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FYI, this is a commentary on MIT's recent decision to close and depopulate Senior Haus. Senior Haus is (was?) one of MIT's more creative dorms, and many feel it

FYI, this is a commentary on MIT's recent decision to close and depopulate Senior Haus. Senior Haus is (was?) one of MIT's more creative dorms, and many feel it was especially supportive of some students that didn't fit in elsewhere. MIT decided to depopulate Senior Haus because they statistically were less likely to graduate on time (numbers were questionable at best). Students felt like trading off a supportive community for graduation rates represented commoditization of students, hence the website. In particular, Pilot 2021 is supposed to focus on wellbeing, health and career development, hence all the references to meal kits.

_chris_ 9y ago
> meal kits Food at MIT is a very interesting topic. The administration has been pushing "dining halls" and "mandatory meal plans" for 15 years now, thinking that college should be a Disneyland resort experience you can sell parents on as part of $60k+/year tuition (instead of a place where adults live, clean, cook, and eat like adults). In reality, cooking and community kitchens has been a big part of MIT's culture. It's fun, it builds community, and it's stress-relieving. Also, meal plans are really expensive and many students do not want not-very-good-food for $20 a meal. Fun story: I remember one dining hall banning to-go boxes because MIT students were inclined to take their meals to-go so they could eat their food quickly in isolation and get back to work. The administration thought if they forced people to eat in the dining halls they could somehow build a community that way.