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Wildfires have a multitude of impacts on an ecosystem. While many are negative, some animals thrive after fire, from the charred remains serving as shelter for insects and small animals like the black-backed woodpecker and spotted owl.
In a study published February 6 in the journal Molecular Ecology, researchers from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) examined how the 2023 Holy Fire in California’s Orange and Riverside countries affected bacteria and fungi over time after the flames were extinguished. The fire burned more than 23,000 acres of land and destroyed 24 structures..
[Related: Wildfires are burning away snow in the American West.]
Sydney Glassman, a UCR mycologist and co-author of the study, led a team of researchers into the burn scar or the noticeable mark on the land left by a wildfire. “When we first came into fire territory, there was ash up to my shins. It was a very severe fire,” Glassman said in a statement.
Signs of microbial life in the 2023 Holy Fire burn scar in California. CREDIT: Sydney Glassman/UCR Sydney Glassman/UCR
Over the next year, the team visited the scar nine times, comparing the charred earth with samples from unburned soil found nearby. The mass of microbes dropped between 50 and 80 percent and didn’t recover during that first year post-fire. But some species found a way to live on.
“Certain species increased in abundance, and in fact there were really rapid changes in abundance over time in the burned soils,” Glassman said. “There were no changes at all in the unburned soils.”
Multiple microbes took turns dominating the burned soil in the first post-fire year, with distinct shifts in microbes over time. “As one species went down, another came up,” Glassman said.
The organisms that could consume charcoal and post-fire, nitrogen-filled debris tended to be most dominant towards the end of the year.
Fabiola Pulido-Chavez, a UCR plant pathology PhD candidate and co-author of the study noticed that the genes involved in methane metabolism doubled in post-fire microbes. Methanotrophs are microbes that regulate the breakdown of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.
“This exciting finding suggests post-fire microbes can ‘eat’ methane to gain carbon and energy, and can potentially help us reduce greenhouse gasses,” Pulido-Chavez said, in a statement.
The team tested whether the fungi and bacteria could thrive at different points in time based on their individual traits or if another reason was behind the shifts in dominance in the soil.
[Related: Fires can help forests hold onto carbon—if they’re set the right way.]
“We think one organism can’t be good at all the skills necessary to thrive in a burn scar,” Glassman said. “If you’re good at tolerating heat, you’re probably not as good at growing fast.”
The process in the post-fire soil is similar to what happens in the human body under stress. For example, when a patient takes an antibiotic, the medicine destroys gut bacteria and new organisms begin to show up that either weren’t prevalent or weren’t there before at all. Eventually, the gut bacteria may return to pre-infection state, but that’s not guaranteed.
The team is working to understand what processes help the land return to the pre-fire state. This knowledge could change older theories on how plants adapt to wildfires, since microbes like these were not factored into them. “To me, this is exciting, as microbes have long been overlooked, yet they are essential for ecosystem health,” Pulido-Chavez said.
A yet unanswered question is whether plant and microbe adaptations that have developed here could adapt again in response to another megafire or recurrent fires in the same area. Future research could look into how rising temperatures, earlier snowmelt, longer dry seasons, and increased wildfires caused by climate change has on natural burn recovery.
“Things can recover, but it takes time, and whether or not the land recovers after super-frequent megafires is another story. Can recovery time keep pace with megafires? We don’t know yet,” Glassman said.
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You Answered: Are You Ready To Start Living With The Virus?
You Answered: Are You Ready to Start Living with the Virus?
Photo by Cydney Scott
Community Voices
You Answered: Are You Ready to Start Living with the Virus? Hundreds of responses poured in, expressing anxiety, worry, and hesitation, as well as elation, relief, and exhaustionWe posed a question to the Boston University community: As coronavirus mask mandates loosen or go away entirely (BU’s mask policy loosens March 7), and vaccination rates seem to have plateaued, are you ready to move forward and live with the virus in our midst? We hoped to hear lots of opinions. If you are ready, what does that mean for you? If you’re not ready yet, what’s holding you back?
You didn’t disappoint. Within hours, hundreds of responses came in from students, faculty, staff, and alums, as if we had poked a hole in a giant rain cloud overhead, unleashing a downpour of sentiments. “Yes. Back to business as usual.” Others? “Absolutely not. People are still dying from this are simply not ready yet.”
Scroll below to see what your classmates, colleagues, and friends are feeling. And remember—this is a complicated question with no easy answer. We’ve removed names, but identified people by their community status.
Yes! The virus is already living with us. It will continue to evolve and diversify, influenced by our immunity (infection- or vaccine-induced) and our ecology (transmission control measures), but remain near-impossible to predict. Living with the virus means that I acknowledge that both viral illness and transmission control have inherent benefits and harms, and that my personal impact on the global state of the virus is minimal. Living with the virus means that we should direct policies at reducing inequality (the main predictor of disease morbidity and mortality) and away from simple transmission control. Living with the virus means that we recognize the much greater existential threats to humanity are climate change and biodiversity loss, and should be met with much greater collective and policy effort than control of SARS-CoV-2. —ENG sophomore
Covid restrictions are making me lose my mind. As a college campus with a vaccine requirement, it’s time we start weighing mental health consequences with health risks. Please. — COM freshman
I would have said no but after having contracted the Omicron variant and understanding the symptoms I am ready to live with it. Initially it was the fear of the unknown—what’s the virus like? Does it result in long-lasting effects? I think the benefits to transitioning from pandemic to endemic and having a society that lives with it and returns to normality outweigh the costs. — IS&T developer
Society is made up of many different people, and the disabled, immunocompromised, and chronically ill members of society can’t just decide to “start living with COVID” because COVID can still kill them. And to our the burden of safety on those individuals is ableist to the extreme as it privileges the abled. Disabled individuals have already expressed feeling forgotten by society as the pandemic continues, and things like dropping vaccine and mask mandates show that still to be the case. I, like many disabled individuals (who make up 1/4 of the world’s population, not a small number), am sick of being forgotten. — CAS junior
I have been ready to start living with the virus since April of 2023, and indeed, that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve spent the last two years waiting for the rest of the world to catch up with me. Exercising, boosting my immune system, and yes, catching COVID. Three miserable days. Not fun, but I’ll take it over living in fear. — CAS assistant director
I’ve already stopped taking precautions and live my life the way it used to be, traveling, visiting friends, going to parties. The pandemic is no longer seen as a threat anymore. — CAS freshman
I don’t think we have a choice. The virus is here and we are here. We should, however, be vaccinated and boosted. We should also wear face masks as long as experts think they will help and where they think masks will help. — LAW lecturer
If you are asking whether I am ready to go back to doing all things the way they have been done before the pandemic, then the answer is no. The vaccine mandate and frequent testing, together with indoor masking when not alone, create a sense of safety. I could see combining any two of those three, especially while fast spreading variants like Omicron are around. I would not be comfortable with just one or none of these measures in place, because none of us live exclusively within a BU bubble and have countless other contacts in our daily lives. I am concerned about my own health as well as being the one who transmits the virus to someone else who could face a severe or deadly outcome. Same reason why I either drink OR drive, not both. — GMS assistant profesor
Yes and no. With more than 2,000 people in the U.S. still dying daily and another 100,000+ new infections (both stats as of 2/24) it’s hard to move on. That rate is still more than those who die of heart disease or any other leading cause of death. But hopefully those rates along with hospitalization, etc. will continue to drop. I feel BU is one of the safest places to be given all the precautions including testing. For now I’ll continue to get tested regularly and wear a mask indoors. That said I just bought tickets to the McCartney concert at Fenway Park so hope springs eternal.
—STH assistant dean
I will be ready when there are almost no deaths from COVID-19. — SAR senior
I think a majority of the people who are going to say they are ready to live with the virus are the same people who have been too selfish to put in the work to stop the spread. This virus isn’t like the flu or a common cold. There are otherwise healthy people who are dying, even with the vaccine, and I think it is unfair to decide to begin “living” with the virus when there is a part of the population who can’t just “live” with the virus. It’s selfish to exclude immunocompromised people from society because you are tired of wearing masks and taking covid-19 tests. — Questrom senior
Thanks to the vaccine, it *is* possible to rejoin public life, and we should, for our mental and civic health. In 2023, right-wingers pretended Covid was no worse than the regular flu, and they were dead wrong. Now, the virus largely* only sickens and kills the unvaccinated-by-choice. Sadly, only so much can be done about those people. (*I have an autoimmune disorder, so I get some of the lingering fear. And no, kids under age 5 aren’t vaxxed yet, but that’s coming.) Yes, we should be prepared to mask up in certain circumstances. Certainly, anyone should feel free to wear an N95 or KN95 mask at any time without judgment. And we should *all* take common-sense measures, like staying home when sick, keeping kids home when they’re sick — even employers seem to understand that now. But it is not realistic to mask and avoid crowds forever. — ENG editor
I was ready to live with the virus in April of 2023 once we figured out the virus largely affects senior citizens and people with several comorbidities. College-aged students have never been at severe risk from COVID, and BU’s policies regarding quarantine protocol, green badges, vaccine, booster, and mask mandates have been an absolute travesty. BU has fear mongered their students into STILL believing that they need to wear masks, OUTSIDE. I’ve walked past several incoming tour guide groups this week and every single person is wearing masks including the BU student employee leading it. Would you like to send me the science that supports this nonsense? — BU Senior
Absolutely not. People are still dying from this and it still impacts disabled & BIPOC communities disproportionately. We still have a collective responsibility to protect each other. — SSW junior
Although the virus is here to stay, we are not yet in a position to relax mask mandates. Most of our BU community has been vaccinated and boosted, but that is not the case in the rest of the world. As long as those in other countries are unable to access the vaccine, we will continue to see new variants arise. Rather than relaxing masking mandates, we should be working hard to improve vaccination rates worldwide. BU should continue its mask mandate at least through the end of the semester. — CAS lecturer
Yes!! Free the teeth!!! — Questrom senior
I personally feel that we’re acting prematurely on these steps to return to pre-pandemic behavior, although I can understand why: we’re burnt out in the face of another war and a burning planet. Many would say we’re even traumatized by it all. But many studies show that 1/4 to a 1/3 of people that contract COVID will end up with indefinite symptoms of “long COVID,” making this pandemic a mass disabling event. When this country isn’t ready to handle a massive cut in their labor force, then, it only makes sense to maintain COVID safety measures until this disease reaches endemic status. This way, we’re more likely to reduce long-term economic fallout. — COM sophomore
Not if by “living with the virus” you mean removing mask mandates and vaccine requirements that protect the most vulnerable members of our community (children under 5, the immunocompromised, etc). Even as a young, healthy, vaccinated person, COVID is not the same as the flu. The pandemic is not over. If we pretend it is, then we only have ourselves to blame when cases surge again. — ENG junior
No, I’m not ready to start living with it, I’m ready to live adjacent to it as I have been and will continue to do so. Masks provide no additional purpose when students are sitting in an enclosed classroom for hours at a time and socializing, maskless, outside of class. All students are required to be vaccinated and boosted, and a large portion have had the virus. We do not have a mask mandate for influenza or the common cold, which has become akin to COVID-19. At one point we must consider the majority over the minority, immunocompromised individuals have the ability to protect themselves against the virus, and at one point society will have to return to normal (within appropriate boundaries). For these reasons it is imperative that we remove the mask mandate, while still requiring vaccines and testing. — LAW first year
Yes. There is a reason we get routine vaccinations for other diseases—we live with those viruses. COVID is a new one. It was shocking to us because we watched the pandemic and its corresponding restrictions unfold in real time, but taking a look at other pandemics in history, similar things have happened before (take the Influenza pandemic over a century ago and the more-recent H1N1 (Swine Flu) outbreak—did we not have safety precautions then and routine preventative measures now?) and those were also shocking when they first happened. We are living in history, and not everyone needs to know the original George Santayana quote about history repeating itself to understand that there is a lot to be learned and not repeated from this. What matters is that we have learned from this experience and now know how to move forward.
— GRS senior
I think I am. I’m not expecting things to go back to the pre-pandemic normal, but I am hoping that we learn some practices from this that make us more sensitive to public health. The main thing that means for me is: continued testing (at BU at least), mostly continued masking unless I’m with people I know, but reopening most spaces. Testing will probably peter out after a while as well, but I’d be happy if it just became the norm in America that you wear a mask whenever you’re feeling sick. That sort of post-pandemic world might be a world with fewer visible faces, but it will also be a world with fewer sick people, which is a trade I’m totally willing to make. — CAS sophomore
I’m only ready to start “living with the virus” if it means we are all actively participating in mitigation efforts and acting like the virus still exists. For many people, “living with the virus” feels like a carefree lifestyle where they might get COVID, might not, but they don’t care! For me, I’m still worried and I still have people in my life who could become very sick, so I’m not ready to live with reckless abandon right now. — MED research specialist II
I am ready for the mask mandate to be lifted: I know fewer and fewer people by the week that are testing positive, and if the virus is becoming manageable, I think we should treat it as we treat other viruses. There is an inherent risk of getting sick by just going about your day, and given that hospitalizations have gone down so much, I think that we need to accept that risk as a new part of our lives. — CFA sophomore
Going to some public places. Standing closer, even hugging, trusted friends. Not incessantly disinfecting my area whenever someone comes in to sit or uses my desk. Not wearing gloves when handling student IDs. But continuing to wear a mask everywhere but when I eat or at home. — Residential Safety/Senior Security Assistant
Yes but if another variant comes up, I’ll put my mask back on. I am still wearing them inside public places but will look forward to taking it off. I will discriminate where and when I wear them as mandates lift. — Research coordinator, Slone Epidemiology Center
It feels a bit premature to me. The current variant does not seem to represent a significant death threat to vaccinated individuals, but I think it is a mistake to assume that this is the last variant – and that future variants will be less of a threat. Last I looked, the death rate is still high. (Boston reported 133 new confirmed deaths yesterday, 2/23 according to the Boston Globe). I also think about my yet-to-be-vaccinated 4-year-old grandson, and don’t want to bring the disease to him. I realize we are all tired and frustrated with the disease – and that it has caused a lot of stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges across our community. But I still feel that we should move cautiously so we don’t find ourselves facing yet another surge from a new variant. — Questrom lecturer
Yes. As scary as it is, I think our hospitals are more equipped with pharmaceutical interventions and understand how to treat COVID-19, and there is now a vaccine that people can receive to take additional steps to protect themselves. Masks are still able to be used for another layer of protection, but I don’t think that mandates are appropriate anymore at this stage of the virus. — SPH junior
Absolutely not. There are immunocompromised people on our campus and in our community that would be severely impacted by the loosening of COVID protections. There is still much unknown about this virus and it feels imprudent to lift restrictions. Living with COVID, for me, would mean a higher level of vaccination globally, consistent messaging from the federal government about the risks of COVID, and robust treatments for immunocompromised people. I recognize the difficulty COVID protections place on individuals, but this is the time to think collectively and protect our most vulnerable community members. — Assistant director, Office of Financial Assistance
No—I think lifting of mask mandates is premature. What does “living with the virus” mean to me? We live with viruses all the time, but those are viruses that are seasonal and do not cause significant long-term effects on our bodies. That’s not the case with COVID-19 yet. So to say this for this virus means that people are allowing their impatience with mildly annoying avoidance strategies (like mask mandates and testing) get the better of them. We are a stupid species. — CAS senior lecturer
The “Tools phase” of the pandemic has begun. We have the tools: Vaccinate, Boost, Test & Mask when required, or when the risk level is too high. I live in the city of Newton and have a child in the high school. She has missed 0 instructional days, because the school is 95% student vaccinated and teachers 100%. She had a full varsity swim season, with no meets canceled. No outbreaks on her team. I’m living my life and my family is too, but with caution and good care. We need to start to build back our muscle memory as it relates to compassion for others. Perhaps if we begin to live our lives more fully, that will show the unvaccinated that lives are being lived, and they may consider – finally – vaccinating for the good of the community. — Wheelock adjunct professor
No, I was boosted and became severely ill with COVID in January. No one should have to go through an illness that intense. We should continue to do things to protect one another like distance and wear masks. — GRS junior
Yes. There has been an overreaction to this “pandemic” and people need to be allowed to live their lives. The general public should not be mandated to cater to the terrified few. Accommodations should be extended to those individuals, not the other way around. We’ve lived with the flu forever. Why can’t we do that with this too? Mandates and masking is not a proportional response, especially when greater than 60% of current hospitalizations are from vaccinated individuals. Vaccine or not (just like the flu) people will still get it and it has a <.01% death rated. — ENG junior
I am ready to be on campus without masks. But living with Covid means hybrid work and being ready to mask up when the next wave comes. — GSDM HP & HSR, Instructor
Ready? We are living with the virus. At this point, everyone that is going to be vaccinated is vaccinated. We need to trust the science and move on. — Scene shop manager
I am not a pessimist but I think relaxing the wearing of masks during the winter season is risky. We should continue with the fight now that we seem to be having an upper hand over the pandemic. Notwithstanding my views, I respect the scientists, they know best whatever they say goes for me. — CAS senior
I teach at BU and have a child less than 5 years old. For me this question is already something I am living. I will not be doing anything different. I will still mask and distance for him and for all vulnerable individuals like him (children, compromised etc). No eating out, no crowds. I wish I could change the hearts of many to feel that it is worth keeping up masking and other measures to protect parents like me and in turn my children. My own behavior will reflect the care for others.
— CAS research assistant professor
Haven’t we already been living with the virus? We’ve had the virus twice, it’s indistinguishable from a head cold. As a family we’ve moved on long ago. Very ready for BU to institutionally move on and stop testing, remove mask mandates and stop forcing isolation. — CAS assistant professor
Because the vaccine is generally accessible to the BU population, and because the mildness is extremely higher with the vaccine, it doesn’t make sense to keep disrupting life because of what feels like a common cold. — COM junior
I think the whole concept of “living with the virus” is utterly abhorrent. Not only are disabled and immunocompromised people not able to choose to “live with the virus”, but no children under the age of 5 are vaccinated, and children have consistently been shown to be at risk for severe COVID cases. All of these people deserve to participate in society to the same extent as everyone else, and their ability to do so is directly predicated on the measures the rest of us take to limit the risk of transmission in public spaces. Furthermore, even fully vaccinated and boosted people can go on to develop severe lifelong disabilities, so “living with the virus” means choosing to condemn people to a life of disability in a country that even before the pandemic actively made it difficult for disabled people to do just about anything. — GRS sophomore
Yes, I am ready to start living with this virus because the alternative- forever living in fear of it – is not okay. I will wear a mask in situations that feel it is warranted (large gatherings, around my elderly relatives). I plan to continue with other precautions depending on the situation, but I would like to be the one making the decisions rather then following blanket mandates. Most importantly, I would like to see our students have some normalcy again. I hope for them that the mask mandate will be lifted and weekly testing discontinued. — Kilachand Honors College administrative assistant
We have been living with the virus. I don’t think that means it’s time to cast aside all safety precautions and just let it be the worries and problems of the at-risk population. Everyone talks about getting “back to normal” but that will never happen again. We need to find a more empathetic future where everyone can live safely and happily. If mask mandates go down in Boston I personally will have to choose between my job and my health. I work in foodservice and its already so hard to deal with the stress of possible exposure from those who are more careless, if mask mandates go away that risk will increase even more. I can only hope that once I graduate I can get a less public-facing job and have some level of protection, especially if the world is deciding to “move on.” — CAS senior
I am ready to start living with the virus. To me, this means continued caution when feeling ill (calling out of work/school, wearing a mask in public) and continued support by employers/schools for engaging in these safety measures (because people cannot practice pro-health behaviors without a system that supports them in doing so). Additional accommodations for such pro-health behaviors (virtual/remote learning and meeting) should continue for all students/employees who wish to engage in spread-slowing safety precautions, regardless of the illness they may have. Such responsibility on behalf of the system and the individual should allow for the removal of all public mask mandates, vaccine mandates, or other policies that are not/have not been in place for other common illnesses. — SSW senior
No. It means that older, disabled, compromised immune staff become second class members of the university, the way they are second class members of society. The idea that we risk the lives of those who are most impacted by Covid so that the people least impacted by Covid can go back to “normal” is ableist and classist. — COM part-time faculty
I am cautiously ready to “start” living as I trust science and medicine. However I think it will take some time before I feel even remotely comfortable in a packed/full space – whether that’s public transportation, in a classroom or in the grocery store. I do think that workplaces and schools should still offer a hybrid option because there are a lot of situations that families have where health risks pose a huge concern (like my parents!). We’ve proven we can be effective at remote and hybrid learning so why can’t that be our new norm if it accommodates everyone at their own need? — BUSM senior faculty
I don’t think anyone can sanely live with the virus. I know I’m prepared to wear my mask to keep myself and those around me safe but as of now I can barely remember what it was like pre-pandemic. I get anxious when people come too close to me and sitting next to a stranger feels strange. Oftentimes seeing someone without a mask makes me upset. However, people are not doing what they need to do to help fight this pandemic and at the end of the day I am willing to stay inside, wear my mask, and do whatever I can do so that our younger generation do not have to live like this. — SAR freshman
Yes, but I will still wear a mask indoors during the winter season in certain settings. This will help protect me from respiratory pathogens. — Pathology professor
I think I will forever wear a mask in public because I have multiple comorbidities for COVID. But I’m still not as afraid for myself as I am for my friends and acquaintances who are immunocompromised. Society has shown with the push to normal that it really doesn’t care about disabled people or other vulnerable communities. Especially when those who refuse to get vaccinated claim it’s okay b/c it’s their choice, but they’re really taking the lives of disabled people into their hands. Disabled people are talking publically all over the internet about how they feel their lives don’t matter. Add to that the fact that long COVID is a disabling event and now there’s going to be SO many more people in this group that society has proven it doesn’t care about or want to protect. — Alumnus
Absolutely. There is no such thing as ZERO RISK. Actions such as getting booster shots, along with taking additional precautions if/when there may be future surges helps mitigate risks. But during periods where COVID presents lower risk, I’m willing to accept the risk if it means no mandates of any kind. — Alumnus
I am not ready to start living with the virus. I am not ready to return to “normal”. I am not ready to give up on public health measures. This pandemic has taken an enormous toll on my mental, physical, and emotional health. It has put a strain on my relationships and has increased the stress of being in school, which was already unhealthily high. We are all tired of the pandemic, but I strongly believe we cannot and should not give up. Wearing a mask may be uncomfortable, yes, but it is a key preventative measure. Regular testing may be inconvenient, but it’s worth it. I don’t know my classmates’ lives and they don’t know mine, yet our lives depend on one another. A classmate’s weekend activities could result in my being infected with COVID, and vice versa. Regular testing and mask wearing is a must. No if, ands, or buts about it. — SPH freshman
“Living with the virus” sounds like we should be ready to consider it as no big deal. Most of the focus seems to be on the mildness of symptoms at the time of infection and the ease of spreading it. But a disease that leaves some people fighting to recover normal function for weeks, months, or indefinitely is not something we should just accept. Until we know how to predict who is most at risk of long COVID and can treat those symptoms, I don’t think this is a disease we should regard on the same level as the common cold. Of course, if a disease that has killed over 966,000 Americans couldn’t get us all on the same page then there’s little hope that we’ll band together to avoid a long-term affliction with such a wide range of effects and severity. — ENG junior
No. School settings are cramped and stuffy and I would not feel comfortable in them without masks and testing. “Living with the virus” is a frustrating phrase originally peddled by the same folks peddling medical misinformation that has prolonged this pandemic. Regardless, to the extent we choose to “live with the virus,” we must continue with basic, non-disruptive mitigation measures like masking and regular testing. Proceeding without these things is not “living with the virus” but pretending that the virus doesn’t exist, and will put students at risk. Disabled or immunocompromised students will be especially at risk considering the abysmal response they have received from the university and the hardships they have endured trying and failing to achieve reasonable accommodations from the institution which only seems concerned with money. — LAW second year
I have a toddler who cannot yet be vaccinated. The existence of this group of humans, and the large number of families with young children, has been repeatedly ignored by people talking about Covid-19 and how things are “normal” because of vaccination. The idea of mask mandates disappearing is rather troubling. Every time I think about doing something simple, like bringing my toddler to the grocery store, I have to do so many mental calculations about his safety. Mask mandates disappearing makes things that much harder. If we had not had mask mandates in BU classrooms this year, I really don’t know if I would have chosen to teach. — Part-time instructor and research assistant, Wheelock
No, not really. For most healthy, abled people, the virus won’t be a big deal if they’re vaxxed, but it’s pretty ableist to assume we can relax our protocols and act like the virus isn’t still among us just because *most* people don’t suffer that much from getting the virus. It’s still an issue for a lot of people and it’s a huge issue for people who are chronically ill. It’s our duty to continue to stay vigilant to protect our community. — CFA freshman
Yes. Masks are still a hindrance and many states have seen success without them. — ENG freshman
It is time to move on. Everyone who has wanted to get vaccinated and boosted has (BU has mandated it). Continuing to test people with no symptoms is also a waste. It is time to move on. One can get any other sickness or get hit by a car or the T on the way to class. We do not need to still be forcing people to live like it’s April 2023 at this point in time. — Questrom senior
“Living with the virus” is a vague phrase that has come to mean “drop all public health preventive measures.” No, I am not ready to drop all public health preventive measures. Widespread transmission of SARS-CoV-2 will continue to result in death, illness, and disability, for everyone and particularly for the socially and medically vulnerable. Widespread transmission and infection also provide opportunities for the virus to mutate in unpredictable ways. There is no evidence that widespread transmission of SARS-CoV-2 will result in long-term immunity or less-virulent strains of the virus. The responsible path forward at BU is to continue regular testing, use of high-quality masks, vaccine mandates, support for sick and caregiving community members to stay home, and opportunities for hybrid participation. — SPH sophomore
ABSOLUTELY – no masks, no testing, no restrictions, no guidelines. — Questrom junior
Yes, we can move forward but mask mandates still need to be up. Masks should still be required in crowded public places and on public transportation. — MET junior
I am ready to start living with the virus in the sense that I want to be doing all the fun things I can do as a senior in Boston without the guilt or fear of doing something wrong. I think we are seeing many things begin to loosen and operate in pre-pandemic ways. While I am fortunate enough to be healthy, I understand that everyone is not. Even though someone like me would not be scared of getting it, I also understand that not everyone has this situation. So while I personally am ready, I certainly understand the many reasons not to because we must still look out for each other. — CAS senior
Yes. We are all boosted. No masks mandated. Just if you personally want to. Symptomatic testing only. — Staff, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation.
While I do trust human ingenuity and technology, I believe that COVID-19 will always be smarter than us. Just like the flu virus, it will likely circumvent complete vaccination for years to come due to mutations in its genome. I believe we should begin to embrace this new normal. While we should continue to protect vulnerable individuals, we can’t live with masks on our faces forever. — CAS freshman
Yes, absolutely. I think that we should learn from New York and remove mask mandates. It would mean I get to live a more natural life, with things being back to normal again. Not having to wear a mask would make a huge difference when I go to the gym. It would also make a huge difference in being able to see the full appearance of people. — Questrom junior
It is long overdue that we embraced the Covid-19 virus as just another virus in our midst. In my mind, the risk for me ended once I got vaccinated in Spring 2023. I feel absolutely no need to wear a mask on this campus or anywhere else in the City of Boston, and haven’t for a long time now. Boston University should immediately drop its indoor mask mandate. Those who wish to, or need to, wear a mask should continue to do so without judgment. This is long overdue for a community of 95%+ vaccinated individuals. To this day, I do not recognize many of the students in my department. I have never seen the faces of many of our student employees! Release us and allow us to take confidence in the vaccinations and in one another. — CAS financial administrator
Realizing that the willingly unvaccinated are never going to change their minds (unless they are hospitalized), and that they make up enough of the US population to prevent herd immunity, then we must learn to live with Covid. We have no choice, as it has been forced upon us. Let’s hope that as the Omicron variant continues to decline, that a more deadly variant doesn’t rise up. We were lucky that Omicron was less deadly. Imagine if it was super contagious. — IS&T, senior automation administrator
I’m tired of watching people who barely cooperated with the most basic of measures in the first place attempt to strong arm the entire group into giving up altogether. I’ve patiently waited, gotten my vaccine doses and booster shot, observed all of the guidelines, and tried to model good behavior to my friends and family as they revealed themselves to be believers in magical thinking rather than the scientific method. The pandemic is not over, but we missed our opportunity to stop it before it became endemic. At this point, I’d prefer not to automatically know that someone disregards my safety and well-being through a casual glance at their face. — Desktop support specialist
No. My wife is immunocompromised (and I have conditions that put me at higher risk for severe illness). We don’t know if she’s protected at all, despite getting four vaccine shots. To us, relaxing now may be no different than relaxing before vaccines were in place. I get wanting to return to normal, but it essentially says “oh well, guess it’s time to see if this is something you’ll survive or not. We’re tired of protecting you, so good luck, hope you don’t die.” — Staff, College of Arts and Sciences
We kind of already are! Though long covid and lung scarring still scare me, and I’ll be keeping my guard up. — Associate director, ENG career development office
Unfortunately, yes. When people refused to wear masks or get vaccinated I began to resign myself to this reality. However, I hope that one day we can live without COVID-19. — GRS junior
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How To Reset The Start Menu On Windows 10 To Fix Bugs And Errors.
If you are having any sort of Windows 10 start menu problems, you’ll know just how hard it can be to identify and find a solution for them. Thankfully there is a way to completely reset your start menu restoring it to factory default settings.
Windows 10 has undergone two major updates since its original release, the Anniversary update and the Creators update. Come mid-October (2023) a third major update will be released, adding more features and fixing many of the remain bugs. If you are having start menu problems, such as programs failing to launch, search items not appearing or an assortment of other errors, this update may fix problems. If you’re in no mood to wait or aren’t confident these issues will be fixed in the update, below you will find a solution you can put into action straight away.
Fix Windows Start Menu Not Working Correctly.The steps detailed below will reset your Windows 10 start menu back to its factory default settings, removing any bugs or errors it has accumulated since install. Unfortunately, the process does have its drawbacks but isn’t as painful as reinstalling or resetting Windows.
Each individual Windows user account includes a user profile, which contains files and folder that store all account information, files, app settings, windows settings, desktop info, and countless other settings. On rare occasions, some of this data can become damaged or corrupted, causing quite a few random problems. As the fix for this is a partial reset of your account, you will need to make a backup of all your personal files, music pictures, documents etc. Basically any files you have stored under C:UsersAccountNameFolder. AccountNameFolder being your personal username.
The good news is that although you will have to transfer your personal files back to your account after the process, all programs and apps will remain, so you won’t have to reinstall any software. You will, however, have to redo your windows settings.
Important: Deleting a user profile will delete the user’s personal documents, photos, music, and other files, so make sure you backup or move the files to another drive.
Note: If you are trying to delete your own user account, you will need to create a new account (as an Admin) and delete the profile from there.
Once the profile has been deleted, sign out of the current account you are in and sign back into the account you just deleted, Windows will now recreate the user profile. You can now transfer your files back to your account and sync your Windows settings if you are using a Microsoft account. Or manually configure them if you are using a local account.
The Happiness And Heartbreak Of A Daughter’s First Fishing Trip
This story originally featured on Field & Stream.
We’re sitting at the dining room table as my mom recalls my love for fishing and when it started, as if I’d caught my first fish just moments ago. “I can’t remember a time you didn’t have a fishing pole in your hand,” she tells me. “The earliest memories are of Indiana, always Indiana.” My grandmother has a lake house in Indiana, where we had just visited for a vacation. “You loved everything and anything we introduced you to in nature. It was usually Grandma and I, because the three of us spent a lot of time together.”
I can hear the pure joy in her words. I might as well be back in the boat, five years old once again. For my mom, it’s a precious moment—and one that, as an adult, I had hoped to emulate with my children.
But what if a good memory doesn’t stay that way? I’m not talking about the elation of watching a child hook and fight their first fish only for the moment to end in tears after the fish gets away. Rather, instead of my mother’s joy from a memory that she’s cherished for the rest of her life, I faced the possibility of heartache as walked toward the same Indiana lake where I learned to fish with my two-year-old daughter, Gigi, fishing rod in her hand, and her brother, Milo, trailing just behind us.
Would this be a moment that I would, one day, look back on fondly? Or would it be a painful memory of a life snatched away?
Navigating the foster-care systemOur foster-care journey began three years prior. After seven years of perplexed doctors and ludicrous copays and tests, my wife and I had gone to an informational meeting for California’s Foster-to-Adopt program. We left with the paperwork to become foster parents. We couldn’t have known what was in store for us just a short time later.
When you sign up to be foster parents, it comes with all the joy of becoming a parent—a parent with every intention to adopt a child—only to receive a cold, indifferent call that your baby, the one you bonded and fell in love with immediately, will be taken from your care. Sometimes from 6,000 miles away, as happened with our first child Parker. Others with the child still in your arms, your tears falling onto their cheeks as you rock them and yourself to sleep, as happened with Teo. And others still, like Gigi, who was placed in our care, removed, returned, and put into legal limbo with no definitive outcome for so long that we welcomed her new baby brother Milo into our care a year-plus after.
There’s nothing that prepares you for foster-to-adopt. Just like there’s nothing that prepares you when becoming a parent. You try, for sure. You read the books and articles; you talk to others involved in the process. You lean on your social workers who remain steadfast in their belief that everything’s all sunshine and roses. It isn’t. It’s not so much a rollercoaster as it is falling down a mountainside—one littered with prickly bushes and sharp rocks. Maybe there’s a rope that’ll arrest your fall. Maybe there isn’t.
And that’s what makes this moment, this first time I decided to take Gigi fishing—to the same spot where I learned how to fish myself, no less—so utterly anguishing. Am I going to have to repress this memory in order to get through the day? Will I regret taking my daughter fishing every time I return here? Will my decision tarnish so many of the good memories I associate with this place?
A child’s first fishAt the water’s edge, I set down my rod, then string a bobber onto the line of Gigi’s rod and bait a small nightcrawler onto the hook. “Aw, baby worm,” she says innocently. A twinge of guilt runs through me.
“Let’s cast!” I tell her.
She instinctively grabs the rod and starts swinging. I duck for cover as the hook swings near her brother’s face and mine. I get a hold of the rod, and take Gigi in my arms and show her how to open the bail, grab the line, and cast. She makes a short cast, but then, we’re not going for tarpon here. Our sights are set far smaller—bluegills, crappie, and perch, the perfect first quarry for a beginner. And we’re in luck. Almost immediately, the bobber starts to, as Gigi puts it, “Boing, boing-ing.”
Gigi gently handles her catch. Jonathon Klein
The rod is in both of our hands, so we set the hook together. Reeling, though, proves to be a bit of a struggle. Cranking the handle clockwise doesn’t exactly come natural to a two-year-old who’s never fished a day in her life. Gigi grunts and furrows her brow before she ultimately says, “You, Daddy,” handing me the rod to reel in the fish.
I land the fish and bring it into my hands. The light hits the sunfish’s scales perfectly and it reflects onto Gigi’s smiling little face. She coos at its gold, orange, and green colors. As I unhook and get ready to place it into Gigi’s hands, I keep asking myself, Will this stay a good memory?
My wife and I had submitted Gigi and Milo’s adoption paperwork ahead of our time here at my grandmother’s Indiana lake house. Weeks had gone by and nothing was relayed to us. After years of court battles, legal issues, reunification services, and a five-day reunion with her biological family—one that would end with her back in our care after dangerous circumstances—we were once again at the mercy of the state. Close to the finish line, close to the kids being ours forever, close to never feeling helpless, despondent, and vengeful toward the world for once again putting us through what was tantamount to a living nightmare, but still unclear what the future held.
Gigi studies the fish, running her fingers across its colors, touching its fins, and looking into its eyes. I could see that she understood the fish was alive—not a toy, but something to be handled with care. Maybe I’m putting too much into the situation, but she seemed to connect with the fish, and how it came to be in her hands.
I briefly take the fish back and give Milo a chance to check it out. Then Gigi turned to me and said, “Bye, bye, fish. Go back to your mommy!” And with that, I put the fish back into her hands. She gently drops it into the lake, waving goodbye as it swims away.
No more fear“I loved to fish, and you loved it as much,” my mom tells me at the end of her recollection of when I first started fishing. “It was wonderful to see you with Gigi and Milo here in Indiana, doing the same thing we did together.”
Three weeks later, I would get an email—three sentences long: “We finally have the adoption order for the Klein family. The adoptions were complete on 9/28/2023. Have a great weekend.” Nothing more. No congratulations, no fanfare, just three sentences. There was, however, relief.
When I walked down the hill toward the lake with Gigi in tow—when I baited her hook and taught her how to case and helped her reel in that first fish—she was already ours. Which means the memory we made, the one I’d been so afraid would betray me, would stay happy memory. A memory that, like the one my mom has of me, I will treasure forever. A memory I can hold onto for the day when my daughter asks, “Dad, when was the first time you took me fishing?”
I can’t wait to tell her.
C++ Program To Get The First Item From The Array
To hold multiple elements of the same type in consecutive locations or in such a way that can be accessed sequentially. The array is one of the greatest choices. Almost any programming languages, arrays, or similar data structures are available for data holding. Arrays are linear data structure because basic operations like insert, delete, traverse, and update takes linear time to execute. Accessing array elements are also an easy task. In this article, we will see how to pick the first item from an array in C++.
Understanding the concept with examples Given array A = [10, 14, 65, 85, 96, 12, 35, 74, 69] The first element is 10For example, like the given array in the above example, the first element can be accessed using its index position. In C++ (and some other programming languages like java, python) array indices start from index 0. So to read the first index we just pick the element from the index 0.
Algorithm
Take an array A as input
first_element := is taken using A[ 0 ]
return first_element
Example# define Z 50
using namespace std;
void displayArr(int arr[], int n){ for( int i = 0; i < n; i++ ){ cout << arr[ i ] << “, “; } cout << endl; }
int pickFirstElement( int A[], int n) { int first; first = A[ 0 ]; return first; }
int main() { int A[ Z ] = {57, 10, 14, 19, 86, 52, 32, 14, 76, 65, 32, 14}; int n = 12;
cout << “Given Array: “; displayArr( A, n );
int first = pickFirstElement( A, n ); cout << “The first element of A: ” << first << endl;
int B[ Z ] = { 98, 12, 10, 23, 45, 74 }; int m = 6;
cout << “Another array: “; displayArr( B, m );
first = pickFirstElement( B, m ); cout << “The first element of B: ” << first << endl; }
Output Given Array: 57, 10, 14, 19, 86, 52, 32, 14, 76, 65, 32, 14, The first element of A: 57 Another array: 98, 12, 10, 23, 45, 74, The first element of B: 98 Using pointers and base addressArrays are the base (first) position address along with the offset (indices). So another method without the square brackets to access indices is by using pointers. To get the first element, the value of the base address of the array can be used. Let us see the implementation for a clearer view.
Example# define Z 50
using namespace std;
void displayArr(int arr[], int n){ for( int i = 0; i < n; i++ ){ cout << arr[ i ] << “, “; } cout << endl; }
int pickFirstElement( int A[], int n) { int first; first = *A; return first; }
int main() { int A[ Z ] = {57, 10, 14, 19, 86, 52, 32, 14, 76, 65, 32, 14}; int n = 12;
cout << “Given Array: “; displayArr( A, n );
int first = pickFirstElement( A, n ); cout << “The first element of A: ” << first << endl;
int B[ Z ] = { 98, 12, 10, 23, 45, 74 }; int m = 6;
cout << “Another array: “; displayArr( B, m );
first = pickFirstElement( B, m ); cout << “The first element of B: ” << first << endl; }
Output Given Array: 57, 10, 14, 19, 86, 52, 32, 14, 76, 65, 32, 14, The first element of A: 57 Another array: 98, 12, 10, 23, 45, 74, The first element of B: 98Here the value of A (written with pointer *A) indicates the value of the address pointed by A. This is the base address for the array.
Using VectorsVectors are dynamic arrays, otherwise, the entire thing is similar to the arrays. Here also to read the first element, we just access the first index which is 0. The code is like below −
Example# define Z 50
using namespace std;
for( int i = 0; i < v.size() ; i++ ){ cout << v[ i ] << “, “; } cout << endl; }
int first; first = A[ 0 ]; return first; }
int main() {
cout << “Given Array: “; displayArr( A );
int first = pickFirstElement( A ); cout << “The first element of A: ” << first << endl;
cout << “Another array: “; displayArr( B );
first = pickFirstElement( B ); cout << “The first element of B: ” << first << endl; }
Output Given Array: 57, 10, 14, 19, 86, 52, 32, 14, 76, 65, 32, 14, The first element of A: 57 Another array: 98, 12, 10, 23, 45, 74, The first element of B: 98 Using the vector iterators begin() functionIn the previous method, we are taking elements using index 0 but there is another possible way out. We can use the begin() method which returns the address of the first element. Let us see the code for a clearer view.
Example# define Z 50
using namespace std;
for( int i = 0; i < v.size() ; i++ ){ cout << v[ i ] << “, “; } cout << endl; }
int first; first = *A.begin(); return first; }
int main() {
cout << “Given Array: “; displayArr( A );
int first = pickFirstElement( A ); cout << “The first element of A: ” << first << endl;
cout << “Another array: “; displayArr( B );
first = pickFirstElement( B ); cout << “The first element of B: ” << first << endl; }
Output Given Array: 57, 10, 14, 19, 86, 52, 32, 14, 76, 65, 32, 14, The first element of A: 57 Another array: 98, 12, 10, 23, 45, 74, The first element of B: 98 ConclusionFor the method to read the first element from the array, we have seen four different methods. The first two are based on the static array implementation in C++. To read the first element we just take the element from index 0. The same thing can be done using the pointer of the base address of the array. The base address points to the first block and the value present at that index will be the first element. In the next two methods, we have used vectors. Here also the approaches are the same as static arrays. The final method uses begin() for vector iterators which return the address of the first element in vector elements.
Nfts For Beginners: Where To Start And What’s Ahead?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been the buzzword across social networks for quite some time. Although around for years, they rose to mainstream popularity between 2023 and 2023. In 2023, digital artist Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann sold his NFT collage of 5000 pictures titled ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days’ for
The BasicsThe acronym NFT stands for non-fungible token. Each NFT contains a piece of identifying information that distinguishes it from all others. Since no two NFTs are the same, they can’t be traded or exchanged at an equivalent price or broken down into smaller units. Additionally, they can’t be interchanged or replaced, unlike fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Although one Bitcoin can be exchanged for another at a 1:1 ratio, just like a dollar bill can be replaced by another dollar bill of equivalent value, NFTs are not interchangeable. Each NFT has its own cryptographic signature, meaning it can’t be forged or manipulated. Although NFTs aren’t directly exchangeable for other NFTs, you can trade NFTs on secondary marketplaces, and use them across blockchain games, Web3, and the Metaverse.
How To Get Started?To get started with NFTs, you’ll need a digital wallet and cryptocurrency. The wallet will store your NFTs, and the cryptocurrency will be used to pay for the gas fees required to move the NFT from one wallet address to another. Gas fees vary depending on the network and NFT platform you choose. Among the available NFT on-ramps, one of the easiest ways to get started is by entering the
The Road AheadWhile art, music, and collectibles have a niche audience, gamified NFTs like the ones used in Play-to-Earn (P2E) games, Web3 ecosystems, and Metaverse projects offer new avenues for NFTs to flourish. By introducing true asset ownership and unlocking monetary potential, NFTs harbor the ability to create untold value for their holders.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been the buzzword across social networks for quite some time. Although around for years, they rose to mainstream popularity between 2023 and 2023. In 2023, digital artist Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann sold his NFT collage of 5000 pictures titled ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days’ for $69.3 million . Mirroring Beeple’s success, other popular collections like Cryptokitties, CryptoPunks, HUMAN ONE, and hundreds more raked in millions of dollars during the frenzy. Rapid adoption echoed the high valuations, sending trading volumes of NFTs surging by nearly 21,000% in 2023 to cross more than $17 billion – an enormous increase compared to the $82 million in comparable volume reached in 2023. With the emergence of blockchain games, Web3, and the Metaverse, NFTs are quickly becoming the glue that connects these expanding ecosystems. NFTs aren’t traditional cryptocurrencies, but an intriguing form of digital assets that are powering new novel use chúng tôi acronym NFT stands for non-fungible token. Each NFT contains a piece of identifying information that distinguishes it from all others. Since no two NFTs are the same, they can’t be traded or exchanged at an equivalent price or broken down into smaller units. Additionally, they can’t be interchanged or replaced, unlike fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Although one Bitcoin can be exchanged for another at a 1:1 ratio, just like a dollar bill can be replaced by another dollar bill of equivalent value, NFTs are not interchangeable. Each NFT has its own cryptographic signature, meaning it can’t be forged or manipulated. Although NFTs aren’t directly exchangeable for other NFTs, you can trade NFTs on secondary marketplaces, and use them across blockchain games, Web3, and the chúng tôi get started with NFTs, you’ll need a digital wallet and cryptocurrency. The wallet will store your NFTs, and the cryptocurrency will be used to pay for the gas fees required to move the NFT from one wallet address to another. Gas fees vary depending on the network and NFT platform you choose. Among the available NFT on-ramps, one of the easiest ways to get started is by entering the Binance NFT Marketplace , and even more so if you are an existing Binance user. You can simply log in to your account, access the Binance NFT marketplace, and use your Binance wallet to buy NFTs. You can even list your NFTs for auction on the platform. One of the most defining characteristics of the Binance NFT marketplace is its cost-efficiency. While most other platforms charge 2.50% to 5.00% transaction fees on secondary transactions and as much as 15.00% on primary transactions, Binance NFT Marketplace has a flat fee of 1.00%, helping users maximize the value of each transaction. Moreover, compared to other platforms, you can mint your own NFT at a nominal fee of 0.000001 BNB (less than $0.001 at today’s market value of BNB ).While art, music, and collectibles have a niche audience, gamified NFTs like the ones used in Play-to-Earn (P2E) games, Web3 ecosystems, and Metaverse projects offer new avenues for NFTs to flourish. By introducing true asset ownership and unlocking monetary potential, NFTs harbor the ability to create untold value for their holders. For instance, the first-ever mafia-themed Metaverse RPG game MOBLANDS recently introduced a new revenue-generating model called “ NFT 3.0 .” This approach unlocks additional utility and business models on top of the game’s virtual land and real estate. The first iteration of NFT 3.0 is the game’s Digital WEED Farms. These farms are upgradeable and come with revenue-generating business licenses to produce in-game weed. Farm owners earn in-game rewards by simply operating the farm and can also lend their farms to other players to earn a share of the revenue from the borrower. Another emerging initiative, Fashion League , is a female-led P2E game that aims to unlock new utilities for NFTs by leveraging Web3 and the Metaverse. The game offers an RPG experience focused on fashion alongside a platform to display and monetize digital products. To empower first-time users to enter the world of NFTs, Fashion League offers social play elements and grants players access to a proprietary 3D design tool to create unique clothing designs without prior knowledge. With the sheer number of emerging platforms and no-code NFT infrastructure flooding the market, it has never been easier to get started. More importantly, NFTs have applications in almost every industry. New projects are unlocking even more use cases for NFTs, such as NFTs for real estate, healthcare, supply chain management, identity verification, and more. Because they represent a unique source of value, anything of value can theoretically be tokenized, which is precisely where NFTs are heading.
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