From nakeisha at MIT.EDU Sat Feb 3 10:20:45 2007 From: nakeisha at MIT.EDU (Nakeischea Loi Smith) Date: Sat, 03 Feb 2007 10:20:45 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] MONDAY! Student Q&A with Professor James Sherley Message-ID: <20070203102045.os66d1w3t7kgwg0w@webmail.mit.edu> Dear Students, Please join us for a Q&A session with Professor James Sherley. THIS Monday, February 5th Time: 5pm - 6:30pm Location: 56-114 Look at M.I.T. Map Students may submit questions they would like Professor Sherley to address by sending an email to: nakeisha at mit.edu See you there! From nakeisha at MIT.EDU Tue Feb 6 10:32:49 2007 From: nakeisha at MIT.EDU (Nakeischea Loi Smith) Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2007 10:32:49 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Discussion about Tenure Process--Today 5-7pm room 3-270 Message-ID: <20070206103249.dg8cjg80szs484sg@webmail.mit.edu> Please rsvp to Dear Students, As you may know, Professor Sherley has begun a fast to challenge his tenure process which will raise a number of questions for students to address with faculty members who have been involved in handling tenure cases and supporting junior faculty. The Office of Minority Education and the Chancellor are sponsoring a discussion about the faculty tenure process on Tuesday, February 6 from 5-7pm in room 3-270. The discussion will be hosted by a tenured MIT faculty member. Refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you at this very informative session. Karl W. Reid Assistant to the Chancellor for Diversity Associate Dean and Director The Office of Minority Education From eclay at MIT.EDU Tue Feb 6 17:18:21 2007 From: eclay at MIT.EDU (Elizabeth Margarette Clay) Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:18:21 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Fwd: Response to the Diversity Committee Message-ID: <20070206171821.drppdp8i0ybwo8cw@webmail.mit.edu> Great news guys- take a look at the outcomes from our advocacy meeting in December. Not everything is perfect of course (that's why we still NEED a diversity committee)- but I think they listened. ----- Forwarded message from plclay at MIT.EDU ----- Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 16:01:57 -0500 From: "Phillip L. Clay" Reply-To: "Phillip L. Clay" Subject: Response to the Diversity Committee To: liz , nakeischea at hotmail.com We are delighted to respond to the requests you made in our discussion some weeks ago. We are happy to support the goals of the GSC Diversity Committee to improve outreach and recruitment of a diverse body of graduate students. For many years, we have valued the active engagement of graduate students and the GSC, which I hope to see sustained in the future. The voice of current graduate students that attracts minority students is a critical component of institutional commitment. We are anxious to gain more progress than ever before to achieve the goals, which the faculty in its May 2004 vote committed us to pursue. To that end, the administration will: 1. Hire a full-time Diversity Coordinator in GSO. We did this with the hiring of Jennifer Jenkins who will begin very soon. The Diversity Coordinator position comes from a grant that the GSO obtained in 2006 from the Amgen Foundation. 2. We will provide tuition and stipend in TA appointments for two student assistants who will work with the GSO, student groups, and departments on recruiting efforts. 3. The Chancellor will chair a new group of departmental and school representatives. Composed of senior faculty and staff, this group will share best practice and coordinate efforts to advance diversity outreach and recruitment. The goal will be to deepen and expand current efforts. We will include graduate student representatives in the group, based on a process formulated in consultation with the GSC Diversity Committee and the GSO. 4. The Institute budget for FY ?08 will be released shortly. We expect to provide a significant increase in resources to support expansion of efforts such as Converge and MSRP. The precise use of the funds will depend on an assessment of how best to use the new resources. We feel these new resources will provide significant new flexibility. Your committee also asked that the prospective appointment of an Associate Provost for Diversity include a focus on graduate student diversity. We cannot make this commitment. The challenge in promoting faculty diversity is sufficient charge for this position. We do not believe it is appropriate to add graduate student diversity to the responsibility of the Provost?s Office. Instead, the responsibility should be that of the GSO and the Chancellor?s Office. Point #3 above represents a new commitment to making this role more substantial and accountable. We are committed to greatly improving our graduate student diversity outcomes. We welcome support and engagement from the GSC. We look forward to your energy and these new resources to make the difference. Rafael Reif Provost Professor Phillip L.Clay Chancellor ----- End forwarded message ----- Master of City Planning Candidate, 2007 Department of Urban Studies and Planning Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, GSC Massachusetts Institute of Technology 617.699.1514 (Mobile) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/gsc-diversity-all/attachments/20070206/a784ecea/attachment.htm From eclay at MIT.EDU Thu Feb 8 10:45:00 2007 From: eclay at MIT.EDU (Elizabeth Margarette Clay) Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:45:00 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Last night and next meeting Message-ID: <20070208104500.isijk3c5l0igcw8c@webmail.mit.edu> Dear Diversity Committee, I just want to take this moment, before we move onto next month?s vote for a permanent committee to thank all of you for coming last night and sharing your views and passion for why this should move forward. I especially want to say that I think Nakeischea did a great job in describing 6 months of work in 4 minutes and displaying our strengths. If the GSC body does not agree with us, it is not because we did not present a strong case. Our NEXT MEETING will be next Thursday (15th) at 6:30, in the GSC Office to talk about events and projects for the spring. Please let me know if you can make it, and bring a friend who might be interested in being onvolved in the next year. We will also talk about transitioning leadership- since committee elections are held in April! Look forward to seeing you all then, Elizabeth Master of City Planning Candidate, 2007 Department of Urban Studies and Planning Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, GSC Massachusetts Institute of Technology 617.699.1514 (Mobile) From eclay at MIT.EDU Mon Feb 12 12:20:15 2007 From: eclay at MIT.EDU (Elizabeth Margarette Clay) Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:20:15 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Fwd: [Diversity] THURS: Free Dinner and Discussion - Why I'm an Ally Message-ID: <20070212122015.42cnbopioyoks8go@webmail.mit.edu> ----- Forwarded message from afran at MIT.EDU ----- Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:55:11 -0500 From: Abigail M Francis Reply-To: Abigail M Francis Subject: [Diversity] THURS: Free Dinner and Discussion - Why I'm an Ally To: lbgt-student at mit.edu, allies at mit.edu, diversity-forums at mit.edu, c3_participants at mit.edu, lbgt-faculty at mit.edu, qstaff at mit.edu, gables at mit.edu, lbgt-members at mit.edu You are cordially invited to: LBGT Ally Dinner and Panel Discussion, Feb. 15 7-9pm MIT - Building W11 - Main Dining Room Why is it important to have LBGT Allies? What do LBGT Allies say about their thoughts, views, and roles within the LBGT community? How can you help? Allies at mit, GaMIT, and ULC invite you to join us on February 15, from 7 - 9 pm for this dinner and panel discussion. This invitation is open to all students and residents of the Boston area. Please RSVP to ihilburn at mit.edu by Noon, Wednesday, Feb 14. The event will have limited spacing, so for your benefit we ask you to RSVP, and please let us know if you have any special dietary needs. _______________________________________________ Diversity-forums mailing list Diversity-forums at mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/diversity-forums ----- End forwarded message ----- Master of City Planning Candidate, 2007 Department of Urban Studies and Planning Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, GSC Massachusetts Institute of Technology 617.699.1514 (Mobile) From nakeisha at MIT.EDU Thu Feb 15 00:50:13 2007 From: nakeisha at MIT.EDU (Nakeischea Loi Smith) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:50:13 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] REMINDER: Alumni of Color Dinner Series TODAY! Message-ID: <20070215005013.j5xj12kkooowg08g@webmail.mit.edu> DUSP Students: This is a friendly reminder to RSVP for the kick-off Alumni of Color Dinner on February 15, 2007 at 5:45 pm. Take some time with your classmates and enjoy a nice dinner at the Faculty Club. Our guest speaker will be Carol Tucker, who has worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency for over 20 years in various programs including air emissions, water enforcement, emergency response, Superfund and Brownfields. In addition, Carol has worked for three years on a detail to the City of Lowell in the Division of Planning and Development as the City's Brownfields Coordinator. She is currently the Brownfields Program Section Chief in the US EPA New England Regional Office. The Alumni of Color Dinner Series was started in 2006 to serve as a forum in which current students could ask questions about the field of planning and alumni could offer their experience and advice. Topics ranged from the professional (i.e. financing low-income housing) to the personal (the role of women in the field). This year, the series will focus on careers in environmental justice. Please RVSP to ccwu at mit.edu and indicate if you would like a vegetarian meal. -- Cindy C. Wu Master in City Planning Candidate 2007 Housing, Community, and Economic Development Massachusetts Institute of Technology (805) 272-5788 From nakeisha at MIT.EDU Thu Feb 15 09:09:47 2007 From: nakeisha at MIT.EDU (Nakeischea Loi Smith) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:09:47 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Agenda Attached: TODAY...Diversity Committee Meeting REMINDER, 6:30pm!!! Message-ID: <20070215090947.8bda22oiorsocw4g@webmail.mit.edu> Hi Everyone, Just a reminder that we will have a Diversity Meeting TODAY Thursday Feb 15th at 6:30pm on the second floor of Walker Memorial. We will have the meeting at the tables outside of the GSC offices instead of inside where we normally do. Please note the agenda and print out a copy for yourself for the meeting. There are some important items to discuss and we hope you can all make it. Dinner will be served. Attachments: 1. Resolution 2. Future Event Listing (tentative) 3. African Development Conference info AGENDA: 6:30 - 6:40 Dinner Served 6:40 - 6:45 Jennifer Jenkins Intro: New Diversity Coordinator 6:45 - 7:00 Debrief & discuss presentation of Resolution (see remarks below) 7:00 - 7:20 Committee Vision (permancence vs other options) & Future Events 7:20 - 7:30 Committee Leadership Transition 7:30 Open Floor - (Michael Sable) Discuss possible Div-Com funding for African Development Conference and outreach to Africans & African-Americans. (Ishara Mills) Sherley case & Racism at MIT Hi Elizabeth and Nakeischea, Thanks for your presentation the other day. There was some good discussion and I think you handled the questions well. Nevertheless, it seems like there wasn?t unanimous support for the amendment as it presently stands. Also, several reps actually approached us after the meeting to make additional comments about your resolution, maybe because of their reluctance to speak up against a sensitive issue like this in an open forum setting. Based on all of this, we?re worried that it might be difficult for you to get the 2/3 majority needed for a bylaw amendment with the resolution as it currently stands? so, we would like to propose to meet you two (and anyone else from the Diversity Committee you'd like to invite) to have a more detailed discussion about the proposal. The goal would be to share and discuss all the concerns that were brought up, including our own, and see if the wording of the resolution can be modified and improved to address some of these issues. - GSC From nakeisha at MIT.EDU Thu Feb 15 09:19:40 2007 From: nakeisha at MIT.EDU (Nakeischea Loi Smith) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:19:40 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Attachments for tonights Diversity Committee Meeting In-Reply-To: <20070215090947.8bda22oiorsocw4g@webmail.mit.edu> References: <20070215090947.8bda22oiorsocw4g@webmail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <20070215091940.s41pbycowdsscwsc@webmail.mit.edu> See Attached -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Resolution.doc Type: application/msword Size: 64000 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/gsc-diversity-all/attachments/20070215/def3a690/attachment.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Future Events.doc Type: application/msword Size: 34816 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/gsc-diversity-all/attachments/20070215/def3a690/attachment-0001.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: AfricanDevelopmentConferenceDraft2.doc Type: application/msword Size: 65536 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/gsc-diversity-all/attachments/20070215/def3a690/attachment-0002.doc From eclay at MIT.EDU Sun Feb 18 21:12:07 2007 From: eclay at MIT.EDU (Elizabeth Margarette Clay) Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:12:07 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Special meeting to discuss status Message-ID: <20070218211207.lvotsr9l2xwkksgw@webmail.mit.edu> Hi everyone, As we discussed at the last meeting, we have scheduled a meeting to talk with the GSC Officers about the next step for the Diversity Committee for this Tuesday at 6:30. I believe it will be at the normal room- 50-220. (Correct me if I am wrong Nakeischea) Please let us know if you can be there- and enjoy the day off Liz Master of City Planning Candidate, 2007 Department of Urban Studies and Planning Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, GSC Massachusetts Institute of Technology 617.699.1514 (Mobile) From eclay at MIT.EDU Wed Feb 21 20:20:21 2007 From: eclay at MIT.EDU (Elizabeth Margarette Clay) Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:20:21 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Voting by secret ballot Message-ID: <20070221202021.w2egbirxw9c880gs@webmail.mit.edu> Hi everyone, In our discussion with GSC Officers last night we got a heads up that some people wanted a secret ballot. I do not see this as ideal for a lot of reasons- but just wanted to forward you the President's mail (see the 2nd para.) Liz ----- Forwarded message from weese at MIT.EDU ----- Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:07:20 -0500 From: Eric Weese Reply-To: Eric Weese Subject: No GCM tonight - next GCM March 7th To: gsc-representatives at mit.edu As most of you probably guessed, the restoration of the 4th floor to NW35 eliminated the need for the "emergency GCM" that I had mentioned in a previous email. Thus, our next meeting will be the regularly scheduled one on March 7th. There's also an Executive Committee meeting on Feb. 28th if any of you would like to discuss anything in advance. Finally, several people have asked me about the possibility of having a secret ballot on the diversity committee resolution. I'm not an expert parliamentarian, but my reading of Robert's Rules suggests that this is possible provided that someone proposes this at the meeting and it gets majority support. "Move to vote by ballot" appears to be an undebatable motion, so if you have any questions, please send them to me via email or ask at excomm... Thanks! ----- End forwarded message ----- Master of City Planning Candidate, 2007 Department of Urban Studies and Planning Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, GSC Massachusetts Institute of Technology 617.699.1514 (Mobile) From afran at MIT.EDU Wed Feb 21 16:35:11 2007 From: afran at MIT.EDU (Abigail M Francis) Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:35:11 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] 2/28 Walker Town Hall Meeting Message-ID: <20070221163511.db5zyiz6w7pc0884@webmail.mit.edu> Save the Date! There will be a Walker Memorial Town Hall Meeting, on Wednesday the 28th, Addressing Homophobic Graffiti in the Men's Bathroom. Join us for Dinner and a Discussion with the MIT Police and CAC: Wednesday 2/28/07, from 6-8pm In Pritchett Dining Area (50-258) For more information or to RSVP, please contact Abigail: afran at mit.edu ALL MIT-ers are welcome. From nakeisha at MIT.EDU Fri Feb 23 22:44:53 2007 From: nakeisha at MIT.EDU (Nakeischea Loi Smith) Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:44:53 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Diversity Committee accused of race baiting Message-ID: <20070223224453.o25ysqyarxsswscw@webmail.mit.edu> Interesting article in the Tech written by Barun Singh. Not sure if a rebuttal is necessary or if we should just focus on the vote and address these types sentiments at the meeting. http://www-tech.mit.edu/V127/N6/race.html From ledave at MIT.EDU Mon Feb 26 16:21:44 2007 From: ledave at MIT.EDU (Dave Levy) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:21:44 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] FW: Apply Today! MC^2: MIT's Multicultural Conference 2007 - Deadline: Thursday, March 1st Message-ID: <000f01c759ec$1e0d71e0$b505f712@mit.edu> Greetings, all-- I apologize if you're getting this from other people, but I wanted to make sure you knew about this event. I checked, and it is meant for ALL students. I just got the email today, but the application deadline is on Thursday. Cheers, Dave David Elliott Levy Massachusetts Institute of Technology Residential Life Associate Eastgate and Westgate Halls 77 Massachusetts Avenue W20-549 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (617) 253-1392 "I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's."--William Blake MC^2: MIT's Multicultural Conference 2007 Culture, Spirituality, Identity, Social Justice and much more... MARCH 1ST DEADLINE to apply http://web.mit.edu/mcsquared/ WHEN? Saturday, March 10th, 2007 | 9AM-5PM WHERE? MIT's Endicott House HOW MUCH? Free of charge! WHO? YOU! You're invited! This retreat is for individual students, student leaders, and the members of cultural, ethnic or identity-based ASA student groups. If you're interested in this retreat, check out the MC^2 website, then apply online to participate. The application deadline is March 1st. Join a group of your peers for a provocative day of workshops, community-building, action, and reflection centered around "Culture, Spirituality, Identity, Social Justice and much more..." Stay tuned for more information on specific session topics and engaging guest presenters. Featured Speakers: * Nancy Murray, Education Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts * Dr. Zine Magubane, Professor of Sociology, Boston College * Tabitha Bonilla, MIT Undergraduate Student * Dr. Ceasar McDowell, Department of Urban Studies and Planning Conference Sessions (participants can choose from several of the following sessions): * Race, Religion and Culture * Gender, Race and Class in Popular Culture * Culture Shock * Multiple Identities * MIT Themed Housing Discussion * Personal Narrative: Reflections in Writing * MEES: Environmental Stress * Practical Steps to Encourage Lasting Change Some of the goals of MC^2 are: * Bring students together across race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, spirituality, and other aspects of cultural identity. * Facilitate an honest, open, and interactive dialogue about the cultural climate at MIT and learn from each group's experiences. * Develop plans to cultivate a campus environment that promotes equality, not simply tolerance. * Offer opportunities to develop better communication and to plan collaborative events/initiatives between and among various groups on campus. * Have Fun! For more information, or to apply, please visit http://web.mit.edu/ mcsquared/ or email mcsquared at mit.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/gsc-diversity-all/attachments/20070226/1c127da4/attachment.htm From eclay at MIT.EDU Tue Feb 27 16:51:33 2007 From: eclay at MIT.EDU (Elizabeth Margarette Clay) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:51:33 -0500 Subject: [GSC-Diversity-All] Secret Ballot Voting Message-ID: <20070227165133.xococcrftoo4kwoo@webmail.mit.edu> FYI- the discussion between me and the GSC President and former President about the secret ballot ----- Forwarded message from barunio at gmail.com ----- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:46:27 -0500 From: Barun Singh Reply-To: Barun Singh Subject: Re: draft GCM agenda To: Eric Weese The GSC has closed-ballot voting every year for elections. In the case of Officer elections, this is required by the Bylaws, but in terms of the committees, there is no such requirement. Committees have often voted just by raising hands, and it has happened many times that someone has instead requested a paper ballot. The reasoning is simple: if the winner of an election learns who voted against them, it is possible that they won't favor their proposals of those who vote against them, or that it will create bad blood in between the two individuals, causing some degree of personal harm to the voter. We have had paper ballot voting for other sorts of resolutions as well, but very rarely, and I can't remember particular instances of it off the top of my head. In this situation regarding the diversity committee, though, it is very clear that the same reasoning for having closed-ballot voting in elections applies equally strongly. There are many people who feel the repercussions of having their votes known in public because they don't want to be called racists (I know this because at least some of those people have told me this explicitly). Whether or not they should be afraid of such recriminations is irrelevant -- the fact that they are afraid is sufficient to unfairly influence their votes. The GSC has never denied a paper ballot when requested, as far as I know. -Barun On 2/27/07, Eric Weese wrote: > > Hi Elizabeth - > > I don't think we've done anything other than the standard "raise your > hand" voting this year. Last year, under Emilie, there were very few > resolutions. I don't know anything about years before that, but > Barun (cc-ed on this email) seems to have some knowledge of GSC > history. He might be able to fill us in... > > In any case, here's what Robert has to say on the subject: > "A member who believes that a secret vote will give a truer > expression of the assembly's will on a pending motion can move that > the vote on the motion be taken by ballot" (RONR 10th ed. p. 274... > available in the GSC office for further consultation - just ask Emmi > to find a copy for you) > > The motion to vote by ballot is undebatable, but if you're interested > in discussing it, we can certainly talk about it at excomm. We could > also email out some information to reps in advance, so that they > could consider how they would vote on such a motion, if someone were > to make it. > > Anyways, let me know if you've still got questions... > > On 27-Feb-07, at 9:40 AM, Elizabeth Margarette Clay wrote: > > > Eric, > > > > I am curious about other cases where a secret ballot vote has been > > used for > > amendments to bylaws or other non-election votes in the GSC recent > > history. > > Could you tell me about those, by email or at ExComm? > > > > Thanks > > Elizabeth > > -- http://barunsingh.com ----- End forwarded message ----- Master of City Planning Candidate, 2007 Department of Urban Studies and Planning Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, GSC Massachusetts Institute of Technology 617.699.1514 (Mobile) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mailman.mit.edu/pipermail/gsc-diversity-all/attachments/20070227/191274ba/attachment.htm