Who We Are
We are a group of ME graduate students formally trained as peer mediators by staff at Mediation@MIT. Our role is to support the ME graduate community and serve as a resource in dealing with stress and conflict, however big or small, in a safe, non-intimidating and confidential environment. We also provide information on appropriate resources when a peer graduate student voluntarily approaches us for informal advice and possible informal conflict resolution.
Our Goal
Graduate school can be stressful, whether because of qualifying exams, navigating your relationship with your advisor, courses, roommates, or other issues. The MechE Resources for Easing Friction and Stress (REFS) program provides confidential peer support to graduate students in the department.
In Response to Current Events:
The current climate is one of an unprecedented combination of stressors in our community – a once-in-a-century pandemic, economic upheaval, and civil movements against systemic racism. We, the MechE REFs, serve as a resource in this time for graduate students in multiple capacities: providing a confidential space to have conversations about the impact of these events in their lives; as a resource for conflict management and mediation as students navigate these issues with their family, friends, roommates, labmates, advisors; and connecting students to other offices and resources on campus.
As a group, MechE REFS aims to facilitate constructive dialogue and strengthen institute support systems to foster an anti-racist, inclusive environment that affirms intersectional diversity in which all members of our community can thrive.
For reference:
Black Graduate Student Association – Recommendations
Black Graduate Student Association – Follow up on recommendations
A Resolution Concerning URM Faculty and Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention
The Report on the Initiative for Faculty Race and Diversity
A Report on the Status of Women Faculty in the Schools of Science and Engineering at MIT
When To Contact Us
If you are in a difficult situation and want to get opinions, want somebody to talk to, or just vent, please feel free to come and visit one of us. We can help you better understand and more effectively manage your situation, and/or direct you to other alternative resources for further assistance. We’re also here to help you in much less formal settings. Don’t worry that your problems are too small to matter; if something’s bothering you, come talk to us about it!
How to Contact Us
To schedule a private, confidential meeting with a member of the ME REFS, e-mail us individually (see our members page) to make an appointment to meet up and chat, or contact all of us at me-refs@mit.edu
Contact us me-refs@mit.edu and find more information at http://merefs.mit.edu
Similar resource outside of MechE : iREFS (Insitute-wide, members from all departments: http://refs.mit.edu/irefs)