Dear
First_Name,
As the president of the Graduate Student Council (GSC), I am reaching out in light of the recent COVID-19 policies and how the various bans affect graduate students going forward.
To begin, I would like to highlight the specific portion of President Snyder’s March 10th email which addresses gatherings: “
In addition, effective today, the university will prohibit all on-campus meetings, gatherings and/or conferences larger than 25 people”. We recognize that additional language on gatherings from various sources has been released since President Snyder’s email confirming the university’s concern with large gatherings of people.
As a reflection of these concerns, GSC has suspended the funding of student activities. We encourage you to stay healthy and practice safe social distancing. GSC, in line with the university’s policies and CDC’s recommendations, discourages student groups from meeting in person.
As per my email to student org leaders, GA reps, student body presidents, and school administrators indicated, this suspension of funding begins today, March 17th and affects any event between now and when the ban is lifted. This includes any events that already received budgetary approval. GSC will continue to reimburse students for any events that took place prior to Tuesday, March 17th. Student organizations may plan activities after April 20th and submit budgets for these events, however, if the ban is extended, so too will the suspension of student activities funding.
All GSC sponsored events are canceled. This includes committee meetings, all remaining happy hours, and the GSAW ball. If you purchased a ticket to GSAW ball, the refund process has begun. If you do not see your refund by this March 23, please email
gscinfo@case.edu.
Additionally, all GSC Professional Development Funds are frozen to reflect the restrictions on travel. All students who were awarded funding will receive individual emails this week.
After all this bad news and disappointing end to the semester, GSC is still functioning through these confusing times! If there are issues that you have, or questions you still cannot find the answer to, please email
gscinfo@case.edu. We will do what we can to find answers in a timely manner.
We encourage you to interact with your classmates and colleagues in healthy ways. Stay mindful of your mental health and do what you can to end the semester strong! As a graduating law student myself, I am also disappointed to watch the campus lose its vibrancy at the end of my academic career. However, I put together a list for everyone out there what I plan to do to stay upbeat during these changing times.
My top 5 ways of staying socially distant but still sane:
- Take a walk through a Metropark! I recommend Rocky River Reservation.
- Call all those relatives you promised you would contact over your holiday break- you even have time to teach your Grandma how to facetime.
- Spring Cleaning! Or at the very least crack open your windows. It is surprisingly pleasant weather outside!
- If you must fall into a media binge I recommend the podcast For Scores. It’s a half-hour podcast that interviews famous Disney movie score composers. Think: Alan Silvestri who wrote Avengers and Germaine Franco who composed the music for Coco.
- Try out some new recipes. When calling your relatives (see number 2) ask your Aunt Marnie for her cherry bar recipe.
This is an evolving situation and we will keep you updated as information becomes available to us as it relates to student organizations. If you have any specific questions, please email
gscinfo@case.edu.
The executive board is collectively monitoring this email. The Graduate Student Council is remotely here for you through our laptop screens to support our community during this confusing time. Please reach out if there’s anything we can help with.
Best,
Ashley