[1383] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: Petition about Dorm Rush
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rory P. Pheiffer)
Thu Nov 7 12:02:51 2002
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 07:16:23 -0500
From: "Rory P. Pheiffer" <rpp@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <000201c28623$3604d960$bf07bb12@bofh>
Actually, even if freshman cannot live in FSILGs for their first year, I
don't believe that there is anything precluding them rushing before classes
begin. If people feel that it is in the best interest of both the system
AND the best interest of freshman to have freshman rush before classes
start, then I see no reason why a separate sister petition cannot be
brought to the table. Yes, it will be harder to convince MIT
administration that holding rush prior to classes is in the best interest
of everybody, but I don't believe there is anything in any agreement with
the Krueger family preventing rush from occurring prior to classes.
Holding rush when it was this year was a result of the policy change, but
it was not a requirement of the policy change. When planning Rush 2002, we
were given a set date that Rush was not allowed to start prior to. In all
honesty, I think we all know that although official Rush didn't start until
during the school year, that rush began as soon as the freshmen set foot on
campus.
The change was made to foster more of a MIT community and allow freshman a
chance a more reasonable amount of time to get to know the system, meet
FSILG members, and make an informed decision. If a good argument as to why
rush prior to classes is better than the reasons MIT sees for forcing rush
to occur a few weeks into the school year, then go ahead and try and push
this through. I'm not so sure this is true.
Yes, there is no denying that having Rush during the school year instead of
before, coupled with the fact that it was no longer a "housing" decision
that freshman were making, hurt the Rush numbers this year, but all things
considered, the numbers were better than most expected. Now that everybody
has had a year to see how things work under the new system, there is no
reason why those numbers cannot increase in future year. I think that
allowing freshmen to be more informed does not have to come at the expense
of numbers; rather, it just becomes more of a challenge to learn a new
system and succeed in it.
Rory
At 01:02 AM 11/7/02 -0500, Jonathan Wang wrote:
>Unfortunately, the legal settlement MIT has with the Kruegers stipulates
>that all freshmen must be housed on campus for the first year. Whether
>or not this is happening with the new FSILG rush is debatable (see
>http://www-tech.mit.edu/V122/N52/52frosh.52n.html) but the fact remains
>that a reversal of the changes to FSILG rush would be a violation of the
>terms of MIT's settlement.
>
>Thus, a petition to reinstate dorm rush during R/O has a possibility of
>success, whereas a petition to reinstate FSILG rush during R/O would
>almost certainly fail because of the legal issues.
>
>Jonathan
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Talk about MIT, for MIT, by MIT. [mailto:MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU] On
>Behalf Of Juan Carlos Alicea
>Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 11:42 PM
>To: MIT-Talk@mit.edu
>Subject: Re: Petition about Dorm Rush
>
>
>I think this is an incorrect response. All MIT students have been
>royally screwed, both those in dorms and those of us off-campus. We
>should help each other as best as we can. I am indeed not in full
>support of this petition. If the petition were modified to include
>FSILG rush or a sister petition went up alongside this one (asking for
>the same), I would be more than happy to sign. Both dorm and FSILG rush
>were hurt this year, and we must do something to reverse it. But we
>should work together to put forth a united proposal; "to each his own"
>will not help any particular group when it comes to this. I, for one, do
>not want to give up and just deal with it.
>
>-Juan
>
>==============================
>On Wed, 06 Nov 2002 22:44:54 EST
>The illustrious =?iso-8859-1?Q?Dustin_Mu=F1iz?= <esper@MIT.EDU> declared
>To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
>On the subject of: Re: Petition about Dorm Rush
>
> > Why?
> >
> > Not to be absurd or anything, but we didn't have any help from people
> > in dorms when OUR Rush was being screwed with.=20
> >
> > I say that you guys learn to take it like we had to.=20 Welcome to
> > MIT.
> >
> > Dustin Mu=F1iz
> > esper@mit.edu
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Talk about MIT, for MIT, by MIT. [mailto:MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU] On
> > Behalf Of Grace Rose Kessenich
> > Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 6:58 PM
> > To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
> > Subject: Petition about Dorm Rush
> >
> > In an effort to show that Dorm Rush is valuble to freshmen and
> > upperclassmen, DormCon has drafted the following petition. It should
> > be at every dorm desk
> > and more can be printed from:
> > http://web.mit.edu/dormcon/www/petition.pdf
> >
> > FSILG members are welcome and encouraged to sign it. Students living
> > in a dorm and belonging to an FSILG should put down both living groups
>
> > in the Living
> > Group(s) space.
> >
> > The text of the petition is:
> >
> > We the undersigned feel that dormitory rush is a valuable experience
> > for freshmen and upperclassmen alike. Freshmen get to know campus,
> > learn about the diverse dorm cultures to help in choosing where they
> > would be happiest living
> > their first year and beyond, and meet new people -- both fellow
>freshmen
> > and
> > upperclassmen. Upperclassmen use the time to encourage community both
> > within
> > the dorm and across campus, and meet freshmen who will live in all
> > dorms. For
> > these reasons, we feel that this campus wide community event should be
> > brought
> > back as an uninterrupted multiday event prior to the closing of the
> > Orientation
> > Lottery.
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Grace
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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> >
> >
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>
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Rory P. Pheiffer
22 Roseland Street, Apartment 4
Cambridge, MA 02140
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