MIT Grad Blog

I’m going to break out of my normal ranting state and talk about something actually important here.  Below is the text of a press release we’re spreading around about our recent jaunt to Capitol Hill, as well as pictures of us with Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and former president of Kohl’s Department Stores) as well as Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

On October 1^st and 2^nd, 2009, three members of the MIT Graduate Student Council (GSC) traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with U.S. senators’ and representatives’ offices about specific graduate student issues.  Before their visit, Alex Hamilton Chan, Alex Evans, and Kevin McComber prepared extensively on the topics of open access to federally-funded published research, raising the cap on H1-B visas for advanced-degree holders, and tax exemption of graduate student stipends.  The trip was part of the Legislative Action Days of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS), of which the MIT GSC is a member.  NAGPS is a nationwide organization of graduate and professional student governments that aims to connect the governments and lobby for their concerns.

The three students met with the offices of eleven senators and congressmen who hold spots on committees relevant to the issues of interest.  With their data-backed knowledge of the issues and the support of both the MIT GSC and NAGPS, the three students found their arguments to be well-received.  To their pleasant surprise, a few offices expressed interest in pursuing possible legislation on the issue of graduate student stipend tax exemption.

Chan, Evans, and McComber are now working with MIT’s Washington, D.C. office to draft wording for a possible bill on graduate student stipend tax exemption, and they are continuing to spread awareness of the issues at MIT and to other schools in the Boston area.

The President’s visit to MIT on Friday is one of the most exciting events to have happened to MIT in years. As everybody celebrated and shared their story about how they caught a glimpse of the president (or in my friend Zenzile’s case, jumped over dozens of people to shake his hand ), I couldn’t help but wonder what this visit by the President of the United States meant.

On the surface, Obama came to talk about energy innovation and policy. So, one way to look at it is exactly as how I was quoted in the Daily Free Press, “the President’s visit was an exciting acknowledgement of MIT’s role in energy innovation.” (http://www.dailyfreepress.com/obama-calls-for-u-s-to-become-the-world-s-energy-leader-1.2035198) But I think it is more than that. Obama did not choose any school, not even his Alma Mater, that second most prestigious school in Cambridge – he picked MIT, the iconic institute of science, technology and innovation.

This message is consistent with Michelle Obama’s speech in the UK. She said how making good grades is cool. This country and this world had adopted a definition of “cool” that treats nerds or smart as weird. The “cool” is some sort of combination of a lack or despise of self-discipline and hard-work, the cool kids demonstrate a general indifference about the world and knowledge. What the Obamas are saying is that being smart, getting good grades, doing great in school is the new “cool” – reminding us that the world is improving because we have moved beyond a group of jock-ish cavemen into a species that respect and accumulate knowledge relentlessly, that we have evolved into a group of humans who cares and works for the ideals of the betterment of humanity. 

So, the President’s message is clear, smart is the new cool, and nerdy is the new sexy.  And a president who chooses to be at MIT rather than a president who talks about how you can be a head of state while getting all C’s in college symbolizes the re-activation of the collective brain of humanity and the path to a better earth.

“You look tired.”  This definitely tops the list of “Ways Not To Start A Conversation With A Grad Student”.  Other favorites include, “How’s your research going?”, “What year are you?”, and my personal nemesis, “So, when will you finish?”

I’m sure Timmy (names have been changed to protect the identity of the offender) did not mean to ruin my morning.  But the fact is, when I hopped on the Northwest Shuttle and ran into Timmy, Timmy had greeted me not with “Hello”, not with “What’s crackin’?”, not with, “Catch that episode of Hell’s Kitchen last night?”, but instead with “You. Look. Tired.”

And as I stepped off the shuttle, and every time I stepped out my office to grab a drink of water, or ran down the hall to grab some notes from the printer, indeed all morning long – I just kept mouthing the words to myself in different ways, trying to impart some positive meaning to them.

“YOU look tired.”

“You LOOK tired.”

“You look TIRED.”

Nope, no two ways about, this is the grad school equivalent of the day someone calls you “Ma’am”.

On one trip to the printer, I caught a glimpse of myself in the glass of the Triaxial Consolidation Test for Cohesiveness of Soil poster hanging in the hallway.  I studied my reflection over the faded diagram of a triaxial cell.  What had Timmy seen?  What had provoked this particular greeting?  Bags under my eyes?  Brows in need of plucking?  Had I gone not far enough, or too far with the cosmetics?  Should I have held back on the foundation and mascara?  Or added more blush?  Was it something bigger?  Poor posture?  Walking too slow?  What, Timmy?  What? WHAT?!

I slapped myself and continued towards the printer.  Maybe Timmy had meant it as a compliment.  MIT is a really special place.  Work is kind of social currency around here.  If I looked tired – it means I am tired – which means I’ve been doing things at night time – which at MIT means I’ve been working at night time – which means I’ve been working hard – which means Timmy actually respects me – which might mean Timmy even admires my work ethic.  Maybe Timmy was simply greeting me with an acknowledgement of my high MIT social status owing to my hours and hours of hard work.  Timmy didn’t mean, “You look tired,” he meant, “You look like a hard-working MIT student, the cream of the crop!”

Judging by the looks of the people in the computer lab, I think I actually said, “WELL WHO WANTS TO LOOK LIKE THAT?!” out loud as I snatched my printout from the HP Laserjet.  I stormed back to my office with the intent of reading about the Conditional Expectation of Random Variables, but instead I just sat there and thought about Timmy.  Timmy hadn’t looked all that hot himself.  Timmy had a few bags under his eyes.  Timmy could have sat up straighter, could have ironed his shirt that morning. ‘You know what, Timmy?’ I thought. ‘YOU look tired.’

I wanted to run back to Timmy and tell him that.  But that would be mean.  Instead I opted to turn my anger into good and let all you Timmy’s out there know that “You look tired” is no way to start a conversation.  I don’t care if it’s midterm season, I don’t care if quals are coming up, I don’t care if your friend has bags the size of suitcases under her eyes, do not tell her this.  Grab her arm and ask her “How’s it goin’?” instead.  Take her for a coffee.  Tell her a joke.  Inquire about the latest episode of Hell’s Kitchen.  Just – don’t go there, or you might actually give her a reason to look tired.  And for both of y’all’s sake – you don’t want that.

It’s been hard to ignore the bout of coughing, sneezing, and sniffling that’s been going on pretty consistently in class over the past month. It was also inevitable that I would pick something up – we share classes with the same 70 people or so (our ‘ocean) all day long, and are seated in rooms without great ventilation to the outside, and so the air seems pretty ‘recycled.’

So for about a week in September I was experiencing horrible fatigue because I could not sleep thanks to persistent coughing. At one point my coughing had gotten so uncontrollable and uncomfortable to me that I actually got up and walked out of one of my first Marketing classes of the semester – and I had been sitting in the front row!

I ended up trudging over to MIT Medical one afternoon, and was very pleasantly surprised by the ease of making a last minute appointment with a doctor – in fact, in less than 24 hours. I was told by the receptionist Ilene to call the next day for a ’same day’ for appointment, which meant getting up at 7am, when the offices opened, to make the request. Even on my busiest class day of the week, Ilene and I were able to find a noontime slot that worked, and I headed over for an appointment with Dr. Heller.

After a thorough assessment Dr. Heller reassured me that what I had was what had been going around MIT campus – some sort of viral bronchitis. He told me to pick up some cough meds at the MIT pharmacy, which not only worked wonders for my sleeping, but only cost around $2.50!

I also picked up a free flu shot at Dr. Heller’s recommendation. That added an extra 5 minutes to my overall visit, and was fairly painless.

I highly recommend MIT Medical for anyone who is suffering from the first sign of illness this fall. Here are some tips for getting great medical support at MIT:

* If you are sick you can call to make a ’same day’ appointment. Be sure to call early – the office opens at 7am: (617) 253-4481.
* Remember to bring your student ID with you if you don’t yet have your MIT Medical card.
* Choose a PCP Provider online. Dr. Heller was a fantastic fit for me, and you can read the bios of other physicans at MIT medical online.
* While you are at it, get a free flu shot!
* For affordable meds, head over to the MIT pharmacy.
* The MIT Wellness Center offers cool resources for stress management, emotional health, fitness and nutrition, etc.

It’s such a relief to have solid healthcare again, after spending the past 8 months working part-time and paying for a very expensive, but totally useless out-of-pocket plan. I highly recommend that you take full advantage of the wonderful services and facilities that our plan offers!