breaking news

BREAKING: MIT and the GSU reach tentative agreement

On Nov. 10, the GSU tentatively agreed to a second contract with MIT that secured increases in compensation, more flexible vacation distribution, international worker protections, healthcare benefits, and the union shop won by the GSU in their first contract fight.

News

Jury awards former MIT professor David Sabatini $6 million in sexual harassment defamation suit

Former MIT biology professor David Sabatini was awarded $6 million in damages after a Suffolk County jury found that defendant and MIT assistant professor Kristin Knouse defamed him and interfered with his ability to make a living.

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The Whitehead Institute on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026. In 2021, former MIT professor David Sabatini resigned from the Institute following an investigation into his lab’s culture. Grace Zhang–The Tech
News

Surveillance expansion inspires debate and decoration

Since August, five tenured professors have been leading field trips around campus to bedazzle MIT’s new security cameras.

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A camera in the Infinite bedazzled on a trip led by Catherine D’Ignazio. October 2026. Graham Schmidt–The Tech
News

11/5 In Short

The last day to add half-term subjects offered in the second half of term is Friday, Nov. 4.

News

Multicultural Greek Council gains seat on UA Council

While the MGC must go through the same administrative processes as other FSILGs, it previously had no representation in the UA. The other groups did, which prompted the MGC to submit a petition for a seat on the UA Council.

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Members from different fraternities and sororities within the MGC. The MGC was granted a voting seat in the UA during a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. Photo courtesy of Peyton Bryant
News

Stata’s new Hot Tap & Go meals supplement original offerings

The establishment of Stata’s Hot Tap & Go on Oct. 15 follows a series of increased food options since the arrival of Andrew Mankus, Senior Director of Campus Dining.

News

Harvard GAASA hosts community memorial for Nolan Wells

Community members and students from local universities like Tufts, MIT, and Wellesley College attended a memorial in honor of the late Nolan Xavier Wells on the steps of Harvard University’s Widener Library on Oct. 12 from 3 to 4 p.m.

News

MIT Facilities workers authorize strike

The MIT Facilities workers’ first strike authorization vote since 2008 passed with a majority vote on Killian Court at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 27.

News

Amidst financial pressures, MIT’s endowment rises in 2026 fiscal year

The MIT endowment grew by 6.7% (now totaling $29.2 billion excluding pledges), according to the Report of Treasurer released by the Office of the Vice President for Finance at MIT on Oct. 2.

News

Hundreds of students attend second annual UROP mixer

Presented by the Provost’s and Chancellor’s offices, the event gave students the opportunity to explore their research passions and UROP mentors a pathway to recruit members for their project.

News

MIT GSU passes first ever strike authorization vote

Out of 1,708 ballots, 92.5% of members of MIT’s Graduate Student Union (GSU) voted yes to authorize a strike yesterday evening.

News

MIT announces “MIT for America” program

Cynthia Breazeal, Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and the Benesse Professor of Research in Education, and Eric Klopfer, director of the Scheller Teacher Education Program and the Education Arcade at MIT, are the initiative’s faculty co-directors.

News

Students enjoy free food and live music at FallFest 2026

Hundreds of students on Kresge Lawn enjoyed free food, student booths, and live music.

Fun

Crossword: Halloween 2026

This is a lightly challenging midi crossword.

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The blank of the Vol. 146 Issue 18 crossword, Halloween 2026. Mia L. Rozenberg–The Tech
Science

‘Coding Kids’: Natasha Singer on Big Tech’s power in public schools

On Oct. 20, New York Times reporter Natasha Singer discussed her latest book on how tech companies came to fill public school classrooms.

Science

What’s next for defense startups?

In her recently-released book Valley of Death: How Big Tech is Fueling the Future of War, nationally acclaimed journalist Sharon Weinberger argues that the defense industry is gaining dangerous influence over military decisions. MIT experts disagree, and warn that the defense industry may be facing an extinction event.

Science

Pushing the longevity frontier

This year’s Biomarkers of Aging Conference offered a behind-the-scenes look into the latest longevity research.

Science

The bonds that shape discovery: Five years of MoML

From AI models that identify hidden drug-binding sites to tools that predict molecular interactions, new advances are reshaping drug discovery while raising questions about the challenges that lie ahead.

Science

Inventing ELIZA: how the first chatbot transforms perceptions of AI

An author meeting with artist Peggy Weil — and the world’s first chatbot.

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A conversation with the ELIZA chatbot. Photo from Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Science

The science of bouncing back

On Oct. 14, Truwit joined Dr. Lauri Santos, professor of Yale University’s popular ‘Psychology and the Good Life,’ and host of ‘The Happiness Lab’ podcast, for a live taping at the Boston Museum of Science.

Science

Collaboration: The cornerstone of innovation at MIT

How do we know an ocean we cannot see, hear, or listen to? From Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, MIT Future Fest set out to answer these questions and many more.

club close-up

Co-design in action: A deep dive into MIT Assistive Technology Club

Assistive Technology at MIT (AT@MIT) was established as an Edgerton Center build team in fall 2023; today, it consists of over 60 students grouped into eight teams that partners with a disabled community member to improve the user’s life.

Science

Physics, fluids, and frits

On Oct. 24, 2,000 pumpkins will sprout from the lawn of Kresge Oval. Their bodies will be plump and vividly colored, and their stems will curl in whimsical spirals. They will be made entirely out of glass.

Sports

A run streak: MIT XC wins another NEWMAC title

A conference title is a hard thing to make seem like “old news”, but that’s what the MIT Women’s & Men’s Cross Country teams have managed to accomplish time and time again.

Sports

Freshman Sabine Smith makes history with MIT Volleyball

On Oct. 6, Sabine Smith ’30 of Park City, Utah, became the first MIT volleyball player in history to win the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Women’s Player of the Week award.

Sports

Battle of the Beavers

Babson women’s field hockey had not lost a NEWMAC regular-season game since 2015 until Tuesday night at Jack Barry Field.

Sports

Sports Blitz: Oct. 19–Nov. 1

Engineers updates through Nov. 1.

Sports

Women’s Soccer eye fourth consecutive NEWMAC title

After taking down WPI 4–0 on Oct. 31, MIT Women’s Soccer wrapped up their 2026 regular season 17–2–1 (11–0 in the NEWMAC conference).

Sports

Sports Blitz: Oct 5.–Oct. 18

Engineers updates through Oct. 18.

Sports

A new Legacy begins

After a 2–0 loss to the Seattle Reign on Saturday, Sept. 26, the Legacy are no longer in contention for the NWSL playoffs, but they still have much to look forward to.

Sports

MIT competes in the 2026 Head of the Charles Regatta

The 61st annual Head of the Charles Regatta, the largest three-day rowing regatta in the world, took place from Oct. 16 to Oct. 18. Every year, the regatta draws nearly 400,000 spectators and 12,000 rowers from more than 32 countries. MIT Crew had seven entries on Saturday.

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The MIT Rowing Club competes in the Women’s Club Eights at the 2026 Head of the Charles Regatta, starting from Boston University's DeWolfe Boathouse on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Photo courtesy of MIT Athletics
theater review

AAPC Playfest spotlights community voices

From Oct. 23 to 25, the Asian American Playwright Collective (AAPC) hosted their ninth annual Playfest, a staged reading of ten short plays written by their members, at the Foundry in Cambridge.

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Audrey Adji (left) looks to Mandy Eckhoff (center) and a toasting Lisa Fermin-Granada (right) in Michelle M. Aguillon’s “Unwrapped,” performed for AAPC Playfest 9 at The Foundry on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Photo courtesy of Al Rangone and Kai Chao/Asian American Playwright Collective
restaurant review

Boylston Street’s new upscale dim sum restaurant has its sparkling moments

Go down Boylston Street, and you’ll find the smallest Trader Joe’s in the world and Boston’s only lesbian bar. Sandwiched between them is Zhu, a new upscale Chinese restaurant that held its soft opening on Sept. 28.

theater review

Boston Conservatory presents ‘She Loves Me’

Berklee students performed the musical ‘She Loves Me’ at the Boston Conservatory Theater from Nov. 5 to 8.

Arts

Nataly Aukar squares up with the patriarchy

While headlining Stand Up Comedy Live! on Oct. 17, the Lebanese comedian enthralled a mixed-gender audience with witty bits about her upbringing, her mother, and her marriage.

Arts

Lewis’s ‘Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State’ attempts to reclaim the narrative

The 2026 Boston Book Festival opened with a conversation between the acclaimed authors Michael Lewis and Geraldine Brooks about Lewis’s latest nonfiction bestseller ‘Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State.’

theater review

‘All the Devils are Here’ features a bone-chilling performance from Patrick Page

With humorous commentary and precise analysis, Page guides the audience through the theme of evil in Shakespeare’s work.

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Patrick Page plays Claudius in ‘All the Devils are Here.’ Oct. 2026. Photo courtesy of Julieta Cervantes
Arts

Latin American board games bring students back to their childhood

MIT students played hopscotch, Mikado, and dominoes to take a break from the first round of midterms with the Central American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban students associations.

concert review

BSO’s ‘The Nutcracker’ and ‘Eugene Onegin’ previews January Tchaikovsky festival

This weekend’s program wraps up Nelsons’s fall residency with promising anticipation.

restaurant review

Broken Cup Teahouse imports a relaxing, tea-forward experience into Kendall Square

It’s hard to ignore Broken Cup’s unusual setting, but it’s also hard not to find it charming, like a friend’s hobby room that’s been tidied up for company.

restaurant review

BRED Gourmet launches ‘Work from BRED’

BRED Gourmet recently launched “Work from BRED” to encourage “students, remote workers, and young professionals” to dine and study in the space.

movie review

New ‘Sense and Sensibility’ adaptation poorly translates its source material

Film adaptations of books must necessarily make compromises and cuts, and the work of carving out the heart of a story to transplant it intact from one medium to another is precarious. While revisions are necessary, the ones made in ‘Sense and Sensibility’ (2026) undermine the story, leaving it mutilated rather than translated.

chloe’s ramblings

I want to build things

Now that I’m knee-deep into my MIT Assistive Technology Club project, I thought it would be fitting to share my partial journey — to show that you can larp your way into a build team too.

brandy’s breadcrumbs

Being sick @ MIT for a week sucks

I got absolutely nerfed by a mysterious illness and did not attend classes for a whole week.

chloe’s ramblings

Sponge talk

MIT Simmons Hall through the eyes of a freshman after a month of amused observation.

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The totoro I chalked in my room. Chloe Weng – The Tech
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This is actually bread I made last year for Thanksgiving, but I used the same recipe. Brandy Romine – The Tech
Opinion

Question 3 is bad for democracy

The real solution to our governmental problems in Massachusetts is probably some combination of broader civic engagement, stronger transparency laws, independent redistricting, proportional representation, and ranked choice voting.

You too can prevent a bicycle crash

To be safe on a bicycle in Boston-area traffic, you need to think outside the box and the bike lane.

Free expression is essential to MIT’s mission

Some of your most valuable learning will come from those you disagree with.

Science

‘Coding Kids’: Natasha Singer on Big Tech’s power in public schools

On Oct. 20, New York Times reporter Natasha Singer discussed her latest book on how tech companies came to fill public school classrooms.

What’s next for defense startups?

In her recently-released book Valley of Death: How Big Tech is Fueling the Future of War, nationally acclaimed journalist Sharon Weinberger argues that the defense industry is gaining dangerous influence over military decisions. MIT experts disagree, and warn that the defense industry may be facing an extinction event.

‘Artificial Intimacy’: Sherry Turkle says AI should “stay in its lane”

Turkle’s book on the dangerous seductiveness of chatbots is “Sherry unplugged.”