Editor’s Note
Every college student has his or her favorite venues, events and memories of the campus and the past year. But this year is just beginning. To give readers a taste of what current and past Northeastern students have deemed their favorites, the Huntington News reflected on what students loved about the 2011-2012 school year. Every April, The News conducts an online poll of students’ favorite eateries, shows, fashion and even monuments. These are stories that ran in April after The News revealed the Best of NU results, and highlight some on and off-campus entertainment.
Best Campus Show
By Meghan Davis, News Correspondent
With so many students and clubs, it seems there is always something happening on campus. Music performances are some of the most popular. Last year saw a great variety of shows from a Tastemakers concert featuring Titus Andronicus, a back-to-school concert featuring Fountains of Wayne and the ever-popular Springfest.
April’s Springfest concert grabbed the spot as Best Show on Campus with a landslide 38 percent of votes, most of which were cast before Nelly, Jack’s Mannequin and Passion Pit arrived on campus.
After the “other” category, which received 30 percent of the votes, the second most votes were awarded to the performance by pop band Fountains of Wayne, which secured 8 percent of the vote. The Foxy Shazam show and the Brian Fallon and Matt Pryor concert tied for the third place position, both with 6 percent of the vote.
Springfest featured musical acts spanning rock, electronic and rap genres. The night began with the four piece rock band Jack’s Mannequin, who led the crowd in several songs including the popular 2005 song “Dark Blue.”
The performance was followed by the group Passion Pit, which complemented their musical staging with a colorful lights show and performed a new, then-unreleased song for the audience. Lead singer Michael Angelakos announced that the group was excited to be performing back in Boston, where the members met while attending Berklee College of Music and Emerson College.
“I’d heard of them before, but never seen them,” then-freshman international affairs major Tamani Jayasinghe said. “They were my favorite act.”
Grammy Award-winning artist Nelly topped the night off, bringing the crowd to its feet with renditions of several of his hits including ‘“Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma.” He brought three girls from the audience to dance on stage with him and advised students to “hang in there” and have persistence.
“Nelly exceeded my expectations,” Jayasinghe said. “He definitely brought the party to Springfest.”
Samantha Morrill, a then-freshman chemistry major, said she thought the night was an overall success.
“Everyone seemed really into the music,” Morrill said. “They were definitely having a good time.”
This year promises to bring many shows. This Saturday 104.9FM WRBB Radio is hosting the 23rd annual Block Party from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Centennial Common. There will be live music featuring Anberlin, The Static Jacks and Young Alive.
Best Music Venue
By Wanyi Jin, News Correspondent
Boston as a big city has great music venues for students to choose from, and several are close to campus. A new year promises new performances. Last April, students weighed in on where they prefer to catch a show.
Last year, 37 percent of students who voted said they preferred the House of Blues over less prominent venues like the Paradise Rock Club, which received 13 percent of the votes, and the Middle East, with 12 percent. The House of Blues’ close proximity to campus and distinctive atmosphere have made it a Northeastern favorite.
With 13 locations scattered across the country, the House of Blues is one of the most popular and recognizable music venues in the US. The chain’s Boston location is on Lansdowne Street, a 15 minute walk away from campus through the Fens and right across from historic Fenway Park.
“It’s close, which is convenient,” said Bradley Howe, a then-freshman computer engineering major. “The design and décor are really nice, too.”
The House of Blues features a collection of quirky relics that cover nearly every surface of the venue. In the lobby, the walls echo intricate painted designs, some detailing the history of the location. Mounted above the stage are large busts representing major religions, and tribal paintings hang on the mezzanine section’s walls. The music hall itself is divided into floor, mezzanine and balcony seating, which allows concertgoers to choose the setting in which they would like to enjoy the show.
“My favorite part of the venue was the setup,” Howe said. “There’s standing, but there are also seats. It’s nice because some people like seats and I don’t really care for them.”
Since the House of Blues is a major destination for concert tours, the Boston location has hosted some of the country’s most prominent musical acts like Lady Gaga and Buddy Guy. Nonetheless, the venue still remains accessible to college students on a budget.
“They have lots of events and you know who the artists are,” Howe said. “But they don’t get too expensive – even when they get really popular people it’s pretty much the same price.”
The House of Blues also includes a restaurant for hungry patrons and bars on each seating level as well. Some upcoming events include The All-American Rejects, Two Door Cinema Club and Taking Back Sunday.
Student Group
By Madelyn Stone, News Staff
Every fall, hundreds of student groups descend onto Northeastern’s many green spaces to encourage incoming and returning students to join their clubs. The chaotic fall activities fair is just one aspect of college life that helps students get involved.
From the Student Government Association to the Anime Club to fraternity and sorority life, the diversity of campus organizations made last year’s Best of NU poll for Best Student Group a tight race. The majority of votes were dispersed between groups. The single group with the largest percent of votes was the Resident Student Association (RSA).
A mechanical shark, a dunk tank and colorful sand art helped kick off the RSA 2011-12 year at its August Summer Luau, giving a festive start to a year full of events both large and small.
RSA won Best Student Group with 14 percent of the vote, where the Progressive Student Alliance came in second place with 11 percent and the Council for University Programming received 9 percent for third.
“We’re one of the few student groups that’s active literally all year round,” then-RSA President Tina Sherman said. “One thing we really tried this year – we set it as one of our goals – was to do a lot more programs and to advertise them better. We really utilized social media a lot more this year to get the word out and I guess it worked.”
RSA became part of Northeastern around 1991, said Sherman, a then-junior behavioral neuroscience major.
“It was formed by probably less than a dozen students who just wanted to engage residential life more on campus,” Sherman said.
Since then, RSA has become an organization with a seven-member executive board, 17 hall councils with four representatives from each residence hall and a general council with more than 50 people.
“We’re a programming and advocacy body,” Sherman said. “So our whole purpose of the organization is to put on programs and to advocate for the residents.”
RSA’s annual events like Sex Week and the 24-hour Husky Hunt, which involved more than 600 participants, were accompanied by smaller events like an afterHOURS movie screening of “Bridesmaids” in September and a Pi Day celebration.
Sherman said these events received positive responses from students, but she was somewhat surprised RSA won Best Student Group.
“I don’t know, I’m shocked a little bit,” she said. “Just because there’s so many great student groups on campus doing so many good things.”
To get involved with student groups, you can visit the student activities website at neu.orgsync.com.
