Five Boston College students from the Class of 2020, accompanied by Vice President for Student Affairs Joy Moore and Vice Provost for Global Engagement Rev. James Keenan, S.J. spoke about COVID-19, resiliency, and the common good on BC’s virtual “Show @ 6” on Friday.
“The show is based on the central insight of the common good,” Keenan said. “That is that the resources that humanity has, and needs, must be shared equitably.”
Keenan then passed off the webinar to Moore, the host of the show. Moore introduced each panelist and asked them about their interests and passions at BC.
Kaitlin Ferrari, MCAS ’20, talked about the Arrupe immersion program and the group she traveled with to places such as the U.S.-Mexico border and Nicaragua.
“Amongst the students that I went on these trips with, we just had such a drive to reach common humanity with the local residents we met,” Ferrari said. “I thought that that was something really special about Boston College students.”
After speaking about their daily routines on campus before the COVID-19 pandemic, the senior panelists transitioned to reflecting on the day BC moved online for the semester and the emotions that followed.
Ignacio Fletcher, MCAS ’20, said he was in class when he received the notifying email and talked about how his professor eased some of the confusion and fear that students felt after receiving the email.
“It was a very interesting yet confusing experience,” Fletcher said. “It sort of felt like a movie.”
Ferrari said that whiled the last few days before departing campus were sad, she was proud of how members of the Class of 2020 came together to participate in longstanding traditions before they left BC.
Moore then asked about the students’ new lives off campus and what their friends and classmates had been talking about over the past two months.
Joseph Nano, MCAS ’20, pointed to BC’s decision to expand the pass/fail option as a source of conversation, along with general feelings about the pandemic and its effect on their lives.
“At least based on my experience and my friends’ experience, I think our professors did a great job transitioning to remote learning,” Nano said. “BC offered the pass/fail option for classes, and I was so thankful for it. I ended up declaring one of my classes as pass/fail, and I have a lot of friends who did the same thing.”
The webinar then transitioned to its main theme as panelists reflected on what “common good” means to them.
“When I think about the common good, more simply, I just think about quality or a specific standard of quality of life that everyone could have access to, but some do not,” said Victoria Ang, MCAS ’20. “I think pursuing the common good comes with the responsibility to definitely diminish those barriers that some people face to access that quality of life.”
Michael Osaghae, MCAS ’20, mentioned Freshman League, Rise, and Strong Women Strong Girls as programs that give opportunities for students to come into their identity and feel included in the community.
“I think of equity and marginalization when it comes to the common good, and so I think there’s a lot of spaces around Boston College’s campus and a lot of groups that participate in that work,” Osaghae said.
