COVID-19

Obviously, it is a strange time to be operating and starting a student organization. Given our affiliation with the University of Colorado and understanding of the current health, safety, and economic crisis, we want to make our policy around the pandemic clear and easily accessible.

​

​

We will be following the guidance of CU. Especially if you choose to attend meetings in person, we ask that you review CU's COVID-19 Health & Safety Policy prior to attending. Additionally, you can review the university's Updates & Guidelines web-page. 

​

1) FAQs 

​

How will meetings be held?

• We will be hosting every meeting remotely over Zoom, and some meetings simultaneously in-person. 

What does hosting remotely and in-person simultaneously look like? We are exploring a few possibilities and open to suggestions. For now, some ideas are:​

• Having leadership members set up their computers or tablets facing the group, & turning each to the Zoom call. These devices will have video & audio pinned to 1-3 Zoom attendees via. breakout rooms.

• Having one computer set up to the Zoom call, instead of several computers.

• Having every person that's present in-person come with a computer, tablet, or other device (we will provide these if necessary) and join the Zoom call. 

• Having two meetings go on simultaneously - one in-person and one remote, each led by a different leadership member each week.

Which meetings will be hosted in-person?

• While the weather is nice, we would like to host meetings in-person outdoors to mitigate the possibility of the spread of COVID-19... so probably though October and again in the spring. We may have to make game-time decisions to cancel the in-person meeting.

• If possible, we would like to host in-person meetings indoors in large spaces, but are not sure as to the availability of spaces large enough to permit social distancing. Additionally, we are awaiting guidance from the Center for Student Involvement. For now, we estimate that meetings will not be held in-person indoors for the Fall semester.

Does it matter which meeting I join?

• Absolutely not. Please do whatever you are most comfortable with. 

What are you doing to mitigate the spread of COVID at in-person meetings?

• First, we are asking that all members review our policies for attending in-person prior to coming to the meeting. You can find those directly below.

• Second, if more than 10 people, including leadership, are present at a meeting, we will either...​

1. If we are meeting outside, separate into two groups. Each group will be led by a different leadership member.

2. If we are meeting inside and have a pre-approved secondary meeting space, separate into two groups and have one group assemble in the secondary meeting space. For example, we may reserve room 101 and 102 and have half of the meeting attendees go to each room.

3. If we are meeting inside and do not have a pre-approved secondary meeting space, ask later attendees to leave and join remotely. We do not anticipate this being a problem, but we may have you RSVP for our meetings so we can book space appropriately.

• Third, we will not be offering food at any meetings. Hopefully we can do this in subsequent semesters... but we just can't do it this Fall!

​

2) Policies for Attending In-Person

 

In order to protect the health & safety of all members, we ask that those participating who choose to come in-person follow our policies for in-person attendance:

• Please wear masks to meetings and keep them on the entire time. If you need a mask, contact one of our co-presidents and we will help you get a mask. We will also be providing them in limited quantities (2-3) per meeting but PLEASE do not rely on this.

• Please keep yourself at a distance of at least 6 feet apart from all other parties. A party means people that you live with - either in the same dorm room or the same apartment. 

• Please refrain from hugging, shaking hands, or touching other participants.

• Please do not share food with other parties. :( We're sorry! We just want to be safe.

​

3) Policies for Attending Remotely

 

Meeting remotely can be difficult, so here are a few best practices to ensure that our meetings go smoothly:

• Mute yourself when you are not speaking... yes, we can hear you type.

• Turn on your video so we can see your face! :D That way we can recognize each other and say hi in case we run into each other in person!

• If you need to leave the meeting temporarily to deal with something in person, turn off your video so we know you are not present and participating.

​

4) Additional Considerations

 

It is an extremely stressful time to be attending university and seeking a college degree, not to mention getting involved in an activist society... but we want it to be fun and rewarding, too. Therefore, we ask that you do your best to remain respectful of one another and the choices made by other members to protect themselves, their peers, and their communities.

 

A member's decision to attend remotely or in-person is completely their own... and completely valid. Please be kind to other members and do not look down upon their decision to attend meetings however they wish. Not only are there physical health considerations to make, but also mental health ones, economic ones, social ones... and you have no right to decide what is the appropriate choice for members to make.

 

That being said, if you have concerns that meetings are not being held safely, we encourage you to reach out to us immediately, so we can make meetings safer. If that means switching to fully remote, we will do so.

​

Also, if you contract COVID, are getting tested, or are in isolation or quarantined... and have been to in-person meetings... please let us know as soon as you can so we can ensure that all other members are safe.

​

Thank you for understanding. 

​

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to the club email or directly to leadership. We want to answer your questions and make the S.J.S. a space where you feel safe, heard, and loved.

​