CRC and Medical Campus Closed Tuesday

MBTA shutdown behind decision to close

Coping with a record snowfall: members of BU’s exhausted but valiant maintenance staff have been working round the clock to try to keep ahead of the snow that has inundated the city over the past 15 days. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

February 9, 2015
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Updated at 12:10 p.m. The Track & Tennis Center is closed for all instructional, club sport, and open recreation. 

Updated at 11:25 a.m. The Fitness and Recreation center will be open today, Tuesday, February 10, from 1 to 8 p.m. for informal recreation. All classes, practices, and other programs remain canceled.

With MBTA service, including subways, trolleys, and commuter rail, shut down through Tuesday and a citywide parking ban in effect following  a snowstorm that dumped more than 22 inches of snow in Boston, University administrators have closed the Charles River Campus and the Medical Campus on Tuesday. Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency early Monday night, and asked that all nonessential state employees in Boston and surrounding areas stay home Tuesday.

President Robert A. Brown said in an email to the BU community on Monday that although the decisions by University officials to close the campus because of safety concerns have been difficult, “we are also concerned about the disruption of instruction caused by the mounting number of missed class days. We are working to propose ways to make up at least some of the instructional time that has been lost. We will report to you on the options we develop as soon as possible.” BU Today will publish details when they become available.

The 37th annual women’s Beanpot Tournament final will be played as scheduled on Tuesday, February 10, at Harvard’s Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Cambridge. The BU women’s ice hockey team goes up against Northeastern in the consolation game at 4:30 p.m., with the final, pitting Harvard and Boston College, at 7:30 p.m.

Charles River Campus: Closed. Classes are canceled. When classes resume, it will be on the regular class schedule.

Medical Campus: The Medical Campus is closed. The closure includes the BU School of Medicine, the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine and its Patient Treatment Centers, and the School of Public Health. All normal academic and administrative activities have been canceled. For updated information, visit the BUMC emergency communications website.

Dining Services: All residence dining facilities will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Service may be limited because two-thirds of University staff and faculty rely on public transportation. All City Convenience stores will operate on a normal schedule. The George Sherman Union Food Court Starbucks and Rhett’s will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The School of Management’s Breadwinners and Starbucks are closed, as is Rize Cafe at 100 Bay State Road, Einstein’s Bagels, the Law Cafe, the BU Pub, and Health Blends at FitRec. Hillel’s dining facility will be open from noon to 1 p.m. and from 5 to 6 p.m. Buick Street: only Market and Dunkin’ Donuts will be open, from 8 a.m. to midnight. Extreme Pita will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Late Night Kitchen will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. Starbucks at 700 Comm Ave will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

George Sherman Union: Open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Libraries: Closed.

Fitness & Recreation Center: FitRec will be open today, Tuesday, February 10, from 1 to 8 p.m. for informal recreation. All classes, practices, and other programs remain canceled. Both pools will be open from 3 to 8 p.m.

Student Health Services: Student Health Services will be closed Tuesday, but 24-hour emergency assistance will be available by calling the office at 617-353-3575.

Bookstore: Barnes & Noble at BU is closed.

BU Shuttle (the BUS): Two buses will be operating on a limited schedule of 30-minute intervals, with late night service canceled. As a result of poor road conditions, there will be no large, articulate buses running the shuttle route. They may be replaced with nonwrapped coach-style buses. When this occurs, the GPS tracking is not available to be used by BUS patrons. There will likely be delays in service, which will be posted on the BUS website and tweeted from @BUshuttle. Dress appropriately.

Parking: Students, faculty, and staff on the Charles River Campus are urged to refrain from parking in any of the University’s outside lots so that these locations can be properly cleared and maintained. All University parking permit holders who are not parked within a covered/garaged facility should park in one of the following facilities (this includes departmental vehicles): Babcock Street garage; 808 Commonwealth Avenue garage; 575 Commonwealth Avenue garage; and 730 Commonwealth Avenue garage. Once the campus has reopened, all vehicles should be returned to normal parking areas as soon as possible.

MBTA T Service and Commuter Rail: All service is shut down through Tuesday night. Check here for the latest MBTA service information.

Tuition Refund Deadline Extended: Students who withdraw or take a leave of absence for the spring 2015 semester by Wednesday, February 11, will be eligible for 60 percent cancellation of semester tuition charges. The original deadline was Monday, February 9. This extension applies only to the standard tuition refund schedule.

Club sports, intramural sports, and intramural travel are canceled for Tuesday.

University employees in essential services must report as scheduled. Essential services include, but are not limited to, Boston University Police, Facilities Management & Planning, Dining Services, Mail Services, Student Health Services, Environmental Health & Safety, and Network Services.

BU Today invites event coordinators to post cancellations in the Comment section below.

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CRC and Medical Campus Closed Tuesday

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Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.

There are 91 comments on CRC and Medical Campus Closed Tuesday

  2. I really do hope the university finds a way to incorporate make up classes into the schedule. Having snowdays is one thing, but having them week after week on the same day really disrupts the schedule, especially for those who have 3-hour seminars once a week on Mondays. Maybe have a Monday schedule next Thursday or Friday

    Anyway, i’m not going to begrudge this decision because the MBTA’s shutdown pretty much left university admin with no choice. I just hope that there’s some way we can make up at least one of the 3/4 Mondays we’ve lost due to the crazy weather this semester.

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  3. I’m really hoping the University makes up the classes in a way that doesn’t put seniors off track for completing requirements and graduating on time!
    I guess Pres. Brown might cancel spring break to make up for the missed week; doesn’t seem like spring is coming soon anyway…

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    1. That is probably not an option, especially given the Alternative Spring Breaks that not only students have prepared for, but also the charities they serve. I honestly don’t see a SB cancellation happening.

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        1. Possibly put forth some arguments w/o being a wiseacre? If you’re that lacking in character, perhaps at least show some of the intelligence that I presume got you admitted to BU. Or perhaps you’re just a troll.

          It’s the old cost/benefit analysis. Cancel “39 service trips planned across the continental United States and Puerto Rico. These projects involve issue areas ranging from homelessness and housing to human rights and public health awareness to environmental protection” for 5 days of classes, many (if not most) of which would not be attended because many SB plans are non-refundable. Perhaps a better alternative would be a class-by-class decision on when/where some classed could be made up: you know……..actual collaboration between the profs and the students where intelligent people can together arrive at some rational decisions? Kinda like what they do in the real world after graduation?

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        2. Well I mean, it’s not just helping the poor animals, the I think 500-600 student taking part in that have shelled out as much as $1,400 non-refundable per person for the trip. The coordinators have spent months working with the organization across the country to try to plan effective work. The university has spent lots of money getting vans and insurance and people to come in and speak in seminars to the volunteers.

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    3. They don’t have to, but those who are engaged in computational and theoretical work can work from home and everyone, regardless of the nature of their work, can work from home and spend the time reading seminal papers and books in their field. The snow doesn’t stop that from happening.

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  6. Petition to make Thursday a Monday schedule – so many classes are Monday only or Monday-Wednesday. Barely any Tuesday-Thursday classes have been lost.

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    1. Actually, this cancellation brings the total to 2 Mondays, 2 Tuesdays, and 1 Wednesday. So even if Thursday is made a Monday, the T-Th classes will be at a disadvantage.

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    2. Actually, Boston College just announced that they are cancelling Thursday classes to have Monday classes on Thursday due to the amount of Monday classes missed. BU might be wise to follow suit.

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    3. I have missed 2 of the 1st 4 Tuesday classes and my class only meets once a week and I also teach at Wellesley on Mondays and we have missed 2 out of 3 Mondays! And I seen those students only on Mondays so your teachers are just as frustrated.

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    1. I’m not a BU student, but I hope you don’t mind my answering. Too many plans costing a great deal of money have already been made. In many cases, the dollars are non-refundable. The cancellation would also force the cancellation of Alternative Spring Breaks, which would make the charities suffer through no fault of their own. As a volunteer here in NOLA with the LA-SPCA, certainly we would survive if the NOLA ASBers had to cancel, but suddenly many planned projects would have to fall in the hands of other individuals with less than time than an entire week of ASBers would have. There are ramifications to cancelling SB besides losing a week off.

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    3. Absolutely! Is that even a question? Some of us have already made plans and spent a lot of hard-earned money on trips (yes, some students do pay for their own trips!). Plus, BU’s Alternative Spring Break program is a pretty well-planned ordeal for which many students (and the university) plan many months in advance, as far as I know.

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    5. BU housing closes during Spring Break. Also, I’m guessing essential personnel need a break (which is probably why housing closes in the first place).

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    6. Canceling spring break would be awful to all the students who have already made plans, bought flight tickets, booked hotel rooms,etc. Not only that, there are several students who have already paid their deposit for service trips organized through BU. With that said, there are already so many students who have made plans to have them cancelled on such short notice. Whether it be spend the week with family, or go to New Mexico, students have commitments for that week. They should not be penalized due to the unforeseen weather.

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    9. I’m completely against it, as I’ve already booked the international tickets for myself and my two sisters. The cost was much more than $200. I can’t just cancel it now. Besides, all of my and their teachers have already modified the syllabi to make up for the missed work. Haven’t several others done the same? I would imagine they have, in which case there is no point in canceling spring break

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    10. This is absolutely a not good choice. I booked my flight and hotel in Bahamas, cost me 1200 dollars which is non-refundable. If you cancel Spring Break, what to do with this amount of money? Students are innocent!

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    11. One of my classes involves a trip during Spring break, which is an essential part of the course and a significant draw for many students to take the course. The trip is not free and considering the fact that it is an international destination, not inexpensive. I would not be happy with a decision to cancel spring break because of this trip/class. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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    12. I would be averse to cancelling spring break especially because I have only missed 5 lectures total because 2 of my 3 classes chose to continue with e-lectures which all lectures should have been doing. It also would not be fair to students who have spent lots of money on spring break plans.

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    13. I personally would not be averse to it, because I’m planning on staying here. However, given that many faculty and staff in addition to some students have other plans during this time, I would expect that many class sessions would still be cancelled (or would have such low attendance that the material would be repeated).

      I think a better option is for professors to work with the registrar of the relevant school to schedule make up class sessions. I know that many of the law professors have already done this for missed sessions (though most do not collaborate with the registrar, which makes it much more difficult for students).

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  9. @BuEngFacility while I cannot speak on behalf of all of the students, I don’t think cancling Spring Break is possible for the reasons stated above. However it nay be more feasible to shorten Spring Break by a day or two and then to make final exams start/end a few days later as the University is technically open until Commencement. I’m not saying I like this solution, but would understand if it were to be implemented.

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  10. The BlackLivesMatter event previously scheduled for Tuesday evening in the Trustees Ballroom has been canceled due to transportation concerns. It will be rescheduled, but the date is yet to be determined.

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  11. I don’t see how BU can make Thursday a Monday schedule. Many students have jobs and internships that they are unable to miss. Additionally, many professors who teach night classes on Monday are not able to come in on Thursday because they have full time jobs. Not everyone’s schedule is so flexible. It would probably be best for professors to deal with their missed classes on a case by case basis. For example, some professors with 6 – 9 classes will hold class for another hour for a few weeks to make the time up. One size doesn’t fit all in this case.

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  13. As a student, I would be more than willing to watch online lectures or participate in online conferences to make up for lost class time. Not sure why this hasn’t been proposed yet, seems totally feasible.

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  15. Are medical students expected to be in for hospital rotations tomorrow? Hoping for more clarifying statement from school than “Medical, PA and GMS students who are assigned to inpatient services or clinics are expected to be present, if possible.” I live far away – possible but difficult to get in.

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  17. BU should consider taking a Thursday and turning it into a Monday/Tuesday schedule or, the best option in my opinion, holding a Monday/Tuesday schedule on a Saturday or two. I really doubt hacking into spring break is even a realistic option to them; people have already payed for ASB and booked flights home at this point and there would be very little turnout of students that week, rendering it pointless. Not to mention the barrage of complaints BU would be dealing with.

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    2. My understanding is that CFA has been closed during at least 3 of the snow days which have occurred. I am the parent of a music major and am very concerned about this. Not all instruments are portable but even the ones which are cannot necessarily be practiced in a dorm setting. A snow day should be the perfect opportunity for a student to practice without other potential conflicts and instead, it appears to be a situation in which the musician will fall behind. Losing 1-2 days of practice on a weekly basis is very detrimental to musicians at this level. I do not understand why the practice rooms do not remain open.

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    4. I am a non teaching staff member at another university in the Northeast and while I can sympathize that BU has bigger concerns under these circumstances than whether or not music students can practice, I strongly urge that students enrolled in the School of Music are working with a strong handicap if there is no access to the practice rooms during bad weather. I don’t expect winters in Boston are going to change and am surprised there is not more protest on this issue.

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  19. I’m staff at BU so it doesn’t make any difference to me, but instead of canceling spring break why not consider picking a few Saturdays and /or Sundays throughout the semester to use as make-up days? Yes , it would stink. But it might be less disruptive than canceling spring break.

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    1. Because people have other responsibilities, like jobs. You can’t just change a non-school day into a school day, unless it’s noted on the official schedule before the semester starts.

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  20. Some professors are already making plans for make-up classes on their own. My Monday class professor is already doing that, and in fact we have at least one make up date scheduled already, with the possibility of more. I encourage those concerned to reach out to their professors rather than a wait for a university-wide decision to do so.

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    2. Agreed. I don’t think the university even has to make a universal decision. My professors have already modified their syllabi so we’re all set. It’s polling a little more workload into days, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.

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  23. Having extra make up days seems pretty nonsensical, professors also have the day off and many of mine have simply recorded lectures on their computer at home, with 10 minutes in the beginning of the next class for questions I don’t think we miss much. Labs are probably the main concern for make-ups but they probably also have a bunch up options during the week where students can simply attend a different section (what I’ve had to do for my missed lab). If your a decent student a dedicate at least a small part of the snow day to learning you don’t really lose anything by missing class.

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    1. Exactly. I’ve spent most of the day on every snow day doing homework or studying. My MW professor made online lectures, so I watched those. I don’t feel behind at all. If anything, I’m kind of ahead because I’ve had so much free time to study.

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  24. I think Concerned Parent has a good point. I think people need to understand that those of us who are actually helping to finance our son or daughter’s education feel physically ill at the amount of money lost to snow days. Let’s be honest, even the most diligent student is going to be somewhat unmotivated with 5 snow days in 2 weeks. If the reality of attending college in Boston is that there are going to be this many days off from school, then there has to be a Plan B from the get go. Frankly, the students are only attending college a little over 7 months even under the best of weather circumstances, (which I will never understand but that is another matter.)

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    1. I understand your frustration as a parent, but this is unprecedented weather. Frankly, the whole city has lost billions in business from the storm, but its just something we all have to deal with. Plus, I don’t think you would be too glad if your child was hit by a car due to walking on the street.

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  25. Might faculty be able to utilize some distance ed technology to reschedule and provide classes to students – so they can take the class when it fits their schedules?

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  26. We spent money for education, so we want to get the most out of it. Like some people pointed out, people work during the day, maybe on evenings, during the weekend. It’s hard to satisfy everyone, but on top all the suggestions, why not also consider to offer more classes for the next semester or so, so students won’t be limited to have to take certain class once out of a whole year, if they don’t have flexibility on their schedule during the semester to accommodate make up classes, but long term planning might be an option.

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  27. BU Today, great job on getting out all this information. I was hoping you could please assemble a list of each and every department and building at BU and how the storm affects its operations. For the sake of completeness, you should also list other BU locations, including the various study abroad sites and how they might be affected. I imagine everyone would greatly appreciate this information.
    Kthxbai

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    1. 808 parking lot is open for people with permit. I would assume if you have an ID card, you’ll be able to get in, if it’s an electronic swipe. But there won’t be any security person to read the card.

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