The Charles River Campus was closed Monday and all classes were held remotely due to an expected 12-18 inches of snow, according to a University email announcing the campus closure.
All COVID-19 testing sites on campus were closed except for the Kilachand Center at 610 Commonwealth Ave.
The Dean of Students’ Office and Human Resources can assist students if the testing site closure makes them non-compliant, according to the University email.
Employees in essential services — such as Residence Life, Student Health Services, University Libraries and Dining Services — are still required to work when campus is closed.
“Employees who provide essential operational, security, and other critical services for the university report for work even during snow days,” BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email, “and it is understood that it is part of the job.”
The BU Medical Campus in Fenway remained open as it typically does under similar weather conditions — that campus will close if an emergency-only travel ban is implemented or if the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is not running, according to the University email.
“Generally, the Boston University Medical Campus has a ‘no close’ policy and remains open during emergency closings,” Riley wrote.
If possible, medical students who were assigned to inpatient services or clinics worked in person. Students working in out-patient clinics services should contact their clinical site or course director.
Classes for the BU School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences and the School of Public Health were held remotely, according to the announcement email.
Riley cited the University’s experience with handling snow storms.
“Boston University has plenty of experience in dealing with snow removal and clearing sidewalks and entrances,” Riley wrote. “Our essential services employees do an amazing job.”
CRC classes continued remotely, which is a change from past years when snow days meant the cancellation of classes entirely.
Damariz Posadas, an STH graduate student, said she did not get to work her eight-hour shift as a classroom moderator because of the sudden closure.
Losing hours of pay is a serious issue for her, Posadas said, because her expenses remained unchanged by the weather. She said she was concerned she may not be able to work Tuesday either.
“My rent won’t change, my bills won’t change, my expenses for the day won’t change,” Posadas said, “but my shift got canceled.”
Having grown up in the Midwest and gone to college in Wisconsin — where heavy snow did not stop classes — Posadas said it was “ridiculous” in-person classes were canceled for the amount of snow Boston was expected to receive.
Posadas said the cancellation of in-person learning would also negatively impact students with learning disabilities.
“Students with disabilities now have to think about last minute ‘How are we going to accommodate my disability?’” she said. “‘How are we going to fix this so that online, I also have the same benefits that I would if I were in a classroom setting?’”
Posadas said she believes students who come to classes in person regularly because of learning disabilities will face a serious disruption to their academics.
“Those are the ones that end up suffering the most,” she said.
Evan Paszamant, a junior in the College of Communication, said he was concerned about becoming non-compliant if he was unable to schedule a COVID-19 test at the Kilachand testing site.
“I kept refreshing for like 20 minutes straight and one popped up for 2:20 p.m,” Paszamant said. “And I was like ‘Oh please, please, please, please’ and luckily it loaded.”
Paszamant, who lives in South Campus, said students who are traveling on foot from their residences to the CRC might face difficulty due to poor snow clearing.
“If you’re in South Campus, and you’re taking the hike to the St. Mary’s bridge, that is always slippery,” Paszazmant said. “I understand it’s a huge undertaking to clear the streets.”
College of Arts and Sciences junior Hessann Farooqi said he was disappointed students were asked to attend classes via Zoom on a snow day.
“That’s honestly pretty sad,” Farooqi said. “Even if there is like 20 feet of snow, we’re still going to be going to class.”
However, Farooqi said he encouraged students to make the most of their snow days.
“Looking at Nickerson Field right now, there are giant piles of snow,” he said. “So definitely go have some fun with that.”
