By Glenn Yoder and Bobby Hankinson

As Mayor Thomas M. Menino openly labeled universities and the new liquor laws accountable for the rioting that took place after last Sunday’s Super Bowl, Northeastern was faced with the repercussions.

Students and administrators alike watched as Northeastern was cast in a negative light and were forced to decide for themselves where the blame should lie.

“It’s all about individual responsibility,” said Craig Schmohl, a freshman architecture major. “Everyone should be responsible for themselves. This shouldn’t be blamed on an institution or the whole student body for that matter. You should know what you’re doing when you’re out there. It is a group mentality but if one person says, ‘Hey, let’s flip a car,’ everyone else should know that’s not the greatest idea.”

Northeastern received the bulk of negative press, because it was the only school to endure a casualty. James D. Grabowski, 21, of West Newbury, was struck and killed by an alledged drunk driver on the corner of Symphony Road and St. Stephen Street.

However, approximately 2,000 students gathered on Hemenway Street and the surrounding area Sunday night, and Associate Director of Public Safety James Ferrier said most of the fans celebrated responsibly.

“There are more students that didn’t go out and destroy property than those who did,” said Meredith Gardner, a freshman music industry major. “Lots of other schools were rioting. Just because someone dies doesn’t warrant a bad reputation. It could have happened anywhere.”

Some students said they feel the university didn’t fulfill their duty to protect the students and the community around them, despite the fact that Hemenway Street was targeted even before the game as one of the “hot-spots” in the city.

“They should have known something of this nature would happen,” said Roman Vaysman, a sophomore business finance major. “Being prepared with more police would have been a plus. They must have known something would have happened, maybe not on the scale of death, bonfires and accidents, but they still should have been prepared.”

Prior to the game, Vice President for Student Affairs Ed Klotzbier issued a statement to all students requesting their cooperation in abstaining from rioting in the case of a New England Patriots’ victory.

Klotzbier wanted to ensure the university continued to be viewed in a positive light by the surrounding community members. However, he, along with some students, was disappointed with the outcome.

“It will keep up our reputation that we’re not in a safe area,” said Amy Ngo, a freshman medical lab science major. “We’re not going to be respected anymore after our actions.”

Some students did not agree Northeastern or the new liquor laws were to blame.

“It’s the university’s kids, but they can’t be responsible for all 30,000 or however many kids go here,” said Eric Frasch, a freshman mechanical engineering major. “Anytime you have that many kids in that small of an area, something will happen. But alcohol had nothing to do with it.”

Regardless of where the blame lies, the riots caused some area residents not affiliated with the university to question the school’s control over its students.

“I understand the community’s response, but they have to understand they’re living around a college campus,” said Warren Yass, a freshman communications major. “I don’t condone [the riots], but they should have been prepared.”

Similar but less destructive rioting took place after the Patriots Super Bowl XXXVI win in 2002, in which residents had similar damage to their property, but no deaths occurred.

As the community rebounds from last week, there is uncertainty as to whether there will be any significant consequences from community members.

“These things happen,” said Chris Bush, an English graduate student. “It’s unfortunate, but I don’t feel it will leave any lasting stains.”

Although Frasch said he believes there will be “no long term effects,” some students question whether the community’s faith in the students and university can be restored.

“It probably can’t be fixed because the damage has already been done,” Schmohl said. “All the university can do is make sure they catch whoever did whatever that night and let them know there are consequences.”