Dear Media Lab Community,

I write to you heartbroken by the death and destruction with the war underway in Israel and Gaza. I’d like to take this moment to echo the sentiments of Pres. Kornbluth regarding the violence in Israel and Gaza.

Our community is facing challenging times outside our control. At these times especially, we seek to uphold our Shared Values which call for us all to care for our diverse, magical community. I ask you all to be thoughtful, patient, and caring at this tragic time.

Please remember that there are resources available to us all:

• Students may wish to take advantage of Mental Health and Counseling services available to them, while
  
• Faculty and staff may take advantage of Behavioral/Mental Health benefits, including MyLife Services which provides MIT faculty, staff, postdocs–and household members–24/7access to a network of experts who are available to help with life concerns.
  
• Some might find comfort in speaking with a member of MIT's Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life (ORSEL). The office is a resource for students, faculty, and staff, of all faith traditions and belief systems.

I hope we can reveal our best selves and our best community to help one another in this time of need. Please take care of yourselves and others.

With empathy and prayers of peace,
Dava

Dr. Dava Newman
Director, MIT Media Lab
Apollo Professor of Astronautics