Monday, March 22, 2021
Pandemic Alters Mass. Student Life College students describe differing COVID-19 restrictions. BY JULIA REMICK Metro Editor MAGGIE LEAHY Assoc. Metro Editor AND JOSIE MCNEILL Asst. Metro Editor
Since returning to campus in the fall, Boston College students have grown accustomed to COVID-19 testing, social distancing, and contact tracing. These new measures have created a unique BC experience, but changes to college life are all too familiar to students throughout the Boston area. While UMass Amherst freshman Anna Cincotta slept in her dorm on Feb. 7, an email sat in her inbox. After being on campus for only two weeks, Cincotta read in the email that students would be required to “self-sequester” in their rooms for a minimum of 14 days, or until public health conditions at the school improved substantially. “It was just like ‘this is not a good sign for the semester,’” Cincotta said. The university reported 298 positive tests, bringing the total number of active cases up to 398, in the two days leading up to the decision. Students living both on campus and off campus were directed to remain in their rooms, following consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, according to the email. Students were told to leave their rooms only to get meals, attend twice weekly COVID-19 testing, and for medical appointments. Cincotta said the email communications from UMass were unclear about the specific guidelines and that the university did not strictly enforce the lockdown. “The lockdown definitely helped,” Cincotta said. “I don’t know if everyone followed it. Because there’s just very little enforcing going on.”
Students that failed to comply with the guidelines would be subject to disciplinary action, including removal from the residence halls or suspension, according to the email. UMass freshman Jessica Galego felt like she had a fair warning that a lockdown was imminent, since she regularly checks the school’s COVID-19 dashboard and noticed cases rising. “Everybody was definitely frustrated about it because we weren’t sure if it would end up getting extended or kind of what was going on,” Galego said. “Just like simple things like not being able to do our homework in the lobby was really frustrating.” Following the two week lockdown, Cincotta was contact traced by University Health Services, sending her back into quarantine. Cincotta chose to quarantine at home because she thought it would be more comfortable than university quarantine housing. Both Cincotta and Galego said that students were not provided transportation to on-campus quarantine housing, making it challenging to walk across the campus with the belongings they were bringing with them into quarantine. “They’ve told kids just to walk there by themselves and that they can’t provide any transportation, so they were definitely lacking in that aspect,” Galego said. Boston University freshman Jami Hamman shared a similar fate as Cincotta—a 10-day quarantine. While in on-campus quarantine housing, Hamman said BU also provided mental health check-ins for students in quarantine, which she said reflects BU’s genuine care for the well-being of its students. BU provides meals, grocery delivery, and weekly laundry services at its Charles River Campus and Fenway Campus quarantine locations, according to BU’s website. “I could call anybody anytime I wanted and I could special request items. I could special request, like, comfort food or I could special request lotion, I don’t know, random things …,” Hamman said.
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A s t u d e n t s i t s i n t h e R a i n b o w R o o m , o n e o f t h e o u t d o o r t e n t s a t N o r t h e a s t e r n U n i v e r s i t y.
GLC Responds To Vatican’s Doctrine The leadership council released a petition on Tuesday. BY AMY PALMER Asst. News Editor
The GLBTQ+ Leadership Council (GLC) released a petition on Tuesday calling for Boston College to clarify its position on LGBTQ+ rights and make a statement in support of queer students and alumni. The petition is in response to a Monday statement from the Vatican, which said that the church does not and cannot have the power to bless same-sex unions. GLC announced the petition in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “We are saddened, hurt, and angered by the statements from the Vat-
ican and Pope Francis on the church’s refusal to bless same sex unions,” the petition reads. “The Vatican’s remarks, describing our sexual and gender identities as ‘a choice’ and as fundamentally sinful, do great harm to LGBTQ+ catholics and Queer people everywhere.” The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a document on Monday in which it responded “negative” to the question of whether the church can bless same-sex unions. Pope Francis agreed to its publication, the document said. The document states that the church can only bless what is according to God’s design in creation—the union of a man and a woman. Same-sex relationships, according to the document, have positive elements that should be valued, but are not justified because their union is not in order with God’s plan for marriage. The document also said that God
does not bless sin but does bless the sinful person so that he can change this person. Ivy DiBiase, GLC policy coordinator and MCAS ’22, said that the Vatican’s statement is hurtful because the Catholic Church teaches people to emulate God’s love, but lessens the value of love within the LGBTQ+ community. “To me, the unconditional part of that means we include everyone, and to not include everyone in that is incredibly frustrating and hypocritical, especially to just have our love be devalued and invalidated,” DiBiase said. Alexandra Katz, Student Assembly representative and Lynch ’23, said that this statement was shocking coming from Pope Francis because he has been praised for tolerance toward the LGBTQ+ community in the past.
See GLC, A2
Harvard Community Calls for Divestment Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard released a complaint.
BC Redesigns COVID-19 Dashboard
KRISTIAN LAMARRE / FOR THE HEIGHTS
Burnt Rubber After three innings tied at four a piece, North Carolina scored in the top of the ninth to win the rubber match 5-4 over BC.
BY MEGAN GENTILE Copy Editor
Harvard University students, faculty, alumni, and community members filed a complaint against the Harvard Corporation on Monday calling for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to order Harvard to cease its investments in fossil fuels. The 56-page complaint comes just months after a group of Boston College alumni, local politicians, environmental advocacy groups, and scientists filed a similar complaint in December calling for Healey to use her enforcement powers to order BC to divest from fossil fuels, as reported by The Heights. The complaint is signed by Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard, other Harvard affiliates, and a number of individual signatories,
ZOE BEHRAKIS
SPORTS
Behrakis pursues her dream of becoming a popstar with the release of her first single, “Grace.”
The Eagles commanded all but eight minutes of their game against Hofstra en route to a 19-7 win over the Pride.
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MAGAZINE: Matthew Del Negro METRO: Newton Al Fresco Del Negro discusses the rejection that he has faced while pursuing acting.......A8
See Fossil Fuels, A3
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including Climate Justice at Boston College (CJBC). CJBC said in a statement that it is “thrilled” to see a complaint against Harvard. “Attorney General Healey has now received complaints against multiple Massachusetts universities with hundreds of pages of overwhelming evidence and arguments,” the statement reads. “We fully expect a final decision to compel Boston College, Harvard, and all Massachusetts universities that have not already divested from fossil fuels to do so.” According to the complaint, the Harvard Corporation has a “fiduciary duty” under the Massachusetts Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) to “invest with consideration for the University’s ‘charitable purposes’—a duty that distinguishes non-profit institutions from other investors.” The December complaint filed against BC also alleges that the University is violating UPMIFA.
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller encourages outdoor dining as the weather improves.......A5
INDEX
NEWS......................A2 MAGAZINE............. A8 Vol. CII, No. 6 © 2021, The Heights, Inc. METRO.....................A4 ARTS...................... A9 OPINIONS...................A6 SPORTS.................. A11 www.bcheights.com