A darkened hallway in the College of Arts & Sciences, March 18. BU buildings have been largely vacant since the University moved all teaching and learning remotely on March 16 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by Cydney Scott

Student Life

Photos from 2020: A Reminder of How COVID Transformed BU

Haunting images by BU photographers capture a largely shuttered campus

It was five years ago this week that the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closing of nearly every college and university across the country. At the time there were no vaccines and no clear understanding of how the virus spread. It was scary.

From the moment Boston University announced that starting March 16, 2020, it was moving to remote teaching and learning for the rest of the spring semester, and then shuttered residences for most students, BU took on a startlingly different, almost apocalyptic look, transformed overnight from bustling campuses to a series of largely empty corridors, classrooms, dorms, and sidewalks. Staff photojournalists Cydney Scott and Jackie Ricciardi continued to photograph BU’s campuses throughout that spring, after most students had returned home and most faculty and staff began working remotely.

“As a photographer for BU Today, the biggest danger I usually face at work is whether or not I’ll squeeze into a spot on the BU Shuttle on my way to an assignment on a rainy day,” Scott said when this photo essay first appeared in May 2020. “Photographing Comm Ave during the midst of a pandemic brings risks of a different, more frightening order.” 

And from Ricciardi back in 2020: “Photographing during the pandemic has been a struggle for me. As a photojournalist, my goal is to capture human connection, and I wonder how I can do that successfully when the streets are empty and we’re told we must stay away from people…yet one of the most significant  events in history is happening in my lifetime and it’s my responsibility to try and capture that.”

Their images help chronicle a remarkable moment in our history.

Meredith Siegel (left) and Rachel Reiser, both Questrom assistant deans, practice social distancing while prepping for a “dean’s huddle” meeting via Zoom on March 16, 2020. Photo by Cydney Scott

A sign posted outside the College of Communication  student lounge March 16, 2020. Photo by Cydney Scott

Bruno Rubio, a College of Arts & Sciences master lecturer in chemistry, holding remote office hours in a Metcalf Science Center lecture hall March 17, 2020. “I was old-school with my teaching,” says Rubio, “My clinging to traditional methods of learning and teaching? I’m paying for it now!” In fact, he mastered Zoom quickly and was able to assist the eight students who needed help that day. Photo by Cydney Scott

An eerily empty FitRec basketball court on March 17, 2020. FitRec closed that day. Photo by Cydney Scott

Paradise Rock Club assistant production manager Will Powell posting an encouraging message on the club’s marquee March 17, 2020. The Paradise is closed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic, like all the commonwealth’s bars, restaurants, and entertainment spots. Photo by Cydney Scott

COM staff members on video screens in the school’s Zimmerman Social Media Activation Center during a Zoom meeting March 17, 2020. Photo by Cydney Scott

BU custodian Grace Araujo at work at StuVi I on March 17, 2020. BU’s custodial staff continues to clean and maintain BU’s 300 buildings during the pandemic. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

Victory Innovations battery-operated electrostatic spray guns are prized by custodial workers for their deep cleaning ability. BU invested in about 20 of the spray guns, which are in such high demand now that they are almost impossible to get. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

The first day of remote learning: a lone student studying at Mugar Memorial Library on March 16, 2020. The library is now closed to students, but staff continue to provide support and services remotely. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

Entering the George Sherman Union on March 16, 2020 (left) and finding it almost empty on March 18, 2020 (right) must have been surreal experiences. Fewer than 450 students remained in BU housing at the time. Photos by Jackie Ricciardi (left) and Cydney Scott (right)

Rev. Dr. Robert Allan Hill, dean of Marsh Chapel (left), on his way to the chapel’s first virtual Sunday service on March 22, 2020. The eight choral scholars on the altar (right) are six feet apart during the service. Photos by Cydney Scott 

A triage tent for intake of potential coronavirus patients set up outside Boston Medical Center March 20, 2020. BMC nurses Marisa McIntyre (left) and Maureen Shanahan-Frappie are among staff there who assess patients’ symptoms and determine whether they should be sent to BMC’s influenza-like illness clinic (ILI) for moderate symptoms or to the Emergency Department for more serious conditions. COVID-19 testing is done at both. Photo by Cydney Scott

Except for exceptional cases, most students living on campus had to be out of their rooms by March 22, 2020. Xing Hu (CAS’22) (left) waits with Abin George (ENG’23) outside Claflin Hall to be picked up March 20, 2020. Photo by Cydney Scott

Goodbyes: Northeastern freshman Nadhur Prashant (left) with his girlfriend, Anindita Lal (CAS’23), on West Campus March 20, 2020.  Lal was returning  home to Acton, Mass., and Prashant was leaving Boston to go home to India. Photo by Cydney Scott

Bicycles and strewn moving carts in the courtyard between 722 and 726 Comm Ave on March 25, 2020, after dorms were shuttered. Photo by Cydney Scott

Millyan Phillips of Piece by Piece Moving Company empties a room on the Fenway Campus’ Riverway House March 27, 2020. Students who had left belongings behind when they went on spring break were able to use an app to specify items they wanted stored, saved, or thrown out. Photo by Cydney Scott

An abandoned Fenway Campus Center, bereft of its usual throngs of students, on April 15, 2020. The 150 Riverway building houses the campus dining hall and common student spaces as well as student residences. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

A flyer reminding residents to maintain social distance guidelines, left on a Fenway Campus Center table. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

Left photo: Quarantine kits lined up in the GSU Ballroom on April 15, 2020. The kits, containing two weeks’ worth of cleaning supplies, paper goods, pillows, linens, and nonperishable snacks and meals, were available to students quarantined on campus because of exposure to COVID-19. Right photo: Jennifer Skikas (left), GSU catering sales manager, and Joann Flores, catering manager for Questrom, load up some of the items to be delivered to empty quarantine rooms across campus on April 21, 2020. Photos by Cydney Scott

Lead custodian Carlos Carreiro (left) and custodian Andres Lopez deliver paper goods to empty quarantine rooms at 580 Comm Ave April 21, 2020. The University reserved approximately 50 rooms across campus for students who needed to be quarantined during the pandemic. Photo by Cydney Scott