The turning point of my college career
The News Department made me more connected to my community
Levy Le–The Tech
When I reflect on my time at The Tech, I divide my time into two stages: before and after I joined the News Department.
My introduction to News was very late, as I didn’t write my first article in the section until the summer after junior year. Up until then, I mainly wrote personal essays for my column in Campus Life; when I joined The Tech in my freshman fall, I was not interested in writing news articles. I enjoyed reading these pieces, but I considered news writing to be dry and uncreative. On the other hand, I saw personal essays as an opportunity for me to be reflective and expressive.
As I wrote more articles for my column, I gradually rose through the ranks in The Tech, from staff writer in freshman year to V143 Campus Life Editor in sophomore year to V144 Executive Editor in junior year. Although I became involved in other departments such as Arts and Copy in my junior year, I still remained in my comfort zone. It wasn’t until I joined News that I underwent a seismic shift in my career at The Tech.
My interest in the News Department comes from wanting to learn more about issues that not only affected MIT, but also the greater Cambridge/Boston community and higher education in the U.S. 2024 was a critical year in MIT’s history that was defined by pro-Palestinian protests and the student encampment; I couldn’t let these events simply pass by. I had to do something and report on them.
As a result, I decided to join the News Department for the first time. My first assignments were about the impact of post-affirmative action rulings on MIT, from the decline in Interphase enrollment to changes to Sin LíMITe. My first drafts of those articles were so poorly written that the then-Publisher rewrote most of them. The frustrations I had with my writing made me question whether I could ever become an actual news writer. Yet at the same time, I didn’t want to give up. There were problems I wanted to investigate further, even though that meant having difficult conversations, something that I wasn’t used to doing.
In my senior fall, I decided to devote more time to news. As I took on more assignments, I became more comfortable engaging in dialogue across differences. Reporting on challenging topics such as the Israel-Gaza War allowed me to have meaningful conversations with various members of the MIT community, from the rabbi of Hillel to pro-Palestinian student activists. By doing so, I not only learned about different perspectives, but also became a better listener. Instead of entering a conversation with preconceived assumptions, I entered with an open and curious mind.
When elections for The Tech came around in December, I ultimately decided to run for News Editor. Although I enjoyed writing these articles, I admittedly had some hesitations about the role because of its demanding responsibilities and large time commitment. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage the department alone. Fortunately, I quickly grew to love this position and got to work with Sabine Chu ’26, the best Associate News Editor I could ever ask for.
My time as V145 News Editor was very stressful, but also incredibly enriching. My passion for news writing grew significantly during this time, as I started viewing News as another form of storytelling, albeit much more formal and objective. I quickly realized how much room there was for experimentation and exploration in News. Contrary to my early assumptions about news writing, News wasn’t just merely summarizing press releases, administrative letters, or annual reports. As News Editor, I had the opportunity to report on countless topics through various angles — the sky was the limit.
If I had a burning question about a certain topic, I would enter internet rabbit holes, scrolling through pages and documents until I found interesting information. I also did this for data, analyzing existing data to create figures that told a story. As someone who likes to be at the scene of action, I reported on a diverse range of events, from keynote speeches at MIT to protests in Boston. Besides event coverage, I enjoyed interviewing people, from everyday folk to senior-level administrators. For me, News was a vibrant and dynamic environment where things kept moving and changing.
Overall, writing for News has significantly transformed how I view MIT. It made me see MIT as a large, complex system with many hubs and spokes, and I was a tiny part of it; what I knew was just the tip of the iceberg. There was so much institutional history and knowledge I needed to learn more about, which includes MIT’s more complicated side.
Although I already understood the importance of The Tech for campus coverage and accountability, being News Editor reinforced this idea even more. We reported on the Institute through a more critical lens, bringing light to certain issues that the MIT News Office certainly would not have mentioned, such as the Epstein files and the installation of security cameras. As a result, our articles helped inform the community about the issues affecting MIT and foster community-wide discourse about these problems.
On a greater scale, being News Editor has made me more connected to the greater Cambridge/Boston community. Reporting on city news forced me to leave the MIT bubble and grapple with societal and political issues affecting people’s everyday lives, such as ICE deportations and science funding cuts. For me, ignorance and indifference were not options: if there was one thing that 2025 taught me, it was the importance of being informed about current events.
Being News Editor had its challenges, but I look back on my time in The Tech with great fondness. The weekly deadlines and late nights were hard, but what kept me going was how meaningful and fulfilling the work was. Journalism made me be part of something bigger than myself: through writing, I was doing something for the community, from raising awareness about issues to documenting important milestones. Writing for The Tech was one of the most impactful and memorable things I did during my time at MIT; I hope that you also consider becoming part of the organization’s rich and storied history.