University Point

University Point is a location in the Commonwealth in 2287.

Background
The location consists of the remains of Mass Bay University, which had been turned into a settlement, and were then overrun by synths. Abandoned by scholars, the secrets of the research team were kept safe by coastal erosion that resulted in parts of the university having sunk into the bay and the mirelurks that claimed the abandoned sections as their nesting ground. However rundown it was, according to Railroad agent Deacon, University Point gained a second lease on life when it became the heart of Mass State, a major player in Commonwealth politics. Its forces were instrumental to victory in the Battle of Charles River.

Deacon also claims that he used to roll with a local gang who operated in the town, known as the UP Deathclaws. Deacon attempted to peacefully leave the gang, but the Deathclaws later killed Deacon's wife after discovering she was a synth, leading to Deacon killing the majority of their members.

Afterward, University Point remained a major trading outpost, trading razorgrain for additional tech, such as generators (although the town limited its exports to 20% of crop yield in 2285). However, the settlement's good fortune did not last. In August 2285, on a scavenging trip into an old building, a young resident by the name of Jacqueline Spencer salvaged an old hard drive from Campbell's office. She was the local tech wizard, responsible for reactivating the town's mail relay and enabling citizens to send emails to each other. The hard drive was intended as a replacement, but Jacqueline let her curiosity get the better of her and investigated its contents instead of formatting it. When she realized that she discovered Campbell's research on reactor efficiency, she immediately sought out a passing caravan to find a buyer for the information, agreeing to a 25/75 split of the hundreds of caps promised.

The trader was an Institute informant during a time when the organization was looking for reactor research all over the Commonwealth. As the hard drive's contents were vital to the Institute, Conrad Kellogg was sent to demand that the town hand it over, with the implied threat of force if it failed to comply. The town turned on the Spencers as a result. Bert Strickland, mayor of University Point, managed to keep the tensions contained for a while, though violence nearly broke out when Perry Owens suggested that Jacqueline be turned over to the Institute and her father, Gerald Spencer, attacked him. Gerald was convinced it was a con to gain the data for free. However, rumors circulated. One of those, started by Martha Cole, implied the Institute demanded the settlement's children. Another denizen suggested a nuke was hidden in the town to detonate if they did not surrender their harvest. A mob was forming, and lynching was only a matter of time, with Owens ready to be the first to grab a pitchfork.

Gerald grounded his daughter for her own protection and Jacqueline obeyed, despite her initial misgivings. However, that did not spare her the residents' anger, as the town used the email relay she restored to flood her inbox with hateful messages. As the atmosphere heated up, Gerald found himself at a loss. The mayor was his friend, and the one who had suggested keeping his daughter inside. However, another resident also expressed what Gerald feared: the Spencers were vulnerable at University Point as a result of Jacqueline's actions, and if the Institute did not get to them, then their neighbors would. She suggested the Spencers should leave the Commonwealth entirely.

Mayor Strickland's advice was sound, though he did not anticipate that the Institute would not take kindly to a town not following orders. Synths from the Institute descended on the outpost in late August and wiped the trading post off the map. Jacqueline believed that she may have figured out where the data was at the same time, but it was too late, as the attacks had already begun. The denizens put up a fight, but they stood no chance of repulsing the synths. Some chose to take their own lives, rather than await execution. During the fighting, an explosion in the service tunnels under Sedgwick Hall killed many, released a large amount of radioactive material, and caused the building to partially collapse. The Minutemen were contacted at some point prior to the attack, but Preston Garvey remarks that they arrived too late to save the settlers.

Layout
This area is the site of an unmarked quest that will require the player character to visit several of the buildings. Most of the terminals containing clues are in the partly-sunken administration building, Sedgwick Hall, on the eastern side of the settlement. By the time the Sole Survivor arrives, the area is swarming with synths belonging to the Institute, as well as mirelurks. The synths may be hostile, depending on the Sole Survivor's relationship with the Institute.

Exterior
The location is an abandoned settlement, bordered by a thick defensive wall consisting of old buildings patched together with sheet metal walls. Within lie stalls and shacks that once housed the population of the town, now dead or ran off by Institute synths.

To the north and moving clockwise, there is: a former armor store, with an armor workbench and a cooking stove; a former weapons shop, with a weapons workbench and a cooking station; a liquor store, with an Expert-locked safe on the first floor and a chemistry station on the second floor; Sedgwick Hall, with an Expert-locked safe on the floor below the roof at the southeast corner of the ruined exterior structure; a large cafe, with the mayor's terminal on the top floor; and University Credit Union.

Exterior

 * Vault-Tec security armor helmet - In the armor store, on a shelf among other armor and clothing pieces to the left of the entrance.
 * Sylvia's holotape - In the liquor store, in a red toolbox on the counter.
 * Vault-Tec lunchbox - On a toilet at sea level in a partly-collapsed building at the northeast corner behind Sedgwick Hall.
 * University Point council meeting - Holotape, obtained from the mayor's terminal on the third floor of the University Credit Union's exterior (two floors above the cafe).
 * Gerald's vault password - On the mayor's terminal, added by reading an entry of the Town Council Logs. Accesses the vault control terminal in University Credit Union.

Related quests

 * Cleansing the Commonwealth: Knight Rhys gives the Sole Survivor an assignment to clear the location of what he calls "abominations" to further the aims of the Brotherhood of Steel.
 * Leading by Example: Lancer Captain Kells requests the Sole Survivor's help in training a Brotherhood squire by allowing him to accompany them on a mission.
 * Quartermastery: Scribe Haylen has identified the location of a piece of technology she wishes to retrieve and catalog. She asks the Sole Survivor for help in bringing back the technology in one piece.
 * Randolph Safehouse: The Railroad agent Mister Tims will leave dead drops in the form of six holotapes for the Sole Survivor, containing information about possible hazards to the Railroad's escort and escape of synths out of the Commonwealth. They can assist in these efforts by clearing out the location of hostiles.
 * Variable Removal: PAM has intel on a courser in the field. An unchecked courser can cause tremendous damage to the Railroad and the Sole Survivor is tasked with eliminating it.

Appearances
University Point only appears in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * University Point is based on the real-world location of the University of Massachusetts Boston campus.
 * The number "8.9875517873681764x109" is written on the chalkboard next to the Tesla magazine inside Sedgwick Hall. This number is Coulomb's constant.

Bugs
The main first-floor entrance doors to Sedgwick Hall might not function. To resolve the issue, save and reload, or fast travel and return. Alternatively, there is an eastern third-floor entrance, which can be accessed by going around to the east side of the building past the clutches of mirelurk eggs found throughout this destroyed exterior area. Another access method is to climb to the top of the rear of the building, walk over the roof, then drop down to the balcony, where a blue door allows access to the west side of the third floor.