Over the past year, Northeastern has experienced two defining moments. The first was the April 2024 student encampment calling on Northeastern to divest from American defense contractors that supply weapons to Israel. The second is the Trump administration placing pressure on higher education and threatening universities’ academic independence.
These moments were tests for our university administrators. Yet, in both cases, they failed.
They could have stood up for Northeastern’s core values and protected students. Instead, they resorted not to transparent and open communication, but to a dull frequently asked questions, or FAQ, page.
After the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing student protests, the university published an FAQ titled “Safe Campuses, Civil Discourse,” which detailed demonstration policies and announced disciplinary actions taken against students. More recently, as political pressure on higher education institutions intensifies amid crackdowns on diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as federal funding cuts, Northeastern published another FAQ page titled “Navigating a New Political Landscape.”
Tucked away on the university-run media outlet Northeastern Global News, the FAQs featured on the site feel performative and dry. As there is no question submission option, Northeastern is hand-selecting which questions to publicly address. The questions they choose aren’t necessarily the ones that students most want answers to.
These FAQ pages present the administration’s stance on sensitive topics in carefully worded, highly corporate language. For example, its “Navigating a New Political Landscape” FAQ page reads, “Northeastern has been actively planning for policy changes that could affect the university community and our research and teaching mission.” A more effective approach might include a personal comment that acknowledges students’ concerns or provides more detail about specific policy changes.
To be fair, FAQs aren’t inherently bad. When done well, they can clarify misunderstandings and provide easy-to-access information. For example, Tufts University’s senior administrators wrote a letter to the student body addressing the challenges the university is facing as a result of recent National Institutes of Health, or NIH, funding cuts. Within the letter, there is a link to a FAQ page providing more details. One of the questions, “How much NIH funding does Tufts receive each year?” is answered directly: “As of fiscal year 2025, Tufts is receiving $115.2 million in NIH funds, including $88.3 million in direct costs and $26.9 million in facilities and administrative costs.” Now that’s full transparency.
Meanwhile, Northeastern’s FAQ equivalent states that, “Cuts in the federal workforce could disrupt or slow down the administration of some financial aid programs.” Once again, our administration leans on general statements about adapting to change and staying focused on the university’s mission, but it avoids specifically addressing how Northeastern plans to protect academic freedom and support our most vulnerable communities. It is clear that these FAQs are not the most effective way to communicate with the student body.
Not only are Northeastern’s FAQ pages opaque and confusing, but our administrators have begun using them as their only modes of communication during critical moments. Take the “Safe Campuses, Civil Discourse” FAQ page: The document references the university’s commitment to safety and does answer questions about divestment, but only indirectly and in corporate-speak. For students participating in or supporting the protests, the FAQ responses did not feel like a conversation; instead, they felt like a press release.
Universities are complicated institutions, and there are legal and operational considerations behind every public statement. But they are also communities — and communities thrive on open dialogue. When something serious is happening on campus, students and faculty don’t just want corporatized answers: We want to know that someone is listening to what we have to say. We want to know that our concerns are being heard and that changes will be implemented.
In that sense, the way Northeastern approaches its FAQ pages feels one-sided. They answer the questions the university thinks people are asking — or the ones they want to answer — rather than the ones that are actually being asked by our professors, students and community. FAQ pages give us a tailored and finished product, not an honest conversation. In moments that call for openness and trust, that can leave the community feeling left out of the loop.
It’s understandable that the administration would want to communicate carefully during high-stakes situations. But “careful” doesn’t have to mean “distanced,” and “transparency” doesn’t have to mean perfect answers. What Northeastern administration does need, however, is a willingness to show up and engage honestly with the community it serves.
We don’t need perfection. We need presence. And in times of crisis, that’s something an FAQ just can’t provide on its own.
Rachel Umansky-Castro is a fourth-year journalism and criminal justice combined major and a contributor for The News. She can be reached at umansky-castro.r@northeastern.edu.
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