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MIT student blogger Jessie L. '07

Hey look, I’m famous…or something by Jessie L. '07

Hey, cool, my column’s in the Tech!

See?

My column was a response to Ruth ’07’s column from last week.

Two people complimented me on my column earlier today. One of whom I don’t think I’ve ever met before. Does anyone else ever run into the situation where people know who you are but you don’t know them? It’s a very odd feeling.

I’m still at the point where I find it sort of exciting to be in the Tech, assuming that I’m not misquoted or whatever (which, interestingly, hasn’t been a problem so far). I wonder how long that will last. Though I remember that the first time I was ever interviewed by the Tech (about a year ago) I had a 6.001 (Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs) test in 20 minutes and was not too happy about getting a phone call from a reporter.

Hmm. I thought I just heard Kim ’04 in the hallway saying that Clayton ’08 was chasing a fire extinguisher down the stairwell. I must have misheard that. Even in East Campus, home of the Emergency Pizza Button and the Motorized Couch, fire extinguishers don’t normally start running around of their own volition. Though if they did, I could totally see Clayton chasing one.

I remember how last spring when I was running for UA Vice-President, Clayton was (I think) one of the 5th East freshmen who made fools out of themselves on my behalf by wearing breadboard-style posters with John ’06’s and my faces on them to get people to vote for our ticket. They tried to convince Bryan ’07, my opponent, before they figured out who he was. Come to think of it, this may be one reason why there are people I don’t know who recognize me by face.

I apologize for this not being a more substantial entry. You prospective MIT students should ask me questions or something. Almost nobody asks me questions on this blog. I know other bloggers get questions. Am I that scary?

8 responses to “Hey look, I’m famous…or something”

  1. Timur Sahin says:

    :D.

    Forget admissions, housing, et al. Where do you see your MIT education taking you? What opportunities have been available to you that you feel get you closer to your goal in life?

    So I guess what I am asking is, specifically, how has MIT helped you come closer to where you want to be? How much of this was unique to MIT as opposed to what can be found in most universities?

  2. Timur Sahin says:

    Also, pet peeve: “begs the question” does not mean “leads to the question” or “makes you want to ask the question.” To “beg the question” means you presume the answer to the question and then act on that presumption, without giving consideration to other possible answers.

    So like, your article was umpteen times better.

  3. I’m glad Timur called out “begs the question”, that irked me, too. The Skeptic’s Dictionary (skepdic.com) has a nice little definition of the phrase:

    “Begging the question is what one does in an argument when one assumes what one claims to be proving.”

    Yours was a calm and well-written response. Nicely done.

    And although I’m not a prospective student, can I still ask a question? We know a lot now about how it works for incoming freshmen, but… what happens in terms of a housing lottery after your first year? If you want to stay put, is that guaranteed? What’s the procedure for staying in your same room, or moving to another room on your hall/entry or within your building… or moving to a different building? I assume that’s all decided before the pre-frosh get their I3 (Interactive Introduction to the Institute) housing DVD and do their preference ranking for their lottery, but when and how do next year’s non-freshmen do it?

    And while we’re at it, I think it would be insanely cool to be part of the team that produces the I3 video about one’s dorm. Are there a lot of people wanting to do that each year? Three cheers for the creative minds that produce these each year! (I hope someone archives all of them somewhere! In the MIT Museum, maybe…?)

  4. Mollie says:

    (Comment that probably nobody but Jessie will understand, upon reading leftcoast mom’s comment above)

    For a second after I read that question, I was like “oh no, a housing lottery after the first year!” but then I remembered that particular piece of Potter report nonsense was not actually implemented. And I breathed a sigh of relief.

  5. Sam says:

    Hey Jessie–very nice and articulate article today (is that redundant?). It impressed me even more than the fact that you knew who Farrokh Bulsara was… and that’s difficult.

  6. Anna Park says:

    I think more overwhelmed by MIT student life, than scared. Or maybe it’s because I’m probably like one of those Asian children you mention in “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.”

    Anyways, how conducive an environment does MIT students and faculty members create for science majors? Do engineering activities dominate science activities? Or are they more intertwined than mutually exclusive?

  7. Christina says:

    Where’s that picture in the title of your blog taken from?

  8. Anonymous says:

    you ingenous little asian bloggers. how dare you try and insult my superior intellect. Your complete lack of respect towards my way of life truly aggrivates me. damn you communist pigs. so go ahead create your rebuttal i’ll be right here waiting.