Student Organization In-Person Activities Update

Dear undergraduate, graduate, and professional students,

The UC Berkeley campus previously communicated that non-academic in-person activities and gatherings are suspended through Sunday, April 4, 2021. Exceptions to this policy include those activities already sanctioned by the Recovery Management Team (RMT) related to essential research, instruction preparation, and maintenance. The following guidance is in anticipation of resuming limited on-campus participatory in-person activities for student organizations as of April 5, 2021. These limited in-person student organization activities only include on-campus participatory activities that cannot be conducted virtually. 

Campus departments or student organizations who meet the criteria identified on the UC Berkeley Coronavirus Events Guidelines webpage may begin to submit their in-person participatory activities for pre-approval to the Events Recovery Committee. This information represents a roadmap for a resumption of activities based on improved public health conditions in the future, and is intended to provide the necessary information in order to prepare.



Please note that the student conduct Temporary Provision is still in effect. The Temporary Provision prohibits student organizations from meeting or gathering in person on or off campus. The Temporary Provision is being updated to permit on-campus participatory activities that cannot be conducted virtually that are approved by this process. Unless your student organization has approval from this process, student organizations are still prohibited from conducting any in-person activities on or off campus.

What Does This Mean for Student Organizations?

  • Student Organizations can submit the pre-approval form if they are interested in planning an activity that cannot be conducted virtually.

  • Review of submitted activities will be based upon this decision framework in the order received and not based on viewpoint expressed or importance of the activity to the campus community. 

  • Submission of a pre-approval form is not a guarantee of approval.

  • In-person participatory activities can begin no earlier than April 5th, 2021.

  • The pre-approval form must be submitted at least two weeks (10 business days) prior to activity date.

  • If your activity falls within the UC Berkeley Major Events Policy, this form must be submitted 8 weeks prior to your scheduled activity.

  • The pre-approval form is the first step of planning. If your activity is approved, you will need to reach out to the respective venue and provide a copy of your approval letter in order to begin the reservation process e.g. Student Union for Lower Sproul. 

  • Please note that only a few select outdoor spaces authorized to host these activities and currently do not include any classrooms or other indoor spaces.

  • Student Organizations may be responsible for venue specific costs and rental fees.

  • Approval of an activity through this process does not guarantee that the activity will be able to occur. Final approval and day of implementation is based on day of public health conditions. 

  • Any approved activities will be expected to comply with University Surveillance - Badge System. Attendees of activities will be required to complete the campus’ daily symptom screener and COVID testing as required by the badging system and display a green or cleared badge before participating. Only staff and/or faculty approved to be on-site and enrolled Berkeley students are eligible to participate. 

  • Both the student organization hosting the approved activity and the venue will be responsible for enforcing badging and other required health guidance for all attendees. 

For the purposes of this process, the term “student organization” is defined as identified in the Temporary Provision, Misconduct Related to COVID-19 and means any of the following as defined in the Berkeley Campus Regulations: A Registered Campus Organization; or a Sponsored Campus Organization; or an Affiliated Campus Organization. The term “student organization” also means any student group that has a formal affiliation agreement with or is formally recognized by the campus - also known as a “Registered Student Organization.”

Questions? A list of FAQs is available at https://coronavirus.berkeley.edu/events/events-faq/ or you may contact the Recovery Activity Coordinator at 510-499-8530 or at activitiesrecovery@berkeley.edu.

Please visit https://coronavirus.berkeley.edu/ for information about campus updates, recovery planning, and campus dashboard. 

Sincerely,

Sunny Lee, Ph.D.

Assistant Vice Chancellor & Dean of Students 

Samuel Santos Jr.

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Engagement

 

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