We wonder why our insitutions are decaying. A case study of sorts is the difference that I've experienced in making a conscious effort to invest in my institution, however small it may be, rather than "doing my own thing".

In college, I lived in a lively dormitory at MIT called Senior Haus. With an overt anti-authoritarianism, it got in a lot of trouble, but it had a lot of fun along the way. Amongst quite a bit of toxicity and turmoil there existed, at least in my time there (2012-2015), a strain of encouraging communalism combined with a healthy dose of debaucherous nerddom.

While I was at Senior Haus, however, I did my own thing. I studied hard, I often kept to myself, and I definitely didn't get involved in any kind of politics if I could help it. It wasn't what I was there for, I thought. I'm here to get good grades, not convince "The Administration" to change its ways. I was a needs-based scholarship kid, I didn't want to push my luck.

After moving the UK, I've been lucky to find an institution that's shown me how important it is to be involved. Yes, it's difficult, yes, it's slow, but it's some of the most meaningful and rewarding work I've done in my life so far.

I overheard a conversation recently at my institute to the tune of "I just do my scienvce, I don't want to get involved in all this political stuff. I'm trying to publish my papers and move on."

I will show my ethics here a bit, but we have to imagine if everyone thought this was. "Oh, I'll probably move from this job in a year so why get involved in any of this office politics stuff."

We have to invest in institutions. Trust me, it's worth it. Even if you do leave that job, the impact you can have for a small amount of your time is immense. My time at MIT was formative for me, but not in the way that you would think. I regret not doing more for my institution, Senior Haus. Did it have serious flaws? Hell yes. Was it worth getting involved? Hell yes.