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Speaking at a daily press briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic, Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo backtracked this week on an earlier guideline banning gatherings of 15 or more people after learning that SAO’s Event Planning 101 workshop is mandatory for all student groups.
“Rhode Island has done a tremendous job in controlling the spread of COVID-19 these past months,” Raimondo stressed, commending citizens for wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings per state guidelines. “This means that our precautions have been working. But seeing as Event Planning 101 is mandatory for all student groups, I’ve deemed it a necessary exception to these restrictions.”
“I recently learned that failure to send one representative from your Brown University student organization to the Event Planning 101 meeting in Kaspar Multipurpose room will result in the deactivation of said student group until spring semester,” Raimondo continued, referencing emails from past years that make this point clear in their subject lines. “So I’ve made some amendments to our COVID planning to allow for this essential gathering.”
Raimondo’s executive decision extended to many aspects of the annual event, slated to happen during the second week of September, ensuring that students will be able to gather to learn about financial signatories, UFB meetings, and how to reserve spaces.
“Although I understand that sharing food might be risky at this time, free pizza will still be provided,” the governor assured press, acknowledging that Event Planning 101 isn’t the same without it. “You may be asking what events students can plan with the skills they acquire at this workshop. The answer is none. They’re not allowed to. But I’ll be damned if that workshop isn’t mandatory.”
At press time, Raimondo expanded her decision to accommodate the 5 makeup sessions of Event Planning 101 that were scheduled after no one showed up to the first one.
