REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Pitch Contest finale
In true MIT style, this year’s Elevator Pitch Contest — part of the $100K Entrepreneurship Competition — was full of cosplay and nerdy puns, reminding us that entrepreneurship is fun! The audience was given red balloon-drumsticks, emblazoned with “100K,” with which to make as much noise as possible. The theme of the night was “superheroes.” Hosts were dressed as Avengers superheroes, who represented each of the five competition tracks — Emerging Markets, Energy, Life Sciences, Mobile, Products & Services, and Web/IT.
Five dorms to have RLADs in coming fall
Last Monday, July 2, new details regarding the Residential Life Area Director positions were released. On-campus interviews will begin next Monday, July 15. The selected RLADs would step into their roles no later than Aug. 3.
RLAD proposal stirs policy debate
This fall, many dorms will see new faces in their house teams in the form of Residential Life Area Directors (RLAD). RLADs will live in the dorm and assist housemasters and Graduate Resident Tutors (GRT) with administrative and operational tasks. These changes were revealed last week, when an anonymous source leaked a letter, written by Chancellor W. Eric L. Grimson PhD ’80 to MIT housemasters, that spoke of imminent changes in residential life. The information caught many students and GRTs off-guard, sparking campus-wide controversy and debate.
Special podcast; Reif elected president
L. Rafael Reif has been named the 17th President of MIT. Reif has spent the past several months heading the MITx and EdX initiatives, stressing MIT’s commitment to improving residential education using online technologies. He was born in Venezuela, received a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford, and spent many years in the MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. Listen to our podcast for more on Reif.
The Tech has an audio news digest!
In the time that it takes to walk down the Infinite, you can now catch up on campus news! Just listen to The Tech’s new biweekly news digest. It will cost you 10 minutes each week — or less than 0.1% of your time. You can subscribe to the podcast at http://tech.mit.edu/rss/newsdigest.xml.
The Tech’s news digest for May 15
The Tech’s new biweekly digest is the best way to hear news from around campus fast! Take five minutes to listen to the latest happenings at MIT and in the community.
The Tech’s news digest for May 11
The Tech’s new biweekly digest is the best way to hear news from around campus fast! Take five minutes to listen to the latest happenings at MIT and in the community.
The Tech’s news digest for May 8
The Tech’s new biweekly digest is the best way to hear news from around campus fast! Take five minutes to listen to the latest happenings at MIT and in the community.
The Tech’s news digest for May 4
The Tech’s new biweekly digest is the best way to hear news from around campus fast! Take five minutes to listen to the latest happenings at MIT and in the community.
Phyo Kyaw ’10
Phyo N. Kyaw ’10, 23, died on Dec. 27 in a traffic accident while riding his bicycle at the intersection of Vassar Street and Massachusetts Avenue. At the time of his death, he was working as a research scientist at Cambridge-based Soane Labs. Kyaw received an SB in chemical-biological engineering, Course 10B, in 2010.
Jeremy C. Stein nominated to Fed. Reserve Board
President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Jeremy C. Stein PhD ’86 and Jerome H. “Jay” Powell to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors last December.
OBITUARY Nicolás E. Del Castillo ’14
Nicolás E. Del Castillo ’14 was found dead in his East Campus dorm room on Sept. 4. He was 18. His death was the result of an apparent suicide by asphyxiation. A memorial mass was held for him at the MIT Chapel the following Sunday.
A PEEK OFF-CAMPUS Tropical diseases infect powerless
Every year, 13 diseases that affect a fifth of the world’s population are responsible for the loss of 56.6 million disability-adjusted life years and 534,000 deaths. But because these diseases only afflict the world’s most impoverished and powerless people, the international community has forgotten about them.
Should MIT go vegan?
Bruce Friedrich, the vice-president of policy and government affairs for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), debated the ethics of eating meat with the MIT Debate Team on Monday night in 10-250. Shireen S. Rudina ’13, the debate team’s vice president of tournaments, argued against Friedrich’s proposal that eating meat is unethical under all circumstances.
Taking a new legal direction: Genes are not patentable
The legality of patents on genes is in jeopardy after a judge ruled that genes were ineligible for patents because they involved “laws of nature.” Twenty percent of the human genome is currently patented.
Nightline hiatus to last at least a year
Nightline, MIT’s student-run hotline for counseling, information, and support, is ceasing operations for at least two semesters while it decides on several major structural changes. Its coordinators hope that Nightline will be able to return in the fall of 2011 at least in some reduced capacity.
More bids offered
Both fraternities and sororities saw more interest in Greek life this year and gave out slightly more bids.
Most libraries cut back on operating hours this year
MIT Libraries drastically cut hours for the new 2010-2011 academic year. The libraries Hayden, Barker, Dewey, Lewis, and Rotch lost a combined 27.5 hours of service per week. Most libraries will open half-an-hour later and some, including Hayden, will close an hour earlier.
Final report is released for Fall 2011 dining plan
A final report on the 2010 House Dining Review was released on Tuesday, which summarizes the House Dining Advisory Group’s recommendation for the new dining plan that will be implemented in the four dorms with dining halls starting in Fall 2011.
MOVIE REVIEW Inception: Caught between dreams and reality
“Dreams feel real while we are in them, it is only after we wake up that we realize that something was actually strange” says Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio).
MOVIE REVIEW The awkwardness of reality
<i>Please Give</i> is a quirky movie that tickles your funny bone but thoroughly irritates everywhere else.
Pops, Keith take the stage
Over 800,000 people gathered on the Esplanade on July 4th this year to watch the annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. The show featured musical performances at the Hatch Shell by country singer and superstar Toby Keith, the Boston Pops Orchestra with conductor Keith Lockhart, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums. This is a “show that will surely dazzle the senses!” promised the announcer as the show went live on national television.
Accepting the ‘Challenge’
“Come celebrate AMERICA’S BIRTHDAY with class!” Patrick C. McDaniel ’13 wrote to summer residents of East Campus on July 3. “Join us tomorrow for the GALLON CHALLENGE!”
Berenson paroled in Peru
Lori Helene Berenson, a former MIT student and political activist imprisoned in Peru, was granted parole on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. Berenson, who withdrew from MIT as a sophomore in 1988, has served 15 years out of a 20-year prison sentence for aiding the leftist guerilla group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA (Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru). She is now 40 years old.
Nick Sisler: ‘big brother’
Many MIT students are searching for a way to help others. Nick Sisler ’11, Course II, has discovered how to make a difference in the life of an 11-year old boy. Nick has been a “big brother” to Evan Wilcox for three years, and was recently selected as a finalist for the Massachusetts Bay Big Brother Big Sister of the Year award. The Big Brother Big Sister program pairs children aged 6 through 18 with older mentors to develop “positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people,” according to their website.
Class of 2010 graduates today
MIT’s 143rd graduating class will receive their degrees on Killian Court today. At the commencement ceremony, 912 undergraduate students and 1443 graduate students will graduate.
Lori Berenson paroled from Peruvian prison after 15 years
Lori Helene Berenson, a former MIT student and political activist imprisoned in Peru, was granted parole yesterday. Berenson, who withdrew from MIT as a sophomore in 1988, has served 15 years out of a 20-year prison sentence for aiding the leftist guerilla group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA (Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru). She is now 40 years old.
Freshmen set to crowd MacGregor
CORRECTION APPENDED The incoming freshman class is so large that eight lounges in the MacGregor high rise will be converted into doubles starting fall of 2010.
After 25 years, Nilsson will retire from MIT
Karen Nilsson, the senior associate dean for Residential Life, will retire early and leave her position on June 30.
Confronting the ‘elephant in the room’
Sexual Assault Awareness Week started yesterday in Stata, when around two dozen students gathered to share private stories about sexual violence. The event, called Take Back the Night, began a week of activities intended to bring talk of sexual assault into the open, as the first step toward ending it.
CPW protest targets dining
Last Friday, in the middle of Campus Preview Weekend, students from the Campaign for Students (CFS) gathered in Lobby 7 to protest the Division of Student Life’s handling of dining reform. Students joined and left the protest intermittently, but the number of attendees at any point in time was around two dozen.
After health bill, a push to curb costs
Though the effects of the health reform bill have yet to be felt, the passage of the bill shined a hard light on health care inequities and runaway medical costs. Professors, and staff at MIT Medical are already preparing for the bill’s consequences by conducting new research and looking for new ways to fix health care inefficiencies.
Miliband’s Afghanistan plan
A line of motorcycles, black SUVs, and police cars arrived at Kresge Auditorium on Wednesday to escort British foreign secretary David W. Miliband SM ’90, who became the youngest speaker to ever deliver the Compton lecture at MIT. In his lecture, “The War in Afghanistan: How to End it,” Miliband stressed that military operations were not enough to end the war; the Afghans must build their own political system.
D-Lab goes to Ecuador
In orientation for my trip to Ecuador for D-Lab, an introductory international development class, we were told to pack mirrors — so that we could make candlelight brighter. Wait, I thought. There wouldn’t be electricity?
MIT Students Clone Popular Websites: Students Connect on ‘isawyou.mit.edu’
MIT students have become addicted to two new popular websites, MIT FML (http://mitfml.com/) and I Saw You MIT (http://isawyou.mit.edu/), created this past semester. Filled with anonymous, quirky, Twitter-like posts the two sites were designed to entertain, bond, and poke fun at the MIT community.
Two Years Later, Former Head of Admissions Is a Freelance College Advisor
Marilee Jones, who resigned as dean of admissions in April 2007 after admitting she had lied about her academic credentials on her resume, has forged a new life for herself after MIT.
Proposed Minor Asks: How Does Technology Alter the Environment?
Eighty-nine faculty members from a variety of departments have banded together to propose a new sustainability minor, an “extension” of the energy minor introduced last year. The members make up FENS, the MIT Faculty Environmental Network for Sustainability, and their proposal would create an undergraduate minor and a graduate certificate program in environment and sustainability.
MIT Washington Office Stresses Importance of Science/Tech in Election
MIT is a multitasker. In addition to being an institute of higher education, MIT is a political force with its own office in Washington.
At NW35, Fall Community Picnic Toasts New Dorm, Dean Colombo
Despite the long trek from main campus to NW35, turnout for last Monday’s fall Community Picnic was far greater than organizers had anticipated, said Gayle M. Gallagher, senior director of Institute events.