The Daily Bruin

The Newberg-to-Portland campus courier service resumes its regular schedule today (Monday) and will be delivering daily. If you have items that need to go to the Portland Center, please make sure you have them to Mail Services by 10:30 a.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Richard Silver at rsilver@georgefox.edu.

After 24 years of service at George Fox, John Heitz is retiring at the end of August. John has served the university in plant services’ building repair department, and more recently as planner/estimator for plant services projects.

Students will remember him best by his startling demonstration on why undamaged window screens are important. Some staff may remember him best by his willingness to chase out unwanted animal residents. Serving 24 years means that there are so many great stories!

In lieu of a campus event, we would like to bless John with cards and letters. If you could take a moment to write him a note (or recall a favorite memory), please send those to Box 6449. Thank you!

Marketing communications has designed some custom George Fox playing cards for students to enjoy this year, and they turned out good enough that we’d like to share them with the whole community!

If you’d like to order any for yourself or your department, simply fill out this Google form. The price per deck will depend on order volume, but they should be $8 each at the most, possibly less.

Email questions to Jamison Loop (jloop@georgefox.edu).

Join us across campus at 11 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) for Fall Academic Convocation Chapel. This first chapel of the year will be live-streamed across campus and available at this link.

President Robin Baker will introduce the new provost, Andrea Scott, welcome students to campus, and deliver the community charge with ASC president Meredith Green. Start the year off blessed as we worship and welcome students back to campus!

“Sing to the LORD a new song…” (Psalms 96:1). This admonition in Scripture will take on a unique twist this fall, as part of the wider COVID-19 campus policies.

Across the country, numerous cases of COVID transmission have been traced to choir rehearsals and church congregational singing. In order to prevent this, there are many different mitigation methods under study by multiple universities and research centers in the U.S. and Europe; however, they have not yet determined how to make group singing (and by an extension, group playing of wind instruments) safe. These scientifically rigorous studies expect to release results late in the fall.

In light of this, as a proactive measure toward the health of our community, the university is not permitting group singing or playing of wind instruments in any group context on campus, including in classes, chapel services, student life events, and informal gatherings.

Wind instruments are defined as any instrument you blow into. Students may only sing or play wind instruments when alone, such as in a dorm or outside; music department ensemble members may use the practice rooms in Ross.

Instruments that can be used while wearing masks, such as guitar, piano, or violin, are welcome on campus as long as group size does not exceed four instrumentalists, and social distancing and mask requirements are met. This policy will be revisited as the research becomes more clear.

While we understand that the church relies heavily on congregational singing, there are many other forms of Christian worship that do not. Poetry, Scripture reading, silent worship, art, dance, and instrumental music all can have significant spiritual value, as can private devotional singing.

While we know that this policy creates hardship for many students, we are choosing to err on the side of safety, and ask that all staff, faculty and students comply with this policy. So, sing to the LORD a new type of song this fall; explore new forms of worship and new ways to find joy through non-vocal music. 

More information about the policy (and the rationale behind it) is available on our COVID-19 Music Policy webpage

Here we go, Bruins! The Hadlock Student Center (HSC) will be open to employees and students on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 6 a.m.! We are excited to welcome you all into the HSC!

There are a few important details to note before you enter …

• All students and employees who enter the HSC must resign the waiver for the 2020-21 academic year. Please take a few moments to carefully read and complete the new waiver, which can be found in your MyGeorgeFox account.
• Once logged in, click on “Student Resources” (or “Employee Resources” if you’re an employee), then “University Forms” and finally “Hadlock Waiver 2020” to access the form. Carefully read and click “I agree” at the bottom.
• Please note that access to the HSC is only for current students and employees. Because of COVID-19, guests, spouses and dependents will be unable to access the facilities. We will reevaluate this decision throughout the fall semester and notify the community if there are any changes.
• In preparation for entering the HSC, please make sure you download the CampusClear app. The Hadlock staff will ask if you have received a “Good to Go” clearance through the app.
• All who enter will need to wear a mask covering their mouth and nose and maintain six feet of physical distance at all times while in the HSC.

We will post additional information and details early next week regarding other updated policies and guidelines. The website will also be updated soon.

Thank you for your flexibility and patience during these dynamic days. We look forward to seeing you back in Hadlock this fall and helping you “find your fit.” 

Questions? Contact the program supervisor, Kiana Rasubala, at krasubala@georgefox.edu.

The Bruin Community Pantry’s food bank is in need of volunteers for the fall semester. If you are interested in serving, please email Jere Witherspoon at bruincommunitypantry@georgefox.edu.

As we prepare for a new semester, the Office for Spiritual Life is looking forward to a great semester in chapel. Some highlights include:

• Monday Morning Devotions: On Monday mornings this fall, the university pastors will offer a devotional meditation on the book of James.
• Tuesday Morning Chapel: As always, chapel will take place on Tuesday mornings between 11 and 11:40 a.m. Chapel will be a live event with designated seating and an overflow location (with limited seating). A live stream will be offered to the community every Tuesday morning. (We invite all offices to tune in to the live stream so our community can grow together in faith.)
• Shalom chapel will be offered on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. in person (with designated seating by living-area groups).
• Vespers is on pause for now (Monday Morning Devotions are taking its place).
• Life Groups are eligible for SpiL credit and begin the third week of school. (If you would like to lead either a Zoom group or a hybrid group, sign up here.)
• Various other opportunities will be made available to students for SpiL credit, including academic department chapels, Scripture memory challenges, prayer walks, contemplative morning retreats, the university pastor’s podcast, and other exciting options. 

If you have questions or want to get involved, contact the Office for Spiritual Life at spirituallife@georgefox.edu.

Join us across campus at 10:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, for Fall Academic Convocation Chapel. This first chapel of the year will be live-streamed across campus and available at this link.

President Robin Baker will introduce the new provost, Andrea Scott, welcome students to campus, and deliver the community charge with ASC president Meredith Green. Start the year off blessed as we worship and welcome students back to campus!

It is time for another Wellness Wednesday!

We hope you like our George Fox masks. If you still have not received it, please stop by HR. Below is some helpful information on how to take good care of your reusable masks.

Masks should be washed after each use. It is important to always remove masks correctly and wash your hands after handling or touching a used mask.

Washing machine
You can include your mask with your regular laundry. Use regular laundry detergent and the warmest appropriate water setting for the cloth used to make the mask.

Washing by hand

• Prepare a bleach solution by mixing five tablespoons (one-third cup) household bleach per gallon of room-temperature water or four teaspoons household bleach per quart of room-temperature water
• Check the label to see if your bleach is intended for disinfection. Some bleach products, such as those designed for safe use on colored clothing, may not be suitable for disinfection.
• Ensure the bleach product is not past its expiration date.
• Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleanser.
• Soak the mask in the bleach solution for five minutes.
• Rinse thoroughly with cool or room-temperature water. Make sure to completely dry mask after washing.

Dryer
Use the highest heat setting and leave in the dryer until completely dry.

Air dry
Lay flat and allow to completely dry. If possible, place the mask in direct sunlight.

Welcome Weekend is almost here! In order for our hundreds of new students to have a seamless move-in experience, we need extra cooperation from the staff, faculty and students already here on Thursday evening, Aug. 20, and Friday, Aug. 21.

Staff and faculty: Please plan to park along the street, in the front lot of Roberts, the Stevens lot or Hoover lot on Friday.

The Bauman and Le Shana parking lots will be barricaded on Thursday in preparation for COVID screenings, so please park nearest to Stoffer Stadium if you need to park in the Bauman lot. 

Questions? Please contact Campus Public Safety at 503-554-2090 and view the parking brochure on the CPS website for lot locations. Thank you in advance for your cooperation to help make move-in day the best day ever for our new students!

Marketing communications will be placing a business card order on Friday, Sept. 4. If you or someone in your department is in need of business cards, please place your order by that date.

Visit Marcom’s webpage for instructions on how to order. Email questions to Jamison Loop (jloop@georgefox.edu).

Marketing communications has designed some custom George Fox playing cards for students to enjoy this year, and they turned out good enough that we’d like to share them with the whole community!

If you’d like to order any for yourself or your department, simply fill out this Google form. The price per deck will depend on order volume, but they should be $8 each at the most, possibly less.

Email questions to Jamison Loop (jloop@georgefox.edu).

Starting Monday, Aug. 24, the campus courier will be making daily deliveries. Items going to the Portland Center will need to be dropped off at Mail Services by 10:30 a.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Richard Silver at rsilver@georgefox.edu.

Now is the time to order university stationery. The collective order helps keep costs low – the higher the volume, the lower the cost. Consequently, it is most economical to overestimate needs and store a small surplus.

I will be accepting orders through Friday, Aug. 28. For order instructions, go to the marketing communications website. Continue to purchase all non-departmental stationery (including “second-sheet letterhead”) through the university’s Office of Mail Services.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you,
– Jamison Loop (jloop@georgefox.edu)

The all-community meeting may have passed, but you may still take a moment to share your gift of words with employees who are celebrating a “years of service” milestone. Feel free to thank them or share a favorite memory by adding a comment under their name on this form.

Please reach out to Kara Holcombe (kholcombe@georgefox.edu or ext. 2189) if you have any questions regarding the honorees.

With the fall semester upon us, we’re looking for ways to help students connect with their campus community in ways that are safe and meaningful. Because of the pandemic, it will be easier than ever for students to stay in their dorm rooms or at home, becoming disconnected from the people and offices who are here to help them. We have to be proactive to ensure that doesn’t happen!

With that in mind, we are coordinating a two-week open house initiative where every office sets aside an hour each afternoon for students to drop by. The student life team is generously offering to fund small snacks (PO details coming!), and the marketing communications office will design a map of campus showing all the stops students can make.

Here’s how you can join the fun:

• Agree to be available for students to drop by for conversations and relationship building from 3 to 4 p.m. every weekday of the first two weeks of classes.
• Agree to purchase small pre-packaged snacks for students to enjoy while they’re visiting your office. (i.e. candy bars, bags of Goldfish crackers, popsicles, ice cream bars, etc.) Please let Sarah Reid know what you plan to purchase so we can advertise it!
  • Purchase 100 items to start. Hopefully you’ll need to order more soon because of how many students stop by!
  • While root beer floats and hotdogs would be fun, we need all snacks to be pre-packaged to mitigate any cross-contamination during the pandemic.
  • Maintain social distancing guidelines, find a place to host your open house (ideally outside, but indoors if occupancy limits are observed), and take other precautions to keep students and staff safe.
• Please do not request tables or tents from Event Services for this. It is meant to feel casual, relational and organic as we seek to connect students to their community. 

Interested? Here are your next steps:

• Contact Sarah Reid (sreid@georgefox.edu) by Tuesday, Aug. 18, at noon to confirm your participation. Please include the name of your department.
• Share the snack you’re providing.
• Confirm the location where students can find you.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Sarah. Thanks for helping our students feel welcome!

For any purchase made that relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, please include “COVID-19” in the “chartfield one” field in the coding string. This field can be entered for purchase requisitions, check requests, petty cash vouchers, or selected in Concur. Expenses would include personal protection equipment like masks, signage for keeping distance, cleaning equipment, computer software, etc.

Unfortunately, only one “chartfield one” can be used per transaction, and the COVID-19 code must take priority over another department designation.

If you have any questions about using this code with purchase requisitions, please contact Matt Hammar at ext. 2006 or mhammar@georgefox.edu. For any other questions about this coding, contact Cris Banton at ext. 2167 or cbanton@georgefox.edu.

This fall, the Office of Alumni Relations is creating an alumni-owned business directory to promote and support Bruin businesses in the area (West Coast).

The directory will be listed on the alumni website, included in all communications, and highlighted on social media. The purpose is to keep alumni-owned businesses in front of the broader alumni community so together we can support each other through this COVID-19 pandemic.

Please refer alumni-owned businesses by filling out this form, or share this link with business owners. Please share this opportunity with as many alumni as you can. Together we Stand Tall!

Thanks!

Contact Sara Reamy with any questions you may have (sreamy@georgefox.edu or ext. 2118).

Dear Colleagues,

If you have not received your George Fox mask, please feel free to stop by HR. Note we have one mask per person available.

Be safe!

Our Physical Address:
214 N. Meridian St. 
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Phone: 503-554-2180
Email: hr@georgefox.edu