RSA opts to keep resident activity fee steady The Resident Student Association (RSA) decided not to raise the resident activity fee at its Jan. 10 meeting. The fee, paid by all students living on campus, will remain at $29. “It’s a serious matter we should discuss,” RSA President Darren Conine said. “You guys are doing great programs. We’re not in the red in any way.” The fee could have increased to $30 or $31, consistent with inflation. In a survey of the general RSA council, the overwhelming majority voted against raising the fee. Feeding off that input, the RSA executive board later decided not to increase the fee. They cited various reasons, including a healthy financial-balance despite implementing more programs this year and the negative publicity associated with student fee increases. This is the second student association that has not raised its fee this year – The Budget Review Committee voted to maintain the Student Activities Fee at $109 earlier this month.

– Brian Benson, News Staff

Community service center hosts two major events The Northeastern Center of Community Service will host two of its major events in the coming weeks. The Spring Volunteer Fair will be today from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first floor of the Curry Student Center. More than 40 organizations from the Boston area will man tables informing students about possible volunteer opportunities, internships, work study, service learning and co-op possibilities within their organizations. On Feb. 15, the Center of Community Service will host its monthly Forming Opportunities for Collaboration, Understanding and Service (F.O.C.U.S.) Forums. These events are designed to engage students, faculty and community organizations in an open forum aimed at understanding social issues within a community context. A panel will include representatives from community organizations and Northeastern faculty and staff. This forum will deal with Early Education Access and Success and will be in 322 Curry Student Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

-Mary Ann Georgantopoulos, News Staff

Holocaust memory, representation today in Snell The “Holocaust Memory and Representation” lectures will be held today from noon to 1:30 p.m. in 90 Snell Library. The event will feature Sara Rubin, executive director of the Boston Jewish Film Festival, who will speak on “Changing Trends in Cinematic Representation of the Holocaust.” The second lecture will be “Deportation from Drancy: France and the Shoah” by Inez Hedges Stotsky, professor of Jewish historical and cultural studies. The event is sponsored by the Stotsky Lecture and Performance Series, 2006-07, the Holocaust Awareness Committee, the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Northeastern’s Cinema Studies Program.

– Mary Ann Georgantopoulos, News Staff

Suffolk district attorney sworn in at Northeastern Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley took his oath of office Thursday afternoon at Northeastern. Conley was sworn in for his second full term as district attorney (DA). Jake Wark, spokesperson for the DA, said Northeastern hosted the ceremony for a philosophical reason, and said Northeastern “is an institution of higher learning that exists in very close proximity to young people who are to often surrounded by violence.” Conley said one of his focuses for the new term in the coming months will be on changing and improving the juvenile justice system and working to curb youth violence. Essex County DA Jonathan Blodgett was master of ceremonies and the Northeastern University Reserve Training Corps color guard presented the colors.

-Jessica Torrez-Riley, News Staff

Law professor appointed to civilian review board Northeastern law professor David Hall was appointed to the Boston Police Department’s new civilian review board last week. The board will review allegations of police misconduct that are dismissed by police internal affairs, as well as make recommendation to the Police Department about officers’ cases and proper punishment. The board will submit an annual report, which will be released to the public. Northeastern’s Institute on Race and Justice recommended a new procedure for complaints against police after the city requested a study. The recommendation led to the creation of the panel. Institute director Jack McDevitt worked with colleagues to research civilian review boards in other states. Mayor Menino also asked New England School of Law Dean John O’Brien and former parole board member Ruth Suber to serve on the panel. Hall is a former provost and dean of the Northeastern School of Law.

-Jessica Torrez-Riley, News Staff

Professor invents new device to help children babble A new interactive digital tool designed to help children with trouble learning to babble before speaking in full words because of speech disorders, has been created by computer and information science professor Harriet Fell. The device, “visiBabble,” uses visually stimulating animation and games to encourage the repetition of sounds and syllables. A microphone listens for infants to say sounds within their age range, and it rewards the correct sound with moving images on a small screen. The images range from a puzzle that solves itself to a firework display. The research for visiBabble was funded by a series of National Institute of Health grants awarded to Fell starting in 2002. She worked closely with the Speech Technology and Applied Research Corp. (STAR) in Bedford, and Dr. Cynthia Cress, a professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, who supervises visiBabble field-testing on children with disabilities.

-Jessica Torrez-Riley, News Staff