MIT Main Campus (Wikipedia)
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of America’s most renowned academic institutions, announced that it will no longer require that diversity statements be provided by applicants for faculty positions. The move comes as MIT has been one of the universities in the US that has been overrun by anti-Israel protestors, who have made an encampment on campus grounds. Monday night other protestors overran barricades placed in the area by police and joined the ones in the encampment.
Diversity statements have been widely criticized by many over the years for allegedly placing diversity over practical qualifications for a job. They are also seen by some as a way to ensure that new employees adhere to a specific ideological bias.
“My goals are to tap into the full scope of human talent, to bring the very best to MIT, and to make sure they thrive once here,” said MIT president Sally Kornbluth. “We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”
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A diversity statement is a document that outlines a person’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It’s typically used in academic or professional settings, such as job applications or graduate school admissions.
According to MIT’s website, the school expected diversity statements demonstrate knowledge of challenges related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Outline an applicant’s track record of working with diverse groups of people and advancing DEI, and concretely discuss what they will do as a faculty member to actively encourage DEI and belonging within their group, department, and community.
As for the MIT encampment of Hamas supporters who call for the destruction of Israel, the university has followed Columbia University’s example and called for the protestors to be removed. Police also removed such protestors at U.C.L.A. and U.C. San Diego in California as well as at other campuses around the country.
MIT had given the students there a 2:30 PM deadline on Monday to clear the area. They refused to leave and were later joined by more protestors.
Videos showed the protestors chanting in Arabic “Death to Zionists” and calling for the destruction of Israel.
