In an effort to practice social distancing, the Ross School of Business announced that all Business School clubs must conduct all club activities virtually for the 2020-2021 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic in an email sent out to all Business Club presidents Tuesday afternoon. Despite the announcement, it has not been determined by the University whether or not Fall semester will be in-person or online.
Collin Laing, vice president of clubs for BBA Council, wrote in the email that all events, including meetings, outreach events and recruiting events must be conducted in a virtual format. Outside social events and Business School room reservations will be prohibited as well. More details will be provided in the summer Ross Clubs President’s Council meeting.
Laing acknowledged that these changes will pose challenges to the way clubs operate but said the new policy would benefit the health and safety of the Business School community.
“With the new social distancing guidelines, our virtual club format will maintain equity as it would otherwise be impossible to determine which students would have the privilege of attending events due to space constraints,” Laing wrote. “It will also make our clubs more inclusive for the students who may not feel comfortable or physically able to attend club events.”
Brian Zhao, president of 180 Degrees Consulting, explained how his organization has already begun preparing for virtual events. Zhao said since many consulting firms are operating virtually, it would not be a huge challenge to adapt operations. However, he said the new change would be detrimental in the selection process, which is dependent on meeting people and hosting networking events.
“I think recruiting will be the primary hurdle since this will be the first time we have done it that way (virtually),” Zhao said.
Daily Staff Reporter Varsha Vedapudi can be reached at varshakv@umich.edu.