Clare Coughlan

More by Clare Coughlan

A Collegiette's Alternative Spring Break Experience 3/25/2013	While most of my classmates were spending spring break tanning on the beach, partying on a cruise ship, or worst-case scenario, working at co-op or stuck at home, I was doing something much different. I was building a stranger’s house. I spent my spring break on an alternative spring break (ASB) trip to southern Texas, where I worked with an immigration rights group with 10 other Northeastern students. We spent our trip learning about issues facing people in the area, raising awareness about safety projects, and helping to build housing. And, the best part was, we had a great time doing it. By going on this ASB trip I was able to try new things and meet people I may have not met otherwise. My 21st birthday was one of the first days of the trip. The first – and pretty much only – rule of ASB is no drinking, so many of my friends thought I was crazy for wanting to spend my spring break “working” when I could have been drinking daiquiris on a beach somewhere. Instead, I spent my 21st being surprised by a cake and piñata from my new friends, and I couldn’t have been happier about my decision. After going on the trip, I now spend my time trying to convince my friends to go on an alternative spring break trip next year. With trips focusing on issues to the environment, animal care, housing, education, and immigration rights, it’s easy to make a difference for an issue you care about. Alternative Spring Break gives students the opportunity to travel, meet new friends, and volunteer in a domestic or international community, and I think it’s the best way I could have spent my spring break.
This Year's Best Political Costumes 10/25/2012	Still don't have a costume idea? Political costumes are bound to be popular this year - topical and funny, they can be a great conversation starter at every Halloween party. Binders Full of Women - This costume, based on Romney's comments in the last debate, is sure to be a popular one this year. Just tie some cardboard to your back, fasten on three rings made of tubing and duct tape and paste on some images of women and you'll be a Binder Full of Women in no time! Big Bird - Big Bird costumes are selling out quickly, due to another one of Romney's debate comments about cutting funding to PBS. If you can't get your hands on a pre-made one, you can create one yourself by using yellow feathers and knee-high orange socks. Carry around a "Looking for Work" sign. The Obamas - Unless you want to shave your head, going as Barack may be hard to pull off. But for a Michelle costume, you'll need to whip out your best J. Crew dress and pumps. Start doing arm exercises all day every day for the next week. Mitt Romney - This costume only requires three things: a suit, gray hair dye, and lots of hair gel. There are lots of options for accessories: a book on Mormonism, a binder, a bayonet, or a wallet full of cash and pictures of your many kids and grandkids.
21st Birthday Disasters 4/25/2012	For me, holidays never seem to go as planned; my best friend told me my Halloween costume made me look like a TGI Friday’s waitress, my crush didn’t ask me out for Valentine’s Day, and my parents decided this year that I was too old to still be getting presents from Santa. I’ve learned that usually my favorite days are the ones I don’t plan – and therefore don’t have high hopes for. If these Northeastern collegiettes experiences are any indication, I shouldn’t plan too much for my 21st birthday either. Here’s how some spent their 21st birthdays, in their own words. What the plan was: I was supposed to go to my boyfriend's school's fall dance and then go to the bar at midnight. In the morning (still my birthday), my boyfriend was going to make me a mimosa and breakfast in bed. What actually happened: My boyfriend fell asleep between the dance and the bar and came out anyway, but was clearly ready for bedtime. My friends were supposed to meet us at bar, but only one actually came because the rest had already gone home from the bar they were at earlier. The friend that came didn't stay long because his girlfriend showed up really drunk and fell onto a broken bottle. In the morning (still my birthday), my boyfriend ended up getting food poisoning and spent my birthday in bed with me trying to make him feel better. I ended the day writing a paper. -Anonymous, junior communications major
Why I Hate Forever 21 3/22/2012	When I walk into a Forever 21, I feel a tightness in my chest that I know comes from over stimulation. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the bright lights and the shininess of the white floor reflecting the glittery jewelry display. I want to keep my iPod in so I can listen to my own, more calming, music, but the heavy bass of whatever Rihanna remix is most popular this week drowns it out. Giggling 13-year-olds and piles of discarded clothes on the floor seem to surround me. After going up and down the escalators for what feels like hours, (first looking for clothes, then for an open dressing room) I finally get to try on the clothes, and there seems to be something off about every piece. What’s wrong with this lighting? Why is this polyester so itchy? This didn’t look like a crop top when I picked it out? Why would you make something with FAKE POCKETS, that’s so disappointing? No but really, what’s up with this lighting, I know my skin doesn’t really look that bad, does it? I leave feeling slightly sick and tired, like I just ate a not-so-great burrito too quickly. Whenever I do end up buying something from Forever 21 (or as it’s sometimes known, “Forevs”) the clothes end up falling apart. Loose threads coming out of every seam of a dress, holes in shirts, and don’t even get me started on the pilling! I don’t think I’ve ever had an item of their clothing that lasted more than a year.
Ryan Whyte: NU's Big Man on Campus 3/16/2012	Her Campus Northeastern co-sponsored this year's Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority’s BIG MAN ON CAMPUS, where the men of Northeastern competed to win the annual coveted title. This year's winner, Ryan Whyte, won the judges (and the crowd) over when he said he deserved to be Big Man on Campus because he had "a really, really big... heart." Her Campus Northeastern interviewed Ryan to find out what it's really like to be the biggest man on campus. Year: Middler Major: Electrical Engineering Hometown: North Andover, MA Activities: Active member of Sigma Beta Rho Fraternity, drumming, killing time with my brothers and sleeping every chance in between Interests: Drums and music in general, hockey (used to play in high school), reading What's it like to be Big Man on Campus? Do you get more attention from girls now? It feels really great and fills me with a lot of pride, especially since so many of my brothers and friends helped out along the way and came out to support me the night of the event. In my head I definitely get more attention from girls and am a huge deal all around campus, but in reality nothing’s really changed other than my ego inflating to a point where my roommates are probably going to try and smother me in sleep if they hear anything else about my new title.
Andrew Rodriguez & Brandon Beneduce: KeeWee Listings 3/2/2012	At a school known for its startups, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. But with a name like “KeeWee” and a premise to stop the extensive problem of finding a non-creepy sublet, this new company has been getting plenty of buzz on-campus and off. Her Campus Northeastern interviewed junior history major Andrew Rodriguez and middler behavioral neuroscience major Brandon Beneduce about their new website, KeeWee Listings. HC: How did the idea for starting a business come about? Andrew: Around this time last year, I was reading the popular book Freakonomics and read a chapter on the economic incentives within the real-estate industry. I got an idea for an online platform that would allow people to showcase their real estate openings and realized it would apply perfectly to Northeastern's real estate market. Brandon: Andrew then approached me and we began working towards building KeeWee Listings. We realized the concept was perfect for the sublet problem here at Northeastern and, since we ourselves have had sublet issues, wanted to create a service that would give people control over their sublet openings and prevent them from getting stuck paying rent when they aren't there.
Robbie Alper: The College Facts COO 2/23/2012	When Robbie Alper’s high school buddy, Matt, asked him if he wanted to be involved in a new website he’d created at the University of Arizona, Robbie was up for the challenge. Robbie, now a Northeastern middler, became COO of TheCollegeFacts.com, a website of user-submitted content for college students across the country. The website already has over 9,000 fans on their Facebook page and 1,300 Twitter followers -- not bad for a site that just launched in November, 2011-- but Robbie has even bigger goals in mind. “We’ve seen how big websites like Texts From Last Night and TFM have gotten, and there’s no reason we can’t do that,” says the International Affairs major from California. The College Facts mission statement is “a site that defines the college experience, one fact at a time.” Robbie sees the site not only as a tool for entertaining, but also connecting college students and even high school seniors undecided about their college choice. “You can search by school and it will give you an inside view that no one else is going to give you,” Robbie says. So what’s the “inside view” that Northeastern students are posting on The College Facts?
Dani Rylan: Lady Husky Champion 2/15/2012	Northeastern isn’t exactly known for its sports, but despite the jokes about the football team’s “winning record” or the men’s hockey team loss(es) in the Beanpot, there’s one major bright spot for Northeastern sports fans: the women’s ice hockey team. After winning the Beanpot tournament for the first time since 1998, the lady Huskies have continued to win games, clinching a spot in the Hockey East playoffs. This week’s Campus Celeb is Dani Rylan, a second-year graduate student studying Sports Leadership, and co-captain of the team. When did you start to play hockey? I started playing hockey when I was 5 and this is my second year on the team here at Northeastern. How did you feel when your team won the Beanpot? Winning the Beanpot was the most amazing feeling! I wanted time to freeze so I could soak it all in! Being able to share that memory with my team forever is so special, I'll never forget it! That's the thing about championships, you can never take them away! We will forever be the 2012 Beanpot Champions!! On top of that, my dad flew in from Tampa, FL to make the game, which made the experience that much better! How did the team celebrate the win? We had to balance celebrating a mid-season championship with the fact we still have 4 games left in the regular season and then Hockey East playoffs. So while we gathered as a team, we didn't get too crazy Tuesday night, knowing we have a lot more to accomplish this season. (Also, girls had exams Wednesday morning!) However, there will be a ceremony at halftime of the Men's Basketball game on the 14th.
Brittany Miller: Leading NU's Fight Against Cancer 2/9/2012	With so many events happening on campus, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to decide what to do on any given night. But this week’s Campus Celeb, Brittany Miller, wants everyone to know about two events happening this semester for students to have a good time and support cancer awareness. What do you do with Colleges Against Cancer and Relay for Life? I've been the Head of Marketing for Relay For Life for three years, since the event was started on campus. If you see anything around campus, I probably created it. The Relay For Life Committee is a subcommittee to the Colleges Against Cancer Executive board. What's the goal of your sorority’s event, Ribbons on the Runway? Ribbons on the Runway is an event that Alpha Epsilon Phi puts on annually. The goal is to raise awareness about breast cancer. All the proceeds go to Alpha Epsilon Phi's national philanthropy, Sharsheret, which is a national not-for-profit organization supporting young Jewish women and their families facing breast cancer. The event itself is a fashion show and silent auction with sisters from sororities and brothers from fraternities modeling in it. What inspired you to join Colleges Against Cancer? I joined Colleges Against Cancer because I actually started a club similar to it in my high school after my best friend was diagnosed with Leukemia.
Spring Break 101 2/7/2012	Each year at the beginning of February, a groundhog makes his appearance and we learn if there’s just six more weeks until spring, or if we have to wait it out for even longer. In Boston, the appearance of the groundhog’s shadow doesn’t matter much: we know it’s going to be a long, long time until the snow and ice disappear. But just because you’re living on a college budget and Northeastern’s spring break is absurdly early, doesn’t mean you have to spend your week off shivering in your dorm room. Here are seven spring break ideas and deals for students in classes, or weekend trips for those on co-op.

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