Access and Safety Updates

[Lauren Ardis]

Dear Jacobs Community,

We hope your new year is off to a pleasant, safe start. As you are likely now aware, UC Berkeley has decided to begin the semester in a two-stage process, with most courses being offered remotely for the first two weeks (January 18–28). In-person instruction will begin the third week of the semester, beginning January 31. The Jacobs Institute will follow suit with campus guidelines as they pertain to instruction, but will remain open to offer remote making support through the Jacobs Project Support (JPS). I have outlined important dates and updated information below, but please continue to consult the campus COVID guidelines as well as our updated COVID information page.

We look forward to seeing you at Jacobs Hall at the end of the month, and wish you all a great start to the spring semester!

Lauren

NEWS AND UPDATES

MAKER PASS & JPS REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Applications and registration for the Spring 2022 Maker Pass and JPS are now open. Though the Makerspace will remain closed to students until January 31, JPS will begin taking submissions for remote fabrication on January 18. Students who have completed the requisite orientations and have paid their Maker Pass fees may resume access to the Makerspace beginning January 31. Full details about Making at Jacobs can be found here, and more information about registering for JPS can be found here. 

If you would like to be part of the Jacobs making community but are not eligible for a Maker Pass, we encourage you to apply for the Community Maker Pass program, which is open to all Berkeley students, staff, and faculty. The deadline to apply for a Community Maker Pass is February 28. 

Apply for a Maker Pass or the Community Maker Pass through the Maker Pass registration. 

As a reminder, we offer need-based fee waivers for the Maker Pass fee, which can be requested during the registration process, as well as need-based materials subsidies for both the Maker Pass and JPS users, which can be requested through this form.

UPDATED MASK POLICY

Please be aware that when at Jacobs Hall, campus guidelines on masking should be followed. Acceptable face coverings include well-fitting surgical, KN95, KF94, or N95 masks. Cloth masks are no longer considered acceptable face coverings—if you need an appropriate mask, please ask us!

BUILDING HOURS

Building and operational hours have also changed slightly, with the main update now being the Makerspace's closure at 10 PM (previously 11 PM). Until January 30, the Jacobs Makerspace will be available only for JPS services, with access limited to Design Specialists. Once the Makerspace reopens on January 31, our hours will resume as follows: 

Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–10 PM

Saturday & Sunday, 12–5 PM

LAST CALL FOR MATERIALS PICKUP

The date for our semesterly teaching studios cleanup has been pushed back to reflect the later in-person start date. All students, instructors, and groups with projects or materials in the teaching studios must remove them by January 21st. The studios are open for materials pickup from 8:30 AM – 7 PM weekdays, including this week and next. You may still access Jacobs Hall for your pick-ups despite in-person instruction's new date.

If you are unable to retrieve your materials by the specified deadline, email amy...@berkeley.edu with an exact description and location of the materials. All materials and projects that have not been picked up or arranged with Amy by the deadline will be discarded/recycled.

DESIGN FIELD NOTES

Design Field Notes, our speaker series part of DES INV 95, will resume remotely for the spring semester. All students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to tune-in each Tuesday for this series, even if you are not enrolled in the course. The schedule of talks is still solidifying, but please bookmark the DFN page for now and check back as the speaker list continues to build-out.