Comments
riski_click t1_izqk4es wrote
My favorite part of this resolution is that the "community" feedback all came from within the MIT community. It wasn't that the people of Cambridge were complaining they weren't allowed anymore, it was the people of MIT that were complaining that the public were no longer allowed in the infinite corridor. I was glad to see those barriers inside 77 Mass suddenly disappear!
jgonagle t1_izsh69u wrote
Yeah, there was a massive grassroots campaign among alumni to write in about how the new policy proposal would destroy the school's unique culture. I can't speak much to the effect of the general public's input.
bryanhealey t1_izsgrks wrote
it's like those at MIT are smart or something
UniWheel t1_iztjep7 wrote
> it was the people of MIT that were complaining tha.t the public were no longer allowed in the infinite corridor
Or that the access controls were annoying.
Plus the general feeling of being tracked.
TheOriginalTerra t1_iztn668 wrote
It's not really the pre-COVID open policy, though. The Main Group and Kendall Square buildings are open during the day on weekdays, and everything that was closed before is still closed on weekends. After they proposed keeping the campus closed, there was a lot of backlash, so then sent a survey to the community asking, basically, "Do you want an open campus, or do you want a safe campus?" And still about two-thirds of respondents wanted an open campus. I guess the new schedule was the administration's idea of a compromise.
ChildOfHeist t1_izqjnwo wrote
This is a real victory. Places like MIT that have nonprofit status and don’t pay local property taxes have a duty to be reasonably open to the public (except dorms and the nuclear reactor and so forth).
Emergency covid restrictions shouldn’t become a permanent power grab by institutions to limit access to public spaces.
corned_beef_balls t1_izrodi7 wrote
MIT is Cambridge’s largest tax payer, paying over 10% of the city’s taxes. They do pay local property tax, just not on all buildings.
TeaWithMingus t1_izs3khs wrote
That makes me sad because I’m pretty sure Harvard owns like every other building in Cambridge
Opposite_Match5303 t1_izs4cms wrote
Mit owns all of kendall
sporkoroon t1_izs6wam wrote
And they got grandfathered in and do not pay property tax!
My-Left-Plate t1_izsyv6b wrote
MIT pays about 1.5 million a year to Cambridge. Harvard pays about $5 million a year.
My-Left-Plate t1_izsyu9p wrote
MIT pays about 1.5 million a year to Cambridge. Harvard pays about $5 million a year.
TeaWithMingus t1_iztbk6m wrote
Yeah and they own like $500 million dollars worth of property so that checks out?
My-Left-Plate t1_izteywi wrote
Yeah I mean they pay a lower rate than you and me do, but they are a non-profit so those are just… the rules.
Technically they don’t have to pay anything.
TeaWithMingus t1_iztioej wrote
“Non Profit”
My-Left-Plate t1_izuiyf0 wrote
I mean they are a non-profit. Whose fault is it that you don’t like the definition of ‘non-profit’?
TeaWithMingus t1_izujm2c wrote
Boston estimates their property tax would be 10 times higher if they didn’t have non profit status it’s how they grow their endowment. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2009/5/21/harvards-role-as-a-nonprofit-harvard/ they masquerade as a nonprofit but are and act like a business
My-Left-Plate t1_izulb74 wrote
They are by definition and the law a non-profit. Again if you don’t like the law, run for office and change the law.
These universities act very differently from a public corporation and also very differently than a private for-profit corporation. The decision makers have very different motives which lead to very different outcomes.
These universities educate our brightest, but mainly they are huge economic wealth creators. If you made a country out of the companies that have been created and spun off of MIT it would be the 10th wealthiest country in the world. These are the companies that employ America. This public/private partnership is one of the bedrocks of America and it is something to be excited about, not complain about.
TeaWithMingus t1_izuls6v wrote
I would argue they are part of the reason for our country having such a class divide and obvious disparity of wealth
My-Left-Plate t1_izur7s8 wrote
Having companies that generate wealth is not the reason we have an increasing wealth gap. We had MIT and these companies being generated in 1955 too. But what we had then was a 95% top marginal tax rate.
giritrobbins t1_izskbpc wrote
You mean all the property that MIT acquired and uses as commercial space. Yeah they should absolutely pay taxes on that. And they shouldn't get any special credit for following the law.
corned_beef_balls t1_izslwa7 wrote
Then they also shouldn’t be lambasted for being a nonprofit, following the law.
My-Left-Plate t1_izsz05f wrote
They are a non-profit following the rules.. You think tbings ‘should’ be different, run for office and change the rules.
BasilExposition75 t1_izsz33q wrote
They probably pay a PILOT....
corned_beef_balls t1_izt0srk wrote
They do. It is well documented….
some1saveusnow t1_izr9xwm wrote
You know they’re looking at any and every way to basically act as a private entity while enjoying the non profit status
My-Left-Plate t1_izsz8rz wrote
Non-profits are all ‘private entities’. That’s how it works. Non-profits are entirely able to make money and keep money. There is nothing anywhere that says or implies that non-profits can’t make as much money as they want.
[deleted] t1_iztzece wrote
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My-Left-Plate t1_izuiluc wrote
Yup. Exactly.
[deleted] t1_izqmof0 wrote
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jenn363 t1_izrpy8q wrote
Where’d you get that scoop, Publick Occurances?
liltingly t1_izryu1o wrote
There’s actually an few animal labs that you have to sign documents to protect their secrecy. Courses like 6.022 end with a vivisection on a live rabbit (killing it at the end) and you basically have to walk a maze to get there and never divulge where it is. There were rats and monkeys and pheasants in that place too.
drewwil000 t1_izsembt wrote
Wait. Isn’t course 6 computer science? Why would vivisections be done in a course 6 class?
hamakabi t1_izsydxt wrote
probably a typo, course 7 is biology
liltingly t1_izwqg5g wrote
Quantitative physiology 6.02X takes a systems approach to biological processes. Course VI is EECS, so 6.022 uses the lumped circuit abstraction to understand blood pressure regulation and respiration amongst other things. Course VI is not just computer science (VI-III) which people are assuming. And I think now there’s a bajillion sub fields in VI, not just I, II, and III.
My-Left-Plate t1_izsy3o6 wrote
This person is likely spreading false information. There is no 6.022 class at MIT, and even if there were course 6 is computer science.
I have several friends and a wife who graduated MIT with biology or neuro degrees and none of them have heard of anything g like this.
charlieplexed t1_iztpkpi wrote
it actually is a class, and I took it before. It's a class listed in multiple departments:
6.022J/2.792J/BEH.371J/HST542J: Quantitative Physiology: Organ Transport Systems
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/hst-542j-quantitative-physiology-organ-transport-systems-spring-2004/
My-Left-Plate t1_izuipdy wrote
Yikes. Well color me stupid and call me late for dinner.
liltingly t1_izwq3es wrote
You’re late for dinner. 6.021 and 6.022 counted together as a lab course as well. Not sure if it is anymore.
[deleted] t1_iztxsji wrote
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0xnull t1_izunrie wrote
Course 6 renumbered everything this year, if you're looking at the current catalog.
My-Left-Plate t1_izure9x wrote
That is exactly what I was doing.
Though honestly, I've been boycotting course 6 ever since they got rid of 6.001.
Opposite_Match5303 t1_izs49ye wrote
Yeah, any time there was a building with card access you used to know it either had animal testing or couse 16/lincoln labs military stuff
AKiss20 t1_izs7sgd wrote
MIT doesn’t allow classified research on main campus. Under their open research policy, only LL is allowed to do any classified research unless prior approval is given by the provost. https://policies.mit.edu/policies-procedures/140-research-policies-and-public-and-private-support/142-open-research-and-free
Opposite_Match5303 t1_izs8u85 wrote
It's not classified stuff, but eg building 31 needed to be locked to the public so labs could get funding from the military None of the grad students working on those projects have security clearances or anything, it just helps them get grants
AKiss20 t1_izsad4h wrote
I worked in 31 for 10 years starting in 2010. It didn’t used to be locked prior to the renovation. Only certain rooms need to be locked and that’s not because of military issues specifically. They locked the building because before the renovation all grad students were in lockable offices. Now it’s all open floor plan and they had issues with some thefts.
Opposite_Match5303 t1_izse08x wrote
Interesting, I was a grad student in 31 post-renovation and was told the exact opposite by my advisor
AKiss20 t1_izsnwke wrote
There’s definitely some security around storing proprietary information, but that’s not military specific. In fact it’s sorta the opposite. Afaik the military doesn’t have a way to make information “proprietary” outside of classification (but I’m not an expert, I never worked on any military sponsored research). Private companies that sponsor research, however, almost always have proprietary information agreements and NDAs with academia as research often involves sharing data that is proprietary.
Lincoln Labs and Draper were created specifically to deal with classified research. That way MIT can claim it has an open research policy but still get that sweet DOD money lol.
Opposite_Match5303 t1_izsoey7 wrote
My understanding was that eg darpa needed some physical security for the spaces their sponsored research took place in
BUZZUKKA t1_izsslap wrote
There is no “military research” on the MIT campus. All of the military research is just fundamental research with military advisors trying to find military uses. They also do not have any TS/SCI secured buildings for TS research.
giritrobbins t1_izsjw5k wrote
Physical security as a part of Government research wouldn't surprise me. Even the unclassified stuff tends to require some level of access control.
liltingly t1_izwqty3 wrote
I for one enjoyed the innervated radio controlled moths with built in energy harvesting.
https://www.rle.mit.edu/biomicro/documents/2010_daly_jssc_jan.pdf
_FLostInParadise_ t1_izsj6nz wrote
Or the puppy lab https://puppylab.mit.edu/
XHIBAD t1_izsy1f4 wrote
True story: I had never seen a black squirrel before I moved to Massachusetts. Walking through MIT’s campus I saw several of them and thought they were genetically engineered squirrels that had escaped the lab
yanagtr t1_izt9wt6 wrote
Ahhh, I love Fallout 4 too. Best in the series. And convincing storyline for MIT - errr I mean CIT - too.
SpindriftRascal t1_izqd8wd wrote
That seems like a sound, well-reasoned decision likely to benefit the university and the community.
dtmfadvice t1_izq2d9l wrote
Good.
liltingly t1_izrzj8i wrote
If you’re an alumnus/a go to the MIT police office in the student center to get your alumni card. You regain all accesses including after hours.
BigBrainMonkey t1_izsaql5 wrote
I didn’t know this and live a thousand miles away but will collect sometime in the future for nostalgia.
nonelvis t1_izsuryt wrote
You can get a digital ID now! I haven't had a chance to try mine on the doors yet, but it's supposed to work.
BigBrainMonkey t1_izsx08e wrote
That’s cool but for something to nostalgically look back at nothing beats a card.
NoButThanks t1_izu5g6r wrote
You get access to the ice rink and the muddy Charles. I am not an alumni.
My-Left-Plate t1_izszbr6 wrote
You can do it online nowadays and get a Tim card through your phone.
ItsOkItOnlyHurts t1_izqxn3i wrote
When I was working in the area last summer, I would use the MIT gym (no initiation fee so summer pass was best rate I could find) and on really hot days I wanted to use the corridor to get to the gym…
Finding a keycarded lock on all the doors felt rude af. I went there for events in high school and it was harder to find a locked exterior door than a locked one back then
[deleted] t1_izrg7q9 wrote
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Apprehensive-Hat-494 t1_izrg2mp wrote
I find it funny that a university would make such a show of using "the risks COVID-19 poses to our campus community" to justify or contextualize decisions after ending social restrictions in campus life. Like don't they know that college students regularly engage in activities where they are close to other students? Yes, it's not some SEC school, but still. Someone from Cambridge sitting at an MIT library table is much less likely to transmit COVID or any illness than people dancing at a rager.
​
I'd also like to hear more about the "security enhancements." Is there an ongoing or new threat to MIT students from a security perspective that wasn't there before COVID or in the past generally? Massachusetts in general and Cambridge in particular don't have a ton of crime, and the public access hours will probably be sufficient security, no?
liltingly t1_izrzagw wrote
Flip side is the Korean tour busses would land hundreds of tourists on campus multiple times a day and clog up the infinite for students. “Dream Tours” was the biggest culprit. Also a girl got sexually assaulted in the tunnels and another in a classroom during my time as a student — both non students assaulted by non students.
Opposite_Match5303 t1_izs4htx wrote
There was also regular theft from non-students and former students- "fabio" was a primary culprit I recall
giritrobbins t1_izskjif wrote
As a Northeastern student theft was common, but the blotter always, "student left laptop unsecured in the library for thirty minutes to go get lunch." Like yeah it's going to get stolen, it's just sitting there.
Apprehensive-Hat-494 t1_izuff70 wrote
Well if you go around acting like you're in Singapore there will definitely be lots of thefts.
Toffeechu t1_izrk6ja wrote
How do you like dem apples.
I_love_Bunda t1_izqt5zf wrote
Genuinely curious - why would the public want access to any of these things? I get maybe the library, but any of the other buildings? Why? I worked in the area for years, and would constantly walk by these buildings, going inside any of them never crossed my mind.
psmgpme t1_izqwawe wrote
MIT is obviously a major meeting place for academics who work at other institutions in the area. I have to go to MIT all the time and it's a lot easier to just be able to walk in rather than have to figure out how I'm going to get to where I need to go.
tangershon t1_izqyhmg wrote
I grew up not too far from MIT and as a teenager being able to walk around the campus and all its spaces was just, well, fun
BasilExposition75 t1_izsz8a0 wrote
Sure, but did you go inside the buildings?
tangershon t1_izue4qi wrote
Yes lol
saltavenger t1_izrjlwd wrote
Bathrooms!
giritrobbins t1_izqu42e wrote
Crossing from Cambridge to the river without going through a building is challenging or requires a detour. You're visiting a friend, or having a meeting with someone perhaps. You want to sit and work somewhere are a few.
liltingly t1_izryzh1 wrote
This is the real answer. And if you know how to use the steam tunnels you can walk from Mass Ave to Kendall in complete warmth.
ItsOkItOnlyHurts t1_izqxqwb wrote
Even if you’ve got no business in the buildings, for some people’s itineraries it’s way faster to cut through than walk around
hamakabi t1_izsz6nj wrote
The Infinite Corridor is a long hall that runs through the center of campus and crosses several buildings. This is where the MIT community posts all of their event fliers and information boards, and the walls are covered in glass cases showing off research and other projects.
NoButThanks t1_izu7yyi wrote
I would cut through campus when working over there because it is faster. Or the infinite corridor. Get lunch at the student union.
_gogi t1_izr1s27 wrote
Bravo!
kayhart3 t1_izsp147 wrote
Love that. I went to Harvard with family thinking we could get into at least one building and was SO disappointed.
Abismos t1_iztxntg wrote
As a Harvard student I'm glad to see this. A few weeks ago I went to a seminar at MIT. Got there 5 minutes early to see that all the doors were keycard locked and I was supposed to walk ~20 mins to an office on the other side of campus to get a guest pass.
I just hung around until I could walk in with someone, but I'm glad to see that these buildings will be opening up again, not only for the general public but also for other academics in the area. The seminar was really cool too so I'm glad I made it in.
[deleted] t1_izq8ku8 wrote
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beeinabearcostume t1_izt0dm6 wrote
People were holding the doors open for others for a while now anyways. The visitor access system didn’t even mandate vaccines, especially to guest speakers in the area where I work, and half the time was so glitchy that we had to resort to propping doors open after issuing visitor access through the TIM Ticket app. Contact tracing has all but stopped, and so has regular testing and being able to work remotely when you’re not feeling 100%, so people probably come in to work on campus with Covid regularly. For the past semester all restricting access really did was inconvenience caterers and make event planning a logistical nightmare.
SusanSarandonsTits t1_izuy53a wrote
Wow in the middle of a freaking pandemic? Yikes, not a good like MIT
reveazure OP t1_izq26ni wrote
Previously there was an announcement that most of the MIT buildings including the infinite corridor would be permanently closed to the general public as an extension of covid policies. It looks like public feedback has done its job and they decided to return to the pre-covid open policy.
Sometimes things work out.