Perhaps you are right that "hypocritical" was not the best choice of words. If it was not clear, I did intend to reject the idea that this was nothing more tha

Perhaps you are right that "hypocritical" was not the best choice of words. If it was not clear, I did intend to reject the idea that this was nothing more than a cynical PR move (although it is clearly good PR). I agree with you that it appears that they have taken the public reaction to heart and have changed in their outlook, as you put it. Nonetheless, I think all of these questions bear exploring (including the question as to whether this letter is in some manner cynical PR). An institution like MIT should be questioned skeptically, even (or perhaps especially) when it is attempting to reform itself and its practices.