The News, first of all, welcome to Boston. I am a first year here at Northeastern, but I am a Massachusetts resident, and there are some things I have noticed about terminology errors being made in the newspaper. I can understand that many of The News’ reporters may not be from the area, but if The News is going to become a community paper, names of locations should be in accordance with local standards. One of the most common errors I saw, (“Calling for an end,” caption, Oct. 29), is calling the nation’s first public park the “Boston Commons.” There is no “s.” It is the Boston Common. There is only one and it originated as a common pasture. Calling it the “Commons” is something that screams out-of-towner.

Another, which isn’t an error exactly, but will grind the gears of any local, is calling Boston “Beantown.” While generally accepted in the rest of the country, that nickname for our city will get a scowl from any local. And no, the Hub isn’t that much better, but at least it’s complimentary.

Now I acknowledge I am nit-picking, but these are small things that can instantly alter someone’s emotion toward your publication. If the community news takes off and a Roxbury resident picks up the paper and sees “Boston Commons,” it will leave a bad impression. It’s not the worst of errors that could be committed though, and I think the expansion into local news is commendable. However, it is much easier to gain the confidence of a campus than it is a neighborhood.

– Al DeLuca is a freshman international business major