Northeastern students want better communication after recent violence: "People are just angry"

Northeastern University students want answers from the administration about how information was shared after two violent incidents near campus within a week.

"People are just angry," said junior Jeff Franchetti.

Franchetti and about 20 of his peers rallied Monday afternoon outside the university's recreation center in Boston, demanding better communication from the administration.

"All we got are like three sentence emails that didn't even describe what went on, and that has created a major climate of fear and confusion among students," he said.

Violence near Northeastern University

On March 28, Northeastern Police (NUPD) said a student was assaulted by a suspect just outside the Marino Center on Huntington Avenue. It happened at 10:30 p.m., but a timely alert was sent to students at 12:43 a.m.

"NUPD has what they call timely alerts, but these timely alerts have only been like two or three hours after the fact," said student Valentina Moghaddam. 

Last Wednesday, police were alerted to a stabbing near Northeastern's campus after the victim walked into a student dorm looking for help. Students said the incident happened at 8:15 a.m. and they received the first alert at 9:02 a.m.

Then on Saturday, police responded to Hemenway Street near campus and upon arrival, encountered a person having a mental health episode. Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said that person suddenly attacked officers with a sword before they were shot and killed by police.

"He was armed with some type of sword, stabbing the officer in the arm and knocking the EMS clinician to the ground. One or more officers, it's under investigation at this time, fired both taser and their weapon," Cox said.

Students said the incident happened at 10:45 a.m., but they were not alerted until 11:56 a.m.

"Student channels are the only way we're getting information or our student newspaper, the Huntington News," student Anna Salvato said. "I know it's a city and stuff happens, but we're on campus, and this is near our dorms and our houses."

Northeastern's chief of police called both of the recent incidents "random acts of violence" and said there is no danger to the community.  

"Northeastern isn't the city government; they're not going to fix crime. They can, however, help with the confusion that creates fear," Franchetti said.  

Northeastern response

Renata Nyul, vice president for communications at Northeastern, issued a statement about the students' concerns.

"It's important to note that the events of the past week have all taken place off campus, although we realize that the close proximity to campus is concerning," Nyul said Monday. "The university's police department works in close coordination with the Boston police. We are increasing patrols on all sides of the campus, and we will continue to keep the Northeastern community informed when incidents occur."

Franchetti said students were protesting Northeastern's administration directly, also asking them to clarify their policy on the possibility of ICE agents coming to campus.

"There's 40% international students; they should be telling students what they're going to do about that as well," he said. "They should just be making make students feel safe, by giving them the information."