Letters to the Editor
‘Tech’ Should Not Have Printed EC Daily Confusion Entries
As a communications professional, I understand that one of the goals of communication is to get the audience’s attention. Perhaps East Campus had this goal in submitting descriptions for their events during REX in the 8/28 issue. Well, they certainly got my attention. I was both disgusted and insulted by the language and perverse, misogynistic content. I believe that the content constitutes sexual harassment. Let me quote to you from MIT’s community standards:
“Harassment is any conduct, verbal or physical, on or off campus, that has the intent or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s or group’s educational or work performance at MIT or that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive education, work, or living environment.”
The event descriptions included words such as “deflowering,” “raping a village,” “ fucking hot jesus titty fucking Christ” and worse. Did you not consider how these words would affect the people who read them? How about a woman who was actually raped or sexually assaulted? How about a conservative Christian? How about women who do not want to be considered objects? You did create a intimidating and hostile environment. Do you think some women who go to East Campus will now feel unsafe? I do. Do you think that some parents of international students who have different values relative to sexual activity are now concerned about their children? I do. Do you think that there are many people in the MIT community – students, staff, and faculty, who were offended by the content? I don’t know of anyone who was not.
At the core of all this is that fact that, as editors, you have a moral and ethical responsibility to make sure the content of The Tech does not cross the line and create an “intimidating, hostile, or offensive education, work, or living environment.” Educate yourselves on what constitutes sexual harassment. I am proud to work at a place like MIT and I believe in freedom of speech. But profane, violent and misogynistic content has no place in the public MIT student paper that serves ALL students and the MIT community.
Communications Manager
Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education
[Editor’s note: Daily Confusion items were printed as submitted by East Campus verbatim. The Tech’s printing of Daily Confusion items is not intended to harass any person.]