Educational meritocracy is a farce
Segregation is alive and well, and before we discuss removing positive racial considerations from the college admissions process, we should focus on how we can level the educational playing field so we don’t have to have that discussion in the first place.
The new minimum meal plan is misguided
The changes reflect a misdiagnosis of the issues that affect food affordability and accessibility on campus. Rather than assessing students’ eating habits directly, DSL administrators are using meal swipes as a proxy for meal consumption on campus.
The realities of climate change
We are at a point where complete avoidance isn’t plausible. The strides we make to combat climate change now shift from total prevention to increasing resilience to its effects, and mitigating further practices that contribute to overall warming.
Do postdocs at MIT face sexual harassment?
To ensure MIT's efforts are effective at preventing gender-based violence on postdocs, we need to both regularly assess the experiences of postdocs through surveys and publicly disclose the prevalence of reported incidents and the outcomes of investigations, both of which MIT already does for students.
What makes MIT unique?
My response in the textbox at the end of the Enrolled Student Survey:
Undergrad and grad students: take the AAU survey on sexual misconduct
It has been five years since MIT first conducted a campus-wide survey on attitudes towards sexual assault and misconduct, so some students may not know or remember how MIT responded to its past findings. The 2014 Campus Attitudes on Sexual Assault Survey (CASA) results offered a great starting point for making data-driven decisions about policies, education, and outreach efforts on campus, including increased transparency and support for students.
The 2020 Democratic Primary: How to choose a President
Nineteen democrats are running for president in 2020, and more could still enter the race. This presents a wonderful tradeoff. We need options if we’re going to elect the best person. However, too many options causes choice paralysis. As a consequence, most of us will neglect to choose who we vote for until there are fewer options.
Dean of Student Life responds to columns on student housing
We agree that the foundation for good relations is hearing each other out, understanding others’ perspectives, and trusting that we all want what is best for our community. We know that reaching consensus isn’t easy, and that top-down, one-size-fits-all solutions don’t work well. The DSL keeps these realities in mind when we work with students on projects like designing the New Vassar Street residence hall or improving the room-assignment and move-in processes. Every project is different, but our approach is to listen to students’ ideas and concerns, and we ask that they listen to ours.
Data, inclusion, and the DSL
Data is much better at finding problems than solutions; data offers a single path of making changes to measured variables in attempt to relocate data points to within the acceptable or normal range, as defined by DSL.
A history of broken promises in the New Vassar dorm design
A look into how the DSL failed to uphold its promises on the New Vassar dorm.
Ethical change requires more than a billion dollars
What the MIT administration, faculty, and students can do to address the ethical concerns of the College of Computing.
Rejection, boycotts: moving forward with mutual selection
Amidst the growing number of housing controversies that seem to jeopardize student culture without regard for student opinion, some students have been trying to take matters into their own hands to get the administration’s attention. Among these plans was a boycott of CPW to protest the new “design exercise,” which imposes restrictions on mutual selection and allows squatting for freshmen during the rooming process. While it is frustrating that the administration seems to hold little regard for student input, the CPW boycott and the narrative around housing changes have been binary and ineffective for all parties. To shed some light on the issue, I’ll share some of my experiences with REX, thoughts on the process, and suggestions for the administration and ourselves to sow a better conversation around housing changes.
How will the College of Computing teach ethics if its dean is on the board of Amazon?
Newly appointed College of Computing dean, Dan Huttenlocher, is on Amazon's board. Will this conflict with the CoC's goal of teaching its students "ethics" in computing?
College of Computing working groups are missing experts on ethics
It disturbs me that the strong language of announcements about the College of Computing, like “the need for bold action, at scale and with speed,” appears to contradict what I hear from graduate students in EECS whose department and/or advisors assure them nothing will change.
Alumnus responds to MIT India Conference controversy
These are challenging and difficult issues but MIT's decision — in the ultimate analysis — will serve us all well. MIT will and should remain an inclusive place.
PhD student responds to column on MIT India Conference
Our goal is to discover the bad ideas and replace them with better ones. You want this to happen in yourself and in other people, which can only occur when those different ideas meet.
The Yemeni war and its implications for the U.S.
The recommendations made by Congress are not ultimately out of place. Their premise is to limit the devastation occurring in Yemen and to rebuke the actions of the Saudi Arabian crown prince; however, they will soon find that these goals may unfortunately act in opposition to one another.
Faculty advisor responds to column on MIT India Conference
MIT India Conference faculty advisor S.P. Kothari responds to a guest column, "Shunned by Harvard, feted by MIT." He explains the reasoning behind allowing Dr. Swamy to speak.
Chancellor and provost respond to column on MIT India Conference
Chancellor Barnhart and Provost Schmidt respond to a guest column, "Shunned by Harvard, feted by MIT." They argue that freedom of expression is one of the institute's central values.
From mutual selection to mutual exclusion
Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart and DSL Dean Suzy Nelson's plans will remove mutual selection and threaten to diminish dorm culture.