Over the past few weeks, the Georgia Tech Student Government Association has been fiercely advocating for the betterment of the student body. This message contains an update on some of the issues we’ve been fighting for.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• SGA Town Hall
• Academic Advocacy Efforts for Fall 2020
• Election Day & On-Campus Precinct
• Title IX Update
• Campus Service Advocacy Updates
• Results of SGA Return to Campus Survey
• Black Lives Matter Update
• International Student Advocacy
• LBGTQIA+ Advocacy

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SGA TOWN HALL

The Georgia Tech Student Government Association will be hosting a student town hall on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The panelists will include a few members of SGA leadership, as well as leadership from Georgia Tech International Ambassadors and the Residence Hall Association. Click here to join the BlueJeans event.

SGA is in the process of collecting questions about Georgia Tech’s return to campus this fall so that we can gather answers to as many as we possibly can. Click here to submit a question to us (this form will be open until Wednesday). We will also be accepting live questions through the Q&A feature on BlueJeans events.

We want to use this time to let you know what we’ve been working on in regards to our advocacy efforts, as well as provide answers about the fall and what it will look like. This will also be a time for you to voice concerns so that we can better understand student sentiment. We would love to see you this Wednesday!  As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at covid19@sga.gatech.edu.

RETURN TO CAMPUS RESOURCES

As part of our commitment to providing up-to-date information about the status of Georgia Tech’s Return to Campus this fall, SGA has created areas on our website where students can view updates on what campus will look like this fall. The Fall 2020 Return to Campus Guidebook has information on everything from testing to campus services and is available here.

In preparation for Wednesday’s Town Hall, SGA has collected over 100 questions from the student body. Many of these questions will be answered during the event, and immediately following, all of the questions we received will be uploaded to the SGA Fall 2020 FAQs page, located here. NOTE: This page will not go live until 8:30 PM on July 22, 2020.

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ACADEMIC ADVOCACY FOR FALL 2020

Over the summer, SGA leadership has been working to ensure every student has a safe and successful academic environment. As changes have been released by Georgia Tech and the University System of Georgia, SGA has continued to voice student opinions and concerns in an effort to make sure everyone is heard. Here are some of our academic updates:

• SGA leadership has drafted a letter to the Board of Regents outlining in the strongest possible terms the need for online options for every Georgia Tech student. This letter is undergoing additional revisions and Student Body Presidents at other University System of Georgia schools will be offered a chance to join this letter. As soon as final revisions are complete, this letter will be shared with the Georgia Tech student body.
• SGA has continued to advocate for an attendance leniency policy for students and faculty. The SGA Undergraduate President and VP of Academic Affairs have drafted an updated attendance faculty/student expectations document. We will continue to push for this to be implemented and will provide updates to the student body.
• SGA successfully helped advocate to move Phase II registration to August 1st, as well as for increased remote course options and flexibility in our course modes.
• Beyond COVID-19 measures, SGA Academics is looking forward to continuing to work on institutionalizing mini-mester courses and revitalizing APPH/health course curriculum.

ELECTION DAY PROPOSAL ACCEPTED

When SGA learned from the Georgia Tech administration that an election day holiday was not possible for this year, we immediately began work on creating more robust accommodations for students to exercise their right to vote on election day this year. Adding to the already-guaranteed excused absence for voting students, we petitioned the Faculty Executive Board to create two key protections for students on election day:

1. Faculty members are not allowed to administer any tests, quizzes, or other graded in-class assessments.
2. When possible, professors should move their lectures to an asynchronous online format. 

The Faculty Executive Board overwhelmingly approved these accommodations, meaning both items will be implemented at the start of the school year. With these new rules, we hope students can now exercise their right to vote without fear of falling behind in classes and will turn out to the polls in record numbers.

FIRST STUDENT-RUN GEORGIA TECH POLLING LOCATION APPROVED

After Georgia Tech Athletics took the incredible step of securing an election-day polling place at McCamish Pavilion, SGA met with the Fulton County Deputy Elections Chief to make arrangements to fully staff the polling place with students. We received approval for Georgia Tech’s first fully student-staffed polling place. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech administration made an executive decision to cancel the August 11th Runoff Election polling place on the Georgia Tech campus, citing health concerns regarding hosting an election while students are moving on campus. SGA is advocating strongly to ensure Georgia Tech will host a November 3rd general election polling place and early voting location, both fully staffed by students. SGA continues to serve on the campus-wide Voter Engagement Steering Committee, developing campaigns to ensure a high Georgia Tech turnout this Fall.

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TITLE IX UPDATE

Following the United States Department of Education’s significant changes to the Title IX sexual assault protocol, Georgia Tech SGA partnered with the University of Georgia SGA to write a letter to the University System of Georgia (USG) regarding the reforms which we view as harmful for survivors in certain key ways. Our letter urges USG to rise above the bar regarding the treatment of survivors, which has been lowered by the Department of Education, and to establish guidelines for Title IX complaints which will prioritize the mental wellbeing and health of survivors as well as their ability to receive an equitable education at Georgia Tech.

We sent this letter to our USG peer institutions and have received signatures from Columbus State University, Dalton State College, Fort Valley State University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Gwinnett College, Georgia State University, and Valdosta State University. We will be meeting with USG in the future to ensure student concerns take priority in the long process of developing robust USG guidelines based on the Department of Education’s reforms. To read our letter to USG, click here.

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CAMPUS SERVICES ADVOCACY UPDATE

At a glance, SGA has worked to build trust and a firm communication network to assist in directly connecting student concerns with decision-makers.

We understand that may not sound very illustrious, but it’s a massive step towards improving the quality of student input received in important decisions that impact the daily life of each student. This fall, we will face unpredictable and time-sensitive issues that will require sharp communication, honest conversations, and advocacy-based decision making. SGA is ready to assist in these forthcoming efforts, and we look forward to the difficult and necessary discussions that will be had for the foreseeable future.

More substantively, here is a progress update on items in Campus Services that have either resulted from student advocacy or internal decision-making within Campus Services for the fall:

Completed Items

• Meal swipes are now allowed at all food truck vendors at Georgia Tech.
• The Department of Housing and Residence Life has agreed to improve the regularity of direct communication to residents.
• SGA has set up regular meetings with Housing & Residence Life, Student Center, CRC, Dining Services, and Stamps.

In Progress Items

• We are currently working with student groups and the Department of Housing and Residence life to advocate for no contract cancellation fees. Georgia Tech has sent three proposals for removing housing contract cancellation fees to the University System of Georgia. USG is currently reviewing those proposals.
• SGA is continuing to advocate for international student housing support.
• We are working with the Department of Campus Services to provide general support for returning students this Fall.
• SGA is finalizing a proposal for a meal swipe semesterly donation initiative.
• We are working with the Department of Campus Services to improve the quality of empathetic communication from all Campus Services’ departments
• The CRC has taken over activity spaces in residence halls. SGA is working to ensure student input is provided for renovations to these spaces.
• SGA is advocating for improved meal plan flexibility.
• We are working with the Department of Parking and Transportation to ensure an increased level of transportation services is provided during the Fall semester.
• The Department of Campus Services is working to provide general support for student-led advocacy groups.

Change comes from many places, but change comes most swiftly when students speak vocally about what works and what doesn’t work. Thank you to every student who has reached out to us over the past few months to share concerns, ideas, and ask questions. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at any time now or in the future regarding your ideas, thoughts, and concerns regarding Campus Services. Being able to point directly to your words and your voice helps us to better advocate for change. 

Lastly, in case you’re wondering what departments fall under Campus Services, here’s the list in brief: Dining Services, Buzzcard Center, Housing & Residence Life, Stamps, Georgia Tech Bookstore, Parking & Transportation, Student Center, and Campus Recreation Center.

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RETURN TO CAMPUS SURVEY RESULTS

On June 15th, SGA distributed a Return to Class survey to all Georgia Tech students. Over a two week period, we received 4,071 responses. Here are a few of the survey highlights:

• 32% of students said they would opt-out of on-campus instruction.
• 29% of students said they were uncomfortable or extremely uncomfortable returning to on-campus instruction in the Fall.
• 48% of students said they would live in on-campus housing in the Fall
• 80% of students said they were likely or extremely likely to wear a mask on campus, but only 40% indicated they believed their peers were likely or extremely likely to wear one.
• The top three concerns for returning to on-campus instruction were lack of social distancing, instructional space not being disinfecting, and inconsistent PPE usage.
• Many students emphasized the importance of having a remote/online/distance learning option for health and safety reasons, international students who cannot return to Atlanta, in the event that a student or professor becomes ill, or in the event of a major outbreak. 

These results have been reported to the Georgia Tech Administration and have been used to guide decisions as we prepare to return to campus. To view the full report of results, please click here.

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RACIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY

On Friday, June 12, 2020, SGA leaders met with the leaders of Black Student Organizations (BSOs) to discuss how SGA can bolster Institute support for Georgia Tech’s Black student community. This meeting came in the wake of nationwide protests against racial injustice across the country and the world. Some of the requests that BSO leaders have made to President Cabrera and his administration include the following:

1. Black student spaces. With the construction of the new Student Center, the Black Student Offices have been pushed to the corner of West campus, making spaces for Black students harder to access. BSOs need a space more centrally located on campus. Physical spaces are crucial in signaling inclusion on behalf of an institution for underrepresented groups.
2. Black student scholarships. Nationally, Black students must take out loans at a higher rate than all other student groups in order to afford the cost of college, as recorded by the National Center for Education Statistics. Only two scholarships currently exist for minority students at Tech — Tech Promise and Goizueta. Neither of these scholarships has been given the sole focus of incentivizing the attendance and retention of undergraduate Black students.
3. A stronger commitment to diversity, justice, and representation. Increased enrollment of Black students and increased hiring of Black professors, researchers, and lecturers. Increased support of black-owned businesses including food truck vendors.

The full list of demands can be viewed here.

SGA cabinet members have since elevated the list of demands that BSO leaders provided in our discussions with President Cabrera, members of his administration, and the leaders of campus departments. 

Undergraduate SGA President Brielle Lonsberry and graduate SGA President Lea Harris wrote a follow-up letter to President Cabrera and Dr. Archie Ervin to further emphasize the importance of incorporating the feedback from BSO leaders into long term sustainable structural changes, making anti-bias and microaggression training accessible campus-wide, and urge the institute to publicly announce institute actions being made to support these goals.

Undergraduate and graduate cabinet members Mykala Sinclair and Nettie Brown sat as panelists on the Race At Georgia Tech – A Call to Action talk on Thursday, July 16, 2020. During the discussion, President Cabrera announced five tangible actions the institute will be incorporating campus-wide. They include:

1. Incorporating a bias and harassment component to the Institute’s new student orientation and employee onboarding programs.
2. Implementing a new implicit bias training program for students and staff focused on racial bias and discrimination.
3. Establishing a Georgia Tech Diversity and Inclusion Council to identify issues and propose solutions on an ongoing basis.
4. Creating a Georgia Tech Police Department (GTPD) Community Council composed of students, staff, faculty, and members of GTPD to ensure open communication and collaboratively identify ways in which GTPD can continually improve how it serves the community.
5. Creating a new Diversity Strategy position at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) reporting to the vice president for GTRI and dotted line report to the vice president for Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to lead diversity recruiting, training, and professional development support for enhanced career progression for underrepresented minorities and women research faculty and staff.

Members of SGA’s undergraduate cabinet, Mykala Sinclair and Jackson Caruso met with the director of the Office of Undergraduate Admission to discuss what plans the office has to increase Black student recruitment and enrollment.

Georgia Tech Dining has announced that it will partner with local, minority-owned food truck vendors to more than double the available food trucks on campus in the fall. A finalized schedule will be available soon. Additionally, these plans will increase the regularity of daily food truck availability on campus for the fall semester and increase accessibility to food trucks via meal plan inclusion.

Members of SGA’s undergraduate cabinet, Mykala Sinclair and Kyle Smith joined a new working group created by the Office of Minority Educational Development (OMED) called the Racial Injustice and Sexual Violence (RISV) Collective which had its first meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. The Collective was charged with the responsibility of:

1. Creating a culturally relevant Racial Inequality and Sexual Violence Education and Awareness Action Plan.
2. Establishing accountability metrics for the execution and evaluation of these education and awareness protocols at Georgia Tech (starting in the Black community and hopefully expanding beyond).

While we recognize the progress we have made, we also acknowledge that the fight for racial justice in our institutions of higher education will require systemic-level changes and continuous advocacy. We look forward to advancing these efforts in the year ahead.

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ADVOCACY

The COVID-19 pandemic has created serious challenges for international students who have continuously voiced their concerns to SGA. SGA elevated a letter signed by 300+ international students in advocacy efforts with President Cabrera and members of his administration. Additionally, SGA leaders met with the author of the letter to personally discuss strategies to advocate for international students. Some of the requests included:

1. Remote instruction options. The Institute must provide a viable option for students to remotely complete their academic coursework, including expanding its online course offerings and developing a uniform policy governing participation and attendance for students in different time zones.
2. Communicate guidance from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The Institute must communicate any relevant guidance from the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to students on F-1 visas and applicable immigration statuses, including any guidance about the completion of academic coursework full-time remotely in the fall semester.
3. Tuition and fees adjustments. The Institute must address the new financial circumstances of international and out-of-state students, many of whom ordinarily pay full out-of-state tuition to attend classes in-person, and must seriously consider lowering tuition prices and expanding aid and scholarship opportunities for incoming and current international students.

On July 6, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced new guidance measures that stated that nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students would not be allowed to take a full online course load and remain in the United States. In the wake of this policy, undergraduate SGA President Brielle Lonsberry and graduate SGA President Lea Harris joined a working group to elevate student concerns on this policy. During which they pushed for greater accommodations to ensure international student access and safety. 

SGA also received a list of questions and concerns about this policy from the Georgia Tech International Ambassadors that was elevated to campus administrators. On July 14, 2020, ICE rescinded this policy after a lawsuit was brought by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

To support international students, Georgia Tech Housing has announced the following:

1. The GT Housing contract no-penalty cancellation period has been extended.
2. Housing options have been provided to all students regardless of residential/contract status.
3. GT Housing has committed to increased communication with international students who plan to live on campus in the fall.
4. Earlier housing availability for international students.

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LGBTQIA+ ADVOCACY

Members of SGA Undergraduate Cabinet, Kyle, Grace, Emmett, and Joyce, have been working with undergrad Pride to advocate for more STI testing on campus, access to/advertising for Emory’s PREP (which is a preventative medication for AIDS), and we will be collaborating with the LGBTQIA Resource center at GT for event planning going forward. 

Grace Swift, the VP of Communications, met with Undergrad Pride Alliance and spoke with previous leadership from the Pride Alliance and determined the following commitments that SGA can make:

• Ensure that incoming first-year students/students in general know how to apply for name changes through the registrar so they aren’t deadnamed
• Connect with the chairs of each school to get them to get thier faculty to take Trans 101 and Safe Space Training
• Promote holidays that are relevant to the LGBTQIA+ community
• Promote gender-inclusive housing options on campus
• Advocate for multi-stall gender-inclusive restrooms (specifically in the new student center)

Dear Yellow Jackets,

As we gear up to get back into the class routine next week, I want to provide updates on all things Georgia Tech. I know there is a lot of valid frustration and sadness surrounding the uncertainty of these times — current and summer classes, commencement, and your connectedness with others — just to name a few.

There was a cheesy quote that I read recently: “You do not have to make sense of it all in order to be worthy of peace.” I want each of you to know that the complexity of the emotions you feel are valid. If there is anything that brings me hope, it’s that our resilience as students to be there for each other — to check in, ask for help, and cheer each other up — will get us through this period.

Over the last week, SGA has heard from many of you asking how Georgia Tech can contribute face masks to hospitals and those in need. You have offered your fresh produce and cans of food. You have asked questions and brought your frustrations and concerns to us. Because of all this, we are stronger. Thank you.

COVID-19 Emergency Fund

Since the creation of this new Emergency Fund, over 170 students have applied. Regardless of whether you think your expense is small, this fund was created to assist students.

The Student Emergency Fund has been created by the Division of Student Life with support from the Alumni Association and Office of Development. This fund allows for students who are in need of financial assistance to receive up to $1,000 for travel assistance, housing assistance, medical expenses, moving costs, financial support, and food insecurity. Click here for the application.

Housing and Dining

I want to reassure you that students will be receiving prorated housing and meal plan refunds. For those who cannot move their belongings out of their dorm or apartment before the end of the semester, you will still receive the prorated housing refund. For students who remain on campus, Ferst Place is open and provides the option to deliver meals to Brittain Dining Hall and Woodruff Residence Hall. Here are links to information about meal delivery and other campus services hours.

Academic Support

To support our students academically, 1-on-1 tutoring will continue on BlueJeans, and students can schedule appointments by visiting http://success.gatech.edu. PLUS Leaders will develop and distribute weekly study guides for their courses and host weekly two-hour remote sessions via BlueJeans where students may work collaboratively on problems. More information can be found at http://success.gatech.edu/plus-sessions. 

We have heard that many instructors have been adapting well to these circumstances and are providing greater flexibility. We encourage you to communicate and work with your instructors to voice your concerns and needs during this time. SGA is here to support you in instances where these accommodations are not made.  

What is SGA doing?

We have advocated for the extension of the withdrawal (W) deadline to the end of the term, increased financial support for students on and off campus, extended airport/grocery shuttle operations, and added delivery options for on-campus meal plans. 

For those who are graduating, we will continue to meet with Institute leadership to express the desire to hold a commencement ceremony. We are advocating for seamless reimbursements for summer study abroad programs and for more information on what summer class offerings will look like. In addition, we are working to better understand the exact amount of prorated fee reimbursements. We are working on allocating funds from the newly formed Joint Governing Board. Please continue submitting your feedback to us with this link so we can better understand your needs. 

Looking Forward

Next week, we officially begin the term in a very different way. Because of the unifying way I have seen students ask what they can do for others, I am confident we will come out of this stronger than before. The selflessness of my peers gives me hope that we are indeed a school full of brilliantly kind students. That is the Georgia Tech I know. 

In Progress and Service,

Pooja Juvekar
Undergraduate Student Body President

Good afternoon student leaders, 

We hope all of you have been able to stay safe over the last week. In our previous message, we promised an update on how SGA funding for registered student organizations will continue for the rest of the semester. Given the changes to Georgia Tech’s environment since our last email, here is how we are evaluating funding until the end of this fiscal year (FY2020): 

1. How will existing allocations and new funding requests be treated for the rest of FY2020? 
   1. Organizations should refrain from making purchases with any unspent funds for the remainder of the fiscal year (until June 30, 2020). If there are any necessary operational expenses (e.g., storage fees, equipment replacement, etc.) that still need to be paid, please reach out to us before moving forward with that purchase. 
   2. In most cases, we will not allocate new funds to organizations in bills for the remainder of FY20. If there are any necessary purchases for which funding has not been allocated to your organization, please reach out to us, and we will work with you on a case-by-case basis to determine funding. 
2. Can I rollover already allocated funds for an event my organization was planning to host during Spring ‘20 that we now intend to postpone to Fall ‘20?
   1. At this time, we cannot commit to automatically rolling over funds that were allocated for Spring ‘20 events that are now being rescheduled to Fall ‘20. Georgia Tech is currently evaluating student fee reimbursements, and the student activity fee (i.e., the pool of funds that SGA allocates) is part of those discussions. As there is no clarity on the amount of funding that will be returned to students from this fee, we will only be able to approve rollovers for events through our normal rollover process at the end of the fiscal year. By then, we will have more clarity on the funding outlook for FY2021. 
3. How has the FY2021 budget timeline changed? 
   1. Over the next few days, we will reach out to organizations that submitted an FY2021 budget via email to get any additional information the legislative bodies need to make a final determination on your organization’s budget allocation. 
   2. The final budget allocation to each organization will be decided in approximately two to three weeks. Once this decision has been made, all organizations will be emailed with their final allocation amount for FY2021.

As always, we are available as a resource for you, should your organization need any support. 

• For any questions about finance, please reach out to finance@sga.gatech.edu
• For any questions relating to SOFO reimbursements, please reach out to sofo@gatech.edu
• For any other organizational questions, please reach out to campusorgs@sga.gatech.edu. The Center for Student Engagement has compiled resources on running online elections through Engage and managing your organization online that may answer some of those questions. 
• For general questions about the impact of COVID-19 on students, please reach out to covid19@sga.gatech.edu. We have also created a resource guide that might be helpful to you and your organization members. 

Thank you again for your patience during this complicated situation. Given how much this COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on our campus, we know that many of your organization’s members are relying on you to feel like they are still part of the Georgia Tech community. Please let us know what we can do to help support you in those efforts and stay safe.  

Yours in Progress & Service, 

Venkatesh & Divyesh

Venkatesh Muppaneni | Joint Vice President of Campus Organizations

Divyesh Gutta | Joint Vice President of Finance

Good afternoon Yellow Jackets,

Happy Monday! I hope you’re staying home and taking good care of yourselves. Over the last few days, I was heartened to see many of you reach out, in the true yellow jacket spirit, wanting to help those in need in these uncertain times. I write to you today to answer some of your questions, provide some useful resources, and update you on what SGA has been working on. If you have any questions that you’d like us to bring to the attention of the COVID-19 task force please email us at covid19@sga.gatech.edu. 

Georgia Tech Student Relief Fund: APPLY HERE

This fund has been established to support Georgia Tech students who have ANY financial need related to the COVID-19 crisis and campus closures. Awards from this fund are currently limited to $1,000 per student. Possible examples of needs that this fund can address are: 

COVID-19 screening tests and other COVID – 19 medical expenses, Financial support if you lost an on-campus job, Travel expenses related to campus closure, Other expenses directly related to COVID-19.

Klemis Kitchen: Food and personal care supplies for students in need 
Klemis Kitchen serves as a food pantry for Georgia Tech students with financial concerns that limit their access to proper nourishment. Due to the current circumstances, we have worked with the administration to make sure that ANY student can request access to Klemis Kitchen. You may also DONATE any unopened food, personal care items to the kitchen. Please contact steve.fazenbaker@gatech.edu for further assistance.  

Lab PPE Donations:

Many of you have expressed interest in donating PPE to healthcare professionals in need of these equipment. Georgia Tech has formally received requests from the national stockpile and the Governor’s office, and we are currently working with EHS and the EVPR’s office to coordinate these efforts. I encourage you to have a conversation with your PI about the possibility of lending extra PPE in your lab. More guidance on this will follow in the next few days. 

Insurance coverage for COVID-19 testing, Telehealth services: 

Stamps currently does NOT have the capability to test for COVID-19. However, if you are enrolled in the GT provided student health insurance plan, COVID-19 testing is covered. Please refer to the USG website https://www.usg.edu/coronavirus/ for more detailed information on the services available to you if you are on the student health insurance plan. 

Research and Academics:

You may visit https://research.gatech.edu/coronavirus-response for the latest updates on research activities.  Online instruction begins March 30th. In case of any academic or research grievances, please contact Dr. Kyla Ross, Assistant Vice Provost for Advocacy and Conflict Resolution at kyla.ross@gatech.edu.  

SGA commits $50,000 in response to COVID-19: 

Last week, in a special legislative session, SGA passed a resolution to allocate $50,000 to fund COVID-19 response efforts. These funds will be allocated by a Joint Governing Board with representation from both undergraduate and graduate students to provide student support, such as stocking Klemis Kitchen with additional items, and exploring innovative ways to help all students. Here you can read more about the charter of this board. To submit your ideas for funding, please fill out this form.

SGA’s priority remains advocating for student health, safety, and well-being, and we will continue to do this through this unique time. 

In Progress and Service,

Narayan Shirolkar

Dear Yellow Jackets,

This time at Georgia Tech has been difficult. I am writing to provide you with a recap of what SGA has been working on, as well as to address the frustration with communication across the Institute.

SGA has created an updated resource guide that includes information about the Georgia Tech grocery shuttle, airport shuttle, financial support, housing, dining, other campus services, and support for your mental and physical well-being.

We have heard and understand that communication from Housing regarding move-out created confusion, and we are actively working with Housing and Residence Life and the Residence Hall Association (RHA) to advocate for increased flexibility with move-out parameters.

Housing and Residence Life is currently processing requests from students who intend to stay on campus for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. Residence Life is working with Student Life in reviewing these applications. If you feel that your situation at home is not conducive to your health and well-being, we encourage you to state this in your application. If you are still waiting for confirmation, email information@housing.gatech.edu. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further assistance. 

We understand the many questions in regards to capstone and lab classes, grading changes, and extensions for assignment deadlines. We anticipate that decisions about changes to withdrawal deadlines will be made shortly. Should there be any changes, please be on the lookout for an email from the Registrar’s Office. We will continue to follow-up and advocate for students’ interests. 

If you have any concerns or grievances with your academic experience, click here or contact Dr. Kyla Ross, Assistant Vice Provost for Advocacy and Conflict Resolution at kyla.ross@gatech.edu.  

Klemis Kitchen — Georgia Tech’s on-campus food pantry — will be fully stocked and open for students who will remain on campus through the end of semester. Additionally, we are working to expand Klemis Kitchen’s pantry to include household items, like paper and sanitary products.

Yesterday in a special legislative session, SGA passed a resolution to allocate $50,000 to fund COVID-19 response efforts. These funds will be allocated by a Joint Governing Board with representation from both undergraduate and graduate students to provide student support, such as stocking Klemis Kitchen with additional items, and exploring innovative ways to help all students. Here you can read more about the charter of this board. To submit your ideas for funding, please fill out this form.

We are continuing to ask questions to understand how to best support student employees, including those under the Federal Work Study program, during this time and through the rest of the semester.

SGA’s priority remains advocating for student health, safety, and well-being, and we will continue to do this through this unique time. 

I want you each to know that SGA is here for any and all questions, thoughts, concerns, and feedback. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at covid19@sga.gatech.edu This email inbox is being used to gather concerns and issues from students, to answer your questions, and provide you with resources. 

In Progress and Service, 

Pooja Juvekar
Undergraduate Student Body President

Good afternoon Yellow Jackets,

I want to candidly express that this time has been uncertain and trying for many reasons. The lack of certainty has been stressful to say the least.

All in all, this circumstance is less than ideal. I want each of you to know that I am here and always available to chat over phone, in person, and over email about how we can best support and advocate for you. 

SGA has been in contact with administration from the Office of the Provost, Campus Services, Student Life and the Office of President in advocating for student’s best interest. At this time, as we have all been informed, the decision following March 29th regarding virtual online classes is unknown.

The Institute FAQs on this site have been populated with questions, and if you have any specific further questions contact us at covid19@sga.gatech.edu. From here, we can help escalate these questions to the specific campus department they pertain to and share with the rest of the campus community. 

SGA has created this resources page to provide students with Georgia Tech and national resources. 

SGA’s website has been updated to contain updates with the above linked resources. Please refer here for more information.

I know it has been quite a difficult few days, and once again want you each to know that we are in this together and here for you. 

Yours in Progress and Service,

Pooja

Fellow grad students,

I hope that you are taking care of yourself and those around you. These are challenging  times for all of us, and I understand the additional stress you may be facing with the currently evolving situation regarding changes to the instruction, campus operations, housing etc. We are diligently working with the campus services to ensure the necessary resources are available to all the students who continue to remain/ work on campus. We will be communicating more on these resources in the coming days. 

In the meantime, please feel free to email us your questions, concerns, or comments to covid19@sga.gatech.edu. We will be bringing these questions to the coronavirus task force that meets MWF every week, and try to get answers to your queries, and come up with a possible resolution to address your concerns. To find the most updated information on the developments in the situation, please visit health.gatech.edu/coronavirus. 

Stay safe and take care. 

Sincerely,
Narayan Shirolkar

Dear student leaders,

We hope everyone is staying safe and preparing appropriately for the many changes occurring on campus. On behalf of the Student Government Association, we wanted to send this communication to give an update on how COVID-19 will affect SGA funding. While the situation is constantly evolving, here is how we currently plan to evaluate all financial requests: 

1. Organizations should refrain from making purchases with any unspent funds for any programs, activities, or events occurring before March 29th. All of these funds are required to be encumbered back by SGA, and may not be used for any reimbursements.
2. For purchases that have already been made, most reimbursements will occur as normal. 
   1. For any event/logistics purchases that incur a cancellation fee, please work with your SOFO point of contact for the possibility of a waiver. 
   2. For flights that have been canceled, please refer to the travel section below for more detailed clarification about flight reimbursements.
3. For programs and events occurring on-campus or nearby: 
   1. We intend to make a final decision on whether we will accept new funding requests for event spending after the March 29th spending freeze by March 23rd, 2020. Until then, please do not make any financial commitments with an expectation that you can receive funding from SGA. We acknowledge that this may affect relationships you have with vendors, so please plan accordingly.
   2. Refer to the Center for Student Engagement and Special Events websites for additional guidance. We echo their concerns about the public health risks of large gatherings and encourage you to make the best decisions for the health of your members.
4. For travel:
   1. Based on guidance from the Georgia Tech administration, we are not able to reimburse expenses for travel that was planned to occur before March 29th, 2020 as those trips are considering non-essential travel expenses. Please cancel any trips planned before this date that were funded through SGA, and reach out to your SOFO point of contact if there any issues with cancellation fees. 
   2. For expenses associated with travel after March 29th that have already been paid, we will work on a case-by-case basis to manage reimbursements. We expect that many of you will receive electronic travel vouchers for flights that need to be canceled, and still need to decide how we plan to evaluate reimbursements for those vouchers.
   3. We intend to make a final decision on whether we will accept new funding requests for travel occurring after March 29th by March 23rd 2020. 
5. For other expenses: 
   1. Please reach out to us before spending any SGA funds on other expenses that do not fall under the above categories. We will work with you on a case-by-case basis to make a determination about whether we can support that purchase after March 29th.

As always, we are available as a resource for you, should your organization need any support. 

• For any questions relating to SOFO reimbursements, please reach out to sofo@gatech.edu
• For general questions about the impact of COVID-19 on students, please reach out to covid19@sga.gatech.edu.

We are doing everything we can to collect updated information and advocate on behalf of all students. Thank you for your leadership during this complex situation, and stay safe. 

In Progress & Service, 

Venkatesh Muppaneni | Joint Vice President of Campus Organizations | campusorgs@sga.gatech.edu
Divyesh Gutta | Joint Vice President of Finance | finance@sga.gatech.edu