CONTENTS Fri Jul 10 Notice to lucy Users Tue May 5 Cap and Gown Policy at Coop Thu Apr 23 Charge for Medical Assistance Wed Apr 22 Medical Problem Wed Apr 22 Summer Jobs Wed Apr 15 Proverb Wed Apr 15 Bureaucracy at MIT; Acad Record Question Fri Apr 3 Info Required in MIT Employment Applications Fri Mar 27 Depression Fri Mar 20 Harassment? ________________________________________________________________________ Fri Jul 10 Notice to lucy Users lucy has gone on sabbatical and will not be here for the remainder of the summer or the academic year 92-93. If she is offered another place while she is on sabbatical, she may accept and not return to the Institute. She is aware that some of your questions have not been answered, but encourages you to pursue these answers from other resources. Please read the questions and answers in the public browser and you will find not only resources listed in some of the answers, but some interesting (and perhaps relevant) questions and answers on many topics. Good luck and best wishes. lucy will miss you. ________________________________________________________________________ Tue May 5 Cap and Gown Policy at Coop QUESTION: Dear lucy, I am somewhat annoyed by the Coop for their policy on cap and gown. I am a graduating senior, and I missed the deadline for reserving cap and gown. I went over a day late and found out that the only way I can get my cap and gown is to go on May 28 and try to find a match with the overflow. This does not guarantee that there will be one for me. I have spent 4 years of my life here at MIT and now I am about to graduate. And the Coop is threatening me with this ridiculous setup. I am extremely annoyed by their policy. I have already attemped to reason with the people at the Coop, but it was to no avail. These are the reasons that why some MIT students like myself begin to wonder if it was worth it to come to MIT. I want to feel a sense of pride for having survived MIT, but it is becoming increasingly hard. I wish that something could be done about this, and I hope some of the people in a position to change this policy would step forward and ask the Coop to shape up. a distressed student ANSWER: Understanding the needs of students such as you describe at this important time of year is important to both MIT and to the Coop. Both want to try to anticipate students' needs and to help solve any problems that come up. The deadline you are talking about always places a burden on people with busy schedules. The Coop tries to compensate for this by ordering extra caps and gowns and being open additional hours for students who couldn't place an order by the deadline. Your frustration is probably shared by others; lucy is glad you brought the matter up so she can let people know who missed the deadline that the Coop orders seven hundred (700) extra sets of caps and gowns. Mark your calendar: They are available at the Coop May 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 (the Coop opens early Sunday at 11:00 am instead of 12 noon). And on Commencement day, June 1, the Coop opens at 8:00 am. It is most unlikely that a student will not be able to get properly fitting regalia for Commencement. The "normal" three week period for reserving caps and gowns was reduced to two weeks this year by the supplier in Chicago. MIT's Commencement is rather late in the 'Commencement season' nationwide; however, we still must comply with the supplier's deadlines so that our orders will be accepted. MIT and the Coop try to provide flexibility in spite of the deadline so students will have every opportunity to get a cap and gown for their graduation. lucy thinks it will work out for you. Happy Graduation! ________________________________________________________________________ Thu Apr 23 Charge for Medical Assistance QUESTION: Dear lucy, I am confused about how we are going to be charged by our medical center if we use it. Are we going to be charged if we go there for, say, a red eye, a bad tooth, itchy skin, or upset stomach? If the answer is yes, then what is covered by our insurance? Thanks. ANSWER: Many students are unclear about what is and is not covered at Medical. There is a pamphlet, "Campus Medical Services for MIT Students," that describes eligibility, services and fees. Briefly (quoting from the pamphlet), if you are a `full time or special undergraduate or graduate student registered at MIT, you are entitled to most health care services at the Health Services Center at no charge'. It is not your insurance, but your student status that gives you this benefit. Note also, that these services are provided at no charge at the Health Services Center on campus only. Costs for hospital emergency room visits, or for off-campus office visits and off-campus hospitalization are covered as determined by your hospital insurance program. If you have the MIT hospital insurance coverage, lucy urges you to read a booklet titled "MIT Student Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan." These publications are sent to students every fall, but additional copies may be picked up in the Member Services Office on the first floor of Medical or in the Student Wellness Center on the fifth floor of the Student Center. Also, your questions about coverage can be answered by calling 253-4371. Getting back to your list of hypothetical problem visits, with the exception of the bad tooth complaint, there would be no charge for seeking medical attention - eg. consultation with a health care provider, x-ray, lab tests - for these complaints. The dental service sees students and their spouses on a fee-for-service basis. There are charges for prescription drugs. A complete list of services and medical supplies for which there are extra charges is contained in the Campus Medical Services pamphlet. You don't have to be feeling dreadful to seek health care or a consultation at the Medical Department. You can seek medical attention for any health issue of concern or for preventive purposes; the Department is committed to the concept that early diagnosis and treatment can prevent more serious illness and complications. Also, students can take advantage of QUICK CONSULT, a pilot program based in the Student Wellness Center on the fifth floor of the Student Center. On most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at midday a physician from Medical is available for short, private discussions about personal health concerns. On Thursday afternoons, Marcia Yousik, R.N., a clinical specialist in the Psychiarty Service offers QUICK COUNSEL to speak with students on emotional health issues. The schedule for QUICK CONSULT is posted in the Wellness Center window. ________________________________________________________________________ Wed Apr 22 Medical Problem QUESTION: Dear lucy, Ok. This is a rather bizarre question. Here goes. Often, during the day, the need to urinate hits me rather hard. Like without enough time to reach a toilet. This has been going on for months, and I have just learned to run to the bathroom at every opportunity during the day in order to avoid a problem. This isn't the sort of thing i feel comfortable discussing with anyone. So what should I do? Do I have some weird sort of problem? ANSWER: While the phenomenon you describe IS an intimate one, it is not an unusual one to bring to a health care provider. Lucy encourages you to make an appointment to describe this to a health care provider just as you have done through lucy. Consistently experiencing such urgent need to urinate is not a normal occurance and should be checked. Often this phenomenon is related to an infection of the bladder, but can occur with other conditions also; thus more information is needed. Your doctor can discuss the history of the problem with you, asking questions that will help you both to decide what the most appropriate course of action should be. It's just impossible to know at this point, and you do need the advice of your doctor. Do you know who your assigned doctor in Medical is? If so, just make a short appointment with that person by calling 253-4481. If you don't have someone whom you see regularly, you can make an appointment with the physician who was assigned to you (the folks at the appointment desk can tell you who that is) or you can choose any of the other internal medicine providers. You do not need to see a `specialist' for this visit. If you aren't sure whom to choose, you can pick up a booklet with pictures and short professional sketches of the Department's doctors in the Medical Department and at the Student Wellness Center (Student Center, Room 547). Or you can take the "luck of the draw" by scheduling an appointment with a provider who is available when you are! It's worth checking this out as the problem is not weird and is treatable. Imagine how much more time you'll have when you no longer need to locate every bathroom on campus! Good luck. ________________________________________________________________________ Wed Apr 22 Summer Jobs QUESTION: Dear lucy, Can You tell me what is the point of an MIT education? I am a junior in course 6 who hopes to get into grad school. Unfortunately, I am no 5.0 or even close. I work hard but the competition is hard!!!! Recently, I applied for summer jobs but got rejected from all (20). They gave the jobs to people who went to other schools but had better GPA's. Now, I could easily have gone to one of those schools but I did not. So, I tried to get a real education but the consequences are huge. Forget about grad school if I can't even get a summer job............. ANSWER: If it's any consolation at all, your bad luck in not getting a summer job might be due more to the lousy economy than to your not having a 5.0. MIT students usually have very good luck getting jobs when there are jobs out there. In fact, it's probably going to be easier to get into graduate school than to get a summer job! But if you don't have a very good GPA (and you didn't say how far from 5.0 it is), good letters of recommendation are always a big help, both in terms of getting something in the summer and getting into graduate school. Do you know people who can write those letters for you? Like your advisor, UROP supervisor, any instructors who know you well, etc? If you have to say "no" to all of the above, you might start getting to know a few faculty members. Spend time talking with your advisor, begin a research project (you'll have to start on a thesis soon anyway), spend some extra time with your instructors. Two or three strong references can make almost anything happen! You sound really upset about not doing as well at MIT as you might have at one of "those other" schools. The specialness of an MIT education may not be at all apparent to you right now; lucy knows many people who have said they have to go away from here to appreciate just how special this place is. Lucy hopes you are talking to people about your frustration, and that your advisor and/or research supervisor are people you can talk with. Lots of students are worried about job and graduate school prospects, so don't be shy about getting advice from people who know you. Good luck! ------- End of Forwarded Message ________________________________________________________________________ Wed Apr 15 Proverb QUESTION: Dear lucy, My roomate say to me, "Soap bars come in many colors, but the lather of soap is always white." What he mean by this? ANSWER: lucy is delighted by the possibility of discussing proverbs of many societies. Could this be the same as "All people are one, in (Allah's, God's, or other appropriate deity's) eyes"? or "All people are the same under the skin"? If any reader knows this proverb, would you write lucy to explain? ________________________________________________________________________ Wed Apr 15 Bureaucracy at MIT; Acad Record Question QUESTION: Dear lucy, hmm... I sent this before, but the program kinda flaked on me, so just in case, I'm sending you another message. Disregard this one if you got the first: Hi. A few years ago, when I transferred to MIT, I registered for a class that I never went to, and later failed that class. I would have dropped it, except that some friends told me I would lose my financial aid if I dropped below 33 units (which is what dropping the class would have done). Now I've found out that what my friends told me about fin aid isn't necessarily true. My questions are: is there *any* way to get this off my transcript, and if so, will it affect my financial aid for that semester at all? Also, if there is a way to get this off my record, where do I start? Where would this bureaucratic journey begin? ANSWER: You need to petition to the Committee on Academic Performance (C.A.P.) with a request that the subject be dropped due to non-attendance. The person to contact is Stephen Patterson, Assistant to the Chairman of C.A.P., Office of Academic Affairs, 7-103 @ 253-4164. C.A.P. needs confirmation from the instructor-in-charge of the subject dropped that all relevant information given by a student is true. Also, you need to get the signature of your faculty advisor with comments about his/her response to this request. If this failure doesn't go back too far -- there is possibly a chance of getting this removed from your transcript. What happens in the Financial Aid Office when a student successfully petitions to have a course dropped retroactively? If the transaction results in a reduction in tuition charges for the term in question, then the Student Financial Aid Office also reduces the student's financial aid IN LIKE AMOUNT. The result is a 'wash' -- no penalty is exacted; no profit is realized. lucy encourages to take care of this as soon as you can for your own peace of mind and so that these records will be in good order. ________________________________________________________________________ Fri Apr 3 Info Required in MIT Employment Applications QUESTION: Dear Lucy, Current MIT employment application forms include questions considered improper (and possibly even illegal) in the context of interviewing applicants. Are requests for a detailed salary history and for reasons for leaving previous employer acceptable? (Anyhow, applicants claim they left because of salary). Is the request for date of high school graduation defendable against potential complaints of "Ageism"?. The fine print at the end of the form states ".. withholding of information will result in rejection of this application..". Is any of the above required info optional? Are the above questions acceptable? Can we get away with asking such questions once the recession is over? ANSWER: Lucy has learned that the MIT employment application form is currently under revision. One of the items being changed is the request for high school graduation date. However, lucy understands that it IS acceptable for an employer to ask an applicant for salary history and for his or her reasons for leaving a previous employer. You raise a question about the fine print at the end of the form: "...withholding of information will result in the rejection of this application...." The present application, including this statement, had been reviewed and approved quite recently. However, your question is a pertinent one, and lucy has been assured that this statement will be reviewed again, and the application form revised if it is appropriate. ________________________________________________________________________ Fri Mar 27 Depression QUESTION: Dear lucy, What are you for? Can you help me if i am depressed? ANSWER: Lucy wants to answer questions and to help people whenever she can. She is very sorry you are depressed, and encourages you to take some steps so that you can make positive changes and start to feel better. There are a number of services available to you here at the Institute: the counselling deans in Student Assistance Services (3-4861); psychologists or psychiatrists in the Medical Department (3-2916); Religious Chaplains at 312 Memorial Drive; staff in Social Work Services (3-4911); and trained student volunteers in Nightline (3-8800). These people are deeply interested in talking with you about troubling matters, and will keep their discussions with you strictly confidential. Lucy is thinking about you and encourages you to call someone and have a talk as soon as possible. You'll be glad you did! ________________________________________________________________________ Fri Mar 20 Harassment? QUESTION: I am a little concerned about MIT's harassment policy. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding it, but it sounds like the policy, boiled down, is this: if you feel harassed, you are, and MIT can punish the perpetrator up to and including expulsion. Doesn't this sound a tiny bit dangerous? I happen to take a rather vocal stand on the abortion issue, and have signs and posters on my door expressing my views very plainly. They could potentially be quite offensive to someone who feels the other way than I do. Am I guilty of harassing them for expressing my opinion? ANSWER: Here is lucy's outlook on all this. When MIT looks into a charge of sexual harassment, the following questions get asked: 1. Did the (alleged) event in fact happen? 2. Was it sexual in nature? 3. Was it unwanted? 4. Did it create an offensive, intimidating or hostile environment such that reasonable (men) (women) would find the event(s) unreasonably disruptive of the educational or work environment? MIT's policy on harassment is based on these points, in the same general way as are the relevant laws. This is why the policy reads, in part, "...harassment is any conduct, verbal or physical, on or off campus, which has the intent or effect of *unreasonably* interfering with an individual's or group's education or work performance at MIT or which creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive educational, work or living environment." The courts have been less clear on *all* harassment, that is harassment in general, but MIT has taken the position that sexual harassment is one form of "harassment" and the same considerations apply to all forms of harassment, at least in this community. Now the question you raise is this: is someone guilty of harassment by expressing an opinion publicly, say through the medium of postering one's own door? The answer is no. So far, such an individual has exercised the right of free speech. Suppose, you had not posted your door, but rather had gone up to someone and said something like, "I am against abortion." Now suppose that person replies, "I find that topic repugnant and do not want to discuss it. I would like to ask you not to say that to me again." If you were to say it again anyway, would that constitute harassment? The answer could be yes, if your continuing the discussion would be found by reasonable people to be unreasonably disruptive, since you are not only repeating something you have said, but you are doing so with the knowledge that that action is unwanted by the person you repeated it to. I say "probably" because there is always the possibility that you misunderstood what the person you are talking said or perhaps you thought they were joking. Suppose, however, that despite the person saying again that he/she found such remarks repugnant, you kept repeating them whenever you saw that person. Clearly, the more you repeat the statement despite the knowledge that the behavior is unwanted, the closer to harassment it becomes. You can easily see that such a simple thing as saying, "I am against abortion," said insistently to someone who did not want to hear it, could become something quite far from an innocent expression of opinion. It could, in fact, conceivably become something far more threatening, especially if the listener could not escape, and if the behavior sank to the level that reasonable people would find unreasonably disruptive....... But expressing one's opinion in certain contexts may not be so fine; for example, the one just described. Your question could become difficult if everyone around you on the hall asked you to move the posters that are on your door, inside your room. This point might be especially clear if your posters celebrated rape or lynching or death to all of one religious group. In this case lucy would ask you these questions: What choice would be in your interests? Is it in your interests to offend those around you on the hall? If so, why? Would you be willing to consider making your choice on the basis of peoples' INTERESTS rather than on the basis of a fight about RIGHTS? This question often arises with pornographic images on publicly visible screens. The MIT community does not share one point of view about free speech vs. harassment. That is, the question of RIGHTS is not perfectly clear, in the law or in the community: we are not yet certain what "reasonable people" or "reasonable women" will consider "unreasonably disruptive" in this case. However...please bear with lucy for a moment....though the question of RIGHTS is not settled, the question of INTERESTS is pretty clear, in the case that people object and make reasonably clear that certain behavior is unwelcome. So, if people do make clear that certain behavior is unwelcome, would a caring or honorable person continue to offend, just for the joy of provoking a fight about RIGHTS? Would it be in anyone's interests to offend on purpose? And what should this community think of such a choice? .... It depends on time, place, circumstance, the parties involved and so forth. Whether some event that took place that someone objects to is harassment will more often than not require careful thought by reasonable people who------perhaps in the capacity of deans, judges, mediators, friends, or complaint handlers----are trying to balance the need to maintain freedom of speech while, at the same time, trying to provide a civil, decent and hostility free environment for all members of the community. lucy is very interested in your comments on all this. She thanks you very much for raising an interesting, (if infuriating) problem....