Charles River Campus Closed Tuesday
Storm could bring a foot of snow
Update at 4 p.m. Late night BU Shuttle (BUS) service has been canceled
As the Boston area prepares for a major late winter snowstorm, University administrators have decided to close the Charles River Campus on Tuesday, March 14, canceling daytime and evening classes effective as of 6 a.m. All scheduled academic and administrative activities (i.e., classes, seminars, student activities, and meetings) are canceled. Academic and administrative operations that are normally scheduled are also canceled. The National Weather Service is forecasting up to 12 inches for the Boston area, starting around 7 a.m. and continuing throughout the day. The storm—the largest of the year—is expected to be accompanied by heavy winds starting around noon, with snow bands producing as much as two to four inches of snow an hour during the height of the storm.
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, Residence Life, Mail Services, Student Health Services, Environmental Health & Safety, and Network Services.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation advises the public to work from home if possible. If that is not an option, travelers are encouraged to make informed and safe decisions before they head out onto the roadways.
The city of Boston has declared a snow emergency and a parking ban starting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. The town of Brookline has declared a snow emergency and parking ban starting at 6 a.m. on Tuesday through noon on Wednesday, March 15. Schools in both Boston and Brookline are closed all day Tuesday. Brookline town offices are closed as well.
Charles River Campus: Classes are canceled. 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.
Medical Campus: The BU School of Medicine and Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS): classes are canceled. Employees in essential services should report as scheduled. Medical, PA, and GMS students who are assigned to inpatient services 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. Nonessential staff may telecommute.
The School of Public Health: classes are canceled; SPH nonessential staff may telecommute at the discretion of their supervisor.
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, unless notified by the Office of Academic Affairs. GSDM students who are on externship should check with the policy at their respective externship sites.
Find detailed information about the Boston University Medical Campus here. Commuters are requested to consider public transportation, if available, for travel to the Medical Campus to reduce traffic on the roadways. Employees who are part of the BUMC parking program should park in their assigned lot or garage.
We will continue to monitor the storm and provide updates as necessary.
Dining Services: Residential dining halls and Hillel will follow a normal schedule. All eateries at the GSU will be closed, as well as the following: BU Pub, Einstein’s, FitRec dining area, Rize, Jamba Juice, LAW Cart, Questrom 2, and Basho Express.Buick Street Market/Dunkin Donuts will operate on a normal schedule, but Charles River Bread and Loose Leafs at this location will be closed. All other locations will operate on a normal schedule.
George Sherman Union: Closed.
Libraries: All Charles River Campus libraries are closed. Check the library website for more information.
Fitness & Recreation Center: Closed. All classes, programs, rentals, and activities hosted or sponsored by Physical Education, Recreation and Dance are canceled for the day. Club sports practices are canceled. The Track & Tennis Center has no recreational hours. The midday open skate at Walter Brown Arena is canceled.
Student Health Services: Student Health Services will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday and will be able to see students with urgent or emergent concerns only. Call 617-353-3575. The office is expected to remain open until 2 p.m.
Bookstore: Barnes & Noble at Boston University will be closed.
BU Shuttle (the BUS): The BUS—the BU Shuttle—will be reduced to three buses during peak (20-minute service) periods and two buses during off-peak (30-minute service) periods. As a result of poor road conditions, there will be no large, articulated buses running the shuttle route. In fact, road conditions may call for BU wrapped shuttles to be replaced by nonwrapped, coach-style buses. When this occurs, any nonwrapped buses will not be visible on the BU Mobile App or the live view of the BUS website. Any delays in BUS service will be posted on the BUS website and tweeted from @BUShuttle.
Parking: Students, faculty, and staff on the Charles River Campus are urged to refrain from parking in any of the University’s outside lots so that these locations can be properly cleared and maintained. All University parking permit holders who are not parked within a covered/garaged facility should park in one of the following facilities (this includes departmental vehicles): Langsam garage; 575 Commonwealth Avenue garage; and 730 Commonwealth Avenue garage. These covered parking facilities will remain open throughout the storm. Once the campus has reopened, all vehicles should be returned to normal parking areas as soon as possible.
MBTA T and Commuter Rail Service: Operating on the regular weekday schedule, but expect delays.
Club sports, intramural sports, and intramural travel are canceled for Tuesday. All meetings and events scheduled by BU clubs and organizations are also canceled.
Residence Life offices will be open. The Dean of Students office will be open for telephone calls from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at 617-353-4126.
Programs requiring Facilities Management & Planning support will operate on a case by case basis. Students should contact the Student Activities Office for more information.
BU Today invites event coordinators to post cancellations in the Comment section below.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.