Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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A resident of the Fenway area looks out over the duckpond during the early winter. In October, 1974, FIG raised ob- jections to the planned construc- tion. Members asked the university to produce a master plan for any further university expansion. Sister Rosario Salerno of FIG said the organization did not object to the building but rather to the ability of Northeastern to keep ex- panding without accounting to the community. Thompson said FIG was reacting to an imagined further growth of the university. The Fenway Project Area Com- mittee (FenPAC) voted its approval of the institute provided that the university provide a master plan within six months. Thompson said no. He said Northeastern was at its peak enrollment and no substantial expansion was in the offing. He An old tenement building in the area shows the poor conditions Northeastern ' s residents live in, a stone ' s throw away from the nation ' s largest private university. Heavily traveled streets due to a large student population has caused parking and traffic problems for Back Bay residents. 23

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Northeastern and the community The 1970s were a time of great change in the relationship between Northeastern and the surrounding Fenway community. The members of the community began again to question the contin- ued expansion of the university into the community. For years the people of the Fenway had watched Northeastern expand, slowly taking over most of the neighborhood, ac- cording to one member of the Fen- way community. In 1972, Northeastern purchased a building at 84 St. Stephen Street to be used as a fraternity. The Fen- way Interagency Group (FIG), an affiliation of about 30 to 40 commu- nity organizations, was upset with the purchase of the building. The Rev. Robert Case of the Fenway Center and a member of FIG, said when the building was sold to Northeastern its tenants were given no prior notice of the sale and were subsequently evicted. FIG sent a letter to the city build- ing commission. The commission found that 84 St. Stephen Street and several other buildings belong- ing to three Northeastern frater- nities were in violation of city zon- ing laws. Hearings were held on the violations and two fraternities were forced to relocate by the fall of 1974 and the third, to vacate in June, 1975. Fr. Case said the community was not against fraternities, it just ob- jected to the uncontrolled ex- pansion of Northeastern or any large corporation in the area. Loring Thompson, vice president and dean of planning, said the uni- versity was not planning any further movement into the community. There is no master plan in the minds of the administration to take over the community, he said. In July, 1974, the university an- nounced plans for a $1.8 million cooperative education institute to be built on the Huntington Avenue parking lot between John A. Volpe Hall and Greenleaf Street. Con- struction was slated to begin in No- vember of the same year. An aerial view from the top of the Prudential Building shows Northeastern as a large sterile looking complex in the midst of the shabbiness and squalor of the surrounding community. 22

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also added that the funds for any major expansion were not avail- able. In January, 1975, the university did produce a master plan. Father Case said the plan was the first time the university ac- knowledged the existence of the Fenway community. The Rev. Colin Gracey of the chaplain ' s office (and a member of FIG), said North- eastern was finally beginning to hear the needs of the community, but only after many difficulties and legal problems. Father Case said the relationship between the university and the community could have been much better but the school needed a conscience-minded adminis- tration. He said many students were involved in various community projects in the Fenway but the uni- versity corporation was not. Compared to Harvard and MIT, Northeastern is far behind in realiz- ing its responsibility to the commu- nity, said Fr. Case. He added that because the university was being sued less than other institutions did not mean that it had fewer prob- lems. Northeastern shared the same problems of all institutions while ex- panding into the community — the residents said the university was swallowing up the neighborhood and offering little to the community in return. However, the university had much to offer the community, ac- cording to the Jan., 1975, master plan. Included were educational pro- Motorcycles parked on the sidewalk and chained to light poles are a sign of the high crime problem felt in the neighborhood. grams for part-time students with open admissions, the library, and Reading Clinic. Other programs available includ- ed cultural events such as Ford Hall Forum, The Silver Masque, various music concerts, movies, and dance recitals. Unfortunately, many residents were unaware of the activities and did not participate. The Fenway in the 1970s was a motley gathering of students and professionals, rich and poor, old and young. Community service in- stitutions such as the food co-op and the Fenway Health Clinic grew with more students becoming in- volved in the workings of these or- ganizations. At the same time the neighbor- hood was also politically growing, said Fr. Case. He said residents were becoming aware of their rights and of the injustices that were occurring in the community. A bleak, barren, air of despondency hangs over Hemenway Street. Several of Northeastern ' s dormitories share the crowded living space of the overpriced old apartment buildings on the street with the areas older residents. 24 The people of the community were speaking out more for their rights and politicians were listening and responding. Responses were at times unfavorable to Northeastern the corporation but good for the Fenway and Northeastern commu- nity in general. One of the university ' s major goals was to seek out community needs that were not met by existing institutions and to attempt to meet these goals through co-op, said Rev. Gracey. In the 1950s and 1960s North- eastern expanded to meet these needs, he said. Then in the 1970s, the birth rate declined and the number of students attending col- lege fell off. The university needed to continue expanding to bring in revenue needed for survival, Rev. Gracey said. Programs had to move in all directions to attract more students. The Fenway community began to organize against the growth of in- stitutions and for survival of the community. Rev. Gracey said Northeastern was in a dilemma of attempting to meet both community and university needs at the same time. The university was attracting more quality professors and for- getting its original concept of at- tempting to meet community needs, said Rev. Gracey. As more and more new people came into the university from out- side the neighborhood, the promis- es of help faded, he said. The rela- tionship between the university and the Fenway community did not ap- pear promising. — Mary Concannon