EGSAC met today; here's what we talked about...

1.  The Department's Visiting Committee is coming again this month.
Students will have an opportunity to meet with the committee as we did two
years ago, but since our time with them is short, we will meet separately
in advance.  This will allow us to get a representative feel for how
things have evolved since the last meeting and to summarize what areas
could be improved.  Maureen will send an announcement with more
information soon.

2.  EGSAC will host a "Weekly Wednesday" at the Muddy Charles on May 5.
We'll include vegetarian food too.  These events occur each Wednesday with
different groups sponsoring one each week.  All graduate students are
welcome any time.

3.  Melaine reported on her meeting with the Graduate Committee.  The
health care petition was discussed, though this was before MIT announced
that graduate student's health insurance would be subsidized next year.
There are issues remaining to be addressed, notably the high cost of
insurance for spouses and children of graduate students.

4.  There was discussion about unifying the requirements for the general
exams in each subdiscipline within the department.  As the requirements
for PAOC are most different, the faculty will discuss whether a unified
set of requirements is viable, then discuss any proposed changes with the
Graduate Committee (and our student representative) before proceeding.
We'll keep you informed of any developments.

5.  There are still dates available to host a Peer Hour in April.  We have
money to spend, so we can food available as well.

The next meeting will be held the first Monday of April.

Sincerely,
Rob Korty
EGSAC Secretary