Opinion

UA Calls on Incoming Class to ‘Seize the Day’

Welcome to MIT! Whether you were covered by green Jell-O at Burton Conner’s Jell-O wrestling, inspired by Yet-Ming Chang’s research, or entertained by life-sized Tetris at East Campus, we are fairly certain that you’re aware of the fact that MIT is like no other college. From the 9 a.m. Math Diagnostics Test to rush events running throughout all hours of the night (and morning!), we are sure that you have begun to experience what it means to be an MIT student. These last few days of adrenaline filled all-nighters have been designed to integrate you into MIT’s unique experience: too much amazing stuff to fit into a short period of time.

After an exhausting week of dorm events, the other half of MIT’s campus comes alive during recruitment/rush. The FSILGs have their own set of events planned such as paintballing, F1 go-cart racing, and countless BBQs. Whether you decide to pursue this avenue or not, recruitment/rush provides a little more time to explore Boston, meet your classmates, and eat free food.

Regardless of how you choose to spend you time, make the most of these next few weeks, as it is one of the rare moments the campus is completely unburdened by the MIT academic “fire-hose.” Upperclassmen are eager to meet you and show you what they do for fun in the diverse sea of opportunities at MIT. This is a place where there are countless activities available, but you shouldn’t feel constrained by your previous experiences: all activities tend to have different levels, be it a Varsity sport or Intramural sport just for fun. Falling into the latter, D-League Ice Hockey is always popular — if you have never seen ice before, there is a good chance that you won’t be alone. The Activities Midway (Friday afternoon, in Johnson) is a great place to gather information about the endless ways to procrastinate the problem sets you are soon to enjoy.

At these events, meet lots of people; find out what they did and what they would do differently if given a chance. Nothing says you have decide your next four years this week, but cast a large net now so that you are well informed when the day does come to make a choice. Above all else, while you have time in your first term, try new things — you never know just what you will like and what people with whom you will choose to surround yourself.

We are the Undergraduate Association (UA), a group of students committed to improving everyday life at MIT. The UA is involved in some way with just about all campus-wide activities: the UA Senate funds over a hundred student groups on campus, the Class Councils hold regular study breaks to help students relax, and the Events Committees (one of ten committees) plans the Fall Festival (this year: Comedian Russell Peters) and Spring Weekend (last year: Third Eye Blind concert). Within the UA, over one hundred students come together in dozens of capacities to help guide the amazing experiences, both socially and academically, that MIT offers.

Want to get involved? We encourage you to contact us at any point this year if you have any questions about MIT or want to become involved in the UA. We will be at the Activities Midway, and look forward to meeting you!

Noah Jessop and Mike Bennie are the President and Vice President of the MIT Undergraduate Association.