Juco sports suspension forums to be held virtually

Student-athletes and community members will get a chance to voice their concerns over the recommendation of the 10 Maricopa County Community College District schools to temporarily suspend athletics in the 2020-21 school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The district announced Wednesday it is holding virtual community forums on July 8 and 9 between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day. They will be hosted by Dr. Steven R. Gonzales, interim chancellor, in collaboration with the Maricopa Center for Learning and Innovation and Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, director of community engagement for the district as the event moderator.

Each participant's remarks are expected to be limited to three minutes. Participants are encouraged to share thoughts in advance of the session and during the session, the release states.

The schools impacted are Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, GateWay, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley,

Phoenix, Rio Salado, Scottsdale and South Mountain. More than 200,000 students are served by the MCCCD.

There is no need to register. Participants will be required to enter their name and email address prior to joining the event. The password is auto-filled, the district says.

To join the July 8 forum, go to this link: https:// bit.ly/38jtuS6. For the July 9 forum, follow this link: https://bit.ly/2D1rQZZ.

The panelists for both sessions will be Gonzales, Paradise Valley Community College President Dr. Paul Dale, Scottsdale Community College President Chris Haines and South Mountain Community College President Dr. Shari Olson.

If unable to join the forums via Webex, people can call into the event at 408-418-9338. Meeting access code for July 8 is 146-845-7018#. The access code for July 9 is 146-370-3237#.

People are able to join the forum up to 30 minutes before the start of each event.

If there are questions prior to the events, email questions@domail.maricopa.edu.