Ahead of a busy, spirited weekend featuring Halloween and the Notre Dame game this weekend, Boston College’s Office of the Dean of Students (DoS) launched BCaring Week, aimed at fostering respect, safety, and care across campus.
“We want to get ahead of that positively and proactively, to create BCaring week, just as gentle nudges and reminders this week that we are one community—that our actions should match our values,” Assistant Dean of Community Engagement Peter Kwiatek wrote in a statement to The Heights. “We hope that a student gets help for a friend who might have had too much to drink, or thinks twice about dropping their can or cup on the ground walking to the game.”
The DoS offered programming every day this week, including card writing, professional clothing drives, a sustainability fair, a Women’s Center tailgate, and “reverse trick-or-treating.”
“I hope this week serves as a reminder of the positive impact we have on one another as members of the BC community, including how we can look out for, appreciate, and care for each other,” Kwiatek wrote.
In addition to BCaring Week, the office offers programming throughout the year. One ongoing program, “Rolling Recognition,” aims to highlight positive student behavior, according to Kwiatek.
“It’s always available all year round, but we really try to promote it quite a bit during the BCaring week because there’s just so many unrecognized, unseen awesome things that our students do,” Kwiatek said.
Another ongoing initiative, “BCaring Boards,” places boards with prompts throughout the centers and offices around campus to offer encouragement to students.
“All across campus, there are these boards that have different prompts on them,” Kwiatek said. “On Friday, we have Deans and Donuts in here, and we’ll have the display board there again just as a reminder of all the amazing things that our students do every day.”
Kwiatek said he is particularly excited about events held in collaboration with other groups, including the Sustainability Fair, co-sponsored by Ecopledge, and a Trivia Night organized with the Office of First-Year Involvement, the Office of Residential Life, and the Volunteer and Service Learning Center.
“I am also proud of how our campus partners have embraced the BCaring initiative and collaborated to host creative, meaningful events,” Kwiatek wrote. “Their collaboration and creativity have made this week truly special.”
Kwiatek hopes this week reminds BC students to emphasize community and respect, especially for students living off campus.
“I also hope students are especially mindful of our off-campus neighbors on Halloween, cheer for the Eagles with enthusiasm and respect on Saturday, and treat the entire community with care,” Kwiatek wrote. “We are at our best when we look out for one another and align our actions with our shared values.”
