Street maneuvers
Biking is a relatively dangerous mode of transportation in Cambridge — learn about some potential ways to make it safer.
Year-end bonuses
On the absurd myopia of companies paying out bonuses to their employees as a result of the tax bill
This RAK week, be kind to yourself
This week — and every other week of the semester — we encourage you to take a minute (or more!) and bask in some glow that isn’t just the fire of unending stress.
Fear and loathing at Pig Roast
Maybe, after a few years, Senior Haus will become an ancient MIT myth; the recent ex-denizens and alums its faithful bards, reciting epic stories and poems to all who wish to lend an ear.
Response to Jeremy Poindexter: On conversation
“Conversation is the missing element for sustainable human progress. I haven’t heard/had a real conversation on diversity, climate or mental health at MIT, which worries me.”
In response to the last BSO... review
I’m sympathetic to it being the reviewer’s first time experiencing classical music, but it seems unnecessary to phrase the title in such a way as to question why anyone would ever enjoy such a thing.
Four centuries, three Larrys, and one woman
Last week, the announcement at Harvard reminded me that changes at the top are a symbolic occasion for universities to fulfill that obligation. They should not be missed.
Commentary on MIT’s new course, MIT and Slavery
There is merit in acquiring and acknowledging facts from the past, but passing ex post facto moral judgement on them deprives us of a correct understanding of history, of human nature, and of our own state of being.
#pick8: Fighting for Massachusetts’s prisoners
Not only will your interactions with these inmates help bring “a sense of normalcy” to their lives and help their development, but they will also challenge your own ideas of what is normal and help you develop various aspects of your life.
MIT, you’ve got commitment issues
People, institutions, and the relationships within all grow and change over time. We can’t be afraid of that; in fact, we should embrace it. Perhaps in the best relationships, partners grow alongside one another, committing to both give and take in a mutual exchange built on reciprocal trust and respect.
Climate change and the terrifying cost of being young
The economic decisions we make today must account for both the future and immediate impacts to ensure my generation inherits an economy marked by prosperity rather than climate chaos.
IM T-shirts are a misogynistic microaggression
The shirts should be thrown out; there is no appropriate situation in which they are acceptable to wear. I was then extremely angry to see that the floor continued to wear the shirts during the intramural three-on-three league during IAP and around the MIT campus.
Why the Aziz Ansari story and discussions of grey areas are central to the #MeToo movement
People’s negative responses to Grace's story demonstrate that our society faces a deeper issue, where people understand sexual assault in solely the most extreme terms and fail to recognize more quotidian forms of gendered violence.
Why is Arab violence taken as a given?
On Dec. 6, 2017, President Trump announced that America officially acknowledges Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and would eventually move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Referring to this as “acknowledging the obvious,” Trump explained that Israel is a sovereign state, recognized internationally and by the U.S., with the right to determine its own capital. In his declaration, Trump reiterated that such a move has no bearing on the city’s status under any peace agreement.
Not-so-Merry Christmas in Jerusalem
There was no Christmas tree put up in Jerusalem this holiday season. In fact, it has been some time since a Christmas tree was put up in Jerusalem.
SIPB: net neutrality matters
A week from now, on December 14, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to dismantle net neutrality rules. Unless you are an Internet Service Provider, the end of net neutrality rules is bad news.
Poor logic behind current tax reform bill
With President Trump’s reinterpretation of what is taxable income, he will surely lead by example and pay out of pocket to cover taxes on all of his travel expenses whether he travels to meet a foreign dignitary or to just dust off his putter.
GOP tax bill would undercut MIT’s mission
MIT produces an extraordinary amount of beneficial — lifesaving — research, and the new taxes would damage its capability to do that.
Among tax bill’s offenses, an insult to students
While MIT bears no responsibility for this attack on higher education, this scandal calls into question the decency of a bizarre semesterly ceremony: MIT cutting a check to itself, we hope on our behalf.
The need for a more nuanced understanding of technology
At a school like MIT, a global leader in technological innovation, students and faculty should work not only to promote technology’s advancement, but also to understand and craft comprehensive solutions to the issues it creates. One such problem is automation’s ability to displace many middle-class laborers by mechanizing their work.