March 28, 2019

The Huntington News March 28, 2019

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

@HuntNewsNU Campus

Student elections Photo courtesy givingdayneu.com Five versions of the fake posters were placed around campus, including the ones above about NU’s tuition and ISEC.

Fake Giving Day posters go viral, spark debate over NU fundraising By Deanna Schwartz News Staff On Thursday, fake posters for Northeastern’s annual Giving Day fundraiser popped up around campus with statements such as “You pay $67,800 to go here. Why not an even $70,000?” “Tired of having no place to study? Your donation could add one more seat in Snell!” and “ISEC was a $225 million dollar project. We need more of your money for Phase II.” Many Northeastern students did not know what to think. “When I first saw it, I couldn’t tell if it was real or not. But honestly, if it was, I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Elena Boggio, a first-year combined business administration and design major. The posters linked to a website, www.givingdayneu.com, that listed some of the possible recipients of donations as “science,” “college of science,” “maybe housing” and

“clubs or whatever.” A photo of the fire on Hemenway Street last semester was laid behind the text. Other than one section toward the bottom, the website mimicked the official Giving Day website closely. In very small font at the bottom of the site was the text: “This website and related posters are in no way affiliated with Northeastern University.” The site has since been deactivated. Giving Day will take place April 11. The university established the day for its “students, alumni, parents, partners, friends, faculty and staff ” around the world “to support Northeastern’s trailblazing research, acclaimed athletics, global connections and so much more,” according to the website. Giving Day events are set to include free donuts and coffee, a free lunch from The Sausage Guy food truck, a pie-in-the-face fundraiser, a staff lunch and a

senior-exclusive social catered by Chicken Lou’s. The fake posters were taken down throughout the day on Thursday, but not before photos of the posters spread on social media. One photo garnered more than 43,000 upvotes and 1,000 comments on Reddit. Many users appeared to not know the posters were fake, with one user commenting, “Time to find a new school, that’s absurd.” A photo even made its way

MONEY, on Page 5

the wrong ways, and we make the problem worse, we aggravate it,” said Abigail Steiner, a fourthyear health science major who is working on a capstone project to bring opioid training and education to NU. “That’s not what we need. We need these people to get help.” Opioid overdoses and related health issues caused the deaths of 1,156 people in Boston from 2000 to 2015. The National Safety Council reported this year that Americans have a higher chance of dying from opioid overdoses than car accidents. The rate of opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts has slightly decreased since 2016,

but the impact of the epidemic in Boston may have worsened overall. EMS records from 2017 indicate a 30 percent increase in the administration of Narcan, a brand of the Naloxone drug that temporarily reverses opioid overdoses, and a 54 percent in-

Photo by Dylan Shen Naloxone is a prescription drug that temporarily reverses overdoses. It can be administered through a nasal spray (Narcan) or injection.

Read more on Page 6

City

Photo by Samantha Barry A Giving Day logo is plastered on Marino Recreation Center.

Students push for more opioid overdose training By Yunkyo Kim News Staff In response to the national and local opioid epidemic, students are leading initiatives to bring more overdose awareness and prevention training to Northeastern. Northeastern University Police Department officers carry potentially life-saving drugs, but there’s a push for broader access to such drugs as well as further education on the realities of drug overdose. “People who are affected by substance abuse are a very specific community, and medical providers need to be taught on how to deal with that, because if you are not, you deal with it in

After one out of every eight students who voted in the last SGA presidential election voted “no confidence,” the student government added an “abstain” option to the election ballot in an effort to reduce these results. One candidate is running uncontested for next year’s presidency.

crease in opioid overdose deaths from the previous year. Naloxone is a prescription drug that temporarily reverses overdoses. It can be administered through a nasal spray (Narcan)

NALOXONE, on Page 3

Budding equality As recreational marijuana shops begin to open in the Greater Boston area, the Boston City Council is considering legislation that would ensure minority equity throughout the Commonwealth’s cannabis industry.