jpreps

January 29, 2021

Fri 01/29/2021

Agenda:

  • Open House
    • DEI session brainstorm with WHOI’s faculty DEI advisors, Lauren Mullineaux and Adam Subhas
    • Welcome letter status
    • Student-led social activities
    • Housing presentation 
    • Kevin Kirwin’s videos
    • Swag update
    • Personalized note for admitted students
    • Open House buddies
  • Winter meeting
  • Department social activities ideas
  • Coffee fund

Notes:

  • Open House!!
    • Come with your DEI program ideas for open house. Lauren and Adam will be joining us so let’s spend a few minutes at the start of the meeting to share ideas. Student perspective is appreciated. (LF, AS, LM)
      • Framework: Structure like a CommuniTea. Set of questions, discussion topics, and breakouts for discussion. Have student reps in the breakout groups to bring knowledge of what’s going on at WHOI/reporting ideas.
      • Purpose: Where are things at in the program, and what activities exist at WHOI and in the JP to get further. 
      • Presentation “primer” at the beginning of the session
      • What should the topic prompts be? E.g., How do individuals get involved (in DEI efforts)
        • This was more or less seconded in the sense that breakout groups might be Q&As rather than students being asked to solve the JP’s DEI issues.
        • Be mindful that prospective students will have varying experience in prior DEI efforts, so don’t want to put them on the spot & make them talk about their own DEI involvement
      • Demonstrate MIT+WHOI’s commitment to DEI efforts, list supports available to students (e.g. GLOW, International Committee)
      • Rachel: Scripps did something similar, but it was entirely framed as a social, where the students gave a presentation about DEI efforts and casually talked about that with prospective students. “Take a break from science.”
      • Proposed structure: Short presentation, breakout sessions starting with a “get to know you game”, discussion time, and a 5-minute time back together.
      • Focus instead on celebrating the diversity of the prospective students, activities/games to get to know each other (two truths and a lie, something people wouldn’t know about you, 3 things in common to group, your proudest atypical non-science accomplishment, something you were embarrassingly late to realize) 
      • Open it up to all the JP students (have a few JP students per breakout group)
        • Send out survey to JP students 
      • Point to https://diversity.mit.edu/ https://www.whoi.edu/who-we-are/about-us/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/
      • Email Lauren and Adam with any more inputs
    • Status of welcome letter from current students (LF)
      • Stewart & Noah as general points of contact, refer to buddy assignment as another personal point of contact
    • Decide on student led open house activities? Ask student body for help with socials, planning, buddies, etc. I heard that students are interested in helping with open house (LF).
      • NPG will make survey/call for help.
    • Did all the presentations get done?
      • Housing presentation content was just approved, but (KD) needs to record it (today/tomorrow?)
    • Kevin’s video: Reminder, NPG can do CC.
    • Swag update (ZT, LF) and shipping options
      • Don’t forget packing tape
      • Have Veevee take stuff up to MIT? (just bring PO cards down to WHOI)
    • Are we still going to write a short note for each student? Would be nice if this came from a current student (LF). My alma mater is doing the same for admitted students.
      • Volunteers for personalized postcards — reps for each department
      • Rachel: AOPE
      • Zac: Bio
      • Noah: Chem
      • Jing (MIT): PO get ~10 MIT cards, write and give to Veevee to take down to WHOI
      • ??? (Emman/Jerry/Faith?): G&G
    • Call for open house buddies (Who is organizing this?) (LF)
      • Info from 2020
      • Survey from 2020
      • Department rep organize buddy system for their department, with some structure (e.g. reach out before Open House, meet up at least once during Open House, reach out after)
      • Stewart will do G&G matching: work with G&G ed coordinator to help with matching
    • Who will help with the MGG student swag packages and assigning buddies? (LF)
      • See above: (???) for swag, Stewart for buddies
  • Winter Meeting (briefly)
    • Gather comments from departments and assemble them ahead of time.
    • Each department meets with students to collect ideas/discussion topics for Winter meeting
      • Grievances, things students have noticed (e.g. accessibility), good stuff
      • Look at past Winter meeting minutes for examples
    • Provide agenda to APO a week or so in advance
  • Update on department/social Stuff
  • Coffee Fund:
    • Starbucks Rewards account for the JP?