Lupe Fiasco will headline this year’s SpringFest concert
This year’s SpringFest headliner will be hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco, accompanied by opener Bad Rabbits, a Boston-based funk rock and R&B band.
Bexley Hall closed due to structural issues
At a meeting on May 7, 2013, residents of the former undergraduate dormitory Bexley Hall learned that the final weeks of the spring semester would be their last in the dorm, which was planned to remain closed for up to three years in order to resolve structural issues. On Apr. 29, the administration received the engineering report that recommended the building’s closure. Residents of the building were instructed to move out by June 8.
Kendall design team assembled
MIT’s East Campus Steering Committee has selected the next group in charge of advancing the development of the Kendall Square area. The group will collaborate on a study of the property, which will develop into a long-term strategy for development for the area, and in particular the balancing of meeting commercial, residential, and academic needs, according to the MIT News Office.
Bexley Hall closing due to structural problems
Bexley Hall, home to 116 undergraduates, will be closed for renovations for up to three years beginning this summer, Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo announced at a meeting with residents on Tuesday.
Thousands attend Sean Collier memorial service
On Wednesday, MIT cancelled classes for the fourth time this academic year. This time, however, it was not for a natural disaster or terror threat, but for a memorial — a celebration of the life of Officer Sean A. Collier.
New officers to rebrand GSC
MIT’s graduate students will see new representation this coming year in the Graduate Student Council’s (GSC) officers-elect, who will take office in May: President Caleb Waugh, Vice President Alex Guo, Treasurer Parth Trivedi, and Secretary Chris Smith.
CoD releases stats for 2011-12 annual report
At the faculty meeting on February 20, the MIT Committee on Discipline (CoD) gave its annual report for 2011-2012, presented by former chair Prof. Robert P. Redwine.
Sophomore impersonating Reif in email says classes are cancelled due to Swartz-related threats
A fake email that appeared to be sent by President L. Rafael Reif addressing all of MIT was sent to all MIT dorms at 1 a.m. this morning, announcing that all classes would be cancelled for Wednesday, March 20, due to “threatening requests” regarding the Swartz case. The email followed a letter from Reif yesterday morning to the MIT community laying out the Institute’s plans for releasing evidence from the Swartz case.
Searching for a successor to DUE Hastings
The search for the new Dean for Undergraduate Education, the successor to Dean Daniel E. Hastings ’78, is “well under way,” according to search committee chair Graham C. Walker.
A revised policy on alcohol
MIT has recently changed its “Good Samaritan Policy.” Meant to protect those who call for help for a victim in an alcohol-related emergency, the policy is designed so that the “good samaritan” will not get in trouble for calling an ambulance for someone. The old policy, largely unchanged since it was written in the mid-2000s, was several pages long, and also included minimum outcomes (e.g. a follow-up from housemaster, or review by the Committee on Discipline) for individuals transported to a hospital many times or living groups responsible for the intoxication. Last spring, Don Camelio, director of Community Development and Substance Abuse, and Judith M. Robinson, associate dean for Student Outreach and Support, conducted focus groups about the old policy, and then created the Alcohol Policy Working Group to further review it. They decided to modify the policy “to remove some of the perceived barriers to seeking help”, according to the CDSA website. Camelio described the old policy as “not user friendly.”
Brass Rat unveiled: 2015 Ring Premiere
It was a chilly 37-degrees as the Class of 2015 began to amass along the perimeter of Kresge on Friday. They came in droves — fraternities, sororities, halls, clubs — all individual groups, and yet on this night united for one reason: the premiere of the Class of 2015 Brass Rat.
Finding perspective in MIT’s culture of stress
The Tech sat down with Alan Siegel, chief of MIT Mental Health Service, to talk about the stress on students and the “culture of suffering” that Siegel suggested exists among students at MIT.
Three months of Hubway bike sharing: how’s it going?
Yesterday was Hubway’s three-month anniversary of being on MIT’s campus since the two stations in front of Building W11 and the Stata Center opened.
Sloan grad student found dead
Heng “Nikita” Guo, an MBA student in MIT’s Sloan School, passed away last Friday in her apartment in Cambridge. Her death has been ruled a suicide by the Medical Examiner’s office. She was 28.
Fresco’s closes after 21 years of service to community
Fresco’s Cafe and Grille, a restaurant on the northwest corner of Vassar and Mass. Ave., will be closing after 21 years of operation.
The first 71 days of office
President L. Rafael Reif, MIT’s 17th, has begun his “freshman year” at MIT, as he told the Class of 2016 during its Convocation. He is now entering his third month in office since assuming the role on July 2. The Tech interviewed Reif about his first summer on the job and his plans for the future.
Three fraternities join rush
Fraternity rush was busier than ever this year, with three additional fraternities joining the recruitment craze — Phi Beta Epsilon (PBE), which was on rush suspension for two years; Alpha Sigma Phi (Alpha Sig), whose founding fathers are expanding their group; and Beta Theta Pi (Beta), which is recruiting a group of founding fathers to start anew.
Major players in online education market
With most new markets comes competition, as is the case with online education. Today, there are four major platforms that produce content specifically for online instruction: Coursera, Udacity, and edX, which provide university-level content, and Khan Academy, which largely targets K-12 education. While they all offer content designed specifically for web-based instruction, they differ slightly in missions, delivery, and focus.
Three floors of Baker vandalized
Baker residents were rudely awakened by fire alarms twice on Saturday morning, once at 2 a.m. and again at 4 a.m. On the second instance, someone also “maliciously” discharged a fire extinguisher on the first, second, and third floors before disposing of it in a third-floor trash can. Baker was evacuated for several hours as a result, according to Baker President Michael E. Plasmeier ’13 and information from Baker House minutes. The fire alarms were pulled in the west wing of the first floor, from where the fire extinguisher was also taken.
RecycleMania starts
The UA wants all students to become RecycleManiacs! For the next two weeks, the UA Committee on Sustainability will be promoting a competition between dorms to see which can recycle the most. The competition will run March 12–23, and progress will be measured from information provided by Facilities on how material is recycled in the dorms.
New fraternity establishes MIT interest group
A new fraternity may be coming to MIT. Alpha Sigma Phi, or “Alpha Sig,” the nation’s 10th oldest fraternity, has been trying to stake its claim as a colony among MIT’s current 24 existing chapters. Currently, it is attempting to recruit “founding fathers.”
DiCarlo to head BCS
This past month, Associate Professor of Neuroscience James DiCarlo was announced as the new head of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS). The BCS department is the home of the Course 9 major, and it is the academic home of most of the faculty members in the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and the new Simons Center for the Social Brain, headed by outgoing BCS head Mriganka Sur.
Chipotle is coming to Kendall Square
Kendall Square is heating up in the coming months with the addition of a new Chipotle restaurant. The Mexican fast-food chain, set to open in the spring of 2012 at 3 Cambridge Center, will be one of over a dozen new restaurants that have opened in the Kendall Square area in the past two years.
2011’s new Institute leaders
The past year saw change and advancement for many holding leadership positions at MIT. A series of promotions, appointments, and step-downs shuffled faculty and staff, resulting in a new chancellor, dean of engineering, director of the Media Lab, and several academic department heads.
Cost of housing is rising steadily
How expensive is it to live on campus? For the past few years, the cost of housing at MIT has been steadily rising. In the 2007-2008 school year, the average costs for living in a single or double room in a dormitory was $2,921, which rose in the following years by eight, seven, four, and five percent, respectively. The average cost today is $3,652. Senior Associate Dean for Residential Life and Dining Henry J. Humphreys said that the main factors affecting rate hikes are the cost of operations, debt service of the buildings, and costs associated with upkeep, repairs, and renovations.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK Occupy protesters make last stand Thursday
Over 1,000 Occupy protesters gathered for one last stand at Dewey Square on Thursday — making it clear that they would not be deterred Mayor Menino’s notice that after midnight, protesters in the area would be subject to “arrest and criminal prosecution,” according to the Boston Herald.
Block meal plan for IAP
This Independent Activities Period (IAP), MIT will be offering an optional “block meal plan” to students to fill the gap in service between the regular meal plan offered each semester.
Classes overflowing!
People say that attending MIT is like drinking from a fire hose. In many classes this fall, however, the only overflow was in the classrooms.
Fifth week flags issued to frosh
Fifth week flags, the annual warnings from instructors that a student is failing or in danger of failing a class, were sent out over a 10-day period beginning Oct. 12. 249 flags were given this year to 215 students, roughly 19 percent of the freshman class — about the average proportion of students flagged every year. Thirty-one students were given two flags, and two students were given three flags.
MIT has a new EVPT
Israel Ruiz SM ’01 was appointed as executive vice president and treasurer (EVPT) by the MIT Corporation on Oct. 14, a position held for five years by Theresa M. Stone SM ’76. In that position, Ruiz will be among MIT’s senior leadership, working with President Susan J. Hockfield alongside the provost and chancellor. Most members of the MIT community are familiar with the latter three positions — all of whom have direct involvement in academics or student life — but many may wonder, “What exactly does the EVPT do?”