Project Endurance

Collecting letters from MIT in the age of COVID-19

We are asking the classes of 2020 and 1970 and beyond to submit handwritten or typed letters, photos, and/or anything else about their experiences!

  • History of MIT (STS.050) as a class is trying to document what MIT looks like in this current time of crisis. Early eviction of students from campus is unprecedented, as is a completely cancelled commencement. Itā€™s the sort of event written about in newspapers today, and history books in the future. We hope to record the kinds of things that might not get recorded in those types of documentation.
  • We're looking for anything and everything, from letters to photographs, as we support many different forms of submission

Letters to our contributors

Photo of student holding Purrel stand during party
To the Class of 2020

For those members of the Class of 2020, deprived of their Senior Spring and their Commencement, here is a letter for you to help guide your thoughts as you think about what to submit to us.

Photo of students prottesting MIRV
To the Class of 1970

To the Class of 1970, affected by the fate of time for their own Commencement and their 50th Reunion, Karen Arenson and Steve Carhart have written a letter to you.

...
To Everyone Else

And to everyone else, underclassmen, alumni, faculty, staff, the broader MIT community, family of MIT members, we reach out to you as well to hear your stories of endurance.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We chose the title "Endurance" as a way to represent what people are doing today in the face of COVID-19, they are enduring. However, this is not, has not, and will not be the only time we have to endure through challenges. We decided on Endurance as a show of solidarity with everyone before us who has met a great challengeā€”war, famine, drought, and diseaseā€”and survived.

    ā€œCome what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.ā€ Virgil

  • Click the button below to sign-up as a contributor! This will take you to a form that will add you to our system as a contributor. Once you sign up, you will be able to go to your profile page and view your options for submitting content to us.

  • Please email us at endurance-help@mit.edu and we'll be ready to answer your question!