A paradoxical graduation
Life can change in an instant — the instant you get that acceptance letter, the instant you walk across that stage, the instant someone dear to you dies. I never imagined that my life would change so drastically before graduation — that I would be graduating without my partner, the guy who loved and supported me for the bulk of my MIT undergraduate career.
The art of advocacy at MIT
On May 1, MIT Corporation Member Barun Singh ENG ’06 called for MIT students to advocate for themselves. This is difficult with MIT’s current structure of advocacy, which lacks proper forums to share problems and ideas. Students advocate through the student groups they are a part of, and student groups are forced to make advocacy entertainment. Events such as Alpha Chi Omega’s Lipsync for raising domestic violence awareness and the Chorallaries’ Bad Taste, which makes fun of scandalous occurrences on campus, are fun but students do not leave the show with a heightened sense of awareness — they are often focused on the event itself, and not the issue at hand. I would like to explain why advocacy currently happens as it does and make suggestions for how to get students more involved in politics.
Heavenly voices
Gospel Choir is one of MIT’s Christianity-based music singing groups. Founded over 35 years ago, their 30-some members come from a a variety of Christian backgrounds. The group provides an opportunity to practice while they preach, with prayer and scripture readings during rehearsals.
I can has Internet?
Last weekend, the biggest names in Internet fame, academia, and entrepreneurship descended upon MIT for the third installment of ROFLCon, a biennial celebration of web culture. From accidental celebrities such as Scumbag Steve and Chuck Testa to researchers like hacker anthropologist Biella Coleman and MIT’s own Ethan Zuckerman, a diverse cast of guests came together to unite under the common banner of “the Internets.” Prior to the keynote speech, event co-founder Christina Xu put it succinctly: “One out of eight people in this room has done something crazy on the Internet.”
A friend in need
Over the past month, I’ve written about mental health issues from the perspective of the afflicted. But for every individual who struggles with these issues, there are many more who are affected by association. Friends, partners, and family members end up shouldering some of the burden.
Events May 8-May 14
Events May 8 – May 14 Tuesday (6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) After the Factory screening and director Q&A — 7-431 Wednesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Artists Beyond the Desk presents Angela Ambroz and Jessica Barber book reading — 14W-111, Killian Hall (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Emerson Scholar student violin recital by Latifah Hamzah — 14W-111, Killian Hall Thursday (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) D-Lab International Craft Fair — Lobby 10 (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) China Forum: International Artist Cai Guo-Qiang Keynote and Sculpture Dedication Friday (12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Launching SpaceX: How to Build a Rocket Company — 3-270 (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows The Adventures of Tintin — 26-100 Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Westgate Spring 2012 Yard Sale — W85 lawn Sunday (8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Techiya Spring 2012 Concert: The Search for the Quest — 6-120 Monday (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) 7 Laws of Magical Thinking book reading by Matthew Hutson — 32-141 Send your campus events toevents@tech.mit.edu.
The nuts and bolts of getting help
It seems that at MIT, toughness is valued above almost all else. We take pride in stretching ourselves thin, whether taking an absurd number of classes, pulling multiple all-nighters, or doing well in a class we never actually attend. With our workloads, time is precious. When we’re tired, sick, or in a bad mood — we learn to cope.
Events May 1 - May 7
Events May 1 – May 7 Tuesday (4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) How Can We Feed a Growing World and Sustain the Planet? Talk by Professor Jonathan Foley — E51-115 (6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Digital Media SIG Event: In-Store Shopping Goes Mobile, panel on mobile phones in retail stores— E51-149 Wednesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) MISTI Foreign film night: Pan’s Labyrinth — 4-237 (9:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) Egyptian Cultural Night — NW86 Thursday (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Renee Green: Endless Dreams and Time-Based Streams, book signing and film screening Friday (12:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.) UNBOUND: Speculations on the Future of the Book — E15-070 (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) 10th annual Prokopoff violin music concert — 14E-109 Saturday (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) American Teacher screening and discussion — NW86-161 Sunday (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Eastgate Garden Party — E55 (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) MITHAS Spring Series presents Kumaresh & Jayanthi, Carnatic violin and veena — E51 Wong Auditorium Monday (4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Starr Forum: Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis — E62-262 (4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) International Development Career Fair — 10-105 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Comic fans, unite!
A far cry from the choked hallways and extravagant TV and movie premieres of the San Diego Comic-Con, Boston Comic Con is a true convention for comic books, their creators, and their fans. It’s somewhere where fans can have great interactions with their favorite artists as well as meet new ones, and take part in events that were truly about the joy of comic books.
Sweat, tears, and miles
Ever since I ran New York City’s Marathon in November 2006, nostalgia has made me a race-watching enthusiast. Last Monday, on Patriots’ Day, I was very excited about going to see the 116th Boston Marathon. I found a free spot on the fence on Commonwealth Avenue just a couple of miles before the finish line. We were standing next to hundreds of people, watching and trying to cheer the marathon runners — I say trying because at that point the only cheerful thought in a runner’s mind is knowing the proximity to the end.
Events Apr. 24- Apr. 30
Events Apr. 24 – Apr. 30 Tuesday (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) Shake the World: Too Good to Fail, Legatum Lecture presented by James Marshall reilly — E62-276 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) The Solitude of Prime Numbers film screening — 32-155 Wednesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Culinary Chemistry: Pop and Fizz at the MIT Museum — N51 (5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) 6th Annual Science Trivia Challenge — Broad Institute Thursday (12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) Energy 101: Nuclear Fusion — 4-159 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Fierce Forever 9 — W20, La Sala Friday (6:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows In the Family — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) That Time is Now, jazz songs presented by MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble — W-16 Saturday (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) 2012 Undergraduate Research Symposium in Chemistry — 56-114 (9:00 p.m.) Spring Fever: MIT/Harvard Mixer Party — NW86 Sunday (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Interactive Ideas Fair at the MIT Museum — N51 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) The Armenian Genocide showing — 34-101 Monday (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) City Design and Development forum: Shrinking Cities — 7-431 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Play Reading: Berthold Brecht — 14W-111 Send your campus events toevents@tech.mit.edu.
Games and panels at PAX East
Do video games get reviews, or criticisms? What’s the difference? This panel, hosted by a number of editors from The Escapist, Ars Technica, and the Boston Phoenix, among others, focused on the distinction between the two types of writing. A review, it seems, is focused on a product and potentially convincing a reader to buy something or not. A criticism, the panelists argued, is a piece written with a much deeper intent — to truly understand the game and communicate a particular experience to the reader. A review might be something you read before playing a game, and a criticism something afterwards. Reviews give you a comprehensive view, while a criticism is more on an in depth snapshot. Which is more effective and useful for the reader? That’s for you to decide.
PAX East 2012
PAX East, a three-day-long festival of everything game related, returned to Boston for the third time, this year at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC). PAX is a gaming convention started by webcomic Penny Arcade (PA) founders Mike Krahulik (known as “Gabe” in his comic alter-ego) and Jerry Holkins (“Tycho”) in 2004. The show is meant to cater to gamers of all types — handheld, console, PC, and table top. Originally held in Seattle, PAX has also come to Boston for the past three years in the form of “PAX East”, and recently booked the annual event at BCEC until 2023.
Ten years of Anime Boston!
Students and passersby taking the T this past weekend were likely baffled by the high number of folks in strange costumes; they were here due to the arrival of two conventions in town. Cosplayers flocked to Boylston for Anime Boston, and to south Boston for the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). I split my time between the two cons, though I spent considerably less time at Anime Boston than PAX — I was there only for Saturday morning. This is Anime Boston’s 10th year since its inception in 2003, when it was created by the New England Anime Society Inc.
It’s not you, it’s a disease
We MIT kids are a messed up bunch. Alright, fine, I haven’t been immersed in enough collegiate environments to say that we are more or less messed up than anyone else our age, but still — we have problems. Over the last three and a half years, I’ve met a lot of people who are having a really crappy time and think there’s no feasible way to improve their lives. I’m not talking about your run-of-the-mill, overworked MIT students, I’m talking about people whose relationship with life is tenuous at best. People who are suffering because of their anxiety, lack of motivation, sadness, or whatever else. I’m extrapolating from what I’ve seen first-hand, but it’s a safe bet that there’s a silent fraction of MIT students who are experiencing some kind of depression but not addressing it.
Carrots, characters, and cheeses, oh my! Haymarket provides a variety of foods for a student’s budget
An Italian friend who has lived in Boston for five years, and is a cooker and a baker from the bottom of her heart, was the one to introduce me to Haymarket. She told me stories about the variety of produce, and above all, how cheap it can be, though the value depends on some variables, e.g., the fruit is not the freshest. The market, which originated in 1742, is open every Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is right outside the Haymarket Station on the Orange and Green Lines — very close to Faneuil Hall and across the street from the North End area.
Lessons Learned at the Anime Boston Formal Ball
• Incorrect dosages of sleep, food, and Viennese Waltz may result in extreme dizziness, nausea, loss of equilibrium, and mild hysterical laughter.
Events Apr. 10 â Apr. 16
Events Apr. 10 – Apr. 16 Tuesday (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Film screening of Searching for Angela Shelton presented by the MIT Sexual Assult Awareness Month Committee — 6-120 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Free Food and Improv Comedy Night at the Thirsty Ear Pub (21+ only) — NW35 Wednesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Sex Positivity Discussion — 1-242 (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Revisiting Port Huron, presented by Tom Hayden and Noam Chomsky — E51-Wong Auditorium Thursday (4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) A Stretchy, Curvy Future for Electronics presentation on flexible electronics — 32-123 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Geothermal and Renewable Energy in the Middle East - Oil and Falafel: Why the MENA Region Needs an Energy Diet — 6-120 Friday (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Second Fridays: Rivers of Ice exhibit opening — MIT Museum (7:00 p.m.) LSC shows Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Aspergers Are Us comedy show — 34-101 Saturday (7:00 p.m.) Fighting the Occupation with Architecture for Palestine Awareness Week 2012 — W20 Sunday (12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Salsa/Rueda Dance Workshop — Student Center Room 407 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Bang on a Can All-Stars featuring bassist Robert Black — Killian Hall Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
An exchange of view
I was sitting in a taxi on my way to Wellesley, a handful of American monopoly money in my back pocket. I had no real idea what I was getting myself into. I had come from the University of Manchester to study at Wellesley College for a semester, cross registering at MIT. Boston and Wellesley would be my home for the next five months, before heading back to Manchester for my final year. Both extremely exhausted and simultaneously extremely enthusiastic (an unnerving mix of feelings), I arrived in a snow covered Wellesley. As I was to discover, my expectation and the reality can be two very different things.
Ballet, minus tutus and drama
For eight years, I took classical ballet lessons three times a week, or when we were in rehearsal for a play, six times a week. I made my two very best friends there between pirouettes and bleeding toes; we spent our teen years dancing, competing, and laughing while growing up together. However, that magic shattered when I entered college, and my afternoon and evening classes overlapped with the ballet studio schedule. I wasn’t able to attend ballet anymore — until now.