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FM riday , M, arch 2020 onday April13, 1, 2019
Boston Councilperson Offers Help to Students Moving Out By Lauren Wittenmyer Copy Editor And Julia Remick Asst. Metro Editor Boston City Councilor Liz Breadon encouraged Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard University students to call her office in order to assist them in petitioning their universities to stay on campus. BC and Harvard have asked students to vacate their dorms to help prevent further spread of the coronavirus. “With parts of @Harvard @BostonCollege & @BU_Tweets residing in my district, students make up a fair share of our neighborhood,” said Breadon in a tweet
on Wednesday. “For those impacted by the loss of dorm housing give my office a call at 617-6353113. Or email @ liz.breadon@boston.gov #Allston #BrightonMA #bospoli” The councilor’s office is working to ensure that all information about the universities’ decisions have been made clear to the students being affected and other community members, primarily through the use of social media, said Breadon’s chief of staff, Lee Nave. “So our goal is to get the information out as best as possible through social media,” Nave said. “And from there, we’ve been working in coordination with three different offices, counsel media, BOC, as well as Essaibi-
George, and just creating sort of a list of different information and resources that we can give to students who inquire.” While Nave said that the councilor’s office would be doing its best to keep students informed during this transition period, he also emphasized the role the universities must play in this process as well. “We’re pretty much like the last line of defense because the universities themselves have to be the ones who take care of their young folks, their students,” Nave said. “But there have been community members who’ve reached out to us expressing the desire to help out.” Boston College is allowing students to apply to remain on campus if they have extenuating circumstances that would make
returning home a challenge, or a University obligation. Nave said the councilor’s office is working with the universities to understand what meets this criteria. “We’ve had a few folks who are part of LGBT community who mentioned that BC apparently wasn’t determining that as an extreme reason to stay,” Nave said. “And so we reached out to BC and they said that they are taking it under consideration as something that they feel could be something that allows a young person to stay on campus.” Nave said that BU has been receptive to working with the councilor’s office to solve the issues of housing. “BC has answered our questions when we asked, but Harvard and the other uni-
versities haven’t reached out to the council at all,” said Nave. “They haven’t shared information with us directly so, you know, we have a lot of constituents that live in our neighborhood and we just want to have the ability to give them as much information as possible.” Nave stressed that the councilor’s office would be readily available to assist students in this challenging time. “I would definitely say, you know, reach out to your universities and get a full understanding of what they’re currently doing, like what services they’re currently offering,” Nave said. “And from there, if they aren’t meeting your housing demands for whatever reason just reach out to our office, if you live in the Allston-Brighton area.” n
Professors, Others Sign Up to Help in Move-Out By Owen Fahy Special Projects Editor
Maggie Dipatri / Heights Editor
Students Struggle During Move-Out By Jack Miller Heights Senior Staff In the 24 hours following Wednesday’s announcement, Boston College students attempting to navigate travel and storage plans grew frustrated with the University’s schedule for moving all students off campus. Shortly after the initial announcement, Vice President for Student Affairs Joy Moore emailed the student body with instructions to move out as soon as possible, with the latest possible departure at 9 p.m. Sunday. At the forefront of some students’ worries are the logistics of finding storage, especially for those who cannot rely on Piece by Piece Movers, a summer storage company that picks up storage boxes directly from students’ dorms. Although convenient for students planning on returning at the beginning of the fall semester, many students who planned to work near campus over the summer or study abroad in the fall said they needed to find storage elsewhere because they would need their possessions stored for an irregular amount of time. BC will provide students with 125 movers to help students pack up, free of charge, as well as 25,000 boxes for moveout, according to an email Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead sent the student body on Thursday. The four-day time frame also forced many families to make last-minute arrangements for work and travel, according to several students who lived outside of driving distance from campus. Thirty-
seven percent of undergraduates come from outside the Northeast, according to the 2019-2020 Fact Book. “I’m thankful that I’m so close and that I can move out and my parents can come pick me up, but it’s so sad for all of the people that aren’t close … and whose parents can’t take off work and come pick them up,” said Jade Keene, a student from Maine and Lynch ’22. “We should have been given more than four days.” Some students facing uncertainty about travel took particular aim at the University’s four-day schedule. Multiple noted that many other local colleges had provided a more relaxed timeframe: Of Massachusetts schools that asked students to vacate campus for the rest of the semester, only Holy Cross provided less time, with three days. Harvard University gave students five days to leave; Tufts University, six; MIT, seven; and Amherst College, nine. Christina Park, CSON ’22, and Laura Edinger, MCAS ’20, both said that their families happened to be unable to come to BC when the news broke. Park’s parents are in Australia, and Edinger’s entire extended family is on vacation in Hawaii. Both said that they plan on relying on friends for help getting home or finding a temporary place to stay. On top of navigating the logistics of transportation and storage, some students voiced anxiety about inadvertently carrying the virus back to their families, especially older or seriously ill relatives. Elderly people and those with pre-existing medical conditions appear to be more vulnerable to severe cases
of coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. “If there was coronavirus hidden among some of the students here, we would be endangering other students by forcing them on airplanes that are potentially compromised or sending them back to their hometowns that are compromised,” said Eden Dalton, a student whose father was recently diagnosed with asthma and MCAS ’22. “But now you have a fear of being a carrier and exposing people that you love and care about because you are forced to go home.” Others face the opposite problem: anxiety that returning home brings a greater risk of infection than staying. Multiple students from Washington, New York, and California—which lead the country in confirmed cases—questioned whether they would even be permitted to return home. Kate Peaquin, MCAS ’20, cited her concern that President Donald Trump would ban domestic flights into Seattle, which she lives just outside of. Trump suggested the possibility of such a restriction on Thursday. “It’s just really stressful because you’re doing this all on your own,” Peaquin said. “I’ll have to find another city, and [my parents] will have to drive, and that’s really stressful to deal with as well. I don’t feel safer by going back because it’s the same situation there. “It feels like BC doesn’t care about our safety,” Peaquin continued. “They just care about not being to blame for anything.” n
A Google Form in which students can request assistance for housing, storage, or transportation has been circulating on campus in the wake of Boston College’s move to online courses and closure of the residential halls. In a separate sheet, community members have been signing up to provide assistance. At the time of publication, 114 people had signed up to provide help. The form was created by BC Law professor Hiba Hafiz with help from other faculty in Faculty for Justice, an informal faculty group committed to fighting injustice on and off campus. “We ended up finding a couple templates that had been developed from community organizing efforts to help students in the Boston area,” Hafiz said. Hafiz said he believes students are unsure where to go for help and that a lack of communication from the University has caused students to rely more heavily on faculty members for help. “I’ve been contacted by four students and am busy coordinating this, probably doing a bit of reorganization in my
“We’re called to be men and women for others. There’s no pats on the back that are deserved for extending a helping hand.” basement first,” Franziska Seraphim, history professor and director of the Asian studies program, said in an email to The Heights. “This was a great idea and I’m glad to help.” Communication professor Michael Serazio reached out to his current students offering assistance, and he signed up on the form to provide help to any BC student. “I had sent an email to all of my classes, all of my students, basically offering the same thing—which is if you need lodging, we have a spare bedroom
… if you need food and things like that,” Serazio said. “I had informally done that with my students that I have right now, so I was really pumped to see that there was an organic, grassroots effort to try to figure out faculty, staff, admin to collectively help out students.” Responses from faculty to students in need of help have been swift, according to Serazio. “I got a call around noon from a
“It’s the right thing to do—we are all about cura personalis at BC.”
student, but I was busy so it rolled to voicemail, and I called back 15 minutes later—it was someone who needed storage but within 15 minutes had already found someone else on the sheet to help out,” Serazio said. Serazio said that one student had contacted him from the sheet and that he was taking students from his classes out to lunch next week. “We’re called to be men and women for others. There’s no pats on the back that are deserved for extending a helping hand, as we’re able (and in my case, fortunate), in the middle of a crisis,” Serazio added in an email to The Heights. “I’ve advised my students to take care of themselves— physically, emotionally, psychologically—and take care of others in the same way and, as best as possible, to keep calm and carry on and to let me know how I can help.” Christine Caswell, a professor and director of undergraduate studies in the communication department, said she made herself available to provide support to students via the Google Form and has been contacted by about five students, who were mainly requesting storage space. “It’s the right thing to do—we are all about cura personalis at BC, and when any unpredictable situation like this occurs so suddenly … it naturally causes anxiety,” Caswell said. “I’m fortunate that I have space in my home, and I am privileged to have the space that I have, so I wanted to pay it forward and help students who are stuck.” n
BC Students Flood Res, Pino’s After Announcement By Kaylie Ramirez Heights Senior Staff Students may pack into Reservoir Wines and Spirits, Mary Ann’s Bar, and Pino’s Pizza on weekends and “Senior Tuesdays,” but Wednesday nights aren’t typically busy for Cleveland Circle businesses. Once the University announced it was closing due to the spread of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday evening, students flocked to the popular locations, creating an unusual surge in business. A line snaked around Reservoir almost immediately after the 5 p.m. announcement, and Mary Ann’s and Pino’s Pizza both experienced high volumes of customers later in the night. Despite the immediate push to meet the sudden spike in demand, the owners of
Reservoir and Pino’s Pizza are mainly concerned about how the Boston College shutdown will impact their businesses in the coming months. “Boston College suspending classes is gonna have a big effect economically in the area,” George Haivanis, the owner of Reservoir, said while restocking Tito’s Vodka. “I personally have been here for 33 years. I guess summer … came twoand-a-half months early.” While Reservoir employees were working hard to replenish the store’s stock, Pino’s was preparing for another night of high demand late Thursday afternoon. Feliciano (Phil) Petruzziello, the owner of Pino’s, expressed distaste with BC’s failure to notify surrounding businesses of the University’s decision to close campus. “They don’t pay attention to the neighbors,” Petruzziello said of the
University. Petruzziello estimates BC students compose roughly 15 percent of Pino’s business and recognizes that going to the restaurant has been a BC tradition for “generations”—the pizzeria first opened in 1964. While discussing the effects of the shutdown, a patron overheard Petruzziello’s interview with The Heights and asked him for a picture. She said her husband, Dan Lynch, frequented Pino’s during his time as a student at BC. Despite being 86 years old, Petruziello is hardly worried about the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on Wednesday. “Perhaps because of my age, I’m not worrying as much as a young person. I mean, the war in Europe didn’t kill me,” Petruziello said, referring to World War
II. “All the diseases and all the lack of food, the lack of medicine—I survived. But if this is destiny, you have to go.” Since the announcement, many students have been gathering in large groups in bars, at Mod parties, and even at an impromptu Showdown outside of 2150 Commonwealth Ave.BC has not yet made a decision on plans for Senior Week, and many seniors have begun celebrating the end of their time at BC while still on campus. While shopping at Reservoir, one senior reflected on the situation: “I’m pretty much disregarding most emails from professors—that’s going to be a Monday issue,” said Mike Vaiarella, CSOM ’20. “I’m just trying to maximize time with friends, … trying to really take advantage of every moment we have left. It just feels like it came two months earlier than it was supposed to.” n
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Friday, March 13, 2020
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Students React to Closing of Residence Halls, In-Person Classes By Isabella Cavazzoni Metro Editor Sophie Oliver, MCAS ’22, was running around the Reservoir when she got the news: University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. sent an email to the Boston College community announcing the transition to online classes. Immediately, texts flooded her phone. “Come back,” a text from Macy Amos, MCAS ’22, read. She looked up from her phone and sprinted back to her dorm. “I noticed there were a lot of other BC students at the Res and we’d all gotten the email like at the same time,” Oliver said. “And people just started crying and I was like paused at that point so I was just watching all of this chaos.” When she arrived back on campus, the scene was similar: Everyone was on their phones crying, Oliver said. By Sunday at 9 p.m., all BC residence halls will close, and—with the exception of those with special permission—students will be required to move out of University housing. Walking through Lower Campus around 1 a.m. on Thursday, Liv Sheridan, MCAS ’22, witnessed the disarray. Painted in red spray paint, Sheridan saw “Stay 2020” surrounded by handprints written outside of Lower dining hall. On Thursday morning, a power washer took to the paint, washing away the melancholy lament of the graffiti’s anonymous writers. Still, it’s the seniors who are taking over campus. Emma Llosa, MCAS ’20; Katherine Carroll, Lynch ’20; and Nia Coufos, MCAS ’20, danced outside of their Mod on Wednesday evening. They hung signs on their fence that read, “Happy senior week,” “I’m young and healthy—my parents aren’t,” and “Keep corona here.” As a senior, Llosa feels like she is missing out on end-of-the-year events. “I thought if they sent us home it would only be for a couple weeks, not for the rest of the semester,” she said. “And now we don’t even have like a graduation ceremony or commence-
ment ball. There’s been no notification about that. So it’s a wee bit f—ed up.” Llosa, Carroll, and Coufos said that they are planning on fitting the rest of their senior year celebrations into the limited time they have left on campus. “It’s just sad, it’s a sad realization. Like I wasn’t emotionally prepared to leave college yet,” Llosa said. Llosa, Carroll, and Coufos also expressed frustration with the way the University handled the decision to close. “Northeastern said students could stay, and they already went on their spring break. We are in the most similar situation as them, and we’re outside of the city, so I don’t understand,” Carroll said. “They gave us less time to leave too than other colleges in the area, which is unfair. Like all our parents are upset.” Llosa expressed concern that the novel coronavirus will spread further because college students are traveling home. “I feel like sending everyone across the country is worse than just letting us all stay here, especially since we already went on Spring Break, but I’m not an epidemiologist,” Llosa said. Jack Andreana, CSOM ’23, said his biggest takeaway from the announcement was sympathy for outgoing seniors. “I disagree with the decision,” Andreana said. “They’re sending kids back to places that have it much worse, particularly where me and Jackson here are from, which is New Rochelle, New York, Westchester County. The National Guard is just in my hometown.” Andreana also expressed frustration with the University’s lack of communication throughout the week. “I know a lot of international students are kind of screwed in the situation,” Andreana said. “They took forever to come out with any sort of information, and they’re not giving a lot of kids time for flights. It’s only four days they got to get out of here by. It’s a tough situation...Could have been handled better, but at the end of the day can’t really fix anything.”
Ikram Ali / Heights Editor
Caroline Bald, MCAS ’23, also said she was worried about the possibility of returning students spreading the coronavirus to their respective regions. “I’m from Alabama so there are no cases there,” Bald said. “If there are any other students going back to places where there aren’t any identified cases, like we could be patient zero.” Bald said that sending students away on such short notice was difficult for some financially. “I think it could’ve been handled better,” she said. “I mean Harvard let their students know a couple of days ago, and we didn’t get any information until today. It kind of sucks for people who don’t have the financial resources to get back home within the time period, especially for kids who come from far away.” Still, through the semester’s tumultuous events, BC students aren’t planning on wasting any time. A Facebook event is currently circulating with 956 people invited to celebrate Marathon Monday earlier than usual, making it Marathon Friday. With a 6 a.m. start time on Friday, the event instructs students to not only make the tradition happen before students leave campus, but to “rage.” Dining halls were swept
Full-Practicum Education Students Told Their Training to Continue Through Year By Haley Hockin Copy Chief Applied psychology practicums and pre-practicums—on-the-job education classes for Lynch School of Education and Human Development (LSOEHD) students—for elementary and secondary education will be suspended for the rest of the semester. Full-practicum students will continue with their school placement for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year, according to several emails sent to Lynch students from Julia DeVoy, associate dean of Undergraduate Student Services in Lynch. Dean of LSOEHD Stanton Wortham has requested that these students be granted permission to stay on campus in University housing, DeVoy said in an email to The Heights, but so far no decisions have been made. Undergraduates majoring in either elementary education or secondary education need to complete three semester-long pre-practicums as requirements for their majors. Practicums for students majoring in applied psychology in the Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 are optional but were recently made a requirement
for students in the Class of 2023. Pre-practicums consist of students traveling to Boston elementary or high schools once a week. This time is also paired with a Special Issues in Teaching seminar course, which students are required to take while completing their pre-practicums. Full-practicums are also a semester long but are usually completed during students’ senior years. Full-practicum students spend five days a week on site and are supervised by both a practitioner and clinical faculty member. “[The administration’s] goal is to ensure that students are on a successful pathway to endorsement and licensure at the end of the Boston College experience,” DeVoy said in the email. “[The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education] has emphasized the need for us to continue to adhere to licensure requirements and the hours needed for endorsement.” Before BC had officially moved classes online and closed residential halls to most students, Jacob Kelleher, Lynch ’22, who was in the process of completing his pre-practicum, said that while Lynch requirements for the
education majors are normally very strict, the administration had been flexible considering the extenuating circumstances. Kelleher also said that he believes Lynch’s top priority is maintaining the health and safety of BC students and students in the greater Boston area, so he understands the changes. “I think that obviously the top priority is the students at the schools and their learning and their health,” Kelleher said. “When you have no understanding of where anyone went for a week and we’re in the middle of the situation that we’re in, it seems like the safest thing to do for everyone is to make sure that no one’s infected before they go back.” Kelleher said that coronavirus concerns were nonexistent at his practicum the Thursday before Spring Break, which turned out to be his last for the spring semester. “Nothing was out of the ordinary,” Kelleher said. “People didn’t start getting widely infected across all the states until shortly after that Thursday right at the beginning of Spring Break. It’s been sad. I love going to school and seeing my kids every week.” n
clean as students attempted to use their meal plan money before leaving. BC Memes for Jesuit Tweens, a Facebook group dedicated to memes, burst with coronavirus closing related content. “It shows that we’re lucky because everybody loves it so much,” said Jack-
son Goodman, CSOM ’23, about the student activities after the announcement. “That it’s not a place we want to leave.” n Rachel Phelan, Julia Kiersznowski, Megan Kelly, Emma Healy, and Olivia Charbonneau contributed to reporting.
Nursing Clinicals Continue After Classes Move Online By Lauren Wittenmyer Copy Editor Students in the Connell School of Nursing (CSON) were told to attend their mandatory clinical facilities as per usual on Thursday, a day after Boston College moved all classes online for the remainder of the semester and mandated that, with certain exceptions, students move out of the residence halls, according to Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and CSON professor M. Colleen Simonelli. “We are diligently working on how you will be able to meet the objectives of the clinical courses regarding attending clinical,” Simonelli said in an email to all nursing students. “Your clinical faculty are expecting you.” In an email to the student body, Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead said that “accommodations are being made for all students who must complete clinical work.” Simonelli emphasized the importance of students attending their clinicals as scheduled on Thursday, as the clinical faculties were still expecting students. She did not respond to emailed questions asking if clinicals will continue through the end of the semester, if it is safe for students to continue at their designated clinical sites, and if these students will be granted exceptions to the mandatory move-out of the residence halls. Mcphillips Akukwe, CSON ’22, said he was unsure if clinicals would continue now that BC has asked students to vacate their residence halls or how other nursing classes would be affected by BC’s decision to vacate residence halls and move to online classes for the remainder of the semester. Akukwe expressed concern over how nursing students would be able to get to their work sites if clinicals were to continue. “A lot of people just aren’t going to be able to get to their work sites,” Akukwe said. On Monday, nursing students were required to complete a survey about where they traveled over Spring
“I think it’s “I wish they would “I think that there’s a “I’m emotionally devastating not have given us like a lot of emotions and exhausted. Like I’m being able to see little bit more time not capable of doing most of them are our friends, not or like told us that negative. I think that being able to finish anything right now, this is an interesting they weren’t sure relationships. It’s what was going on. and we just sat in our time for a lot of hard with professors I think it would people. It’s very rooms and looked at too, like I think there are a ton of people have calmed a lot of hard for the seniors our bags and were people’s nerves. Just to react to leaving that I expected to be like, I can’t.” able to get closure the fact that they school two months Karina Kavanagh, with.” would tell us what early.” -Elizabeth MCAS ’22 was going on.” - Lauren Seigel, McGonagle, - Angelica Bigler, CSOM ’20 MCAS ’20 CSOM ’23
Break. Failure to complete the survey by 10 p.m. that night would be considered an unexcused absence resulting in grade deductions, the email said. “The survey was an internal effort required by our clinical partners to ensure that our students currently in clinical were not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic based on where they traveled over spring break,” said Melissa Mecchi, CSON graduate programs assistant, in an email to The Heights. Students who had not traveled to China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, or Japan; come into contact with someone who traveled to those areas; or shown symptoms were told to continue attending clinicals as of Monday, according to another email sent by Simonelli to nursing students. China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran are classified as “level 3” risk countries by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Japan is classified as a “level 2” country. A level 3 travel advisory means that the U.S. State Department advises a reconsideration of travel due to “serious risks to safety and security”. In level 2 countries, travelers should increase caution due to “heightened risks to safety and security.” This sur vey was required, the email said, in order to ensure the health of patients and students. Students who traveled to or came into contact with someone who had recently been in one of the five countries were told in the email to selfquarantine at home for 14 days, as per the recommendation of the CDC. It was also noted in the email that due to a short supply of masks, all Boston agencies—without providing specifics on which ones—had asked that students not work with patients in areas that would require wearing a mask. “Know that because of the short supply of masks ALL of the Boston agencies have asked that no students be involved in the care of patients on precautions that require the donning of a mask,” said Simonelli in the email. n
“I think they made the right decision. Given all the information that’s coming out—and obviously it’s not an exact science—we don’t know what we’re dealing with. I trust the higher-ups to do the right thing for the students.” - Marie Ronga, BC ’86
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Friday, March 13, 2020
OIP Cancels Study Abroad for Spring By Megan Kelly Asst. News Editor
Boston College’s Office of International Programs (OIP) has announced the suspension of its Spring 2020 programs worldwide in light of the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to an email sent to abroad students and their parents on Thursday. OIP recalled all students currently enrolled abroad until the end of the semester and advised that students begin making plans to leave their enrollment site, with the goal of complete evacuation by Friday. “Given the rapid spread of this virus, it can only be assumed that it will continue to reach places where there have been relatively few cases to date, and at a speed that is becoming increasingly difficult to predict,” Nick Gozik, director of OIP, said in the email. The email also addressed President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would be suspending all travel from European countries that are members of the Schengen Agreement, which allows
passport-free movement across 26 countries, including France, Spain, and Italy. The UK and Ireland are not part of the Schengen agreement and are not affected by the travel suspension. “While the message from the White House still needs clarification, we feel that such bans will continue and flights will become hard to get and further disruptions are imminent,” Gozik said in the email. “Moreover, there is every likelihood that bans will be extended to other parts of the world, making it difficult for BC students to return home.” Gozik cited the Centers for Disease Control recommendation that colleges and universities consider recalling study abroad students, the World Health Organization’s classification of the coronavirus outbreak as a “pandemic,” and the U.S. Department of State’s announcement of a “Global Level 3 Health Advisory – Reconsider Travel” as additional reasons for the cancellation. At the time of publication, OIP said that it had no updates on summer and fall programs. “We know that you might be
very disappointed with the news, and wish that there was a different outcome,” Gozik said in the email. “Like you, the virus has taken all of us by surprise, and it continues to have ramifications at BC and beyond. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we get through the next several weeks.” Emerson DeBasio, a former Heights editor and MCAS ’21, was enrolled at an external program in Aix-en-Provence, France when she received OIP’s email. DeBasio had already planned to fly back to the United States this week prior to the announcement. DeBasio said that OIP could have been more communicative as the virus spread across the world, specifically to the neighboring country of Italy. The program directors, however, were helpful and responsive to student emails, she said. DeBasio said that, overall, it is a tough situation. But the announcement confirmed what the abroad students knew already. “We all knew that we were living on borrowed time,” DeBasio said. n
Students Seek Alternative Housing, Support LGBTQ, from A1 “My staff and I have outreached to students who we know directly, are open if students want to stop by for support, are working to forge a plan to support students/ create welcoming communities online, and I directly serve on the team that is reviewing requests for students to stay on campus,” Davis said. “I can assure you that we are taking all requests from LGBTQ+ students who have nowhere to return to seriously, and will be responding with care and support.” One student, who identifies as a queer transgender person and spoke to The Heights on the condition of anonymity, said they come from a transphobic home environment. When they first heard of the closure, they said, they had several panic attacks. “I’m very lucky to have friends who have given me a place to stay,” they said. “But not everybody has that. And it shouldn’t be a burden on my friends to support me.” “University leaders entered into their decision to complete the semester through remote learning based of the State of Emergency declared in Massachusetts, and the threat of the
coronavirus being spread on a dense college campus,” said Associate Vice President for University Communications Jack Dunn, in an email to The Heights. “We are cognizant of the impact the disruption on all students, particularly marginalized students, but the decision was made out of a desire to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all members of the BC community. We instituted an exemption for students whose personal circumstances warrant their remaining on campus. “Students not welcomed at home, including any LGBTQ student rejected by their family, are welcome to apply for the exemption. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis by Residential Life and Student Affairs.” Zack Lazkani, MCAS ’21, who identifies as gay, said that the resources the University has provided for LGBTQ+ students during this transition are virtually nonexistent. “Zero,” he said when asked about resources being provided to LGBTQ+ students. “I really haven’t heard of anything. I mean everything is officially a s—t show right now.” JP Snider, CSON ’21, who
identifies as non-binary, said they usually stay with their grandparents because of their strained relationship with their parents. But with the potential to spread the virus, they said, moving in with their immunocompromised grandparents isn’t feasible. The anonymous student applied for extended on-campus housing but said that if BC does not allow them to stay on campus, they will have to look elsewhere. They said that they cannot afford rent in Boston and are relying on crowdfunding in anticipation of BC rejecting their request for a housing exemption. “I don’t really get to feel at home, even in my body,” they said. “And this really isn’t helping anybody’s mental health.” Lazkani also said that going home early for some LGBTQ+ students can add additional stress. “I know some people in general don’t like going home for the summer,” he said. “To force them to go back to like super conservative areas … This is just extending that period of time.” “The resources that have been provided have been slim to none, which is typical for the LGBTQ+ resources on BC’s campus,” Snider said. n
OISS Says it’s Doing its Best to Accomodate OISS, from A1 especially,” Watts said, specifically citing graduation and Senior Week. For international students returning home, OISS is offering immediate travel signatures, required documents for international students that acknowledge their status as a student and allow them to reenter the United States. Nussbaum said in an email to The Heights that the office is waiving the usual requirement to show updated financial certification. The office is also currently continuing to provide its usual services, and it will extend its hours open to the public by one hour. “I’m very uniquely affected with the travel ban—I’m British,” Watts said. “It’s difficult with trying to book flights and being able to get a travel signature. No one can forget that. There’s kind of uncertainty with when it will all be over.” President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that starting late Friday, the United States would be suspending travel from more
than two dozen European countries. The UK and Ireland are not included in the travel suspension. If international students stay enrolled in classes online and complete their courses, their immigration status will stay valid, Nussbaum said in an interview with The Heights on Wednesday, prior to Trump’s announcement of the travel suspension and BC’s announcement of the cancellation of in-person classes. Nussbaum confirmed in an email on Thursday that it is the office’s understanding that this is still the case. “If [international students] are working with their professors and they can continue to take all their classes online, then they don’t officially have to go on a leave of absence, they’re still going to be considered BC students,” Nussbaum said on Wednesday. “From an immigration perspective, even though it’s an unusual situation, even though they’re leaving the U.S., we’re going to keep their immigration status as valid. … That’s the interpretation
as of today.” OISS received multiple negative emails from members of the BC community earlier in the semester regarding international students, Nussbaum said in the Wednesday interview. “We actually got a couple of emails … from members of the BC community that were not very positive about our students and wanted us to identify them and put masks on them and test them,” Nussbaum said. “Obviously we weren’t going to do that, so we basically ignored those emails.” Nussbaum said that OISS is currently doing its best to accommodate international students. “It’s really hard when I’m not getting the information or communication,” Nussbaum said. “... I just want the University to know in general there’s an office that cares about the international students. We are advocating for them, we’re making sure that concerns are being heard, and that every decision around this being made that they’re being taken into consideration.” n
Boston College to Provide Partial Dining, Housing Refunds to Students Questions, from A1 you that we have taken them because we believe they are the best way to protect the health and wellbeing of the campus community.” Free shuttles will run to Logan Airport and South Station, courtesy of the Campus Activities Board, Undergraduate Government of Boston College, and Parking and Transportation Services, according to an email sent by the Office of Student Involvement on Thursday afternoon. The shuttles will depart from the Robsham bus stop every hour. Buses will run from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday and from 8 a.m.
“We realize that these measures are disruptive, and stressful. Let me assure you that we have taken them because we believe they are the best way to protect the health and wellbeing of the campus community.” to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, according to the email. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has also changed its policies in response to the outbreak. “In line with Fr. Leahy’s announcement last night, admission visit and yield programs have been suspended indefinitely,” Grant Gosselin, director of Undergradu-
ate Admissions, said in an email to The Heights. “We are hopeful to be able to offer our summer programming in June.” UCS will remain open in a modified format, according to Craig Burns, the director of UCS. “While the situation is of course currently evolving, we are still meeting with students in person, and are offering phone consultation to students who are ill and should not come to the offices, or have left the area and are in need of a brief consultation,” Burns said in an email to The Heights. As part of the modified format of UCS, students remaining on campus or in the area will have access to in-person appointments, unless they are sick or could have been exposed to the coronavirus, according to a notice posted on the UCS website. Students who are not available for in-person appointments will have access to telephone appointments. Students in need of urgent care can speak with the psychological emergency clinician in person or over the phone. UCS will also work with students to help them find clinicians in their area, according to the notice. Lean On Me, a peer-to-peer mental health texting service, will be suspended for the remainder of the semester, according to Ally Lardner, incoming Lean On Me president and Lynch ’21. “I am very, very upset about what this means for Lean On Me in the future,” Lardner said. “We had just taken on a bunch of new supporters, many of whom are freshmen. We are currently in talks with Lean On Me National and with the current and future eboard about what this means for Lean On Me next semester, next year. We’re staying positive and are excited to be back with everyone next fall.” n
The Heights
Friday, March 13, 2020
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Editorial
Boston College was Inefficient in Communicating with Students, Faculty, and Staff Regarding Closing Boston College has communicated inefficiently with students, staff, and faculty regarding coronavirus. Administrators have been slow to announce updates, as rumors have circulated on campus and student anxiety has grown. The day before the University announced it was requiring students to move out of residence halls and moving all classes online, it rejected rumors that a BC student had the virus and the University was planning to move all classes online the next day. After that statement, BC did not tell students when they could expect an update. The next communication students received came in waves shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, informing them that they had four days to vacate residence halls and move out for the remainder of the semester. In the days and hours leading up to the announcement, professors, departments, and the Carroll School of Management communicated with students about moving classes online, or dropping attendance requirements. The lack of coordination between the administration and the academic deans and department chairs was evident. After receiving the update, several important questions from students went unanswered for over 24 hours, until Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead sent an email after 8 p.m. telling students they would receive a refund––the amount is unknown––for University housing and they will not receive a refund for tuition. He also explained the resources they have for moving out, among other things. The University has yet to say when students who filed an appeal to remain in residence halls will find out if they will be allowed to stay. Students need to know when they will be informed
of their application status so that they can make plans in the event they are not approved. The University did not explain its decision to give students four days to move out. This tight time frame can pose challenges to students, especially international students, who may face difficulty finding affordable options for traveling home and may need to stay on campus after Sunday. Some LGBTQ+ students have told The Heights that they are concerned because they cannot return home and do not know if they’ll be granted an extension or not. Telling students when they will hear about housing could help to alleviate the stress of uncertainty, and it would give these students a better chance to make alternative arrangements. It is understandable that decisions had to be made quickly, given that the outbreak has now become a pandemic. A decision about COVID-19 could not have been easy. But in a crisis, the key to a good response is communication. In the absence of University guidance, faculty have stepped up to help students. A Google Form has been circulating, in which over 100 faculty members have signed up to assist students with anything from storage to housing to financial assistance.In times of crisis, it is reassuring to see faculty caring for students. Ultimately, though, it should not be on faculty members to provide this support. Boston College must communicate with students more frequently in the coming weeks than it did in the time leading up to its announcement to close the residence halls. It has an obligation to its students, staff, and faculty to keep them informed, and administrators must do their best to support the BC community, even as most leave campus.
QUOTE OF THE week “But with writers, there’s nothing wrong with melancholy. It’s an important color in writing.” - Paul McCartney
customer service Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights’ standards and practices, you may contact Colleen Martin, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com. Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Sophie Lu, General Manager at (617) 552-0547 or email gm@bcheights.com. Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classif ied, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising off ice at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.
The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2020. All rights reserved. The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted to the newspaper. Letters and columns can be submitted online at www. bcheights.com, by email to editor@bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.
The views expressed in the above editorial represent the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by the Editorial Board. Comments on the editorial can be sent to opinions@bcheights.com. Editorial
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Friday, March 13, 2020
As fears of the spread of the coronavirus continue to circulate around the United States and the world, the NCAA has decided to cancel all post season tournaments for winter and spring sports. By Emma Healy Sports Editor
Upsets, Cinderella stories, and most importantly, trophies are all hallmarks of collegiate sports in the month of March. But with the rapid spread of the coronavirus, those glorious wins, heartbreaking losses, and pictureworthy moments are quickly fading away. It’s the end of the road for NCAA athletes, and there are no more trophies to be won. In addition to the cancellation of all ACC sporting events, the NCAA has just announced its cancellation of all Division I basketball tournaments and any remaining winter and spring athletic championships. NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors made the announcement through a Twitter statement late Thursday afternoon. “The decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not
contribute to the spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities,” the statement said. All NCAA conference tournaments, as well as the national championships in all sports, have been canceled amid the fears of the virus. The Division I NC AA men’s basketball tournament notably brings in around one billion dollars every year in revenue, according to Yahoo Finance. Selection Sunday for the men’s tournament was set for this Sunday, and the women’s bracket would have been announced on Monday. The Hockey East Tournament, though it isn’t an NCAA championship tournament, has also been canceled, crushing the hopes of one of the best Eagles’ teams in recent history. BC hockey went 24-8-2 overall and 17-6-1 in the conference—including a nine-game unbeaten streak to end the season—en route to a No. 1 seed in the Hockey East
tournament. The NCAA championship cancellation announcement comes after many professional sports leagues have begun to halt play as well. The NBA was the first to suspend its season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. A second player for the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell, has also tested positive for the virus, according to CBS Sports. “The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of [Wednesday’s] schedule of games until further notice,’’ the NBA said in a public statement on Wednesday. “The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.’’ The MLB has also decided to suspend Spring Training games and delay the beginning of the 2020 regular season by at least two weeks as a result of the virus. The NHL postponed play indefinitely with three- and- a- half more weeks left in the season. n
Kait Devir / HEIGHTS Editor
BC men’s hockey celebrates its last win of the 2020 season in Conte Forum.
Atlantic Coast Conference Cancels All Activity Indefinitely By Emma Healy Sports Editor The ACC announced Thursday that all athletic-related activities have been suspended, including inter-conference competitions and participation in upcoming NCAA tournaments, per a tweet from the official ACC Twitter account. This advisory applies to all sports throughout the conference and is indefinite at this point. “The Atlantic Coast Conference has suspended all athletic related activities including all competition, formal and organized practice, recruiting and participation in NCAA championships until further notice,” the tweet said. ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a tweet that the decision was in the interest of protecting all parties involved in the facilitation of athletic competitions. “This is uncharted territory and the health and safety of our student-athletes and institutions remains our top priority. This decision is aimed to protect from the further spread of COVID-19,” Swofford said. The decision came “following consultation with the league’s presidents and athletic directors to mitigate the further spread of COVID-19,” according to the same tweet by the ACC. “This is a challenging time for all of us
and the health and safety of our studentathletes, staff and community remains our top priority and concern,” added Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond in a statement released on BCEagles.com. “We fully support the decision by the Atlantic Coast Conference to suspend all athletic related activities and the cancelation of the Hockey East Men’s Tournament.” This announcement means that all ACC teams are barred from practice—formal or informal—recruiting processes, and participation in any NCAA tournaments, meaning that if BC women’s basketball was selected to participate in March Madness, it would have had to decline. But with the recent suspension of all championship tournaments in the NCAA, the Eagles will have no such chance. As of Thursday afternoon, BC was listed as one of Charlie Creme’s “First Four Out” in his bracketology projections, putting the Eagles right on the cusp of a national playoff berth. The ACC is not the only conference to have suspended its play—others to do so include the SEC, Big 10, Big East, and Ivy League, but this list is not exhaustive. Even before the announcement of ACC competition cancellation, the ACC men’s basketball tournament was also cancelled outright.
Ikram ali / HEIGHTS Editor
Boston College lacrosse celebrates a goal in what became the last game played on the Heights this season.
BC men’s basketball played its opening round against Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament, but all future tournament games have been suspended, according to a press release from the ACC on Thursday afternoon. The Eagles lost their first-round ACC Tournament matchup against the Irish 80-58. “Following additional consultation
with the league’s presidents and directors, and in light of the continued conversations surrounding the fluidity of COVID-19, the Atlantic Coast Conference will immediately cancel the remainder of the 2020 ACC Tournament,” the ACC’s statement said. Florida State, the regular-season conference champion, was set to represent the ACC as the conference champion in the
NCAA March Madness tournament before cancellation. Before the cancellation, games were set to be played with only essential staff and family members in attendance. “We are disappointed for our studentathletes, schools, and fans to have to make this decision; however, the overall health and safety of all involved is the priority,” the statement from the ACC said. n
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