From: Jonathan Allen
Date: January 28, 2021
Subject: Student organizations update
Dear students,
As we move into the start of the semester, I wanted to make you aware of the following updates regarding student organizations and the College’s expectations of them this spring. I recognize there is quite a bit of information in this email, and I encourage all students who are part of an organization or who wish to be part of an organization to read it in its entirety.
Student leaders who have not registered their student organization for the 2020-2021 academic year should do so immediately if their organization plans to be active in the spring semester. To re-register a group that has existed in the past, please visit the Groups page on engageGettysburg, find your organization, and click the "Group Re-Registration" button next to your club's name. Students who are looking to start a new club should click the “Register New Student Organization” button at the top of the Groups page. Prior to starting a new organization, please review the list of existing clubs to see what opportunities may already exist.
If there have been any changes to your organization’s membership, officers, or advisor, please update the information in engageGettysburg using your club's dashboard.
To align with the changes in the Student Behavior Rubric, the College has updated its expectations for student organizations and the sanctions for groups that are found to be in violation of them. A copy of the new protocols for student organizations and the organizational behavior rubric can be found in the attachments section at the end of this email and on the Student organizations expectations and Behavior rubric tabs of the COVID Information and Updates section of the College’s website.
While many of these protocols, such as enforcing mask-wearing and physical distancing, align with the individual student expectations, there are additional requirements for student organizations that members should note. These include registering all in-person events and meetings, submitting a safety plan for in-person gatherings, and attendance tracking at in-person organizationally sponsored activities. I encourage members of all student organizations to review and become familiar with these expectations and the behavior rubric.
If your organization is hosting a program fully virtually or with a virtual component, and the event is open to individuals outside of your organization’s membership, we ask that you register the event on 25Live using the *Remote Engagement-Virtual Calendar event type, so it is easily searchable for those looking for virtual programming options.
In order to provide more direct support to student organizations, the Office of Student Activities & Greek Life will be launching a new student organizations liaison program this semester. Liaisons will serve as the primary point of contact within the office for all organizations within a particular group category and are meant to be an additional resource to help student leaders manage their organizations, plan events and programs, and navigate College policies and protocols. The liaison assignments for the spring semester are as follows:
Academic – Paige Cook
Arts & Music – Caitlin Lindsay
Cultural – Jon Allen
Media – Jon Allen
Political – Jon Allen
Religious – Jon Allen
Service – Caitlin Lindsay
Social – Paige Cook
Special Interest – Caitlin Lindsay
Sports/Recreation – Caitlin Lindsay
Liaisons will be reaching out to the presidents of registered organizations in the coming days to introduce themselves, but if you have questions before that, please do not hesitate to contact them.
An important new expectation for student organizations this semester is that groups must have at least one member complete the Spring 2021 Student Organization Training before they can register in-person gatherings. An organization must also have a trained member present at all in-person events or meetings. All students who are part of the residential cohort can access this training through the “My Checklists” sidebar on the engageGettysburg platform starting tomorrow, January 29th, at 1 pm.
Under current Pennsylvania COVID-19 guidelines, student organization activities in indoor spaces are limited to 10% capacity and outdoor activities are limited to 15%. A list of commonly-used meeting and event spaces can be found below with their new occupancies. These occupancies can also be found for all spaces in 25Live under the heading “PA State COVID percentage based restriction for EVENTS”. It will be important for student leaders to keep these gathering limitations in mind while planning for the spring semester. If organizations need help identifying programming options, they should contact their OSAGL liaison.
|
Venue |
Event/Meeting Capacity |
|
Stine Lake |
290 |
|
The Attic |
Approximately 30 (based on layout) |
|
Mara Auditorium |
29 |
|
Quarry Pavilion |
15 |
|
Wright 100 |
13 |
|
CUB 260 |
12 |
|
Bowen Auditorium |
11 |
|
Science Center 200 |
10 |
|
OME Basement |
10 |
|
Lyceum |
10 |
|
CUB 208 |
10 |
Please note that Pennsylvania guidelines for class activities and student organization activities are different. When spaces are being used as classrooms, they can hold significantly more people. Student organizations must abide by the stricter guidelines even if members have witnessed spaces accommodate more people for classes.
While in-person gatherings may occur, it is recommended that groups always provide a virtual option to participate. This will allow students who are in the remote cohort, and those who do not feel comfortable attending in-person, to continue to be actively engaged with the organization.
The Office of Student Activities & Greek Life will be hosting a Virtual Activities Fair on Wednesday, February 17 from 4 pm to 6 pm through the engageGettysburg platform. Additional information about how student organizations can sign up for the fair and how students can attend it will be sent out in the coming days.
As an important part of the student experience at Gettysburg College, we are committed to supporting the work of our student organizations especially during what will be a semester like no other. If there is anything we can do to help your group or if you need help starting a new group, please do not hesitate to reach out to your OSAGL liaison or email the office at osagl@gettysburg.edu.
Thank you,
Jon
Jon Allen | Director
He/Him/His
Gettysburg College | Student Activities & Greek Life
300 North Washington Street | Gettysburg, PA 17325
Phone: 717-337-6304 | www.gettysburg.edu
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