[UA - The Byte] Nov. 16, 2020

Mon Nov 16 16:55:16 EST 2020

Vol. 5 Issue 7 - November 16, 2020
The Byte
 <https://www.facebook.com/undergraduateassociation/>
 <http://ua.mit.edu/>
 <mailto:ua-secretary at mit.edu>
SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE UA
 <https://naomi821152.typeform.com/to/HYod1SbT>
Hi Undergrads,

Hope you are powering through this last week of classes before Thanksgiving break! 

Reminder that this Wednesday (11/18) is drop date, the last day to drop a full-term subject or switch to alt PNE grading. 

The Byte is a biweekly UA newsletter to inform undergraduates about what's happening in the MIT community.

The Byte is run by the UA which works to improve your undergraduate experience through policy, projects, and events. We're always happy to listen to your suggestions, concerns, and comments. Learn more at ua.mit.edu <http://ua.mit.edu/>.

~ Naomi
UA Secretary

 Community
Jeopardy! National College Championship
DISTILLED WISDOM: Connection
MIT Flash Fiction Contest
Massachusetts General Hospital College Mental Health Survey
MIT Libraries Book Delivery
 Undergraduate Association
[UA Innovation] MIT Got Talent this Saturday! (Prizes for all who attend!)
COVID Focus Groups
On-Campus Experience Forum Recording
UA Community Service Newsletter
UA President & VP Community Hours
UA Council Meetings
 Institute News
PREDOC: Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers
Student Support Services (S^3) Info Session from FLI @ MIT
Food Insecurity
COMMUNITY

Jeopardy! National College Championship
Deadline: Saturday, 11/21
Take the test: HERE <https://www.jeopardy.com/be-on-j/national-college-championship>

Jeopardy! is currently casting for an all-new competition featuring 15 colleges from across the country. The Jeopardy! National College Championship promises to be a competition like you've never seen before. Think NCAA tournament, but Jeopardy!  

You should set aside at least 15 minutes to take the test HERE <https://www.jeopardy.com/be-on-j/national-college-championship>. The producers would ideally like this to be done by 11/21, and they will reach out with next steps if you are chosen to move forward.

DISTILLED WISDOM: Connection
Deadline: Tuesday, 11/17, 7-8:30pm ET
Register: here <http://addir.mit.edu/wisdom/>

MIT Addir Interfaith invites you to this interfaith speaker series to equip yourself and your community with practices for perseverance and resilience through a series of dyadic conversations between seasoned practitioners of the world’s great religious, spiritual and ethical traditions.

Join us on Tuesday, November 17th at 7:00-8:30pm for our second installment of Distilled Wisdom: Practices for Prospering in the Pandemic, on "Connection". We will be gathering on Zoom with Rabbi Michelle Fisher (MIT Hillel) & Sadananda Dasa (MIT Vaishnava Hindu Chaplain). The presentation will be followed by a Q&A and Discussion.

Register here for zoom link: http://addir.mit.edu/wisdom/ <http://addir.mit.edu/wisdom/>

MIT Flash Fiction Contest
Deadline: Saturday, 11/21,11:59pm ET
Submit stories: here <https://www.dropbox.com/request/qbiRMWegd6PonKHG0Sat>

write a story for the mit flash fiction contest!

~~ rules ~~

open to all members of the MIT community.
submissions must be in english, word count <= 1,618 words.
simultaneous submissions are accepted, but published pieces are not.
all entries should be submitted with 12 pt font and double spaced as a .doc or .pdf.
the writer's name may not appear on the submission.
include your name and @mit email on the submission link.
please no stories with graphic violence or promoting discrimination/hate.
winners will be announced at an open mic in december.
have fun!!!
~~ prizes ~~
1st place: $250 gift card to The Key Bookstore
2nd place: $100 gift card to Black Garnet Books
3rd place: $75 gift card to Sscarlet’s Web honorable mentions: to be announced!

~~ acknowledgements ~~
generously funded by MindHandHeart

Massachusetts General Hospital College Mental Health Survey
Participate in Study: Visit website <https://j.mp/32kN0wv> to get started
Contact: jezimmerman at mgh.harvard.edu <mailto:jezimmerman at mgh.harvard.edu>

Participate in Research on College Mental Health! Are you an undergraduate who is at least 18 years old? Want to earn up to $280 by participating in online surveys and contribute to research on college mental health?

What you will do:

Fill out online questionnaires (each takes ~ 40 min) every 6 months for up to 4 years.
Earn a $30-40 Amazon gift card for every survey you complete. **You may also be eligible to earn up to $270 for participating in resilience training workshops and 2 optional MRI scans.

Our team will contact you if you qualify. Click the link to get started: https://j.mp/32kN0wv <https://j.mp/32kN0wv>

MIT Libraries Book Delivery
More Info: Here <https://libraries.mit.edu/news/books-delivered/31379/>
Get books delivered! 

This service, which began September 28, includes shipping of circulating collections to MIT faculty, students, and staff. Users can select “Request item” in the catalog; they will be asked to provide a current address for delivery, which can include:

A dorm on campus
An office on campus
Any U.S. mailing address
Learn more at https://libraries.mit.edu/news/books-delivered/31379/ <https://libraries.mit.edu/news/books-delivered/31379/>
UNDERGRADUATE ASSOCIATION

[UA Innovation] MIT Got Talent this Saturday! (Prizes for all who attend!)
When: ~this~ Saturday, 11/21, 10-11:30 PM ET
Where: tinyurl.com/mit-got-talent2020 <http://tinyurl.com/mit-got-talent2020>
Contact: mit-talent at mit.edu <mailto:mit-talent at mit.edu>

Come to watch performances in Music, Culinary, Artwork, Athletics, Writing, and Comedy! ALL ATTENDEES WILL GET CUTE MIT-THEMED STICKERS! Grand prizes will also be raffled to performers within each category AND to general attendees! 

SIGN-UP to perform live or digitally by Wednesday, 11/18 with this form: https://forms.gle/sW3DrxMdR8TUjJW87 <https://forms.gle/sW3DrxMdR8TUjJW87> 

Interested in MCing? Email mit-talent at mit.edu <mailto:mit-talent at mit.edu>!

Hope to see you there! 

COVID Focus Groups
Share your experiences: Fill out this form <https://forms.gle/L9Bg8EdFk8Qi8b8F6>

Tl;dr We’re looking for undergrads to talk about your experiences during COVID and your thoughts on spring planning. If you are interested, please sign up using this form <https://forms.gle/L9Bg8EdFk8Qi8b8F6>.

Hello undergrads,

The UA Committee on COVID-19 is planning to conduct a series of focus groups to better understand the student experience this semester. Both on-campus and off-campus students are invited to participate.

The goal of the focus groups is to understand what worked, and what did not work (emotionally, physically, academically, etc), for you this semester. Please participate if you want to voice your opinion and ideas on MIT’s COVID-19 response! In the past, UA COVID has used student input to advocate for programs like pods, a more personalized SHARP process, better dining, and many other initiatives to improve student life. These focus groups will allow us to gain a clearer picture of your perspectives so that we can better advocate for you on the administrative level. 

On-Campus Experience Forum Recording
Details: Zoom recording here <https://mit.zoom.us/rec/play/RiPdFAkHCQGU33aReE67IkxYi35RiGfE4Z0fH6kiZxK9ucUa5I5FE3rU3AgDOemGuD0PUq9WnZJyg4-1.spo27FnCPfk-caCr?continueMode=true>

Thanks to everyone who came out to the On-Campus Experience Forum on Friday. We hope the event gave you a better sense of what life on campus will look like so that you can make the best choice for yourself. To those that could not make it, the zoom recording <https://mit.zoom.us/rec/play/RiPdFAkHCQGU33aReE67IkxYi35RiGfE4Z0fH6kiZxK9ucUa5I5FE3rU3AgDOemGuD0PUq9WnZJyg4-1.spo27FnCPfk-caCr?continueMode=true> is still available if you have remaining questions. 

Reminder that the housing form is due Today, 11/16!

UA Community Service Newsletter
Join the mailing list: Fill out this form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZeGmQAFPWUj4nW0Fztr0ZxrUFxAMeVn2_L4I5SorGYve05g/viewform>

The UA Community Service Committee is launching a monthly newsletter for undergrads on service and social impact at MIT. We hope to connect students to opportunities related to public service and civic engagement, highlight all the good that is already being done on campus, and most importantly, strengthen the MIT community around service. Please sign up here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZeGmQAFPWUj4nW0Fztr0ZxrUFxAMeVn2_L4I5SorGYve05g/viewform> to be added to our mailing list. 

UA President & VP Community Hours
When: Every Sunday at 12 pm ET 
Where: https://mit.zoom.us/j/96499597361 <https://mit.zoom.us/j/96499597361>
Contact: ua-president at mit.edu <mailto:ua-president at mit.edu?subject=Community%20Hours>

Have an idea or project you want implemented? Have a question about the UA? 

Every Sunday, Danielle and Yu Jing will be holding open community hours on Zoom <https://mit.zoom.us/j/96499597361> at noon ET. If you aren't able to go but want to speak with them, email ua-president at mit.edu <mailto:ua-president at mit.edu?subject=Community%20Hours>.

Full zoom invite:
https://mit.zoom.us/j/96499597361 <https://mit.zoom.us/j/96499597361>
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,96499597361# <tel:+16465588656,,96499597361%23> US (New York)
+16699006833,,96499597361# <tel:+16699006833,,96499597361%23> US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 964 9959 7361
US : +1 646 558 8656 <tel:+1%20646%20558%208656> or +1 669 900 6833 <tel:+1%20669%20900%206833>
International Numbers: https://mit.zoom.us/u/aeb4Ytvny9 <https://mit.zoom.us/u/aeb4Ytvny9>

UA Council Meetings
When: Meeting schedule & links here <http://ua.mit.edu/uacouncil> 
Where: https://mit.zoom.us/j/94848054203 <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://mit.zoom.us/j/94848054203&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw1f_jL4UdpWYCKcsg_97BOD>
Contact: ua-secretary at mit.edu <mailto:ua-secretary at mit.edu?subject=UA%20Council>

UA Council is the legislative body of the Undergraduate Association. All student are welcome to attend meetings and add items to the council agenda by emailing ua-secretary at mit.edu <mailto:ua-secretary at mit.edu?subject=UA%20Council>. Keep up with the going-ons of Council by adding yourself to ua-council-listeners via Athena or WebMoira <https://groups.mit.edu/webmoira/list/ua-council-listeners> and reading the published meeting minutes <http://ua.mit.edu/minutes>.
Upcoming Meeting:

Wednesday, 12/9 6-7:30 PM ET
If you want to learn more about council, check out their governing documents <http://web.mit.edu/ua/governing-docs/council-bylaws.pdf>.

INSTITUTE NEWS

PREDOC: Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers
Join an info session: PREDOC Information Session <https://mit.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6mzZWl0VWp2ZNS5>
More info: https://predoc.org <https://predoc.org/>
Contact: rreagans at mit.edu <mailto:rreagans at mit.edu>

MIT Sloan is participating in a collaborative effort to foster a diverse pool of talented applicants in research assistantship programs across the country. The goal is to foster diversity in PhD programs in Economics and Business, and eventually, faculty. This is PREDOC: Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers (https://predoc.org <https://predoc.org/>). 

PREDOC is a consortium of academic and research institutions whose mission is to foster a talented and diverse population of researchers in the quantitative social sciences, with a particular focus on predoctoral programs in economics departments and business schools. These institutions include Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, UT Austin, Yale, the NBER, and the Federal Reserve system. 

The website predoc.org <https://predoc.org/> will act as a one-stop place where undergraduate students from any backgrounds can find all the information they need, including available predoctoral job positions around the country, educational material to prepare, and so on.

We are planning an informational session at noon on either the 1st or 3rd of December.  Please indicate when you could attend (PREDOC Information Session <https://mit.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6mzZWl0VWp2ZNS5>).   

If you have any questions, please visit the webpage or contact Ray Reagans (rreagans at mit.edu <mailto:rreagans at mit.edu>). 

Student Support Services (S^3) Info Session from FLI @ MIT
When: Tuesday, 11/17 from 4-5 PM ET
Join the session: Zoom link <https://mit.zoom.us/j/93321548321>
Contact: fli-exec at mit.edu <mailto:fli-exec at mit.edu>

We at FLI at MIT are reaching out to you to let you know about a helpful opportunity to learn more about Student Support Services (S^3) and the resources that they can provide to you, such as extensions for exams and projects.

With the end of the semester approaching soon, we understand that there can be many academic concerns that you all have. Therefore, we are hosting a “Campus Partners Hour” session on Tuesday, November 17th from 4pm - 5pm EST on Zoom with S^3. Miri Skolnik, Assistant Dean of S^3, will be in attendance (along with a few students) to provide information, answer questions, and discuss how to utilize the resources that S^3 has to offer. We encourage any student who is interested to come.

If you have any questions regarding this session, please send an email to us at fli-exec at mit.edu <mailto:fli-exec at mit.edu>. Additionally, if you do identify as a first generation and/or low-income (FLI) student and would like to join FLI at MIT’s listserv, feel free to reach out.

FLI at MIT is MIT’s recently formed coalition for first generation and/or low-income undergraduate students, composed of MIT’s QuestBridge Chapter, First Generation Program (FGP), and student organization Class Awareness Support and Equality (CASE).

Food Insecurity 
Roughly 11% of MIT students say they go to bed hungry at least 1 night out of 7because they don’t have enough money for food. No student should go hungry and no student should feel like they need to be “really hungry” to ask for help. Student Support Services is writing to simply let you know about resources to help, many for both on-campus and off-campus students. Please visit the websites below, and don’t hesitate to ask for help if you are hungry due to lack of resources. No problem is too small. 

A general list of support offices <https://studentlife.mit.edu/support/support-services> at MIT

Money and food resources <https://studentlife.mit.edu/s3/money-food-resources> for students in need, including info about emergency funds, meal request forms, and the Accessing Resources at MIT Coalition (ARM Coalition) 

Family food grants <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOnZtr_8zPpgrVhFhnANAP8RSPfd6ORHxyXphSlz1jU1HEAQ/viewform>: easy form for graduate students to make requests for food

MIT Dining Info <https://studentlife.mit.edu/dining>: information about MIT Dining, local grocery stores, & shuttles

Our mailing address is:
ua-secretary at mit.edu <mailto:ua-secretary at mit.edu>

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---
Naomi Michael
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Class of 2022
Department of Mechanical Engineering
nmichael at mit.edu | (479) 283-9357

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