and the far-right in an effort to disenfranchise college students and other citizens.

The first rumor is that because of the high number of people expected to vote, that they have extended voting across two days, November 4th and November 5th, and that November 5th is a better day to vote because there will be shorter lines. This is not true! Voting takes place on November 4th. If you show up on November 5th, you'll be a day too late and out of luck.

The second rumor is that voting isn't worth the $40 voting tax. This is also not true! The 24th Amendment specifically forbids poll taxes:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

On a related note, the last NUVotes event will be will be an election watch party held in afterHOURS at 7:00 PM on Tuesday.

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.

Northeastern Ranks #568

In a ranking of United States Colleges and Universities, Northeastern came in at #568 today. The ranking, done by Forbes, is an alternative to the U.S. News and World Report where Northeastern was ranked #96. Forbes claims that "for too many years, information about the quality of American higher education has been monopolized by one publication" and offers their ranking as an alternative.

Forbes' rankings feature a methodology featuring the perspective of being in a student's shoes. Part of the ranking is based on student evaluations of courses and instructors, part of the ranking is based on alumni being listed in the "Who's Who in America" and the rest of the ranking is based on student graduation rates, debt, and the number of students and faculty who have won national awards. For more about the rankings, you can go here.

The Housing Crunch On-Campus

It's a well-known fact that each year at Northeastern University more students apply for housing than there are beds. The same is the case elsewhere, and this year the crunch is even worse due to economic conditions. High fuel costs have led students who once planned to commute to school to want to live on-campus, and the fixed cost of residence hall living is becoming more appealing as utility prices rise. Additionally, dining halls have become a more reasonable option for students to eat at because of the rising costs of food.

This year's trend is notable and has been covered by a lot of media. The Boston Globe today featured an article by Peter Schworm about the cruch in Massachusetts. In Mississippi, LaRaye Brown of the Clarion-Ledger writes about the situation at the University of Southern Mississippi. Also, today the Florida Sun-Sentinel writes about the squeeze for space at Florida Atlantic University. Finally, Brittany Anas of the Boulder Daily Camera wrote Saturday about how the University of Colorado is booking hotel rooms to house students temporarily due to the crunch.

Hot Tubs In the Residence Halls?

Megan K. Scott of the Associated Press wrote an article that was published this week in The Detroit Free Press about how colleges and universities are trying to draw students by pampering them with amenities such as wake-up calls, hot tubs, laundry services, valet parking, and apartment-style housing. While at Northeastern we have some amenities such as apartment-style housing for upperclassmen and honors freshmen and laundry service (through Husky Express), we're far from having snacks always available, valet parking, or hot tubs in the residence halls.

The movement to replace the traditional dormitory with resort-like amenities stems from the demands of millenial students and their parents, who are looking for a bigger bang for their buck. Students today are looking for more in college housing than students twenty years ago. Students, for example want single rooms because they want their own space and more privacy. However, in the article the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, New Hampshire warns that students may miss out on learning communication and negotiaion skills by not sharing space as freshmen. Likewise, a risk of having services available to students for laundry, cleaning, and parking is that students won't learn on their own how to do these things.

We in the Housing Services Committee would like to know how you feel about giving students more amenities in on-campus housing. Post your comments or send us an e-mail.

NY State Considers Smoking Ban in Residence Halls

The State of New York may bann smoking in all college and university residence halls and dormitories, according to a news story. The ban would come through an amendment to New York's Clean Indoor Air Act. The amendment has passed the state legislature and awaits the signature of Governor Dave Patterson. (Note: the link says he is Lt. Governor, but the page is out of date... Patterson took over as Governor earlier this year following the resignation of Elliot Spitzer who resigned in shame following a prostitution scandal.) While all State University of New York campuses banned smoking in their residence halls nearly a year ago after their Board of Trustees approved a policy, the amendment to the Clean Indoor Air Act, which has passed the state legislature, will affect all institutions, public and private.

The article cites two students who support the change:

Adrianne Harding, 21, a senior at Pace University's Pleasantville campus, said yesterday that she supports the ban.

"I would agree with it. I'm asthmatic, so when other people smoke, it affects me," said Harding, who is studying for a degree in nursing. "Even if they are across the hall, the smoke seeps through the door and comes into my room. I don't understand how people can smoke cigarettes in the dorms but can't light candles. They should definitely ban it. I don't think it's fair."

Jose Caceres, 23, who graduated this summer with a bachelor's degree in computer science and plans to pursue a master's in business, agreed.

"I think it's a good idea. Secondhand smoking is one of the largest killers," he said. "I used to have a roommate who smoked a lot, and it's absolutely a problem. It's very unhealthy, and I prefer if no one smoked around me."

The bill would put the legal burden on the institutions, with institutions having a residence hall in violation being fined up to $2,000. Most likely, if the bill passes, institutions that currently allow smoking in residence halls will ban it and students who violate the rules will have fines passed onto them.

The biggest reason for the amendment other than secondhand smoke is fire safety:

Additionally, the bill aims at reducing the number of dorm fires, Paulin said.

In the past 10 years, two college residential hall fires in the state have resulted in fatalities, which Paulin said was "two too many."

While in Massachusetts there is no law about smoking in residence halls, nor is one working through the legislature, Northeastern prohibits smoking in all residence halls. However, 15 years ago this wasn't the case. At one point, there was only one residence hall that was smoke free. The Resident Student Association in the 1990s worked to expand the number of smoke free residence halls on campus, passing legislation which was signed into action. Additionally, Northeastern President John A. Curry approved a policy prohibiting smoking in academic and administrative space on campus. Eventually, in the early 2000s, smoking was prohibited in all residence halls. While on occasion there are students who ask for the policy to be changed, the majority of students support the prohibitions on smoking in the residence halls because of the issues realted to secondhand smoke and the increased fire risk. Also, rooms or buildings with smokers cost more money to maintain as the walls must be painted more often and furniture replaced more frequently due to the negative impact of smoke. Given these reasons, RSA still supports current policies. Of course, in the event that student views changed and a majority of students wanted smoking to be allowed in the residence halls, we in the Resident Student Association would advocate for a policy change.

Feds Make Mistake at University

An interesting story related to University housing was in the news this week. The federal government has owned up to a mistake made on a college campus in California. As the Mercury News reports, at the University of California - San Diego, federal agents raided student housing looking for illegal immigrants. However, the agents failed to notify the University before the raid. It seems that the policy that is in place at with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) is for agents to notify college police when entering a University campus or student housing.

At Northeastern University, the same policy would apply if USICE showed up on-campus looking for illegal immigrants. Most law enforcement agencies, such as the Boston police work in conjunction with Northeastern University police when there are issues on campus or in residence halls. In fact, Northeastern University police are notified when other law enforcement agencies or emergency services enter the residence halls. A lot of work goes into safety in the residence halls, and while much of it is made up of small, unnoticed efforts and is done behind the scenes, the work of Northeastern University Public Safety and the Residential Safety Office was good enough to get Northeastern ranked the second safest college campus by Reader's Digest. Don't believe me? The proof is here.