The original op-ed offers me an opportunity to share a bit of what the Engineering Communication Center does and the ways we value and support critical thinking and the writing process in our courses. I hope this also dispels some misconceptions about engineering students and the engineering curriculum.

Though many students are aware of how public high schools train them to become obedient 9-5 workers with limited creativity and personal opinion, I don’t think enough people notice this aspect of suppression. It stood out to me because I always felt like something was wrong, and I became combative without fully understanding why: I had to ignore an author’s endorsement of systemic and interpersonal discrimination and focus my analysis on textual elements. 

Amidst the growing debate over AI’s role in the classroom, Student Life’s Managing Multimedia Editor, Sanchali Pothuru, and Multimedia Editor, Mireya Coffman, join three professors, Tarrell Campbell, Konstantina Kiousis, and Guy Genin, to see if they can distinguish between student essays and ChatGPT-generated content.

The transition from high school to the first year of college is a big and jarring adjustment. Walking into the stadium seating of Wrighton 300 for the first time certainly doesn’t ease the anxiety of that transition.