An excerpt from a student’s reflection on the technical education
In February, I attended a discussion with Chancellor Barnhart regarding the future of the MIT education. Our guiding questions: What bold experiments in education should MIT pursue? What should a college education entail? I was prompted by the discussion to reflect on the character of the education I have received. Intent on understanding the most fundamental aspects of nature, I came to MIT seeking an education in physics. I will certainly leave knowing much more physics than when I arrived. However, I have received, or more accurately, stumbled into a second education—one that I did not seek because I was not aware I needed it. I now believe this second education, which I will call my “human education,” is significantly more important than my technical one; and moreover, that it has benefited me in a deeper and more serious way. My motive for writing, then, is to clarify what I mean by this human education and to explain why it is particularly needful at MIT. I hope my peculiar experience may help others address the questions Chancellor Barnhart posed.
Dealing with mental illness at MIT
Editor's Note: This article discusses issues relating to mental health. The writer's identity is kept anonymous due to the nature of its content.
Not all medical leaves turn into horror stories
Going on leave was a massive force of change and improvement on my life.
MIT Museum free for MIT spouses
Thank you to Grace Chua for an informative article that shed light on campus life for graduate student families at MIT.
In a reasonably strong field, Melvin and Martin pull ahead of opponents
All candidates have put many hours of work into their platforms and campaigns, and all care deeply about serving their fellow students. However, we believe Melvin and Martin have a combination of breadth of experience and policy vision that makes them the best choice to lead the UA next year.
UA President/VP Election
For the first time since 2015, voters will have a choice between not one but three tickets for the future of the Undergraduate Association’s leadership.
Nomads of New House
New House seniors currently living in Houses 3-6 are being forced to move Tuesday, May 30th from their current rooms into rooms in House 1 and 2.
Response to “The invisible families of MIT”
Spouses and partners are a vibrant part of our community, contributing in many ways. If you are looking for support, know that MS&PC is here to listen and help.
Murray, Middlebury, and MIT
A reader discusses Dr. Charles A. Murray’s incident at Middlebury College and what MIT can do.
The invisible families of MIT
Spouses and families support MIT graduate students on their journey towards a Ph.D. Spouses help hold the family together amid long hours in the lab, conferences away, and weeks in the field. Yet to MIT as an institution, we do not exist. We are ghosts, hardly counted, with no data on us in one place.
Beyond the bubble
Instead of retreating into the comfort of their bubbles, people are taking action. They have realized that although Trump may be the nominal leader of the country, he is not their leader.
After the bubble burst
In the months since the bubble burst, MIT could have taken a nonpartisan position that attempted to broaden the community’s perspective and to encourage disappointed students to make the best out of the situation. Instead, MIT’s unproductive official response has reconstructed the divisive bubble and alienated many on campus.
Opinion editor's note
Just by virtue of being sheltered, fed, and clothed, we are among the richest quarter of people in the world. Add to that the endless opportunities and resources available to us as MIT students, and there is no question that we are among the freest to direct our lives and exert our wills. Yet freedom can’t be sustained on its own. Will, direction, and a sense of responsibility lift our wings to keep us here.
Make our family whole again
We are one MIT family, one country, one world of many peoples, and every one of us must find the time and do our part to sustain this reality. We must publicly demonstrate our resolve and our determination to make our family whole again.
Inaudible
Over the past month in the delirium that is post-election, the MIT Confessions page on Facebook has brought into light unpopular political opinions and viewpoints from anonymous members of campus. Rather than view these unpopular perspectives as an opportunity for conversation, many MIT students have instead attempted to close discussions with supporters of President-elect Donald Trump with Facebook comments such as, “I’m sorry buddy but your support for Trump is indefensible. Nice try tho.” Social media is but one of many battlegrounds of political debate, or lack thereof. MIT students have admitted that some of their professors have publicly mocked the President-elect and his followers in their classrooms, and that others in the class do not speak up to challenge the remarks. In a survey of the MIT College Republican Club conducted by The Tech, one member wrote:
Threats to science and what MIT can do
Donald Trump will be the first president to completely disregard data and blatantly devalue expert judgment. If the MIT administration wants to justify its decision to engage in its fight against climate change, then this is the opportune moment to do it.
Inclusive language in MIT classrooms
Should MIT try to dissuade usage of sexist and colonialist terms in our curriculum? If so, how should they go about this?
Respecting the process, opposing the outcome
Americans voted in a legitimate election Tuesday, and the result was that Donald J. Trump will serve as the 45th president of the United States.
Love still trumps hate
Most of America fears Donald Trump. Exit polls show fifty-eight percent of voters were concerned or scared by the prospect of a Trump presidency. Millions feared Donald Trump, yet voted for him anyway.
Long term solution needed for MIT campus waste disposal
Approximately 100 billion pounds of food are thrown out every year, accounting for 30 to 40 percent of the available food supply. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that food accounts for 21 percent of the waste sent to landfills and incinerators, the largest percentage for any single material in the waste stream.