Expanding our horizons through nuclear energy and space exploration
Whether you’re religious or atheist, looking at the sun, moon, stars, and beyond gives you a sense of power and intimacy with nature itself.
On need
SFS took my “family’s financial circumstances” into account, but their broad definition of family included a woman who is more of an angry ghost than a functioning parent. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that this choice was better for the university’s bottom line.
On civility: in search of the path forward
I write today to share some personal reflections and concerns about the way our community is currently interacting.
Facts about the safety and security of nuclear power plants in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine is heart-breaking. Combining the words “war” and “nuclear” adds fear and raises a host of questions amid uncertainty and sadness. Ukraine is a country that derives over half of its electricity from nuclear energy and has 15 reactors generating electricity. Ukraine is also the location of the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant, which was the site of the worst nuclear accident in history. [Here is a video about what happened at Chernobyl, by Prof. Mike Short, as taught in 22.01 (Introduction to Nuclear Engineering and Ionizing Radiation), Fall 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijst4g5KFN0.]
An open letter on graduate student unionization
If MIT and its students are opponents, then how do we continue to be full-on collaborators?
We have genuine love, strength in numbers, and unity on our side
Reaching this point has taken a lot of hard work, and MIT’s administrators haven’t made it easy.
An open letter on why UE and what it stands for cannot represent MIT graduate students
A vote no is not a vote against unionization in general but merely against our unionizing with UE.
Recommendations towards a better MIT for Asian Americans
We still do not have enough culturally competent mental health professionals, representation within faculty, staff, and senior-level administration, or a physical community space.
Harvard Graduate Student Union solidarity statement: vote yes to MIT graduate student unionization
Before our contract, student workers often knew little of what was expected of them, even regarding their basic hours and responsibilities.
The risks and costs of unionization
On April 4 and 5, many of MIT’s graduate students will participate in a confidential election to decide whether the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) will represent them for collective bargaining.
An open letter on the closing of the MIT Pharmacy
What will be the next convenience, perk, benefit, or job to be abruptly ended?
The disgraceful end of the beloved MIT Pharmacy
Believe me, there is no more comforting feeling than sprinting from MIT Medical’s Urgent Care to the warm environment of the Pharmacy and having an antibiotic or antiviral resting on your tongue in less than 15 minutes.
A former GSC President’s call to unionization
When negotiating with an administration that refuses to recognize what we do every day as work, I had little power to meaningfully address problems and make improvements in our conditions and compensation.
Why I’m voting ‘no’ to the graduate student union
How do the UE and GSU imagine they will write a singular representative contract that accounts for the thousands of possible and unpredictable paths that might be taken to solve the tough problems we tackle at MIT?
Ukraine is fighting the war that we should be fighting
Pick up your phone. Call your representative. Demand MIT to act now.
Senior Associate Dean of Housing & Residential Services responds to “We are unionizing for quality and affordable housing”
According to survey data, 90% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they are satisfied with their choice to live on campus.
An open letter on the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukrainians fight for their freedom, for the right to be Ukrainian, for the right to determine their own future. These aspirations are universal. They are just. If you believe in these rights, if you believe that big countries subjugating smaller ones by force is wrong, you should care about Ukraine.
Without a union, MIT is failing GRAs and undergraduates alike
Trying to maintain adequate living conditions was exhausting, frustrating, and totally disruptive to my research, my studies, and my GRA responsibilities.
An open letter on the considerations to be made about MIT graduate student unionization
At issue is the question of whether our students and our Institute would be better served by a relationship that positions students as “workers” in an industry-like organization or as academic partners and rising colleagues who, in the course of their educational program, contribute to our shared teaching and research missions.
Our successes together
Indeed, it is our deep interest in our students’ work and success that has led us to embrace roles in student support and academic life, rather than focusing solely on our teaching and research.