Community

Carolyn Johnson of The Boston Globe reports on the annual Chain Reaction event hosted by the MIT Museum. “More than 20 all-ages teams united homemade machines to create a giant post-Thanksgiving chain reaction,” writes Johnson.

Boston Globe reporter Bryan Marquard writes about the life and work of Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, associate dean for international students and director of MIT’s International Students Office, who passed away last week. Guichard-Ashbrook “touched the lives of thousands of students,” said Maria Brennan, assistant director of the International Students Office.

The Tech calls on students to take strong action to combat sexual assault, following the results of a survey examining sexual misconduct at MIT. “To quote President Reif, sexual assault ‘has no place here’,”  writes The Tech. “But if the entire effort is to have a chance at success, students cannot opt out of this conversation — and that’s on us.”

New York Times reporter Richard Pérez-Peña writes about how MIT has conducted a “rare, detailed” survey polling undergraduate and graduate students about sexual assault.  “A big-name school like M.I.T. being ahead of the curve like this matters,” says advocate Andrea Pino. 

WBUR speaks with Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart about the actions MIT is taking following the release of a survey examining sexual misconduct at MIT. “We have a very long history of approaching problems in exactly this way. We measure by getting data and facts, and then we develop our action plan,” says Barnhart. 

WGBH examines the survey released by MIT on Monday that polled students about their attitudes and experiences with sexual assault on campus. “The poll is the first of its kind for the MIT community, and it goes beyond the scope of similar studies at other colleges and universities,” Kirk Carapezza and Mallory Noe-Payne report. 

Matt Rocheleau of The Boston Globe writes about the results of a climate survey on sexual assault released by MIT Monday. “With its comprehensive survey, MIT became the highest-profile college to put such a specific estimate on the prevalence of sexual violence on campus, amid heightened national attention on the issue,” writes Rocheleau.

Kath Xu of The Tech reports on the new Institute policies and programs designed to combat sexual assault, which were announced following a survey sent to all undergraduate and graduate students at MIT. “We’ve already made a commitment to increase resources so that we can increase education and support,” explains Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart.

Tech reporter Tushar Kamath writes that officials have announced a period of reflection on the community’s recent losses. “This is our way of saying the community does care and we want to be there for each other and provide support to each other,” says Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart. 

BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman writes about the new MIT Connect website, the Institute’s social media hub. “It’s trying to give you a feeling like you’re right there on campus,” says Stephanie Leishman.

The MIT Alumni Association’s Slice of MIT blog features highlights of MIT President L. Rafael Reif’s Ice Bucket Challenge. “MIT President L. Rafael Reif is the Institute’s 17th president, but he is almost surely the first MIT president to publicly dump a bucket of near-freezing water over his head,” writes Jay London. 

Jeffrey R. Young writes for The Chronicle of Higher Education about the final report released by the Institute-wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education. Speaking of the Task Force’s recommendation to make education more modular, co-chair Sanjay Sarma says, “we see modularity becoming a key part of on-campus experiences as well.”

“[A]s an educational researcher, I believe that MIT has captured, perhaps uniquely, both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for colleges and universities,” writes Dan Butin for The Huffington Post about a new report released by the MIT Task Force on the Future of MIT Education.

Bloomberg News reporter Kelly Blessing writes about the final report produced by the Institute-wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education. “The Task Force encourages MIT to evaluate possibilities to achieve increases in undergraduate class size so that more students can experience the rich magic of an MIT residential education,” the Task Force wrote in their report. 

The New York Times cites a paper by MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning on placemaking, a term for people’s efforts to shape their environment to improve social interaction and quality of life. The paper finds that these efforts help participants develop new social bonds with one another.