[189] in UA Senate
"Hats" in Senate
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Catherine Olsson)
Wed Oct 21 11:14:02 2009
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:13:53 -0400
From: Catherine Olsson <catherio@MIT.EDU>
To: "ua-senate@mit.edu" <ua-senate@mit.edu>
In-Reply-To: <5EAF13778635B94CA150CF8D439CE4870A8570D2@EXPO8.exchange.mit.edu>
I think the lesson we can all learn here is to pay attention, in all our
communications, to what "hat" we are wearing when we are speaking. For
example, when speaking in Senate, by default we are all speaking as
Senators ("with our Senator hat on") unless otherwise indicated. But of
course we all might need to speak with another "hat" on, such as when I
speak as a Finboard member, or if Ryan should choose to speak as a Tech
writer. This is also important when speaking with admins or other
higher-ups: if you make a comment with your Senator hat on, it will
likely be interpreted as representative of your entire constituency's
opinions, even if you did not intend it that way. If it's ever unclear
as to what hat you're wearing when you say something, there's no harm in
specifying "As a Senator" or "As a student group leader" or "As a
resident of Random Hall" or whatever else it might be.
Thanks for clearing this up, Ryan. Hopefully if the UA gets any tickets
for Obama's speech they will let us know what process they will be
distributed by.
- Catherine
Ryan T Normandin wrote:
> I would just like to clarify my intentions when I sent out the first email regarding the pass to Obama's speech.The request for the pass to Obama's speech was coming from me as a Senator who has a heavy interest in government and politics, NOT as an opinion writer for the Tech. I mentioned that I was an opinion writer for The Tech only to further illustrate that, having authored many politically charged pieces, I am quite interested in national and international affairs. The message was hastily written and I apologize for any confusion that ensued. I will choose my words more carefully in the future.
> -Ryan Normandin
> UA Senate, MacGregor House
