Profiler Plan Bonuses, Part II

Some good news tonight. It turns out you have until September 17, 2009 to sign up for a Profiler Meal Plan and recieve the 10 percent bonus of meals. Despite the extra time, there's little reason to wait. International Village Dining hall is currently open and has been impressing students, parents, faculty, staff, and even alumni with its unique offerings. Now is a better time than ever to sign up for a meal plan because thanks to the Banner system, meal plans take effect quicker and are easy to enroll in as you can sign up on the Self-Service tab of the myNEU Portal.

Correction on Jamba Juice Hours

This week we posted that the normal hours of operation for Jamba Juice and Peet's Coffee & Tea at International Village will have both locations open until 11 PM most nights. This was incorrect, and we apologize for the mistake. The correct hours of Peet's Coffee & Tea will indeed keep it open until 11:00 PM Monday to Thursday and 8:00 PM Friday to Sunday, however Jamba Juice will only be open until 8:00 PM Monday to Thursday and 6:00 PM Friday to Sunday.

Should the student body find these hours to be inadequate, it is possible that they will be changed in the future, so let us know what you think.

International Village Station Poll

Dining Services wants to know what station at International Village students like the most. They have put four options up on a poll on their website. The options, and the results of the poll as of 3:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time are:

Sushi Station (42.3%)
Tandoor Station (23.1%)
Wood Stone Oven Station (19.2%)
Charbroil Station (15.4%)

E-Mail Outage - Why It Happened

On September 1st, 2009, Google Applications and Google Mail users saw an e-mail outage that lasted for several minutes to several hours for some accounts. The outage affected Northeastern University's new Husky Mail, which is powered by Google Applications. Google has posted an explanation of what caused the outage, and what they plan to do to prevent similar outages in the future. You can read about it here.

In one sentence, and without too much technical jargon what happened was some of Google's computers became overloaded and stopped accepting requests from users trying to open their e-mail on the web which resulted in the downtime.

Microsoft Office Ultimate Discount for Northeastern Students

Northeastern University students are eligible to buy Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate for just $59.95, thanks to a special offer from the Microsoft Academic Promotions Online Store. Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate typically retails for $679.95, so this over 90 percent off. The package includes the typical necessities for college students with Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Word, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint, but also includes Microsoft Office OneNote, Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft Office InfoPath, and Microsoft Office Groove.

While Office 2007 Ultimate is only supported on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and the upcoming Windows 7, Mac users can currently get of Office: Mac 2008 on sale at Amazon.com or the Apple Store. While the price is higher than the Windows version and does not feature as many applications, it includes installation rights for three Macs.

Of course, a topic that frequently comes up from residents is why Northeastern doesn't license copies of commonly used software like Microsoft Office for students living in the residence halls to use. This takes place at other institutions of higher education, and is something that the Resident Student Association can pursue if there is enough student interest. If you think this would be beneficial (or not beneficial) let us know.

Profiler Plan Bonuses

Two students who purchased Profiler meal plans noticed that the 10% bonus of meals did not show up on myNEU. They contacted the Resident Student Association, and we got answers.

Dining Services says the bonus meals should be added in the middle of September.

If you haven't signed up for a meal plan yet, you can still get the bonus meals by signing up before the end of this week. It's now easier than ever to sign up for a traditional or profiler plan thanks to the implementation of the Banner system for meal plan sign ups. Just click the link on the right side of the myNEU Portal's self-service tab.

Dr. Drew Coming to Northeastern

The Office of Prevention and Education at Northeastern (OPEN), Enrollment Management & Student Affairs (EMSA), University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS), and the Resident Student Association (RSA) have worked hard over the past several months to bring Dr. Drew Pinksy, host of radio talk show Loveline, host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab, and author of The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America to campus for "Sex, Drugs, & Dr. Drew."

Dr. Drew will be here on September 12th, 2009 at 7:30 PM and tickets went on sale at the Blackman ticket office in Ell Hall yesterday. There are fewer than 1000 tickets available, and they're available based on the schedule below. Tickets are just $5.

8/31-9/3 & 9/8-9/11: Box Office (Ell Hall), M/T/Th/F 12-6pm daily
9/4-9/6: Welcome Week Info Booth (Krentzman Quad), 10-5pm daily
9/7 only: Welcome Week Info Booth (CSC Indoor Quad), 12-2pm

Dr. Drew will be taking questions from students, and will also be doing a signing after the event. The Facebook event can be found here.

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.

Looking For Bloggers

Do you want to write about issues that affect Northeastern students? Do you want to help your fellow students stay informed about national issues affecting students, changes on campus, and help gather student feedback to improve life at Northeastern? If so, writing for this blog is a great opportunity. If interested, e-mail me at soleyn.m (at) husky.neu.edu and write a short blurb about why you would like to write for the blog. Please include your contact information as well, so I can get back to you.

Meal Plans Are Active

Traditional Meal Plans and Profiler Meal Plans are active! Contrary to earlier statements by the University that Profiler plans would not activate until Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009, the plans were activated as of 7:00 AM this morning. Students who purchased a plan can confirm if it is active by checking their Account Balance under the Self-Service tab of the myNEU Portal.

Parking Lot Closures for Move-In

Due to the upcoming move-in period, the University has closed the North Lot and Columbus Lot parking areas to students, faculty, and staff until September 6th at 7:00 PM.

The closures take full effect today, and vehicles left in the lots may be towed.

During the closures, parking is available at the Renaissance Park Garage, Camden Lot, and other areas like the West Village Garage.

Three New Eateries Open

This morning at 7:00 AM, the first of three new eateries on campus opened with the opening of the International Village Dining Hall. Peet's Coffee & Tea and Jamba Juice also open today. Running on a somewhat limited schedule until after Labor Day, the normal hours will keep Peet's Coffee & Tea and Jamba Juice open until 11 PM most days with the International Village Dining Hall mirroring last year's hours at Stetson Hall East.

Free Meals for INVR Residents

If you aren't a Resident Assistant and moved into International Village, you have free meals until meal plans for the fall kick in on August 31st, 2009. The plans are 15 meals per week staff plans, and thus do not have guest passes, and do not have dining dollars, but don't cost extra money from student tuition or housing payments. The reason for giving students these meal plans is to offset having to move in to the building (likely from a location with a kitchen) before meal plans kick in due to move to/from dates.

Update on Bins

This morning I learned from the President of the Student Government Association that stockpile of bins is being kept in the Renaissance Park Garage right on-campus at Northeastern University. I had to wonder, "with many students complaining about a shortage of bins, why are there more than 100 bins sitting here instead of being at the bin locations at Davenport B and West Campus, Building A?" You can see a photo of the bins here.

The bin complaints began last Friday when move to/from kicked off. Students on the weekend faced lines that were as long as twenty people at one point, with waiting times exceeding 90 minutes! When we found out about the problem, we contacted Housing Services to see what could be done. They were supposed to look into the situation and see what can be done.

The solution, however, seems clear: transport the bins in Renaissance Park Garage over to WCA or DCB. By doing this, the bins can be put to use to benefit the students who have paid thousands of dollars in tuition and housing fees to the University.

We have recommended this solution to Housing and are hoping to hear back from them today. Hopefully, we'll get a response that is positive and will help the student body out as they try to move in/out/to/from.

Dining Updates on Twitter

We have plenty of dining updates this morning -- including pictures of the International Village Dining Hall, the inside of the International Village Residence Hall, and the Green Terrace -- online on Twitter. Check it out here.

New Room / Apartment Issues

Every year during move in/out/to/from time the Resident Student Association is bombarded by students who report problems in their new living space. Whether it's air conditioning not cooling to 68-degrees Fahrenheit, something that wasn't cleaned, a light that won't turn on, or a screen with holes, problems tend to pop up. When something does happen, the easiest way to get it resolved is to enter a work request with Facilities online. You can also call them at 617.373.2754. If you find that your work request is not fufilled and you don't get an explanation from Facilities, let us know by e-mailing the Resident Rapid Response Team at NortheasternRSA (at) neu.edu.

Bins

Do you need a bin to move in, move out, or move to/from? If so, bins are available at Davenport B and West Campus, Building A - North during the following times:

Aug .15th: 9am-9pm (Returned by 8pm)
Aug. 16th: 3pm-9pm (Returned by 8pm)
Aug. 17th: 3pm-9pm (Returned by 8pm)
Aug. 18th: 12pm-9pm (Returned by 8pm)
Aug. 19th - 28th: 3pm-9pm (Returned by 8pm)

The Resident Student Association is aware of the bin shortage that presently exists and is trying to find out what can be done to improve the situation for students who need to make moves. To help the situation, residents should attempt to pack everything and then make bin trips as quickly as possible and return their bin immediately.

Residence Director Listing

If you need to contact your Residence Director and aren't sure who it is or how to contact them, Residential Life has a listing online. You can find it here.

You Probably Will Need to Re-Register for ResNet

Students living on-campus will probably need to re-register computers and other devices on ResNet on August 20th, 2009. The re-registration is necessary due to an update to ResNet taking place the night of August 19th, 2009. Re-registration can be done starting at 9:00 AM on August 20th by visiting http://registerresnet.neu.edu. Devices that lack a web browser may need to be re-registered manually. For information on this process, you can e-mail help@neu.edu or call 617.373.4357. You may be required to either provide the device's Media Access Control address or bring it into the ResNet Customer Service Center in Speare Commons.

Breaking: Free Food at International Village Tomorrow Morning

We have just learned moments ago via the Northeastern University Dining Services Twitter that students will have a chance tomorrow morning (8/13/2009) to check out the International Village dining hall with a free breakfast sampling from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM.