MIT president refuses to sign higher education funding agreement with Trump administration
Source: CBS News
Local News
MIT president refuses to sign higher education funding agreement with Trump administration
By Neal Riley
Updated on: October 10, 2025 / 11:35 AM EDT / CBS Boston
MIT President Sally Kornbluth is telling President Trump's administration that the prestigious college in Cambridge, Massachusetts will not be signing on to the White House's "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education."
MIT was one of nine universities asked by the Department of Education to sign the agreement to ensure access to federal funding and grants. Among the stipulations in the agreement: a five-year tuition rate freeze, limits on international student populations and prohibiting the use of race or sex as admissions factors.
Kornbluth said in a letter to Education Sec. Linda McMahon that MIT's practices "meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent."
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Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/mit-president-trump-letter-federal-funding/
= new reply since forum marked as read
The President of MIT is talking back to a wrestling mogul's widow? WTF?
For his offenses to both Zeus and Hades, Sisyphus was condemned to eternal punishment in Tartarus, the lowest region of the Underworld.
With every strained muscle and ragged breath, he pushed the immense weight upward, only to have it slip from his grasp just as he reached the summit.
The boulder would then thunder back down the slope, forcing Sisyphus to begin his futile labor anew, an eternal cycle of exertion and despair. Sisyphus was thus forced to start his labor all over again, the echoes of the falling rock a haunting reminder of his eternal punishment.
Albert Camus and the Existential Interpretation
In 1942, Albert Camus re-imagined the myth in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus, framing it as a metaphor for the human condition in the modern, absurd universe. Camus’s interpretation is a cornerstone of existential thought and his philosophy of the absurd.
The Absurd
Camus described the “absurd” as the conflict between humans’ desire to find meaning in life and the silent, indifferent universe that offers none. Life, in Camus’s view, is inherently devoid of purpose or higher meaning, and this realization can lead to despair. Sisyphus’s eternal labor, then, becomes a symbol of humanity’s ceaseless quest for meaning in a world that refuses to provide it. The repetition of his futile task mirrors the repetitive nature of human existence—work, struggle, and striving without ultimate resolution.
“The Struggle Itself… Is Enough to Fill a Man’s Heart”
Camus, however, does not view the myth as entirely despairing. He argues that once Sisyphus becomes fully conscious of the absurdity of his plight, he can embrace it. In this awareness, Sisyphus transcends his suffering, and his rebellion against the gods becomes an act of defiance and freedom.Camus concludes his essay with the iconic statement: “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” This bold assertion suggests that meaning can be found in the struggle itself, even if the universe remains indifferent. By embracing the absurd and living with courage and purpose despite life’s inherent meaninglessness, humans can achieve a kind of existential victory.
And thank you for your kind compliment!
It took me some time to compose the text to my satisfaction.
As with all, it's definitions of terms that define narratives.
I define and embrace each moment as meaningful, no matter the circumstance.
Thus I ultimately find meaning within each moment, and knowing that within difficult moments steels my resolve for the battle at hand.
I embrace the unknown as just that, unknown.
I explore the unknown by acknowledging what is unknown while recognizing that the majority of unknowns are unknown to me.
Thus I center myself in my moment of time, embrace it as it is, acknowledge my feelings, engage my intellect and celebrate my life within that grain of sand passing through my hourglass of time.
Here's to eating well, sleeping well and staying well!
Happy Saturday y'all!
Sending ya' some Louisiana love!
(Not my babies, but they sure are sweet!)
