Hendrix Application

Well, I submitted my Hendrix application last night, so that's one more college down. Only three more college applications left. That just leaves honors college apps and scholarship apps...

MIT Interview

I just had my last college interview. It was my first interview in person. I was more nervous than I had been for any of my Skype interviews, maybe because it was in person, or maybe I just felt like this one was scarier.
I know it's best not to get my hopes up--MIT turns down thousands of people every year, and many of my classmates are also applying.
I was able to learn some interesting information, because my interviewer was an alumnus. I'm glad I heard his take on campus dining--he said that it wasn't a lot like traditional campus dining, and he only once ate in an MIT dining hall, although it wasn't bad. If I get to that point, I might need to consider picking a dorm that does not require me to buy a meal plan. He had heard of the freshman ESG (Experimental Study Group) program, but he didn't know details about it because he had not participated in it personally. I did hear a lot of good things about the IAP (Independent Activities Period), which was good, because that was one of the things I really liked about MIT. The opportunity to do "externships", or take fun classes, or take a credit class all at once, just as a break in the middle of the year, sounds really cool.
He also mentioned their Study Abroad program, which I hadn't heard a lot about. What he had to say was good. The way he described it, at least some of the programs were internships abroad, not just a semester in another country.

I really like that MIT has opportunities for undergrads to do research (UROPs). When I visited, I found that the student culture reminded me a lot of MSMS. One thing that goes on during the IAP is MIT's Mystery Hunt, which is something I thought sounded like a lot of fun in my online research. I could see a similar (less elaborate) type of event being great fun at MSMS, although it would be a lot of work for whoever would run it. I also like how each dorm has a unique culture to it, which reminded me of the house systems some colleges use, but seems to be a more flexible system.

I will probably submit my Part II essays tonight or tomorrow (they're nearly done, I just need to double check them), and then I'll have done everything I can, until I hear something back.

Labels

We had a mandatory dress code meeting Thursday night, for the girls only. Mostly there's a lot of confusion about how our dress code is being enforced, which doesn't always match up with what our handbook says.
Afterwards, most of us were pretty upset. It's not that our dress code is particularly unreasonable--it's not. And I agree, as do probably all of the other girls, that yes, people do need to dress appropriately. However, no one ever lectures guys about the length of their shorts, or how low-cut their tops are. No one has to--guy's bodies, and how covered or not they are, just isn't that big of a deal in our culture.
Friday at school, a lot of girls wore signs, like the ones pictured here, to protest. Most of our teachers and faculty seemed to be somewhat supportive, although some avoided voicing an opinion on the matter. A few guys mocked the girl's signs, one even wearing a sign that said "Kiss me if you hate dress code".
People who don't realize the point may think otherwise, but it's not the dress code that we are really upset about, but the fact that we live in a world where there has to be a girls-only dress code meeting. This meeting tapped into a lot of anger all at once, not because there's any easy solution, but because there is an overarching problem, which we will probably fight all our lives.
Every generation of women has had different goals, and different ideas about what feminism means to them. Feminism is often a word used to label--a set of values or beliefs that may often have negative connotations. However, each person who chooses to describe herself or himself as a feminist has a unique viewpoint on what that word means. Each person has to decide, which is why it shouldn't be used as a label. This incident is just one of many that will shape this small group's ideas on what they believe in and what they value most.
This may be something really small, but we are still in high school. Someday, I will quite possibly be required to wear high heels, shoes with the potential to cause permanent damage to my feet and back, for my job. Getting a job, and keeping a job, could rest on making my appearance fall somewhere on a constantly sliding scale, not unflattering or unfashionable, but not inappropriate. It's not that I'm against high heels or makeup, but it's the idea that I might be forced to do something, whether I like it or not, in order to fit into a job for which I may not even be getting equal pay.

State Science Olympiad Competition, Part IV

As we filed out, we learned that there had been a mistake. The Science Olympiad administrators said that we had not participated in the Fermi Questions event.

Those two team members had turned in a test, properly labeled. After a long, tense wait, the test was found between two pieces of scratch paper and scored.

We had actually scored third in that event, which, when everything was corrected, subtracted fifteen points from our score, and won us first place (lowest score wins).

Personally, I feel pretty terrible for Oxford having won and then being told it was a mistake. It makes it a lot harder for me to feel good about winning, even though it was not our team's fault that the mixup happened.

However, once everything was sorted out, we switched trophies with Oxford and claimed first place. We will be going to Science Olympiad Nationals in Florida, which is exciting.

EDIT: We took 6th Place for Disease Detectives and 5th Place for Water Quality.

State Science Olympiad Competition, Part I

Friday, March 28, was the state Science Olympiad competition, held at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

We left on Thursday around 5. All our supplies and stuff had to be loaded into a bus - printer, study materials, pre-built constructions, safety equipment, tools, and so on. It was a very long ride to Hattiesburg and our hotel where we spent the night.

Everyone, well...mostly everyone, was busy that night. Last minute cramming, cheat sheet construction, putting the finishing touches on build events. Most of us had a lot to do and didn't get much sleep- except for the one person with all his events already built and ready to go.

Most people went to sleep by two. A few were asleep earlier, and some unfortunates had an hour-long nap before it was time to go to the competition that morning.

The weather was awful. After carrying our equipment through the pouring rain, we finally found a good location to set up our base. Those with build events rushed to get their contraptions to impound. At 8:30, the events would begin.