Join Us! A network of MIT faculty, students, and staff are putting together their know-how and learning to plan a remarkable day of instruction, inspiration, discussion, celebration, and action this coming April 18th. The event is open to all in our community, plus the public and colleagues at other universities. This Day of Engagement, Day of Action is a response to the political, economic, and social challenges facing the U.S.A. today, a call for renewed civic engagement from the scholars, students, and staff of our community, inspired by MIT's historic leadership in the March 4 Movement of 1969.

That earlier movement focused on a shared concern with military research. Today’s movement aims to meet pressing challenges to long-held ideals and aspirations for our country.

We want to  inform ourselves about a set of very pressing issues, including (in no particular order) -- hate crimes and discrimination on the basis of sex, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, and country of origin; the waning of fact-based debate with resulting corruption of the public sphere; declining job opportunities in the workforce; climate change and disparities in access to a healthy environment; the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few; voter suppression and threats to democratic process; the fragmentation of political discourse; the ever-present possibility of nuclear war; the long-term expansion of executive power in our federal government; our university's own role in reshaping the local, national, and global socioeconomic landscape; and many more. By pooling our understanding and experiences as individuals we can better position ourselves to meet these challenges through collective action.

The day will run from 10 am to 9 pm and will include interactive forums, lectures, workshops, music, art, celebration, and discussion.  All the events of the day are open to the public, our colleagues at other universities, and members of the community.

More than 60 activities will be centered in and around the Stata Center and the Student Center, and the list continues to grow. The currently confirmed events are:

Accountability Without Democracy
by Lily Tsai

Ask a Philosopher Booth
by New England Public Philosophers and MIT Philosophy Students

Assembling a Founder's Toolkit: Workshop on Making Start-Ups LGBTQ-Inclusive
organized by Sloan LGBTQ

Beyond Bathrooms: Bureaucracy and Queer Youth
by Alex Nally / MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth

Building a Checklist for Cities: What Actions are Required to Secure Progressive Urban Agendas
organized by Students of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning

Bystander Intervention
by Libby Mahaffy

Climate Justice and Energy Democracy: An Introduction
by Fossil Free MIT

Current Municipal and State Political, Social and Economic Struggles
panel discussion moderated by Jonathan King

Day of Action Data Rescue
organized by Civic Data Design Lab + DUSPviz

Disobedience and its Reward
by Joi Ito

Ending Political Corruption in Massachusetts
by Represent.Us Boston

Environmental Justice Volunteer Fair
featuring local environmental justice organizations

Eugenics: A Continuing Legacy?
by Erica James, Amy Moran-Thomas, and Stefan Helmreich

Free Speech / Hate Speech
by Wendy Salkin and Ronni Gura Sadovsky

General Strike!: Immigration Justice and Movimiento Cosecha
by DUSP Action, Solidarity MIT, and Cosecha

Gentrification: Beyond Displacement
panel discussion featuring Aatmaja Pandya, Léopold Lambert, Molly Rose Kaufman, Ken Reeves, and Sarita Daftary-Steel, organized by DUSP Students of Color Committee

Gerrymandering: Mathematics and fairness in theory and practice
by Metric Geometry and Gerrymandering Group

How to Use Media Cloud for Activism
by Natalie Gyenes and Anushka Shah

Illiberal Democracies
panel discussion moderated by Jeff Ravel

Inequality and Brexit
by John van Reenen

Literature: Light in a Time of Darkness
organized by Helen Elaine Lee, Ruth Perry, and additional speakers

Make Change, Make Zines! A Day of Action Zine-Making Space
organized by Anna Boutin, Alena McNamara, Sofia Leung, Rhonda Kauffman

Multicultural Stories and Activities for Kids

Multimedia Protest Party
organized by Paloma Duong and Ian Condry

Nuclear Weapons and Survival
by R. Scott Kemp

Putting a Price on Carbon in MA
panel discussion featuring MA Rep. Jen Benson (37th Middlesex), Sam Anderson (counsel to MA Sen. Mike Barrett, 3rd Middlesex), Chris Knittel

Resistance on Film
organized by Ezra Haber Glenn / DUSP

The Making & Future of the Iran Nuclear Deal
by R. Scott Kemp

Philosophy and Racial Justice
by Kevin Richardson

Poetry Across Borders
organized by Nick Montfort and Ed Barrett

Protest Songs: Old and New
Ruth Perry and friends

Protest, Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience
discussion moderated by Lisa Rivera and Gina Schouten

Recharging for the Activist
organized by MIT Radius / Technology and Culture Forum

Science & Society Carnival
by Students of the History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society (HASTS) program

Social Emergency Response Center (SERC)
by Ceasar McDowell

Strategies for Improving the Quality of Jobs
by Tom Kochan

Taking Action Against Climate Change
by Fossil Free MIT

The Challenge for R&D Funding in the Administration's New FY18 Budget
by William B. Bonvillian

The Ethics of Big Data
by Kate Vredenburgh and Ronni Gura Sadovsky

The Future of U.S. Healthcare Policy
by Jonathan Gruber

The intersection between the law and design in combatting hate in marginalized communities
panel discussion organized by Jules Rochielle, Nulawlab

The Legacy of Inequity in Federal Housing Policy
by Roberta Rubin

The Legacy of Protest at MIT
by Radius / The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT

What is a refugee? Separating myth from fact
by Serena Parekh

White Folks Holding One Another Accountable to Dismantle Racism: The Role of White Accountability/'Caucus' Groups
organized by members of the White Person’s Accountability Group (Ora Gladstone, Libby Mahaffy, and Ryan Kruis)

World Music Hangout
organized by the Lewis Music Library and the International Student Office

Affinity Spaces available throughout the day

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