[GSC-Diversity-All] GSC DEI Weekly Newsletter

[Andrei Iliescu]

Hi everyone,

We hope the start of the semester is treating you well! Please enjoy our
latest GSC DEI Newsletter!

General GSC DEI

Black History Month

We would like to acknowledge and celebrate the month of February as Black
History Month. Black History Month originated as an annual celebration of
achievements of Black Americans to recognize their central role in US
history. With this occasion, we would like to recognize all the
contributions fellow Black students at MIT have brought to our community,
be it academically or socially.

BAMIT Research Slam

The Black Alumni/ae of MIT is hosting the BAMIT Research Slam on February
17, 2022 from 7-8:30PM EST. This virtual event is an opportunity to
showcase Black students' research in a competition format where each
presenter has 3-5 minutes to pitch their research in front of a panel of
judges. Eligible competitors must be current Black MIT students, postdocs
or recent alums who are doing research on climate, energy and
sustainability. This may include UROP, postdocs, research scientists,
independent researchers or non-tenured faculty members at accredited
colleges, universities, or NGOs/nonprofits around the world. Please
consider adding your name to the list of presenters. We currently have
$2,000 in cash prizes to give away to our top 3 presenters.



If you are interested in presenting please email alumsigs at mit.edu by Sunday
February 6 and we will be in touch with more information.  You can read
more about our last slam here
<https://alumic.mit.edu/s/1314/17form/interior.aspx?sid=1314&gid=13&pgid=55676&content_id=62782>
– or watch the recording here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU8gwqoF7QE>
. The BAMIT Research Slam is in collaboration with the MIT Alumni Forum on
Climate, a new series of online gatherings that addresses global challenges
and the ways MIT alumni are helping to create a better world.

MIT ESL for Service Employees

The MIT English as a Second Language Program for Service Employees is
looking for volunteers to connect with day and night shift service
employees over the phone for one hour/week, helping them improve their
English skills through informal conversations or ESL coursework via virtual
learning (there may be instances where in-person classes may take place).
No experience is required, just a good command of English, a smartphone,
and an interest in helping individuals whose first language is not English.
The goals of the program are to build students' confidence, to help them
become more productive in their jobs, and to open up further opportunities
for advancement.  These classes take place at various times during the day
and from 11:00 – midnight either virtually or in-person. This is an
opportunity to make a real and positive difference. Please contact
esl-admins at mit.edu for more information.

Graduate Mentor for 2022 MSRP

Are you seeking a rewarding summer experience at MIT while earning money
and supporting diversity in higher education? If so, consider serving as a
Pod Leader for the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) <http://mit.edu/msrp>,
hosted by the Office of Graduate Education. MSRP began in 1986 as an
institutional effort to address the issue of underrepresentation of African
Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Puerto Ricans in
engineering and science in the United States. Today, this program’s goal is
to increase the number of underrepresented minorities and underserved (e.g.
low socio-economic background, first generation) students in the research
enterprise. Applications are due Sunday, February 6th, 2022. Learn more
about the program and apply now
<https://mitodgediversity.slideroom.com/#/login/program/64806>.


Department and Classroom Inclusion

Are you looking to get more involved with GSC DEI and help get your
department connected to our DEI community? We are looking for more conduits
from departments across MIT schools to help us learn about the needs of
individual departments and inform our plans moving forward. If you are
interested in serving as a GSC DEI conduit for your department or know
someone who might be, contact us as gsc-diversity-officers at mit.edu.

Conduits are graduate student representatives who are interested in DEI
efforts in their departments. Conduits attend a couple of meetings per
semester where we engage in discussion around ongoing DEI efforts. Overall,
it’s a great way to join a network of students interested in DEI and share
institutionalized knowledge and best practices across departments.


Student Life

Do you have an idea for an event centered around community-building among
students and DEI advocacy? Whether it’s a supportive meet-and-greet, an
informational panel, or anything creative in between, we would love to
provide support! Please get in touch with us at
gsc-diversity-officers at mit.edu to discuss your initiative and potential
funding opportunities.

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Check out our Google Calendar that includes all of our events here
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r?cid=dWszdDZhb2tuZWMyMm5nMzZlZ2psdXNjZHNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ>!
If you would like to submit an event to the calendar you can do so using
this form
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdD6FFBRfAHf1ukXeo3DubrU_gP55UbJ1z1NyTQe2tb67jVeQ/viewform>
.

Sign up to the DEI mailing list gsc-diversity-all at mit.edu here
<http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/gsc-diversity-all>.

For any general questions regarding DEI or how to get involved, please
contact us at gsc-diversity at mit.edu.
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