• Department DEI Advocacy: GSC DEI maintains a “conduit” network that consists of student DEI advocates within each department. Our goal with the DEI conduit network is to collect student input on department-level DEI efforts and to connect graduate students involved with DEI work across departments. In November 2024, we held our semesterly conduit meeting and conducted a student survey for DEI conduits to assess department DEI efforts, student involvement, and organizational burden. We have shared the results of this survey with Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO) and faculty and staff DEI advocates in the School of Engineering.
• International student fee waivers: International students are not eligible for the same types of application fee waivers as domestic students. Given the disproportionate impact of currency exchange, we are working to develop solutions with the Office of Graduate Education (OGE) to address the financial burden of application fees on international students. We are currently working with OGE to develop solutions to increase fee waiver transparency on application portals and departmental resources for international students.
• Gender inclusive bathrooms: GSC DEI is coordinating with graduate student advocates across MIT to expand access to gender-inclusive bathrooms across campus.

• Affinity group collaboration: GSC DEI works with underrepresented student affinity groups to support their missions and advocate for their concerns as underrepresented students. We are currently advocating for consistent financial support for affinity group programs and events as well as extended administrative support for larger scale identity celebrations, in collaboration with the Office of Graduate Education and the Institute Community and Equity Office.
• Student financial support: We support DEI and identity-related conference travel for students through the GSC conference grant system. Additionally, our diversity and community fund supports small to medium-sized DEI and community-based events for identity groups without formal organization status.

• Resources@MIT Fair (October 16th, 2024): In collaboration with Graduate Residential Life, GSC DEI hosted the Resources@MIT fair, where students (~50) could learn more about Cambridge-area and on-campus resources. Organizations in attendance include Daily Table, MIT Activities Committee, MIT Federal Credit Union, Spouses & Partners Connect, the Office of Graduate Education Grad Support, and more.
• Wellness and meditation workshop (April 25th, 2024): The GSC DEI and Activities committees co-hosted a petting zoo and meditation event for the community to experience an inclusive and comforting environment to help lower stress levels. Students joined together to promote wellness and bring awareness to the importance of taking care of others and oneself.
• Violence Prevention and Response (VPR) collaboration (April 2024): GSC DEI collaborated with VPR to help promote a series of workshops related to self-defense, trauma, and interpersonal violence during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) in April 2024. Additionally, we worked with VPR and MIT’s Institute Discrimination and Harassment Response (IDHR) Office to help promote MIT’s Student Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Survey among the graduate student body.

GSC DEI has developed DEI Departmental Recommendation Scorecards to help students and other department members track progress of implementation of DEI recommendations, use as an accountability tool, and encourage the sharing of ideas across campus.

In collaboration with the Food Security Action Team at MIT, the GSC DEI Committee distributed non-perishable food and personal hygiene products to improve food security among graduate student populations on campus. Graduate students who attended this fair also received resources on budgeting, nutrition, and recipes!

MIT hosted the 10th annual Class Action First Generation Summit on November 5, 2022. First-generation students and their allies come together to identify problems, discuss grassroots solutions, share what’s working on their campuses, and discover solutions and create change.

The GSC worked with other graduate student governments and unions in the U.S. to organize a national Day of Action for abortion. This coalition is called the Graduate Student Action Network (GSAN): https://twitter.com/GradAction.