It's only Wednesday and the week has already been a rich and busy one with the importance of words taking center stage--the power of words, the magic of words, the need to use just the right words. Our undergraduate seminar, Language, Information and Power, continues to be filled with fascinating and thoughtful reading and conversation. Last evening, we grappled with the difference between intentionally or non-intentionally using words to harm others. If one has good intentions, but the outcome is negative, are we culpable nonetheless?

I remember it so clearly: I was sitting outside during my first weekend of college, a book open in my lap. It was my first assignment, from my first religion course. Problems of Religious Thought sounded like it would be fun, based on what I knew from my high-school World Religions course. And then I tried to read Søren Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling. After I puzzled my way through perhaps ten of the 200 pages we were assigned, I looked up and thought: Oh no. I’m not ready for this.

Now that classes and finals are over and the community awaits graduation festivities, the campus is quieter and calmer. Although the energy and excitement of the school year will be missed, we now have a chance to reflect on the year. We were very busy here at Radius, sponsoring and co-sponsoring many events that tackled topics ranging from environmental justice and sustainablity to nuclear weapons.

Churches would be the first in line to aid the victims of a nuclear blast, but they are less skilled at responding to systemic issues and potential threats.

There are strong stirrings on campus; people leaving their labs and engaging in the wider world and taking a stance--students, faculty and staff. Spurred by concerns about the environment, the attack on science, the number of hate crimes rising, racism, homophobia, and a host of other issues, members of the MIT community have come together to create a