Ukraine is fighting the war that we should be fighting
Pick up your phone. Call your representative. Demand MIT to act now.
Senior Associate Dean of Housing & Residential Services responds to “We are unionizing for quality and affordable housing”
According to survey data, 90% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they are satisfied with their choice to live on campus.
An open letter on the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukrainians fight for their freedom, for the right to be Ukrainian, for the right to determine their own future. These aspirations are universal. They are just. If you believe in these rights, if you believe that big countries subjugating smaller ones by force is wrong, you should care about Ukraine.
Without a union, MIT is failing GRAs and undergraduates alike
Trying to maintain adequate living conditions was exhausting, frustrating, and totally disruptive to my research, my studies, and my GRA responsibilities.
An open letter on the considerations to be made about MIT graduate student unionization
At issue is the question of whether our students and our Institute would be better served by a relationship that positions students as “workers” in an industry-like organization or as academic partners and rising colleagues who, in the course of their educational program, contribute to our shared teaching and research missions.
Our successes together
Indeed, it is our deep interest in our students’ work and success that has led us to embrace roles in student support and academic life, rather than focusing solely on our teaching and research.
We are unionizing for quality and affordable housing
Several unlucky individuals have gotten stuck in elevators, some have dealt with peeling paint and murky water, and others still with broken heating. Complaints were filed but not addressed promptly. The front desk was short-staffed. And almost everyone agreed that the rent was too high.
Director of International Students Office responds to international students op-ed
If the UE becomes the sole representative of graduate students in the bargaining unit, we do not know how these matters will be handled in contract negotiations and what an article on international students might look like.
An open letter regarding faculty and the graduate student union
We pledge to not attempt to persuade graduate students how to vote on unionization and to avoid presenting one-sided views for or against unionization.
MIT Chancellor and Vice Chancellor provide important updates on graduate student unionization issues
Ultimately, we do not want to draw any unnecessary lines among MIT’s 7,000 graduate students. However, the unionization process requires us to do that in one way or another.
The case for labor unions
Those who organize to form labor unions are neither irrational nor impulsive. Those who organize to form labor unions are critical thinkers driven by necessity.
We are international students and we are voting yes on the GSU
Surely, MIT can take concrete steps to address these issues we face as international students. Unfortunately, many of their recent policies have done the opposite.
An open letter on the war in Ukraine
This is a catastrophe for Russia and for the Russian people: a dark night is descending, and those least responsible for this war will suffer the most.
MIT’s administration seeks to exclude over 1,000 graduate workers on fellowship from unionization vote
Decisions about whether to fund graduate workers by RA-ship, TA-ship, or fellowship are often made arbitrarily for reasons of administrative convenience, without any difference in work duties.
An open letter regarding MIT Dining changes and enhancements
MIT is known for solving complex problems. While it’s not nearly as momentous as landing Americans on the moon or developing low-cost emergency ventilators, operating the campus dining program comes with complex challenges and constraints that are seldom visible to meal plan subscribers and dining hall patrons.
Free expression and academic freedom on campus are worth fighting for
Anybody connected with MIT has likely heard of the “Abbot Affair” by now. Dorian Abbot, a geophysicist from the University of Chicago, was invited to give the prestigious John Carlson Lecture, an annual public event of the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. Though it is unrelated to his research or lecture topic, Abbot is an outspoken advocate for “Merit, Fairness, and Equality” (MFE), in opposition to the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) initiatives that are now the norm on many campuses, including at MIT. Abbot has made many controversial statements in the public square in his defense of MFE. After an uproar both internal to MIT’s campus and on social media about allowing Abbot to speak, the department canceled this year’s Carlson Lecture and invited Abbot to instead give an internal colloquium to the department.
Imprudent, immoral, illegal
On February 16, MIT Divest filed a legal complaint with the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General to investigate the MIT Corporation’s continued financial investment in the fossil fuel sector. Frustrated with universities’ insufficient action in the face of the climate crisis, our student divestment campaign and similar groups from Princeton, Yale, Stanford, and Vanderbilt each prepared a legal complaint with the assistance of attorneys from the Climate Defense Project. Signatures from prominent professors, community members, climate scientists, elected officials, student organizations, alumni, and national environmental organizations supporting the cause show that there is widespread agreement that investments in fossil fuels are not just immoral and financially irresponsible — they are also illegal.
I’m voting yes for the Graduate Student Union because MIT continues to fail its student veterans
Before coming to MIT, I served in the U.S. Army as an infantry soldier. Most of my time in service was spent deployed in Eastern Europe, conducting NATO ally reassurance missions and counter-Russian aggression operations after the annexation of Crimea. Since being accepted to the MIT AeroAstro program in 2019, however, MIT has failed to correctly certify my Veterans Affairs (VA) educational benefits. MIT was noncompliant with federal regulations and unresponsive to my calls to action. These educational benefits are guaranteed in the Post-9/11 GI bill, which provides tuition and housing allowances to veterans who honorably served the country. These benefits enable veterans to gain skills that will help them transition to civilian life through educational and economic support. These benefits have allowed me to begin a new career which is useful and exciting. I joined the MIT Student Veterans Association (SVA) to advocate for the improvement of this situation for all MIT veterans.
On Love, Truth, and Justice at MIT
These remarks were originally prepared for MIT's 48th Annual Martin Luther King Celebration Luncheon held on Feb. 10, 2022.