Students Protest Wellesley AI Event in Boston

Over a dozen Wellesley and MIT students demonstrated outside WBUR CitySpace against a Wellesley-sponsored artificial intelligence event held Thursday.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Students Protest Wellesley AI Event in Boston

Live Poll

Should colleges consult students before hosting AI-focused events?

Students from Wellesley College and MIT protested Thursday morning on Commonwealth Avenue outside WBUR CitySpace during a day-long event titled 'Shaping the Future: Higher Education, AI and the Future of Work.' The protesters objected to the school's handling of the event, which they said was not widely advertised to students.

Why it matters

The protest highlights tension between university administrations and students over how institutions adopt and promote artificial intelligence. Students said they felt blindsided by the event and objected to the school concealing its decision.

Registration figures show more than 200 people signed up for an event held in a venue with a capacity of 100, including 17 students, 40 faculty and more than 100 alumni. The source does not report whether the school plans to address the students' objections.

The players

Wellesley College

Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, which organized the AI event.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, whose students joined the protest and whose president spoke at the event.

Reshma Kewalramani

Reshma Kewalramani is the chief executive of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and was a panelist at the event.

Sally Kornbluth

Sally Kornbluth is the president of MIT and was a panelist at the event.

Paula Johnson

Paula Johnson is the president of Wellesley College who served as a moderator for the event.

The details

Wellesley YDSA chapters collaborated with MIT YDSA to host the protest after discovering both university presidents were involved in the event. Faculty were asked to nominate students particularly interested in AI, and panel discussions featured Vertex CEO Reshma Kewalramani and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, with Wellesley President Paula Johnson moderating.

Sunday: A student newspaper article about the event was published.
Earlier in the week: Wellesley YDSA contacted MIT's YDSA and an administration meeting was held.
Thursday morning: Students protested outside WBUR CitySpace on Commonwealth Avenue.

Campus Activism

The protest reflects organizing by YDSA chapters, which have increasingly contested campus administration decisions on institutional partnerships and programming. Here the dispute centers on how a university presents artificial intelligence initiatives to its own student body.

Students and faculty at participating institutions may face changes in how AI programming is announced and who is invited to take part. The episode shows how institutional decisions about AI can affect which students learn about opportunities in the field.

The takeaway

Universities adopting AI programs may need clearer communication channels with their students before public events are scheduled. Students who want a voice in such decisions can raise concerns through student organizations and administrative meetings.