February 2026

Happy New Year Terriers and welcome back to campus!

In Announcements, jump into the semester with a mix of events– celebrate Lunar New Year with VSA and ASU, get clarity on legal tax filing through a specialized international student webinar, take on winter adventures with BU Outdoor Programs, or spend your Tuesday evenings learning how to chase your creative dreams.

From Mumbai to Boston to London! We talk to Shrutant Ramaswamy (CFA ’27) in the Student Experiences section about his transition to BU and his life as an international student studying abroad in one of BU’s London programs.

In the Culture Corner section, we take a deep dive into the history and impact of two cultural celebrations taking place this month: Lunar New Year and Black History Month.

If you have any feedback for future newsletters, please contact Sheila Hernandez at sheilahz@bu.edu.

Announcements

Upcoming Events

Leveraging LinkedIn for Graduate Students

Day: Monday Apr 6th Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm Online
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portrait of shrutant ramaswamy smiling

Student Experiences

A Word from Students: Shrutant Ramaswamy (CFA ’27), shares his insights on life as an international student at BU.

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ISSO Insights

Welcome back to campus—and a special welcome to our new students joining us this spring!

As you begin the new semester, we invite you to take a few moments to explore the International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO) workshop offerings. This spring, we are excited to provide more than a dozen workshops, all offered virtually for your convenience.

Workshop topics include Post-Completion OPT for May graduates (with OPT season beginning February 9), information related to internships, and sessions in partnership with a local immigration attorney covering topics such as recent updates to the H-1B visa process. Additional workshops and topics will be offered as needed in response to federal announcements or policy changes throughout the semester.

We look forward to working with you and supporting you in the months ahead, and we hope you’ll take advantage of these valuable resources.

Culture Corner

Written by Ahaan Vaknalli, Student Programming Assistant Spring 2026

This month’s Culture Corner article shines light on two cultural observances in February: Lunar New Year and Black History Month.

Lunar New Year was born of centuries-old lunar calendars and rituals that signal renewal, fortune, and community across East and Southeast Asia and among their diasporas. Traditionally marked on the first new moon of the lunar cycle, the festival unfolds with lion and dragon dances, firecrackers, red lanterns, and feasts meant to chase away old misfortune and welcome prosperity. In Boston, this ancient pulse still thumps in the heart of the city: Chinatown’s annual Lion Dance Parade, with booming drums and snarling lion costumes winding up Phillips Square and weaving through Harrison and Essex, draws crowds eager for color, noise, and the promise of luck for the year ahead. The adjacent Lunar New Year Cultural Village and the Pao Arts Center’s workshops layer craft, calligraphy, and performance against that backdrop, inviting all ages to interact with tradition and stories rooted in the neighborhood’s history. On campus, Boston University’s student unions and cultural associations have kept the spirit alive with gatherings where calligraphy brushes, mahjong tiles, and shared meals become vessels of connection– spaces that allow students to celebrate the new year with one another. This Lunar New Year, which falls on February 17, support Asian communities locally, whether it’s in Allston or Chinatown.

February is also Black History Month, which began as a corrective act. What started in 1926 as Negro History Week, organized by historian Carter G. Woodson to confront the deliberate erasure of Black contributions from American history, later expanded into a month-long observance meant to hold space where none had been made. In Boston, that intention carries particular weight. The city bears witness to Black history not just in museums and monuments, but in its institutions, including right here at Boston University, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. earned his doctorate in theology. Each year, BU honors that legacy through lectures, services, and programming that reflect King’s commitment to justice, community, and moral responsibility, grounding his words not in reverence alone but in relevance. Beyond campus, February unfolds across the city in museums like the Museum of African American History, and in neighborhoods such as Roxbury and Dorchester, where community spaces like churches and cultural centers honor Black art, music, and activism as living, breathing practices.

February reminds us that culture does not survive on existence alone. Lunar New Year and Black History Month amongst others mark the impact that diversity has made on American culture and history. Let’s spend February celebrating the neighborhoods we walk through and the neighbors we walk with.

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