Concourse Events

Concourse is one of MIT’s first-year learning communities, and provides an ideal test bed for our Civil Discourse project. The entire class of 40 students attends our speaker series as part of their advising seminar participation. Concourse also devotes some of its regular Friday seminars to the project. In one, the students read excerpts from John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, the MIT statement on free expression and academic freedom, and information about the Dorian Abbot episode at MIT. They then discussed the Abbot affair in light of arguments that Mill gives for free speech.

Other seminars are on the Fridays after the speaker events, in which the students will debate the topic of that week. Concourse uses the debate format developed by Braver Angels, which helps students develop the skills to discuss polarized issues productively and with civility. Concourse has three upper-class “debate fellows,” who help plan and conduct the debates to ensure that many different viewpoints are expressed.

Our plan this year is to open the Concourse debates to the wider MIT community. Our project dovetails nicely with the Concourse vision of a liberal education where opposing ideas are heard and argued over, in service of gaining a more nuanced common understanding of the world and humanity’s place within it.

The Concourse experiment will help us determine what works and what doesn’t, and our longer term ambition is to reach all MIT first-year students.

Our debate fellows

Isaac Lock

Howdy! I’m Isaac Lock, and I’m a junior majoring in Course 20 (biological engineering) and minoring in Course 24 (philosophy). I’m from Abilene, Texas, AKA the middle of nowhere, and am currently residing at Next House. I’m a TA and Debate Fellow for CC.010 this semester, so will be helping out with general seminar logistics, but also organizing a couple of debates we’ll have in seminar throughout the year (more details to come). I’m part of WellComm (Student Support and Wellbeing Committee of the UA), work in the Gehrke Lab doing virology research, and a TA for CC.110 as well. My hobbies include photography (including astrophotography), video games, making (wookworking, 3D printing, etc.), and nerding out about philosophy, history, and anything else that interests me in the moment. If you ever see me in the Concourse lounge, feel free to talk to me about anything, especially if you want to have a deep conversation about political philosophy or ethics.

Siddhu Pachipala

Siddhu Pachipala is a sophomore from Houston, TX, studying political science and computer science. At MIT GOV/LAB, he researches how we can leverage generative AI to reduce partisan polarization in conversations about controversial political issues. When Siddhu is off the clock, find him running aimlessly through Boston, drinking matcha, or reading some guy’s Substack.

Akua Yeboah

Hello! My name is Akua (Ah-quee-uh) Yeboah, and I’m a sophmore studying 6-9 (Computation & Cognition). In my free time, I enjoy writing and reading literary and speculative fiction, catching up on internet discourse, and exploring the city I live in.

Kay Zhulyabina

Fear not, class of 2028! My name is Kay, and I will always be around to help you with any trouble you might have. I am a senior and a Concourse old-timer. I am passionate about integrated circuits, indoor plants, my dog Sam, and creating the best first-year experience for new Concourse students! Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Arianna Doss

Hi everyone! My name is Arianna Doss (she/her), and I’m a sophomore from Houston, TX studying Course 10-B (Chemical-Biological Engineering) and possibly minoring in Course 17 (political science). I’m so excited to be a debate fellow this year to help y’all effectively engage in civil discourse! I am also quite interested in social justice issues and public speaking, so that’s a plus! Outside of Concourse, I play on the Women’s Varsity Soccer team and serve as Attorney General for the Black Students’ Union (reminder to request your mail-in ballot!). I’m also interested in public health and immunology research, but in my (little) free time you’ll likely find me at a concert or eating ice cream.

Woods Windham

Woods is a sophomore from Greenville, South Carolina, majoring in mechanical engineering with minors in theater arts and philosophy. He’s an active member of the varsity soccer team, varsity basketball team, and Roadkill Buffet improv comedy troupe. He has participated in Continuing Conversations, MISTI Italy, and MIT Congressional Visit Days. In his free time, he enjoys listening to old country music, playing the guitar, and watching movies.

Mariam Abdelbarr

Hi! My name is Mariam, I am a sophomore majoring in Course 9. I am on the women’s basketball team, and in my free time I love to read and discuss current events. 

Will Bland

Will Bland, a graduate of Virginia Beach, Virginia’s International Baccalaureate program, and is in his sophomore year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, he will major in Finance or Business Analytics and plans to pursue a joint JD/MBA degree. Bland is a point guard for the Men’s Varsity Basketball team and is involved in the Black Student Union and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Furthermore, he is a member of the Office of Minority Education’s The Standard (a pre-professional community for minority-identifying men) and resides at Chocolate City. 

Johnnie Jones

Hi all, my name is Johnnie, and I’m a Course 9 sophomore. People are my passion, so in between pset sessions and class, you can find me engaged in philosophical debates about the Good Life™, nose-deep in a psychology text, or learning from others about all the different ways of being human.

Bridget Allen and Cassidy Jennings (bios to come)