Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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I He ' s accountable for safety From my perspective, any public safety ser- vice organization should be held accountable for what they do to the group they serve, D. Jo- seph Griffin, Director of Public Safety at North- eastern said. Since coming to the university in 1974, Grif- fin ' s goal has been to reorganize the public safe- ty division ' s policies. We ' ve had a continuous series in the dormi- tories where the officers go out and meet with students, rather than just me, he said. The most satisfaction comes from the com- ments that I get from the faculty, staff, and stu- dents. In terms of the police programs, that is, Griffin said. When Griffin arrived at Northeastern, an out- side consulting firm had been hired to study the security program. The study found two factions existing within the department, according to Griffin. One of the factions was the older officers; the other, younger more motivated officers. Griffin decided that some changes were in or- der. The initial changes were made when I came in and studied the program. I found that the group had not really kept pace. They were not hired to, I guess. At that time it was not really important for them to listen to the needs of the students, he said, addina thev had been hired mainly for security. One of the things I did was to hire younger, better educated officers. I found that the educa- tional level of the previous officers was extremely low, he said. Griffin said he found the younger officers bet- ter equipped to deal with the needs of the cam- pus community. Many of the newly - hired officers attended Northeastern and knew the workings of the uni- versity and the student ' s attitudes, according to Griffin. They were better able to relate and could empathize with the problems of going through a large institution. They were not that far removed themselves, he said . Griffin said the previous administration had permitted the officers to ride in police vehicles too often. This made police visibility lower and the campus crime rate higher, according to Grif- fin. We reduced the level of street crime. When I came here I think there were three or four mug- gings a week, he said. Griffin said the increased visibility of the offi- cers led to the decrease of crime. You can say it ' s psychological, but that ' s what it is all about, he said.

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I was so naive By Mike Barcellos Freshman year I was naive, you know, believing the T ran on time and you could get on a trolley at Park Street bound for NU if you waited long enough. I never really believed that people actually got pickpockefed on the T until I felt someone massaging my buttocks in search of my wallet. Or were they? Ah, but my sophomore year I knew the ropes, the only way to go was carpooling. That was fine if you enjoyed waking up at 6:30 and getting in at 7:30 for a 1:35 class, then waiting around for 3 hours to go home. My middler year saw a refinement of the carpool process which made everyone ' s time more compati- ble. But it still left you hanging sometimes when your commuter partners got caught in a chugging contest over the Cask and left you searching the Columbus Lot for their remains. Junior and senior years, I was solo on my 40 - minute, 24 - mile drive from my northern rural area and I learned the frustrations of the parking lot lines. After an incident where one day I parked in the Co- lumbus Lot and returned to find a car two spaces away without its rear- wheels, I got accustomed to waiting in line at the other lots. Now I know how to miss the traffic coming in and going home and where and how to park around here. Now I ' m graduating. I was NUDE By Joyce Awad Nude is the way I have commuted to and from North- eastern for the past two years. NUDE, or Northeastern University Daredevil Express, is a rapidly growing organization of college student commuters committed to the fine art of hitchhiking. NUDE is aware that the streets are crawling with degen- erates, desperados and dirty old men drivers, and has thus given each of its members a four year supply of mace, hat pins and a 10 - second recording of a woman screaming rape in quadraphonic sound. How do I feel about being in the NUDE? It ' s exciting, but a bit chilly in winter. I suffered on the T ' By Cynthia Chambers My journey starts from Mattapan, ah, good old Mattapan. I board the -trolley. (Huntington Ave. is not the only place to enjoy that rattling ride). I have been riding the T for 8 years straight and I know where to stand to get a seat when the doors open. I can close my eyes on my way to Ashmont Station. I always have a quarter ready to put in the turnstile. Well, no train, I must get to my designated spot. This spot I don ' t even have to look for. My instinct leads me to it automatically. When the old blue train pulls up I will be standing in front of the 3rd car, 2nd door (only on a 4 - car train). I can get a seat easily. It is necessary to sit next to 2nd door on the opposite side of the door that was open. I doze off on my way to Park Street. The most prominent stop is Broadway: all the stops before the door opens on the right, but this one opens on the left. Washington is another, because 90% of the train empties out here. By the time I reach Park Street I am standing at the door. The stairs are right in front of me, and zoom, I am up the stairs in two seconds flat. I catch a Huntington Ave. trolley and get a seat. Boylston, first stop. I can tell the way we make that big screeching turn. Arlington, Copley (90% of the trolley empties out here). Then we make a big curve and a wide swing going into Prudential. Symphony is last. When light hits my eyelids I know we are out of the tunnel and next stop NORTHEAS- TERN!

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If commuting ' s a drag