I was outraged to read in the March 10 edition of The Northeastern News that Boston area residents are attempting to push the student populations back onto campuses. The Boston area residents do not even realize the benefits we bring to the city.
For example, the Roxbury and Mission Hill areas used to be a crime-ridden neighborhood most people would not even mention. Rumor has it Northeastern even changed the zip code they were located in, in order for incoming students not to see “Roxbury” on the address of the university, but instead “Boston.” However, with the ever-increasing price of tuition and housing costs, students chose to move out into the city to live.
The city of Boston refuses to have rent control. Who do you think pays the most for their apartments? That’s right, the college students. A lot of the families I live around are on housing-breaks, and some pay half the rent I do. I actually had to move from Columbus Avenue to Mission Hill because my rent was going from $2,800 for a four- bedroom apartment to $4,000 a month. I can’t afford $1,000 a month, but I do know that some students’ parents can, and that place was rented out for the following year within two months of going on the market. College students can afford the more expensive housing, and complain less to Inspectional Services (sad, but true) than residents. I’ve even started naming the mice I have to live with.
NU Service Day reaches out to various communities because Northeastern is a part of the Boston community. However, students choose to work this event (i.e. Mission Hill cleanup, Fenway cleanup), because they live in those areas and are concerned with their appearance. I would put money on the fact that if students did not live in those areas, a lot wouldn’t even care one bit about helping to clean them up.
When Northeastern expanded its campus onto Columbus Avenue, it beautified the area and improved it drastically. NU had to build housing specifically designed for non-student residents. I paid for housing I can’t even live in. Nobody complains when the university expands and increases property and rent values, only when a few students get out of line.
College students are assumed to be mature, level-headed adults. Freshman year is a difficult transition, yes, but Northeastern does not act as a parental unit, always checking to see if our underwear is clean. Students are of individual mind and character, and those who choose to break the law and cause damage to property will, regardless of their location.
Northeastern has reacted to this by viewing photos and videotape in an effort to locate the students involved. They acted, and now they will deal with the university. If Boston area residents really think Northeastern can control every student they have, I feel sorry for those people. Northeastern University has increased the quality of life around its campus, and allows for students interested in a higher education to populate the area, not drug lords or ex-convicts. Yes, some students take advantage of this and they will pay the consequences; but to criticize a 100-year-old institution for the free will of a few is absurd.
–Jonathan Wojtkun is a junior computer
technology major.
