MIT's Tech newspaper reports on a growing list of MIT faculty who have signed a statement opposing a number of Donald Trump's cabinet appointments and "reaffirming their dedication to 'principles at the core of MIT's mission.'"
The statement denounces discrimination, promotes open communication, and asserts the need to respect the scientific method. Signatories include four out of the ten Nobel Prize winners currently part of the MIT faculty, as well as author Junot Diaz and Affordable Care Act architect Jonathan Gruber. [...]
About 25 percent of MIT faculty have now signed the statement. [The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences], which comprises 17 percent of MIT faculty, represents a disproportionately large percentage of the signatories at about 22 percent. The School of Engineering is underrepresented, with also about 22 percent of signatories, but comprising 37 percent of total faculty. These differences may be a result of the thus far uneven dissemination of the statement across departments.
The MIT statement joins a growing litany of open letters from scientists to the Trump administration, with over 2300 scientists -- including 22 Nobel Prize winners -- signing another statement asking for a "strong and open culture of science" and "adhering to high standards of scientific integrity and independence." A group of female scientists concerned about racism and sexism in science initially aimed for 500 signatures from women scientists, but their list now has grown to over 11,000 worldwide.
The actual MIT statement with list of signatories can be found here. At the time of this submission, it had grown by over 10% since the Tech report was written on Wednesday afternoon and now has over 500 signatures.
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The complete text of the statement reads:
The President-elect has appointed individuals to positions of power who have endorsed racism, misogyny and religious bigotry, and denied the widespread scientific consensus on climate change. Regardless of our political views, these endorsements violate principles at the core of MIT's mission. At this time, it is important to reaffirm the values we hold in common.
We, the undersigned faculty at MIT, thus affirm the following principles:
For any member of our community who may feel fear or oppression, our doors are open and we are ready to help. We pledge to work with all members of the community – students, faculty, staff, postdoctoral researchers, and administrators – to defend these principles today and in the times ahead.
I imagine some reactions may be to dismiss this as yet another college appeal for "safe spaces" and "diversity," but from first-hand experience with the MIT community, I can say it's definitely distinct from the average "liberal arts school" environment. When they say "open, respectful discourse and exchange of ideas" from different perspectives, they generally mean it; I've personally seen debates there that would be instantly "shut down" elsewhere. I only wish they had reversed the order of the three bullet points and put science upfront, because that's what really distinguishes their message from many other groups.
More coverage on these letters expressing concern about science in the new administration in the Guardian and the Washington Post.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday December 02 2016, @03:22PM
Name me the scientist, as opposed to the politician, who ever started a war. Go on.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @03:36PM
Here [yourlogicalfallacyis.com].
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Friday December 02 2016, @03:45PM
Name me the politician, as opposed to the scientist, who ever designed a toxic food additive \ toxic chemical \ drug resistant bacteria \ unsafe vehicle \ etc...
I'm often in the guy saying we should hang all the lawyers and politicians. But make no mistake, I always leave room for extra nooses.
p.s. not op
compiling...
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday December 02 2016, @05:48PM
The decision to put poison in food or skimp on vehicle safety is generally made by upper management.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Friday December 02 2016, @06:11PM
And the decision to press the trigger is made by the soldier.
For every addict, there's enablers. And both politicians and scientists play their roles in keeping corruption in place. That is, it's systematic. You can't just ignore the fact the US academia generally supported the economic polices of the last couple of decades.
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday December 02 2016, @07:23PM
I'm not saying all non-politicians/non-management are angels just by virtue of being STEM types. God, no, we've had enough examples just in peacetime (Midgley for example...) to scrap THAT idea. But you do have to admit most of the shady shit that gets pushed on people is pushed because some bureaucrat somewhere allows or even forced it.
Take that Chinese milk scandal, the one with the melamine. Some scientist may have noticed that you CAN beat the protein-analysis test with melamine, but some management fucker said the company WOULD do it.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday December 02 2016, @06:21PM
Followed by:
* skimping on vehicle safety get some kind of liability attached
* upper management writes some custom made laws
* upper management purchases some politicians at market rate
* politicians pass the custom made legislation
* now its okay to skimp on vehicle safety
So politics IS involved. Not just upper management.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @08:08PM
Ja, der scientiztz vas only following orders! Nuremburg much?
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Friday December 02 2016, @05:17PM
Well I can certainly name a University President who got us into a war. Woodrow Wilson, formerly President of Princeton University, about as Ivy League as you can get. Being an academic doesn't make you a better person, and the available evidence shows that the current people infesting our academies of of higher learning would best be driven out and replaced root and branch.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday December 02 2016, @07:11PM
Oh, sure, because it's become another big business...and the ivies, let's be honest here, never were much other than finishing schools for the elite, outside of most of the science programs. Why are you surprised? Power goes to power, wealth to wealth, and privilege to privilege.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...