Housing Application Deadline Extended

Stephanie Cave, Associate Director of Housing Services, confirmed to the Resident Student Association General Council this evening that the deadline for Housing Applications has been extended by one day. If you didn't yet apply, you have until 4:30 PM to do so.

Housing Applications Due TOMORROW

Housing Applications for 2009-2010 are due TOMORROW! Remember to fill out your application on myNEU and if you are a first or second-year student, submit your deposits through NUPay.

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.

Pest Control

We wanted to give praise to The Huntington News for today's story about pest control on and off-campus. As the article mentions, if you have a pest problem in the residence halls you don't need to worry about buying mouse traps -- just call Facilities at 617.373.2754 or enter a work order online.

New RSA Website

A new RSA website is up. The new site contains a link over to this blog, and more. It is still being added to, so send RSA@Northeastern.edu any suggestions.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to 2009!

With 2009 here, the Housing Services Committee will be working even harder than we did in 2008 for the residents. Look for new initiatives, faster responses to the residents, and more blog posts. If you have ideas, 2009 is the time for then. Simply e-mail RSA (at) Northeastern (dot) edu.

RSA Cinema Downtime and Transition

As was announced several weeks ago, RSA Cinema on Channel 117 is transitioning to the name RSA Television this month to allow the name to reflect the channel's diversity in terms of its offerings. No longer simply a movie channel, RSA Television provides student-created content, information about upcoming events and activities on campus, and student group advertising. At the same time, the channel maintains the classic and new release feature films it has always had.

As a part of the transition, the channel is up and running now after a brief 36 hour downtime. On Thursday, January 15th, RSA Television will officially be here. There will be a launch party (details soon) and give aways to promote the channel. We'll be bringing back the popular popcorn giveaway and also giving away pens and other items. Plus, RSA Television will be offering students in the residence halls the opportunity to create their own television shows for the channel. For more information, e-mail us at RSA (at) Northeastern (dot) edu.

"I Am Here"

Every single semester we hear stories of students who find their classes dropped because they forgot to do "I Am Here." Sometimes we even hear of students who get withdrawn from the University or find their Housing about to be revoked because of a failure to do "I Am Here." Therefore, we thought it would be a good idea to put a reminder on the blog that "I Am Here" starts on Friday, December 26, 2008 at 8:00 AM and must be completed by Monday, January 5, 2009 at 4:00 PM. "I Am Here" takes place on the myNEU Portal.

Blanket Music Licensing for College Campuses

Having seen music programs like Ruckus rejected by college campuses, lawsuits thrown out of court by numerous judges, and institutions rejecting the tactic of settlement letters or even storing IP address records, Warner Music Group is now looking into a concept known as "voluntary blanket licensing," where college and universities would collect money from students and then pass it onto the recording industry. Warner Music claims that, "this is exactly the type of solution that several universities and their associations have been asking for," but skeptics compare "voluntary blanket licensing" to a taxation on students, whether they download music or not.

Finals & Bad Weather, Part II

To followup on yesterday's blog post, if you need to stay in the residence halls an extra day due to the bad weather, you can contact your Resident Director (RD) to make arrangements. Additionally, Stetson Hall East dining hall will be open until 7:00 PM tonight as will the Curry Student Center Food Court per the NU Alert that went out this morning.

Finals & Bad Weather

What happens if Final Exams get cancelled tomorrow due to bad weather? With a major snowstorm coming into town and the worst weather expected from 1 PM onward, there is a chance that afternoon exams might be cancelled. The NUAlert system will help notify students, faculty, and staff of a closing as will the Northeastern website and local media. Should exams be cancelled, they would be held on Monday.

But what happens to students who have to leave their residence hall because it's closing? Or students who had planned to leave town and can't because the inclement weather causes massive cancellations and delays at the airports, delays and cancellations with Amtrak, and delays and cancelations at the bus terminal? That's up in the air, but RSA is working to find answers.

No Rush with Laundry Bucks...

There's no need to rush to use up all your Laundry Bucks! Over the weekend, the Housing Services Committee heard that students were trying to get rid of their Laundry Bucks before the end of finals when they would expire -- however, this is not necessary! Laundry Bucks will rollover semester-to-semester, expiring at the end of the Northeastern University fiscal year (end of Summer I.) If you still have Laundry Bucks left, you'll find them there in the Spring with an additional $45 added on.

A To Do List for The Winter Break

The Housing Services Committee wants to give you a quick "To Do" list before you head off for vacation, the Holidays, or just a break:

• Secure Valuables: Thieves love the Holiday season because people are away and it ends up being easier for them to commit theft. Take valuables with you, lock them up, or otherwise secure them.
• Close & Lock Windows: Not only does securing your windows help deter theft, but it also ensures that if we have a cold snap you won't end up with a frozen pipe bursting and soaking your room.
• Turn Down The Thermostat: Set your thermostat as low as it can go. No one will be around, so no one will be there to feel cold. You'll also save Northeastern money, which means there won't be as big a need to raise housing or tuition next year.
• Throw out the Trash: Throw your trash out before you go to help avoid pests and foul odors.
• Clean out the Fridge: Get rid of anything that will expire over break. Also, if you clear out your entire fridge you may be able to unplug it saving more energy.
• Turn Off / Unplug Electronics: Since you won't be around to use it, there's no need to leave it on or running. You'll save energy, save money, and help your fellow students avoid higher costs.

Profile of Today's College Student

Each year the National Association of Student Affairs Professionals does a survey to get a profile of college students. They call the results the "Profile of Today's College Student" and the 2008 results are now out and can be seen here. For us in the Housing Services Committee, this data helps us better know who we're advocating for in the residence halls.

Footloose Is Coming to Campus

The latest press release to come to the Housing Services Committee is about a musical taking place on December 12th and 13th in the Fenway Center. See below for details:

December 2, 2008- Kick off your Sunday shoes Northeastern! The Great White Way, Northeastern University's student directed musical theater group presents Footloose December 12th and 13th at 7:30 pm in the Fenway Center located on St. Stephen’s street.

Footloose written by Dean Pitchford with lyrics by Tom Snow is a musical based on a movie of the same name. The musical follows the story of the main character Ren as he moves from Chicago to a small town named Bomont where dancing is outlawed. The musical includes a host of popular 80's hits including the title song "Footloose," the upbeat "Let's Hear it for the Boy," and the powerful "I need a Hero." Footloose is directed by Peter Karpathakis with Katie Fulton from NuDANCO as the choreographer. The Great White Way held auditions for the musical in September and has been working with the cast of 35 since then. Prior productions include Once Upon a Mattress and Urinetown: the Musical.

Tickets are on sale at the Northeastern box office and must be purchased at the box office before the show. $5 with NU ID, $10 without.

Lance Bass On-Campus Wednesday

For just $10 you could have the opportunity to see former N'Sync pop star Lance Bass right here at Northeastern University. Tomorrow at 7:00 PM in Blackman Auditorium, Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority is presenting Lass Bass. Bass will be speaking "candidly about his childhood, his astonishing experiences growing up in one of the biggest bands in the world, his shock and frustration at the band's eventual dissolution, and his subsequent career, including his four months in Russia, training to become a cosmonaut." Bass will also be discussing life as a homosexual. ASL interpretation will be provided and a book signing will take place after the event for Bass' book Out of Sync. Tickets are on sale at the Blackman Box office, limit 2 per Northeastern University Husky Card.

What's the Higher Education Price Index?

The Higher Education Price Index is something that comes up when talking about costs in the world of higher education. The index is similar to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is commonly used to gauge rising (or declining) costs of living and inflation, but geared towards colleges and universities. As a result, the HEPI comes into consideration when there is an evaluation of tuition, housing, and fee increases at Northeastern. Similar to the CPI, which is calculated by the United States Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) has been calculated by Commonfund since 2005.

The change to the HEPI historically has been higher than that of the CPI. However, this year the HEPI rose 3.6% while the CPI rose 3.7%. In the current tough economic times with worries of deflation, it will be interesting to see what the next set of numbers are.

Happy Thanksgiving

The Housing Services Committee wishes a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Thanksgiving Airport Shuttle Service Idea

In the Housing Services Committee we like to keep abreast of the going-ons at other institutions of higher learning, especially those with Residence Hall Associations and a residential community like Northeastern. One of the institutions that came across our radar this week was the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. At the University of Maryland, the RHA worked to create a shuttle service to bring students from campus to the airport on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Like Northeastern University, the University of Maryland has public transportation access to its local airport, but the shuttle option provides an easier route of travel for students with luggage. The cost there was only $1,400 for the two days of service. You can read more from The Diamondback.

At Northeastern University, such a service could be a possibility prior to Thanksgiving 2009. The Resident Student Association is going to be researching and investigating the possibility to see if it would be a worthwhile service for the residents.

Gunshot Detection System In Testing at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland this week tested a gunshot detection system on its campus which can alert campus and city police to the location of gunfire. The system will help police make faster responses to gunfire, and works through the installation of detector boxes on streetlights, buildings, and other fixed locations. The system has been used in other areas, such as part of Washington, D.C. and was developed by a firm in Virginia. Testing was conducted by police officers firing rounds into sand.

Baltimore suffers from the second highest murder rate in the country (Detriot is #1) with a murder rate higher than that of Los Angeles, New York, and Boston combined. Nevertheless, as technology costs come down this is a technology we could see in Boston one day, perhaps even at Northeastern.