Ahhh, President Freeland: our glorified principal. I hope he thinks that getting his picture in the paper and face on the news the past few weeks has been worth it for him. He must have hoped we’d all get so drunk during spring break that we’d forget what he did to us. Well, we didn’t, and sooner or later he’s going to have to answer to a student body that is coming to despise him.
My freshman year, almost all freshman dorms were converted into triples to handle the over 500 students that were over-admitted. Thanks for that one. That fall, President Bill Clinton came to NU, saying goodbye and thanks to his New England supporters. I went, thinking that it was a pretty unique opportunity to hear an acting president speak at our university. Before President Clinton spoke, however, President Freeland took the podium. Five minutes later, I wanted nothing more than to shut him up. His speech to the President of the United States, and the rest of us, was a summary of what President Clinton had done to help education since taking office. I had no problem with that. President Freeland, however, chose to have us (in ‘all-together now’ fashion) say “Thank you, Mr. President” after each statistic he read. I felt like I was in preschool.
Fast forward to two weeks ago …President Freeland decided to effectively cancel this year’s Springfest concert, which wasn’t even paid for by the university – it was paid for directly by us. Northeastern has been too busy spending thousands of our dollars on such admirable causes as Northeastern Day, which I’m sure President Freeland hopes will soon make the Top 100 list for made-up holidays.
In President Freeland’s letter to us, he said, “We must attend to other and more pressing business.” What does that mean? The death that occurred on Symphony Road was as shocking as it was horrific. Exactly how does that somehow cross-over to canceling a concert, taking place nearly three months later, though? It doesn’t. That’s like saying because of the rioting that took place in Kenmore Square (which, by the way, was just one of many other riots that occurred throughout the city), the New England School of Photography – located just across the street from the act in question – should cancel a spring event that they have planned. Speaking of which, I haven’t heard that the New England Conservatory is planning on canceling any of their events, and their school is even closer to where the riots occurred than ours!
Should our university denounce the rioting? Absolutely. Should President Freeland have waited an entire month and just after the student groups agreed upon and signed contracts with bands to play at Springfest to cancel the event? No, and not only that, he simply shouldn’t have the power to do so.
Nothing was democratic about what “President” Freeland did.
So my question to you, President Freeland, is this: how do you intend to repay us all? I believe you owe us all an answer. And I, for one, don’t want the repayment to come from the university’s budget, because, guess what? That budget is made possible by our tuition dollars! I want you to tell all the NU students how you’re going to make this up to us. Personally, there’s only one way that would satisfy me – for you to take it out of your $300,000 plus salary. Hey, if it’s any consolation to you, we pay that, also.
— Sean Riley is a junior business major.
