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Thanks to a recent initiative of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC), the task of grocery shopping as a BC student just got easier. Undergraduates no longer have to carry their grocery sacks down Hammond Street, or dig through their pockets to find fare for the T. Starting on March 16 and continuing on Sundays throughout the semester, a BC bus will make trips to the Star Market on Beacon Street free of charge.
Though the administration initially rejected the idea of having regular shuttles to the grocery store, the UGBC funded four trial runs to the Star Market during the first semester to evaluate the demand and popularity of the grocery shuttles. For transportation, the UGBC rented Boston Coach vans, and over the course of the four Sundays, spent about $2,500, approximately $650 each week. With over 75 students making use of the service every Sunday it was offered, the UGBC found success and looked to make the buses a permanent fixture at BC. On the fourth trial run, the largest number of students signed up for the trip only to find the Boston Coach van absent at the scheduled time of arrival. Even with this obstacle, the UGBC found the project feasible and thought it a worthwhile venture to solidify plans to sponsor the grocery trips.
Michael Bisanz, executive director of student life for the UGBC and A&S '08, assisted with the proposal and execution of the grocery shuttle service. In order to assess the logistics of cost, efficiency, and student participation each Sunday, students utilizing the shuttle completed surveys to inform the UGBC of where they lived on campus as well as their previous experiences and methods of transportation to local grocery stores. "We found that most of those who were taking the shuttle had previously taken the T to the store," Bisanz said. Bisanz and other members of the UGBC compiled spreadsheets and the survey results to present to the administration as well as to the Transportation and Parking Manager, Paul Cappadona. "There was a need, and the students came to me with a request," Cappadona said. Though there are established routes for the BC buses, Cappadona investigated the prospect of using one for the grocery shuttles. At a UGBC vice president meeting, Cappadona announced that the plans for the BC grocery shuttle were approved.
The shuttle service will take place on a BC Commonwealth Avenue bus and will run every 20 minutes. Without affecting the bus schedule, it was possible to dedicate a shuttle to the grocery trips on Sundays. "We were able to adjust the schedule with the existing number of buses to run the grocery shuttle and not increase wait times on the Comm. Ave. route," Cappadona said. In many students' minds, however, time spent waiting at the bus stop is time wasted. "The one negative perception is you have to wait a long time for a bus," Cappadona said. "I didn't want to do anything that would negatively impact that." There are 12 BC buses that accommodate both Commonwealth Avenue and Newton Campus. Depending on the time of day, the buses are divided between the two routes. The number of buses allowed a shuttle to be dedicated to the Sunday trips to the Star Market while still maintaining efficiency on the two normal routes. "It's important for me to have the students use [theliving off campus.
One of the recommendations was the establishment of a complaint system within the ODSD. Scanlon and Karl suggested a link on Agora where students could file an official complaint, whether it was about a landlord, a neighbor, a fellow student, or an interaction with Steve Montgomery, the off-campus liaison.
Even though Montgomery does not work for the ODSD, but for the Office of Governmental and Community Affairs, the ODSD handles his reports about off-campus parties in disciplinary proceedings with students.
Karl said that making the link available on Agora is important because students use the Web page almost daily, whether it's to check their e-mail, WebCT, or file a work facilities request. "There definitely needs to be something related to off-campus life on Agora at students' fingertips where it's visible," Karl said.
Scanlon cited the gathering of testimonials for the Senate's off-campus report as an example of the need for increased transparency in off-campus disciplinary affairs.
"The committee talked to about 100 students who had some sort of problem or who were upset but didn't know where to go with their complaints," Scanlon said. "Agora is the mainstay of BC. It's an easily recognizable way for students to lodge a complaint rather than using a random e-mail address."
Robinson said that the off-campus help e-mail address is only an interim step before the creation of a Web site that will serve as a resource for the 1,200 BC students living off campus. While ODSD is working to make the e-mail address more accessible to students, Robinson said it is not possible to put it on Agora at this time from an Information Technology Services (ITS) standpoint.
Robinson said that she hopes the Web site will be implemented at the beginning of the fall semester and that it will focus on student programming, highlighting the work of the off-campus student council, which Robinson helped create. The Web site would include a link to the e-mail address, along with information relevant to off-campus student life that is not already included on the Office of Residential Life's "Guide to off-campus living" Web site.
The off-campus student council, led by Mike Delsesto, the director of residential life in UGBC and A&S '08, is designed for students living off campus to voice their concerns, although the council is open to any students.
Delsesto said that an off-campus help link on Agora, like the one suggested by Scanlon and Karl, would be a pragmatic idea. "Centralizing the information [about off-campus life] is what is important," Delsesto said. "Knowledge and increased transparency are essential to rectifying things that are going wrong off campus."
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