Surprise Lake Day Announcement
On the morning of Sept. 28, 2022, President Paula Johnson announced that classes were canceled to celebrate Lake Day. Lake Day began as a tradition in the early 1980s and featured an unplanned day of fun without classes. In the afternoon, the Schneider Board of Governors (SBOG) hosted an event on Severance Green complete with refreshments, games, a photo booth and information tables from the Office of Student Wellness, the Alumnae Association and PERA. Health Services also hosted a flu vaccination clinic at this event to vaccinate students before flu season begins.
Wellesley College Science Complex Opening Celebration
Wellesley College celebrated the opening of the newest portions of the Science Center on Monday, Oct. 3. To kick off the start of the event, College President Paula Johnson and Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito gave the opening remarks. Following this, Reshma Kewalramani M.D., CEO and president of Vertex Pharmaceuticals delivered the keynote address. The College also hosted a panel discussion featuring Jake Auchincloss, US Representative for Massachusetts; Dana Im ’10 M.D Director of quality and safety and the ER of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Kewalrami; and Nergis Mavalvala ’90 Ph.D., dean of MIT School of Science and Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics.
COVID-19 booster clinic
On Monday, Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., students were given the opportunity to get the new bivalent COVID-19 booster shot at the Tishman Commons booster clinic. Students were encouraged to pre-register, but regardless of registration status, some students reported that the lines at the clinic were long and the times for appointments were hard to accommodate into their busy schedules. Effective Dec. 1, 2022, all Wellesley students will be required to upload evidence of a COVID-19 bivalent booster shot to the patient portal.
Student Debt Relief
The U.S. Department of Education under the Biden-Harris administration has opened the student debt relief form as of Oct. 17. Applicants can receive up to $20,000 or $10,000 in debt relief depending on if they received a Federal Pell Grant or not and meet the income requirements. The debt relief applies to loan balances received before June 30, 2022. For Wellesley College students, those who received loans during the 2020-2021 school year and before could be eligible. For more information and the application, visit studentaid.gov.
