I believe our ringing schedule should continue as normal under current circumstances. If taking a preventive measure helps, I would cancel practices, but service ringing would remain the same. If the virus or the Boston area becomes more at risk, then cancel all unfortunately. 

In the meantime, I wonder if there is research or methods to cleaning or disinfecting the ropes without damaging the material in the process. We should start thinking of common surfaces to disinfect as good measure (door knobs, benches, water disposal button, etc). 

Regards,
Joseph Gurkan
Sent from mobile phone

On Thu, Mar 12, 2020, 9:11 AM Bryn Reinstadler <brynr@mit.edu> wrote:
Hello all,

I hope you are all well. I'm writing with updates from MIT. Last night we received the below email cancelling all MIT student activities both on and off campus. This, of course, affects the MIT guild, which historically rings at Old North. At practice last night we discussed and unanimously voted on the following mild measures:

* No more ringing on MIT campus until it is cleared (handbells @ MIT are cancelled).
* Contact Old North and inform them the MIT guild will not be ringing there until it is cleared by MIT. The Advent guild can ring instead, if desired. We will get this in writing to show compliance with MIT policy.
* Continue a conversation with the whole guild(s) about if we should consider cancelling ringing altogether, either just practices or practices + service ringing.

I am sending this email to invite comments and discussion, especially with me (MIT president), John (ON TC), and Dale (Church liaison), all cc'd, if there are any comments that you wouldn't like to share with all of BCR/mit-handbells.

Separately: It is possible we should consider stopping ringing altogether for a period of time, based on public health guidance. I have heard through the Facebook grapevine that the Washington DC area has cancelled all ringing for the next 2 weeks. I admit I'm not sure where I stand on this, only that I know our community comprises of individuals both in the "safe-ish" zone and also in the "higher risk" zone, and we should be conscious of everyone's health.

As usual, please wash your hands before starting to ring and please, please stay home if you are (contagiously) unwell.

All the best,
Bryn

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement Office <sole@mit.edu>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2020, 4:14 pm
Subject: Update: COVID-19 & Student Organization Events
To:


Dear student leaders,

 

First off, we hope you are well.

 

In light of President Reif’s e-mail as well as MIT’s COVID-19 guidelines about events, we are writing to provide additional information and guidance we have received regarding student organization programs. Please see below for these guidelines:

 

  • All student organization events taking place after 5:00PM on Friday, March 13th will be canceled. This is applicable for on and off campus events.
  • Events that have been previously approved by the Institute and are scheduled to occur before 5:00PM on Friday, March 13th will be allowed to take place.
  • No new student organization event registrations will be approved.
  • Student organizations may not shift the date of a previously scheduled program to take place before the Friday, March 13th deadline.

 

Next Steps:

 

  • Loss of Funds – We recognize that canceled events could have financial impacts on student organizations. In that regard, we are recommending that organizations submit a record of total lost funds, or non-recoverable expenditures via the Unrecoverable Expenses/Loss Revenue Report.  This will help DSL and MIT to establish a clearer picture of the financial impact on student organizations.
  • Additional Resources – SOLE has created an FAQ to provide answers to a range of questions from student leaders, as well as listings of resources and next steps to be taken. As this remains a fluid situation, this FAQ will be updated routinely. 

 

We recognize that you have spent lots of time and energy putting together your upcoming programs, and that this news may be disappointing. MIT’s top priority is supporting students through this transition. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to COVIDEVENTS@mit.edu, or SOLE@mit.edu.


Sincerely,

Campus Activities Complex (CAC)

Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement Office (SOLE)

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