Bengal Family Network March Newsletter

March 2020

Dear Parents, Partners, and Family Members of our ISU Students,

A friend of mine from South Africa once posted some “life rules” on social media that she has striven to teach her daughters. I wanted to share some of them with you.

It’s okay to cry when you’re hurt. It’s also okay to smash (some) things, but wash your face, clean your mess, and get up off the floor when you’re done. You don’t belong down there.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
5-second rule. It’s just dirt. There are worse things in a fast food cheeseburger.
CAN’T is a cop-out. Set your goals high.
Happiness is not a permanent state. It takes intentional effort everyday.

I love many of my friend’s life rules, but the one that stands out in my mind right now is this:

Wish on stars and dandelions, and then get to WORK to make things happen.

So much wisdom in so few words!

You know, I have watched in awe as scientists around the globe focused their attention and mobilized their resources to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. We’ve never seen anything like this pandemic, never seen this kind of effort on this kind of scale, with this level of momentum. We have all watched the news reports, knowing how much is at stake--not just for us as individuals and communities trying to find our footing in the midst of a pandemic, but for the coming year or years of higher education. We spent 2020 scrambling to respond, marshalling all of our resources, and cranking out services with social distancing constraints we’d never had to deal with before. I feel such admiration for our ISU Covid Leadership Team and all of the teachers and staff who poured energy into adapting our student services and academic experiences in order to keep our campus community as safe as possible during Covid and still give students an outstanding education.

And here we are, ready for midterms of the spring semester! How did we get here? How did that happen?

We did that together--you, your students, their professors, our staff--we made that happen together.

In Student Affairs, we appreciate stars and dandelions, but we are already jumping into the work of making things happen. Our goal is not just to keep our students healthy and safe, but ensure that every student coming to ISU feels confident in their ability to be here, pay for school, make friends, and succeed, and the best way to make that happen is to strengthen our partnership with you.

Every month in this newsletter, we’ll feature services, programs, and events we have or are putting into place to support student success. One of our newest resources for our Bengal family partners is the online Bengal Family Network Town Hall, which we will offer three times a year. These town halls will provide opportunities to ask questions of ISU leadership staff and get great tips for making the next semester a wonderful experience for your student. Watch for announcements about the next Town Hall, scheduled for June 14, 2021.

But you don’t have to wait for a Town Hall to get your questions answered. Reach out to us by email at bengalfamilynetwork@isu.edu and receive a personalized response to your inquiry. We are ready to work with you to support your student’s success.

Warmly,

Lyn Redington

Vice President for Student Affairs

and Enrollment Management

Tell Us How to support You and Your Student - Survey Open Only Until March 8

At Idaho State, we want to do everything we can to help you stay connected and informed, so we are partnering with other institutions across the US to survey the parents and families of undergraduate college students. Our reason for joining this endeavor is to understand how we can best support our students and our students’ families, including how we communicate with and to you.

Let me give you some important information up front:

The answers you provide will remain confidential.
Your data is protected and will not be shared.
No personal or confidential information is gathered in this survey.

The survey is offered in both English and Spanish. (You will see an option in the upper right corner of the survey to choose the language.)

The survey will take only about 10 minutes of your time. All responses you enter will be saved automatically, allowing you to leave the survey and return to complete questions later as long as you use the same computer or device.

Click on the link to start your survey: 2021 RNL Parent/Family Survey

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us. Partnering with you to support students is one of the most important things we do. Your input is critical to our ability to do our best for our students and their success.

The ISU-Idaho Falls Student Affairs Team

It is truly amazing to see the synergy present as our Student Affairs departments at ISU-Idaho Falls continue to meet the needs of our campus community.

Student Activities Board – Idaho Falls (SAB-IF)

Our Student Activities Board – Idaho Falls has done a spectacular job coming up with out-of-the box ideas to offer our students 24 events in fall semester, with a similar number planned for spring. Their fun online trivia competitions and events “In a Box/To Go” ideas have allowed them to safely serve students on campus and to reach many online students who might not otherwise have participated, Covid-19 notwithstanding. Several of these ideas (Movie Night in a Box, Carnival to Go, etc.) will continue even after campus returns to some level of normality.

Education Department Amplifies USDA Expansion of SNAP Benefits to Help Students Pursuing Postsecondary Education During Pandemic

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Feb. 23, 2021

Education Department Press Office

(202) 401-1576 or press@ed.gov

USDA Press Office

press@usda.gov

As part of its ongoing efforts to ease the economic burden on millions of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education—in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—issued guidance to postsecondary institutions to inform them about temporarily expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for students in need.

“Since the onset of this pandemic, college students already living with low incomes have experienced significant life disruptions including increased food insecurity,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Michelle Asha Cooper. “No student should have to worry about where their next meal will come from while balancing their studies. Informing eligible students of these benefits can help ease that uncertainty.”