At fac. meeting, Slocum compares Reif to Wife

Sep. 21, 2012

5187 pirates — Prof. Alex H. Slocum ’82 poses in his American flag do-rag. Slocum read this poem at the close of Wednesday’s faculty meeting, in honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day and the first faculty meeting of the Reif/Kaiser administration. Slocum calls this his “super-excited positive thoughts for a new administration (and MIT) to infinity and beyond.”
Folkers E. Rojas G, courtesy of Alex Slocum

Avast Ye Tech Geekies
Let’s show the world we are not just mental freakies

Let’s earn and show our worth
By thinking really big,
Helping to save the planet Earth

It starts with centuries ago, the Charters of Freedom* were written
So all citizens of a new country could be free to think and speak and not be smitten

These documents have infinite potential power
With them true freedom can flower

But they are also very fragile
For they are useless if they are kept hidden and the citizens are in denial

For the documents of freedom
With our minds, my students and I designed environmental encasements
And then with our hands
(mens et manus)
we made them and installed these documents in special emplacements

These great original documents
(we did the originals)
are now on display for all to see
so people can learn how to be truly free

The same can be said for MIT
As it is the supposed place for great thinkers to be

For anything that affects how we work and live
True leaders must not take, but give

Complete openness and debate must happen a priori
Our leaders, who come from us, must not rule by decree

Open debate, and welcoming of questioning, is not enough
It takes vision, compassion, and humility to be truly tough

So here’s to our new fearless leader Rafael Reif!
Whose wisdom and power and goodness is almost as great as that of my spouse
(wife)

They both (I hope) understand the depth of my love for MIT
For I have forever betrothed myself to thee
(so just let me know what you need to do
to help out, dudes)

* See http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/ and http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mus/museum/index.htm and http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/65279 (PhD thesis on the design of the encasements).