Gloomy studentsMany of TU Delft’s first-year students are pessimistic about the future, according to a survey conducted by three Christian student societies.
680 first-year students were asked for their thoughts on life, God, and the future of the world. Nearly 40% said mankind will perish due to ecological and social degeneration. To the question, %How do you see the future of mankind’, 23.1% said they foresaw the ‘development of an ideal society’; however, 37% were more pessimistic: 20% of the students predicted ‘social collapse due to ecological destruction’, and 17% foresaw social collapse (due to individualism and egoism)’. A gloomy outlook for such young people, certainly. The students were also allowed to pose questions to the Christian societies conducting the survey. Questions ranged from ”Why do you believe in God”, ”How can you believe in a book that is 200 years-old”, to ”What’s your opinion of Muslims and homosexuals?”
MIT cuts
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is cutting its 2004 budget by roughly $70 million and may lay off 200 people to make up for three years of losses in its endowment, MIT officials reported. MIT is also reducing its subsidies for graduate students and will further trim its budget by not filling 10 to 15 faculty positions that are currently vacant. MIT’s endowment, the sixth-largest of any US university, grew to $6.5 billion in 2000, resulting in new investments in buildings, student support, and faculty hiring. In the 2001-02 fiscal year, the endowment took a dive, however, dropping 17% to $5.4 billion and prompting budgetary cuts.
Gloomy students
Many of TU Delft’s first-year students are pessimistic about the future, according to a survey conducted by three Christian student societies. 680 first-year students were asked for their thoughts on life, God, and the future of the world. Nearly 40% said mankind will perish due to ecological and social degeneration. To the question, %How do you see the future of mankind’, 23.1% said they foresaw the ‘development of an ideal society’; however, 37% were more pessimistic: 20% of the students predicted ‘social collapse due to ecological destruction’, and 17% foresaw social collapse (due to individualism and egoism)’. A gloomy outlook for such young people, certainly. The students were also allowed to pose questions to the Christian societies conducting the survey. Questions ranged from ”Why do you believe in God”, ”How can you believe in a book that is 200 years-old”, to ”What’s your opinion of Muslims and homosexuals?”
MIT cuts
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is cutting its 2004 budget by roughly $70 million and may lay off 200 people to make up for three years of losses in its endowment, MIT officials reported. MIT is also reducing its subsidies for graduate students and will further trim its budget by not filling 10 to 15 faculty positions that are currently vacant. MIT’s endowment, the sixth-largest of any US university, grew to $6.5 billion in 2000, resulting in new investments in buildings, student support, and faculty hiring. In the 2001-02 fiscal year, the endowment took a dive, however, dropping 17% to $5.4 billion and prompting budgetary cuts.
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