MIT celebrates Class of 2020’s virtual commencement
Reif said that an in-person commencement will be held at MIT at “some safe point in the future.” He also said that digital diplomas have been delivered to students who requested them through the Blockcerts Wallet app.
UA Judicial Review Board to finalize bylaws after Spring 2020 election ruling
A complaint filed May 15 on behalf of the UA Council by UA President Danielle Geathers ’22, forwarded to The Tech, prompted the decision. The complaint called JudBoard to cease all activity and finalize its previously incomplete bylaws by May 29.
Two ‘mini’ town halls held with students to discuss fall scenarios
MIT Medical is “bumping up” its staff to be able to conduct contact tracing — which Stuopis called “the most critical public health offering that we have” — by contacting those who have tested positive for the virus, discovering who they may have had contact with, testing those people, and asking those people to self-isolate.
Task Force 2021 charged to brainstorm “better” post-COVID-19 MIT
Reif wrote in the task force opening charge that the task force will draw from “lessons” from the pandemic to help imagine MIT’s future. Some goals that Reif outlined for the Institute were to be safer and more efficient, sustainable, inclusive, equitable, affordable, and financially resilient.
MIT Student/Alumni Externship Program moves to CAPD
Geer wrote that CAPD is currently “exploring” what the application process for students will look like.
Discussions to update EC security continue
EC President Miana Smith ’21 wrote in an email to EC residents that HRS planned to implement security measures including cameras on external doors, an Allied Universal security desk, and guest lists of non-residents who can check into the security desk. According to Smith’s email, HRS had not previously discussed making these changes with EC’s residents or house team.
Cambridge residents required to cover mouth and nose in public places
New guidelines require MIT community members living in on-campus residential buildings to wear face coverings when entering any common area, including lobbies, hallways, elevators, stairwells, dining areas, laundry rooms, garages or parking lots, and walkways.
First case of COVID-19 confirmed in MIT community
MIT Medical is starting a public health investigation, including contacting the student, following up with their social circle “as warranted,” and “exchanging information with public health officials.”
MIT announces online commencement and future in-person celebration
Reif wrote that “in a world so disrupted by Covid-19,” it would not be possible to conduct the Institute’s traditional in-person commencement, hooding, and Tech Reunions this May.
‘The Tech’ writes on
Now more than ever, The Tech’s mission of maintaining an accurate record of MIT events and reporting on important changes has become essential in keeping our community informed and together, even as we spread across the globe.
My strange addiction: sorting emails
Everything changed when, one morning, instead of clicking the red ‘x’ at the corner of my screen to close my email, I right-clicked the email app icon and hit ‘quit.’
Burton Conner discusses transition in community meeting
BC President Sara Aaronson told The Tech that because BC culture is closely tied to its nine floors, “some are worried about losing physical access to people they’ve built strong ties to and are comfortable with” through the renewal.
Working group findings on graduate family support released
The working group’s final report includes findings from the Graduate Enrolled Student Survey showing that the top sources of stress for students with children are related to caring for family, cost of living, and household responsibilities.
Gotta go see ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’
The CG Sonic fits almost seamlessly in his more realistic environment and expresses his feelings of enthusiasm, frustration, and anger through convincing and life-like facial quirks.
Community forum held to discuss College of Computing organizational structure
Huttenlocher expressed an intention to incorporate computing into other majors, so that students “don't even have to be in a blended major with Course 6 to learn the parts of computing [they] want to learn and understand the paths through curriculum at MIT to get [them] there.”
Clothing-optionality moratorium instituted in all residence halls
The review of clothing-optionality in residence halls was prompted by recent incidents in East Campus.
EECS department restructures into three overlapping faculties
The report named the root cause of the problems with the department’s existing structure as “the binary characterization of faculty as either EE or CS.”
Prof. Jeffrey Grossman named new head of Department of Materials Science and Engineering
He aims for a “holistic” view, looking beyond classes and curriculum at “the entire experience when you’re here.”
EAPS community gathers at teach-in to discuss Shell donations to Green Building
Supran cited Shell’s donations to MIT and Chevron’s collaboration with Stanford as “the fossil fuel industry’s invisible colonization of academia.”
MIT Libraries support staff vote to unionize
Sixty members of the support staff voted in favor, while four voted against.
Preliminary unofficial results of Cambridge City Council election released
Incumbents Dennis J. Carlone, Alanna M. Mallon, Marc C. McGovern, E. Denise Simmons, Sumbul Siddiqui, Timothy J. Toomey, Jr., and Quinton Y. Zondervan SM ’95 were re-elected. Patricia M. Nolan and Jivan-Sobrinho-Wheeler were newly elected.
U.S. Department of Transportation holds groundbreaking ceremony for Volpe site
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) held a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 30 to celebrate the start of construction for the new John A. Volpe Transportation Systems Center in Kendall Square. The construction of the new facility is expected to be completed in 2023.
Students required to sign Inventions and Proprietary Information Agreement for UROP
Currently, students participating in UROPs that meet these conditions are required to sign the IPIA, but under the new policy, all students will be required to sign it during the UROP application process.
MIT groups collaborate to create community sustainability garden
UA Sustain, MIT’s Office of Sustainability, and MIT Ground Services collaborated to create The Hive, a sustainability garden located on Saxon Lawn near Walker Memorial. The garden is the product of a 2017 survey conducted by UA Sustain. According to the Office of Sustainability, the survey indicated great student interest in a community garden.
MIT Library workers campaign to unionize
If a majority of library workers vote to unionize, AFSCME would become the workers’ exclusive bargaining agent for pay, hours, and other conditions of employment.
Annual Security and Fire Safety Report released
The MIT Police Department released its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report Oct. 9. The report includes information about the Police Department’s operations, services, and resources, along with statistics regarding criminal and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) offenses, arrests and disciplinary referrals, hate crimes, and fire safety, from 2016 to 2018.
MIT economists win Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Duflo, at 46, is the youngest person and the second woman to have ever won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Green Building to undergo renovations
After the renovations, the Green Building will also house the Environmental Solutions Initiative and the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program.
Student forum about MIT-Epstein relations held with Reif, senior admin present
"I believe that together, we can find a way to transform so much pain for so many people into some enduring good for MIT,” Reif said at the student forum Tuesday.
Anne Hunter retires after 37 years as EECS undergraduate academic administrator
Hunter: I think the greatest challenge has been getting all the work done while counseling all the students who needed me to talk to them and explain things to them. They’re sort of two pulls: talking to students versus getting all the administrative stuff done.
#They Knew protesters rally against MIT’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
After the program of scheduled speakers ended, members of the crowd were also invited to speak in an open mic session, and about thirty minutes later, the protest culminated with a march to Reif’s office, where protesters delivered their signs and continued to voice their dissatisfaction with the Institute’s administration.
Literature minor introduces new film track
At most two of the classes, still with film analysis as the primary focus, can be taken in a section outside of literature. These non-literature classes can comprise, but are not limited to, film-related courses in comparative media studies, anthropology, global studies and language, and women’s and gender studies.
Sixty percent or higher on math diagnostic is required to pass out of 18.01
“We found historically that some students who received a ‘5’ on the Calculus BC exam did not have a strong grip on the fundamentals — especially of pre-calculus material (algebra, logs, trigs, etc.) — to do as well as we would like in MIT subjects,” Barbara Peskin PhD ’90, academic administrator of the mathematics department, wrote in an email to The Tech.
Eric Lander stands by denial of association with Epstein after photos surface
Lander wrote that he “briefly met” Epstein at two events in 2012 and did not meet with him again. Lander also wrote that he and the Broad have neither requested nor received any financial support from Epstein or his foundation.