{"637373":{"#nid":"637373","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Student Leaders Host Town Hall on Return to Campus, Advocacy Initiatives","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn July 22, the Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a virtual town hall to address the return to campus and other SGA advocacy initiatives. Panelists included leaders from both the undergraduate and graduate SGAs, as well as the Residence Hall Association and International Ambassadors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe majority of questions focused on academic affairs, student life, and general health and safety. Other topics included housing and campus services, student organizations, international students, and the responses of Georgia Tech and University System of Georgia (USG) as a whole.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMany students expressed concerns about how hybrid courses will operate. For in-person class days, assigned seating will be implemented so that students can know how close they were to someone in their class who might test positive for Covid-19. For more specific information about how each hybrid class will operate, panelists encouraged students to reach out to their professors. SGA is also currently advocating for students to be given the option to take all of their courses remotely without having to apply for accommodations through the Office of Disability Services.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is in the midst of code review for a contact tracing app developed at Carnegie Mellon University. A version of the app will then be tailored specifically to Georgia Tech, and all students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to download it upon returning to campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESGA leaders also highlighted the organization\u0026rsquo;s advocacy issues in regard to racial justice, supporting the LGBTQIA community, and sexual assault. SGA is currently working with the LGBTQIA Resource Center to find a safe way to celebrate pride month, which is usually held in October in Atlanta. SGA is also continuing to be involved in conversations about race, as well as finding ways to help identify systemic racism and ameliorate it on Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s campus. Finally, the group recently released a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sga.gatech.edu\/2020\/07\/21\/title-ix-letter-to-usg\/\u0022\u003Eletter\u003C\/a\u003E in conjunction with other USG student government organizations asking each school to hold itself to a higher standard than what is currently in place following the U.S. Department of Education\u0026rsquo;s recent changes to Title IX.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe panelists encouraged students to help build a culture of safety on campus by abiding by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health guidelines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;If you see someone not wearing a mask or practicing social distancing, speak up,\u0026rdquo; said Mykala Sinclair, vice president of student life for SGA. \u0026ldquo;Coming back to campus safely is going to take each and every one of us.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESGA asked that students continue to reach out to them with questions or concerns. Students can email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:covid19@sga.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ecovid19@sga.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E with coronavirus-specific concerns; all emails sent there will be forwarded to those in an appropriate position to respond.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Make sure that the people in power continue to hear you, including us,\u0026rdquo; said Lea Harris, president of graduate SGA. \u0026ldquo;Take pride in pressuring people to be safe.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;You have a lot of agency in your voice,\u0026rdquo; added Kyle Smith, executive vice president for undergraduate SGA. \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t let anyone distract you from that, because this moment requires that we all use our voices.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA recording of the full town hall, as well as a list of the questions and answers, can be found \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sga.gatech.edu\/covid19\/faqs\/\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPanelists included leaders from\u0026nbsp;SGA, RHA, and International Ambassadors.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Panelists included leaders from SGA, RHA, and International Ambassadors."}],"uid":"34946","created_gmt":"2020-07-29 18:43:13","changed_gmt":"2020-07-31 12:14:31","author":"gwyner3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-07-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-07-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"637074":{"id":"637074","type":"image","title":"Students \u0026 Einstein in Face Coverings","body":null,"created":"1595013556","gmt_created":"2020-07-17 19:19:16","changed":"1595013556","gmt_changed":"2020-07-17 19:19:16","alt":"Students model appropriate safety precautions with the Einstein statue, including wearing face coverings and maintaining social distance. (Photo: Allison Carter)","file":{"fid":"242353","name":"Student-Einstein-Statue-Face-Coverings-By-Allison-Carter-h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Student-Einstein-Statue-Face-Coverings-By-Allison-Carter-h.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Student-Einstein-Statue-Face-Coverings-By-Allison-Carter-h.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":591506,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Student-Einstein-Statue-Face-Coverings-By-Allison-Carter-h.jpg?itok=2iTevOPM"}},"633534":{"id":"633534","type":"image","title":"SGA Logo","body":null,"created":"1584022102","gmt_created":"2020-03-12 14:08:22","changed":"1584022102","gmt_changed":"2020-03-12 14:08:22","alt":"SGA circular logo in gold font with white background and Tech Tower in the middle, embedded in the letter G.","file":{"fid":"241066","name":"Gold SGA Logo.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Gold%20SGA%20Logo.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Gold%20SGA%20Logo.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2378015,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Gold%20SGA%20Logo.png?itok=51iHBMum"}}},"media_ids":["637074","633534"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"166922","name":"sga"},{"id":"166923","name":"student government association"},{"id":"1288","name":"RHA"},{"id":"6160","name":"residence hall association"},{"id":"100781","name":"international ambassadors"},{"id":"184289","name":"covid-19"},{"id":"184995","name":"tech moving forward"},{"id":"4204","name":"town hall"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:stucomm@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGrace Wyner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}