With the start of the new school year in full swing, Northeastern Landscape Services employees are hard at work ensuring the campus is presentable to the returning faculty and students, as well as to the influx of incoming freshmen.

Though Landscape Services appears to be virtually omnipresent on campus with the beginning of the fall semester, Chuck Doughty, Director of Landscape Services, said they are working hard all year.

“Throughout the summer, projects are being done throughout the campus, whether it’s new labs or new bathrooms in the residence halls or the finishing of West Village F,” he said.

But he does admit “there are things that are more aesthetic in nature that are done more toward school opening.”

Among the tasks performed are planting flowers, painting railings, power-washing the front doors of academic buildings and sidewalks, and cleaning the gutters.

Katie Bubb, a freshman physical therapy major, has noticed the extra effort being put into sprucing up the campus and agrees that aesthetic appeal is an important quality for a campus to offer.

“I love the campus,” she said. “That was one of the reasons I came here. The campus was so pretty.”

Freshman computer science major Ken McGrady echoed Bubb’s sentiments.

“I think it’s making the experience better,” he said. “They’re happy for you to be here, you’re happy to be here.”

Doughty notes the importance of first impressions on students visiting the university for the first time and that a well-maintained campus is “reflective of the whole Northeastern experience.”

“[We want people to know] there is a value here and there is a reason to go to Northeastern,” he said.

Middler pharmacy major Laura Credo said although it may be costly, it does make for a much more comfortable campus environment.

“I feel like they’ve always done that and they’ve always spent a lot of money,” she said. “I still think it’s kind of silly that they spend money on stuff like that, but it does make the atmosphere nice so it does help.”

Andrew Desalme, a middler computing engineering major, agrees that a well-groomed campus attracts students, but did note the university can go overboard when it comes to impressing an incoming class.

“I think it’s mostly fine because it works,” he said. “It might be a bit excessive having [West Village] F for freshmen [though.]”

Doughty also noted that doing these renovations now ensures that the serene campus won’t be tarnished come fall.

“If we did these things back in May it’s a good chance they’d be scratched up,” he said.

However, at the end of the day, Doughty stresses the results are well worth all the labor and hard work put forth into maintaining the campus’ aesthetic appeal.

“The real estate value of the campus as an asset is very much worth taking care of,” he said.

Freshman journalism major Samantha Egan enjoys how the campus feels warm and welcoming.

“I think it’s a nice message, that it welcomes the incoming freshmen and makes them feel at home.”

-Staff reporter Julie Balise

contributed to this report