News

UA President Alice Hall ’26 clarifies “The UA Files” dormspam debate

On Feb. 21, a dormspam email voiced concerns about the UA’s budget and incited student debates about the organization’s purpose, funding, and structure.

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Massachusetts Avenue outside of Lobby 7. The Pentagon announced on Friday, Feb. 27 that it would cut senior officer fellowship programs at MIT and other top schools. Levy Le–The Tech
News

Cambridge Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem on Massachusetts state senate bid

On March 8, 2026, The Tech interviewed Burhan Azeem ’19 to discuss his state senate campaign plans as well as the promises he plans to deliver on if elected.

News

Pentagon to cut senior officer fellowship programs at MIT, other top schools

In a memo released on Friday, Feb. 27, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. Department of Defense to cut its academic ties to MIT by discontinuing graduate-level fellowship programs for senior officers at the Institute.

News

Snow removal crews brave blizzard during overnight shift

While most of Cambridge hunkered down indoors at 11 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22 due to the strengthening blizzard, Maria Petrosillo and her colleagues clocked in for work.

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MIT facilities staff work through the night to clear snow from the blizzard on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Photo courtesy of Maria Petrosillo
News

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt on the harms of social media and smartphones in the 2026 Compton Lecture

On March 4, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt gave a talk about the negative effects of social media and smartphones on teenagers, cognitive abilities, and democracy at the 2026 Compton Lecture.

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2026 MIT Compton Lecture speaker Jonathan Haidt gives a talk in 10-250 on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Photo courtesy of Jake Belcher
News

Rep. Seth Moulton talks Senate campaign and science policy

On Sunday, March 1, The Tech conducted an in-person interview with the Massachusetts congressman on his campaign, platform, and positions.

News

Vice Chancellor for Student Life Suzy Nelson to retire in fall 2026

On Feb. 26, Chancellor Melissa Nobles announced that MIT Vice Chancellor for Student Life Suzy Nelson will retire in the fall.

Opinion

Open letter on TFUAP’s changes to the science requirement

The reduction of the science breadth requirement could inadvertently disincentivize exploratory learning and interdisciplinary thought.

Opinion

Fighting for fellows: MIT works because we do, too

MIT grads have made it clear — we want equal protections for equal work! Sign our Fellows Petition to show MIT that fellows should be treated the same as RA/TAs!

Opinion

As thousands are killed in Iran, MIT remains silent

Students in Tehran are risking everything to protest this week. At MIT, the administration has not said a word.

Science

Give peas a chance (they could bring your community together)

Professor Kate Brown explained how she believes urban agriculture — that is, growing food in abandoned or unused spots in and around cities — can create positive economic, health, and social change in communities.

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Members of MIT Farm Club cultivating carrots in their rooftop garden in March 2026. Photo provided by Professor Kate Brown
Science

Science journalist Michael Pollan talks about the science of consciousness at First Parish Church

In his recent book, ‘A World Appears,’ Pollan investigates consciousness in four ascending levels of complexity: sentience, feelings, thoughts, and self.

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Author Michael Pollan speaks in conversation with Louisa Thomas at First Parish Church on Thursday Feb. 26, 2026. Vivian Hir–The Tech
Science

What’s in a number?

The hidden patterns and properties of 2026.

Science

Cysteine may be the secret to repairing gut damage

A new MIT study has identified that cysteine initiates the regeneration of the intestinal lining by activating intestinal stem cells.

three questions

Caught the start-up bug? Bob Langer has some advice

Before you launch, Professor Robert S. Langer shares wisdom on passion, failure, and chasing big ideas in entrepreneurship.

movie review

‘Hoppers’: A lighthearted movie with plenty of pep in its step

Daniel Chong brings his signature charm from ‘We Bare Bears’ to an absurdly wacky adventure with themes that feel especially relevant today.

album review

War Child Records’s ‘HELP(2)’ does good, sounds great

Stellar covers from Olivia Rodrigo and Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, alongside excellent new original songs from Black Country, New Road and Arctic Monkeys, seal the deal.

concert review

Brahms at his loneliest

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) performance on March 7 was by no means the most precise; however, the emotional delivery of the program ultimately made the evening compelling.

concert review

A heartwarming night at the Fiddler’s House

Itzhak Perlman and the Klezmer Conservatory paid stunning homage to their Jewish roots while simultaneously reminding us of the beauty of music, joy as resistance, and the triumph in celebration and love.

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Herbert Bolmstedt conducting Nänie with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Photo courtesy of Michael J. Lutch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra
book review

‘The Emperor of Gladness’: an intimate portrait of hope and darkness in hardscrabble New England

It is 2009, and the opioid crisis has torn through New England, leaving thousands to die before the CDC even calls it an epidemic.

concert review

Hadelich and Weiss chart an American road trip at MIT’s Thomas Tull Concert Hall

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of American democracy, Augustin Hadelich and Orion Weiss brought their acclaimed album to life in an evening that spanned a century of American musical identity.

concert review

The BSO offers a splendid rendition of Bruckner alongside a convincing American premiere of Salonen’s Horn concerto

Salonen returns to the BSO after 13 years with his Horn concerto written for Dohr, principal Horn player of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Sports

Previewing MIT Baseball in Coach Morris’s first year

Morris returns to MIT with championship conviction, eying the program’s first conference title since 2019.

senior side notes

On belonging

We live on a floating orb somewhere in the middle of who-knows-where, with no context for any of it. Is it really so surprising if we feel a little lost sometimes?

frosh files

I got stuck in London for two days

All I had was me, my crippling sense of confidence, and Google Maps to guide me forward.

senior side notes

My metric for living

I aspire to think of ‘more life’ not as an extra hour added to the 24-hour clock, but as experiencing more vitality and meaning in the same 16 waking hours we already have — to not only have a beating heart, but to actually feel alive.

jojo’s bizarre musings

Turning the calendar back to 2016

Nostalgia is a rite of passage when growing up. But when an entire generation starts developing it, you might start wondering: are there deeper factors in play? And why 2016, specifically?

Opinion

Sanctuary campus now

MIT Young Democratic Socialists of America call for MIT to end research for DHS and become a sanctuary campus for all.

Where allegations become facts and free speech is selective

Why was my essay on academic freedom and freedom of expression censored while Ian Hutchinson’s defamatory attack was published?

Passing

In current events, signing a compact with the US government to decide who defines MIT would have been passing.

Campus Life

What four years at MIT taught me about life

My time here has revealed that happiness is a byproduct of looking beyond ourselves — empathizing with others and doing what we can, however small, to alleviate pain and bolster wellness in those around us.

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Lagtrain: On Valentine’s Day and romantic love

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Stratton’s Cinderella