RISE PARTNERS
GRADUATES FOR A HEALTHY MIT (G4HMIT)
Graduate Students for a Healthy MIT (G4HMIT) is a grassroots student group working to address the systemic causes of the pervasive mental health crisis on our campus. G4HMIT is working with a diverse range of students, representing every discipline at MIT and differing life circumstances, to uplift the issue we face to create a healthy campus for all.
Connect with G4HMIT on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
THE BLACK GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION (BGSA)
The purpose of the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA) is to foster community among the Black graduate students of MIT. The BGSA shall create spaces where graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and research of the Black/African Diaspora feel supported toward their degree completion and are encouraged to express ideas, concepts, and frustrations without rebuke. The BGSA seeks to empower its members to support the betterment of Black communities both on campus and in the world.
Connect with BGSA on Facebook and Instagram!
GSC DEI
Graduate Student Council Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee (GSC DEI) works to encourage diversity, achieve equity, and foster inclusion for all MIT community members regardless of their identity
Connect with GSC DEI on Instagram and Twitter!
Our Approach
RISE is dedicated to using a new set of tools for creating change at MIT. We know that the pathways for change that have been offered to us by admin in the past have too often proven slow, impotent, and deactivating. In fact, those pathways can even be counterproductive to the approach that we believe is necessary for creating meaningful improvements on our campus. Instead, we aim to create a campaign for change focused on broad-based engagement and mobilization, empowering the voices of the marginalized, and no longer accepting business as usual while waiting for those in power to act. The need to address racism and sexism at MIT is immediate and change cannot come soon enough. Therefore we must see the Institute make meaningful commitments in the strategic plan with full backing from the upper administration such that reforms are implemented with the necessary urgency and immediacy.
MIT, RISE up, fight back!
The mental health campaign success story
In the Fall of 2019, G4HMIT, with the support of other on-campus student groups, sent out a petition to greatly expand upon existing mental health services for graduate students at MIT. Our members coordinated with other students groups, organized events, and worked to obtain signatures and broad student support. With these efforts, in April 2020 we won full confirmation from the MIT admininstration that starting in September 2020, we will increase mental health coverage and access significantly. Specifically, we increased the number of fully covered mental health sessions from 12 to up to 52, and decreased the copay for any additional sessions from $25 to $5. We were also successful in obtaining an additional staff member at MIT Medical to cover the referral process and expansions in trans-inclusive healthcare benefits. We have been greatly encouraged by these wins and are incredibly grateful to the cosponsor groups that signed on with us to help make this happen. If your student group is interested in learning more about our current initiatives and getting involved, please contact us at grads4healthymit@gmail.com.
