Whose University Is It?

MIT and Harvard rolling out the red carpet for the Saudi Crown Prince in March 2018 was no fluke: it is symptomatic of the lack of democracy on campuses across the United States. Increasingly, university administrators act in our name, but without our involvement.

We believe a meaningful outcome from the controversy around Saudi partnerships would be an alternative, community-based process for how universities should conduct themselves, consisting of three parts:

1. Reckon with the harms done when universities affiliate with dubious partners.
2. Disclose the scope and terms of university partnerships, which are generally negotiated secretly and without involvement of the university community (students, staff, and broader local community).
3. Repair what’s broken by formulating a collective, community-based process for deliberating about partnerships (and what their terms and goals should be).

Our first public event was on February 27 at Cambridge Public Library. Here is what you can do:

• Watch the video from our February 27 gathering
• Join our mailing list: bit.ly/whoseuniversity-mailinglist
• See our reading list: bit.ly/whoseuniversity-readinglist
  (A few articles are highlighted below)