[1038] in UA Senate
Re: [IMPORTANT!!!!] They're trying to cut REX. What do we do?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Daniel Hawkins)
Sun Jan 30 13:44:05 2011
Reply-To: hwkns@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTimbVo7tn4j6hqE=EfagD+FZo3dG3=WSJU2tqYz9@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:44:01 -0500
From: Daniel Hawkins <hwkns@MIT.EDU>
To: Betsy Riley <rileyb@mit.edu>
Cc: Suan Tuang <stuang@mit.edu>,
"Alec Lai (UA Secretary-General)" <ua-secretary@mit.edu>,
William Steadman <willst@mit.edu>,
Jessica Chen <jessicachen.dbhs@gmail.com>,
"Janet Li (UA Public Relations Chair)" <ua-pr-chairs@mit.edu>,
ua-senate@mit.edu, Lauren Jefferson <darkangel6541@gmail.com>
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Everyone bring it up with your advisor tomorrow during your reg-day
meeting. You don't have to talk their ear off, just ask if they've heard
what's going on and make it clear that you don't like it.
-hwkns
On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:50 PM, Betsy Riley <rileyb@mit.edu> wrote:
> One thing we're doing in EC is encouraging students to contact faculty
> members about changes to REX/Orientation to inform them of the issue and why
> students care, get their feedback, and ask for their support. I've attached
> some bullet points for students to base their e-mails on. Contacting any
> faculty would be helpful, but I've included a list of the Fall GIR
> professors since they actually teach freshmen who are supposedly tired after
> Orientation. I encourage the other dorm senators to do a similar thing in
> their dorms so that we can contact as many faculty as possible before the
> next faculty meeting, which is 2/16.
>
> Betsy
>
> *Fall 2010 GIR Professors:*
>
> *
> 3.091: Donald Sadoway (dsadoway), Ronald Ballinger (hvymet)
> 5.111: Moungi Bawendi (mgb), Alexander Klibanov (klibanov)
> 5.112: Moungi Bawendi (mgb), Richard Schrock (rrs)
> *
> *
> *
> *7.012: Eric Lander (lander), Robert Weinberg (weinberg@wi)*
> *
> *
> *8.01*: Peter Dourmashkin (padour) (technically not faculty, but still a
> good person to e-mail), Alexander Van Oudenaarden (avano), Christoph Paus
> (paus), Thomas Greytak (greytak), Deepto Chakrabarty (deepto), Klute (klute)
> *8.01L*: Paul Schechter (schech), Stanley Kowalski (kw), Young Lee
> (younglee)
> *8.012*: Martin Zwierlein (zwierlei), Marin Soljacic (soljacic), Roman
> Jackiw (jackiw)
>
> *8.02*: not faculty (George Stephans)
> *8.022*: John McGreevy (mcgreevy), David Pritchard (dpritch)
> *8.021*: Gabriella Sciolla (sciolla)
>
> *18.01*: Paul Seidel (seidel@math), Ben Brubaker (brubaker@math)
> *18.014*: not faculty (Christine Breiner)
> *18.01A*: Arthur Mattuck (apm@math)
>
> *18.02*: Bjorn Poonen (poonen@math), Clark Barwick (clarkbar@math), David
> Vogan (dav@math)
> *18.022*: James McKernan (mckernan@math)
>
> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 7:47 PM, Suan Tuang <stuang@mit.edu> wrote:
>
>> I was contacted by the president-elects of New House and East Campus
>> regarding a potential meeting between the dorm presidents and execs.
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 7:40 PM, Alec Lai (UA Secretary-General) <
>> ua-secretary@mit.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> I assume every Senator, since it's part of their normal job, has already
>>> sent an email to their dorm summarizing the meetings and asking for
>>> opinions...and those that are really proactive would've gone out and grabbed
>>> a few people or called an emergency event like you did.
>>>
>>> And if you haven't sent an email....please do so soon! =) Summaries of
>>> the meeting are on the home page for ua.mit.edu . Use for reference if
>>> you need to!
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Alec
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 7:35 PM, William Steadman <willst@mit.edu>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Alec did a great job with the minutes. Sent them to senior-house.
>>>>
>>>> Again, what are we going to do? We need to figure out our plan for the
>>>> next
>>>> meeting.
>>>>
>>>> Senior House is having an emergency meeting tonight about this. This is
>>>> the
>>>> exactly right moment to have a constituency event.
>>>>
>>>> What are senators doing about this?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Quoting "Alec Lai (UA Secretary-General)" <ua-secretary@MIT.EDU>:
>>>>
>>>> Top of page 7 in the draft minutes addresses this. That's all she said
>>>>> about it I believe.
>>>>> Top of page 8 had a good counterargument.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 1:45 PM, Jessica Chen <
>>>>> jessicachen.dbhs@gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Did anyone answer as to what led them to believe students are being
>>>>>> tired
>>>>>> out by Orientation and would prefer to shorten it. I understand their
>>>>>> concerns but where did it come about that Orientation length is a
>>>>>> problem.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Just curious
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>> ~Jessica Chen
>>>>>> MIT 2014
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 1:40 PM, Alec Lai (UA Secretary-General) <
>>>>>> ua-secretary@mit.edu> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Summary and Draft Minutes for the meeting are already up. They are
>>>>>>> also
>>>>>>> in a special box on the ua.mit.edu home page for easy access.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Alec
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 1:38 PM, Janet Li (UA Public Relations Chair)
>>>>>>> <
>>>>>>> ua-pr-chairs@mit.edu> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Good work, Suan! I hope all other senators have also emailed out to
>>>>>>>> their constituencies to notify them of these significant changes to
>>>>>>>> orientation and REX that are currently being discussed.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If not, please do so immediately, as it is of utmost importance that
>>>>>>>> we
>>>>>>>> keep the student body as up to date as we can on these kinds of
>>>>>>>> crucial
>>>>>>>> issues.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Janet Li
>>>>>>>> MIT Undergraduate Association <http://ua.mit.edu/>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Public Relations Chair
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 8:34 AM, Suan Tuang <stuang@mit.edu> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi Senate,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> This is an email regarding changes in REX from the
>>>>>>>>> New
>>>>>>>>> House REX Chair.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Thank you very much!
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>> Tuang
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>>>>>>> From: Lauren Jefferson <laj51714@mit.edu>
>>>>>>>>> Date: Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 5:01 AM
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: [IMPORTANT!!!!] They're trying to cut REX. What do we
>>>>>>>>> do?
>>>>>>>>> To: Suan Tuang <stuang@mit.edu>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Tuang,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Just as a warning, this is really, really long:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I don't like the idea of shortening REX. Sure, planning events
>>>>>>>>> would be
>>>>>>>>> easier because there would be fewer, but my dorm (Desmond) is
>>>>>>>>> really far
>>>>>>>>> from everything. Unless people have a reason, they don't usually
>>>>>>>>> come all
>>>>>>>>> the way out to New/Next house, which will definitely hurt our REX
>>>>>>>>> possibilities. I think it took me until the end of REX to get over
>>>>>>>>> how far
>>>>>>>>> the walk was. I personally didn't even make my decision to stay in
>>>>>>>>> New House
>>>>>>>>> until the last day of REX. I'd rather people who I live with to
>>>>>>>>> actually
>>>>>>>>> want to live there, rather than grumbling about having no other
>>>>>>>>> choice.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Also, this smashes the scheduling for things like the East-Side,
>>>>>>>>> West-Side parties, and MacG/New/Next party. If I'm interpreting
>>>>>>>>> this
>>>>>>>>> correctly, there is only one night included in REX. That would mean
>>>>>>>>> that, if
>>>>>>>>> all three parties were to run, these three groups would be directly
>>>>>>>>> competing against each other, resulting in three smaller parties
>>>>>>>>> than usual
>>>>>>>>> and general money wasting. Also, there's the problem with actually
>>>>>>>>> seeing
>>>>>>>>> the dorms. Most people don't tour every dorm, but there's 12 dorms
>>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>>> participate in REX. If you wanted to see them all, it would take
>>>>>>>>> 12/30 hours
>>>>>>>>> out of your REX, ignoring the fact that there would likely only be
>>>>>>>>> time for
>>>>>>>>> one or two sets of tours, which would result in limiting the number
>>>>>>>>> of tours
>>>>>>>>> anyone could take. Also, there's the problem that it takes ~20
>>>>>>>>> minutes to
>>>>>>>>> get between EC, Random, and/or Next, or at least it did when I
>>>>>>>>> first got
>>>>>>>>> there. If you include the orientation events, which I (stupidly)
>>>>>>>>> went to
>>>>>>>>> instead of REX events, food time, and the radical idea that
>>>>>>>>> freshmen
>>>>>>>>> actually want to have fun before they're thrown into long lectures
>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>> endless p-sets, you would have to clone yourself to get everything
>>>>>>>>> in. I
>>>>>>>>> seriously regretted not going to my own dorm's events because they
>>>>>>>>> conflicted with Orientation ones, when, in the long run, learning
>>>>>>>>> more about
>>>>>>>>> my dorm matters a lot more.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Norman said in the article that CPW, the i3 videos, and the
>>>>>>>>> residence
>>>>>>>>> materials would be good indicators for housing selections. During
>>>>>>>>> CPW, the
>>>>>>>>> main things I did involved scoping out free stuff. I had minimal,
>>>>>>>>> if any,
>>>>>>>>> thoughts about which dorm I was going to live in IF I decided to go
>>>>>>>>> to MIT,
>>>>>>>>> and what I originally thought I wanted was completely different
>>>>>>>>> from what I
>>>>>>>>> actually wanted. We're supposed to be selling why MIT is the best
>>>>>>>>> school in
>>>>>>>>> the world, not why our dorm is the best dorm in the world. Although
>>>>>>>>> an
>>>>>>>>> awesome dorm is *a* reason why you should go to MIT, it shouldn't
>>>>>>>>> be *the
>>>>>>>>> *reason why you should go to MIT, especially since you're not
>>>>>>>>> guaranteed to live in that dorm. The biggest problems about the i3
>>>>>>>>> videos
>>>>>>>>> are that they occasionally do not accurately portray a dorm's
>>>>>>>>> culture and
>>>>>>>>> that the deadlines are announced way too late, or during the middle
>>>>>>>>> of the
>>>>>>>>> busiest time of the semester. As an example, I think Desmond has
>>>>>>>>> used the
>>>>>>>>> same one for the past 5 years (although we're making a new one)
>>>>>>>>> because we
>>>>>>>>> just haven't had time, and the culture has so drastically changed
>>>>>>>>> that it's
>>>>>>>>> almost hilarious. I have a lot of friends who ran screaming from
>>>>>>>>> their
>>>>>>>>> first-choice temp dorm because they weren't what they expected. I
>>>>>>>>> think the
>>>>>>>>> one thing that was the most accurate was what was written in the
>>>>>>>>> residence
>>>>>>>>> hall booklet, but you can't really get an accurate feel for a
>>>>>>>>> culture with
>>>>>>>>> just a page or two of writing (only half a page if you're in New
>>>>>>>>> House,
>>>>>>>>> too...). Dorm cultures at MIT aren't just subtle differences,
>>>>>>>>> either - it's
>>>>>>>>> very possible to just not be able to cope with a dorm situation.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I'd have to argue that, short of joining a sorority, my dorm has
>>>>>>>>> been
>>>>>>>>> the biggest factor in how I've survived MIT so far. Like I said
>>>>>>>>> before, it
>>>>>>>>> took me almost the entirety of REX to decide that I was happy with
>>>>>>>>> my dorm,
>>>>>>>>> and if I had any less time, I would have definitely adjusted out. I
>>>>>>>>> think
>>>>>>>>> that whole problem with shortening REX is that it's been
>>>>>>>>> established over so
>>>>>>>>> many years that the events that everyone looks forward to have just
>>>>>>>>> fallen
>>>>>>>>> into that time frame. Giving us a third (even less if you count
>>>>>>>>> that dorms
>>>>>>>>> do events on Thursday and Friday because some FPOPs end early) of
>>>>>>>>> that time
>>>>>>>>> just means that some people will get the short end of the stick,
>>>>>>>>> including
>>>>>>>>> the freshmen. They make the argument that events could start early,
>>>>>>>>> but the
>>>>>>>>> only reason events ever started early was because there were either
>>>>>>>>> enough
>>>>>>>>> people there that weren't in FPOPs or their FPOPs had already
>>>>>>>>> ended, the
>>>>>>>>> latter being a pretty useless argument if all the FPOPs are going
>>>>>>>>> to end
>>>>>>>>> early. Also, my experience with FPOPs was that I would finish my
>>>>>>>>> FPOP, go
>>>>>>>>> back to my dorm, drag myself up the stairs, shower, and collapse
>>>>>>>>> into my
>>>>>>>>> bed, with little or no energy to do anything else. I know other
>>>>>>>>> people felt
>>>>>>>>> the same way, too - a lot of FPOPs are either physically or
>>>>>>>>> mentally
>>>>>>>>> draining. If the faculty is worried that the freshmen are going to
>>>>>>>>> be worn
>>>>>>>>> out when the semester begins, then events shouldn't start at 8 am
>>>>>>>>> or make
>>>>>>>>> mandatory events take up 5 hours of our day and just have people
>>>>>>>>> talking at
>>>>>>>>> us. I lost more sleep to waking up early for orientation events
>>>>>>>>> than I did
>>>>>>>>> to staying up for REX events.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> We may have the longest orientation in the country, but we also
>>>>>>>>> have one
>>>>>>>>> of the hardest schools, and one of the the heaviest freshman
>>>>>>>>> workloads,
>>>>>>>>> regardless of pass/no record. I think Orientation was the last time
>>>>>>>>> I've
>>>>>>>>> legitimately had fun without worrying about classes, p-sets or
>>>>>>>>> grades,
>>>>>>>>> *including* IAP and December break. Our really long orientation is
>>>>>>>>> arguably one of the best things about MIT - getting to meet people
>>>>>>>>> who share
>>>>>>>>> your interests, free food, and no stress.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The administration says they're trying to work better with the
>>>>>>>>> student
>>>>>>>>> body to compromise, but given the dining plan situation and the
>>>>>>>>> fact that it
>>>>>>>>> is still a sore spot for many student, I am interested to see how
>>>>>>>>> they
>>>>>>>>> respond to student opinions on this subject. It seems like we will
>>>>>>>>> have to
>>>>>>>>> do a better job in communicating to the administration the
>>>>>>>>> importance of
>>>>>>>>> REX.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> ~Lauren Jefferson, New House CPW/REX Co-Chair
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> P.S.: Clarification: Does the article say that 5-day FPOPs will go
>>>>>>>>> into
>>>>>>>>> the Monday that REX starts? If that's the case, than that's even
>>>>>>>>> less fair,
>>>>>>>>> especially if ASEs also take time out of REX. Also, I know people
>>>>>>>>> who took
>>>>>>>>> 3-4 ASEs. If they want to talk about freshmen being burnt out,
>>>>>>>>> these
>>>>>>>>> freshmen would essentially be taking four finals in one day. That
>>>>>>>>> would burn
>>>>>>>>> ANYONE out.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 2:51 AM, Suan Tuang <stuang@mit.edu>
>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hi New House residents and New House Exec,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I hope that by now the New House
>>>>>>>>>> Exec
>>>>>>>>>> knows what has been going on in the UA regarding Chancellor Clay's
>>>>>>>>>> charge to
>>>>>>>>>> shorten the Orientation<
>>>>>>>>>> http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N64/orientation.html>.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> This basically cuts the REX events from 3 days to 1 day. I
>>>>>>>>>> strongly
>>>>>>>>>> recommend that New House Exec (especially the president and REX
>>>>>>>>>> chair) know
>>>>>>>>>> what exactly is going on and take appropriate actions regarding
>>>>>>>>>> this change
>>>>>>>>>> as it will have a strong impact on our future residents and
>>>>>>>>>> potentially the
>>>>>>>>>> culture of our dorm. I have forwarded the email sent to me by the
>>>>>>>>>> East
>>>>>>>>>> Campus President-elect James Douberley.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this
>>>>>>>>>> matter.
>>>>>>>>>> Remember, this change will affect the REX activities (remember all
>>>>>>>>>> those
>>>>>>>>>> free foods), but not the orientation events will not be cut. As
>>>>>>>>>> someone
>>>>>>>>>> pointed out during the Senate Emergency meeting, "they are
>>>>>>>>>> basically taking
>>>>>>>>>> away the fun parts of Orientation."
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> The changes will come directly from UAAP and if you are
>>>>>>>>>> interested,
>>>>>>>>>> feel free to contact the Senior Associate Dean and Director Julie
>>>>>>>>>> Normal at
>>>>>>>>>> Rm 7-103 and her email is jbnorman@mit.edu. <jbnorman@mit.edu>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Thank you very much!!
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Hope everyone is enjoying the last days of IAP!
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Suan Tuang
>>>>>>>>>> UA Senator, New House
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>>>>>>>> From: James Douberley <flipdog@mit.edu>
>>>>>>>>>> Date: Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:59 AM
>>>>>>>>>> Subject: New House President
>>>>>>>>>> To: stuang@mit.edu
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Hey Tuang,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I'm wondering who the new president is at New House? I know your
>>>>>>>>>> election happens in theory at the end of the fall term and the new
>>>>>>>>>> president
>>>>>>>>>> should have taken office already, I'm just curious as to who that
>>>>>>>>>> is. The
>>>>>>>>>> presidents of a number of other dorms are having discussions
>>>>>>>>>> regarding the
>>>>>>>>>> situation with REX and Orientation, and we'd like the involvement
>>>>>>>>>> of the New
>>>>>>>>>> House president, if he's interested.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Since Max Mann didn't show up to a single DormCon meeting this
>>>>>>>>>> term,
>>>>>>>>>> right now we have nobody to contact at New House, even though we'd
>>>>>>>>>> love to
>>>>>>>>>> be working alongside you all more. So if you could put me in touch
>>>>>>>>>> with the
>>>>>>>>>> new president, it would probably be for the benefit of us all.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Thanks.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> -James Douberley (EC President-elect)
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>> Suan Tuang
>>>>>>>>>> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>>>>>>>>>> Class of 2014
>>>>>>>>>> <tel:+14075955672> <tel:+14075955672> <tel:+14075955672>(407)
>>>>>>>>>> 595-5672 <tel:+14075955672> <tel:+14075955672>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Lauren Jefferson
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>>>>>>>>> Class of 2014
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>> Suan Tuang
>>>>>>>>> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>>>>>>>>> Class of 2014
>>>>>>>>> <tel:+14075955672> <tel:+14075955672> <tel:+14075955672>(407)
>>>>>>>>> 595-5672 <tel:+14075955672> <tel:+14075955672>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>> Alec C. Lai
>>>>>>> Secretary General
>>>>>>> MIT Undergraduate Association
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ua-secretary@mit.edu | <tel:+14404542942> <tel:+14404542942>
>>>>>>> (440)454-2942 <tel:+14404542942> <tel:+14404542942>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Alec C. Lai
>>>>> Secretary General
>>>>> MIT Undergraduate Association
>>>>>
>>>>> ua-secretary@mit.edu | <tel:+14404542942> <tel:+14404542942>
>>>>> (440)454-2942 <tel:+14404542942>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Best,
>>> Alec C. Lai
>>> Secretary General
>>> MIT Undergraduate Association
>>>
>>> ua-secretary@mit.edu | (440)454-2942 <tel:+14404542942>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Suan Tuang
>> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>> Class of 2014
>> (407) 595-5672 <tel:+14075955672>
>>
>>
>
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Everyone bring it up with your advisor tomorrow during your reg-day meeting=
.=A0 You don't have to talk their ear off, just ask if they've hear=
d what's going on and make it clear that you don't like it.<br><br>
-hwkns<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:50 PM, =
Betsy Riley <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:rileyb@mit.edu">rileyb@=
mit.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D=
"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padd=
ing-left: 1ex;">
One thing we're doing in EC is encouraging students to contact faculty =
members about changes to REX/Orientation to inform them of the issue and wh=
y students care, get their feedback, and ask for their support. I've at=
tached some bullet points for students to base their e-mails on. Contacting=
any faculty would be helpful, but I've included a list of the Fall GIR=
professors since they actually teach freshmen who are supposedly tired aft=
er Orientation. I encourage the other dorm senators to do a similar thing i=
n their dorms so that we can contact as many faculty as possible before the=
next faculty meeting, which is 2/16.<div>
<br></div><div>Betsy =A0</div><div><br></div><div><b>Fall 2010 GIR Professo=
rs:</b></div><div><br></div><div><span style=3D"font-family: arial,sans-ser=
if; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse;"><div>
<span style=3D"font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-colla=
pse: collapse;"><b><span style=3D"font-weight: normal;"><div><div><font col=
or=3D"#404040" face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D"4"><span style=
=3D"font-size: 14px;"><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"arial"><span style=3D=
"font-size: small;"><b>3.091</b>: Donald Sadoway (dsadoway), Ronald Balling=
er (hvymet)</span></font></span></font></div>
</div><div><div><font color=3D"#404040" face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, sans-seri=
f" size=3D"4"><span style=3D"font-size: 14px;"><font color=3D"#000000" face=
=3D"arial"><span style=3D"font-size: small;"><b>5.111</b>: Moungi Bawendi (=
mgb), Alexander Klibanov (klibanov)</span></font></span></font></div>
</div><div><b>5.112</b>: Moungi Bawendi (mgb), Richard Schrock (rrs)</div><=
/span></b></span></div><div><span style=3D"font-family: arial,sans-serif; f=
ont-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse;"><b><br></b></span></div><div>
<span style=3D"font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-colla=
pse: collapse;"><b><span style=3D"font-weight: normal;"><b>7.012</b>: Eric =
Lander (lander), Robert Weinberg (weinberg@wi)</span></b></span></div><div>
<span style=3D"font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-colla=
pse: collapse;"><b><span style=3D"font-weight: normal;"><br></span></b></sp=
an></div><div><span style=3D"font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px=
; border-collapse: collapse;"><b>8.01</b>: Peter Dourmashkin (padour) (tech=
nically not faculty, but still a good person to e-mail), Alexander Van Oude=
naarden (avano), Christoph Paus (paus), Thomas Greytak (greytak), Deepto Ch=
akrabarty (deepto), Klute (klute)<div>
<div><b>8.01L</b>: Paul Schechter (schech), Stanley Kowalski (kw), Young Le=
e (younglee)</div><div><b>8.012</b>: Martin Zwierlein (zwierlei), Marin Sol=
jacic (soljacic), Roman Jackiw (jackiw)</div><div><br></div><div><b>8.02</b=
>: not faculty (George Stephans)</div>
<div><b>8.022</b>:=A0John McGreevy (mcgreevy), David Pritchard (dpritch)</d=
iv><div><b>8.021</b>: Gabriella Sciolla (sciolla)</div><div><br></div><div>=
<b>18.01</b>: Paul Seidel (seidel@math), Ben Brubaker (brubaker@math)</div>
<div><b>18.014</b>: not faculty (Christine Breiner)</div><div><b>18.01A</b>=
: Arthur Mattuck (apm@math)</div><div><br></div><div><b>18.02</b>: Bjorn Po=
onen (poonen@math), Clark Barwick (clarkbar@math), David Vogan (dav@math)</=
div>
<div><b>18.022</b>: James McKernan (mckernan@math)</div></div></span></div>=
</span><div><div></div><div class=3D"h5"><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On =
Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 7:47 PM, Suan Tuang <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"m=
ailto:stuang@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">stuang@mit.edu</a>></span> wrote=
:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; borde=
r-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">I was contacted b=
y the president-elects of New House and East Campus regarding a potential m=
eeting between the dorm presidents and execs.<div>
<div></div><div><br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at =
7:40 PM, Alec Lai (UA Secretary-General) <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"m=
ailto:ua-secretary@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua-secretary@mit.edu</a>><=
/span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; borde=
r-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">I assume every Se=
nator, since it's part of their normal job, has already sent an email t=
o their dorm summarizing the meetings and asking for opinions...and those t=
hat are really proactive would've gone out and grabbed a few people or =
called an emergency event like you did.<div>
<br></div><div>And if you haven't sent an email....please do so soon! =
=3D) Summaries of the meeting are on the home page for <a href=3D"http://ua=
.mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua.mit.edu</a> . Use for reference if you need =
to!</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Best,</div><div>Alec</div><div><div><div><div></div><div><br><div clas=
s=3D"gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 7:35 PM, William Steadman <span d=
ir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:willst@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">willst@m=
it.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; borde=
r-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
Alec did a great job with the minutes. Sent them to senior-house.<br>
<br>
Again, what are we going to do? We need to figure out our plan for the next=
<br>
meeting.<br>
<br>
Senior House is having an emergency meeting tonight about this. This is the=
<br>
exactly right moment to have a constituency event.<br>
<br>
What are senators doing about this?<div><div></div><div><br>
<br>
<br>
Quoting "Alec Lai (UA Secretary-General)" <<a href=3D"mailto:u=
a-secretary@MIT.EDU" target=3D"_blank">ua-secretary@MIT.EDU</a>>:<br>
<br>
</div></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt =
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div>=
<div></div><div>
Top of page 7 in the draft minutes addresses this. =A0That's all she sa=
id<br>
about it I believe.<br>
Top of page 8 had a good counterargument.<br>
<br>
On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 1:45 PM, Jessica Chen <<a href=3D"mailto:jessica=
chen.dbhs@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">jessicachen.dbhs@gmail.com</a>>wr=
ote:<br>
<br>
</div></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt =
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div>=
<div></div><div>
Did anyone answer as to what led them to believe students are being tired<b=
r>
out by Orientation and would prefer to shorten it. I understand their<br>
concerns but where did it come about that Orientation length is a problem.<=
br>
<br>
Just curious<br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
~Jessica Chen<br>
MIT 2014<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 1:40 PM, Alec Lai (UA Secretary-General) <<br>
<a href=3D"mailto:ua-secretary@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua-secretary@mit.=
edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</div></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt =
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div>=
<div></div><div>
Summary and Draft Minutes for the meeting are already up. =A0They are also<=
br>
in a special box on the <a href=3D"http://ua.mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua.=
mit.edu</a> home page for easy access.<br>
<br>
Alec<br>
<br>
<br>
On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 1:38 PM, Janet Li (UA Public Relations Chair) <<=
br>
<a href=3D"mailto:ua-pr-chairs@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua-pr-chairs@mit.=
edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</div></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt =
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div>=
<div></div><div>
Good work, Suan! I hope all other senators have also emailed out to<br>
their constituencies to notify them of these significant changes to<br>
orientation and REX that are currently being discussed.<br>
<br>
If not, please do so immediately, as it is of utmost importance that we<br>
keep the student body as up to date as we can on these kinds of crucial<br>
issues.<br>
<br>
Janet Li<br></div></div>
MIT Undergraduate Association <<a href=3D"http://ua.mit.edu/" target=3D"=
_blank">http://ua.mit.edu/</a>><div><div></div><div><br>
Public Relations Chair<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 8:34 AM, Suan Tuang <<a href=3D"mailto:stuang@mi=
t.edu" target=3D"_blank">stuang@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</div></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt =
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div>=
<div></div><div>
Hi Senate,<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0This is an email regarding changes in REX f=
rom the New<br>
House REX Chair.<br>
<br>
Thank you very much!<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
Tuang<br>
<br>
---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>
From: Lauren Jefferson <<a href=3D"mailto:laj51714@mit.edu" target=3D"_b=
lank">laj51714@mit.edu</a>><br>
Date: Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 5:01 AM<br>
Subject: Re: [IMPORTANT!!!!] They're trying to cut REX. What do we do?<=
br>
To: Suan Tuang <<a href=3D"mailto:stuang@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">stua=
ng@mit.edu</a>><br>
<br>
<br>
Tuang,<br>
<br>
Just as a warning, this is really, really long:<br>
<br>
I don't like the idea of shortening REX. Sure, planning events would be=
<br>
easier because there would be fewer, but my dorm (Desmond) is really far<br=
>
from everything. Unless people have a reason, they don't usually come a=
ll<br>
the way out to New/Next house, which will definitely hurt our REX<br>
possibilities. I think it took me until the end of REX to get over how far<=
br>
the walk was. I personally didn't even make my decision to stay in New =
House<br>
until the last day of REX. I'd rather people who I live with to actuall=
y<br>
want to live there, rather than grumbling about having no other choice.<br>
<br>
Also, this smashes the scheduling for things like the East-Side,<br>
West-Side parties, and MacG/New/Next party. If I'm interpreting this<br=
>
correctly, there is only one night included in REX. That would mean that, i=
f<br>
all three parties were to run, these three groups would be directly<br>
competing against each other, resulting in three smaller parties than usual=
<br>
and general money wasting. Also, there's the problem with actually seei=
ng<br>
the dorms. Most people don't tour every dorm, but there's 12 dorms =
that<br>
participate in REX. If you wanted to see them all, it would take 12/30 hour=
s<br>
out of your REX, ignoring the fact that there would likely only be time for=
<br>
one or two sets of tours, which would result in limiting the number of tour=
s<br>
anyone could take. Also, there's the problem that it takes ~20 minutes =
to<br>
get between EC, Random, and/or Next, or at least it did when I first got<br=
>
there. If you include the orientation events, which I (stupidly) went to<br=
>
instead of REX events, food time, and the radical idea that freshmen<br>
actually want to have fun before they're thrown into long lectures and<=
br>
endless p-sets, you would have to clone yourself to get everything in. I<br=
>
seriously regretted not going to my own dorm's events because they<br>
conflicted with Orientation ones, when, in the long run, learning more abou=
t<br>
my dorm matters a lot more.<br>
<br>
Norman said in the article that CPW, the i3 videos, and the residence<br>
materials would be good indicators for housing selections. During CPW, the<=
br>
main things I did involved scoping out free stuff. I had minimal, if any,<b=
r>
thoughts about which dorm I was going to live in IF I decided to go to MIT,=
<br>
and what I originally thought I wanted was completely different from what I=
<br>
actually wanted. We're supposed to be selling why MIT is the best schoo=
l in<br>
the world, not why our dorm is the best dorm in the world. Although an<br>
awesome dorm is *a* reason why you should go to MIT, it shouldn't be *t=
he<br>
*reason why you should go to MIT, especially since you're not<br>
guaranteed to live in that dorm. The biggest problems about the i3 videos<b=
r>
are that they occasionally do not accurately portray a dorm's culture a=
nd<br>
that the deadlines are announced way too late, or during the middle of the<=
br>
busiest time of the semester. As an example, I think Desmond has used the<b=
r>
same one for the past 5 years (although we're making a new one) because=
we<br>
just haven't had time, and the culture has so drastically changed that =
it's<br>
almost hilarious. I have a lot of friends who ran screaming from their<br>
first-choice temp dorm because they weren't what they expected. I think=
the<br>
one thing that was the most accurate was what was written in the residence<=
br>
hall booklet, but you can't really get an accurate feel for a culture w=
ith<br>
just a page or two of writing (only half a page if you're in New House,=
<br>
too...). Dorm cultures at MIT aren't just subtle differences, either - =
it's<br>
very possible to just not be able to cope with a dorm situation.<br>
<br>
I'd have to argue that, short of joining a sorority, my dorm has been<b=
r>
the biggest factor in how I've survived MIT so far. Like I said before,=
it<br>
took me almost the entirety of REX to decide that I was happy with my dorm,=
<br>
and if I had any less time, I would have definitely adjusted out. I think<b=
r>
that whole problem with shortening REX is that it's been established ov=
er so<br>
many years that the events that everyone looks forward to have just fallen<=
br>
into that time frame. Giving us a third (even less if you count that dorms<=
br>
do events on Thursday and Friday because some FPOPs end early) of that time=
<br>
just means that some people will get the short end of the stick, including<=
br>
the freshmen. They make the argument that events could start early, but the=
<br>
only reason events ever started early was because there were either enough<=
br>
people there that weren't in FPOPs or their FPOPs had already ended, th=
e<br>
latter being a pretty useless argument if all the FPOPs are going to end<br=
>
early. Also, my experience with FPOPs was that I would finish my FPOP, go<b=
r>
back to my dorm, drag myself up the stairs, shower, and collapse into my<br=
>
bed, with little or no energy to do anything else. I know other people felt=
<br>
the same way, too - a lot of FPOPs are either physically or mentally<br>
draining. If the faculty is worried that the freshmen are going to be worn<=
br>
out when the semester begins, then events shouldn't start at 8 am or ma=
ke<br>
mandatory events take up 5 hours of our day and just have people talking at=
<br>
us. I lost more sleep to waking up early for orientation events than I did<=
br>
to staying up for REX events.<br>
<br>
We may have the longest orientation in the country, but we also have one<br=
>
of the hardest schools, and one of the the heaviest freshman workloads,<br>
regardless of pass/no record. I think Orientation was the last time I'v=
e<br>
legitimately had fun without worrying about classes, p-sets or grades,<br>
*including* IAP and December break. Our really long orientation is<br>
arguably one of the best things about MIT - getting to meet people who shar=
e<br>
your interests, free food, and no stress.<br>
<br>
The administration says they're trying to work better with the student<=
br>
body to compromise, but given the dining plan situation and the fact that i=
t<br>
is still a sore spot for many student, I am interested to see how they<br>
respond to student opinions on this subject. It seems like we will have to<=
br>
do a better job in communicating to the administration the importance of<br=
>
REX.<br>
<br>
~Lauren Jefferson, New House CPW/REX Co-Chair<br>
<br>
P.S.: Clarification: Does the article say that 5-day FPOPs will go into<br>
the Monday that REX starts? If that's the case, than that's even le=
ss fair,<br>
especially if ASEs also take time out of REX. Also, I know people who took<=
br>
3-4 ASEs. If they want to talk about freshmen being burnt out, these<br>
freshmen would essentially be taking four finals in one day. That would bur=
n<br>
ANYONE out.<br>
<br>
<br>
On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 2:51 AM, Suan Tuang <<a href=3D"mailto:stuang@mi=
t.edu" target=3D"_blank">stuang@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</div></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt =
0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div>=
<div></div><div>
Hi New House residents and New House Exec,<br>
<br>
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 I hope tha=
t by now the New House Exec<br>
knows what has been going on in the UA regarding Chancellor Clay's char=
ge to<br></div></div>
shorten the Orientation<<a href=3D"http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N64/orientat=
ion.html" target=3D"_blank">http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N64/orientation.html</=
a>>.<div><br>
This basically cuts the REX events from 3 days to 1 day. I strongly<br>
recommend that New House Exec (especially the president and REX chair) know=
<br>
what exactly is going on and take appropriate actions regarding this change=
<br>
as it will have a strong impact on our future residents and potentially the=
<br>
culture of our dorm. I have forwarded the email sent to me by the East<br>
Campus President-elect James Douberley.<br>
<br>
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this matter.<br>
Remember, this change will affect the REX activities (remember all those<br=
>
free foods), but not the orientation events will not be cut. As someone<br>
pointed out during the Senate Emergency meeting, "they are basically t=
aking<br>
away the fun parts of Orientation."<br>
<br>
The changes will come directly from UAAP and if you are interested,<br>
feel free to contact the Senior Associate Dean and Director Julie Normal at=
<br></div>
Rm 7-103 and her email is <a href=3D"mailto:jbnorman@mit.edu" target=3D"_bl=
ank">jbnorman@mit.edu</a>. <<a href=3D"mailto:jbnorman@mit.edu" target=
=3D"_blank">jbnorman@mit.edu</a>><div><div></div><div><br>
<br>
Thank you very much!!<br>
<br>
Hope everyone is enjoying the last days of IAP!<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
<br>
Suan Tuang<br>
UA Senator, New House<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>
From: James Douberley <<a href=3D"mailto:flipdog@mit.edu" target=3D"_bla=
nk">flipdog@mit.edu</a>><br>
Date: Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:59 AM<br>
Subject: New House President<br>
To: <a href=3D"mailto:stuang@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">stuang@mit.edu</a><=
br>
<br>
<br>
Hey Tuang,<br>
<br>
I'm wondering who the new president is at New House? I know your<br>
election happens in theory at the end of the fall term and the new presiden=
t<br>
should have taken office already, I'm just curious as to who that is. T=
he<br>
presidents of a number of other dorms are having discussions regarding the<=
br>
situation with REX and Orientation, and we'd like the involvement of th=
e New<br>
House president, if he's interested.<br>
<br>
Since Max Mann didn't show up to a single DormCon meeting this term,<br=
>
right now we have nobody to contact at New House, even though we'd love=
to<br>
be working alongside you all more. So if you could put me in touch with the=
<br>
new president, it would probably be for the benefit of us all.<br>
<br>
Thanks.<br>
<br>
-James Douberley (EC President-elect)<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
Suan Tuang<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
Class of 2014<br></div></div>
<tel:+14075955672><a href=3D"tel:+14075955672" target=3D"_blank"></a>=
<a href=3D"tel:+14075955672" target=3D"_blank"></a><a href=3D"tel:+14075955=
672" target=3D"_blank">(407) 595-5672</a> <tel:+14075955672><br>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
--<div><br>
Lauren Jefferson<br>
<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
Class of 2014<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
Suan Tuang<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
Class of 2014<br></div>
<tel:+14075955672><a href=3D"tel:+14075955672" target=3D"_blank"></a>=
<a href=3D"tel:+14075955672" target=3D"_blank"></a><a href=3D"tel:+14075955=
672" target=3D"_blank">(407) 595-5672</a> <tel:+14075955672><br>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
--<div><br>
Best,<br>
Alec C. Lai<br>
Secretary General<br>
MIT Undergraduate Association<br>
<br>
</div><a href=3D"mailto:ua-secretary@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua-secretar=
y@mit.edu</a> | <a href=3D"tel:+14404542942" target=3D"_blank"></a><a href=
=3D"tel:+14404542942" target=3D"_blank"></a><a href=3D"tel:+14404542942" ta=
rget=3D"_blank">(440)454-2942</a> <tel:+14404542942><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
--<div><br>
Best,<br>
Alec C. Lai<br>
Secretary General<br>
MIT Undergraduate Association<br>
<br>
<a href=3D"mailto:ua-secretary@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">ua-secretary@mit.=
edu</a> | <a href=3D"tel:+14404542942" target=3D"_blank"></a><a href=3D"tel=
:+14404542942" target=3D"_blank"></a><a href=3D"tel:+14404542942" target=3D=
"_blank">(440)454-2942</a><br>
<br>
</div></blockquote>
<br>
<br>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br></div></div>-- <br><div>Best,<=
div>Alec C. Lai<div>Secretary General</div><div>MIT Undergraduate Associati=
on</div><div><br></div><div><a href=3D"mailto:ua-secretary@mit.edu" target=
=3D"_blank">ua-secretary@mit.edu</a> | <a href=3D"tel:+14404542942" target=
=3D"_blank">(440)454-2942</a></div>
<div><br></div></div><br>
</div></div></div>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br></div></div>-- <br><div>Suan T=
uang<br>Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>Class of 2014<br></div><a =
href=3D"tel:+14075955672" target=3D"_blank">(407) 595-5672</a><br><br>
</blockquote></div><br>
</div></div></div>
</blockquote></div><br>
--90e6ba6e826ad675ad049b14ae1f--
