LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
I generally support the pro-disinvestment position taken in this column in Sunday’s New York Times, and in Karen Hao’s May 13, 2014 column in The Tech. MIT’s decision to divest would have exceptional impact because of the Institute’s global brand in science and technology. The decision to divest is not easy because the world still needs fossil fuels and because the companies that extract, process, and distribute them also fund clean energy research. But, for MIT, fossil fuel divestment would also be the first step in solving a problem that is unique to the Institute.
The right (and wrong) reasons to buy into Bitcoin
This past Sunday marked the launch of the MIT Bitcoin Project, a study conducted by faculty and students from the Media Lab, Sloan, and the MIT Bitcoin Club. The study aims to understand how the digital currency proliferates after being distributed to potential users.
Fighting sexual assault can’t be optional for MIT students
On Monday, MIT released detailed results of a survey designed to investigate the scope and nature of sexual misconduct in our community. The survey is a rare quantitative examination of sexual assault at colleges — in several ways the first of its kind among MIT’s peer institutions — and is a true example of bold leadership by the MIT administration and chancellor. And the data and resulting action plan were released with public honesty in a time when many colleges across the country seem to be primarily trying to avoid the issue.
Implementing Mens et Manus
On Tuesday, Sept. 30, The Tech’s “Snapshot of the First Year Survey results for Class of 2018” revealed a startling paradox that has gone unmentioned: The Class of 2018 most desires to “Contribute to Science and Innovation” and least cares about “Participating in Politics or Community Affairs.” But I ask: how one can expect his/her contributions to science and innovation to ever see the light of day (or the market) without understanding and participating in politics and community affairs? Let me be clear that I raise this not to fault the Class of 2018 (when we are 18 and fresh from high school there is much to learn in life), but to ask the greater MIT community, particularly our faculty, department heads, deans, and administrators: what does it mean to divorce scientific achievements from participation in public life?
Supplementing “All Doors Open”
Through the tragedies of last several months, we have often been reminded that MIT is a community that cares, that help is always available, and that seeking help is a sign of strength. And it is true that MIT has many excellent resources. However, it is also true that so many continue to see MIT as a place without a safety net.
Continuing the conversation
When I first heard about the All Doors Open event, I was a little uncertain. I knew from my work in Student Support Services (S3) that our community was struggling to come to terms with a string of bad news, most recently the on-campus death of Phoebe Wang. We were given fifteen unstructured minutes, time to use however we chose. What would we make of it? My colleagues and I heard that some found the thought and experience of this undefined time awkward, long and intolerable. Others saw it as exactly what they needed.
Looking back at the Hobby Lobby decision
On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear cases from five states seeking to keep their same-sex marriage bans in place, effectively handing a tacit victory to the gay rights movement. In keeping silent, the Court prevented the religious preferences of some from limiting the life choices of others.
How fraternities should move forward
Austin Hess’s column last Tuesday, “Can fraternities be feminist?” struck a chord with not just me but with many of my colleagues who volunteer for the Association of Independent Living Groups (AILG). Mr. Hess posed a number of questions to the MIT fraternity community that desperately need to be addressed. Although there has been discussion on the various AILG email lists, the column made us realize that there should be a more public statement from a fraternity man. As I am six years removed from undergrad — long enough to know the ropes of being an alum but still able to relate and connect to my active brothers and their experiences — I believe I have a relevant perspective to offer on this situation.
Please, don’t buy the Apple Watch
After the recent release of the Apple watch, the new wearable has been praised and criticized in a cascade of blogs and reviews. Despite the fact that the watch doesn’t seem to possess any new, helpful functionality, it is still on the wish lists of many MIT students.
Fix HackMIT
Last Friday, an email from student leaders and administrators asked us to participate in “conversation about our community,” with emphasis on the wellbeing of students. This Saturday, HackMIT begins: a 24-hour hackathon where students gather to build, create, and completely abandon any sense of a healthy lifestyle.
The gravest threat to Greek life
I am an MIT student, self-declared feminist, and proud sorority woman. I have been given so much as a student, leader, and woman from my sorority. But I’m tired of the inherent sexism present in the Greek system that overarches my sisterhood.
Can fraternities be feminist?
The Tech received an email from William A. Frezza ’76 a bit over a week ago containing a submission to our opinion section asserting, “Drunk coeds represent the gravest threat to fraternities.” Identifying himself as the “president of the alumni house corporation” of MIT Chi Phi, he portrayed female undergraduates as the true cause of accidents at fraternities, universally hapless beings unable to consume alcohol responsibly, and a steady source of “false rape accusations.”
Indiscriminate surveillance at MIT
In the Stata Center, the doors to enter the building and then to enter the lab areas are opened by RFID cards (I call them “pox cards”) instead of metal keys. When the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) moved into Stata in 2004, the MIT administration decided, without consulting the personnel of CSAIL, to make the system log which cards are used to open which doors and when.
On the ‘startup craze’
Many students and other members of the MIT community have spent time working in Silicon Valley. While doing so, it is hard not to notice a “startup craze,” a natural product of a city with such a large proportion of entrepreneurs. One often hears (or overhears) questions like, “Do you think my idea is good?” or, “Do you want to be my CTO?” Socializing sometimes feels less like personal interaction than a networking opportunity.
Bike lanes on campus in need of redesign
Used by students, staff, and faculty to shuttle around campus, cycling has become an integral part of MIT’s transportation network. While bike racks, service stations, and lanes are very common, there remain key issues which must be brought to the attention of the Office of Campus Planning and the greater cycling community to improve the safety and efficiency of bicycling.
New hazing policy has concerning implications
Under MIT’s recently overhauled hazing policy in the Mind and Hand Book, I am guilty of hazing students.
Changes to drug and alcohol policies inconsistent and irrational
I suppose I was a bit too optimistic after hearing of changes to the Mind and Hand Book, especially of those relating to the Institute’s drug and alcohol policies. Given MIT’s apparent willingness to support policies consistent with the prevailing trend on college campuses to support harm-reduction with the adoption of a Good Samaritan policy for alcohol-related medical emergencies in February 2013, I had hoped, briefly, that the recent revisions would tackle the issue of substance abuse in a consistent and rational way.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Editor’s Note: This letter was sent to The Tech shortly after the publication of our last issue.
Sacrificing economics for politics
On June 10, David Brat, an unknown professor of economics at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, shocked the American political establishment by defeating House majority leader Eric Cantor in the Republican primary for Virginia’s seventh Congressional district.