Temperatures in Boston reached record lows this morning, making travel around the university “unbearable,” according to several students, but Boston University officials, as of late Thursday night, planned to keep classes going as scheduled today.
BU will remain open even as more than 350 Massachusetts schools and school districts will close their doors Friday because of the extreme conditions.
“As far as canceling classes, our primary concern is whether students are able to get to [their classes],” BU spokesman Colin Riley said. “With the vast majority of students living on campus, our answer is that they can.”
“The Boston public K-12 schools are concerned that students will have to walk to school and won’t be properly dressed,” Riley added later. “Students at Boston University know how to dress.”
Several students, including College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Dru Prescott, said they are willing to travel short distances in the cold, though getting to class can be quite a trek sometimes for students who do not live in BU residences.
“I agree that getting to class from campus residences isn’t really an issue,” she said. “But if you don’t live on campus, transportation is definitely a problem in this weather.”
School of Management senior Christos Kehayas, who lives off campus and drives to school, said the cold has already wreaked havoc on her commute.
“I left my car outside and the battery froze,” he said. “It was an Energizer and it had a 10-year warranty. I could choke that damn bunny.”
CAS junior Ciru Wanyoike complained that the lack of reliability from public transportation, like buses and the T, has only added to the problems caused by weather this week.
“I had to hitchhike to class this morning,” she said. “I was waiting for the T for 20 minutes. Then I tried to hail a cab, but they were all full. I was standing in the middle of traffic, so I just knocked on a random window and asked for a ride.”
SMG senior Petros Fatouros said his girlfriend also hitchhiked to class, only to go home immediately because she was so cold.
“By the time she got to school, she was so cold that she got in a cab and came home,” he said.
“It’s too cold for even a Greek,” Fatouros added. “I have a warm heart, but here in Boston my hands are still cold.”
Many BU students came back from warmer climates this week, only to be greeted by the cold snap. School of Education sophomore Ashley Linebarger said she has found Boston’s weather astonishingly different from home.
“It doesn’t help when my mom calls to tell me about it being 78 in Texas,” she said.
But even students who have experienced Boston winters before say they are having trouble with the recent temperatures.
“I’ve been here for three and a half years, and I’m still not used to this weather,” said SMG senior Tarana Nabizada. “I bought a new winter jacket but I’m going to get another one because I just wasn’t prepared for this.”
CAS senior Stacy Smith said she has been surprised by what she has seen some people wearing in the cold this week. Students should think more about precautions before going outside, she said.
“Some people don’t look like they have enough clothes on,” she said. “With all my layers, it takes me 10 minutes to get ready to leave.”
But even when they do bundle up, some students said they have found it is difficult to escape the cold in some classes.
“I’ve had two classes so far where the heat didn’t work, and in one of them the window was open,” said SED and College of Communication senior Jamie Boutilier. “If we’re going to have class, they need to make sure that these things work.”
Riley said BU will be monitoring pipes across campus to make sure that the cold weather does not cause any problems.
“Every year a sprinkler head or something goes off, but generally Buildings ‘ Grounds does an excellent job with that,” Riley said.
The Boston Police Department and BU Office of Residence Life are also monitoring BU’s classrooms and dormitories, Riley said.