Wednesday Classes Canceled on Charles River Campus and at SPH

School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine open

Nickerson Field, Blizzard Juno

A ghostly West Campus. Photo by Kim O’Connell (COM’15)

January 27, 2015
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Updated at 1:10 p.m.  City-wide parking ban to lift at 5 p.m. 

As city workers continue to clear streets and sidewalks of more than two feet of snow, Boston University’s Charles River Campus remains closed on Wednesday. Student services such as FitRec and the George Sherman Union will be open, but all normal academic and administrative activities scheduled to take place on the Charles River Campus have been canceled.

School of Medicine classes will be held as scheduled. Staff should check with their managers regarding work schedules. Medical, Physician Assistant, and Graduate Medical Sciences students who are assigned to inpatient services or clinics are expected to be present if possible. Students who are assigned to outpatient services should check with their course director or the policy at the clinical site. 
Graduate Medical Sciences classes are canceled.

The Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine will follow normal school hours. All Patient Treatment Centers will be open for patient care and all classes will be held as scheduled.

School of Public Health classes are canceled; SPH nonessential staff may telecommute. For updated information, visit the SPH website or call 617-638-4640. All classes and all SPH operations will return to regular operations on Thursday, January 29.

Employees who are part of the Medical Campus parking program should park in their assigned lot or garage. The Boston parking ban is still in effect Wednesday.

For updated information, call the weather/emergency hotline at 617-638-6886 or visit the BUMC emergency communications website.

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.

The Fitness and Recreation Center will be open on Wednesday from 1 to 8 p.m. for informal recreation only. No classes, programs, or other activities will be held.

The George Sherman Union will be open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., with limited dining operations. All student club-related activities and varsity athletic events are canceled. Mugar Memorial Library will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for study and basic services.

The Charles River Campus will be open for business as usual on Thursday. When classes resume, it will be on the regular class schedule. Whether or how canceled classes are to be made up is at the discretion of individual faculty members.

All three residence hall dining halls, at 100 Bay State Road, Warren Towers, and Claflin Hall, remain open today. Breakfast will be served starting at 9 a.m. The residence dining halls will close an hour early this evening, at 8 p.m. Wednesday’s Dining Services’ hours of operation can be found here. Residence Life’s hall/area offices will be staffed during regular business and evening on-call hours.

BU bus service (the BUS) will resume service Wednesday at 7 a.m., if road conditions permit. Changes to the BUS schedule will be posted on the BU Shuttle website. Shuttle updates are also available on Twitter at @BUShuttle.

Student Health Services will be open at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday for urgent medical and psychiatric care.

All University parking permit holders and departmental vehicles should park inside one of the following covered/garaged facilities:

  • 808 Commonwealth Avenue garage
  • 575 Commonwealth Avenue garage
  • 730 Commonwealth Avenue garage
  • Babcock Street garage

Vehicles left in any surface lot during a city-declared snow emergency will be towed at the vehicle owner’s expense. Garage facilities other than those listed above (e.g., the School of Management, Warren Towers, and Agganis garages) will not be staffed, so access to vehicles may be limited.

Students who find themselves at risk should call the BU Police Department at 617-353-2121.

Governor Charlie Baker announced Tuesday afternoon that the statewide ban on all unnecessary travel would be lifted at midnight Tuesday, but he urged drivers to stay off the roads if at all possible to allow maintenance workers to clear streets and sidewalks. In Boston, a parking ban remains in effect until 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

MBTA officials said operations will resume Wednesday morning, with key and commuter rail service beginning at 6 a.m., although with limited service. Amtrak trains to New York will also resume limited service on Wednesday, and Logan Airport will open at 6 a.m. with a limited number of flights.

Boston public schools remain closed on Wednesday, as are schools in many surrounding towns.

Students are urged to refrain from using candles in the event of a power outage. Those students living off campus should make sure they have smoke detectors and flashlights and batteries for both. BU’s safety website details the University’s fire regulations and fire safety advice. Students living off campus who experience power outages, leaks, or other weather-related problems are urged to contact the owner of their building or their residential management company. See related story for more information.

Because the wind chill will drop temperatures below zero, students are advised to stay indoors. If it is necessary to go outside, do not walk on roadways and stay off the ice on the Charles River.

As a reminder that winter is not over, another storm is expected to dump five to six inches of snow on Boston on Thursday and Friday.

BU Today will continue to provide updates as they become available.

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Wednesday Classes Canceled on Charles River Campus and at SPH

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There are 40 comments on Wednesday Classes Canceled on Charles River Campus and at SPH

      1. I agree with Tom. I am not a student but a staff doc at BUMC with inpatient clinical responsibilities.
        I spent the night on Tuesday in the hospital in a conference room, dormitory style, with other nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, etc. Granted, the Medical Students are students, but those directly participating in patient care need to be there to help out, especially during a storm or other emergencies. It’s what we/they ‘signed up’ for, and that mission is just as important to students as it is to MD trainees and staff MDs.

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    2. I disagreee with the idea that med students and undergrads should be held up to the same standard. An MD is a professional degreee and while not exactly, is somewhat equivalent to getting a PhD.

      As a PhD student in engineering I had to work the entire day yesterday and I’m working today. While I’m lucky enough that my work lets me work from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection, I also know many other PhDs who had to go to lab in the middle of the blizzard yesterday simply because they had to check on their experiments or have cells/animals that need to be fed.

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  4. I appreciate the fact that these decisions are hard and have no complaint with this decision. But I am disturbed that it was reported in the media a full hour before BU’s websites or phone lines were giving any information on the closing. Also, it’s really much better if you promise us information by 10 and give it to us early than if you promise it by 4 and then by 7 and then give it to us over an hour later.

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    1. Understood – step back and think about what is involved in closing a small city, within a city. If senior administration sends out a message that says BU is closed – they will be smothered with comments and questions like: What about the BUS? What about parking? What about dining? What about Fit Rec? And so no –

      Once the decision is made, I would think that many offices have to be consulted in a conference call or meeting, to determine who needs to come to work, what hours things like dining halls, the library, the GSU and other things are open. How does this work with city and directives and bans?

      We have well over 30,000 students faculty and staff – a city within a city. Day to day operations are ridiculously complex and even more difficult when trying to make everyone happy.

      A simple thank you to those looking out for your best interest would suffice

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  5. Does BU ever consider that those who work on the medical campus might want to be treated with the same care the charles river campus always receives? It’s great the students are going to be doctors and dentists some day, and I am sure they will learn the lesson of how weather conditions don’t apply in their professions well enough without having staff endanger themselves, and further leaving it up to individual departments so that some are cared for, some are not, depends on how sane their boss is, great. does the charles river campus ever have to lose vacation days in order to stay home and be safe, like everyone else!? I doubt it. What happened to “One BU?” Hmm?

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      2. When you enter the medical field, aren’t most operating (no pun intended) under the assumption that people will be require medical attention and support regardless of the weather? Not sure anyone is being “discriminated” against. If it is so difficult for you to get to class or work, I have to think that your professor or supervisor would be understanding if you have a legitimate reason for needing to be away from the office or classroom.

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        1. right Joe, but the issue here is there are tons of staff that are never going to be doctors or dentists, that are year after year told to be there no matter how completely annoying and difficult it is to get to campus, let alone dangerous, all the while an entire campus within walking distance that is also BU, is home. They’ll learn about their profession without endangering these people, so why is BU allowing the differential treatment to continue?

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          1. Again – I stand by the statement that most (can’t speak for all -) professors or supervisors are level headed and would understand if you cannot make it in. Can’t imagine that they would want you to risk placing yourself in harms way for a class or a job.
            You should ask the senior staff at the medical campus these questions and I am sure they would give you answers. You may not like them, but you’ll get answers

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    3. Truly agree with you… Isn’t med/ dental students also risking their lives. What ‘s the difference from a Tufts / Harvard med/ dental students. Yes, those universities are closed today as well, and their class size is bigger at least for Tufts. I believe they should review their closing policy better, most students (if you arent a privilege first year med student) live further away the south end as you all know is not a good neighborhood… Commuting / walking today for both staff and students is going to be chaotic. I include myself. Need to take two buses today with the flu just to show up in a 1 hr class because they decided to take attendance today.

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  6. What?? We’re getting another storm. Is class gonna be cancelled again? Is this semester ever really going to start? Just give us all A’s and let’s call it a day here. lol. Winter is not going to cooperate.

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  7. In the midst of the many comments aired on BU Today – EVERYONE involved, either directly or indirectly with the campus community should take a few moments and thank the “essential employees” who have been working double and in some cases, triple shifts, in blizzard conditions with minimal rest and at the expense of taking care of their own homes and families.

    Facilities Management and Planning, BU Dining, Residential Life, BUPD, IS&T, Environmental Health and Safety, Student Health Services, Parking Services and Housing Security Assistants are simply a few of the offices and staff who have working like machines to ensure our campus community has remained functioning with minimal disruption. Apologies for specific offices that may have been missed – it was not intentional.

    A simple THANK YOU seems so insignificant for your time, effort and energy – please know that parents, students, faculty and staff all are grateful for the work you all have done.

    THANKS!!

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    1. I COMPLETELY agree with you. I have the deepest appreciation for essential staff, especially Facilities staff who are outside in the cold while we are all snuggled nice and warm in the comfort of our homes. A simple thank you is insignificant but it is all i have to offer, so THANK YOU to all of you.

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      1. Who could forget the staff at BU Today?

        Thank you so much for getting us the most up to date and comprehensive information in a timely fashion!! Trying to get correct information from dining, academic services like the library and the GSU! Finding out what is open and when, the BU shuttle, – it must be like herding cats!!

        Thank you BU Today!

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        1. Actually, every service on campus is extremely helpful and easy to work with. Their efforts are very much appreciated by us, and should be appreciated by everyone.

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    2. I couldn’t agree more with Joe.

      Thank you very much to the essential BU departments and staff who did not miss a beat in what is sometimes a thankless endeavor. We appreciate your skillful service and dedication to our community.

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    3. Thank you! Nice job to all the hard workers at BU that made it happen during this storm. And thank you to everyone who makes it happen there on a daily basis. Job well done.

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    1. Quoted from the story above:

      BU bus service (the BUS) will resume service at 7 a.m., if road conditions permit. Changes to the BUS schedule will be posted on the BU Shuttle website. Shuttle updates are also available on Twitter at @BUShuttle.

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  9. Will BU make up any missing class day or may be postpone the summer break? I know our school is not a public university but still I feel there will be a significant academic/ learning gap if school cancellation happens more than twice. I’m hoping Juno stops her angry blizzard attacks and allow the school tol resume on Thursday. :(

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    1. As the article notes, it is up to the discretion of the individual faculty members to determine how to handle classes missed because of inclement weather.

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    2. I agree. I realize the university must close for safety reasons, but for many students like myself and our families going to college is a huge economic burden and the university makes no effort to make up the lost time. They say that it’s up to professors if they want to make up their classes, but the reality is that professors never do that because it would be impossible to find a time that works for everyone. A significant amount of time I’m paying to be taught has been stolen. For the outrageous amount that we pay to go here, BU should prorate the tuition and reimburse students to compensate for the lost days.

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      1. Many teachers will be assigning work on Blackboard Learn that will enable their class to maintain their syllabus schedule. So you may want to check there and check your BU email for updates.

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    3. It’s TWO days of class. Roll with the punches. Do you really think on graduation day you’ll look back and say “If only I didn’t miss those two days of school…” Missing a few days of school is in no way going to affect your future

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      1. I know it won’t affect in the long term but the two cancellations already affected my two art classes. They never got their chance to properly start and the professors will have to change the entire syllabi and maybe eliminate assignments we already worked on. No one can control the weather but I’m just saying that it would be nice if BU has a system to adjust the tuition if we miss classes more than two days. My previous school in the other East Coast state had straight 5 days of no school and this resulted a lot of professors skipping lots of important chapters in art history plus other subjects and students falling behind in their preparation for the mid-term. I’ve seen several students failing the test not just because they got lazy but they had not enough time to put all their effort for the test or the project. When the interruption gets longer we lose part of our tuition and so far no professors were able to make up missing days (not even one day) in both of my colleges.

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        1. Seriously? You want a tuition refund for a couple of snow days? As for falling behind, you could be studying during these two days. Are there any assigned texts for your courses? You’re permitted to read without actually having an assignment. If you have concerns about a class, talk to the instructor. You’re not buying a product; you are a participant in an academic venture. Learn to work with the other people at the university instead of expecting them to accommodate you.

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          1. No where in my previous post says that I wanted a tuition refund for two days of missing class.I don not understand whether you meant full refund which is not what I meant. What I wanted to say was it would be great if BU makes the adjustment (meaning partlly removing some fees like a few hundred dollars from the tuition if professors cannot make up classes because they have tight schedules) when class cancellation gets longer more than two days. I’m fine with just two days of no school (and I do take that as an opportunity to study or working on assignments) . However, I know some students (especially international students who paid almost full tuition because they are not eligible for state/ federal aids) want to get some kind of compensation for their missing classes. Is it wrong to demand a small reimbursement if professors and students are not able to fit in together to make up their missing days?

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  10. I know BU will not make that kind of reimbursement system so may be postponing summer break might be more practical even though some people might have bought their air tickets in advance. Two days of no school won’t affect the overall courses. But if cancellation reached 5 days (which it happened in my previous school) or beyond then there will be a problem.

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