As you have all likely heard by this point, just a few hours ago Athletics Director Peter Roby informed the football players and staff that the intercollegiate football program at Northeastern would be shut down, effective immediately, ending a program that has seen 74 seasons at Parsons Field.  I want to thank our players that represented Northeastern well as they gave their 100% every day, on and off the field.  These players, much like you and I, are enrolled in a rigorous academic course-load and continue to devote themselves to the team and represent Husky Pride to the fullest.

The football program at Northeastern, just as at any other major university, required a large financial commitment (totaling over $3 million in annual expenses), one that was re-assessed frequently. I can assure you that the decision made was not an easy one, but one based on the needs of all students at Northeastern, now and in the future. Moving forward, I would like to reiterate that the Student Government Association will be looking out for the best interest of all students as the effects of this decision are truly realized.

Coming off two great showings against Hofstra and Rhode Island over the past two weeks, the timing of this announcement is unfortunate.  However, I would like to commend AD Roby and the administration for making this decision at a time that allows our players to explore opportunities to continue their football careers elsewhere.  While they will always be Huskies, these players deserve the opportunity to make tough decisions about their collegiate futures.  For those wishing to remain Northeastern students, the University will continue to honor its scholarship commitment, through each player’s graduation.  For those wishing to play elsewhere, I have been assured that the highest level of assistance will be provided.

This decision also renews discussion about the Campus Recreation Fee that students imposed in 2004 for the establishment of an on-campus multi-purpose athletic facility.  While the plans always included football as a major stakeholder in such a facility, it is important to note that the intent of the construction project was never for one particular sport or purpose.  As such, the Student Government Association will continue to work with AD Roby and other members of the administration to define what this facility will include. The Association will provide more information as it becomes known.

I encourage any of our football players to contact me if there are additional resources that would help you in the important decisions you will be making over the next weeks and months.

On behalf of the entire student body, I thank you for putting your hearts into the game and showing what it truly means to be a Northeastern Husky.

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick note that updates will be coming back to the blog starting today. We were having some issues with the comments portion, and true to my belief that this is an opportunity for a two-way conversation, I was focusing on fixing the comments portion before continuing.

Tonight will be an exciting Senate, kicking off with our guest speaker, Jack McCarthy, Northeastern's Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration returning to the Senate Chambers for the first time in a few years.  We have some Bylaw and Constitutional amendments being presented and then elections for our next Vice President for Administration and Public Relations.  Senators Mallory Brown and Tim Siclari will debate in tonight's election.  This election comes at a crucial time for the Association, as many of our projects are kicking into full gear and will be coming into focus over the next few weeks.  Check back tomorrow for an update from Senate and the results of the election.

Now that the comments are working, leave one below. What do you want to see your Student Government Association focus on over the last 6 weeks of the semester?

Ryan

As many of you are aware, the Tickets.com system used for the upcoming Jimmy Fallon show did not work on Thursday evening. We know that many of you were anxiously waiting to purchase tickets at 6PM, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. 

We want to take a moment to be open and honest with you about what happened and what steps we are taking moving forward.

The system went live at 6pm. However, when you went to purchase a ticket, you received an error message-the same error message that appeared during the Jon Stewart ticketing. Northeastern staff members contacted Tickets.com, who assured us that the problem had been fixed and tickets would be able to go on sale at 8 pm. Let us be clear that Northeastern’s IS team did their part to make sure we were up and running. However, Tickets.com tested their system without the crucial connection to myNEU; this is the reason the system crashed and also the exact same reason it crashed last year. 

At 8 pm, the system went live again, but the error message re-appeared. Once again, the vendor was contacted about the problem, and a re-build of the system was attempted (against CUP and SGA’s request that we shut the system down for the night, because of the confusion and failed attempts on their part). This re-build was not able to be completed by 9 pm, as anticipated and advertised by Tickets.com, and the decision was made to reschedule ticket sales for another evening.

At approximately 9:40 pm, the system was available in a test mode for a few minutes, and 87 students were able to purchase tickets. We will honor those ticket purchases and reimburse the $2.50 overcharge that occurred.

Although the system was tested several times prior to going live, it did not work when it truly mattered. We are very concerned that this has occurred on several occasions for large events, and it has inconvenienced many students. We are working closely with Tickets.com to ensure that this issue has been resolved moving forward.

Tickets will go on sale on myNEU on Tuesday, October 6th at 6 pm.

In the meantime, we felt it was appropriate to give a few away. Check out how to be entered for a chance to win tickets for you and three friends to sit in a private box during the show at www.facebook.com/NortheasternSGA, www.twitter.com/NortheasternSGA, and www.twitter.com/NU_CUP. 

We would also like to address two other concerns that have arisen over the past week. First, our decision to keep the show NU only is because of the feedback we received from the Jon Stewart show last year. Many students were upset over the NU+1 ticket structure, because it gave non-NU students the ability to attend the show over other Northeastern students; and, after all, it is our Student Activity Fee. 

Secondly, there have been some questions as to the cost of this event. Because this is your Student Activity Fee, we think it is only fair that you know how it is being spent. This event is budgeted as follows: allocation from the Budget Review Committee: $153,813; Office of Student Affairs: $5,000; Office of Orientation and Parent Programs: $5,000. The Student Activity Fee is expected to receive $98,000 in ticket revenue and thus, the event has an expected net cost of $55,813 against the SAF.

As a point of comparison, the Jon Stewart event last year was funded as follows: allocation from the Budget Review Committee: $171,793; CUP (whose budget is derived from the SAF): $20,000; RSA: $15,000; Office of Student Affairs: $11,500. The Student Activity Fee received $108,000 in ticket revenue, and thus, the event had a net cost of $83,793 from your Student Activity Fee. In planning the event for this year, we focused on reducing the expenses of shows of this scale, reducing the ticket prices and the overall cost to the Student Activity Fee.

Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused you.

Ryan Fox
President, Student Government Association

Kat Sprague
President, Council for University Programs

Last night we had our second Senate meeting of the fall semester with the highest turnout in quite some time. Northeastern's Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Life, Philomena Mantella, returned to the Senate Chambers once again to address the members of the Senate and guests. Senior VP Mantella discussed the long-term planning that she would be overseeing this year, directly applying the University's recently-changed Mission Statement and Academic Plan. There were some great questions from Senators and we will be continuing work with Senior VP Mantella and other members of the Senior Leadership Team as we move through this year.

President Aoun will be joining our guest speakers as he comes to the Senate Chambers on Monday, October 5th at 7 pm. All students are welcome to attend and ask questions.

It has been exciting to see new Senators, as well as returning Senators. In my honest opinion, our retention efforts have been fair to poor in the past, so we made a conscious effort throughout the summer in gathering Senator feedback and providing additional opportunities for involvement. Just a few days ago, we unveiled our new Organization Chart with new Director and Liaison positions in addition to our current Assistant Vice President and Vice Chair positions. All Senators are eligible for these positions, regardless of experience or time in the organization.

Over the past few months, I have been working with VP Rockland and Kat Sprague, President of the Council for University Programs, to bring a large comedian to Matthews Arena on October 24th during Parent & Family Weekend. After hearing students talk about how great Jon Stewart was last year, we knew we had to bring another event of that scale to Matthews Arena this fall. Look for the announcement of the performer and advertisements starting Wednesday evening.

It's hard to believe that a full week of classes have already passed, but SGA is off to a great start of the semester and we're excited to see some new initiatives kick off over the next few weeks.  Throughout the summer, we geared up for the fall semester, recruiting at Orientation and activities fairs, welcoming new students at Convocation, and letting all students know what SGA is here for.

It was wonderful to see all of the new faces that came to Senate this past Monday, but it's not too late if you missed it.  We'll be having another information session on Monday at 6 pm in 333 Curry, followed by our second Senate of the semester.  On Monday, Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Life, Philomena Mantella will be joining us to keep Senators up to date on what's coming up on campus and to answer any questions.

When I met with President Aoun and SVP Mantella just a few weeks ago, we talked about SGA's role in bettering the student experience.  President Aoun discussed the fact that the #1 reason that students attend Northeastern is because they know another Northeastern student.  He stressed that we, as students, are the greatest ambassadors for the University.  We also talked about the issue of communication on campus and how it is difficult for student organizations to get the word out about events and programs.  The SGA Executive Board will be meeting with President Aoun and the Senior Leadership Team throughout the year to review these and other issues that we will be addressing over the next year.

You don't have to be a Senator to be involved though.  All students are welcome to attend Senate, sit on a committee, provide feedback, or share your NUidea.  Without your feedback, our job becomes very difficult, so keep the feedback coming: we want to see the good, the bad, and the ugly.  If you don't let us know what you think, who will?