For the first time since I embarked on my journey, wading through semester conversion jargon, flowcharts and FAQs, I was able to speak to President Richard Freeland about the calendar overhaul that all of us at NU will call home in four months.

Every quarter, the editorial board of The Northeastern News gets the opportunity to sit down with Northeastern’s President Freeland. The policy is, send a list of possible questions and show up when Freeland is available. This time around, things seemed to go as planned (I’ve been to four of these in my tenure at The News), nothing unusual.

Until we got to talking.

If you have ever gotten to speak with the man candidly, you know how he speaks. His tone, his timing, it does not change, he’s always the same. He will start a sentence speaking loudly and slowly lower the volume as the sentence continues. He always thinks before he speaks, and you know when he is about to hit you with a “Freelandesque” quote. The three other occasions I have sat down with him in his Churchill conference room, the tone was serious and the topic of discussion was business, and that was it.

This time around, it was different. At first I thought we had caught him off guard, as he was entering the office with his hat and coat along with us. At first, I was worried that he may have forgotten about our meeting, or that something else was on his mind. But once we started talking, I realized that he was ready for us and this time he seemed willing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t slapping our backs, throwing fives or asking what we did that weekend, but he was looser, and that was a surprise in and of itself.

But a pleasant one at that.

He discussed his initial anxiety over converting to semesters, his fear that all of Northeastern’s resources would become a black hole of energy, taking away from current students. He admits that the initial debate from students after his official conversion announcement in 2000 was tough.

Overall he shrugged his shoulders, looked me in the eye and said that things are going as he had envisioned them three years ago.

Though not in the clear as of yet, Freeland pointed out that advising is key and will continue to be a key component even after the conversion this fall. He sighted a survey conducted by NUPulse (an in-house poll) asking students about the advising process, especially concerning semester conversion. The survey, he said, pointed out that students were not particularly concerned about advising, which struck him by surprise.

“Very large percentages in each class had no intention [of seeing an advisor], and you sort of hit that point in your story. But what struck me is that if students were really concerned about it they would seek help in advising. I think you are right that the majority should really talk to somebody, just to be sure. I also think you were right and a lot of work has been done. It will all work out, it will all work out,” he said.

That’s a direct quote, I swear.

It may not seem like a big deal, but he seems to be easing up. Now I know this was only an hour out of one day, in three years, but there was little mention of “practice oriented education,” one of his favorite catch phrases (but he did drop that phrase at least once) and there was little to no mention of the infamous top 100. Freeland turned the tables and asked us, “I want to know what you think, what you have heard?”

He took us seriously.

And he takes semester conversion seriously. He cares and you can tell that his sentiment has resonated throughout the NU community. This is his baby. The idea had been kicked around for some time, but he was the one who picked up the ball and began to run with it — and here we are three years later.

Will semester conversion be his legacy?

“I hope not,” he said. “I think it is important, but to me, overwhelmingly, the most important thing is to establish the idea of practice oriented education, form of education, fully competitive,” he said. “Semester conversion, in many ways, is a means to strengthen that, but that’s the big enchilada.”

Then it’s settled, Mexican it is, let’s party.

Side Note:

This didn’t fit anywhere, but I figured it was worth mentioning after my weekly rant. As much as a tuition hike blows and semester conversion is an inconvenient scheduling bump in the road of higher education, Freeland is a human being. And as much as I may have thought it was impossible in the past, he listens.

And on that note, check out the ad below this story, see that, Freeland has office hours. He is giving YOU the opportunity to have 15 minutes with him. This is your time to ask, “Why do we fill out those stupid bubble sheets, who looks at them?” or “Why am I not guaranteed housing with all of the new residence halls?” (not dorms, ResLife doesn’t consider that to be PC) or “I am getting screwed by semester conversion, even though you said something about this ‘hold harmless thing.'”

This is your chance to say it to his face, instead of ranting to your roommate, swearing under your breath or simply asking, “why?” He has stepped up to the plate and is ready to take a swing, you just have to throw the first pitch. For his $300,000+ salary and your $30,000+ tuition bill, you it owe it to one another.

Heather Allen can be reached at [email protected]