An update

Dear members of the MIT community,

Yesterday morning I recorded a video for the community related to the current encampment. I intended to share it with you yesterday.

The video is here and the transcript is here.

I paused because we were in talks with the student protestors to wind down the encampment, and we were hopeful that progress was possible.

After explaining MIT’s policies for reviewing research funding and our bedrock commitment to academic freedom, we were trying to see if there were ways, consistent with those policies and principles, to speak to the students’ concerns. We planned to continue the conversation today.

Unfortunately, this morning, the students made clear on social media that they will not accept anything less than their original demands. What’s more, despite the fact that the students were engaged with us in what we thought were good-faith discussions, a group of students disrupted another official MIT event this morning. I have long believed that dialogue and mutual understanding are the best way to resolve conflicts. But it is clear that this approach has not allowed the progress we were hoping for.

I urge you to watch the video to better understand our thinking.

Sincerely,

Sally Kornbluth
President