By Lana Lagomarsini

As Northeastern continues to develop its residential campus and moves away from its perception of being a commuter school, a sense of community and school spirit also continues to emerge.

School spirit is not as prominent as it is at other colleges and universities because residential life is still new to students, said Rob Ranley, president of the Student Government Association. The university is moving in the right direction to building more school spirit, he said.

“Students are still adjusting to a centralized feeling on campus,” Ranley said.

Northeastern was founded in 1898, but it took the university 100 years to become the residential school it is now with the opening of West Village in 1999, said Vice President of Student Affairs Ed Klotzbier in an e-mail to The News.

“So while we are a school with over a hundred years of history, we’ve only been a truly residential Northeastern for less than a decade,” Klotzbier said.

Klotzbier said he hoped the Northeastern community was well aware of the university’s traditions.

“I’d like to think that all our students know the school colors are black and red, Paws is the name of our costume mascot and that the school motto, ‘Lux, Veritas, Virtus’ means light, truth, virtue,” Klotzbier said.

Northeastern adopted the mascot “Huskies” when the first Husky appeared on campus March 4, 1927 from Alaska, according to the university’s website.

The Mayor of Huntington Avenue, Stephen Lavenberg, said he thought making sports teams more accessible to students will be a fundamental part of raising school spirit.

His ideas as mayor, an elected student representative who helps connect students are alumni include hosting a meet and greet with sporting teams for students, which will allow them to make a personal connection with team players.

“People are more likely to go to games and show school spirit if they know the players,” Lavenberg said.

Lavenberg’s ideas for meet and greets and public relations campaigns will take about a year to plan, he said.

Klotzbier said he has spent considerable time bringing back Northeastern traditions, like the Mayor of Huntington Avenue, and the Northeastern’s living husky mascot, King Husky.

“It’s great to see so many of our students [rub the husky’s nose], as well as students taking the tour who would like to be Huskies some day,” he said.

Northeastern students who were questioned about the university’s traditions knew the school colors and that good luck will be brought to individuals who rub the nose of the husky statue in Ell Hall, but few know the year the school was founded, the name of the costumed mascot, the football and hockey records, the school motto or the fight song name and lyrics.

Gabby Gabriel, a middler film major, said she was not surprised a lot of students did not know these facts.

“It’s a big school, and it’s hard to establish a sense of community,” she said.

Bridget McGill, a freshman business major, said her year may be a factor in why she doesn’t know many facts.

“I don’t know a lot of the facts because I’m a freshman and I don’t know a lot of traditions yet,” she said.