Sunday, November 23, 2008

tunnel vision

i was talking with someone tonight about one of my professors (a family member of harvey mudd) who isn't too happy with harvey mudd college's affiliation with the defense industry. the guy told me that there was no problem with that, and that's what engineers do: they make bombs, and bombs kill people.

harvey mudd college is great because of its mission statement, drafted in 1956 by president platt and still observed to this day:
"harvey mudd college seeks to educate engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, well versed in all of these areas and in the humanities and the social sciences so that they may assume leadership in their fields with a clear understanding of the impact of their work on society."
but comments like the ones made by that guy make me really disappointed that maybe the meaning of the mission statement got lost over the years. a lot of students come here for just math and science, yes, but the beauty of hmc is that you can take humanities classes so that you can really learn the connection between what you're doing in your technical classes and the world.

i just hope that by the time these students finish their college career, they will be able to see more from different perspectives and really question each and everyone of their actions.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Here's another fun saying:

"Engineers do one of two things. They make the weapons, or they make the targets."

On a lighter note, I know of a family friend who after graduating from HMC decided to not work on defense projects. Go social responsibility!

I happen to be working on encryption for my Clinic. I make your credit card on Amazon.com more secure!

trang said...

i'm scared that one of these days, i'll be a victim of cc fraud because i do so much online shopping. so thank you, trevin! :)