2 minute read
CSA's Response to the Challenges of Covid
- Lalita du Perron, Associate Director
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Covid Fund
In response to the devastating effect the Delta variant had on our students, their families, and loved ones in South Asia, we instituted the Covid Emergency Relief fund in May 2021 to cover Covid related emergency expenses. All Stanford students were eligible to apply.
Would you like to help students in times of crisis? Reach out to Lalita du Perron (lalita@stanford.edu) to find out what your gift can mean to our students.
Understanding India’s Covid Surge
On April 28th, 2021, Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Stanford University Medical Center and Center for South Asia faculty, Dr. S. V. Mahadevan presented at a webinar, where he addressed questions from the audience. Dr. Mahadevan explained that when earlier in the year Covid had seemed somewhat under control in India, restrictions had started to become more relaxed and people once again began to join larger group gatherings and engage in “high-risk behaviors”. Dr. Mahadevan insisted that even though people were nervous about going out, getting the vaccine was always going to be the best strategy against serious illness and hospitalization. He also explained the benefits of continued mask-wearing.
The SASSpod
When the Bay Area went into shelter-in-place in March 2020, the Center tried to come up with innovative programming to bridge the virtual gap and stay connected with our stakeholders. The CSA podcast (SASSpod) was borne out of this initiative and has continued even as the world has slowly opened up again.
On the SASSpod, a half-hour conversation that drops every 2-3 weeks, Lalita du Perron hosts a wide variety of guests who have a Stanford connection: alumni, faculty, staff, researchers, and students. With almost 1000 listeners in 46 countries, the SASSpod is truly reaching a global audience, who are interested in learning more about South Asia at Stanford.
The SASS Tube
The Center for South Asia introduces the SASS Tube!
The South Asian Studies at Stanford (SASS) Tube features event recordings from the Center for South Asia (CSA) at Stanford University. The SASS Tube expands our mission of bringing together a range of audiences to broaden, nuance, and deepen both scholarly and public understandings of South Asia. Since its conception in March 2021, our YouTube channel has 147 subscribers, made 69.2k impressions, and has received about 4,700 views, and climbing. The majority of our viewers are from India and the United States, with some engagement in Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and Bangladesh. We will continue to update and provide more content for the community.
