Dear Boston College Students,
I’m currently a student at Messina College and want to share my perspective from being a student here. Messina College opens up many opportunities for students and has great potential. Unfortunately, there is some negligence regarding the safety of the school. The dorms over the summer were extremely hot and negatively impacted my classmates’ and my health. I was experiencing symptoms of dehydration and heat exhaustion. Many other students experienced the same. Another student asked me for Advil because they were getting headaches from the heat. Everyone had similar experiences over the summer, and a student informed me about her experience seeking help. She was told that she could fill out a request for accommodations, but it’s very long, and her conditions would have to be severe. Even so, there are not enough ACs. I understand that the lack of air conditioning can be caused by financial restraints and the buildings being old, but this further reinforces the unfairness between Messina’s Campus and Boston College. The overall awareness by staff members of the impact on students’ well-being yet ignored by staff members is neglectful. I sometimes felt that staff members were annoyed by our complaints which felt very belittling to have to witness.
At one of our first-year discovery seminars, the dean wanted to address the issues of students going back home frequently. He told us that our school is not a community college and is fully residential, so although it may be tempting to go back home at night, he wants everyone to stay at Messina and put themselves through the heat with all of their peers. We were told that ACs weren’t installed because the “heat waves were unpredictable.” I was shocked by his response because Massachusetts normally has unpredictable weather, and is usually hotter in July. The lack of empathy and understanding is a major concern that I see throughout the school. I feel that the people who are meant to help students see it as freshman jitters when it is not normal.
I also wanted to address the mental health of students. Not only can the heat cause irritability, and mood swings, but it can worsen pre-existing mental health issues. Later in the fall semester, we were told that we had to attend financial literacy meetings once a month, and mentorship meetings weekly. These classes were non-credited, and we were told that if we didn’t go our accounts would be frozen. I know many people who don’t attend these events and their accounts were never frozen. We started getting phone calls reminding us to go to the financial literacy meeting. Some students wish they weren’t reminded so much of their low-income background, being a minority, and first generation. Part of my identity is being first-generation, but that doesn’t define who I am. I see many assumptions made about me being first-generation and low-income. The mandatory mentorship meetings always gave me an unsettling feeling, so I talked to Mario (part of student success) about the issue. He told me that some students don’t have a place where they can feel vulnerable and form deep connections. I have friends and family, and a therapist I talk to weekly. I asked my friend why we had to do them when the main BC students didn’t. His response was “Because they think of us as less than, and that we need that much help.” Another friend told me that she feels taunted at times. The mandatory financial literacy meetings and mentorship meetings constantly remind me of my background when I used to never think about it. I know some students who feel the same way. We find it frustrating when we’re told that we’re BC students, but aren’t treated like one. These meetings can be helpful, but should not be made mandatory.
The bus shuttle is another big issue. A student told me that we only have one bus shuttle because bus shuttles are expensive, and there are only one hundred students on campus, so it didn’t make sense to have two buses. Although, we were highly encouraged to go over to the main campus, join clubs, and explore the campus. We are also not allowed to have our cars on campus. Some students will start having classes in the Spring semester, so another bus is being added which we should’ve had from the beginning. Sometimes the bus doesn’t even stop, and I’ve had to use Uber on several occasions when it was too dark to safely walk back or waiting for an eagle escort was not reasonable. There is no open library at Messina College, so even finding a place to study is frustrating at times. One time, I missed the bus when I planned on going to the O’Neill library, and instead of waiting I walked to the Chestnut Hill station and took the train to Copley to study at the BPL. I checked the Transloc app when I got to the library and it was still at the reservoir stop.
I’m withdrawing from the school as I have felt very belittled while at Messina, and these are just some of the problems. I don’t feel respected by the people who are meant to help students succeed. Multiple people have encouraged me to talk about these issues because students aren’t going to enroll if these issues don’t get addressed, especially since all UMASS schools are becoming free for MA residents with incomes of $75,000 or lower. I want the best for my friends who are staying at Messina, and they deserve better treatment.
Sincerely,
Richeervy Eng
