Preliminary results of COVID-related student surveys released
Only 26% of on-campus and 24% of off-campus undergraduate respondents “agree strongly” that they “feel like part of the community at MIT,” compared to 41% of respondents in the 2019 Undergraduate Enrolled Student Survey.
Two ‘mini’ town halls held with students to discuss fall scenarios
MIT Medical is “bumping up” its staff to be able to conduct contact tracing — which Stuopis called “the most critical public health offering that we have.”
Flexible P/NR policy approved in faculty meeting
The policy allows incoming undergraduates to retroactively designate up to 48 units as P/NR after the first semester and was first proposed by the Committee on the Undergraduate Program (CUP) in the March faculty meeting.
MIT creates working group in response to new Title IX regulations
Schools are required to update their existing procedures to comply with the new regulations by Aug. 14. Whittle and Dahleh wrote that this “short timeframe” and the “timing of the regulations’ release” amid the COVID-19 pandemic are “regrettable.”
Jason Ku reflects on his time as MIT student, researcher, and lecturer
Ku: As for the transition to Course 6, when I got to grad school, I noticed that for every problem I wanted to tackle, I needed to be able to process a lot of data or be able to run a simulation. It’s not that the interesting things involved computer science, but I had to be able to use a computer to do my work.
Reif leads second town hall to discuss plans for continuity and reopening campus
Topics covered included evolving knowledge about COVID-19, academic preparations for the fall, staffing, residential continuity, and reopening campus research.
Task Force 2021 charged to brainstorm ‘better’ post-COVID-19 MIT
Reif wrote in the task force opening charge that the task force will draw from “lessons” from the pandemic to help imagine MIT’s future. Some goals that Reif outlined for the Institute were to be safer and more efficient, sustainable, inclusive, equitable, affordable, and financially resilient.
Geathers, Chen discuss increasing diversity, prioritizing student concerns, and responding to COVID-19
Geathers: We all want to solve the same problem at MIT, and the creation of the Diversity Council will really get the leaders of these organizations to the table.
MIT Student/Alumni Externship Program moves to CAPD
Geer wrote that CAPD is currently “exploring” what the application process for students will look like.
Digital diplomas to be issued during online commencement
The Registrar’s Office “will be in touch about the distribution of physical diplomas when additional information is available,” Trachy wrote.
Last day of classes, final exams, virtual commencement
The last day of classes is May 12.
Danielle Geathers and Yu Jing Chen elected UA president and vice president
Fiona Chen ’21 and Yara Komaiha ’21 also ran for president and vice president respectively in the first contested UA presidential election since 2017.
Team 2020 offers five proposals for fall semester
Team 2020, a group of administrators and faculty tasked with planning the return to normal campus operations, has offered five proposals for Fall 2020 classes.
Reif and Barnhart provide updates on MIT summer plans
“All summer programming in which participants live in MIT residence halls will need to be virtualized, cancelled, or rescheduled,” while “all other summer programming will need to take place remotely” through June 28. Furthermore, “MIT-sponsored domestic and international travel is suspended for the entire summer.”
Flexible P/NR student forum held
Students raised concerns that the proposed policy may not adequately encourage exploration, as it will replace options such as Jr./Sr. P/D/F.
MIT town hall, elections, fall pre-registration postponed
A virtual MIT Town Hall will be held 4 p.m. EDT May 5.
Discussions to update EC security continue
EC President Miana Smith ’21 wrote in an email to EC residents that HRS planned to implement security measures including cameras on external doors, an Allied Universal security desk, and guest lists of non-residents who can check into the security desk. According to Smith’s email, HRS had not previously discussed making these changes with EC’s residents or house team.
Cambridge residents required to cover mouth and nose in public places
New guidelines require MIT community members living in on-campus residential buildings to wear face coverings when entering any common area, including lobbies, hallways, elevators, stairwells, dining areas, laundry rooms, garages or parking lots, and walkways.
Community members build MIT campus in Minecraft
Shayna Ahteck ’23 wrote that there are “plans in the works to do comparative displays” or a virtual reality or mixed reality version of the map “to enhance our on-campus enjoyment of the buildings we usually occupy.”
UA presidential candidates discuss transparency, climate change, COVID-19, and CUP experiments in debate
Both candidates expressed concern over institutional memory and proposed increasing documentation on past conversations. Both candidates also said that having these records available to students is important.