By Erin Kelly, News Staff

Many students at Northeastern have been upset and irritated by the NU Shuffle for years, and now one student is doing something about it.

Wells Riley, a junior graphic design major, created Northeasternshuffle.com, a website he hopes will “make the shuffle a little more bearable.”

Once launched, Riley said the website will be much like a mash-up between common college websites Textsfromlastnight.com and Fmylife.com where students will be able to contribute their personal stories and experiences with the NU Shuffle.

“Students will be able to say which office or offices were giving them grief each time they were passed back from each point,” he said. “Someone will be able to say I’ve been shuffled 40 times, and you’ve only been shuffled 35.”

“NU Shuffle” is the popular term for the confusion and frustration students go through when trying to deal with different administration departments on campus. Instead of visiting one office to solve their problems or deal with a particular issue, students are commonly sent to another office, which will send them to a third office, and so on, until they can finally solve – or just find the root of – the problem.

Riley said he has experienced the shuffle himself and knows the university has been making strides to minimize it as much as possible. However, he still sees room for improvement.

“The registration process now as opposed to the way it was my freshman year, four years ago, has really improved,” he said. “[With the website] I wanted to take it to the next level, and make a system where people can complain in a constructive way.”

Scheduled to launch Jan. 10, the website currently has a preview, with a button that reads: “For a sneak preview of the NU Shuffle, click here.” When clicked, the link only brings them to another clickable link reading, “I’m sure the Preview is great, but you just can’t see it here.” Individuals can keep clicking forever, but they won’t get anywhere constructive: The website will continue to spew out random excuses.

Riley can monitor the number of times individuals click the link on the preview website, and on Monday night alone, he said it received 10,000 clicks within the website. He said he has received positive feedback from his peers and other students, and is excited to see what happens when the website is fully launched.

Although Riley said he is unsure if the administration will take notice of his creation, he said the website could potentially be used for the university to improve their system.

“It’s really a site just to poke fun at the Shuffle, and maybe fix the situation,” Riley said.

Lauren Fatovic, a senior psychology major, said she experienced the NU Shuffle earlier this year when trying to apply to graduate schools.

“For the longest time, on my transcript it said I was both majoring and minoring in psychology, and I e-mailed my academic advisor who said she would take care of it, but she didn’t,” Fatovic said. “I went to the registrar’s office, but they said they couldn’t help me.”

Fatovic said she thinks the site is funny, but hopes it will get attention from the administration.

“I understand from [a student’s] perspective, it’s a place to vent, but at the same time, I hope it accomplishes something,” she said.

Suzie Conway, a sophomore communication studies major, said she also experienced the shuffle when trying to meet her advisor and make appointments with the Dean’s office.

She said she hopes the website will provide a sense of relief for people who experience the NU Shuffle, but also show something needs to change.

“If enough people share their stories, [the website] will show necessity for a new system,” she said.