Students, faculty give opinions about construction projects at Sargent and Wheelock

BY RACHEL DO Senior Writer

Boston University Campus Planning and Operations recently started new construction projects at Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Wheelock College of Education and Human Development after months of planning and design work.

BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email that Sargent’s program space is currently being reconfigured and a first floor classroom at Sargent is undergoing renovations.

Riley said construction at Sargent is projected to be completed by the start of Fall 2023 semester and will make the space, “more efficient and user friendly.”

Construction at Wheelock is for the professional preparation office, which is being relocated from the Fenway campus according to Riley. The office in Wheelock is scheduled to be completed by the end of February.

Katie Brunner, enrollment marketing and communications specialist at Sargent, said although Sargent has great facilities, she thinks the building needs an update.

“One thing that bothers me about Sargent is that we have really, really impressive facilities, but a lot of the times the building doesn’t reflect that,” Brunner said. “It is nice to know that we’re gonna have a little bit of an update.”

Brunner said that she hopes Sargent’s renovations will help retain potential students.

MBTA FROM 1 MBTA to perform power, lighting and drainage work near Alewife as well as rail replacement near Harvard.

The Haverhill Commuter Rail services will also be affected from Feb. 4 to 12 between Haverhill and Reading to perform Automated Train Control work.

Demolition at the Government Center Garage is in progress this weekend. HYM Investment Group, the real estate firm responsible for the demolition of the Government Center Garage, is also constructing residential buildings and office towers in the Government Center area as part of the Bulfinch Crossing project.

Emerson College freshman Erin Locke said that although her route is not affected by the changes, others may have to adjust.

“I can see it being a huge inconvenience for the people that [use that section of the Green Line],” Locke said. “If you have to go to work or something, you have to plan for that, and it’s definitely going to mess things up.”

Reshma Subramonian, a Boston University junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, rides the T every week, and was unaware of the service change.

“This is interesting information I have to add into my upcoming life,” Subramonian said. “I think it’s going to

“One thing that [prospective students] consider obviously is facilities and things and even though people don’t like to admit it, everybody judges a book by its cover at least a teeny bit,” she said. “I hope it’ll help us retain our prospective students that are really great.”

Malia Sparrock, senior staff coordinator of Sargent academic services, said construction has not been too bad so far, but has made it difficult to hear inside the building.

“The worst was the first few days where they were doing a lot of work downstairs,” Sparrock negatively affect a lot of people.”

The MBTA is working on replacing many of its cars, tracks and conducting other necessary maintenance work, according to a virtual MBTA Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 26.

The CRRC MA project is a partnership with China Railroad Rolling Stock to help design and manufacture subway cars for the MBTA. The project has been in the works since 2014, with 78 Orange Line and 12 Red Line cars being delivered so far out of 284 total cars promised.

“Above and beyond …is our safety and our safety culture, and that is again my responsibility to continue to drive that, and drive the lasting change for the T’s safety and our safety culture,” MBTA Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville said in the meeting on Thursday.

Completion of Orange Line car delivery is expected for Dec. 2023 and Red Line cars for Sept. 2026, according to the meeting.

“We need to find a way to balance our maintenance work and the maintenance needs that we have within our system,” said Gonneville. “When you begin balancing all those needs, and also operation staffing levels, then it becomes a puzzle that is complicated and needs to get put together in order to think about a diversion calendar.” said. “It was hard to hear people’s phone calls when they came in, so I had to transfer a lot of that to emails.”

Sparrock said she hopes Sargent’s renovations will create more space for students.

“If the layout is what it’s gonna be in real life and if it does what it’s supposed to do, like make sure there’s enough space for all the students … it’ll be worth it.”

Danuta Charland, assistant to the director of Sargent, said the noise from construction bothered her while working.

“The noise was really problematic sometimes,”

Charland said. “I know [construction] really affected other people, especially the [principal investigators] in the labs who are doing very sensitive work.”

Riley wrote that the University attempts to schedule most of the construction work when it will be least disruptive to classes and programs on campus, but some noises and interruptions are inevitable.

Charland said she thinks the construction will bring up the value of Sargent for current and future students.

“Visitors don’t mind so much seeing the under construction sign, knowing that in the future, that this is going to improve their quality of education,” Charland said.

Carson Paradis, a sophomore in Sargent and the vice president of the Sargent class of 2025, said many Sargent students are excited to have a new space.

“It does feel like it’s something new for me,” Paradis said. “I’m gonna go in and have a space to work and a space to actually call my college.”

Wendy Lim, a junior in Wheelock, said despite the fact that students weren’t notified by the University before construction started, she and other students did not notice any inconveniences caused by the construction.

“I don’t think any of the Wheelock students were aware that the renovation was going on and we didn’t even know that it was the professional office,” she said. “There is a sign saying that the construction is going on and professors have been mentioning … their excitements for the renovation.”

Lim said she looks forward to seeing more construction to improve Wheelock.

“I’ve heard so many bad things about how the office rooms [have] a lot of mold and the heater wasn’t working and it’s not spacious enough to be an office,” Lim said. “Personally, I wish there will be more renovations to other areas of the building.”

Opinion Editor Caroline McCord contributed to the reporting of this article.

BY MATTHEW EADIE Senior Writer

Extreme cold weather expected over the weekend has caused Mayor Wu to declare a cold emergency for the city — beginning Friday, Feb. 3 through Sunday, Feb. 5. Temperatures are expected to dip to zero degrees late Friday night with a wind chill expected to reach close to 35 degrees below zero early Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Following the cold emergency declaration by the city, Boston University sent an emergency alert Thursday morning, warning students, faculty and staff to “take precautions against the cold.”

BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the University will remain open Friday but said “we always encourage people to make the best decisions for themselves and dress properly for the weather.”

Mayor Wu announced on Thursday afternoon that Boston Public Schools will be closed Friday due to the expected cold weather.

A number of buildings will be open throughout the city for Boston residents to take shelter throughout the weekend.

Governor Maura Healey, on the “Ask the Governor” segment from GBH News, announced that South Station will be open overnight for those who need shelter.

“It’s a matter of basic humanity, in my view,” Healey said.

Boston Centers for Youth & Families will open their community centers as “warming centers,” while Boston Public Library branches will operate at their normal hours.

The Southampton Street Shelter for men over 18 years of age will be open 24 hours daily, along with Woods Mullen Shelter for women over 18 years of age.

The Engagement Center on Atkinson Street will also be open with extended hours from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“I urge all Boston residents to take precautions, stay warm and safe, and check on your neighbors during this cold emergency,” Mayor Wu said in the city’s press release.