The Paper Trail

MIT Students Demand More Say in University Decisions

By Alison Go

October 21, 2008 RSS Feed Print

Around 70 Massachusetts Institute of Technology students staged a protest last week, demanding more say in the university decision-making process, the Tech reports. The Campaign for Students' hodgepodge of grievances include better housing and dining options, as well as more nerdy fare, such as a lack of protections and support for hackers, which they cite as evidence of "a blatant misunderstanding of the hacking tradition" at MIT.

Tags:
activism,
MIT

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@Toni,

Hacking as you understand it is not the rich tradition that we carry on at MIT. Here is the meaning of the word "hack" as described in The Jargon File, which was started in 1975 (long before the media tarnished the word "hack" by giving it the negative and computer-focused connotation most people recognize today).

http://catb.org/jargon/html/meaning-of-hack.html

Daniel Hawkins of MA 6:17PM November 11, 2008

As an alum of MIT, I have a few thoughts regarding Hillbilly's comments. First, the reasons we are protesting the current dining plan is that it is exorbitantly expensive for both students and the Institute. The current dining system is failing and the Institute is raising prices to cover the problem instead of overhauling the entire thing. You can look up a report on dining done by the students of Baker House Dining Committee that details their findings. Second, The Institute has had a long standing history of respecting student input on how to make the school better. Only recently has the administration begun to make decisions secretly without student input. We are calling for more transparency from the administration. This is not about spoiled kids whining for their perks. This is about a disintegration of trust between the students and the administration, preserving our traditions, and making ourselves heard because unfortunately, the administration is no longer listening to us through the conventional channels.

MIT alum of CA 1:31AM November 07, 2008

Re: Hacking

I think there is a confusion here...MIT "hacking" does not refer to computer hacking.

"The word hack at MIT usually refers to a clever, benign, and "ethical" prank or practical joke, which is both challenging for the perpetrators and amusing to the MIT community (and sometimes even the rest of the world!). Note that this has nothing to do with computer (or phone) hacking (which we call "cracking")." -http://hacks.mit.edu/

Re: How much are they willing to pay

I think you do this country an injustice to claim that "Most college students today would gladly settle for bare bones facilities for an education". I like to think that in this country we can always aspire to better learning environments. Wanting to better your situation is a very American tradition, and an admirable one. Have you been paying attention to public education recently? Having good administration and management, proper resources and facilities, and a focus on high-quality teaching is the BARE MINIMUM to ask of an educational institution.

History has proven over and over again how powerful an education can be not only in improving the situation of individuals and communities, but also in advancing a nation. A lot of technological and societal advances that have had profound effects on our nation are thanks to graduates of MIT and other institutes of higher learning. I for one am glad to see that they're willing to raise a fuss about their quality of existence. I wouldn't want pushovers working on the next great technological or societal advance. The "college students today" are the ones that will have to face criticism, ignorance, bureaucracy, and just plain stubbornness if they want to "change the world" the way they're expected to do.

ConcernedCitizen of MA 4:48PM November 06, 2008

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