Except he wasn't a member of the MIT community. He was a Fellow at Harvard University Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, but not a student or faculty member at MIT.
I find this to be particularly interesting. While I agree, yes, these kids need some form of computers, from what it sounds like, you're choosing to use Mac Mini's. These are pretty high-cost computers, with much cheaper alternatives. Why not use a cheaper alternative?