The Wall

Also, don’t you think sending BCPD after students in distress can be traumatizing? Isn’t it hypocritical to teach its students to care for the poor, suffering, and oppressed while simultaneously criminalize those who speak up against the injustice? And how do you expect students who suffer to ask for help when the institution uses BCPD against them at the very first place?

That’s a lot of questions and concerns all at once, all of which would require separate lines of inquiry. But the shared theme is an ethical question: should an organization whose principal purpose is enforcement of laws and rules, and whose primary means of enforcement is threat of detainment or arrest, also be tasked with roles better suited to organizations primarily concerned with health and social welfare?

I’m really sorry that’s happening. I recommend bringing your concerns to the Office of Student Outreach & Support (bit.ly/bc-stu-support). They can help you strategize (which may also involve bringing the concern to other campus offices) and can bring the complaint to BCPD.

? Awwwwww, back atcha! ?

The one in China has a solid PR department and we’re friends, but here are a few of my other old world favorites. The Ishtar Gate of Babylon is really stylish. https://bit.ly/bc-gate. The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople are over 1700 years old. Hope I look that good at that age. https://bit.ly/bc-byz

I’m worried about being caught up in the depressive atmosphere and the conflicts at home…… I really function better on BC campus, when it feels safe (most of the time) and stable. How do I make sure that I keep up with my work and maintain high functioning over the summer? I feel like I finally reach a better place over the school year, how do I help myself not to fall back into the cycle?

At least for the time being, counseling offices are maintaining telehealth. I recommend conferring with them: bit.ly/BC-counseling. I have little experience with this issue, myself, as walls don’t tend to move from one locale to another very often. Perhaps one solution is simply to get out of the walls that enclose family at least for doing schoolwork: going to a supportive friend’s or relative’s house, or perhaps spending a lot of time in cafes, parks, or libraries.

Added 6/16/20: Being the dense wall that I am, I neglected to add that any visits you make should be done with social-distancing in mind: masks on everyone, 6 feet of distance, and outdoors. I’ve heard of many very pleasant (and safe!) outdoor physically-distanced meetups. I hope cafe’s in your area have outdoors seating. And silly me for mentioning libraries! Few are open yet, and spending time indoors with many strangers would be unwise.

I know this is an odd thing but I must ask. I really like this concept and I just found out about it online. Sadly, I am nowhere near Boston. How do I make something like this in my hometown? Also, you should keep an easy to access online wall even after the pandemic.

I’m planning to keep my online presence – I’ve found discovering the Internet to be very exciting. Not that I don’t love my little post-its as well, of course. As for starting a version of…. me… in your hometown, that sounds like a wonderful idea. We use Padlet (padlet.com) for hosting the questions. You’ll need to have some outreach to bring questions to your site, so you might want to partner with a local library or other group to host it. And don’t forget, you’ll need some helpers to do some of the research. Check in and let me know how it goes!