Fatal accidents and university-funded sex magazines were just some of the front-page headlines that stunned Boston-area students and school administrators during the 2003-04 academic year.
Northeastern University and other Boston-area schools were sharply criticized by city officials after the high-profile death of a Northeastern student’s brother, who was hit by an allegedly drunk driver during a Patriots Super Bowl victory celebration.
Mayor Thomas Menino used the incident to call on area schools to curb student drinking and partying. The incident prompted Northeastern’s president to cancel a planned spring concert featuring rap artists Ludacris and Jurassic 5. Northeastern officials have since approved a proposed large-scale concert for September.
The September 2003 death of Northeastern student Abby Carter raised questions about policies surrounding the notification process for students medical conditions. Carter died in her dorm of an epileptic seizure. Her resident assistant was unaware Carter had the condition, but officials said no further action could have been taken, even if responders had known about Carter’s epilepsy.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology saw its own share of tragedy when a junior was found floating in the partially-frozen Charles River, almost two months after he disappeared from his Chi Phi fraternity.
Twenty-year-old Daniel Mun disappeared while rollerblading before a snowstorm in December, and was not found until February. Authorities later ruled his death a suicide.
Another student was found dead in an MIT laboratory in May. Police ruled out foul play, but said suicide was a possible cause of death. Eleven MIT students have committed suicide in the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, an MIT online analog music library, touted as an alternative to illegal file-sharing and downloading, was shut down several days after its inception in October 2003. The library, which allowed students to listen to music on a signal through MIT’s cable television station, was shut down due to licensing issues. Students could access 3,500 CDs through the system, but could not download or copy the music.
In April, Boston College announced its plans to purchase more than 46 acres in Brighton from the Archdiocese of Boston. The $107.4 million land deal includes a former Archbishop’s residence and surrounding yards.
The Archdiocese of Boston will use money from the sale to pay $85 million to vitims of the church’s sexual abuse scandal. Area residents expressed concerns about the sale, saying BCs expanded campus would encourage developers to turn single-family homes in the area into rental units for students.
Harvard University also announced plans to expand its campus. In October 2003, Harvard proposed a 200-acre expansion in Allston, across the Charles River from the university’s main campus and adjacent to the west end of Boston University’s campus.
The development will include a science building, undergraduate housing and two graduate schools with construction beginning in the next few years.
Harvard also made headlines – and raised eyebrows – when two students launched H-Bomb, a school-funded magazine featuring nude and semi-nude pictures of students and frank discussion of sexual topics.
The editors claimed the magazine was intended to be a serious sex magazine – not pornography. The magazine’s first issue, with two nude backsides on the cover, was released in May.
