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.

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.”

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.

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

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.”

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.

Whether it had the intended result or not, Blast had a reporter at the TD Banknorth Garden and worked with two photographers, Kristyn Ulanday of the Daily Free Press, and freelancer Peter Keeling, to visualize the game as best we could.

Here are the photos in high resolution:

Fans trickled out of the Garden. They were either elated or in the dumps — justified or mortified.

A Boston University 5-2 win over Northeastern left many frustrated that the game — pitting No. 1 versus No. 3 in the country — really wasn’t even close.

At the beginning of the third period BU, already leading, went at it hard and left the Huskies struggling to play catch up. NU’s Wade MacLeod’s seemed simply unable to take the shot after he had an opportunity, letting the puck loose causing one of several pileups at the BU goal.

BU’s David Warsofsky scored fourth goal and Colin Wilson followed about a minute later with the last nail.

Northeastern had a chance, but they were just not aggressive enough to attack and take the shots needed. The Beanpot and the pride of Beantown has been given to BU once again, with BU Sophomore Nick Bonino being named MVP.

Northeastern University students arrived pumped and fiery, chanting “BU Sucks,” but the game was the first serious letdown of perhaps the best hockey season this school’s struggling athletics program has seen in more than 10 years.

In the first period, Boston University managed to score the first goal. The Huskies fought back with a goal in the last minute of the period and have been fighting back BU’s plays since the start.

The rowdy fans got a little bit of drama early on when an official got hit in the face by a puck during the fourth minute. He was taken off the rink by paramedics.

BU played clean and fast, and the Huskies just didn’t have an answer all night. Most frustrating of all may be the fact that BU scored two shorthanded goals, topping off NU’s failure to capitalize on opportunities.

Bessie King reported from the game. Blast Magazine editor John M. Guilfoil contributed to this report with analysis.

The players are warming up and the fans are crowding the Garden for the 57th annual Beanpot Championship.

“Execute our game plan and come up high, there’s no more pressure than any other game,” said Albie O’Connell Northeastern assistant coach.

After a decisive win against Boston College, the third-ranked Huskies are ready to go for the cup. Top ranked Boston University though is ready to reclaim its title for the 29th year.

Although a Massachusetts event, this year’s game has reached nationwide attention because Northeastern has not made it to a final in more than 20 years.

So far the expectations are high and the tension is tangible.

In tonight’s consolation game Boston College beat Harvard 4-3. For some this was a good enough prize.

“Its a little depressing that we didn’t make it and its my last year, but we’re rooting for Northeastern because there’s been such a rivalry with BU all these years,” said Keith Malado, a senior at Boston College.

No, that isn’t a mistake. Northeastern.

The Huskies haven’t won the Beanpot since 1988, but don’t be fooled; this is a much different NU team. Last night the Huskies pulled off a 6-1 beating of Boston College, the defending national champions, when even powerhouse BU struggled against a pathetic Harvard team.

The Beanpot has been held each year since 1952 and features four Boston area college hockey teams: BC, BU, Harvard and Northeastern. The women’s hockey teams from each of the schools compete in their own Beanpot. Their qualifying rounds will take place tonight.

BU (20-5-1) is now ranked first in the nation, with Northeastern ranked third after compiling an 18-6-2 record. Seeing how they didn’t even get 18 wins through all of last season, their record is a vast improvement over their 16-18-3 finish last year. A Beanpot win would be the icing on the cake for a team that has something to prove.

The Beanpot hockey final will be held at T.D. Banknorth Garden on Feb. 9. The consolation game between BC and Harvard will be held at 5 p.m. with the final at 8 p.m.

Over the last several months, students at Northeastern University conducted a research study aimed aimed at discovering the commonalities shared by small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Graduate and undergraduate students, advised by business professor Matthew Allen, found the following:

Of the 48 respondents identified as small business owners and entrepreneurs, most had several years of experience in their industry before starting their own business.

Average industry experience from the group was 17 years, Imean) while the most common response was 10 years (mode).  Of the respondents 58 percent have a family member working with the company, which indicates a trend towards family business.

Fifty-two percent of the businesspeople had completed a bachelor’s degree, 25 percent had achieved a master’s degree and 13 percent had not studied further than high school.

Frequent preparation and review of financial statements is commonly believed to be a necessary component to success in small businesses. The survey reports that 52 percent of those surveyed review financial statements prepared on a monthly basis. while 35 percent only prepare financial statements annually and 12 percent never prepare or review financial statements. Two thirds of respondents contract with a third party accounting professional to prepare these financial statements. On the software side, Quicken was by far the most popular accounting software with 65 percent usage. Peachtree came in second with 13 percent.

These small business owners and entrepreneurs responded most commonly as having two years in operation with their current small business. Seventy-three percent of them provided their own startup funding, while 10 percent received bank loans, eight percent were funded by friends and family and six percent used equity financing. 

Regarding workload, 83 percent of all respondents said they operated in their business full time, 10 percent worked part-time on their own enterprise and six percent considered their small business a hobby. About a third actually owned their own office space, and the rest leased it.

When asked to rank factors for success on a scale of 1-8, the below are the results that were obtained.  Most important factors were given a 1, while least important factors were ranked 8.  From the results we see that Cash Flow and Sales were most commonly ranked as the most important factor among responses:

When asked about the biggest challenge that their company currently faces, 36 percent chose the economy, 13 percent chose personnel, 8 percent chose customers, and 6 percent chose financing. 

When asked their firm’s most relevant competitive advantage, a third of them chose quality, 29 percent chose innovative products/services, 29 percent chose customer service, and 16 percent chose low prices (more than one selection allowed).

Employee termination was relatively low, — each company reported firing only one person on average.

Regarding succession planning and compensation, 27 percent of respondent’s companies have a formal employee selection process, 27 percent of companies have a formal employee evaluation process, and 40 percent of all firms have a formal method for setting compensation.

Innovation is a theme common throughout these firms. The overall estimation for the group is that 48 percent of net 2008 sales came from products or services less than two years old. About a third of firms surveyed have a formal process for developing new products and services. Also interesting is that 48 percent of all companies responding have a formal process for evaluating the quality of products and services.

Lastly performance had several noteworthy results which we now see. The average profit growth for all companies surveyed was 10 percent. However, the most common response was two percent, and nearly 20 percent of those responding had negative revenue growth in 2007.  As compared to their competitors in the market, most firms surveyed felt that they were slightly worse in marketing and slightly more profitable. Those surveyed felt that they were equal in terms of their sales growth and market share with their competitors.

Blast Magazine participated in this survey