January 2021

Music Student Bulletin

January 2021

1.26.2021 1.19.2021 Bulletin | 1.12.2021 Bulletin | 1.5.2021 Bulletin

1.26.2021: Good News | Health and Safety Requirements | Practice Rooms for Virtual Class | Student Belonging Survey | Scholarship Opportunity | Research Study Participation

Music Student Bulletin 1.26.2021

Celebrating Good News

Sequoia Snyder, senior jazz studies major, won the “Most Inspiring – Performance Art Award” at the Social Justice Arts Festival last week with her video entitled “Delight”. This very powerful piece can be found here.

On-campus health and safety requirements

Before you attend an in-person class, lesson, rehearsal, or personal practice session, you must do the following:

Register and participate in the Early Detection Program. If you have not registered yet, you must do so immediately to ensure compliance. Click here for more complete information about the program.
When you sign up for the Early Detection Program, you will also verify you have received an influenza vaccine (or verify that you qualify for an exemption). Here is the registration form.
Complete the online health screening form every day that you are physically on campus. Students living on campus must complete this every day.
Wear an appropriate face covering at all times on campus, follow social distancing guidelines, adhere to the MSU Community Compact, and quarantine for 10 days upon arrival back to the East Lansing community.

Students who are unable or unwilling to do the above and follow testing, face covering, and social distancing expectations will not be able to attend in-person classes and should work with their academic advisors to find appropriate online courses.

Practice rooms available for virtual class attendance

Practice rooms 47, 49, 53, 57, 63, 67, 69, and 75 in the Music Building are available for those students attending music classes in person who do not have time to return home to attend a virtual class. These rooms may be reserved by contacting Lynne Funk (funklynn@msu.edu) in the main office. Practice room safety policies, including the use of face coverings at all times, must be observed.

Student Belonging Survey

Three College of Music doctoral students, as a part of the RCAH Fellowship Program, are researching MSU undergraduate music major experiences with regard to community and belonging. To participate in this study, please click the link to complete this 5-minute anonymous survey. If you have any questions, please contact James Brinkmann at brinkm37@msu.edu, Erika Knapp at bridgee1@msu.edu, or Liza Calisesi Maidens at calisesi@msu.edu.

Scholarship Opportunity for Minority Students

Bold.org announces a new $1,000 scholarship for undergraduate or graduate minority students who are interested in, already enrolled in, or are recent graduates who took courses going toward a degree in the arts. According to Bold.org: “The Minority Student Art Scholarship supports the creative ambitions of students whose works, talent, and potential may have previously been silenced or underestimated as a result of their ethnic background. [T]his opportunity will contribute to a more equitable future in the arts and will inspire minority artists to keep pushing for their dreams despite the various oppressive societal barriers in the way. You can find more information about this scholarship opportunity here.

Participate in a Research Study

Colin Prim, a student a Trenton (MI) High School, is seeking participants for his research student on the relationship between music and emotion. If you are interested in assisting him in his research by participating in this study, please contact him at pric13092@student.trentonschools.com

1.19.2021: Early Detection Program | Counseling and Psychiatric Services | Undergraduate Scholarships | Health Insurance for International Students

Music Student Bulletin 1.19.2021

We hope you are having a good first week of classes. As we look to the resumption of some in-person classes on Monday, January 25, we remind you of several requirements, services, and funding opportunities.

Early Detection Program

Students either living on campus or coming to campus for any reason are required to participate in MSU’s COVID-19 Early Detection Program. Register here.

MSU Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS)

We know that you are balancing a number of stress and anxiety-producing situations this semester. CAPS offers a variety of services to help you cope with this challenging times.

Students needing crisis services can access the MSU CAPS crisis phone line by calling (517) 355-8270 and selecting prompt 1. This service is available to MSU students 24/7/365.
Students interested in accessing CAPS for mental health services can start the process by completing the form found here.
CAPS will continue to offer a robust group counseling program. Updated information about the available groups as well as how to get connected to a group, can be found here.
CAPS invites undergraduate and graduate students to a confidential Listening Space to process reactions to the U.S. Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021.This virtual space will be held on Jan. 21 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. with Caitlin Riley, LMSW and Sarah DeYoung, LMSW. Sign up for this listening space here.
Information about additional Listening Spaces can be found here.
CAPS Connect offers brief (10-15 minute) consultations, which can lead to more in-depth services. The program begins the week of January 18 and will end the week of April 19. Please visit the website for updated information.

Undergraduate Scholarships

MSU Student Affairs and Services has more than 20 scholarships available for undergraduate students. The deadline for most of these scholarships is March 8, 2021. For more information and to apply, visit the MSU Student Affairs and Services scholarship page. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Vanwelsenaers at vanwelse@msu.edu.

Health Insurance Assistance for International Students

There are funds available from OISS to help international graduate students purchase health insurance for your family members. Please check out this link for details about this program.

1.12.2021: Health and Safety Protocols | Student Belonging | MSU statement concerning violence at the nation’s Captial

Music Student Bulletin 1.12.2021

We hope you have had a well-deserved semester and holiday break filled with some time for restoration and relaxation. Welcome back to Spring Semester 2021, which will continue to have challenges but also hope, with all members or our community adhering to our protocols to keep all members of our community safe and healthy and vaccines on the horizon.

Health and Safety Protocols

Please read through these Health and Safety Protocols, which have been slightly revised since last semester. They cover the use of practice rooms, classrooms, and large rehearsal spaces. We particularly ask you to be mindful of practice room protocols. You may only occupy a practice room during your assigned and posted time. And you must exit your practice room at the assigned time to allow the room to ‘refresh.’ Please be aware that the monitors will strictly enforce these protocols. We have already revoked practice room access for three students for violations of these important rules. You can also review enemble-specific schedule and procedural details here: Band and Orchestra, Choral, and Jazz Area.

Student Belonging – Undergraduate Survey

Three College of Music doctoral students, as a part of the RCAH Fellowship Program, are researching MSU undergraduate music major experiences with regard to community and belonging. We hope you will participate in this study. Please click here to complete this 5 minute anonymous survey

If you have any questions, please contact James Brinkmann at brinkm37@msu.edu, Erika Knapp at bridgee1@msu.edu, Liza Calisesi Maidens at calisesi@msu.edu or Dr. Joanna Bosse at jbosse@msu.edu.

Comment on the Recent Attack on the U.S. Capitol

Finally, we return after a week of unprecedented violence and turmoil in the nation’s Capital. We fully endorse this statement which comes jointly from the MSU Board of Trustees:

“America has faced dissent in many forms through its history, but yesterday’s disorder and violence in Washington, D.C., is especially unsettling. The U.S. Capitol itself is no stranger to protests, but the intimidation that sought to thwart one of the most important and symbolic exercises in America’s democracy — the free and fair election of our leaders and peaceful transition of power — is beyond the pale and unsupported by any decent appeal to justice or patriotism.”

“This behavior is unacceptable and weakens our country — and as leaders, we have a responsibility to oppose it. We encourage and invite our academic community to join us in speaking out against this unlawful behavior and call for understanding and supporting our democracy.

"Our primary duty is to the safety and well-being of our campus community, and more broadly, to provide an environment that is also welcoming, respectful and supportive. That imperative continues unabated.

"As yesterday’s events may have impacted members of our community in different ways, we want to remind all students and employees that we offer various resources, including counseling services, for support. We recognize that our faculty, staff and students will start the spring semester under pressure created by the pandemic, election and ongoing challenges.

"This is a time to pull together with our own Spartan community and beyond to reaffirm the bonds we share and commitment to our best ideals. Let us encourage one another and not lose faith at a most important moment for our democracy.”

We look forward to our work together in the coming semester toward a common purpose with positive change reinforcing our commitment to civility and collegiality. We will continue with our goals to keep all members of our community safe by respecting our safety protocols and one another, move forward with DEIB initiatives including curricular change that will build equity and a greater sense of community for all, and emerge from this challenging time with the ability to share the power and impact of music on our campus and beyond, in all its dimensions.

1.5.2021: Start of Spring Semester | Required Quarantine | Influenza Vaccine | Early Detection Program |

Music Student Buletin 1.5.2021

As we prepare for the start of the so-called “spring” semester, we hope this finds you at least a bit rested and ready to take on the challenges that will come our way over the next few months. There is much to look forward to. Thank you IN ADVANCE for the diligence, patience, and resilience that you’ll exhibit in the coming semester. The rollout of the COVID vaccine is a cause for optimism and hope that over the coming months we will transition back to something resembling “pre-COVID normalcy.”

We don’t have any new information since our bulletin of December 22, but we want to remind you about a few things.

Information Regarding Start of Spring Semester

Week of Jan. 11: “Reading, Reviewing and Reflection”. No classes
Week of Jan. 19: Classes begin. All virtual.
Week of Jan. 25: All classes move to the mode for which they are designed (in-person, hybrid, virtual)

Additional details about the start of the Spring Semester is included the December 15 Student Bulletin.

Required quarantine

Students who are returning to East Lansing in January from outside communities — whether in-state, national or international — should quarantine for 10-14 days upon their arrival. Additional details about qurantine requiements is included the December 15 Student Bulletin.

Influenza (flu) vaccine

Students living on campus or coming to campus or any university-controlled property at any point during the spring semester will be required to receive an influenza vaccine prior to arrival, with some exceptions. Please complete this form to verify that you received the vaccine or are exempt from the requirement. Additional details about the influenza vaccine is included the December 22 Student Bulletin.

Early Detection Program

Students either living on campus or coming to campus for any reason are required to participate in MSU’s COVID-19 Early Detection Program. All participants must be registered by Jan. 11. Additional details about the Early Detection Program is included the December 22 Student Bulletin.