(COVID-19): Campus Health Updates

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10/23/2020 - Daily COVID-19 Graduate Division Update 

Dear Graduate Students and Postdocs,

I am writing this week with some not great news. You have probably seen the news nationwide that the US is headed into a second or third wave of COVID-19, depending on how you count the waves. https://people.com/health/us-sees-60598-new-covid-cases-in-one-day-what-could-be-worst-wave-yet/
California and UCI are both overall doing well, with relatively low cases. However, the numbers at UCI are not trending the way we would like: https://uci.edu/coronavirus/dashboard/index.php. We all have pandemic fatigue, and we are all so sick of being alone, of wearing face coverings, of all of it. I get that. We have to find a way to hang on a while longer though. The vast majority of students on campus have been doing a wonderful job of following best practices, and we so appreciate that. While numbers are rising though, you can expect increased scrutiny around such best practices. 

• Good general information: https://uci.edu/coronavirus/returning-students/index.php 
• All the executive directives: https://uci.edu/coronavirus/executive-directives/index.php 

All of the campus administrators would like to loosen these directives, and we have been looking at a variety of options, some of which have been suggested by students. We must balance this with other responsibilities while we are in the public health state we are in. So, I want to strongly encourage you to spend time together on virtual platforms, be there for each other, because the isolation of this experience is real. Come to office hours if nothing else, and you can at least hang out with me and my staff! Go for a run, go for a hike, but always while wearing a face covering. Take care of yourselves and each other. We will get through this. And we thank you for your patience. 

Last Call for Fall: Network Equipment
For those who are in Grad and Family Housing and may be having network challenges. 

• Test your network speed using https://speedtest.net or similar
• Verify that your reported speed is what you expect it should be 
• If you are a resident of Grad and Family Housing:
  • You may need to connect to the wall via ethernet rather than using your WiFi router. 
  • If you don’t have those capabilities, fill out this form https://forms.gle/KxR41tsg2Kj8oCrB9 and we will work to get you an ethernet adapter for your laptop and ethernet cabling. Turner is going out on paternity leave soon, so get your network gear while the getting is good. We will pause this form by Halloween and probably not reopen it until January.

Spots are Filling Fast! 30-Minute Online Consultations with a Fellowship Mentor
Last week, we announced a new service offered this Fall Quarter to graduate students applying to the NSF-GRFP and Ford Foundation Fellowship.
 
Students can book a 30-meeting appointment with the Fellowship Mentors! Fellowship Mentors will provide one-on-one consultations with prospective applicants to 

• review application materials
• provide valuable feedback
• answer questions related to fellowships.

Deadlines are fast approaching, and spots are filling up. Book an appointment today through Campus Groups: https://campusgroups.uci.edu/student_community?club_id=35999&menu=link 

• Adebisi Akinyemi

2020 NSF-GRFP Awardee

• Jennifer Cabrera

2020 NSF-GRFP Awardee

• Bonnie Park

2020 NSF-GRFP Awardee

• Lexi Crowell

2020 NSF-GRFP Awardee

• Heidi Waite

2020 Ford Fellowship
 

• Racine Rangel

2020 Ford Fellowship

International Student Limits on Visas
I wanted to follow up with all of you on what has been happening with the proposed rule change that would limit initial visas for international students to either two or four years. That UC as a whole has been:

• Working with government relations staff to monitor and support various efforts
• Supporting dear colleague letters coming from government officials from both major parties who are against this move
• Collecting data on who might be affected
• Planning contingencies should this be approve

Locally, on our campus, the International Center and Government Relations are both similarly working on your behalf. At this time, we do not believe this will affect any current students who are in the US. However, we are working on what we need to do to best support incoming students as well as graduating students who may have a change in visa status as the result of graduation. Please monitor your inbox for communications from the International Center, and we will keep you informed as we get more information.

Newkirk Center Research Justice Workshops
https://newkirkcenter.uci.edu/researchjustice/2020-21researchjusticeworkshops/
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing practices, the workshops will be held remotely for at least the fall quarter. The fall will focus on setting up a relationship with a community partner. 
REGISTER FALL 2020 WORKSHOPS
https://forms.gle/584o1qAMmiCyJKeq5

• Friday, November 6th, 2020, 11:00 am-1:30 pm
• Friday, November 20th, 11:00 am-1:30 pm

NOTE: It says for grad students on the website, but I have confirmed with the organizers that it is open to anyone, including post docs, undergrads, and even the public. So, please register if you are interested and share widely with others!
UCI Finishes Third Among UC’s in Ballot Bowl Competition 
Anteaters, the Ballot Bowl, was a friendly competition that was designed to encourage universities and colleges to engage their students in the democratic process and register them to vote! We are proud to announce, UCI finished third among all UCs! Click here to see the final resultshttps://caballotbowl.sos.ca.gov/ 
Need to verify your voter information?
Want to view your registration status, check your ballot status, review your voter history, and more? https://ocvote.com/vlt/ 
Who Can Register to Vote?
When registering to vote, voters must meet specific criteria before they can register. Visit the California Secretary of State’s website for more information: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/ 
Living in a different State?
Visit your state’s election office website for state-wide voting guidance. Find your local election office contact information for answers to questions about polling locations, in-person registration, and other local questions: https://www.usa.gov/election-office
If you have questions or need further clarification, please email.anteateradvocate@uci.edu. 
Be sure to vote on November 3^rd!

Upcoming Townhalls
Grad Division is now doing monthly town halls with different topics and special guests each month. 

• Past town halls are at https://www.facebook.com/UCIrvineGD/videos/?view_public_for=154757707888315&ref=page_internal 
• Save the date for our next two town halls, and PLEASE join us. Your questions and comments are so helpful for the panelists to see and for others in your community to know.

• November 13th | 3 pm - 4 pm PT - Health, Wellness, and COVID-19 
  • Dr. Albert Chang, Medical Director, Student Health
  • Dr. Frances Diaz, Director, Student Counseling Center 
  • Dr. Phong Luong, Assistant Director of Academic Counseling
  • Scott Bartell, Associate Dean / Professor, Public Health
  • Sharon Robert, Director of Program Development, Public Health
• December 11th | 3 pm - 4 pm PT - Diversity and Inclusion at UCI

CSU Long Beach Pre-Professor Program
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING SEMESTER 2021!
Applications are due Monday, November 2, 2020 
Learn more about the program and application process Monday, October 26, 2020
12 pm - 1 pm at the Virtual PREPP Information Session: https://grad.uci.edu/professional-success/prepp.php 
The Pre-Professor Program (PREPP) is designed to support the UC Irvine doctoral students’ and postdoctoral scholars’ transition to a faculty position by engaging them in a semester-long program at California State University, Long Beach. 
PREPP Fellows from Jan 15 to May 31, 2021 receive: 

• Faculty mentorship in Instruction and Understanding the Campus Culture and Service. 
• Paid parking at CSULB
• A $500 stipend

Spring semester will be online.
For the Spring 2021 cohort, candidates should have expertise in health-related fields (broadly defined to include biomedical and behavioral sciences, such as biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, health disparities, health science, kinesiology, psychology, etc.). Underrepresented students are encouraged to apply.
For more information, contact Annabel Ortiz, Professional Development Programs Coordinator at annabelo@uci.edu 

Upcoming Office Hours
As always, we look forward to seeing you in office hours. No agenda needed, all questions welcome. We had some good laughs and cries in today’s office hours, so special thanks to the students who stayed late with us to get through it all!

https://uci.zoom.us/j/7277477057, all office hours are half an hour

• Monday, Oct. 26^th: 12:00pm – 12:30pm
• Tuesday, Oct. 27^th: 5:00pm – 5:30pm
• Wednesday, Oct. 28^th: 1:00pm – 1:30pm (Senior Staff member, not Dean Hayes)
• Thursday, Oct. 29^th: 5:30pm – 6:00pm
• Friday, Oct. 30^th: 4:00pm – 4:30pm

In Closing
Joseph Campbell, who was a professor of comparative religion at Sarah Lawrence, once wrote “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” I don’t know about you, but there is just about nothing from this year that I had planned. I can only hope, and the optimism in me allows me to believe that we do have better lives waiting for us on the other side of all of this. 

And speaking of waiting, it’s nearly Halloween, so you get a little skeleton meme action from me today. 


[alt text: skeleton waiting on a couch looking out the window with meme text “Me waiting for coronavirus to end so I can leave my house]

Be well, and try not to let the COVID blues get to you too much. 

On behalf of graduate division,

Gillian Hayes
Kleist Professor of Informatics
Vice Provost for Graduate Education
Dean of the Graduate Division