Today's Update: Tuesday, August 18

August 18, 2020

Dear Student Life Team, I like to share things with you as they happen, and I just sent this message to all students a few minutes ago. I hope you share the sense of urgency and commitment I have about the need to follow the safe and healthy guidelines. While the audience for this email is students, it also holds true for faculty, staff and our whole Buckeye community. We are truly all in this Together as Buckeyes, and we need to do all we can to advance a successful and safe semester.  

Here is the text of the message I just sent to the students - stay Scarlet and Great, team! 


Dear Buckeyes: 

O-H! 

Did you automatically think, or even say out loud, I-O? You know what I find so perfectly ‘Buckeye’ about this iconic gesture? It’s that you really can’t do it alone. To get the full effect, you need someone else. And I am writing today to say very clearly: we need each and every one of our community members to come together, once again. 

Fighting COVID-19 is not something any of us can do alone. We can, and we must, do the things that will keep us here on our campuses. Wear a face mask. Practice physical distancing, including no events or gatherings of more than 10, on or off campus. Wash your hands, a lot. 

It’s simple, really. And the consequences if we don’t are so dire. In addition to another interrupted semester, we also impact the entire community around us, the businesses and neighborhoods that are such an important part of our extended Buckeye family. 

The repercussions for those who don’t follow the safe and healthy guidelines can be significant, too. Student organizations could lose their university recognition and funding opportunities. Individuals could lose their right to access certain areas of campus, or even lose their right to come to campus at all. 

The ramifications are serious, because we have to take COVID-19 seriously. If we really want a successful semester, we all have to commit to upholding our responsibilities to the community. 

And I know we can do it. Because that’s the Buckeye way. 

So although we can’t lock arms and sing Carmen together in a large group, there are still so many things we can enjoy together throughout the semester, including a full circle round of O-H! I-O!…but only if we first, and always, come Together As Buckeyes. 

Melissa