[ASA-Official] [ASA OFFICIAL] Orientation Midway 8/27 | Student Activities Survey | Access form for space | LEF/ARCADE delay | Exec board policies

[Rebecca Mae Black]

Dear Student Group Leaders,


Please read the following announcements carefully:


>> Fall Orientation Midway: 8/27/20, 11AM-1PM ET

>> Student activities survey

>> Access to student group spaces in the fall

>> LEF/ARCADE continuing to be delayed

>> Reminder on executive board policies


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Fall Orientation Midway: 8/27/20, 11AM-1PM ET


The fall Orientation Midway will be virtual and held on Thursday, August 27th from 11 AM to 1 PM Eastern Time, and will be using the same platform <midway.mit.edu> that was developed in the spring for the CP* Midway -- we are currently in the process of updating the website to reference Orientation and the appropriate dates/times. If groups wish to have a Zoom call to interact with new students during the event, they are responsible for making their own Zoom link that is protected by MIT certificates (by checking the “Only authenticated users can join” box when creating a meeting.) The Zoom links can be posted on your group’s page on the website and will be displayed at the time of the event for students to access. (Groups may choose to use another virtual chat platform, though we encourage the use of Zoom because of its ability to use MIT certificates and prevent external spam.) The website itself will remain up for incoming students who cannot attend the event synchronously to explore groups afterwards. After feedback from student groups during CP*, the website/event is being advertised much more strongly than the CP* website was.


If your group participated in the CP* Midway and still has the link needed to access and edit your group’s page, you do not need to take any further action to register, and can edit and update your page freely.


If you did not participate in the spring Midway and your group does not have a page on the website, or you did participate but would like to change your primary contact email or be re-sent your access link to edit your page, you must fill out this form <https://engage.mit.edu/submitter/form/start/431969> by Wednesday, August 19th at 11:59 PM ET, to provide sufficient time to upload new groups to the website and give time for groups to populate their pages. After your new page has been created or your submission has been processed, the primary contact email you listed will receive a link that will allow you to edit your group’s page and upload any information, media, performance videos, or Zoom links. Start thinking now about what materials you would like to put together to share!


If you have any issues with the form or your group is not on the list and you believe you should still attend, please email us at <asa-exec at mit.edu<mailto:asa-exec at mit.edu>>.


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Student activities survey


To assess how student group activities have been impacted by the campus closure, we will be partnering with the UA to distribute a survey on how student groups were affected by the spring semester closure, what virtual events have been planned and how successful they were, and what challenges student groups foresee themselves facing in the fall semester. This information will help us better advocate to the administration for student group needs and pitch in on any relevant policy decisions. Stay tuned for that survey to come out soon (date TBD)!


If your group is already considering or implementing virtual events or activities, the upcoming survey will ask about what those events look like and what challenges groups are facing in making them happen. A blogger from MIT admissions is also interested in sharing with admitted students what creative and innovative ways student groups have been staying active in this virtual world. If you are interested in sharing what your group has adjusted to being virtual or what virtual events you have held/are planning to hold, you can fill out this form: <https://forms.gle/QBUu5tZv5nfxW18a8>.


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Access to student group spaces in the fall


As mentioned above, the ASA has begun discussing with DSL and SOLE the challenges we expect student groups to face in the fall semester, and we hope that feedback on the upcoming survey will help us better advocate for student groups’ needs. A form exists for student groups to request access to their storage or office space for any necessary reasons. It can be found after logging into <engage.mit.edu> under the “Forms” tab, titled “Access to Student Organization Office/Storage”. Please email <sole at mit.edu<mailto:sole at mit.edu>> with any questions or concerns about the process.


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LEF/ARCADE continuing to be delayed


With no student life fee this year, we do not know the status of the Large Event Fund and Assisting Recurring Cultural and Diversity Events grants. Until we know whether or not we are receiving funds to allocate for those grants, we will not be opening the summer application cycle (for events through September.) As soon as we have an update on whether we can distribute funds, we will update student groups on what the funding situation will be for the upcoming cycles. If you have an event that you are seeking funding for, please don’t hesitate to reach out to <asa-treasurer at mit.edu<mailto:asa-treasurer at mit.edu>> to let us know what you’re working on and figure out how we can support you!


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Reminder on executive board policies


The ASA has received some questions on policies for students on leave in the fall semester: understanding that many students may choose to not return to MIT this semester, we feel it is still appropriate to uphold the policies in our bylaws (http://asa.mit.edu/asa-policies/asa-guidelines-and-bylaws) that a group’s president, treasurer, and financial signatories must be registered MIT students (ie. it is most appropriate that the one at the head of the group and anyone moving money around is a registered student,) and at least 50% of an executive board must consist of registered MIT students.


If any group is facing issues with their membership or executive board with many students taking a leave, please reach out to the ASA so we can help work with you during this difficult year and support your group until students are back on campus!

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We hope you are all doing well and staying safe; as always, please feel free to email <asa-exec at mit.edu> with any requests, questions, or other inquiries.



Sincerely,

The ASA Executive Board

<http://web.mit.edu/asa/about/board-members.html<https://owa.exchange.mit.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=yJZiAshjpbls53XEeUTtaeG7QyQZOrRww1ynwDsXIq7mEiCV5MHWCA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fweb.mit.edu%2fasa%2fabout%2fboard-members.html>>
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