Piketoberfest Today!

If you've wondered why there haven't been blog posts for a couple days, it's been due to people supporting a high amount of RSA recruitment efforts and programs. Thursday we had several hall council information sessions and an activities fair table. Friday we had two programs, and today is Piketoberfest. Join RSA on the Centennial Commons at 3 PM for free food and a free concert by State Radio & Longwave. Prior to the concert, RSA is helping prepare and setup pretty much all day. Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rsalive for updates.

Last Day of Move-In

Today's the last day of move-in, and if everything runs as well as it did the last few days, this will be one of the most successful move-in weeks ever, especially given that this is the largest move-in ever with the addition of International Village.

There are plenty of Welcome Week events coming up, including Duck Tours tomorrow at 5:00 PM, so check out www.northeastern.edu/welcomeweek for more information or stop by the Welcome Week booth on the Krentzman Quad in front of Ell Hall to learn more.

Move-In Going Well

Reports from all of the residence halls we have talked to so far (Stetson Hall West, West Village A, West Village B, West Village C, West Village G, West Village H, Speare Hall) indicate that move-in is going well. Elevators are working and there are no serious backlogs. Traffic around campus is orderly, and the weather couldn't be better. There are no major issues with ResNet/HuskyCable, and the dining halls are in good shape. If you notice anything amiss, let us know! E-mail RSA (at) Northeastern.edu.

Useful Phone Numbers

Here's a quick list of many useful Northeastern phone numbers. Many offices are open today, tomorrow, and even Labor Day.

Housing & Residential Life: 617.373.2814
Registrar's Office: 617.373.2300
Husky Card Office: 617.373.2270
ResMail: 617.373.5108
Information Services Service Desk: 617.373.4357

Our phone number is 617.373.8682, and if you don't think any of the above offices can help with your issue or want to find out just who to call, we encourage you to call us.

Biggest Day of Move-In

Today is the biggest day of move-in at Northeastern University. The weather is great, the moving bins were being unloaded as early as 7 AM, and the dining halls were open at 6 AM for breakfast. The Resident Student Association is here for you during move in. Feel free to e-mail us at RSA (at) Northeastern.edu with any issues or for faster response send tweets on Twitter to @RSALive.

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.

Northeastern Makes the Honor Roll

Northeastern University made the 2010 Green Rating Honor Roll in the Princeton Review's 2nd annual report of College and University Green Ratings. Ranking institutions on a scale from 60-99, Northeastern received a score of 99 along with 14 other institutions. You can read more in the official press release here.

While we may have a perfect score, in order to keep it Northeastern must continue offering students sustainable options like recycling bins around campus and food in the dining hall that is farmed sustainably. The Resident Student Association is committed to supporting such improvements when the residents want to see them. If you have ideas on making Northeastern more sustainable, let us know!

Bias Incident Response Protocol

Northeastern made official today a new Bias Incident Response Protocol. The protocol documents how the University will respond to incidents of bias or hate on campus. The announcement comes following yesterday's tragic and high-profile act of hate at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

The full protocol can be seen on the website of the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity.

The Resident Student Association, and other student groups, reviewed a draft of the protocol and provided input back in March 2009. We agreed to support the University administration in publicizing the protocol as well as the procedure for reporting incidents of racism, bias, bigotry, or hate on-campus and the new reporting form.

Spring Break

Sex Week has come and gone, and now it is Spring Break. The blog was a bit inactive the past week and a half, but we'll be posting a lot more updates this week and the rest of March.

Beanpot

The Housing Services Committee would like to wish both the men's and women's hockey teams luck in their Beanpot games. Northeastern's men take on Boston College in the men's Beanpot at 8:00 PM tomorrow at the T.D. Banknorth Garden and on Tuesday the NU women taken on Boston College right here at Matthews Arena.

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.

Basketball Doubleheader

On Tuesday, November 25th Northeastern Men's and Women's basketball teams will be hosting a basketball doubleheader against BU in Matthew's Arena. The women's game begins at 5pm and the men's game begins at 8pm. In addition to two great Division I games, free food and prizes will be given away throughout the evening. Admission is FREE for all students. Go Huskies!

Naming Buildings

Parcel 18 West, West Campus E, Building K, 780 Columbus Avenue -- all buildings that have yet to be given a true name. There's an interesting blog out at Inside Higher Ed today, which discusses ten rules for naming buildings that are fairly standard at institutions of higher education. Here at Northeastern, the Resident Student Association has been told that "the University is weary of naming buildings after people who are alive or corporations" because it could harm the University if the person was found to be a racist, or committed a crime, or the company went under. It's a valid point -- after all, would you want to live in "The Enron Village" and go to class in "Kennith Lay Hall"?

For those who don't know, Kennith Lay was chairman of Enron back when it was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Lay was indicted on counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, misleading statements, and conspiracy. Lay was found guilty on several counts, but died of a heart attack before they could sentence him to jail time. As he had not exhausted his appeals, the charges were vacated.

Next General Council

Next week Wednesday (11/12/2008) at the RSA General Council meeting in 335 Shillman Hall at 7:30 PM, Senior Vice President Mark Putnam will be coming to General Council to speak about Northeastern University's future residence hall known now as "Building K." There will be a presentation and time for questions. RSA meetings are open to all resident students.

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.

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.

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.

West Campus, Building D

A common question that pops up at Northeastern is why they skipped over the letter "D" with the West Campus buildings. It turns out, "D" was never skipped. If one takes a look at the Northeastern University Institutional Master Plan that was filed before the construction of the West Campus buildings began in the late 1990s, there is indeed a Building D on the map. The reason it seems like we "skipped" over the letter "D" is because the building actually got a name. George D. Behrakis, an alumnus of Northeastern, along with his wife gave a naming gift to the University of $8 million. As a result, instead of having a "Building D" or "West Village D," we have the George D. Behrakis Health Sciences Center (which opened in 2003.)

On a related note, Shillman Hall, which opened in 1995, was once known as just "West Classroom Building" until Robert Shillman and his wife made a $3 million naming gift.

Intersession Has Arrived

Intersession has arrived at Northeastern University for undergraduate students. The Summer I term has come to a close with the end of final exams today, and Summer II does not start up until Monday, June 30th. While many students are taking quick vacations, heading home, or relaxing, we in the Resident Student Association remain hard at work on behalf of all the students on-campus. Housing Services Committee is holding meetings this week and we've been busy with orientation which kicked off this week. That said, we're interested to hear about your intersession plans -- feel free to post them as comments to this blog post.

Find Departments & Offices

Have you ever needed to get in contact with an office, but had no clue how to do so? Thanks to the Northeastern University website's Find Offices page, you can look at an alphabetical list of departments, offices, colleges, centers, and institutes. Once you find the office you need, just click on it and you'll be taken to their website which should have contact information such as a phone number or e-mail address at the bottom. If you still can't figure out how to get in contact with a group or person at Northeastern, you can always e-mail us about it.