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We are stronger together.

From living groups unlike any other university to dynamic greek life to the passionate 566+ student groups we have on campus,  MIT has incredibly special communities. For how strong our individual communities are, though, our greater collective community pride together is lacking. We will facilitate real collaboration between different spheres of the Institute, while reinvigorating our pride in being one MIT (roll tech!)

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1. Restructuring of the UA​​

   • Shared Governance

     • Currently, the UA operates very fragmented, rather than as one body striving for shared goals. We plan to reorient the UA to be more policy focused, gauging which ways committees can best work together as well as engage the larger MIT community in pursuit of a common platform.

   • Pipeline for proven successful UA projects to be undertaken by administration

     • Successful UA projects such as UA Innovation's Banana Lounge deserve to be undertaken permanently​ but as many have discovered, many barriers in bureaucracy stand in the way. We will work to innovate a pipeline for permanent adoption of such projects.

   • UA Freshman Program

     • ​​Many freshman join UA committees only to  lose interest after not feeling like they have an impact. We plan to create a network and community for UA freshmen to integrate them into the UA faster, help them meet people across committees and create a pipeline for future leadership. 

2. Spirit Week​

   • ​Work with groups such as the Class Councils, DormCon, FSILGs, and more to establish a tradition of a week of fun events, competitions, and community pride.

3. Revitalized Student Spaces​

   • From the UA Chambers to the Coffeehouse Lounge, many of our student spaces have the potential to bring different communities together. Alongside students, we will transform these spaces to make them truly feel like they are for us.

   • There is currently a budget for UA office renovations an we plan to turn it into a more inclusive place for all students. Each week, there will be open office hours with fun treats like free food for the community. 

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Equity is active.

An active effort in inclusion. It is taking into account positionality and in turn, meeting others where they are at to bring forth voices that have been systematically suppressed, not just idly waiting for them to speak. For the UA to truly be inclusive, it has to be representative of our diverse student body. It must give voice to all members of our community. We will actively fight to make MIT a more equitable place.​

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1. Diversity Council

   • ​A forum to bring together diversity stakeholders, including but not limited to identity groups pertaining to culture, sexual orientation, and ability, among other affinity groups, to encourage open dialogue, shared ideas, and an emphasis on collaborative action. This group would focus on the actual implementation of joint initiatives rather than just discussing them.

2. Indigenous Peoples' Day Name Change​ 

   • Amplify and work alongside both the Indigenous Peoples' Advocacy Committee (IPAC) and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) in their efforts in getting MIT to adopt the Indigenous Peoples' Day name change. Both the state of Massachusetts and the city of Cambridge have begun the recognition of this holiday and MIT should follow suit.

3. Sexual Assault and Harassment Education

   • ​Despite the disturbing results of the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct, the VPR is still understaffed and unable to meet the need for student education. We will support the expansion of the VPR office and other Institute-wide efforts to reduce sexual violence in collaboration with the new ICEO, John Dozier. 

   • We will increase collaboration, through funding and reduced barriers in communication, between groups that may not normally collaborate, such as the IFC, the UA and PLEASURE in pursuit of common goals. 

   • Although UA Wellness currently has events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we intend to amplify their efforts and give them more support in order to ensure the entire MIT community is properly educated.

4. Identity-Based Community Spaces 

   • ​Space is essential for establishing community. We will demand spaces and office support for communities like the Native American, Asian American, and First Generation and/or Low Income student communities alongside them. It's about time.

5. Free Menstrual Products in All Dorms​

   • Students should have equal access when it comes to feminine health and hygiene. It should not come with such a price tag. This campaign began with students and then was undertaken by UA Wellness, UA Innovation, VPR, MHH, PLEASURE and the WGS department to have free menstrual products in Institute bathrooms. We will work alongside these groups to ensure this movement's momentum is not lost and is taken a step further by including dorm bathrooms.

 

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Let's get real.

Besides the iconic annual Springfest or the occasional email about an event, many of you may not really understand what the UA does. That's a problem. To accurately represent and stay true to our whole student body, it's crucial to integrate student voices into all initiatives, but to do that, we must reinstate genuine dialogue between the UA and the students we serve. Along with UA transparency, we will work towards greater administrative transparency, making sure student voices are prioritized in decision-making that affects us and our MIT experience. We will fight to protect the parts of MIT that make it so incredibly special, and stay true to those roots.

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1. UA Transparency​​

   • Reinstate The Byte​

     • ​Increase communication of initiatives, events, and policy progress through monthly Byte newsletters. A calendar with UA and student group events will be included to increase awareness of opportunities for engagement.

   • UA Broadcast​​

     • Weekly updates or student group features by video to be displayed on Infinite Corridor TVs. ​

   • UA Council 

     • The UA currently holds a biweekly forum to collect student input. Not enough students know about these meetings. We will actively encourage students to attend ​council meetings to express their concerns, and will follow up with them regarding their concerns or ideas after the fact.

2. ​Administrative Transparency

   • ​Implement a system and precedent of framing Institute meetings with laid-out student recommendations.

     • Ensure student concerns are clearly outlined at the beginning of all Institute working group meetings such as ones on the meal plan, dorm transitions, and dining options. Institute working groups and committees have student representation but students often feel as if while they may have a seat at the table, they are not actually heard. We will establish a student-first expectation in policy making.​​

3. ​​UA President and Vice President Office Hours

   • We will widely publicize the times that we will be in the UA office and will actively encourage students to speak to us about whatever concerns, ideas or questions they may have by actively reaching out to different communities every week, as well as going into communities ourselves--if welcome-- such as club or dorm meetings in order to truly be present, as inclusion and equity is active.