A Message from the Office of Student Conduct & Community Expectations; To organizations, athletic teams, club sports teams, and Greek chapters; Re: Fall 2020

Student Conduct & Community Expectations
31 Williams Drive, Room 320
Bethlehem, PA 18015-3126
Tel: (610) 758-4632 | Fax: (610) 758-5153
Web: https://studentaffairs.lehigh.edu/conduct

TO: All members of recognized student organizations, athletic teams, club sports teams, and Greek chapters

FROM: Holly Taylor, Assistant Dean/Director of the Office of Student Conduct, with support from Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett, Assistant Dean Aarsenio Perry, and Assistant Dean Chloe Abshire

DATE: August 20, 2020

Dear Students,

As you already know, this semester is going to be unlike any other we have experienced before.

Students, staff, and faculty all have a shared responsibility to keep our Lehigh and South Bethlehem communities safe and healthy. This semester, Lehigh University has implemented several policies specifically related to the COVID pandemic that apply to all of you as members of the Lehigh community, South Bethlehem community, and members of Lehigh student organizations. You can find this information here: https://coronavirus.lehigh.edu/students

All off campus events (specifically at off campus residences) have been limited to 10 or less attendees, including residents of the home. This includes scheduled social events, impromptu social events, or any other organizational meetings or gatherings.

While the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has stated that events with under 25 attendees are appropriate, we know that the South Bethlehem homes that you reside in are not capable of hosting this number of attendees safely, either in your homes or within the boundaries of your outside space.

If your organization needs to host a meeting with more than 10 people, there are spaces available on campus for reservation. You will need to complete the Event Planning Form via LINC.

We understand that this is not how you envisioned this semester and that this may be difficult, however it is imperative that you comply with this policy in order to protect both the health and safety of yourself, your fellow Lehigh students and community members, and the residents of South Bethlehem.

Failure to comply with the COVID related guidelines or other policies outlined in the Lehigh University Code of Student Conduct will result in charges being filed against you and/or your organization. These types of violations could result in suspension from Lehigh University for individuals or removal of university recognition for student organizations. This could also include interim action being taken against individuals and/or organizations prior to the resolution of the conduct process (ex: off campus students could be banned from campus, students living on campus could be required to self quarantine).

As a reminder, a “student” is defined in the Lehigh University Code of Conduct “all persons taking or scheduled to take courses at Lehigh University, both full-time and part-time, pursuing undergraduate, graduate, post graduate, or professional studies. Persons who are not enrolled at Lehigh University for a particular term but have a continuing relationship with the University.”

A “student organization” is defined as “any number of persons who are recognized in a formal manner by Lehigh University.”

Lastly, the organizational accountability statement in the Lehigh University Code of Conduct states: “any group or organization may be held accountable for the actions of any of its members if the violation of the Code of Conduct is in any way related to the group or organization. Group misconduct need not be officially approved by the entire membership in order to be considered grounds for possible disciplinary action against the group. There is no minimum number of group members who must be involved in an incident before disciplinary action may be taken against the entire group. In some instances, the conduct of a single member may provide sufficient grounds for action against the entire group.”

If you know of any gatherings of this nature that are occurring, or see students or groups failing to comply with COVID related expectations, please report this to the University using this link: http://lehigh.edu/go/covidreporting

Lehigh wants you and your organizations to be safe, healthy, and successful during this unprecedented semester. It’s up to you and your organizations to commit to hosting events that are in compliance with these policies, and we fully support you in these efforts.

Thank you in advance for your commitment to keep the Lehigh and the South Bethlehem communities safe and healthy.

Be well.

Holly A. Taylor
Assistant Dean of Students for Student Conduct & Community Expectations