By the time he gets home at night, his two boys are already tucked into bed, sound asleep. Careful not to disturb them, he watches over them, wondering. He questions himself – will he be able to raise his boys to someday be leaders?

After this academic year, Ed Klotzbier just doesn’t know.

“I have the good fortune of dealing with a lot of the student leaders, a lot of the very mature students at Northeastern,” said Klotzbier, the vice president for student affairs. “I deal with another sector of the population and I constantly look at my two boys and say: How do you raise your sons so they aren’t the ones in the student conduct office, but rather the kid who is the president of a student club or activity? I constantly question whether I’m doing the right thing.”

This academic year has brought highs and lows to campus. Overall, the triumphs and tragedies of this year have deeply affected many members of the Northeastern community. But one common thread has held the university together — the students.

“We were really tested this year in a way we have never been tested, I don’t think, in my entire presidency,” said President Richard Freeland. “I have just been so impressed and moved by this phenomenon. Particularly how it played out with the leaders of the student government and CUP — quite honestly — in the wake of the whole Super Bowl thing and in the wake of the Ludacris decision. Coming back and saying, ‘Okay, we have to move on.’ I just think that is incredibly extraordinary.”

But when the student leaders involved were asked why they did what they did, they simply said it all comes with the territory.

“I love doing what I do,” said Allyson Savin, executive vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA). “There were so many nights when I would go home and lay in bed and think, ‘Am I being tested? If someone is testing to see how far they can push me, I’m not going to break.'”

And she didn’t. Savin, a sophomore, was in the thick of the action throughout the semester, but particularly after the riots. She was also present when President Freeland made the decision to postpone Ludacris’ Springfest performance.

“There were so many tragedies: the deaths, the riots, Springfest. It seemed like as soon as we tackled one issue; there was another one waiting for us around the bend,” Savin said.

Looking back

“Challenge” may have been the word to describe the spring semester, especially during the month of February.

It was a month overshadowed with destruction, pain, shock and obstacles. On Feb. 1, the riots thrust Northeastern into the national spotlight, forever chang-ed two families and tested the strength of the university on a variety of levels.

Less than a week later, on Feb. 7, freshman Michael Costa was killed in a car crash on his way to a ski team meet. Just a week later, the university was hit with the news that another student had passed away. Joseph Gazzola, a senior football player, committed suicide on campus. Shortly thereafter, students received word the much anticipated Ludacris concert had been postponed by Freeland.

In retrospect, Freeland said he stands by his decision to postpone the concert, but applauds the students for their display of maturity.

Some believe Tom Kneafsey, the president of the Council for University Programs (CUP), the student group that planned the concert, deserves a standing ovation.

“The level of maturity Tom demonstrated when put in an awkward position was extraordinary. On one hand he was representing the university with all of the media calls made to the communications office which he had to field as part of his co-op assignment, and was able to balance that against his role as CUP president and as a student leader who wanted to speak up against the postponement of the concert he and others worked so hard to organize,” Klotzbier said. “He gained a lot of respect of senior leadership who understood the awkward position he was in.”

Kneafsey agrees he was caught in a very difficult situation, but in the end he persevered.

“I was in a pretty awkward position, but at the same time, look at the great experience I was getting on co-op – there’s Northeastern again. As a student, how was I supposed to be mad at a university that had supported me?” he said. “It was at once frustrating and yet, so beneficial in terms of my education; it shaped me as a person.”

With the semester about to close, Savin too said she can now look at herself in a whole new light.

“You think you know yourself and you think you know how you would react to every situation, but nothing has taught me more about myself than this year,” she said.

Spending many nights asleep on the couch in the SGA office was just one of the changes Savin had to make this year, while assuming a major leadership position. Her studies have taken a hit and she also said she finds it hard to describe to her friends why she does what she does.

“This is one of the hardest experiences to articulate to someone who doesn’t know,” she said. “You can’t explain why it means so much to those who worked so hard.”

But Freeland said he understood what went into planning the event and in turn, it created a huge challenge for him when it came time to make a decision.

Savin said one of the reasons why the concert cancellation was such a huge disappointment to those involved in the planning is because it was three years in the making. The truly amazing aspect of this was not the time commitment, but instead the consistent collaboration between a number of organizations, something once unheard of on campus, she said.

“It is rare to have three years of continuity in student leadership, and to suffer the blow that we did — it was probably the most trying time to be a student leader on campus,” Savin said.

However, it was a big year for the students who have been dubbed the “unsung heroes” who stood away from the spotlight, but still made immeasurable contributions.

The Student Judicial Board (SJB), which was responsible for hearing, and in some cases, handing down sanctions against students who were involved in the Super Bowl riots, worked tirelessly with little to no recognition.

“These are the unsung heroes, they display a high, intense level of leadership. It’s not about the bright lights for them, but it is a very intense job,” said Bill Fischer, the director of the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSSCR). “They truly have grown from it. These particular individuals felt it was their responsibility to serve the university and to ensure fair hearings.”

Fischer said the sanctions have been reflective of that.

Freeland said one of the hardest decisions for him this year was whether or not to post photos from the riots on the Web. In the end, he stands by his actions.

“It tore at my gut as much as anything to put those pictures on the Web. I had real reservations about doing that,” he said. “In the end, I thought the rationale for doing it was the right one and has led to disciplinary action.

“I feel okay about the role I played in all of this, I wish this hadn’t happened, but I can’t avoid asking if there was something more I could have done to keep this from happening.”

A time of reflection

Burning out was a major issue for many students and administrators this semester. The conversion to the new calendar posed a challenge in itself, but when paired with the other events which shaped the spring, many were pushed to their absolute limit.

Somehow leaders still managed to shine through the clouds of despair which seemed to loom over the campus.

“A crisis can pull you together or it can tear you apart — that depends on how strong your foundation is,” said Philomena Mantella, senior vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. “In many ways we as a community experienced these things for the first time, so I think people were genuinely trying to come to grips with what the right thing to do was. There was no pretense. It was a real intellectual activity, emotional activity of ‘what’s the right thing to do?'”

The newly appointed Director of Spiritual Life Shelli Jankowki-Smith said the university is now at a crossroads and to help facilitate a smooth transition, the Northeastern community should participate in a combination of reflection and action.

“We’re in a period of reflection and discussion,” she said. “Action is going to follow next.”

Mantella said what held the university throughout the semester, were the “experienced student leaders.”

“I think one thing they shared was that they were all very serious about their role, and very selfless about the role,” Mantella said.

Another new appointee, John Silveria, who, in January, assumed the post of associate director of leadership development, said it is the selfless acts of leadership which really make an impact.

“Students don’t need to be a president or a vice president, they can lead an organization from within it,” Silveria said. “There are a lot of selfless people on this campus.”

Michael Romano, president of SGA, said he could have never imagined the challenges he was faced with, but still remains humble.

“Every good leader can look back with some level of introspection, but I don’t regret a single day,” he said.

And as a leader, Romano was faced with the challenge of motivating others, when he could barely motivate himself to get out of bed in the morning.

“There are always days that you are so exhausted mentally and physically that it’s even difficult to think about moving, but you can’t let anyone know that,” he said. “You have to be, whether you like it or not, the person who continually sparks energy in other people, even when you yourself are utterly exhausted.”

For others, crisis mode just seems to work for them.

“I’ve never woken up — I’ve had a lot of jobs where I have wanted to stay under the covers — but I’ve never felt like that with this job; it’s non-stop and I enjoy that,” Klotzbier said.

Mantella and Freeland said they applaud Kltozbier for his enthusiasm and dedication. Without him, they added, arguably the most critical leadership post would be vacant.

“Ed did a great job this year and he was caught between two roles and he didn’t create that situation for himself, I did, but there he was in the middle of it,” Freeland said. “Sometimes he took some heat for splitting loyalties. He did extraordinary work. His love for this institution became so clear.”

Moving forward

Romano and Kneafsey are moving on next year. In fact, they’re both moving away, far away.

Romano, who will head to Beijing, China for two months, said he is tired, but will always carry a piece of student government with him.

“I’ve spent every day of college in student government. While my title may be washed away, my sensitivity to student issues and even my frightful passion to keep on being involved is still going to be there.”

Kneafsey is going to Australia to study abroad. Although he has no immediate plans to hold any specific positions, he is positive that he will continue to grow as a person and as a student. His journey is still incomplete.

“One of the things that President Freeland said to me was that disagreeing is healthy. I may not have understood his decision [about Springfest] then, and I may not understand it still, but we are here to get an education,” he said. “I know I am much better off with the education I received both in the classroom and out this year, and I know everyone in CUP does too.”

Although she was pushed to her limits, Savin said it was worth it. “If I can leave the campus better than when I found it, then I’m happy.”

Many administrators searched for answers this year. They needed leadership and found it within the students.

“They leave behind an infrastructure that is stronger, a sort of picture of themselves, a model of their role, and go off to play another leadership role, it’s great,” Mantella said. “We have some unbelievable active student leaders, but we still don’t have enough.”

There is still a long road ahead of the university, but the tone has changed. Negativity, for some, has been transformed into optimism.

“I want to build a community. That’s my goal. I might not succeed, but that’s my goal. If we can build a community, this place can take off like a rocket,” Klotzbier said. “I want that time of difficulty behind us; we’re going to move forward.”