[1318] in UA Senate
Re: Questions of CoS nomination
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Allan Miramonti)
Sat Apr 30 17:10:08 2011
In-Reply-To: <105220FF-B8FC-4B6A-9C54-C76D0D580FC2@mit.edu>
Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:10:04 -0400
From: Allan Miramonti <allanm@MIT.EDU>
To: David Chang <dchang@mit.edu>
Cc: Tim Jenks <tjenks@mit.edu>, Jessica Chen <jessicachen.dbhs@gmail.com>,
Karan Takhar <kstakhar4691@gmail.com>, Sammi Wyman <swyman@mit.edu>,
Benjamin Shaibu <benjaminshaibu@gmail.com>,
ua-senate <ua-senate@mit.edu>
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Thanks to those of you who have asked questions. If anyone else has a
question, please try to get it out today or tomorrow. I think David did a
good job responding to the questions thus far.
-Allan
On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 4:51 PM, David Chang <dchang@mit.edu> wrote:
> Hi Tim, Jessica, Karan, Sammi, Ben, et al.
>
> Hope you don't mind if I answer things in a different order for the sake =
of
> clarity. The text is self-standing and should flow if you read from
> beginning to end, but if you just want to jump to your question, I've tri=
ed
> to label as appropriate.
>
> I look forward to hearing back and welcome any additional questions or
> constructive feedback.
>
> Best,
> David Chang
>
>
> My goal as Chief of Staff is to help policy makers, MIT Administrators an=
d
> Faculty alike, to make the best decision. To this end, I will attract and
> retain a community of knowledgeable student representatives and facilitat=
e
> conversations and interactions with policy makers.
>
> Tim Jenks wrote :
>
> 1) What is the role of a student on an Institute Committee? How is this
>> different from a faculty member or administrator?
>>
>
> A direct result of the above statement: The role of the faculty and
> administration is to make good policy that advances MIT mission, and I
> believe that good policy is more likely when they have a better
> understanding of the students and their experiences at MIT. Then, to help
> them to their job of making good policy are students, whose goal is to
> provide the insight and knowledge necessary to help craft good policy and=
to
> avoid pitfall.
>
> Ben et Sammi wrote :
>
>> 1) Hi David, can you give any examples of times you had to work with
>> Administrators when not necessarily on the same page and came up with a
>> positive solution?
>> 1b) How about with Faculty?
>>
>
> Then, in order to help create good policy, it requires students to
> simultaneously understand the needs of the faculty, admin, and students. =
I
> truly believe that all three parties share a common interest, to advance
> knowledge, but disagreements can occur as each party has had different
> experiences and therefore see different routes to the goal. The only
> possible way of breaking gridlocks is to understand their first order
> intentions. One poignant example is when the CUP considered moving drop d=
ate
> from the 12th week to the 7th week of school. The projected savings were
> astronomical (and also a bit suspect), but if we had been arguing about
> money, we would all have an early drop date. But even with financial
> pressures, a bit of prodding was all that was necessary to remind some ke=
y
> faculty in the room about what they were really interested; for one, it w=
as
> the well being and mental health of students, for another it was pedagogy=
,
> and another the impact on social equality. That's the power that students
> have, is to provide insight on how a policy could affect students in each=
of
> the interest domains of the faculty. With administrators, I'm hoping that
> the same holds; appealing to their interests is the best way to advance
> student interests.
>
>
> Karan wrote:
>
>> 2.) How would you handle a situation in which you didn't agree with a
>> policy decision/opinion proposed by the UA President and/or Vice Preside=
nt?
>>
>
> That being said, my role as Chief of Staff differs from the role of a
> student representative: My goal is to facilitate conversations between
> parties. Policy differences do not affect my ability to serve as Chief of
> Staff, and that is part of the beauty of this particular office. My job i=
s
> to help student representatives, faculty, and administrators do their job=
,
> regardless of political persuasion. Even though part of my constitutional
> duties is to help the UAP, I trust that the student representatives, Alla=
n,
> and the rest of the UA will do an admirable job with interacting and
> communicating with policy makers.
>
> David wrote: (shameless self-plug)
>
>> What is an idea that you have for next year?
>>
>
> Now, while faculty committees and high level administrators are the most
> high profiles cases and I'm glad to have the formalized structure of stud=
ent
> representatives to serve them, I think that we ought to be thinking about
> street level bureaucrat as well. Often they are making key policies that
> affect student life with little understanding of students. If they are
> lucky, they've built a relationship with a student and can ask them for
> advice before creating policy. Many have not, so to facilitate that
> conversation, I plan on giving them direct access to student
> representatives, a very knowledgeable and helpful cohort. If they would l=
ike
> student opinions, in hopes of better policy, they can ask our mailing lis=
t
> or they can ask for participation in a focus group and I hope that
> administrators from all departments will take advantage of student opinio=
ns.
> Participating is not compulsory for representatives, but I hope to
> incentivize it and trust that the student representatives have a deep
> interest in policy and student life.
>
>
> Ben wrote:
>
>> How would you handle a situation where they were being disregarded, do y=
ou
>> feel that would be part of your responsibility?
>>
>
>
> Now the administrators and faculty only respond to student input when the=
y
> think it is good advice and can help them craft good policy. Thus, when
> student input is being disregarded, I think that it's a great shame.
> However, it signals to us that we are not being helpful, for whatever
> reason, and as students with little formalized power, the only response i=
s
> to double our efforts to be helpful and I'm sure that we can demonstrate =
our
> worth to them.
>
> Part of demonstrating and maintaining our worth is having a diverse and
> active body of student representatives that speaks with legitimacy and
> knowledge.
>
>
> Ben wrote:
>
>> 2) How do you feel about working with other students, particularly in
>> regards to selections and maintaining neutrality/objectivity?
>>
> (I believe you are asking about fairly selecting a diverse representative=
s,
> so feel free to ping me again if I misinterpreted.)
>
> When it comes to diversity, I have upmost respect for all MIT students in
> all disciplines, testified both from personal interactions and by the MIT
> news office research emails on research from all corners of the Institute=
. I
> believe in the importance of balance, as a personal belief is "all things=
in
> moderation"; At MIT, I take political science classes to balance Course 6=
,
> and here at a political science university in France, I'm still doing a U=
ROP
> with CSAIL. More so, while I believe the best decisions are made when awa=
re
> of opinions from all perspectives, it's something that I've also heard fr=
om
> a committee staff member, so there is both internal and external incentiv=
e
> to maintain diversity and no incentive to choose only a subset of the MIT
> population. Lastly, my friends aren't interested in policy at MIT (they y=
awn
> loudly when I talk about it), so there's no chance for nepotism.
>
>
> Ben wrote:
>
>> 3) How would you deal with student members on Institute Committees not
>> performing their duties?
>>
>
>
> To encourage active members, I hope to create an environment where studen=
t
> representatives feel respected and important, inline with the work that t=
hey
> do to promote quality work and to keep them engaged. Ideas for doing this
> are raising their profile on campus, a closer community among
> representatives, or perks and I would welcome any ideas you have about th=
is.
>
> When dealing with inactive members, the details of the case matter greatl=
y,
> so it will be handled on a case by case basis, but I what I will say is t=
hat
> In the case there someone hasn't been attending or I hear that they have
> been unprepared, my first concern is that they are okay; those are signs =
of
> a difficult personal or physical issue, not likely out of willful neglige=
nce
> as all representatives are volunteers. The student has shown a desire to
> serve, but is unable to for some reason, so berating them does little goo=
d.
> Thus, my goal is to treat them with respect, understand what they are
> dealing with, and then go from there.
>
>
> Karan wrote:
>
>> 1.) How do you plan to stay in touch with student representatives to
>> Institute Committees in the coming year and how often will you be in
>> contact?
>>
>
> Staying in contact with student representatives is an important way to
> build community and to increase student say in committees as currently,
> students don't know the other students on similar committees. This puts u=
s
> at a relative disadvantage as committee staff members are working with ot=
her
> committees, administrators, and interested faculty to build consensus
> outside of scheduled committee meetings and as a result, most policies pa=
ss
> by the time they reach the faculty floor. We ought to emulate.
>
> I'm looking at the possibility of meeting with each student representativ=
e
> 3 times a semester. With ~60 representatives, this would involve 3 reps p=
lus
> me at lunch everyday for 4 weeks to cycle through. I do think it's a quic=
k
> schedule, but that scheduling events regularly is important and even
> representatives that only meet once a semester can contribute. However, t=
his
> can only happen on a couple conditions: 1. Funding to reimburse everyone'=
s
> lunch 2. An automated way to schedule meetings online 3. A procurement
> credit card to handle reimbursements.
>
> I know that this plan is ambitious and I'd welcome your feedback on it to
> make it work. The runner-up alternative is having larger groups for dinne=
r,
> also on a ~4 week cycle.
>
>
> Karan wrote:
>
>> 3.) What will your other time commitments be next semester and how muc=
h
>> time per week do you think would be sufficient to complete your workload=
as
>> Chief of Staff (I understand that answer probably varies with Institute
>> Committee vacancies)?
>>
>
> This will be my only leadership position, as my time in France has reduce=
d
> my commitments elsewhere and my ability to complete a second major, so I'=
m
> in a good position. Predictions are so difficult, especially as my previo=
us
> role as SCEP chair is a completely different creature and so I will trust=
in
> my ability as an MIT student to get everything done when needed.
>
>
>
> Le 29 avr. 11 =E0 18:20, Tim Jenks a =E9crit :
>
>
> Great questions so far guys! I have one too:
>>
>> 1) What is the role of a student on an Institute Committee? How is this
>> different from a faculty member or administrator?
>>
>> --Tim
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 2:56 PM, Allan Miramonti <allanm@mit.edu> wrote:
>> I mentioned last night that I would create a thread to take questions fo=
r
>> David Chang. He has also agreed to draft an introduction outlining his
>> goals and experiences in the next couple days.
>>
>> Please keep your questions reasonable and use good judgement. Try and a=
sk
>> thoughtful questions that don't waste anyone's time. If I don't see man=
y
>> questions over the next few days, I'll bump the thread again.
>>
>> Basic information:
>> David is a former SCEP chair who is currently studying abroad. He will =
be
>> a senior next year and is from Burton Conner. In the past he has served =
on
>> CUP and spent time with other institute committees. It is not a stretch=
to
>> say that as SCEP chair and his involvement with other institute committe=
es,
>> David understands how to work with faculty and administration and get th=
ings
>> done.
>>
>> -Allan
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ----------------
>> Tim Jenks
>> Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
>> MIT Class of 2013
>> tjenks@mit.edu
>>
>>
>
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Thanks to those of you who have asked questions.=A0 If anyone else has a qu=
estion, please try to get it out today or tomorrow.=A0 I think David did a =
good job responding to the questions thus far.<br><br>-Allan<br><br><div cl=
ass=3D"gmail_quote">
On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 4:51 PM, David Chang <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=
=3D"mailto:dchang@mit.edu">dchang@mit.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockqu=
ote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc s=
olid;padding-left:1ex;">
Hi Tim, Jessica, Karan, Sammi, Ben, et al.<br>
<br>
Hope you don't mind if I answer things in a different order for the sak=
e of clarity. The text is self-standing and should flow if you read from be=
ginning to end, but if you just want to jump to your question, I've tri=
ed to label as appropriate.<br>
<br>
I look forward to hearing back and welcome any additional questions or cons=
tructive feedback.<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
David Chang<br>
<br>
<br>
My goal as Chief of Staff is to help policy makers, MIT Administrators and =
Faculty alike, to make the best decision. To this end, I will attract and r=
etain a community of knowledgeable student representatives and facilitate c=
onversations and interactions with policy makers.<br>
<br>
Tim Jenks wrote :<div class=3D"im"><br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
1) What is the role of a student on an Institute Committee? =A0How is this =
different from a faculty member or administrator?<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
A direct result of the above statement: The role of the faculty and adminis=
tration is to make good policy that advances MIT mission, and I believe tha=
t good policy is more likely when they have a better understanding of the s=
tudents and their experiences at MIT. Then, to help them to their job of ma=
king good policy are students, whose goal is to provide the insight and kno=
wledge necessary to help craft good policy and to avoid pitfall.<br>
<br>
Ben et Sammi wrote :<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class=3D"im">
1) Hi David, can you give any examples of times you had to work with Admini=
strators when not necessarily on the same page and came up with a positive =
solution?<br></div>
1b) How about with Faculty?<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Then, in order to help create good policy, it requires students to simultan=
eously understand the needs of the faculty, admin, and students. I truly be=
lieve that all three parties share a common interest, to advance knowledge,=
but disagreements can occur as each party has had different experiences an=
d therefore see different routes to the goal. The only possible way of brea=
king gridlocks is to understand their first order intentions. One poignant =
example is when the CUP considered moving drop date from the 12th week to t=
he 7th week of school. The projected savings were astronomical (and also a =
bit suspect), but if we had been arguing about money, we would all have an =
early drop date. But even with financial pressures, a bit of prodding was a=
ll that was necessary to remind some key faculty in the room about what the=
y were really interested; for one, it was the well being and mental health =
of students, for another it was pedagogy, and another the impact on social =
equality. That's the power that students have, is to provide insight on=
how a policy could affect students in each of the interest domains of the =
faculty. With administrators, I'm hoping that the same holds; appealing=
to their interests is the best way to advance student interests.<div class=
=3D"im">
<br>
<br>
Karan wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
=A0 2.) How would you handle a situation in which you didn't agree wit=
h a policy decision/opinion proposed by the UA President and/or Vice Presid=
ent?<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
That being said, my role as Chief of Staff differs from the role of a stude=
nt representative: My goal is to facilitate conversations between parties. =
Policy differences do not affect my ability to serve as Chief of Staff, and=
that is part of the beauty of this particular office. My job is to help st=
udent representatives, faculty, and administrators do their job, regardless=
of political persuasion. Even though part of my constitutional duties is t=
o help the UAP, I trust that the student representatives, Allan, and the re=
st of the UA will do an admirable job with interacting and communicating wi=
th policy makers.<br>
<br>
David wrote: (shameless self-plug)<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
What is an idea that you have for next year?<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Now, while faculty committees and high level administrators are the most hi=
gh profiles cases and I'm glad to have the formalized structure of stud=
ent representatives to serve them, I think that we ought to be thinking abo=
ut street level bureaucrat as well. Often they are making key policies that=
affect student life with little understanding of students. If they are luc=
ky, they've built a relationship with a student and can ask them for ad=
vice before creating policy. Many have not, so to facilitate that conversat=
ion, I plan on giving them direct access to student representatives, a very=
knowledgeable and helpful cohort. If they would like student opinions, in =
hopes of better policy, they can ask our mailing list or they can ask for p=
articipation in a focus group and I hope that administrators from all depar=
tments will take advantage of student opinions. Participating is not compul=
sory for representatives, but I hope to incentivize it and trust that the s=
tudent representatives have a deep interest in policy and student life.<div=
class=3D"im">
<br>
<br>
Ben wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
How would you handle a situation where they were being disregarded, do you =
feel that would be part of your responsibility?<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br></div>
Now the administrators and faculty only respond to student input when they =
think it is good advice and can help them craft good policy. Thus, when stu=
dent input is being disregarded, I think that it's a great shame. Howev=
er, it signals to us that we are not being helpful, for whatever reason, an=
d as students with little formalized power, the only response is to double =
our efforts to be helpful and I'm sure that we can demonstrate our wort=
h to them.<br>
<br>
Part of demonstrating and maintaining our worth is having a diverse and act=
ive body of student representatives that speaks with legitimacy and knowled=
ge.<div class=3D"im"><br>
<br>
Ben wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
2) How do you feel about working with other students, particularly in regar=
ds to selections and maintaining neutrality/objectivity?<br>
</blockquote></div>
(I believe you are asking about fairly selecting a diverse representatives,=
so feel free to ping me again if I misinterpreted.)<br>
<br>
When it comes to diversity, I have upmost respect for all MIT students in a=
ll disciplines, testified both from personal interactions and by the MIT ne=
ws office research emails on research from all corners of the Institute. I =
believe in the importance of balance, as a personal belief is "all thi=
ngs in moderation"; At MIT, I take political science classes to balanc=
e Course 6, and here at a political science university in France, I'm s=
till doing a UROP with CSAIL. More so, while I believe the best decisions a=
re made when aware of opinions from all perspectives, it's something th=
at I've also heard from a committee staff member, so there is both inte=
rnal and external incentive to maintain diversity and no incentive to choos=
e only a subset of the MIT population. Lastly, my friends aren't intere=
sted in policy at MIT (they yawn loudly when I talk about it), so there'=
;s no chance for nepotism.<div class=3D"im">
<br>
<br>
Ben wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
3) How would you deal with student members on Institute Committees not perf=
orming their duties?<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br></div>
To encourage active members, I hope to create an environment where student =
representatives feel respected and important, inline with the work that the=
y do to promote quality work and to keep them engaged. Ideas for doing this=
are raising their profile on campus, a closer community among representati=
ves, or perks and I would welcome any ideas you have about this.<br>
<br>
When dealing with inactive members, the details of the case matter greatly,=
so it will be handled on a case by case basis, but I what I will say is th=
at In the case there someone hasn't been attending or I hear that they =
have been unprepared, my first concern is that they are okay; those are sig=
ns of a difficult personal or physical issue, not likely out of willful neg=
ligence as all representatives are volunteers. The student has shown a desi=
re to serve, but is unable to for some reason, so berating them does little=
good. Thus, my goal is to treat them with respect, understand what they ar=
e dealing with, and then go from there.<div class=3D"im">
<br>
<br>
Karan wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
1.) How do you plan to stay in touch with student representatives to Instit=
ute Committees in the coming year and how often will you be in contact?<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
Staying in contact with student representatives is an important way to buil=
d community and to increase student say in committees as currently, student=
s don't know the other students on similar committees. This puts us at =
a relative disadvantage as committee staff members are working with other c=
ommittees, administrators, and interested faculty to build consensus outsid=
e of scheduled committee meetings and as a result, most policies pass by th=
e time they reach the faculty floor. We ought to emulate.<br>
<br>
I'm looking at the possibility of meeting with each student representat=
ive 3 times a semester. With ~60 representatives, this would involve 3 reps=
plus me at lunch everyday for 4 weeks to cycle through. I do think it'=
s a quick schedule, but that scheduling events regularly is important and e=
ven representatives that only meet once a semester can contribute. However,=
this can only happen on a couple conditions: 1. Funding to reimburse every=
one's lunch 2. An automated way to schedule meetings online 3. A procur=
ement credit card to handle reimbursements.<br>
<br>
I know that this plan is ambitious and I'd welcome your feedback on it =
to make it work. The runner-up alternative is having larger groups for dinn=
er, also on a ~4 week cycle.<div class=3D"im"><br>
<br>
Karan wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
=A0 3.) What will your other time commitments be next semester and how muc=
h time per week do you think would be sufficient to complete your workload =
as Chief of Staff (I understand that answer probably varies with Institute =
Committee vacancies)?<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
This will be my only leadership position, as my time in France has reduced =
my commitments elsewhere and my ability to complete a second major, so I=
9;m in a good position. Predictions are so difficult, especially as my prev=
ious role as SCEP chair is a completely different creature and so I will tr=
ust in my ability as an MIT student to get everything done when needed.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Le 29 avr. 11 =E0 18:20, Tim Jenks a =E9crit :<div><div></div><div class=3D=
"h5"><br>
<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Great questions so far guys! =A0I have one too:<br>
<br>
1) What is the role of a student on an Institute Committee? =A0How is this =
different from a faculty member or administrator?<br>
<br>
--Tim<br>
<br>
On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 2:56 PM, Allan Miramonti <<a href=3D"mailto:alla=
nm@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">allanm@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
I mentioned last night that I would create a thread to take questions for D=
avid Chang. =A0He has also agreed to draft an introduction outlining his go=
als and experiences in the next couple days.<br>
<br>
Please keep your questions reasonable and use good judgement. =A0Try and as=
k thoughtful questions that don't waste anyone's time. =A0If I don&=
#39;t see many questions over the next few days, I'll bump the thread a=
gain.<br>
<br>
Basic information:<br>
David is a former SCEP chair who is currently studying abroad. =A0He will b=
e a senior next year and is from Burton Conner. In the past he has served o=
n CUP and spent time with other institute committees. =A0It is not a stretc=
h to say that as SCEP chair and his involvement with other institute commit=
tees, David understands how to work with faculty and administration and get=
things done.<br>
<br>
-Allan<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
-- <br>
----------------<br>
Tim Jenks<br>
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering<br>
MIT Class of 2013<br>
<a href=3D"mailto:tjenks@mit.edu" target=3D"_blank">tjenks@mit.edu</a><br>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br>
--00151759312ae05c3c04a22936c9--
