Undergrad Giving Program Meets Goals
A total of $3,880 from freshmen, sophomores, and juniors was collected over the course of the two-week Underclassmen Giving Campaign. The first week of the campaign, held last October, brought in 460 gifts and $2,500. The remaining money, donated by 207 students, was raised last week during the second part of the UGC, bringing the total underclassmen participation rate to 21 percent, up from 15 percent after the first week.
In Short
A St. Patrick's Day Saferide Program is being offered to students from MIT fraternities and sororities, who may call to request an Ambassador Brattle taxi cab ride from March 17 at 11 p.m. to March 18 at 3 a.m. Students calling must identify the MIT Saferide/Safecab program and must provide vouchers to be completed by the driver. MIT will collect vouchers and pay for all rides during the program time that do not exceed $35. See Daniel A. Trujillo, associate dean for Community Development and Substance Abuse Programs, for vouchers.
Confusion Fills 2008 VP Election
Confusion, bureaucracy, and claims of bias surround the current Undergraduate Association Class Council elections, as the status of candidate Prashant K. Dilwali '08 continues to be contested.
Soriero Selected to Assume Duties as Athletics Director
Ending a 10-month long search, Colorado College Director of Athletics Julie Soriero has been named the new head of the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation and director of athletics at MIT.
Tuition Increase Set; New UROP Funding Program Announced
Tuition will increase by 4.1 percent to $34,986 and a total of $68 million will be allocated for financial aid, an increase of $7 million, for the 20072008 school year. Additionally, $400,000 of Institute funds have been budgeted for a new program offering guaranteed direct funding for the UROP program to help financial aid students fulfill their "self-help offer" costs in their financial aid packages, MIT announced last week.
New Development Surrounds Riverside Neighborhood
Town and gown are finally meeting in Cambridge's Riverside neighborhood.
Educ. Dept. to Answer For Loan Subsidies
Lawmakers from both parties are pressuring the Education Department to explain why it let a student loan company keep $278 million in subsidies that an audit found improper.
Harvard Ups Pay For Doctors Who Teach
Harvard Medical School will increase by millions of dollars a year its payments to doctors for teaching students, a recognition of how difficult it has become to persuade busy physicians to devote time to educating the next generation of care givers.
Stowell Death Ruled a Suicide; Memorial Service to Be Held Today
The cause of death for Ronald H. Stowell, who passed away on March 4, was suicide by hanging, said a representative of the Executive Office of Public Safety for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was found dead at his residence by the Somerville Fire Department shortly after 3:30 a.m. on March 4.
Effy, Brace Yourself
After a spot of Arctic air that was drier than a Churchill martini and colder than Dick Cheney's heart, there have been several beautiful days with temperatures in the 60s — we even opened the windows during dinner in my apartment. Given this time of year in New England, it should come as no surprise, though, that things are about to change. The first day of spring is only about a week away, but we will experience some weather whiplash as we're yanked back into winter.
Shorts (right)
Massachusetts public safety officials said Wednesday they are looking into problems at the state medical examiner's office, which acknowledged that an increase in autopsies has recently led to a shortage of body bags, more autopsy-related injuries to staff, and on one occasion an overwhelmed plumbing system that resulted in blood and water pooling on the floor.
Senators Reject Democrats' Call to Pull Troops Thursday
The Senate on Thursday rejected a Democratic resolution to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq in 2008, but a similar measure advanced in the House, and Democratic leaders vowed to keep challenging President Bush to change course in Iraq.
UN Security Council Will Vote On New Draft of Iran Sanctions
The U.N. Security Council received on Thursday a draft of a new resolution to impose sanctions on Iran for its defiance of demands that it suspend its nuclear enrichment activities and return to negotiations over its nuclear program.
Hamas Aligns With Fatah But Fate Of Foreign Aid Remains in Doubt
The Hamas-led Palestinian government, boycotted by the West since its election more than a year ago because of Hamas' support of terrorism, announced on Thursday a unity coalition with the more moderate Fatah movement in hopes of ending the boycott.
Terrorist Confession Shoulders Blame But Complicates Linked Prosecutions
The admissions made by the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks illuminated and transformed the cases against him and the 13 other Qaida leaders transferred last year from CIA prisons to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
China Moves to Protect Private Property Rights Amid Discord
After more than a quarter-century of market-oriented economic policies and record-setting growth, China on Friday is expected to approve its first law to protect private property explicitly.
Shorts (left)
With a swipe of his pen, some flowery remarks and a good backdrop, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday moved California's presidential primary to February of next year from June, placing the nation's most populous state at the increasingly congested front end of the primary calendar.
Corrections
In the March 6 obituary for Ronald H. Stowell, the wrong title was given to one source, who was named as "a representative of the Boston Police Executive Office of Public Safety." He should have been identified as a representative of the Executive Office of Public Safety for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Mediocre at Best
Another Undergraduate Association President and Vice President election is upon us. Unfortunately, this year’s candidates, through their platforms and performance at Monday night’s debate, have exhibited no long-term vision.
Letters to the Editor
Several people have already responded to the philosophical arguments in Rahmat Muhammad's March 9 column on the Veritas forum at MIT. Rather than continue the discussion on meaning, I would like to respond to Ms. Muhammad's characterization of the Veritas forum and her suggestion that such forums are inappropriate for the MIT community. I applaud Ms. Muhammad for bringing awareness to the possible pitfalls that might occur at the interface of science and religion. However, I feel that Ms. Muhammad's article misrepresented the nature of the Veritas forum in several ways that must be addressed.
Oldja and Kelch Most Qualified
I'm going to be quick and I'm going to be blunt: I support Lauren Oldja and Steve Kelch for President and Vice President of the Undergraduate Association. Why? They are best positioned to get the most done. End of story. You do not need to read further unless you want to know my basis for this opinion.
FILM REVIEW ★★ ½ 'Starter for 10' More of a Six
A new romantic comedy opening at Kendall Cinema gets its enigmatic title, "Starter for 10," from the British game show, "University Challenge." Apparently, British people would catch this reference and it would mean something for them. However, the reference is lost on us Americans, but that isn't too important because "University Challenge" isn't really the focus of the movie, and the storyline never really pans out. Then again, I am not really sure what the focus of "Starter for 10" is<i>.</i> The main point is that there is a college freshman, Brian (James McAvoy) and he has two love interests, Alice (Alice Eve) and Rebecca (Rebecca Epstein).
CD REVIEW Metallica, Dion, and an Italian Composer Come Together
ArsLatina and Sony Classical have recently presented an homage to Ennio Morricone's masterpieces, interpreted by a surprisingly heterogeneous group of musical masters, from Yo-Yo Ma to Metallica. The anthology could hardly have a more auspicious timing: it comes on the heels of the Italian composer receiving an honorary Oscar at the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Furthermore, the album opens with "I Knew I Loved You," the same song that Celine Dion sang on the same Oscar Night that the composer received his award. In it, Dion still displays the warmth and shine of her prime, which when combined with flawless orchestration, make this the best song of the album.
CD REVIEW White Rabbits Unveil Spectacular Debut
Have you ever had the experience of seeing a photo of something and knowing immediately that it was for you? Maybe you noticed a picture of a restaurant and declared it would become your new favorite, though you'd never tasted the dish depicted. Or how about seeing the cover of a book and knowing you want to read it, even though you've never even heard of the author (forgetting what they say about not judging a book by its cover)? Dear Reader, I want you to know you're far from alone. Humans rely on vision more than any sense (unless, of course, you're a human without sight, in which case this review will be relevant in just a moment, so bear with me) and so it's perfectly plausible that sight serves as a "gateway sense" for other perceptive experiences.
CONCERT REVIEW A Cappella Group Vaults to Top of the 'Log' Scale
This past Sunday afternoon, a cappella fans crowded into the beautifully restored Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, and tuned in to WERS 88.9 to listen to four Boston area a cappella groups compete at the All A Cappella Live competition. The four groups were selected as some of the best in the area and included the MIT Logarhythms along with the Brandeis Voicemale, Harvard Low Keys, and the Tufts Beelzebubs ("Bubs"). While this competition had judges, they only provided comments; it was the live audience of 1200 that would actually decide the afternoon's winner.
Edlund, Cycling Team Rock Season Openers At Rutgers and Philly
With months of preparation and hundreds of hours of frosty training rides behind them, the MIT Cycling Team began its defense of the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) road championship with promising performances at the season-opening events at Rutgers and Philadelphia.
MIT Sport Taekwondo Destroys Opponents in NYU Tournament
MIT Sport Taekwondo experienced twin marvels at the Feb. 25 New York University tournament — the team's narrowest victory in nearly two years and arguably this season's most exciting confrontation against perennial rivals Cornell and Tufts.
Volleyball Earns Division Title Against Newbury, Trumps Endicott in 4 Games
In a hard-fought non-conference men's volleyball match, nationally-ranked No. 11 MIT emerged with a 22-30, 33-31, 30-27, 30-25 victory over Endicott College. With the win, the Engineers improved to 23-4 overall while the Gulls fell to 15-14.
Four Tech Hockey Players Will Compete on East Team In NECHA's All-Star Game
Four members of MIT's men's ice hockey team were named to the NorthEast Collegiate Hockey Association (NECHA) East All-Star Team, which will compete against the West's squad on Saturday, March 17, at the Conway Arena in Nashua, N.H. Center John J. Bergin '06 and wingers Tim E. Studley '07 and Nick R. LaBounty '09, along with defenseman Nicholas J. Maietta '07, will represent the Engineers in the postseason exhibition.
