CHICK-FIL-A AT COM, 3
BALLET GOES VIRTUAL, 6
REPRESENTATION MATTERS, 9
SPORTS ON HOLD, 11
A Chick-Fil-a truck will stop on campus every Wednesday.
The Boston Ballet has a new, virutal “BB@ yourhome” program.
President Joe Biden should elect more Asian Americans to the court.
BU sports teams will not play for the remainder of January.
CEL EBR ATING
THURSDAY, JAN. 28, 2021
50 YE A R S
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JO U R N ALI S M
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
YEAR L. VOLUME XCIX. ISSUE V
Restaurants reopen for late night dining Taylor Brokesh Daily Free Press Staff
Classroom moderator Alexander Stephan, a junior in the College of Fine Arts, said last semester was “kind of a mess,” but approves of IS&T’s decision to begin using Sling. “It’s still a little early on in the experience to say whether or not it’s working better,” Stephan said, “just simply because the moderators and the brass are getting used to it still.” Stephan added the “efficiency” of communication still needs improvement. He said although he is accustomed to the stress of working in an unorganized environment, he wishes
Gov. Charlie Baker lifted an order mandating restaurants to close early, allowing local businesses to return to late-night service. The restriction, imposed by Baker in November, banned restaurants, fitness centers, museums, zoos, movie theaters and a number of other recreational spaces from operating between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. — eliminating into a typically profitable evening time for restaurants. “The 9:30 curfew was preventing restaurants from having the ability to get a “2nd seating”, which is a significant source of business,” wrote Steve Clark, vice president of government affairs at the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, in an email. “There were a number of places that were forced to lay off staff, as a result of and right after this curfew was implemented.” Second seatings refers to replacing shifts of customers to fit more than one group of diners at the same table throughout the evening, according to Clark. Marco Caputo, the owner and executive chef of Mast’ — an Italian restaurant in the North End — said the curfew had a major impact on business. “People didn’t come in,” Caputo said. “All my employees went down to 20 hours a week.” Before the curfew Mast’s kitchen closed at 11 p.m., Caputo said, although the restaurant would typically stay open to serve customers until they decided to leave. With the curfew, those lingering customers were lost and so was profit.
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HANNAH YOSHINAGA | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Administrators of Boston University’s Classroom Moderator program plan to address management and communication issues within the department this semester.
Classroom moderators see continued communication, organization issues Emily Stevenson Daily Free Press Staff Boston University is working to improve its classroom moderator programming with a new app that will resolve issues with communication and organization. However, students and faculty say it is too early to deem it a success. Classroom moderators help ensure hybrid classes can proceed smoothly by monitoring the Zoom and assisting professors with technical issues, according to the BU TechWeb site.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email BU Information Services and Technology designed a new scheduling method for quick room and time changes and implemented a new training program for in-person and remote use. The Learn from Anywhere classroom moderator program formerly used Google Spreadsheets for shift assignments, but it transitioned to the Sling app this semester. Sling is used for messaging, scheduling employee hours and other functions. Additionally, the moderator training updated the Fall Blackboard modules with quizzes and informa-
tion, “in-person” classroom technology training was expanded, and classes of all sizes can now acquire moderators, according to Riley. Robert Buchwaldt, an assistant research professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, said there is more consistency with moderators now than compared to the Fall when courses would receive different moderators each day. However, he said he still sees flaws in the program he hopes will be resolved soon. “I’m happy with moderators and the students who are actually putting the time and the effort in,” Buchwaldt said, “but it’s a logistic issue.”
Marty Walsh’s Mayoral Legacy Daniel Kool Daily Free Press Staff Mayor Marty Walsh has deep roots — and a new future — in the labor movement. At 21, he joined Boston’s Laborers Local 223 Union, maintaining active involvement for over 20 years. Now, the 53-year-old is being pulled to D.C., where he awaits a likely confirmation as President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Labor. Having served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1997, Walsh announced a bid for mayor in May 2013, emphasizing reforms to the Boston Public School system and improved economic opportunities across the city. Backed by local and national unions, Walsh won a narrow victory against opponent John Connolly, replacing former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino — who retired after 20 years in the seat. Throughout his two terms, the
Dorchester-native defended the rights of immigrants, worked to improve access to affordable housing, prioritized green development and spearheaded a public health campaign to stop the spread of COVID-19. In 2017, Walsh promised to continue providing shelter for Boston’s immigrant community, following an executive order by then-President Donald Trump threatening to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities. “If people want to live here, they’ll live here,” he told reporters at a press conference that January. “They can use my office, they can use any office in this building. Any place they want to use.” That same year, his administration launched the Greater Boston Immigrant Defense Fund, which seeks to provide legal education and services to the city’s immigrant communities. He maintained a commitment to the fund, allocating $50,000 from the city’s fiscal year 2020 budget to the program in 2019. Walsh announced a reactivation
of Boston’s Human Rights Commission after an over 20-year hiatus in 2019, adding that it would focus on ensuring equal protection under the law for all Bostonians — regardless of immigration status. Walsh also pioneered Imagine Boston 2030, a crowdsourced urban plan to update the city’s architecture with a focus on inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable development and increasing affordability. Since its announcement in 2015, the campaign has worked to address the input of over 15,000 residents. Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok said Walsh’s commitment to affordable housing would likely be his legacy as mayor. “I think in general, on housing,” she said, “he’d really try to throw the kitchen sink at it.” She noted that in 2017, the Walsh administration added support for public housing to the city budget for the first time. Since then, Bok has CONTINUED ON PAGE 2