MIT Lindy Hop Society 2022-2023 Club Update

[Victoria Preston]

Hello dancers,

March of 2020 was our last full community celebration of swing before the
Covid-19 pandemic uprooted our lives and routines. In Fall of 2021, LHS was
able to tentatively start dancing again, although at a drastically reduced
capacity. *This spring, in light of continued disruption from Covid,
changing MIT policy, and federal guidelines, we will once again be only
tentatively hosting dances for MIT student attendees, with several
opportunities for community members to engage with us as instructors or
DJs.* *Community members or students who are interested in instruction or
DJing positions should fill in this form
<https://forms.gle/NupqXgY3aJPu8BGr8> and we will follow-up with you! *

As we look forward to Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, it is impossible to know
whether there will be continued covid-related precautions, however, we
wanted to let our broader community know that *MIT SOLE and ASA has
specifically requested that MIT LHS remain at partial capacity through
August 2023, only holding dances for MIT students with limited, formal
roles for instructors and DJs outside of the MIT student body.* This
request was made after a review of LHS activities in the several years
preceding Covid-19, and comes from a place of concern, on MIT's part, that
LHS was not sufficiently building a strong student-oriented presence on
campus.

*We want to unequivocally state that we believe that the best way to run a
social dancing club is to be social -- to have students, MIT community
members, MIT affiliates, and community members at large together learning,
practicing, and teaching dance. *While student leaders will continue to
work with SOLE and the ASA to keep LHS in good standing with MIT, which
provides the venue that has allowed our social dances to be free for many
years, stores our gear, and supports our club activities, we ask that all
LHS members stay patient as we navigate the next year before we can once
again -- Covid and MIT-willing -- all be together again.
*Students who would like to help us make our case are encouraged to list
themselves as LHS members through engage
(https://mit.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/lindyhopsociety
<https://mit.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/lindyhopsociety>). *

As for this Spring, be on the look-out for an email announcing *the return
of MIT student learning socials, Thursdays 5-7PM, starting March 3rd.
Community members who would like to engage with us in a formal role
(instructor, DJ) this Spring can contact us through this form
<https://forms.gle/NupqXgY3aJPu8BGr8>.*

We sincerely appreciate all of the support since March 2020, and hope to
continue building a strong student core that can welcome everyone back to
campus in Fall 2023. In the meantime, we will attempt to share ways in
which all community members can dance and socialize outside of LHS events,
and ways to get MIT students out into the swing community. If you have any
specific comments, concerns, or questions, please email
lindy-society-officers at mit.edu. Thank you very much for your patience and
understanding.

With appreciation,
LHS Officers (Victoria Preston, Sara Sheffels, Anna Zeng, and Daniel Mark)
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