3-11-2021

FACULTY EXPERIENCE, 2

VACCINE DISTRIBUTION, 3

COVID TIMELINE, 7

NEARING NORMALCY, 9

BU faculty withhybrid hybrid BU facultystruggles struggles with learning. learning.

Minority communities face Minority communities face inequities unequal distribution.

A look backon onheadlines headlines from the A lookback from the past year. past year.

We can’texpect expect business asas We can't business usual. usual.

REF L ECTI N G

THURSDAY, MAR 11, 2021

O N

TH E

COVI D -19

PA ND E M I C

YEAR LI. VOLUME C. ISSUE VII

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

COVID-19 exacerbates Massachusetts DOC health care shortcomings ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO EDITOR

Study Abroad Office. Boston University’s Global Programs suspended its Summer Study Abroad programs Friday due to ongoing pandemic-related concerns.

Colbi Edmonds Editor-in-Chief The Massachusetts Department of Correction has a history of inadequate health care in its correctional facilities.

A Jan. 9, 2020 audit found the DOC did not always provide requested health care services to inmates within the required time periods or proper reentry planning from July 2016 to June 2018.

In a District of Massachusetts court case decided on July 31, 2019, it was ruled that inmate Timothy Reaves be transferred to a non-DOC facility to receive proper care for his injuries.

Reaves, who has quadriplegia, severe hearing loss and complications from a traumatic brain injury, reported inadequate care from the DOC, according to the ruling.

His dietary needs were not met, leading to malnourishment, he received improper motion therapy and he had fungal infections in his fingernail and toenails because no one assisted him with cutting them, among other incidents.

People in prisons have a

constitutional right to health care because of the Eighth Amendment, which protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

Boston University professor of health law, ethics and human rights Michael Grodin said people in prisons have been treated “inappropriately” and “ineffectively.”

“We took away their liberty,” he said. “The Supreme Court has held that prisoners have a right to adequate medical care.”

Michael Horrell, a staff attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts — an organization focused on protecting civil rights of people in prisons — said the pandemic has worsened the quality of health care in the state’s correctional facilities, which has “never been great.”

“Access to health care is consistently a problem in these facilities,” he said. “It's been greatly exacerbated by COVID, where things like routine outside hospital trips or trips to see providers for chronic conditions outside the prison have been suspended or delayed.”

Horrell said to combat the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and jails, the state should decarcerate its facilities

— around half of DOC prisoners live in a multi-person cell. Decarceration would allow prisoners to socially distance more effectively, he said.

PLS has an ongoing class action lawsuit against the State’s executive branch for its handling of COVID-19 in prisons and is advocating for the DOC to release more people from prisons. The organization also plans on pushing for decarceration in its lawsuit, Horrell said.

“There's always room for improvement in terms of things like sanitation and [personal protective equipment] and quarantining and isolation and testing,” he said. “I think the sort of fundamental structural issue is decarceration and that's an avenue that they just have not been willing to consider, unfortunately.”

Out of 6,500 people in Massachusetts prisons and jails, more than 3,000 have COVID-19, according to DOC data published by the American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts.

“We're getting close to half of the population having been affected,” Horrell said. “It's just dramatically above the spread that we've seen in the wider community.”

Face coverings must be worn by

inmates, faculty and staff inside of Massachusetts correctional facilities.

More than 2.5 million masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, and other PPE materials have been delivered to correctional facilities by the DOC since March 2020, according to a DOC spokesperson.

Inmates were included in Phase One of the State’s vaccine rollout, and staff and prisoners began receiving their first dose of the vaccine Jan. 18 — more than 14,000 shots have since been administered to inmates in state jails and prisons.

“The Department of Correction continues to take decisive measures to reduce opportunities for virus introduction and transmission, and our health and safety measures have always been based on the latest state and federal public health understanding of the virus,” Jason Dobson, deputy director of DOC communications, wrote in a statement.

David Tuttle, the superintendent for the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, said his facility began preparations for the pandemic in February 2020, implementing medical isolations as people arrived and a rigorous cleaning schedule.

“We smelled like a YMCA swimming pool around here for months,” Tuttle said.

Garrett Nichols, director of communications at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office, said the facility is working to educate inmates on the vaccine rollout.

“All staff and inmates have access to the vaccine,” he said, “and we're doing a really big educational push to really inform them of the importance of the vaccine.”

Horrell said the acceptance of the vaccine from inmates varies from institution to institution, and PLS has received some complaints from inmates about a lack of education or ability to ask questions regarding the vaccine.

Horrell said the “chronic failure” to provide people in prisons with the necessary health care is ongoing and harmful to incarcerated individuals.

“The state is obligated to preserve their health and safety, including protecting them from COVID,” he said. “I think unfortunately here in Massachusetts, they've largely failed and the people who are inside and the people who care about them [are] paying the price for it.”

BU mourns custodians’ deaths in the wake of COVID-19 Nick Kolev Campus Editor When Boston University custodians Juber Lopez and Jose Ferreira died in January due to complications from COVID-19, it was a loss for the whole BU community.

With decades of work and service for BU between them, their deaths have left university members heartbroken.

Teresa Florio, Ferreira’s daughter,

said her father was a hard worker who never wanted to miss work — even while battling cancer and dealing with chemotherapy.

“Never a bad bone in his body, never fought with anybody, never argued, always tried to make me happy.” she said, “He worked to the end, never wanted to take a day off even when he was really sick.”

Ferreira had worked at BU since 1985. Florio said she believed he enjoyed his work and avoided missing it because he would have been unhappy otherwise.

“I think he just loved his workers, his friends, everybody there,” she

said, “and they would all joke around, you know. But yeah he enjoyed still going to work and seeing everybody.”

Bianca Lopez, Juber Lopez’s daughter, described her father as a family man who always made sure to take care of them.

“He was very caring and very calm,” Lopez said, “He rarely got mad. Pretty much a very down to earth guy.”

Lopez said her father would always make a point of being helpful to others, whether at work or otherwise.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

SERENA YU | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Truck outside the Facilities Management and Operations Office. Boston University custodians Juber Lopez and Jose Ferreira passed away from COVID-19 in January, but are remembered by their families, friends and colleagues.

2 NEWS

Pandemic brings unique challenges for ESL students, families Isabella Abraham Associate City Editor The transition to virtual learning during the pandemic has posed challenges for English learners both young and old. In public school private ESL programs and public English classes, both adult and K-12 ESL students are struggling with their education.

Younger students in particular have difficulties adjusting to the inhome learning environment because of the distractions and lack of social interaction that help promote language learning, said Erin Chubb, ESL instructor and associate director of education services at Rian Immigrant Center.

“Technology difficulties, internet interruptions, lack of motivation,” Chubb said. “I think the children feel really isolated because they aren’t in person in the classroom.”

Diana Santiago, a senior attorney at Massachusetts Advocates for Children, works with non-English speaking parents of students with disabilities in the Latinx community, whom she said have disproportionately felt the negative effects of virtual learning.

“Latinx communities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID and as a result, there are more children who are learning from home in those communities,” Santia-

go said. “The barriers are extensive.”

Parents of ESL students have generally had a difficult time connecting with teachers and school officials.

Santiago said school districts often lag in parent engagement efforts.

“In a lot of school districts, there’s not a lot of diversity of life experiences among the staff, who are under a great deal of pressure to address the needs of students,” Santiago said. “It often leads to a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of cases where their efforts to engage with families is, in some cases, punitive.”

When it comes to adults with limited English proficiency, parent involvement in their children’s education requires document translation and interpretation at team meetings, Santiago said. When these needs aren’t met, it leaves a lot of parents “in the dark.”

Alyssa Bacon, ESL program coordinator at Action for Boston Community Development’s Parker Hill-Fenway Office, which serves English-learners over 16, said language barriers make it difficult for her adult students to help their own children navigate Boston Public Schools.

“They’re not able to help their children with homework, they’re not able to communicate with their children’s teachers,” Bacon said. “That’s definitely gotten worse as we’ve all gone remote and all been dealing with this pandemic.”

Hiring more bilingual staff and

employing new strategies for reaching out to non-English speaking parents could help reduce language barriers and build trust in the virtual age, Santiago said.

“I think a lot of districts have come to recognize the value … of hiring bilingual staff for parent engagement and also for working with students who are ELs transitioning back into school,” Santiago said. “The opportunity to have people at school communicating with students in their home language could be a real protective factor against trauma.”

Bacon said family literacy is “super, super, super important” to a child’s literacy.

“I think that a lot of times, adult education kind of gets left out,” Bacon said. “If there was a little bit more attention paid to the adult education sector, it would create a more complete learning environment for the children.”

Beyond the language barrier, technology access is a major challenge across K-12 and adult education, according to Bacon.

“We’re finding too that a lot of the families that said that they had access to a device, they only have one,” Bacon said. “So now all the kids are home, the parents are home and everybody’s competing for this one device.”

Even if access isn’t an issue, lack of familiarity with technology or internet programs like Zoom are a threat

KATHERINE FEUERMAN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

McKinley Middle School. Children and adults learning English at public institutions have struggled to keep up with their language classes in a virtual format.

to online ESL learning, according to Jenna Young, an ESL instructor at Boston Public Library.

“Someone who’s more a beginner student who hasn’t really mastered English is more likely to not have the tech skills,” Young said. “I see that more often with some of the lower-level folks who are not necessarily in an older age group.”

Santiago said at-home learning isn’t an option for some families and a lack of targeted information surrounding the coronavirus and pandemic measures has made some parents reluctant to send their kids back to school.

“It’s definitely those communities that have been hardest hit by COVID where school districts haven’t provided as many opportunities for in-per-

son learning,” Santiago said. “Families are fearful of sending their children to school where they don’t necessarily have the connection with the school district to be able to trust … that their children are going to be safe from COVID.” Young said the transition to virtual learning has increased attendance in BPL English classes. Bacon added that she has seen an increase in the diversity of attendees.

“There are these really amazing, amazing people out there that have so much to offer, and the only thing that’s holding them back is their language skills,” Bacon said. “If we’re able to support our immigrant population and our non-English speaking population, then we’re really supporting the community overall.”

Faculty describe challenges, mental toll of hybrid teaching Emily Stevenson Associate Campus Daily Free Press Editor Staff As the one year anniversary of the transition to online teaching approaches, Boston University faculty are reflecting on the mental and emotional impacts their new teaching styles have had on them.

Paula Austin, assistant professor of History and African American Studies, said she “can’t say it’s been good.”

Austin has been teaching in the hybrid Learn from Anywhere format since the Fall, and said the technical issues along with the stress of teaching to two distinct classes at the same time has been difficult.

“I have to say that every classroom that I’ve been in there’s been some technology issue,” Austin said.

“I think the cognitive load for an instructor having to manage multiple modes of learning simultaneously has been a lot.”

Along with the difficulties caused by online teaching, Austin said there have been challenges presented by the emotional loads students and professors are experiencing.

“I think faculty, myself included, and students are going through a lot, isolation, existential stuff anxiety, depression,” Austin said. “Because we are in the middle of a really unprecedented historic time.”

Austin also noted the difficulty of teaching her subject matter—Black History, history of social movements, the Civil Rights Movement and the history of race and racism— as well as the extra emotional toll these topics take.

“Students and I are definitely mak-

ing connections between the stuff that we’re looking at in history and in our contemporary moment,” she said. “So this is kind of adding to the emotional load of having to figure this stuff out right now.”

Adjunct Lecturer in the College of Communication Olivia Armstrong said online learning feels like more work for her.

“What people are experiencing, and definitely what I’m experiencing as well,” Armstrong said, “is just feeling more overloaded even with the same amount of work.”

Armstrong attributed this feeling to the “lack of social interaction that normally would alleviate that stress.”

“Stress sort of lingers and is not dissipated by that human connection as much,” she said. “So I definitely have been feeling that a little bit of, you know, just more stress than usual.”

Lindsey Decker, Master Lecturer in Film and Television in COM, said she thinks no one’s mental health has been good with the adjustment to online learning.

“I think that all of us have maybe 15 to 25 percent of our brains that we normally were using that we’re now just not able to access,” Decker said, “because of the sort of mental and emotional load of living through a pandemic.”

Sean Desilets, a senior lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences Writing Program, said the most challenging part of LfA and online learning is accommodating students.

“I think figuring out how to deal with the stress that students are under has been the most difficult thing,” he said, “and how to kind of stay in

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO EDITOR

The pandemic has negatively affected many students’ mental health, causing some to experience medical problems and other disruptions.

touch with them, and just check in with them to see how they’re doing.”

Desilets cited the effect the stress caused by online learning has had on the classroom environment.

“You don’t get the same atmosphere,” Desilets said. “You can get some of that over Zoom but you lose some of it too.”

Tinker Ready, an adjunct Professor in the COM Writing Program, noted the difficulty of not being able to connect with her students in the same ways.

“To not be in the same room as the students, that’s hard for everyone,” Ready said. “There’s a connection you have when you’re in-person, and I do miss that.”

Ready said technical issues in class often hinder her ability to have the same discussions as she would in-person.

“It is new technology, you have to

teach your class differently if it’s online than if it’s in person, you can’t have the same kind of conversations,” Ready said.

However, despite these challenges some faculty say there have still been some positive outcomes.

Political Science Professor Steven Rosenzweig said online learning has affected how students participate in a “positive way.”

“Students who may have been more reluctant to speak up and participate in regular and in-person classes might be more likely to participate in the more online formats,” Rosenzweig said, “especially if they have the option for example of writing a question or comment in the chat.”

Rosenzweig also cited the increased accessibility of classes with online options and recording available to students.

“The ability to attend a class remotely if need be and also to catch up with class if there’s a recording, if they aren’t able to attend synchronously at all,” Rosenzweig said. “It does have some advantages.”

Desilets said while BU’s transition to hybrid teaching worked, it was neither optimal nor well-implemented.

“I think the LFA stuff has been pretty disastrous,” Desilets said. “The technology in the classrooms is not adequate to actually do it in a way that’s smooth.”

While he said he acknowledged the financial cost of implementing the LfA format, he does not believe it was successful.

“I mean they spent a lot of money don’t get me wrong, and I think it was a good try,” he said, “but it just doesn’t work.”

NEWS 3

Massachusetts vaccine distribution contributes to long-term health care inequities Sam Trottenberg Daily Free Press Staff Health care disparities have plagued Massachusetts’ rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, but many of these issues have deeper roots.

“Our communities of color in greater Boston have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic,” said Melanie Gleason, the medical-legal partnership attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston.

Lawyers For Civil Rights Boston sent an open letter Feb. 1 to the Governor’s Office, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Department of Public Health, addressing vaccine equity concerns.

The letter cited a November study

by Harvard researchers, which found that the state’s Black and Latinx populations each suffered 10 percent more COVID-19 cases in the first half of 2020. The letter also noted that the COVID-19 death rate for Black and Latinx residents is three times that of white residents.

Gleason said the vaccine rollout has been difficult for disadvantaged communities.

“There are mass vaccination sites at Fenway [Park], and there’s another big vaccination site at Gillette [Stadium],” Gleason said. “There’s not been a lot of specific plans that have been set up by the administration in order to ensure, for example, transportation for different communities in order to get to those two sites.”

CIC Health, a Cambridge-based testing and vaccination organization partnering with the Commonwealth,

began operating a third mass vaccination site at Roxbury Community College in late February.

Gleason said, ideally, there would already be public infrastructure to deal with health crises, but “absent of such an apparatus, the burden is really on the State.”

Gov. Charlie Baker announced a new vaccine equity initiative Feb. 24, but Gleason said specific information about equity operations has been sparse.

“There’s a lot of talking points that the administration has made,” Gleason said, “but the needle hasn’t really moved.”

Other city and state officials, like Liz Miranda, who represents the fifth Suffolk district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, have been working with their communities throughout the pandemic.

“She was the first legislator in the Commonwealth to establish a district-led community care program, which actually did outreach to over 4,000 constituents,” Kevin Higgins, Miranda’s legislative aide, said.

Higgins said he hoped grassroots COVID-19 outreach organizations would receive more funding from the State government.

“That’s really what it takes,” Higgins said. “Knocking on doors, getting flyers translated, making phone calls, texting, that’s really what it is.”

Higgins added that white Massachusetts residents get vaccinated at a substantially higher rate than Black residents, and that number has to change to “achieve equity.”

The vaccination rate among white Massachusetts residents is over one and a half times the rate among Black

CAROLYN MOONEY/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston Children’s Hospital. Inequalities in vaccine distribution among marginalized Boston communities are rooted in deeper health care discrepancies, according to Massachusetts legislators and vaccination advocacy groups.

residents.

Higgins said Miranda’s district was hit hard by the pandemic, as it’s “one of the most impoverished districts in the Commonwealth.”

“The folks in her district, they were already facing crisis,” Higgins said. “They were already one injury, one job loss and even sometimes one missed shift away from an emergency, a real emergency.”

He added that medical racism contributed to the hardships felt by COVID-19.

Gleason cited comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma as disproportionately affecting residents of color and immigrant communities.

Janelle Baptiste, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said COVID-19 made it more difficult for those who rely on public transportation to travel for lung cancer screenings.

“They’re weighing their risk of get-

ting COVID versus coming in to get a screening,” Baptiste said.

Baptiste said this is especially dangerous for lung cancer patients, since the disease is usually asymptomatic until it has transitioned into later stages — adding that patients in disadvantaged populations tend to start smoking at earlier ages.

The issue of transportation isn’t new, Baptiste said, but COVID-19 “magnified” the disparity.

Additionally, Baptiste said COVID-19 made it more difficult to contact patients.

“You have to be able to get in contact with the patient, so they have to have a telephone where you can call them,” Baptiste said. “These are times when patients are also out working and they can’t pick up their telephones while they’re at work, or they’re using their telephones to work and they don’t have a landline.”

Baptiste said she was hopeful for the future, citing next year’s guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Ser-

vices Task Force, which Baptiste said would lower the age of eligibility for lung cancer screenings.

“Next year is going to be more of an exciting year for lung cancer screening,” Baptiste said. “What I do just hope is that in the next coming months … we can get back to where we were pre-COVID.” Groups like the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition are pushing the Massachusetts government to address health care disparities. The coalition sent a list of five demands to Gov. Baker’s office, including $10 million for community organizations and 20 percent more vaccine doses for communities that are impacted the most.

“I would like to see an actual strategy,” said Atyia Martin, a co-chair of the Vaccine Equity Now! Coalition.

Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston and Rep. Miranda are also involved in Vaccine Equity Now! Martin said she hoped for better communication in the vaccination rollout process.

“If you’re not at least going to talk to the coalitions that are closest to communities, at least talk to local public health, who tends to have a better relationship with folks closest to the work on the ground,” Martin said. “I say ‘tend to,’ because there’s no one monolithic situation across the Commonwealth.”

Martin said the issues with mass vaccination sites could be addressed through mobile vaccinations — adding that she believes their implementation will ultimately be necessary.

“You need that multi-pronged strategy,” Martin said. “It’s not optional, it’s literally the best practice.”

Summer Study Abroad cancelled amid lack of resources, safety concerns Jesus Marrero Suarez Contributing Reporter Boston University Global Programs cancelled its Summer 2021 Study Abroad programs Friday, citing staff furloughs, several site closures and COVID-19 safety concerns.

Gareth McFeely, executive director of Study Abroad, said the decision was motivated by the same pandemic-related concerns that prevented the University from running the program last summer.

But one year later, the Global Programs staff continues to deal with more limited resources.

“Unfortunately, [we] again had to make the same decision for Summer 2021,” McFeely said, “between restrictions that exist in some countries that really limit the ability for students to enter those countries, as well as real challenges in ensuring health and safety with students, faculty, staff.”

The New Zealand, Germany, France and Ecuador sites were previously closed.

McFeely said Global Programs is

SYDNEY MAES/ DFP FILE

Study Abroad Office. Boston University’s Global Programs suspended its Summer Study Abroad programs Friday due to ongoing pandemic-related concerns.

looking into another round of virtual internships — which was offered to Spring Study Abroad students — and other course options as alternatives to traveling in person this year.

“What we’re trying to do is ensure that we find options that work well for students’ curriculum,” he said.

Upon hearing the announcement, some students said they were disappointed but not surprised by the University’s decision.

College of Communication junior Ansley Nurkin said the termination of the College of General Studies’ Boston-London Program last week prepared her for the Summer Study Abroad cancellation.

“I applied out of a crazy hope that it wouldn’t get canceled,” Nurkin said, “but as soon as they canceled CGS London, I kind of was just waiting for the shoe to drop.”

Nurkin, who applied both times to the twice-canceled Summer Sydney Study Abroad program, said she had felt more optimistic last year.

“Because that was at the very beginning of the pandemic, I was still kind of hopeful that things would have gotten back on track by June,” Nurkin said, “which I now realize was very wishful thinking.”

As soon as she heard the decision, Nurkin said she began applying for summer internships.

Between a possible internship and

a Summer course she registered for, Nurkin said she isn’t sure if she will be participating in Study Abroad’s remote alternative.

“It would depend on how things turn out in the next month or two,” she said, “and when they decide to make a decision about all that.”

Nurkin said she had planned on interning in Los Angeles for the Spring semester of her senior year. With the cancellation, however, she’s had to decide whether she wants to give up on her Sydney plan entirely, or go abroad next Fall and spend her last year away from Boston.

BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the cancellation was not an easy choice for BU to make, but was a necessary one.

“This is a tough, tough decision,” he said. “I know no one’s happy about it, but with the planning required to open these programs, and process all the applications and put all the contracts in place, the timing just didn’t work.”

Riley said the administration is looking forward to planning for the Fall, but the decision to cancel the Summer Study Abroad experience couldn’t be delayed any longer.

In relation to the closed Study Abroad locations, Riley said the “goal is to bring those back” because Study Abroad is an important aspect of BU’s education and attracts students to the

university.

College of Engineering junior Michael Howes said he was halfway through an abroad program in Paris last Spring before being abruptly sent home.

Despite not having finished the program, Howes said it changed his outlook on life and has shaped his future career path.

“Study Abroad has opened my eyes and mind to the fact that there’s so many things to do in the world,” he said.

This Spring, he said he took a leave of absence to do a virtual internship based in Singapore. Howes said he is moving out to LA to pursue his passion in film and does not plan to return to BU. A decision he said was “directly inspired from studying abroad.”

“I would willingly switch from an engineering major to a French major, just for that semester, because I missed it that much,” Howes said.

Howes added he had looked into several Summer Study Abroad programs in hopes of going back out and seeing the world.

McFeely said further information on remote alternatives will be provided within the next two weeks.

“Our intention for the Summer is to try to find out what works and resonates from an academic perspective,” McFeely said.

4 FEATURES Custodians from 1 “He would always go out of his way to help people,” she said, “and he was like that to us and he was like that to his work.”

BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the loss of the two employees was devastating and heartbreaking for the University.

“They administered the hard work of keeping the university clean and safe,” Riley said. “It’s a terrible loss.

They were part of our family.”

Riley also forwarded an emailed statement from Assistant Vice

President for Facilities Management and Planning Bill Walter.

“The staff are still sad at losing a friend and colleague,” Walter wrote. “They honor their memory by continuing to do the work necessary to keep the campus clean and safe.”

Florio said while it is impossible to know where her father contracted the virus, BU was an accommodating, mindful employer that always showed care for his safety.

“They always watched out even with the cancer, and the COVID, and making sure that he went for his tests,” Florio said. “You know, make sure he wore his mask, to make sure

he was safe, that he stayed away from people. He told me all of this and that they did watch out for him.”

Sara Johnson, administrative manager at the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the BU School of Medicine, said she worked with Lopez and described him as a “sweet man” who would often help her practice her Spanish.

“He had a very full life outside of Boston University,” she said. “And he just did his job and kept his head down.”

Johnson said she regretted not being able to say goodbye to

Lopez, and the circumstances were particularly tragic because he was approaching retirement.

“As with all the custodians surrounding the pandemic, they're cleaning up to keep us safe,” she said.

“And this man passed away before he could get a vaccine. But most importantly, before he was ready to retire.”

Johnson said custodial staff at BU work hard to ensure faculty and students can work in a safe and clean environment.

“They come in on nights and weekends to do things like wax the floors or clean refrigerators,” she

said. “You know, extra tasks that are not just the routine of cleaning up, but that keep this environment safe and still do for us every day.”

She added she believed custodians served as important frontline workers who deserved just as much respect and recognition as others.

“As far as I'm concerned, the custodial class, they’re right up there with the first responders and the people on the frontlines dealing with COVID patients,” Johnson said, “because they have to deal with it every day.”

Molly Farrar contributed to the reporting of this article.

BUSINESS Boston immigrant-owned businesses reflect loss amid COVID-19, policy makers provide fundings Ashley Soebroto Daily Free Press Staff The now year-long battle against COVID-19 forces individuals, institutions and businesses alike to wrestle economic burdens, and immigrant owned-businesses have faced disproportionate difficulties.

In Massachusetts, one in five members of the labor force are foreign-born, according to the American Immigration Council.

Natalia Urtubey, the director of small business at Boston’s Office of Economic Development, said small businesses globally have been “deeply impacted by COVID-19.”

Urtubey said immigrant business owners specifically encounter challenges because of language barriers as well as concerns about appropriate documentation.

“Immigrant entrepreneurs are some of the strongest and most resilient of all business owners,” Urtubey said. “The pandemic has clearly had an impact on immigrant-owned businesses for various reasons.”

Douglas Hauer, a lecturer at Boston University School of Law and an immigration and corporate lawyer at Mintz Levin, said Boston in particular is home to a large variety of immigrant-owned businesses, which have been severely hurt by the pandemic.

“If I were to take a walk with you through Boston … what you would find is that many of the restaurants are either owned or partially owned by foreign entrepreneurs, foreign investors,” he said. “This sector has been demolished in this pandemic, and it’s not likely to recover soon.”

Vishal Thapar — co-founder of Boston Chai Party, a Dorchester company that sells freshly ground chai masala and fair trade black tea leaves — said the business lost its largest client and about 55 percent of their revenue at the start of the pandemic.

From April to June of last year, the company did not receive any orders.

“Our wholesale business was completely shut off because of the lockdown,” Thapar said. “All in all, we did suffer quite a bit of loss.”

Thapar said online retail orders increased over the summer and holiday season, but the company has not “fully recovered back economically.”

Boston Chai Party applied for a $2,500 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, he said, which “immensely” helped them afford rent for the kitchen and facilities.

But if he hadn’t had the support of his full-time job, he said he’d be in a very different position.

“Coming as a first-generation immigrant, it’s exceptionally hard to take risks to start a business,” Thapar said. “Many mainstream Americans,

who have some family money or some sort of backing or some sort of support, can afford to take that risk but I do not think that as immigrants we have that choice.”

Although small businesses are able to apply for loans and federal funding, Urtubey said some immigrants still find the applications particularly difficult due to language barriers.

“There’s paperwork that needs to be signed, documents that need to be gathered,” Urtubey said, “and they’re not always super readily available and accessible.”

Zoila Gomez, the managing partner of immigrant law firm Gomez & Palumbo, LLC said many immigrant-owned businesses do not apply for loans because many are unaware or uneducated about the benefits of the loans to immigrant communities.

“A lot of people had the misconception that this was a loan, and that you had to pay it back,” Gomez said.

“It was a lot of, I would say, negligence on the part of organizations, government and not understanding that there is this group of people who need the information to be delivered differently.”

Additionally, Urtubey said Boston is well-positioned in having a “robust immigrant advancement team.” She said the Mayor’s Office has worked to offer interpretation services and workshops, as well as ensure there

ROBERT BRANNING/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Immigrant-owned businesses in Boston have experienced disproportionate difficulties throughout the pandemic, although some have received federal funding.

is equal access to funding and programs.

“There has been, I think, a very proactive approach from our office,” she said, “to ensure that immigrant-owned businesses could access the resources available to them.”

Boston also participates in a coalition in the Massachusetts Equitable PPP Access Initiative to ensure immigrant, minority and women-owned businesses can access loans, she added.

Though it may take awhile for businesses to recover, Hauer said immigrant businesses are essential to the country and foundational to its

COVID-19 case data on campus ALEX LaSALVIA | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

success.

“We don’t really know the longterm impact, but we do know that Boston’s restaurants and hotels are suffering,” he said, “and a lot of those businesses were built by people who came here for the American dream.”

He added he thinks American businesses and immigrant businesses are “one and the same” and deserve the same support.

“These are the most American businesses,” he said. “The most American business is the business that somebody with a dream comes to the United States to form. How more American could that be?”

LIFESTYLE 5

Sincerely Ally:

It’s time we redefine leadership, societal expectations for students Alexia Nizhny Layout Editor As a kid, the worst part of school was getting to school. Being 10, drowsy and tired, I’d sling my backpack over my shoulders and drag my Skechers sneakers along the sidewalk. Bags like weights under my eyes, I’d think, “I wish I could just teleport to class.”

Flash forward to 10 years later, and I’m still snoozing my alarm five minutes before my 10 a.m. lecture.

My laptop isn’t a cutting-edge machine that breaks up my molecules and sends them wherever I need them to be, but as far as teleportation is concerned, it’ll do.

Up until the pandemic, my life was divided between journey and destination. Making it to school on time meant waking up early to get ready and tying the laces on my lightup sneakers. Having dinner with a friend meant planning my time around doing my makeup and putting together a nice outfit. Going to class on opposite sides of campus meant running as fast as I could in the 15 minutes between lectures.

Not having to plan my day around getting somewhere has given me a lot of blank slots on my schedule. When you add up all the time I’ve gained from class, meetings and study groups being one Zoom call away, it feels almost instinctual to fill that time with something else.

This mindset seems to be a product of a college culture that expects perfect grades, active involvement on campus and leadership experience from its students.

No one is immune to the pressure to achieve this holy trinity of undergraduate academia. The word

“leadership” haunts admissions sites all across the country. Even the former Dean of Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences, Robert Sternberg, stops to make a specific distinction between the passionate leaders colleges expect high school applicants to be, and the others.

“Students should be admitted to college on the basis of their potential for future leadership and active citizenship, at whatever level of society,” Sternberg writes in his book “College Admissions for the 21st Century.”

But where does this put everyone else?

After all, this narrow applicant pool favors a specific kind of person that there simply aren’t enough spots for in the collegiate world.

There could be an infinite number of students who are eager to learn and deserving of a higher education, but how many of them actually end up as self-starting CEOs, Nobel Prize earners and upper-uppermanagement — in other words, the “active citizens” and “future leaders” — Sternberg talks about?

When no institution wants to be responsible for the world’s future non-leaders — the “team player,” the “natural follower” and the “lone wolf” — there is so much excess pressure on students to compete for the limited leadership experience they can get on campus.

Everyone wants to be someone their university is proud of, and the pandemic hasn’t decreased pressure from students to outperform each other. Unfortunately, college students’ academic stress levels have worsened — 82 percent of surveyed students have reported an increase in school-related stress during the pandemic, according to a Journal

of Medical Internet Research study published in September of last year.

Similarly, I’ve funneled the time saved from no longer commuting to in-person events into leadership roles that Boston University wants me to fill. This meant I had to apply to e-board positions across campus, get involved with Greek Life, find a parttime job and be a star student in class.

People ask me how I do it — how I manage all the meetings, work and high expectations I have for myself.

The truth is, I don’t. I can’t manage it, and I often feel like the world is speeding ahead without me as I struggle to catch up.

In my head, however, I’ve convinced myself it’s worth it. This is the active citizenship that my prestigious university would brag about. I’m the version of myself that Boston University expected with my enrollment deposit. I’m a true, natural, world-changing leader.

The irony of this is that, despite what mottos elite universities’ admissions sites say, there isn’t one all-encompassing definition of leadership.

“Leadership is culture-specific.

Unfortunately, this theme has been unduly overshadowed by the bias, which is often an American one, toward the pursuit of a universal model of leadership,” notes Lan Liu, a researcher at the Peking University’s Center for China Strategic Studies.

Liu’s observation is incredibly insightful.

The entire concept of leadership is arbitrary, varied by culture and thus a cause of needless stress.

Which is to say, if there were ever a time for universities to loosen their expectations for students and potential applicants, perhaps a global pandemic would be a great start.

ALEXIA NIZHNY | GRAPHICS EDITOR

ALEXIA NIZHNY | GRAPHICS EDITOR

Emma Sophia Vacirca Yakumithis Senior Staff Daily Free Press Staff Back in October, I took a major leap and brought a new bundle of joy into the world. Her name is Olive, and she is a baby guinea pig.

She wasn’t planned. However, I am so grateful she joined us earthside.

Olive has unintentionally become an “emotional support animal.”

Admittedly, this is a concept I’ve always mocked — as a true cynic and have-r of a mood disorder, the notion that a small creature can ward off the emotional demons that most medications cannot is almost satirical.

However, Olive has given me a run for my money. All four dollars of it.

Before Olive became part of my life, I was honestly having a hard time functioning. I went back to campus for the Fall semester but came home before midterms. Colder weather

Life as a new mom in quarantine meant less feasible socially distanced hangouts, and with all of my classes online, my already unstable mental health took a serious turn for the worse.

The world is a mess, and you pay an even bigger price if you have a predisposition of being clinically recognized as crazy. So when I got home, I felt pretty empty. Although my entire family was around, I didn’t feel any less alone. On top of that, mental health resources are spread thin due to the pandemic, so getting in with my psychiatrist was nearly impossible.

When I came home from school, months had gone by since a previous pet died, but things felt noticeably vacant around my house. A deep void existed in place of an eager little critter waiting for a parsley salad upon my arrival home. Since I was

already in a low place, I decided to take a trip to the pet store for some “guinea pig therapy.”

I vowed not to adopt anyone during this excursion. I’ll probably be moving out after graduation, and I also wasn’t trying to “replace” my former guinea pig: famous last words.

The second I made eye contact with the sweet little angel that is Olive, that was it. I melted, and the next thing I knew, I was a mother.

Please take my unbiased word when I say she is the cutest guinea pig alive. Olive fit in the palm of my hand when I got her, which, if you know me, is pretty puny. She was very stoic and quiet at first, so I became concerned that she was overwhelmed or lonely.

Luckily, within three days, Olive’s personality shifted from aloof and reserved to rambunctious and

playful. Known as “popcorning,” she expresses her delight through abrupt and constant leaping — quite literally, “popping” — across her cage, which is filled with toys and treats at all times. I upgraded the cage within a week because of how much energy she needed to let out from simply being elated about life.

If I had half the exuberance Olive has, I would be much better off.

While I can’t find this happiness within myself, it makes me smile knowing I can provide it for a living thing that’s much cuter than anything else on earth.

The cocktail of emotional detachment, cabin fever and borderline psychosis I’ve manifested during the pandemic is surprisingly the perfect recipe for attentive motherhood. I have the opposite of postpartum depression because I

now channel my depressive episodes through giving Olive unconditional love and support. I never envisioned what “type of mom” I would be, but let me tell you, I did not expect to be such a softie.

While Olive’s father figure lives a few hours away, he receives constant updates and is a supportive role model for her when he is present.

I mean this with every fiber in my being, the enthusiasm radiating from this one-pound animal does more for me than Seroquel ever could. She also does more than the mental health professionals who are overbooked right now from everyone’s COVID-19 depression.

So thank you, Olive, for making me a mom during quarantine and for being a temporary therapist.

Even though you can’t manage my prescriptions, I love you.

6 GAMES

Where were you when you found out classes were going online?

What’s something you did before the pandemic that you won’t do again?

A. Flying back from California

A. Share food and drinks

B. Warren Towers

B. Communal showers

C. Sleeping in the Midwest

C. Wear high heels

D. In a cabin in Lake Placid

D. Get a good night’s sleep

E. In my room at home

E. Get on a crowded T

F. Boba in Irvine

F. Use BU bus at peak hours

G. Amsterdam

G. Not read

H. New York City coffee shop

H. Go into a packed elevator

I. Suburban high school

I. High five people at a game

What was your favorite quarantine era?

What is one thing you’ll miss from lockdown?

WHICH SECTION EDITOR ARE YOU? What are you listening to in the pandemic?

First thing you’ll do post-pandemic?

A. Whipped Coffee

A. Not having to commute

A. Heather

A. Hug friends

B. Tiger King

B. Less crowded airplanes

B. Nikes

B. Vacation

C. Among Us

C. Waking up right before class

C. Say So

C. Karaoke

D. The honeymoon phase

D. Having the camera off

D. Good Days

D. Go clubbing

E. Summer

E. At home workouts

E. Mariposa

E. Go to an NBA game

F. Quarantine walks

F. Peace and quiet

F. All American Badass

F. Go to a Broadway show

G. Outerbanks

G. Doing nothing

G. The Smiths

G. Travel

H. Write letters

H. Quality time with pets

Folklore folklore H. General

H. Spend a day at a cafe

I. Online fitness

I. Family time

I. Ribs

I. Go to a Red Sox game

MOSTLY As

MOSTLY Es

OPINION

PHOTO

You love good banter, are You may be stuck Zooming from not very confrontationyour childhood bedroom, but al and would rather call you’re still on top of your work. than text.

You love good banter, are You’re the quiet type who loves not very confrontationthe sunshine and are a strong al and would rather call proponent of hydration. than text.

MOSTLY Bs

MOSTLY Fs

NEWS You love good banter, are You good banter, are not notlove very confrontationvery confrontational and would al and would rather call rather call than text. than text.

PODCAST You love good banter, are You’re an confrontationoutspoken, vocal not very person and stealrather the karaoke al and would call stage. than text.

MOSTLY Gs

RESULTS MOSTLY Cs

MULTIMEDIA You love good banter, are not very confrontationYou have a way with words, and al and would rather call a secret film addiction. than text.

MOSTLY Hs

LAYOUT

FEATURES

You love good banter, are You’re spunky, enjoy creative not very confrontationfreedom and love to call out a al and would rather call bad take. than text.

You love good banter, are You excitement in the little notfind very confrontationthings, and always make sure al and would rather call your friends get home safe. than text.

MOSTLY Ds

MOSTLY Is

LIFESTYLE

SPORTS

You love good banter, are not very confrontationYou’re an emoji fiend and a cat lover.rather call al and would than text.

You love good banter, are not Youvery love confrontationa good time, and a hot take or two. almaybe and would rather call than text.

COVID-19 TIMELINE 7

FEB

1 2020

Massachusetts sees first confirmed case of coronavirus

MAR

11 2020

University announces temporary switch to online classes

MAR

17 2020

University announces remote classes to extend until end of semester

MAR

18 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic forces short end to BU playoff runs, spring seasons

Baker orders mandatory face coverings, expands COVID-19 testing

BU releases phase one of its opening plan for Fall

Boston Marathon canceled for first time in 124 years

MAY

MAY

MAY

1 2020

19 2020

APR

21 2020

BU freezing salaries, administrators see pay decreases

28 2020

COVID-19 TIMELINE Daily Press fromfrom the the past year.

Check TheFree Daily Free headlines Press headlines past year.

Checkout outour our reporting during the pandemic. reporting throughout the pandemic.

JUL

13 2020

OCT

14 2020

DEC

2 2020

Patriot League announces cancellation of fall sports

Maderna’s COVID-19 vaccine study progresses in final phase of testing

Boston Medical Center recieves its first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

Fenway Park to become second mass vaccination sit in Massachusetts

BU to begin screening COVID-19 tests to idenitfy new variants

BU suspends COVID-19 vaccination program

BU plans in-person commencement for class of 2020, 2021

DEC

JAN

FEB

FEB

MAR

20 2020

29 2021

3 2021

BU breaks record for new COVID-19 cases in one day

26 2021

1 2021

8 FEATURES

COMMUNITY Students reflect on mental health pandemic Rachel Do Daily Free Press Staff When COVID-19 spread around the world last March, local officials, news outlets and media emphasized safety measures such as social distancing, mask wearing and, now, vaccinations. But while physical protection from the virus has consumed national dialogue, a worrisome mental health catastrophe has quietly creeped in and proliferated.

According to a CDC study, about 40 percent of adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression from Jan. to March 1 2021 nationwide. Individuals aged 18 to 29 soared above the average, with 50.4 to 57 percent of those surveyed indicating symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders over that time period.

Boston University’s own mental health resources are lacking, according to some community members, and students say they need it the most.

Jessica Venis, a junior majoring in the College of Arts and Sciences, said addressing mental health issues are important today because in her experience, mental health can lead to physical ailments, such as anxietyinduced migraines.

On top of that, she said talking about mental health can help individuals struggling to feel supported, and know they are not alone.

“Everybody struggles with mental health, as well, everybody gets anxious over something, everybody gets stressed over something,” Venus said. “It's not just a percentage of people, everybody's going to deal with some sort of mental health issue.

It’s just like physical health.”

Venis said she initially transferred

to BU in Spring 2020, but then decided to take the semester off when her mental health worsened.

“I was going into it struggling with depression, struggling with anxiety, panic disorder,” she said. “It was already in distress going into the pandemic, and so when the pandemic hit it was already just kind of like ‘Well, this is just now an everyday occurrence I’m going to have to deal with for I don’t know how long.’”

When she took the semester off, Venis said, she “dove headfirst into my mental health.”

“I really went into the whole aspect of seeing professional help in that situation, whether that was virtually or in-person,” she said. “I relied a lot on local friends as well, to try to pull me out of bed so I wasn't just stuck in bed all day, so try to get me out, going and doing stuff.”

Now, she said she tries to keep a routine, and make sure to always do something for herself every day.

“I love to listen to music, I love to work out, trying to incorporate those as much as I can throughout my week just to give myself a break from everyday life,” she said, “to calm myself down from certain emotions and step back from what's going on throughout the world.”

CAS sophomore Helly Patel said she’s felt her mental health worsen severely since last March, when she said it quickly deteriorated — for about a year now, she has not been able to get back to where she was over a year ago.

While she’s been doing her best to safely interact with friends — whether online or socially-distanced in-person — and staying busy with assignments, Patel said not seeing and leaning on people has been a big strain.

“I couldn't really cope the way I normally would,” she said. “I wouldn't be able to go out with my friends, hang out with them and try to take my mind off of it.”

ALEXIA NIZHNY | LAYOUT AND GRAPHICS EDITOR

Jacob Knight, a sophomore in CAS, said he suddenly reached a low depressive point last semester that he couldn’t shake.

“There was nothing that made me feel better,” he said. “I went home for the weekend that actually made me feel better, but … even watching my favorite videos, they wouldn't cheer me up.”

Though he said his recovery has been gradual, talking to people was the “most important thing.”

“I started to get better after that,” Knight said.

Another sophomore in CAS, Allison Kim, said she felt unmotivated and overwhelmed from

the onset of the pandemic Kim also described how life was feeling repetitive, especially as people didn’t change their behavior.

She also said the Asian-American discrimination was also hard to deal with.

“I came across way too many people who refuse to wear a mask or refuse to believe that COVID real or they would blame it on Asian people,” she said, “that was something I had to deal with which was very tough because I tried to just act like it didn't bother me when in reality what they said was very hurtful.”

Kim said she also experienced shame for the anxiety and panic

attacks she was experiencing, for not being able to do it all.

“I felt like I was becoming a weak person because I thought that I would be able to handle all this school, and all this pressure and all that,” she said, “but I wasn't.”

She said she’s learned it’s important to let it out. But at the same time, she said, it’s important to take care of yourself too.

“It's okay to cry,” Kim said. “It's okay to release your emotions but … try to think about something positive, try to think about something that makes you happy, try to think about the people that care about you.”

International students reflect on college experience one year since campus shutdown Rachel Do Daily Free Press Staff Last year, Boston University students started Spring Recess March 7. Four days later, the University announced students wouldn’t return for in-person learning, instead switching to a then little-known conferencing app among students: Zoom.

Now, almost a year later, Zoom is where students spend most of their days. But for some international students, a year of remote learning means much more than a lack of in-

person learning.

Some have not been back to campus since.

Yusi Jin, a junior in College of Communication, is currently back home in Beijing, where she’s been since the end of last March.

But because she is 13 hours ahead of Boston, Jin has had to adjust her sleep schedule to attend classes synchronously. When she was in Boston, she said she’d try to go to bed before midnight, and wake up around 7 or 8 a.m.. Now, her sleep-wake cycle is turned on its head.

“Now, even though I have classes until midnight, I think my latest class ends at 3 a.m., but I will still wake

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO ALEXIA NIZHNY | LAYOUT ANDEDITOR GRAPHICS EDITOR

Late night zoom call Some international students have experienced difficulties with virtual courses, but others have found that remote learning opened up new opportunities.

up automatically … at 8 [a.m.],” she said. “I try really hard to make myself sleep more, but I just can't.”

As an advertising major, Jin said she signed up for BU’s AdLab to stay connected with the BU community this semester. The class is comparable to a “student organization plus an internship,” Jin said, and allows her to interact with other BU students in her group.

This semester, she is also taking two Questrom School of Business classes to fulfill her minor, which she said have also made her feel like a part of campus again.

“I talk to people every day and we meet, so I feel pretty connected and involved to campus life,” she said.

“Joining class like this and having group projects definitely helped me get connected.”

While remote learning imposes some limitations on social interactions, students also said there are certain advantages to being home.

Because most of her classes are at night, Jin said she had time last semester to do an internship during the day, which would be a more difficult process in the United States.

“In my home country, I'm the one with ‘privilege,’ nobody will judge me based on my nationality or whether I have this document or that document,” Jin said. “I have a lot of job options to choose and I get a lot of real life experiences due to remote learning.”

Kenny Yang transferred into COM last Fall. He said he has been taking remote classes from South Korea since he transferred.

Yang said though he struggles to feel adequately connected to campus, he does appreciate the opportunities of staying home and working.

“You can still see your friends and your family,” Yang said. “As an international student for me, I think it's harder for me to get a job or get an opportunity from the U.S., but here it's easier.”

However, he said keeping up with the Eastern time zone has been taxing.

“You have to wake up at around 3 a.m., and it’s hard to go back to sleep and then you sort of end up getting insomnia,” he said. “My daily routine is just screwed up. Thirteen hours ahead … it's just painful.”

Paying the same tuition as inperson students is frustrating, he said, because he does not get the same college life as other students do.

“You stay here and then you take classes online, but you still pay the same cost,” Yang said. “That’s an issue.”

As for Renwei Yu, a sophomore in College of General Studies who has been studying remotely from Ningbo, China, his routine hasn’t been affected too drastically thanks to asynchronous learning options.

“All the classes that I have chosen are either pre-recorded or those

morning classes at Boston time, which means I don't have to stay up late everyday,” Yu wrote in an email.

“The latest class I have will still be ended at 12am my time.”

Despite the flexibility of remote learning, Yu wrote he has lost some motivation to study and pay attention to his classes.

“The negative side is definitely the effectiveness of the studying,” he wrote, “I sometimes have a hard time focusing on the zoom lecture, let alone watching the pre-recorded lecture myself.”

In addition to staying on top of classes, staying involved in activities outside of academics has also been a challenge for some students. Yu wrote because of the significant time difference, he finds it difficult to stay involved with classmates.

As the one-year anniversary of remote learning approaches, Yu wrote it “crazy” to think he has been learning remotely for that time.

Looking back thus far, he rated the experience “a 6.5 out of 10.” One lesson he’s learned is that remote learning is difficult, but self-driven and possible with determination.

“Throughout the remote learning, I think one thing that stands out to be particularly important is selfdiscipline,” Yu wrote. “It is all about yourself, whether you want to learn it or not, because nobody is around you to motivate or push you, it is all on your own to pull it through.”

OPINION 9

EDITORIAL With normalcy on the horizon, we cannot forgot the importance of communication, setting boundaries As mass vaccinations begin to rollout in earnest, we’ve all been dusting off our concert sneakers, bathing suits and picnic blankets in preparation. Many of us even have a postquarantine bucket list at the ready, poised to check off all the adventures we put on hold over the last year.

Finally, freedom is within reach.

But we’re not out of the woods yet. After a year of isolation, anxiety and even trauma, there’s no telling if we’ll ever return to our “normal.” The pandemic has deeply impacted each of us in vastly different and individualized ways.

Exiting the pandemic won’t be like turning off a switch. Antibodies are temporary and fleeting, and vaccines don’t protect against asymptomatic infections or mitigate the risk of you becoming a carrier, so we still have to exercise caution.

It will be a gradual process. Even after states reopen and the majority of the country is inoculated, we’ll probably have to wear masks — if not out of legal requirement, then out of courtesy.

Yet in such a fractured country, we have struggled across leadership and within families to be on the same page. The same dissonance will most likely be amplified in the coming year.

You may be looking forward to socializing, being physically affectionate and going to loud, crowded parties. Your friend, however, may no longer be comfortable doing the same.

You may think the pandemic will be over, its impact wiped clean from society’s slate, as soon as you get your vaccinations. Your friend may expect another year of restricted life.

Navigating the social politics and friction between clashing opinions, especially if it’s with a loved one — or worse, a friend you’re not

comfortable enough confronting — was hard enough when masks and social distancing were the point of contention.

Our relationship dynamics have drastically shifted, if not been altogether lost: Interactions with our outer circle — those who fall into the middle ground between acquaintances and close

relaxed attitudes. In some cases — for example, not being able to visit family who may be struggling — the cognitive dissonance between loneliness, wanting to help and health risks can be too much to bear.

But this also means we’ve been given an opportunity to re-evaluate more artificial

In such a fractured country, we have struggled across leadership and within families to be on the same page. friends — have been reduced to the occasional slide up on their Instagram stories.

The tentative, unestablished friendship with the classmate you were in the middle of platonically wooing last Spring has been put on pause indefinitely because the pandemic has reduced our energy and capacity to socialize.

Perhaps most heart-wrenching, however, has been the loss of long-term relationships.

How people have behaved and handled the pandemic has been incredibly enlightening.

It’s telling if a friend — or former friend — has been travelling or unnecessarily coming in close contact with other people, showing a blatant disregard for public health and the safety of others.

These red flags would never have been brought to the surface without COVID-19.

Relationships that we haven’t yet cut off may be strained as well. Even if we don’t break any of the guidelines, many of us may still bend them. Some assume that with people they’re comfortable being around, it’s OK to take off the mask. For college students who share the same campus and testing procedures, this belief is even more common.

It’s hard to constantly set our priorities straight. It’s hard not to succumb to peer pressure or even familial pressure, to not be seduced by the temptation and promise of human connection.

COVID-19 fatigue has also lent itself to more

friendships — ones that wouldn’t be able to withstand disagreement or questioning.

Some have lost friendships and others have gained them. Some have made unexpected friendships arise or old friendships resurrect as a result of taking that first step to check in.

The common denominator is: If they’re a true friend, they will recognize that wearing a mask says, “I respect you and want to keep you safe,” and not, “I don’t trust you.” The people who are left in your life should put your health, safety and comfort first.

COVID-19 has also changed how we view consent.

Previously, it may have been normal to hug without a second thought or without asking the recipient if they were c om for t abl e w i t h p hy s i c a l

affection. Now, the virus has emphasized the importance of being considerate.

The move from in person to virtual has changed the nature of our interactions as well, helping us stay in touch with those we’re comfortable reaching out to. Platforms such as Teleparty, Houseparty and Zoom will continue to be relevant after the pandemic, perhaps more so than they were before — after all, this experience has highlighted the necessity of connection and communication.

On a purely social front, returning to normal life may be weird or awkward. There will be growing pains: relearning how to do small talk, the etiquette of in-person conversation and other since-forgotten skills. For some, this may be harder than others.

In times of crisis, nothing beats finding people you can lean on and commiserate with.

The COVID-19 pandemic has showcased who our true friends are, taught us how to deal with interpersonal conflict and reminded us to be mindful of others.

Emerging from this year-long horror show, we can only hope we’re surrounded by trust and respect from others. On a societal level, we must integrate the lessons of not only hygiene and medical communication but also boundaries and consent into our post-pandemic culture.

ALEXIA NIZHNY | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

ALEXIA NIZHNY | GRAPHICS EDITOR

EDITORIAL BOARD Colbi Edmonds, Editor-in-Chief

Cameron Morsberger, Managing Editor

Nick Kolev, Campus Editor

Daniel Kool, City Editor

Lily Kepner, Features Editor

Charles Moore, Sports Editor

Andrew Harwood, Multimedia Editor

Abbigale Shi, Opinion Editor

Jackson Machesky, Podcast Editor

Emma Sanchez, Blog Editor

Alexia Nizhny, Layout & Graphics Editor

Hannah Yoshinaga, Photo Editor

10 OPINION

COLUMNS Moving Forward:

COVID-19 helps break down our individual apathy toward social issues

Divya Sood Columnist Tsunamis in cities you have never heard of.

Bloody wars halfway across the world. Government shutdowns miles and miles away. Theories about the future of climate change.

It is natural for some people, particularly those from privileged backgrounds, to feel disconnected from issues a world away from their own. This barrier between people and current events can result in unintentional apathy. How many times have you heard someone say, “Issue X doesn’t directly affect me, so why should I care?”

Such apathy does not necessarily indicate a lack of sensitivity toward these issues. Due to media coverage, advocacy campaigns and public discourse, people are typically aware of these issues’ large-scale negative implications.

They tend to sympathize with the frustration, tensions and losses associated with these developments. But given the large scope and systemic roots of these issues, the ordinary citizen is generally helpless in solving them.

This helplessness is accentuated by the personal disconnect and resulting lack of empathy

that prevent people from feeling a sense of urgency. Even if they claim to care about the issues, they are less inclined to prioritize action because of how small it seems, the assumption that others will undertake responsibility and the presence of more immediate matters on their plates.

It is this same apathy that discourages people from voting, donating to causes or lobbying for favorable policies. This is the same apathy that compels people to underestimate the impact of their individual actions. What difference will one vote, dollar or phone call make in the grand scheme of things?

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging this trend.

Exactly one year ago, when people scrambled to adjust to remote lifestyles, I remember my friends and family expressing their shock at how rapidly everything unfolded.

One moment, the disease primarily impacted China and Italy — a distant headline for many of us. The next, it had found its way into every corner of the globe. We were all suddenly at risk of getting infected or infecting others.

At the same time, each of us were individually affected by the pandemic, resulting lockdowns and personal challenges. The personal connection to the problem created an unparalleled sense of urgency and concern across borders, dismantling typical levels of apathy.

Each person became affected not only by the pandemic itself but also by the choices and actions of those around them — wearing face masks, avoiding large social gatherings and washing hands.

We discovered that while most young people are relatively less impacted by COVID-19’s health risks, they can still act as carriers and pass it to individuals who are elderly, lack proper health care or have pre-existing conditions — for whom the disease could be fatal.

ALEXIA NIZHNY | GRAPHICS EDITOR

During the pandemic, it is increasingly clear that all of our choices are locked in a domino-like network. We had no choice but to invest our trust in our friends’ choices as well as their friends’ choices and so forth.

While our actions impact others normally, we didn’t have the fear or high stakes of a pandemic to heighten our awareness.

This situation demanded a culture of accountability from our communities.

Boston University’s “F--- It Won’t Cut It” project helps cultivate this culture by reminding students of the implications of their individual actions. This campaign encourages students to wear masks, practice social distancing and be aware of how their actions ultimately affect the well-being of others as well as the course of the pandemic.

While we all share risks associated with COVID-19, we benefit from something just as powerful: the ability to contain the virus through protective practices. Our individual actions are particularly important for limiting the spread, considering the domino-effect nature of transmission and the lack of coordination be-

tween governing institutions.

Some issues can be addressed with the majority of society’s support, but this particular issue requires collective cooperation and action.

Unfortunately, this mentality has been challenging for us to universally adopt, particularly in individualistic societies. This failed attempt at mass coordination is part of the reason why we are still in this battle one year later.

This phenomenon is unique because everyone has a personal incentive to fight alongside the larger societal motivations of ending the pandemic. We all felt the disappointment that came with canceled events, the frustrations over our new lifestyles’ challenges and the heightened everyday fear of the health risks. There is a lot at stake for everyone.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating on many fronts, it has hopefully compelled people to be more mindful about their individual choices and impacts. This newfound urgency and self-agency can help us make inroads in solving other pressing issues.

Until then, wear your masks, socially distance and encourage others to do so too.

to adjust to remote lifestyles, I remember my friends and family expressing their shock at how rapidly everything unfolded.

One moment, the disease primarily impacted China and Italy — a distant headline for many of us. The next, it had found its way into every corner of the globe. We were all suddenly at risk of getting infected or infecting others.

At the same time, each of us were individually affected by the pandemic, resulting lockdowns and personal challenges. The personal connection to the problem created an unparalleled sense of urgency and concern across borders, dismantling typical levels of apathy.

Each person became affected not only by the pandemic itself but also by the choices and actions of those around them — wearing face masks, avoiding large social gatherings and washing hands.

We discovered that while most young people are relatively less impacted by COVID-19’s health risks, they can still act as carriers and pass it to individuals who are elderly, lack proper health care or have pre-existing conditions — for whom the disease could be fatal.

During the pandemic, it is increasingly clear that all of our choices are locked in a domino-like network. We had no choice but to invest our trust in our friends’ choices as well as their friends’ choices and so forth.

While our actions impact others normally, we didn’t have the fear or high stakes of a pandemic to heighten our awareness.

This situation demanded a culture of accountability from our communities.

Boston University’s “F--- It Won’t Cut It” project helps cultivate this culture by reminding students of the implications of their individual

actions. This campaign encourages students to wear masks, practice social distancing and be aware of how their actions ultimately affect the well-being of others as well as the course of the pandemic.

While we all share risks associated with COVID-19, we benefit from something just as powerful: the ability to contain the virus through protective practices. Our individual actions are particularly important for limiting the spread, considering the domino-effect nature of transmission and the lack of coordination between governing institutions.

Some issues can be addressed with the majority of society’s support, but this particular issue requires collective cooperation and action.

Unfortunately, this mentality has been challenging for us to universally adopt, particularly in individualistic societies. This failed attempt at mass coordination is part of the reason why we are still in this battle one year later.

This phenomenon is unique because everyone has a personal incentive to fight alongside the larger societal motivations of ending the pandemic. We all felt the disappointment that came with canceled events, the frustrations over our new lifestyles’ challenges and the heightened everyday fear of the health risks. There is a lot at stake for everyone.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating on many fronts, it has hopefully compelled people to be more mindful about their individual choices and impacts. This newfound urgency and self-agency can help us make inroads in solving other pressing issues.

Until then, wear your masks, socially distance and encourage others to do so too.

Modern Toolbox:

Coronavirus, stocks and crypto Jaeyoung Choi Columnist Tsunamis in cities you have never heard of.

Bloody wars halfway across the world. Government shutdowns miles and miles away. Theories about the future of climate change.

It is natural for some people, particularly those from privileged backgrounds, to feel disconnected from issues a world away from their own. This barrier between people and current events can result in unintentional apathy. How many times have you heard someone say, “Issue X doesn’t directly affect me, so why should I care?”

Such apathy does not necessarily indicate a lack of sensitivity toward these issues. Due to media coverage, advocacy campaigns and public discourse, people are typically aware of these issues’ large-scale negative implications.

They tend to sympathize with the frustration,

ALEXIA NIZHNY | GRAPHICS EDITOR

tensions and losses associated with these developments. But given the large scope and systemic roots of these issues, the ordinary citizen is generally helpless in solving them.

This helplessness is accentuated by the personal disconnect and resulting lack of empathy that prevent people from feeling a sense of urgency. Even if they claim to care about the issues, they are less inclined to prioritize action because of how small it seems, the assumption that others will undertake responsibility and the presence of more immediate matters on their plates.

It is this same apathy that discourages people from voting, donating to causes or lobbying for favorable policies. This is the same apathy that compels people to underestimate the impact of their individual actions. What difference will one vote, dollar or phone call make in the grand scheme of things?

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging this trend.

Exactly one year ago, when people scrambled

SPORTS 11

SPORTS BU Dog Pound, sports fans express difficulties in watching games virtually Sydney Walsh Daily Free Press Staff Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that sent students home in March of last year and transformed the academic learning environment, Boston University athletic events have not allowed in-person attendance for the 202021 academic year.

Without the opportunity to watch the Terriers in person, students have largely disengaged from following the progress and achievements of BU Athletics.

The BU Dog Pound, a student organization that encourages fan engagement at men’s hockey games, has continued to voice its support at sporting events — even if they take place virtually.

“We’ve decided to do watch parties,” Rafael Perron, an executive board member of the Dog Pound and sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said. “We’re having fun watching the games. We are able to get people into some of these watch parties and at least have some kind of engagement.”

Through Hockey East’s website, students are able to view the games for free, Perron said, meaning the Pound can hold Zoom events for BU’s most passionate hockey fans. For the Terriers’ matchup last month against rival Boston College — a game known as “The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue” — the group invited their Instagram followers to join them via Zoom to watch the game together.

Posting on social media has proved important for organizations such as the Dog Pound in keeping fans engaged and excited about games.

“We’ve kind of doubled on [social media] to try to get more people engaged,” Perron said.

“We are still able to have a presence on social media because that hasn’t changed from in-person to online.”

While sporting events are happening virtually and are available to fans, it can be difficult to know when they happen and what platforms they take place on.

Oliva Kirker, a freshman in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said watching and supporting BU athletics has been more difficult and less accessible for fans, including her. If game times and group events

were shared via newsletter, she said, it could help fans stay up-to-date with those events.

“It’s just harder to know what times things are going on, harder to make it to Zoom calls,” Kirker said. “If somebody wanted to sign up for that, they could be made aware of when games were happening, what platforms they could use.”

Virtual events also feel less formal for some students, including Morgan Clark, vice president of public relations for the Dog Pound and junior in the College of Communication. She said fans might be less inclined to watch the games on Zoom or elsewhere online because the experience is not as social and demanding of one’s time.

“When we used to go to games in-person, it’s very easy to block that out as something in your schedule,” Clark said. “When you’re just remembering to watch something on TV, it’s a lot more lenient … It’s not an event to put in the calendar in the same exact way.”

When it comes to these online streams, fans have also encountered problems finding and watching some sports games — for Kirker, she has trouble keeping up with women’s sports.

“I think it’s been especially hard for women’s

sports because those are less likely to be televised,” she said, “and so I’m less likely to be able to watch them.”

The Dog Pound has been working with BU Athletics to better the fan experience and come up with other engaging events, Perron said, but nothing beats the thrill of cheering in the stands of Agganis Arena.

“We don’t get our core thing that drives our entire organization, which is going to games and having a good time,” Perron said. “It’s really hard to keep up with chants and things like that when people are delayed on Zoom sometimes or people don’t have quality internet.”

While fans are disappointed in the lack of JUNstill LI in-person attendance at games,GRAPHIC they BY are understanding of the reasoning behind the decision.

“My next thing … would be to have at least some students be able to go in-person, even if the number was greatly reduced,” Clark said.

“But I still think that [BU is] making the right decision and not letting that happen in the moment because of course we want to be COVIDsafe, first and foremost.”

Fair or Foul:

COVID-19 and Major League Baseball — one year later

Daniel Multz Columnist

The New York Yankees traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida to take on the reigning world champion Washington Nationals March 12, 2020. The Blue Jays visited the Pirates, the Tigers played host to the Braves, the Phillies took on the Rays and the Cardinals shut out the Marlins.

Little did anyone know at the time, but these Spring Training games would be the last anyone would watch for more than four months.

The news broke in the middle of the game that MLB was suspending Spring Training and postponing the start of the 2020

regular season due to the rapid onset and spread of COVID-19.

The pandemic stopped MLB, and every other professional sports league, dead in its tracks mid-March. The start of the regular season for baseball was just two weeks away when normalcy completely disappeared from the sports world. Minor League Baseball took a near-lethal blow from the shutdown as thousands of players and countless team and stadium staff lost their jobs, and some teams as a whole closed up shop for good.

For any baseball player or fan, seeing no baseball in April, May or June felt like a sick joke. There was just no way this was actually happening: the 30 stadiums were empty, and no one knew when play would resume or what that would even look like.

After months of bitter salary negotiations and ironing out testing and safety protocols, the league returned to action July 23, 2020. Gerrit Cole finally made his Yankees debut, the Nationals finally got to take the field as reigning champions and umpire Angel Hernandez got back behind home plate to make horrible calls.

There was just one stark difference between opening day 2020 and 2019: the stadiums were empty, silent and squeaky-clean.

The artificial crowd noise did not compensate for the sight of a sea of empty seats — or often cardboard cutouts — and the ability to hear all of the banter coming from dugouts and every word of arguments with umpires. While it was definitely a surreal and weird experience watching 2020-style MLB games, it sure was nice to have baseball back to diffuse some tens i o n

and provide a distraction during the height of the pandemic.

Once the season got underway, we saw new rules come into effect that eased the burden on teams and players. We saw the rosters expanded to 28 — and then now down to 26 — a universal DH, seven-inning double-headers and the runner-on-second extra-inning rule, among other changes.

The game itself looked different, the gameplay sure looked different and the stadiums sounded different. But baseball was back, and the attempt to chug through a 60-game season came and went despite the challenges.

The Marlins and Cardinals learned more than anyone that having depth in this game is always important. They got stuck with COVID-19 outbreaks that cost them many players and weeks of action. They, along with the rest of the league, had to scramble to the finish line and get to 60 games by any means possible. All of a sudden, we arrived at the end of September, ready to begin the postseason.

Somehow, with COVID-19 still rampaging and even greater uncertainty as to what each day would hold, the MLB made it to Oct. 27, 2020, and got to crown the Los Angeles Dodgers as 2020 World Series Champions.

Now that the offseason has come and gone, and Spring Training 2021 is here, the league intends to keep many of its 2020 rules for this season. To a degree, this is an acceptable price to pay if it means getting a full 162-game season, with more and more fans eventually pouring into the stadiums.

While I cannot stand the universal DH, the seven-inning double-headers or the three-batter rule for relief pitchers, they are not going

away just yet. I will tolerate all of that just to see the marquee matchups we missed out on last season, such as the Yankees and Astros, Dodgers and Cardinals and more.

The 2020 season, across all sports leagues, proved that travelling long distances — with tons of personnel, regular testing and scrupulous protocols — was possible and could be done with a high, but not perfect, success rate.

That has to be good enough for MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to feel confident in playing a full season in year two of COVID-19 baseball.

MLB had to rebuild itself from the ground up in 2020. The long respite between games did not fully cancel the season, and that process was one the league had to see through to the end. Now that they have, every fan should feel confident that the ducks are in a row and the 2021 season will begin on time and go straight through to October when we can crown the next World Champion.

ALEXIA NIZHNY | GRAPHICS

EDITOR

SPORTS Boston University club sports adapt to socially distanced practices Sonja Chen Daily Free Press Staff In early March of 2020, many of Boston University’s club sports teams were gearing up for the warmer weather. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the majority of students were sent home for the semester.

Student-athletes returned to uncertainty in the Fall. Club sports would be allowed to practice, but they had no idea what the season would look like.

“The Fall was kind of sad because you’re having a sport, but you’re also not having it as you used to,” said Julia Smithing, a senior in the College of Fine Arts and former president of club synchronized swimming.

Now, masking up and physically distancing at practices has become the new normal for members of BU’s 34 club sports teams.

They have learned to adapt to the University’s COVID-19 policies, rising to the challenge of playing sports contact-free.

Men’s club volleyball, among other teams, has had to adapt their practices. Per club sports guidelines, players must split into cohorts with a maximum of ten people per court, said Adam Chrysostomou, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and president of the team.

Volleyball normally requires six people on each side of the court, which is not possible with cohorts. Instead, the team now plays threeon-three matches in practice, and the court is marked with boxes so players can physically

distance themselves.

“On the court, you have to be very communicative,” Chrysostomou said, “just so there’s no accidents and you know that you’re not getting close to someone.”

Contact-free practices are not new to women’s club rugby. The team would regularly have contactless practices before the pandemic, said Kathryn Armour, a CAS junior and president of the team.

“We can’t really practice contact every scheduled day because of the toll it takes on our bodies,” Armour said. “We kind of just substituted the days we would be contact practicing with more conditioning and ball-handling work.”

Social distancing is harder, Armour said. The team splits into three cohorts that spread across Nickerson Field, but keeping six feet of distance between teammates during passing drills can be difficult.

Synchronized swimming faces different challenges. The eight-person team does not have to split into cohorts, but they cannot practice elements that require connecting. At the beginning of the Fall, they held Zoom practices, Smithing said, but are now able to practice at the Fitness and Recreation Center. They are only able to practice some routines that allow for social distancing in the pool.

“You can’t throw people out of the water, and you can’t have that interaction,” Smithing said, “but you can at least move together with the water and with the music.”

BU does not allow club sports teams to travel this semester, and some tournaments have been

COURTESY OF BU CLUB BASEBALL

Boston University club baseball. Club sports teams are allowed to practice, but athletes must remain socially distanced and wear masks at all times.

canceled due to the pandemic. Chrysostomou said he was initially disappointed he would not be able to compete during his senior year, but he and the team are thankful they can practice at all.

“Not being able to play tournaments isn’t ideal, but being able to run practices, still seeing the guys in the gym, even with masks, socially distanced, you still have that sense of camaraderie,” he said. “It’s still the sport you love.”

Although women’s rugby would like to compete, Amour said holding regular practices is great for the team.

“Having a BU-certified space to be able to

hang out with friends and have a sense of normalcy is really nice,” Armour said. “In terms of mental health, I think it’s a great boost for most people on the team.”

Going to practices and being with her teammates has been “a little joy,” Smithing said.

Although the synchronized swimming elements the team can practice are limited by BU’s COVID-19 policies, she said it is one part of her life that feels semi-normal.

“It’s just kind of nice to feel like you have a team again, and you are doing things together in the water,” she said, “no matter that we are not doing everything the same way.”

BU Athletics seniors remain positive, optimistic for the future despite barriers to their sports Ethan Biddle Daily Free Press Staff

For student-athletes at Boston University, the opportunity to fulfill the goals for their senior season was taken away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, one year removed from the pause on play, seniors still remain optimistic that their final year may not be entirely ruined after all.

This year, several sports have gone through game postponements, practice cancellations and even a season postponement in order to continue following health and safety protocols. These constant pauses and resumptions have grown heavy on the student-athletes — on and off the field.

“We really don’t know from day-to-day what could happen,” men’s soccer player and senior Zion Balogun said. “The season could get canceled at any moment in time.”

For the men’s soccer team, its season, which typically is played in the fall, got moved to the spring.

“So much work had gone into [the season], to get told that there’s not really going to be a season … when you see other leagues actually being able to play, it can get a little bit emotional for some of the players,” Balogun said.

Another key difference this season is the lack of team bonding events student-athletes are allowed to have. Since the athletes do not all live together, they are also not allowed to be around one another without masks. This means no team dinners, no nights out and no get-togethers between practices. To combat this, teams like women’s lacrosse have thought up safe alternatives that allow the team to still develop chemistry and bond.

“We walk to the COVID testing center, or go pick up a coffee from Starbucks,” women’s lacrosse player and senior Maggie Lohrer said.

“Some girls have been picking up some drinks and they just go on a long walk, just to get outside, do something safe but also get to know someone.”

Lohrer said she felt proud of her team and they felt as tight as ever in preparation for their season, despite the circumstances.

“We’ve managed to make do and really still promote our togetherness and our team chemistry,” Lohrer said.

For the men’s basketball team, which had a total of four games postponed during its season, season disruptions were commonplace. The postponements affected the team’s ability to find a rhythm in their play.

“It’s been such a wild year,” men’s basketball head coach Joe Jones said in a March 3 press conference. “It’s been really hard to get some momentum.”

Student-athletes also find the uncertainty of the schedule a challenge.

“It’s been crazy,” men’s basketball player Javante McCoy said in a press conference in February. “But those, like coach said, are just more excuses for why you might not be performing up to your standards. Those kinds of things, we just try to block them out. We just kind of look at the upside.”

The women’s ice hockey team also experienced a pause between Dec. 11 and Jan. 23 due to health and safety protocols. While it caused trouble for the team in their return to action, players remained positive.

“We did a really good job not really showing that we’ve had a month off, so I thought we did really well,” women’s ice hockey forward and senior Nara Elia said in a Jan. 23 press conference after a win against Maine.

This optimistic mindset is evident through-

HANNAH YOSHINAGA/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Emily Vervlied, a senior on Boston University’s women’s lacrosse team, in a Feb. 16, 2020 game against Hartford University. Although BU athletes’ senior seasons have functioned differently than in past years, students remain optimistic.

out BU sports. Several student-athletes keep this positive attitude in hope that one day their sport will return to normalcy and they will be able to play out a true senior season.

“Although things are definitely different and not at all what we were expecting them to be like, I think we’ve done a really good job adapting and making some changes and figuring out what works best for us,” women’s lacrosse midfielder and senior Emily Vervlied said in a Terrier Tuesday interview with BU Athletics in February.

Moving forward, the NCAA has announced that all student-athletes will be receiving an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pan-

demic, allowing seniors to return for a perhaps more enjoyable senior season if they so desire.

“I’m actually really happy that that’s something we are able to access and use,” Balogun said of the extra eligibility year.

Despite the trouble the past year has caused and the potential dismissal of their once cherished senior seasons, seniors are still taking advantage of the opportunity they’ve been offered to play.

“It is what it is,” Balogun said. “You can’t really focus too much on what you’ve lost, just got to focus on what’s in front of you … It is different, but life goes on.”