Belly of The Beast

The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic Beyond the Physical

Written by: Simone Crowder Design & Graphic by: Emily Snisarenko

COVID-19, a pandemic distinguishable by intense fear and tragedy, also shed light on a myriad of social injustices of the same caliber happening in our midst. In early 2020, for instance, the murder of George Floyd prompted a massive response from the Black Lives Matter movement, its impact still just as meaningful over a year later. Political divide during the 2020 Election later that year also emphasized the hunger of humanity for sweetness in a sour world, forcing us to consider our relationships with one another as a collective and how much we care for each other as human beings. These particular global events that characterized this time period, as well as many others, served as catalysts for similar social movements on our own campus. First: Allegations against Shiney James, BU’s Director of Orientation, were released, detailing how she severely emotionally abused students who worked alongside her. She ironically created an awful work environment while current BU students simultaneously welcomed new freshmen and transfer students into what is supposedly a safe space to learn. A plethora of students who worked under James repeatedly received extremely humiliating and demeaning comments from her as well as uncomfortable pressure to share personal information that would not have been disclosed otherwise. This inappropriate behavior from James, in turn, resulted in severe, negative impacts on her students’ mental health. The Daily Press, BU’s independent student newspaper, received many comments underneath a Twitter post made on October 4th, 2021 notifying readers of the publication of an article about James and her allegations. Twitter user @natalie_gnzz, for example, commented: “Shiney mostly hired LGBTQ+, low income, and people of color. She was open about using her identity as a woman of color so we would view her as a safe person and make it even easier for her to abuse us.” Through their words, they revealed that being an employee in college is a vulnerable existence in itself. But, in the case of Shiney’s employees, the feeling of vulnerability is much more tangible, due to the fact that many of them are a part of marginalized groups. Second: Although BU had completely returned to in-person classes and retained a relatively normal semester, a few protocols remained, some of which were controversial. BU notified its students that professors were not allowed to record lectures they taught, which intensely frustrated the student body. Several students’ main concern was that quarantined students infected with or exposed to COVID-19 would fall behind in classes with little help to get back on their feet, which prompted a petition being created to gather other students’ support. Hilda Balderas (CAS ‘25) pointed out that “it is amazing how [BU takes] Covid seriously, but it is astonishing at how in keeping us safe, they prevent us from learning and make it difficult for everybody in quarantine to excel.”

Gina Ellis (Questrom ‘25), however, provides this rebuttal: “Although I do feel BU’s reluctance to allow professors to record lectures disregards people who happen to get infected with COVID-19, I do think it is important to limit Zoom recordings to a certain extent. If recordings are always accessible, then there will be a large decline in attendance and therefore a decline in class performance.” Each perspective, while completely different and valid, highlighted how resolving conflict and satisfying the entire BU community is not as simple as it sounds, which is why it is so important for students to verbalize their concerns. Being honest provides the best foundation for compromise. Third: Another poignant social conversation happening on campus regarded the many problems that BU LGBTQ+ individuals experience. There have without a doubt been many issues over the years, but during this semester in particular, students have been emphasizing frustrations with gender-neutral housing as well as trans and non-binary students not being able to update their legal sex as well as their birth names on school documents. Sam Magid (CAS ‘25), a nonbinary freshman, explains their personal experience with housing: “I chose to identify as my birth-assigned gender because it doesn’t make me particularly dysphoric, and I don’t want to deal with the housing complications. But, that isn’t the case for every, or even most, trans people.” Leo Austin-Spooner (Wheelock ‘25), a transgender freshman, dealt with the complications Sam mentioned above. He described his ordeal with gender dysphoria at BU by saying: “My friends/roommate saw [my] old terrier card, so they know my deadname. Also, before I even got to college they saw my deadname because it was listed in the housing portal. Before they even met me. I haven’t used that name in over four years. They put my deadname on the front door of my room on the first day. So everyone saw it. It made me feel upset, so I scratched it off with a marker. I’ve been taught to always stay on guard with being open about my identity; What if people don’t like it? What if people will get mad or hate my transness? It’s scary to not have the autonomy to have that conversation myself.” It is clear that while we have become desensitized to serious events throughout the pandemic, this along with many other social issues are profoundly real and affect real people for a lifetime. In short, the pandemic not only taught us to appreciate our health, but it also taught us to be cognizant of the way in which we treat those around us. Being agents of positive change seems overwhelming and complicated when exposed to such important problems as these. Nevertheless, we rise. In Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb,” she writes: “Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.”