On Monday afternoon, the Boston City Council held a hearing to confront Northeastern University about transparency, student rights, and a hidden $36 million Department of Homeland Security contract. Northeastern sent no one. That decision will define the rest of this story. There is a particular kind of institutional arrogance that doesn't announce itself. It doesn't need to. It simply declines the meeting, redirects to an FAQ page, and waits for the noise to die down. For ne