and now.....
Okay! Here we are! It is July 6, 2020 and you've just found out some pretty disappointing news! Even if you are a first-year (also, HI) and you're coming back this news is pretty daunting or if you're an upperclass student applying to return (also, stressful!) you know campus as you know it is not the campus you'll be coming to. And, for the rest of y'all, you'll be staying right where you are which is probably not great. It's not bad but it's not great either and everything feels terrible.
Did you think this post would be rainbows and sunshine? Sorry not sorry but I’m going to talk to yall like the future world leaders we hope you will be and that means making it real plain: everything is kind of sh*t right now.
But here’s the thing: you, yes you, are in the absolute best place to be in this current world of sh*t. I promise you this.
You’ve got TEEEAAAMMMS of people advocating for you – just little old you – to be in the best place possible in order for you to thrive. And that’s no small feat. You’ve got the Dean of Students Office to answer your questions about returning to campus. You’ve got the Financial Aid office at faoinfo@fas.harvard.edu to answer your questions about how your financial aid is impacted. You’ve got a whole subscription list for your families and loved ones to use to answer basically anything. Just click here: http://eepurl.com/g9uP05.
And you’ve got our great new Faculty Deans Stephen and Kiran, our Academic Coordinator Sarah Caughey, and House Administrator Paris Sanders, our Building Manager Frantz Gideon, our whole custodial team led by Oshawney Williams, our HUDS team (David, Sofia and Michelle, we miss you!), our ever-enthusiastic scholar-in-residence Jonathan Kempner, our loyal and trusting resident tutor corp and of course, always, you have me to reach out to for anything. I'd offer Biggie, as well, but we all know Biggie is waiting on y'all to serve him and nothing else.
None of us may be able to give you concrete information and we definitely won’t give you information you will like, that is for sure! But we will hear you and will respond to you and right now that is huge.
I can’t tell you how things will look over the next 6 months and I’m not going to make false promises because I don’t want to disappoint you further. you will be disappointed. That’s a fact. You will also have opportunities to choose how you will respond to said disappointment. You will have opportunities to choose how you will face these challenges. Those are choices. We are all here to empower you to make the best choice for you.
Own that power.
And let’s go, we've got work to do.
Lastly, I deeply deeply apologize for how confusing the information below seems. It's A LOT of information with a lot of conditions that depend on still unknown factors. Thusly, confusion. At the very least, there are whole teams of people at the ready to respond to your concerns. Just reach out.
Enrollment Confirmation Form – Open July 6–July 24 in my.harvard. ALL STUDENTS must complete. Students who complete LEQ should submit after receiving decision from the review committee no later than July 24 at 11:59pm.
Ok, finally I promise, for those of you intending to return or to petition to return to campus you should consider this choice very seriously. Campus is not the same. To that end, you will need to review and submit a signed agreement. I think it's in everyone's best interest to really parse through it just to get a clearer sense of where we are right now: https://dso.college.harvard.edu/files/dso/files/community_compact-6_5_20.pdf
Very Truly Yours,
DC
IF THIS THEN THAT, Important Forms and Deadlines
Take note that one of the important deadlines is July 24th. July 24th is my birthday. THIS MEANS ONLY GOOD THINGS CAN HAPPEN ON THIS DAY, ITS A PROVEN SCIENTIFIC FACT.
• IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO LEARN SUCCESSFULLY IN YOUR CURRENT ENVIRONMENT THEN FILL THIS OUT --> Learning Environment Questionnaire (LEQ, open until July 13, closes at 11:59pm EST).
Once you complete it, wait until you receive a response from the review committee to submit your Enrollment Confirmation Form. The Committee will review LEQs starting on July 13.
• IF YOU ARE IN AN AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE COHORT TO RESIDE ON CAMPUS THEN --> you need to complete the Housing Intention Form (live in Star Rez from July 6–July 24) Students will need to log into Star Rez to access the form.
• IF YOU HAVE SUBMITTED THE LEQ AND YOU HAVE RECEIVED A DECISION FROM THE REVIEW COMMITTEE THEN FILL OUT THE INTENT TO RETURN FORM --> http://dso.college.harvard.edu/ourpathforward#housingintent
IF YOU FIND THIS CONFUSING PLEASE GO TO THE DEAN OF STUDENTS BEAUTIFULLY DONE WEBSITE THAT SHOWS THE ABOVE STEPS IN A MUCH SIMPLER MANNER!
• Residential Community Compact – Students must sign this by July 24 in order to return to campus. Provides guidelines to keep our community safe.