Two graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have published an op-ed grilling their alma mater over recent decisions that are “damaging” the university.
Tom Hafer and Henry I. Miller wrote Friday that MIT helped them learn both problem-solving and academic skills, saying they have previously donated to the school out of gratitude. However, their appreciation dried up after the prestigious institution canceled a lecture after the professor advocated for merit-based admissions, according to their op-ed in City Journal.
“The current MIT administration has caved repeatedly to the demands of ‘wokeness,’ treating its students unfairly, compromising the quality of its staff, and damaging the institution and academic freedom at large,” the two wrote.
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They spoke out against the school’s decision to cancel a lecture from Dorian Abbot, an associate professor at the University of Chicago. Abbot said he thinks universities should evaluate applicants not based on diversity, but instead “through a rigorous and unbiased process based on their merit and qualifications alone.” His statements resulted in MIT canceling his lecture, a decision the two alumni deemed as “the most vivid illustration of how far the university has sunk.”
In addition to Abbot’s cancellation, Hafer and Miller condemned the school’s previous decision to fire its Catholic chaplain, Daniel Moloney. MIT had fired Moloney in June 2020 after he sent an email to Catholics at the school questioning the motivation in the murder of George Floyd. While Hafer and Miller said they are not Catholic, they objected to the school’s decision to fire Moloney, writing that they “believe fairness transcends religion.”
The two also took issue with mandating diversity training for students — in August 2020, MIT students were required to take two diversity instructions if they wished to enroll in classes the following semester.
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Hafer and Miller concluded their piece with principles they argued the school ought to adopt to return to its previous intellectual prestige, including that “facts are not racist,” “intellectual ability and achievement are the principal requirements for admission as a student or faculty member to any university,” and “diversity of opinions is desired and supported.”
“These truths used to be self-evident; now they are apparently controversial,” Hafer and Miller wrote.
Hafer and Miller did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
