4 ms·

Yes [1]. They also provide tuition scholarships for children of staff and graduate students [2] who could not otherwise afford childcare in the Boston area (whi

by ke88y 3y ago

Yes [1]. They also provide tuition scholarships for children of staff and graduate students [2] who could not otherwise afford childcare in the Boston area (which runs on average $20K/yr against a post-tax stipend as low as $31K/yr, ie, completely impossible to afford unless you have a trust fund or a scholarship). Not sure what that has to do with a bit of workplace levity at an otherwise famously intense undergraduate institution. Having a bit of fun is a time-honored MIT tradition; e.g., "All Tech Men carry batteries!" [3] and The Journal of the Institute for Hacks, TomFoolery, and Pranks at MIT more generally [4]. [1] http://childcare.mit.edu/ http://childcare.mit.edu/ [2] http://childcare.mit.edu/tuition-scholarships/mit-childcare-scholarship-program http://childcare.mit.edu/tuition-scholarships/mit-childcare-... [3] http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1990/H-Y/ http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1990/H-Y/ [4] http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/books/ihtfp_leibowitz/ihtfp_leibowitz.html http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/books/ihtfp_leibowitz/ihtfp_leibo...

fragmede 3y ago
Unless you're, y'know, Aaron Swartz.
- ke88y 3y ago
  Not sure why something that happened when they were 8 years old means that current undergrads aren't allowed to have fun, buy okay.
  - anikan_vader 3y ago
    It clearly demonstrates a time when MIT completely hung one of their own out to dry, in contrast to the “all tech men carry batteries” defense. It is representative of the modern administration’s inability to empathize with the students and faculty they represent. And yes, I would characterize fighting peacefully for open access as trying to have fun in a way that MIT should be trying to protect.
- Racing0461 3y ago
  MIT didn't want to press charges but the actual copyright owners (the publishing firms did) so it went ahead.
  - 1letterunixname 3y ago
    It was more of Federal prosecutor's, Carmen Ortiz, "zero tolerance, tough on crime" desperation for stats any cost. Harvey Silverglate wrote a book on the phenomenon, "Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent". Federal DAs have the biggest hammers, and so they see nails everywhere. This is also partly why the "nothing to hide" people are foolish, because information can be selectively weaponized by authorities to construct technical crimes. There are nearly infinite and poorly-worded regulations on certain professions with civil and criminal penalties that are all but impossible to commit without intention. That's not the point; the point is that very few prosecutors are uniformly setting out to arrest and convict only the worst of the worst causing legitimate, specific harm. Unsurprisingly, Oracle killed Zoe Lofgren's CFAA exception bill in committee because the rich and the religious run America.

by ke88y 3y ago

fragmede 3y ago

Unless you're, y'know, Aaron Swartz.

ke88y 3y ago
Not sure why something that happened when they were 8 years old means that current undergrads aren't allowed to have fun, buy okay.
- anikan_vader 3y ago
  It clearly demonstrates a time when MIT completely hung one of their own out to dry, in contrast to the “all tech men carry batteries” defense. It is representative of the modern administration’s inability to empathize with the students and faculty they represent. And yes, I would characterize fighting peacefully for open access as trying to have fun in a way that MIT should be trying to protect.
Racing0461 3y ago
MIT didn't want to press charges but the actual copyright owners (the publishing firms did) so it went ahead.
- 1letterunixname 3y ago
  It was more of Federal prosecutor's, Carmen Ortiz, "zero tolerance, tough on crime" desperation for stats any cost. Harvey Silverglate wrote a book on the phenomenon, "Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent". Federal DAs have the biggest hammers, and so they see nails everywhere. This is also partly why the "nothing to hide" people are foolish, because information can be selectively weaponized by authorities to construct technical crimes. There are nearly infinite and poorly-worded regulations on certain professions with civil and criminal penalties that are all but impossible to commit without intention. That's not the point; the point is that very few prosecutors are uniformly setting out to arrest and convict only the worst of the worst causing legitimate, specific harm. Unsurprisingly, Oracle killed Zoe Lofgren's CFAA exception bill in committee because the rich and the religious run America.