Even though the SCMS conference has now been officially canceled, some
participants are going to Tokyo anyway. It has been proposed that those who
do go, meet there.

If you are on Facebook, there has been discussion of this here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/topic.php?uid=5497807597&topic=11484

I believe Tami Williams, University of Wisconsin, is organizing it, but I
don't have contact information for her.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SCMS Membership List <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, May 12, 2009 at 9:36 PM
Subject: [SCMSL] URGENT -- SCMS CONFERENCE CANCELLATION
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>


 Dear Colleagues:

It is with a very great regret that we are announcing the cancellation of
the SCMS conference in Tokyo scheduled for May 21-24, 2009.

Late last week we learned that the Government of Japan and the Chiyoda
District Government had requested that Josai International University cancel
the conference due to concerns about containing the H1N1 ("Swine Flu")
virus.  That request, and the conditions that were subsequently imposed
under which the conference might occur, resulted in daily discussions among
the officers of SCMS, members of the Board of Directors, the Society's legal
counsel, and representatives of Josai.

We have determined that proceeding with the conference under the conditions
ordered by the government presents too many risks for our members and the
Society.  These include the personal risks to individual members (including
possible quarantine, additional expense, and considerable stress), potential
liability to SCMS, as well as pressures on the Society's small
infrastructure.  Moreover, the survey conducted yesterday (564 of 748
registrants replied) indicated that almost one-third of those responding
chose to withdraw from the conference.  Many of those who said that they
would still attend indicated that they would do so out of a sense of
obligation or said that they would spend minimal time at the conference.  It
was also clear that some registrants who did not respond to the survey, but
who communicated in other ways, were waiting for more information before
making a decision.

We are extremely grateful for the efforts of JIU, on behalf of SCMS, for
negotiating with the national and local governments to create conditions
under which the conference could move forward.  But it is clear that members
felt that those conditions would not be conducive to a satisfactory
conference experience.  The high cancellation rate - with more likely -
presented us with a depleted program rather than the robust intellectual and
social experience our members have come to expect of the SCMS conference.

    * You are urged to cancel your hotel reservations and flights
immediately, unless you plan to travel to Japan for pleasure.  You should
contact your airline to arrange for credit on your airfare.  We will be
working with Japan Travel Bureau to reduce or eliminate hotel cancellation
penalties.
    * Conference fees will be refunded, or individuals may request that
their registration fee be used for the 2010 conference in Los Angeles.  More
details will follow.
    * We are working on plans to retain as much of the Tokyo conference as
possible as a part of our Los Angeles conference.  We will provide more
information as soon as possible.
    * We will be creating a forum on the SCMS website for individuals to
register their comments.
    * If you have already arrived in Japan and need assistance, please
contact the SCMS office staff as soon as possible.  Others can expect their
e-mail messages and phone calls to be answered in the order that are
received as soon as the staff can respond.

This has been a severe trial for the SCMS leadership, and we realize that
the uncertainty caused by this global health situation has created great
confusion and anxiety among our members.

We are extremely disappointed that we have had to make this decision,
especially in light of the tremendous amount of planning and work that our
members, the SCMS staff, and our exhibitors committed to this conference.
 Again, we offer our heartfelt gratitude to the Chancellor of Josai and
Josai International Universities, Dean En Fukuyuki, Shinozaki Kayo and the
rest of the staff at JIU who generously offered his or her services above
and beyond any duties, responsibilities, or obligations and on top of their
already considerable responsibilities at JIU.

We are saddened that we will not be able to meet in Tokyo, but when the dust
settles, we look forward to a combined Tokyo/Los Angeles conference to
celebrate our fiftieth anniversary, which will represent the very best of
who we are and what we do.

Sincerely,

Patrice Petro, President
Anne Friedberg, President-Elect
Stephen Prince, Past-President
Eric Schaefer, Secretary
Paula Massood, Treasurer
Scott Curtis, Member of the Board
F. Hollis Griffin, Graduate Student Representative
Michele Hilmes, Member of the Board
Priya Jaikumar, Member of the Board
Victoria Johnson, Member of the Board
Charles Wolfe, Member of the Board
Michael Zryd, Member of the Board

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