Why did MIT refuse to sign the consent decree?
CMV: First and foremost because we believed the way in which we handled our financial aid was appropriate and in the best interests of our students and educationally of the nation. When I go around the country to raise money for MIT, a typical donor will say, “I was able to go to MIT because of financial aid. Otherwise that education would not have been possible. I want to make it possible for the next generation of young men and women.” I do not believe donors give money in the expectation that it will be given to people who don’t need it. That’s a very important principle and one of the basic reasons MIT chose to fight this. Second we have believed all along that the Sherman Antitrust Act didn’t apply to us and we were not in violation of the law. News Office: You raise a very important point that people don’t want to give money for students who don’t need it. CMV: That’s a very common thing to hear if you’re a president or fund raiser for a highly competitive institution of higher e
