Dear Students,
I hope you are enjoying the arrival of spring and the nice days we have had recently. I thank you for following our safety protocols so that we can continue to offer some of the new and exciting activities that we have planned for you. I write to alert you to some of these activities and to encourage you to register to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
Vaccinations
As a Boston College student, you are eligible to receive the vaccination in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Boston College has continued to inquire about the acquisition of vaccines; however, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not appear to have any current plans to distribute vaccines directly to colleges and universities. We strongly encourage you to pre-register for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through the Commonwealth now and you will be alerted as to when you will be able to schedule an appointment at a mass vaccination site. You can also use Vaxfinder or @vaccinetime on Twitter to find appointments at other locations. While some of you may be eligible now, all adults who study, live, or work in Massachusetts will be eligible beginning April 19, 2021. We will take a big step toward making the Boston College campus even safer for our students, faculty, and staff by receiving a vaccination.
If you have been vaccinated or plan to get vaccinated, please upload a copy of your vaccination card to your patient record in Agora Portal under Health Services.
To submit the vaccination card and dates through the Health Services Portal, please follow the steps below:
- Take a picture of the vaccination card or document and save it on your computer or phone to navigate to once logged into the Agora Health Services Portal (https://services.bc.edu), found under OTHER SERVICES.
- Choose the UPLOAD ICON and upload the picture under the appropriate vaccine name (Janssen, Moderna, Pfizer) in the drop down menu ( Note: the drop down menu is below the list of "documents available to upload"). Click SELECT FILE, choose the file that you are uploading and hit the UPLOAD button.
- After uploading the picture, please choose the IMMUNIZATION ICON on the Health Services portal. Please choose, via the “highly recommended” drop down, the vaccination name and record the vaccination dates. Please click SUBMIT to save.
Any student who has received the vaccine must continue to follow University and public health safety guidelines, including required testing. Fully vaccinated individuals who are at least two weeks removed from receiving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine or their second dose of Pfizer/Moderna will not be placed in quarantine if they are identified as a close contact of a positive case, as long as their vaccination record is on file with University Health Services and they are asymptomatic. However, any person, including those vaccinated, who test positive for COVID-19 will still be placed in isolation.
New Student Offerings This Spring
The administration, multiple departments, and student organizations at Boston College have been working hard to provide students with some exciting new opportunities this spring. Baldwin’s Backyard, open Thursdays – Saturdays from 8pm – 12am, features fire pits, lawn games and comfortable seating. Reservations are accepted but walk-ins are also welcome if space is available. BC After Dark is a new restaurant concept at Hillside Café that is open Thursdays – Saturdays from 5pm – 12am and features a full menu of burgers, wings, salads and assorted alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You can make reservations by ordering food on the Get Mobile app. We are also excited to announce that a 6-hole disc golf course is now open on Newton Campus. Course maps and discs for checkout are available from the Resident Director’s office in Duchesne East on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm-6pm.
Please know that students are expected to comply with all rules and regulations for each of these programs and services. In general, masks are to be worn unless you are actively eating and drinking, and students should maintain proper social distance. As per state guidelines for restaurants, students at BC After Dark are to remain seated at all times and may not move tables and chairs. Students should remain with their group and not move around from table to table. Of course, proper identification, including your BC ID, will be required in order to purchase alcohol for BC After Dark. Our ability to keep these spaces open and to keep our campus safe depend on your cooperation.
A Successful and Healthy Finish
As we enter into the last few weeks of the semester, I would like to remind you that your continued adherence to University and public health COVID-19 safety protocols is critical to having a successful end to the semester. One area of particular concern has been the increasing disregard for mask-wearing in certain areas of campus, particularly Maloney Lawn. Massachusetts continues to require everyone, including vaccinated individuals, to wear masks in all indoor and outdoor public settings, even if you are able to maintain six feet of physical distance. For all students, we want you to remain healthy to be able to perform well in your classes and on your finals, and avoid quarantine and/or isolation. For students who make their home a distance from campus, the choices you make in the next few weeks may have an impact on your ability to travel home at the end of the semester. Any student who tests positive or is deemed a close contact of someone who tests positive over the course of the next few weeks will risk being placed into isolation or quarantine during finals. We ask that seniors remain mindful of this as well as we approach Senior Week, the Baccalaureate Mass, and Commencement. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to continue to adhere to the health and safety protocols (mask-wearing, physically-distancing, limiting group size, limiting your number of close contacts, etc.) so that you may enjoy a successful and healthy end of the semester with minimal disruption.
I thank you again for everything that you are doing to ensure that we maintain a safe and healthy learning environment on campus. We ask that you remain vigilant so that we can finish out the last few weeks of the semester on a strong note.
Sincerely,
Tom Mogan, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Formation