Is the Tarnished Image of Northeastern Being Rebuilt? :: Journalism Journalistic Essays

Is the Tarnished Image of Northeastern Being Rebuilt? Boston - Northeastern University is expanding its campus and student body more and more every year. Just a few years ago it was just a small commuter school, now it is reaching close to the top 100 Colleges and University’s in the United States. The university’s enrollment is now up to over 20,000 students, both undergraduate and graduate students. Everything is not as peachy as it seems. Since 1990, Northeastern University has almost doubled its size. It used to be on just one side of the Orange Line. Now it goes all the way into Roxbury, Mission Hill, and Fenway. Residents in the area are a little angry that Northeastern University is coming into their neighborhood and pushing them around. â€Å"I haven’t liked what Northeastern has done ever since they came over the tracks,† said Randall Thomas, 51, a longtime resident of Roxbury. " In this neighborhood the rents are going up, the students are misbehaving, and the Northeastern police are hassling long time residents, instead of the students. They need discipline and Northeastern has to keep them in check,† said Thomas. Thomas talked about his years living in Roxbury, which is all 51 years of his life. He said the university has to work with the neighborhood. According to Thomas it is a long standing African-American Community that has its needs and the university should understand that and take that into consideration. According to city housing assessments, the price of real estate has doubled in some areas of Roxbury. The huge demand for property and the university’s growth has made the once poverty stricken area into a hot commodity for the university and real estate investors. One building in the neighborhood on Tremont was listed worth of $265, 500. Predictions for the end of the year 2004 have the estimated worth at about $394,000. That is a significant rise in one year. â€Å"Northeastern is taking over, their pushing the poor people out,† said Kenny Miller, 35, and a resident of Roxbury. â€Å"Roxbury residents fight to get their homes back, the damn condominiums they built, they’re taking over Mission Hill as well.† â€Å"The students are supposed to be our future leaders, they suck.† said Thomas, â€Å"Stop coming in our neighborhood, pushing us. Who do they think they are? Harvard or MIT?† On the contrary, Northeastern University feels that it is working with the neighborhoods to accomplish good for the community as a whole.