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Add spring break to the growing list of things that have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. The weeklong March vacation was canceled with the aim of reducing the University community’s risk of COVID-19 exposure. Administrators had worried that having students, faculty, and staff travel could lead to a surge of cases on campus.
But going through the semester without a chance to rest and recharge wasn’t a viable solution, either. In a letter sent on January 13 to students and faculty, Jean Morrison, University provost and chief academic officer, announced that BU has added two wellness days to the spring academic calendar. No classes, no exams, and no homework on those days. In other words, everyone should take the time for a mental health break.
long racial reckoning in America. At the ugly end of a presidency that seemed to embrace white supremacy. And just days after a violent insurrection on Capitol Hill that saw the Confederate battle flag waved in the halls of Congress.
“For me, it makes MLK Day feel like more than just our annual celebration,” says Katherine Kennedy, director of the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, which is hosting the event. “It’s a true remembrance of what MLK stood for, fought for, died for. And, especially for those of us who have lived long enough to have been a part of that, it’s a pretty emotional time.”
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When 2020 began, no one could have imagined it would end with a world turned upside down by a virus no one had ever heard of, a virus that has now claimed the lives of close to two million people, more than 300,000 in the United States alone. Social distancing, mask wearing, and hand sanitizing took on a new urgency.
Here at BU, COVID-19 forced the University to quickly adapt to a remote learning model immediately following spring break in March. A massive testing and contact tracing system implemented by the University this summer allowed students to return to campus for the fall semester for a combination of in-person and remote learning, dubbed Learn
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This semester began unlike any other, with new rules and protocols, and now it is ending as it began with a few new rules and protocols. To make your upcoming departure and return in January a little smoother, we’ve put together a handy checklist to keep track of things you’ll need to do. And when in doubt, always check in with the Back2BU website for updates.
Special reminder for people who are in Category 4 and taking advantage of the University’s temporary offer to get COVID-19 tests on campus remember that testing is only available until January 10. Details are here.
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Stacey Harris knows how important it is to be heard, because for a long time she wasn’t.
“My parents just were not expecting
me,” she says. “The queer, blue-haired Harvard Square kid just didn’t work for them. They didn’t get it, so they couldn’t get me. And it was very hard. So from 13 on, I wasn’t really with them.”
In the long run she has thrived, with a happy family of her own and a career as Boston University’s associate director of Disability & Access Services, a post she’s held since 2014. But she hasn’t forgotten how difficult life can be when you can’t say what you mean or when the people you need to hear you aren’t listening. That’s a big reason why she’s spearheading Boston University’s new Student Conflict Resolution Program.