Nicholas Daniloff discusses freedom of the press and the impact on diplomacy. (Photo credit: Lauren McFalls/Northeastern University)

Northeastern University journalism professor Nick Daniloff, a former foreign correspondent for United Press International and U.S. News & World Report in London, Paris, Moscow and Washington D.C., has seen diplomacy in all its glory and ugliness. He was held prisoner by the Soviets as trade bait during the Cold War after a Russian spy was arrested in the US.

Daniloff was kind enough to discuss the recent WikiLeaks release of confidential diplomatic cables

BLAST: Did you find something amazing, shocking or surprising about the cables?

NICK DANILOFF: In what I read, there were some surprises. For example: the King of Saudi Arabia urged the United States “to cut off the head of the snake” or, in other words, to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program. We always knew that Saudi Arabia feared Iran, but the suggestion to decapitate coming from the king’s mouth was a surprise. He does not talk like that in public.

I should add that the release of the military logs was shocking in that they revealed the names of some individuals who had been helping the U.S. in Afghanistan. That put those individuals in grave danger of execution by the Taliban. Since the uproar over this disclosure, Wikileaks chief Julian Assange has become a little more responsible and has agreed to remove names of persons who might be vulnerable to reprisals from the documents.

BLAST: Has Wikileaks done something illegal?

ND: First, Wikileaks is working with documents stolen from the United States. Stealing or receiving stolen material is illegal, isn’t it?

Assange has released documents which were classified “secret,” that is an illegal violation of the classification system. And if he has identified secret U.S. operatives that, too, would be considered illegal. The U.S. does not have an Official Secrets Act, rather it depends on the possessors of secrets to guard those secrets. When they release secret information they may be prosecuted. Journalists who disclose secrets in the U.S. are usually not prosecuted because it is not their responsibility to protect secrets and the First Amendment and its interpretations by the Supreme Court have given journalists considerable protection.

I would add that Julian Assange is not a journalist; he is a source. And Wikileaks is not a journalistic organization, it is a distributor of raw materials.

BLAST: How should ordinary citizens read and digest the Wikileaks disclosures?

ND: They should use the curiosity and critical thinking that we at Northeastern have tried to develop among our students. They should read the information just as they read the news only with the Wikileaks material they will have to supply context. And there is new information or news in Wikileaks. Eventually, readers may get bored reading hundreds, if not thousands, of cables. Then they will rely on good newspapers or TV broadcasts to point out important stuff.

Here’s an example which intrigues me personally as someone who lived in Moscow for many years but may not necessarily grab another reader. I thought Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would never give up power. But some of the Wikileaks reports indicate he has grown weary of his responsibilities. That leads me to wonder if he will step down voluntarily.

Northeastern University’s chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity held their eighth annual comedy night featuring Kevin Hart on Sunday.

Previous guests have included big names such as Seth Meyers and Bob Saget, and there was no shortage of laughter as this comedian of television and movies took the stage.

Kevin Hart visited Northeastern as part of his “Laugh at My Pain” Comedy Tour in which he shared stories about his past and puts a humorous spin on some of the less fortunate events in his life.

Comedians Will “Spank” Horton and Na’im Lynn opened for Hart and were more than able to sufficiently warm up the crowd for an evening of knee-slapping and laughter. The subject of jokes ranged from day-to-day activities to mature content, but nonetheless catered to the university crowd. If the audience was ever silent, its attention was rapt in the comedians who proved to be able story-tellers and hilarious personalities.

The show was the fruit of hard work for Tyler Dillman, Major Events Coordinator for Xi-Beta, who spent months organizing and planning the night. Kappa Sigma was the first Greek organization on campus to hold a major campus-wide event after the school’s student government opened up funding options to Greeks.

Thanks to the event’s co-hosts, the Resident Student Association and Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority, the 1,000-seat Blackman Auditorium was sold out.

After 20 years printing and binding in Boston — especially for students — Gnomon Copy Boston no longer exists.

“We are sad to announce that Gnomon has closed its doors for good,” the company said in a statement. “The print industry and current economic climate have made it too tough for the purple signed store to thrive.”

Printing groups have some together to form Bluisma, which hopes to combine the city’s struggling print needs with digital services like Web design, consulting, logos, graphics, and even event planning.

Check out Bluisma.com for more info.

Media credit/Facebook

An 18-year-old Northeastern University student was killed in an early-morning New Year’s Day car crash in upstate New York, according to WIVB-TV and the student-run Huntington News.

Scott Herr, identified by the student newspaper as a freshman engineering major, was killed in a 1:15 a.m. crash on Friday in Elma, N.Y. WIVB reported that speed and the snowy weather appeared to be factors in the wreck.

“A vehicle was attempting to change lanes, lost control, went off the shoulder, traveled approximately 200 feet as it rolled several times and struck a tree in the process,” said Sgt. Daniel Dedo, New York State Police, speaking with WIVB.

The television station reported that Herr was ejected from the front passenger seat. Three other teens were in the car. A 15-year-old girl was critically injured. The driver, identified by WIVB as 18-year-old Ashley Hill, as well as a fourth passenger, were not seriously injured. Hill was identified as Herr’s girlfriend by the TV station. She is also a Northeastern student. The two other girls were said to be sisters.

WIVB reported, and his Facebook profile also says, that Herr was a graduate of Canton High School, in the Norfolk County town south of Boston.

State Police said alcohol does not appear to have been a factor in the crash.

Northeastern University entered the 2003 season ranked No. 1 in the nation in what was then Division 1-AA. A few weeks into the season, the school wasn’t ranked at anymore. It’s been a steady stream downhill ever since.

In an unsurprising move that’s no less depressing for students and alumni, Northeastern University is cutting its Division 1 football program.

In a statement, Athletic Director Peter P. Roby said he made the call.

“We do not define success merely through wins and losses,” Roby said. “Instead, we recognize that success comes from creating a positive student-athlete experience. The primary motivation for this decision was based on the significant obstacles to providing this experience for our football players.”

Administration officials have said since 2007 that cutting football was on the table for Northeastern, which has been moving away from athletics for several years as its academic standing grows.

Northeastern football competed its 74th season with a 33-27 win on Saturday at The University of Rhode Island, capping a 3-8 season.

The college’s 63 football scholarship athletes have been told they are guaranteed their scholarships until graduation, though Roby admitted he made sure the athletes knew about the decision as soon as possible so that they had the “most time possible to make decisions about their future.”

The Boston Public Health Commission has confirmed that there are two definite cases and 10 probably cases of mumps in Boston.

Of the 12 total cases, 11 patients attend Northeastern University.

According to the Health Commission, mumps illness is caused by a virus that lives in a person’s nose, mouth, and throat. It can spread to others who are in close contact with a case through direct contact with infected saliva or through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The most common symptoms are a low fever, headache, muscle pain and swelling in the salivary glands (located at the cheek, below the ear and under the jaw). Symptoms can appear 12 to 25 days after contact with an infected person. Those ill with mumps are most contagious 3 days before until 5 days after symptoms begin. Mumps is usually a mild illness but can cause serious problems in some people.

The Boston Public Health Commission encourages persons who were born after 1956 who may have been in contact with a person who has mumps to contact their healthcare provider and have their immunization status evaluated.

Anyone with symptoms of mumps should seek medical attention right away.

For more information, call the Boston Public Health Commission at 617-534-5611.

Twenty-seven brothers of the Xi-Beta chapter of the Kappa ‚ Sigma ‚ Fraternity ‚ recently participated in the all-night Relay for Life, benefiting the American Cancer Society.

Traveling ‚ to the Gordon Indoor Track at Harvard University, Xi-Beta’s team was ‚ able ‚ to raise ‚ $2,000 ‚ for cancer research, and logged more than 500 hours ‚ in ‚ service. ‚ Relay for Life is an overnight walk-a-thon. Each team member collected sponsorships and pledged to spend a certain amount of time walking ‚ around ‚ a ‚ track. ‚ At least one person per team was required to be walking at all times.

Team ‚ captain Aaron Gill said he was thrilled with the chapter’s participation, and urged his ‚ fellow brothers to recognize how widespread the reach of cancer can be.

“Sharing in this event with a group of brothers I found to be enlightening. At ‚ one ‚ point in the evening everyone is asked to stand for the different ways they are affected by cancer, and it is always revealing to me just how pervasive this disease is in the lives of so many,” said Gill.

After ‚ the event, American Cancer Society organizers told Xi-Beta that next year’s fundraiser ‚ will ‚ be ‚ held ‚ at ‚ Matthews ‚ Arena on the ‚ campus of Northeastern University. ‚ Organizers ‚ were so impressed with Kappa Sigma’s commitment they are hoping the chapter will volunteer as a major sponsor.

Gill ‚ would ‚ like ‚ to ‚ see ‚ Xi-Beta answer the call because the event is so successful ‚ in aiding ‚ cancer ‚ research. ‚ He also has personal reasons for being ‚ so ‚ involved. ‚ In recent years, members of his own family and close personal friends have been diagnosed with cancer. Three years ago, Gill was approached by a co-worker to participate in Relay for Life. He accepted the challenge only to find out that she was battling breast cancer. That’s when he decided to do more.

“I ‚ will ‚ always ‚ push ‚ Relay for Life to try and give back, because of the impact ‚ that ‚ cancer survivors have had in my life and how influential they have ‚ been to me. All I can hope for is that my efforts will inspire others to do the same,” said Gill.

Kappa Sigma is the largest collegiate fraternity in North America. The Xi-Beta chapter has been awarded as one of the top chapters nationally and is the largest at Northeastern.

Disclosure: Blast editor John M. Guilfoil is a member of Kappa Sigma

The Boston Globe has reported that four Northeastern University students may have the mumps, a once common childhood disease now thought to be virtually irrelevant because of the commonality of childhood vaccines.

The Globe, citing city public health officials, said that the results are not confirmed, but that two students came down with symptoms after returning from Ireland, where apparently a mumps outbreak has occurred.

All four students had been vaccinated against the disease, which is not 100 percent effective. The Globe says 10-20 percent of those vaccinated are still vulnerable to the disease.

Northeastern University’s newest dance organization, No Limits Dance Crew, is preparing for their first performance, which will be held at the Tower Auditorium Theatre at The Massachusetts School of Art and Design on April 3 at 7:30 p.m.

The one-time only show is free to the public and is expected to fill up fast. This student-run dance group has more than 120 dancers and will be showcasing 16 dance pieces in various styles, including Jazz, Hip Hop, Belly dancing and Lyrical genres to name a few. The all-inclusive No Limits Dance Crew is open to the entire Northeastern Community, and in addition to holding its own performances, the group is dedicated to collaborating with other NU creative arts groups and to being involved in the community.

The group also offers classes in all genres for $2 each for non-members. Classes are free for members. The classes are member-taught and the performance pieces are member-choreographed and this organization is truly a labor of love, and that love is for dance.

The Tower Auditorium is located directly in front of the Green Line E Branch’s Longwood Avenue stop at 621 Huntington Avenue.

The names of subjects have been changed to protect their privacy and safety.

It was mid-day. Northeastern University student Sarah Alverston was sitting in the library staring blankly into a textbook that she couldn’t seem to focus on. She just had a fight with her boyfriend, and she knew she wouldn’t get anything done until she talked to him. So she sent him a text message.

“Sorry about earlier,” it said. “I’ve just been stressed out about other things. Want to meet me at the library? I want to see you.”

About 15 minutes later her boyfriend, Josh, walked up to her table on the second floor. He sat down and apologized as well for being stubborn. Then he gave her a look.

That look.

She knew what that look was for, and she whispered to him, “I can’t leave the library right now I have too much to do.”

But he told her it didn’t matter and winked. He motioned to one of the group study rooms. At first she thought he was crazy. There were people sitting right outside the room. Half of the door to the room was made of glass. There was no way. But then she got a rush of excitement and thought why not? It would be a great story to tell.

Alverston is certainly not the only college student who has performed sexual acts in public. One sophomore at Northeastern, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that part of her job when she worked at the library was to make sure no one was doing things “they weren’t supposed to be doing.”

Last year during Northeastern’s annual sex week, a magazine was put together full of articles about sex. The magazine was called “Stripped” and contained a list of “Top Ten Places to Have Sex on Campus.” The list included places like the college’s underground tunnel network and the saunas at the gym. Number one was the library.

“I know tons of people who have had sex in public places,” said Alverston, in a recent interview. “I thought it sounded fun but I never planned on actually doing it.”

Other students have admitted to similar sexual experiences, the scenes ranging from dorm showers to parking lots. Jordana Kerr, a sophomore psychology major at Northeastern admitted to doing the deed in one of the school’s indoor gymnasiums.

“I worked there life guarding,” said Kerr. “(My boyfriend and I) didn’t get a lot of alone time because we both had roommates. One night he came to visit me and we ended up having sex in the racquetball courts. It was thrilling and it was a fun experience.”

However, if someone were to get caught, the student conduct handbook mentions these types of incidents would be handled as “sexual misconduct.”

Despite prohibitions and threat of punishment, many popular television shows portray sex in public as a natural and desirable activity. An episode of Sex and the City deals with a man who can only have sex if he thinks he might get caught. An episode of Friends includes a discussion about the craziest place the characters had ever “done it.” Even Homer and Marge Simpson rekindle their sex life by doing the deed at a miniature golf course.

This generation did not invent the idea of having sex in a place besides a bed. The openness and in-your-face style however, is something new.

John D’Emilio, author of the book “Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America,” thinks that every generation feels the need to be riskier than the one before it.

“It’s almost as if young people are pushing the boundaries one step further,” said D’Emilio. “Fifty years ago co-ed dorms didn’t exist, and now they do. And there’s no longer a curfew either. If you want to break the boundaries, you have to find a new way to do that.”

How Sex Has Changed

Public displays of affection are a pretty common sight around the streets of Barcelona. Media credit/mmoorr via Flickr

Alverston’s reason for having sex in the library was different from Kerr’s reason for having sex in the racquetball courts. Both of their parents however, probably didn’t think of performing a sexual act anywhere public, for any reason.

According to experts, each generation has had a different attitude about sex and adopted different ways of expressing themselves sexually as a reflection of the beliefs at the time. Sex in public did not used to be a normal practice. D’Emilio relates this trend back to the end of the 1800′s, when it was looked at with disgust.

“At the end of the nineteenth century there was public sex emerging,” said D’Emilio. “But it took place in neighborhoods that were deemed to be sex neighborhoods like red light districts where there was prostitution. This behavior was outrageous at the time.”

Those who were not labeled as outcasts of society kept sexual acts very private. It wasn’t until the emergence of automobiles and their growing popularity did that change. At a time when mobilization was much more plausible, couples began courting in their cars. Whether taking one another on dates to the movies or a remote place for privacy, sex began to move out of the bedroom for young people.

Sex was still relatively private though, and society built structure around this principle. Gina Ogden, a sexual therapist from Cambridge said sex was purposefully very repressed in the minds and practices of people in the past.

“Before and after the explosion of sex in the 60s and 70s, people were very constrained in their thinking of sex,” said Ogden. “There were male and female dorms. There was much less ability to be overtly sexual. During the Reagan years, I was a school psychologist at a boarding school. There was a big movement against ‘public display of affection,’ and people were getting expelled for holding hands. It was awful.”

The shift in how society views sex and also how people express themselves sexually has been a drastic one since then. D’Emilio thinks that societal acceptance plays a big role.

“What has really changed since then is that the assumption has become that young people will have sex before marriage. That’s just normal,” D’Emilio said. “It doesn’t push the boundaries.”

Northeastern University football player Brian Mandeville received devastating news on Friday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis during routine physical examinations. The star tight end, who missed a third of his senior season with knee injuries and even survived a brain tumor while in college, was told by Combine doctors that he has a heart ailment, effectively ending his football career.

Mandewille was diagnosed with an abnormal heart valve, which is not considered life-threatening, but the problem could become dangerous under the strenuous training regimens of the NFL.

“I told him his health and well-being is what’s important” Northeastern coach Rocky Hager told the Boston Herald. “I don’t know if that means he’ll continue in a career in sports, but then everybody’s career in sports eventually comes to an end. But I think he’s so well grounded and his parents have done a great job raising him and he always has the right attitude.”

Mandeville caught 63 passes for 863 yards and seven touchdowns in 33 games, worthy of earning first-team All-New England honors. Northeastern’s I-AA football program went 2-10 last year and hasn’t had a winning season since 2003.

The new school year has arrived and college freshmen, like millions who have come before them, are facing the daunting challenge of dorm eating.

Most will come to realize that after orientation, the quality of their school’s food drops drastically and is not at all worth the wait in line. Luckily, there are easy ways to eat well without leaving the dorm.

A large part of eating in a dorm involves finding ways around regulations. For instance, most schools will include hot plates on their lists of forbidden things. The clever, if not smart-alec, way around that regulation is to bring a hot pot. In fact, a hot pot is probably more useful. You can use it to make soup, pasta, tea or anything else you can imagine.

On the more creative side, an iron makes a decent substitute for a frying pan. It wouldn’t be the greatest idea to fry eggs that way, but according to Northeastern University junior, Brennan Degan, grilled cheese will come out nicely.

“You take a piece of bread, put a little butter on it, then two pieces of cheese and another piece of bread,” said Degan. “You put it on a hot iron for a few minutes and it’s done, it’s as easy as that.”

Of course, you’re not limited to just grilled cheese. It’s easy to imagine what else you could cook up, like toast or quesadillas. Just try to keep the iron clean, for the sake of you clothes and your stomach.

In a more conventional vein, the mini-fridge and microwave are key items, so don’t forgo them. With these, your food choices are nearly endless. You won’t be making steak, but good meals are very possible.

Susan Barnes, a Bucknell University junior, is starting her third year of dorm living and has always relied on the mini-fridge and microwave.

“Right now, I believe there is jelly, water and chocolate (in my refrigerator),” she said with a laugh. “I usually eat soup and sometimes I have salad stuff in my room, or peanut butter and jelly. I did lean cuisine for a while too.”

The mini-fridge provides storage for fruits and vegetables, which gives you the obvious option of making salads. You can also throw vegetables into the hot pot and use them to mix in with some pasta or add some fruit to your cereal.

There are also plenty of snacks you can keep in a mini-fridge. Things like yogurt, cheese and applesauce make great snacks and take up minimal space. Storing juice, milk, soda or water is another obvious but wise use of a mini-fridge.

The microwave is useful for the things a hot pot can’t help you with, like popcorn for movie time. It also doubles as storage space, just incase you need a little extra.

On that note, you’ll need a decent food storage space. In a dorm, that can mean and empty drawer or just a cardboard box. Here you can store college staples like cereal, which makes the perfect breakfast or snack.

With all of these options right in your room, it can be easy to get carried away. The “freshman 15″ is no myth, most college freshman gain around 15 pounds in their first year. That’s why it’s important to control your portions and keep primarily healthy food in your room.

“You have to be creative, keep stuff in your room that’s easy to eat when you’re snacking,” said Roger Williams University junior, Cora Tetreault. “I take deli turkey and roll it up in lettuce.”

Tetreault, who successfully kept the “freshman 15″ off, recommends that 50 percent of each meal be made up of fruits and vegetables. When she doesn’t have time for a meal, she snacks on nuts for protein.

Of course, everyone has a weakness. “When I really want chocolate, I eat chocolate,” she said. The trick is not to get carried away.

These are the basics of college eating. They are the tried and true methods of dorm dwellers — truly the only people who could think of grilled cheese on an iron.