I expect they will have more to say tomorrow, but Ahmed's sister asked me to share this photo. A NASA shirt! pic.twitter.com/nR4gt992gB

— Anil Dash (@anildash) September 16, 2015

More follow ups – Ahmed, hang in there – this too shall pass 🙂 Here’s some selected feedback for our Ladyada’s engineering, from about 13 years ago —

Ms. Fried —

Not having any input from you about the incident on Dec. 5th, in spite of repeated efforts to meet with you, I have to make a decision in this matter based solely on the Campus Police report.

Your “art project,” a black metal box with wires protruding from it, was discovered by the Campus Police attached to a girder in East Garage in the early morning hours of December 5, 2002. A note attached to it described as a Course 6 EE art project, a questionable claim as art is not usually associated with electrical engineering. The Campus Police tried to contact you at the email address on the note but, receiving no answer, removed it from public view, to prevent panic by anyone who might have thought it was a bomb.

It appears that you either disregarded the likelihood that someone might be frightened thinking it was a bomb or you intended to cause that reaction. That is not acceptable behavior at MIT. It is fortunate that the Campus Police discovered and removed it before that could happen, but that good fortune does not exonerate you.

Accordingly, I am issuing this written warning to you. You have a disciplinary record as a result of this incident for one semester. If you have no further incidents between now and next June, then your record will be expunged.

I am willing to reconsider this decision if you come and talk to me.

Carol Orme-Johnson
Assistant Dean for Student Conflict Resolution & Discipline
Director of [email protected]
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
E32-133
617-258-8423

Makers out there, post up your stories, the more we share and educate, the better. We are in contact with Anil Dash who is in contact with the family, after the dust settles and things cool off we’ll work to get Ahmed some electronics to continue inventing with.