On October 15, 2018, MIT announced a $350 million gift from Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, to establish the "MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing" as "an interdisciplinary hub for work in computer science, AI, data science, and related fields." The advertised mission of this new college emphasizes the importance of "policy and ethics to better ensure that the groundbreaking technologies of the future are responsibly implemented in support of the greater good."

On October 2, 2018, journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi was tortured, killed, and dismembered by a 15-member team flown in from Saudi Arabia. This team had close ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Prince bin Salman has carefully crafted an image as a reformer and innovator, including MIT hosting him on campus in March 2018 in addition to the university's other substantial financial ties to the Saudi government. In reality, Prince bin Salman's record includes a sadistic military campaign in Yemen characterized by pre-meditated airstrikes on hospitals, schools, and mosques; blockading international humanitarian relief; and detaining journalists and activists at home.

Prince bin Salman and Stephen Schwarzman also have a significant financial relationship. In March 2017, Schwarzman's Blackstone Group received a commitment of $20 billion from bin Salman's Public Investment Fund to build infrastructure in the United States. This investment comes after "more than a year meeting with senior Saudi officials courting the commitment" and Schwarzman's public reassurances emphasizing the Saudi government "is moving aggressively to diversify its economy and implement important reforms.” Financiers like Schwarzman (already the most well-compensated private equity manager in the country, earning $786.5 million in 2017 alone) stand to reap billions of dollars in fees every year from managing these Saudi investments.

Although Schwarzman has attempted to distance himself from this controversy by dropping out of a major Saudi investment conference, his Blackstone Group remains committed to managing its Saudi assets. These bin Salman-linked investments will generate substantial fees for Blackstone and some portion of Schwarzman's compensation from these Saudi investments will be gifted to MIT. Given MIT's incredible legacy in computing and the exciting opportunities to create a new College of Computing whose mission emphases ethics and social responsibility, it is grotesque to affix bin Salman's or Schwarzman's name to any part of this initiative. Therefore, we ask that MIT remove Schwarzman's name from the new College of Computing, return his gift, and commit to raising the funds for the new College of Computing without relying on billionaire bagmen to petty tyrants.