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StuGov hears Judicial Advisory Committee report, Beanpot Blood Drive presentations

StuGov Meeting
The Boston University Student Government Office. BU StuGov heard from the Judicial Advisory Committee regarding COVID-19 policies and textbook availability, presented the Beanpot blood drive and confirmed committee chairs during a meeting Monday evening. BRIAN SONG/DFP FILE

Boston University Student Government heard Judicial Advisory Committee research and data regarding COVID-19 policies and textbook accessibility, as well as a presentation on the Beanpot Blood Drive, Monday night.

The JAC functions as an “independent task force” for research relevant to StuGov. The committee has published a report each semester detailing their key findings since Fall 2020.

This semester’s JAC report highlighted three key areas — BU’s COVID-19 quarantine and isolation policies compared to other universities in the Boston area, the effects of a return to in-person learning and problems with textbook accessibility and affordability. 

Rebecca Hyatt, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, led research comparing BU’s COVID-19 policies to Harvard University, Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

According to the research, Northeastern University advised faculty to use remote conferencing.  At Harvard and MIT, school representatives contacted students regarding missed classes and quarantine.

Faculty at BU were advised last fall to not teach through Zoom or record lectures. Students were required to reach out to their own professors and academic continuity coordinators. BU recently updated its lecture recording policy, and now faculty have the option to record lectures for students in isolation.

“My main takeaways were that remote options should be available to students testing positive for COVID at BU,” Hyatt said. “And also that BU should take a more proactive approach for students who test positive for COVID rather than making the students feel isolated and have to work on it themselves.”

CAS junior Benjamin Klein introduced research on textbook affordability and accessibility.

Klein said Northeastern and Tufts had exchange programs for textbooks, with Harvard’s Undergraduate Council reimbursing students $50 for textbooks. 

Klein said he thought his research could show examples for how BU StuGov could change textbook policy on campus, noting how all programs were maintained and operated by each school’s student government.

The JAC presentation continued with an assessment from Daniel Markovic, a junior studying international relations, about BU’s return to in-person learning.

Markovic surveyed 60 BU students on their experiences with academic and nonacademic engagement, personal time management, hygiene and emotional state.

The survey found that a return to in-person learning improved both academic and nonacademic engagement, but worsened students’ hygiene and personal time management. The impact of a return to in-person learning on students’ emotional states remained mixed — 24 students reported their mood improved with the return, an equal number reported their mood worsened.

The meeting continued with a presentation on the Beanpot Blood Drive, which intends to respond to recent national blood shortages.

The American Red Cross declared it is facing “the worst blood shortage in over a decade,” stemming from issues organizing blood drives since the start of the pandemic. The total number of blood donations to the Red Cross dropped 10% since Mar. 2020.

The Beanpot Blood Drive will utilize the “diverse student population” at BU to serve people impacted by the blood crisis, said CAS senior Thara Venu, director of the social advocacy cabinet.

Blood donations took place Tuesday with another on Wednesday at a mobile donation site outside 33 Harry Agganis Way. This is the first of four confirmed blood drives this semester.

The blood drive will also serve as “friendly competition” against Boston College, which is hosting a roughly equivalent amount of blood drives across the same timeline.

Executive vice-president and CAS senior Hessann Farooqi said StuGov will use a formula to determine the number of donations each school receives, given that BC differs in center’s capacities and donation plans. 

“We want to use the platform that we already have… and the rivalry we have with BC to help save lives,” said Navya Kottoru, chief of staff and CAS sophomore. 

The Beanpot Blood Drive will take place over the course of the Beanpot — an annual hockey tournament between BU, BC, Harvard and Northeastern — with the winner revealed at the Feb. 26 BC vs. BU men’s hockey game.

“We’re envisioning some kind of large banner that we can pass between the schools on an annual basis because we want to make sure that this is an annual event, even though there’s a really pressing need for blood right now, nothing is going to go away come next year,” Farooqi said.

Students can sign up to donate or staff the blood drive through the BU StuGov linktree. Staffers can sign up with Kottoru at nkottoru@bu.edu.






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