OSA Communication On In-Person Activities
Dear Students/Student Organizations,
We wanted to provide further explanation about the In-Person Event Request process that was mentioned in the recent message from the University outlining expectations for the campus community post-Quiet Period.
There has been lots of anticipation for in-person activities to begin, and we appreciate the care and concern so many of you have demonstrated by maintaining virtual interactions among members of your student organizations. However, it is important to remember that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and that we live within a vulnerable community to whom we owe collective responsibility.
As we move out of the Quiet Period and into this next phase of campus life, we will begin to move about campus more, but are still being asked to restrict our in-person interactions. Though more facilities around campus will be open for us to use, we should still be limiting non-essential contact with those who live outside of our households and are not part of our established social pods. In sum, you can see more places, not more faces.
Spring 2021 Student Group Guidance and the In-Person Event Request Form are now available on the Office of Student Affairs website. We want to be completely transparent about the types of events that will most immediately be considered for approval. These events fall into the Tier One structure and will generally proceed as follows:
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Grab and Go: These events would need to be held on campus and follow specific protocols like participant registration, checking Open Passes, mask-wearing, social distancing, etc. This event type would allow individuals to pick up:
- materials for a virtual program
- welcome materials for a new group
- food to be eaten at residence
As you might expect, there are limited facilities that can support in-person activities, both indoors and outdoors, and factors like cleaning between events must be considered when determining which space(s) can accommodate proposed events. This will create a natural limit to the number of events which can be hosted on any given day and will require flexibility among organizations.
To help clarify expectations and answer questions, Katie Bonner, Executive Director of the OSA will join the February 4th SAC GBM to discuss Group Guidance and the OSA will host a Zoom Session on Tuesday, February 9th at 8pm that will be open to students, faculty and staff. Please register in advance.
We know groups are eager to submit in-person plans for approval and want to encourage everyone to be realistic about what is feasible at this period. This pathway for limited in-person activity will prove to be frustrating for many if proposed events do not meet the thresholds described in the Student Group Guidance.
Opportunities to interact beyond our pods may not be arising as quickly as we would prefer. However, the better we do in keeping numbers low, the more spaces and eventually, new faces, we can incorporate into our lives at Penn.
With appreciation for your partnership,
Grayson Peters, Chair, Student Activities Council
Mercedes Owens, President, Undergraduate Assembly
Katie Bonner, Executive Director, Office of Student Affairs