Two donors, two deaths, two responses
We must be concerned with the impression made on our students in condemning one donor for personal crimes and entirely overlooking the destructive transgressions of another, especially when the latter involves disinformation and attacks on science — the very antithesis of MIT’s mission as an educational institution.
Join the Global Climate Strike this Friday
MIT students should join the Global Climate Strike and take part in the worldwide movement that is mobilizing to combat the climate crisis.
A call to step up in response to Reif’s most recent letter
The current culture has reduced the importance of academic integrity and personal ethics in favor of rankings, volume of research papers, and fame. We need to return to that guiding light of what led us all here to come to MIT to the first place.
A call for radical transparency over MIT’s relationship to Epstein
The Reif-Epstein matter will remain swirled in controversy and conjecture until MIT makes a transparent release of all emails, documents, and minutes related to Epstein.
Failures in transparency and student input regarding changes to 2020 Commencement
The “One-MIT” ceremony would be followed by school- or department-specific ceremonies on Friday afternoon, during which the actual degrees would be conferred.
Joi is gone, but billionaire culture remains
The fallout from Epstein funding should push us to consider what needs to change not only at MIT, but in regards to wealth in America.
Who deserves to be a philanthropist?
A more effective donor would be willing to change their job, investments, and lifestyle to better align with the initiatives that they support.
Why Joi Ito needs to resign
I am calling for the immediate resignation of MIT Media Lab Director Joi Ito because of his deep connections with Epstein, his lack of leadership explaining his involvement, and the lack of transparency about the extent of his interactions with Epstein.
Alumnus on silence around Senior House
Now that a year has gone by, it is time for the administration to report on how the students who were thrown out of their “home” have adjusted to their changed life at the Institute.
Alumnus on Sheryl Sandberg’s 2018 commencement speech
The MIT community should think critically about Facebook’s hypocrisies and misdeeds, even as we heed Sandberg’s imperative to “do all the good we can, knowing that what we build will be used by people — and people are capable of great beauty and great cruelty.”
Issues with MIT’s sexual harassment initiative
Without transparent and open applications for joining the working groups, and without the full release of working group recommendations, each of us is less able to evaluate and define the best actions we should take to improve the MIT community.
Out of the cave
When writing, you gradually come to see the contours of your idea. What began as a vague homogeneous blob of a thought comes into focus as a set of distinct facts which you travel between to form your narrative or argument.
Unrest in East Turkestan
The world is moving towards drastic revolution on multiple fronts, and numerous shifting paradigms of the world hinge on China’s encroachment on global territories. The Uyghur people may be suffering far away from us, but what happens in China very blatantly does not stay in China.
Lack of ambition for next year’s Climate Symposia
Been there, done that. No need to discourse at large on these hackneyed topics.
Everyday lies incentivized by funding sources
Research money impacts what any university works on, and MIT is no exception. Sometimes MIT spends a lot of money focusing on low-impact problems because of who holds the purse strings.
An open letter to the MIT Corporation concerning MIT’s ongoing relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
"We object to MIT’s ongoing relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in our name."
Vice President for Research responds to column on postdocs and sexual harassment
"Working together on these initiatives will strengthen the Institute’s approach to preventing sexual harassment in any MIT learning or working environment."
Educational meritocracy is a farce
Segregation is alive and well, and before we discuss removing positive racial considerations from the college admissions process, we should focus on how we can level the educational playing field so we don’t have to have that discussion in the first place.
The new minimum meal plan is misguided
The changes reflect a misdiagnosis of the issues that affect food affordability and accessibility on campus. Rather than assessing students’ eating habits directly, DSL administrators are using meal swipes as a proxy for meal consumption on campus.
The realities of climate change
We are at a point where complete avoidance isn’t plausible. The strides we make to combat climate change now shift from total prevention to increasing resilience to its effects, and mitigating further practices that contribute to overall warming.