OPINION:
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology did not act swiftly enough to remove from the stage its senior class president, who late last month during a pre-graduation ceremony violated the trust of the class and the school by launching into a political diatribe rather than giving the speech she had submitted in advance (“MIT class president barred from graduation after giving anti-Israel speech,” Web, June 2). But the school did bar her from further graduation events. Oh, the horror!
MIT President Sally Kornbluth spoke next and blithely dismissed the hijacking of the ceremony, noting only that “we value freedom of expression” but that the focus should be on the graduates.
In 2023, Ms. Kornbluth declined to suspend international student protesters who violated campus policies, citing visa concerns. That’s right — at MIT an international student can violate the terms of his or her visa and interfere with impunity in the school’s educational mission.
Sally Kornbluth surely made her decisions “in context.” Something to think about…
JULIA LUTCH
Davis, California
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