Summer Housing Results In, Some Rooms Still Available
The results of the undergraduate summer housing lottery were released this past Tuesday, with over 96 percent of students who applied for summer housing receiving their first choice of dormitory. In all, 685 students applied for summer housing, with 35 cancelling so far. Last year, 750 people applied for the lottery.
Marilee Jones Did Receive Degree
The mystery of Marilee Jones, the former MIT admissions dean who recently admitted to lying about her academic credentials, has deepened.
COOP Board Announces Student Election Is Void
An election to choose the eleven student members of the Coop’s board of directors was declared void by its stockholders, and a new election scheduled, after it emerged that a candidate had voted using the credentials of several of her supporters, with their consent. As the second election’s closing date loomed, it remained unclear whether the vote tally would reach the minimum number required for student input to be counted. It was additionally unclear whether the Coop’s governing body had nominated as many MIT students as it is required to.
DAPER to Charge $40 Fee For Summer Use
This summer, for the first time, the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation will charge students a $40 access fee to use its facilities. The new fee was listed in DAPER’s IAP/Spring Recreation Program Guide, published in January, but no attention was called to the change.
Congressman Tierney Advocates Plans For College Affordability
In early April, I sat down for a leisurely and candid conversation with Massachusetts Congressman John F. Tierney (D) in his Salem, Mass. office. Although our talk touched on topics as diverse as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the presidential candidates, students might breathe a sigh of relief when they hear that Tierney has plans to make college more affordable.
L.A. Weather?
Sunny for five days in a row — is that possible? Yes! New England is well known for its changing weather, so several consecutive days of sunny skies can seem implausible. According to the National Climate Data Center, Boston receives clear skies for 98 days out of an average year, with clear skies being defined as less than 30 percent cloud cover. (Meanwhile, if you are curious, the number one city for clear skies is Yuma, AZ, which enjoys a whopping 242 clear days in an average year.) So statistically, the odds are against a string of clear days in Boston.
Scientists Discover Gene Linked To Heart Disease in Europeans
Two rival teams of scientists have discovered a common genetic variation that increases the risk of heart disease up to 60 percent in people of European descent.
Senator Clinton Proposes Vote to Rescind Bush’s War Authorization
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., proposed Thursday that Congress repeal the authority it gave President Bush in 2002 to invade Iraq, injecting presidential politics into the congressional debate over war funding.
Seeking An Edge, Florida Legislature Approves Plans to Move Up Primary
Casting more uncertainty over the presidential nominating process for 2008, the Florida Legislature on Thursday moved the state’s primary up to Jan. 29, ignoring the threat of sanctions from the national Republican and Democratic parties.
Shorts (right)
Sen. Barack Obama, whose crowds at political rallies across the country have often numbered in the thousands, was placed under Secret Service protection Thursday, a spokesman for the agency said.
Shorts (left)
A federal official whose investigations of waste and corruption in Iraq have repeatedly embarrassed the Bush administration is being investigated himself by an oversight committee with close links to the White House and by the ranking Republican on the House Government Reform Committee.
Meeting With Syrian Minister Marks Shift in Bush Strategy
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Thursday with her Syrian counterpart in the first high-level diplomatic contact between Washington and Damascus in more than two years.
Former Deputy General Claims U.S. Attorneys Show Competency
A former deputy attorney general told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that he regarded most of the fired U.S. attorneys as highly competent prosecutors who should not have been dismissed.
Corrections
An article on April 27 incorrrectly cited the annual cost of each telephone at MIT as $200. Phones at MIT range from from $240 per year to $438 per year, and most office phones are digital phones that cost $390 per year. These fees will go away as part of the restructuring in July 2007, when they will be replaced with a fixed per-employee charge.
Jones’ Resignation Right For MIT
MIT made the right decision in asking Marilee Jones to resign. If our hiring process is not reliable, how can we defend our integrity in other areas, like research? Jones’ continued presence at MIT would set a dangerous precedent. What if we learned that one of our top professors falsified research data early in his career to get a job? All of MIT should be held to the same standard for honesty in order to maintain credibility.
Incompetence Plagues UA Elections
The recent Undergraduate Association elections have once again proven the incompetence and negligence of the UA. The outcome lacks any hint of credibility because of the blatant missteps of the organization. Not only did the UA disenfranchise 30 percent of the undergraduate population in one class council election, but it seemed to implode on itself when making a simple decision on whether or not to allow one student’s candidacy in another.
Letters to the Editor
We were all saddened by the news of Marilee Jones’ resignation. In reacting, we must recognize and learn from two elements that may seem to be at odds with one another: Marilee’s contributions over the years and her mistakes. And we must move forward.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ The Most Violent Chick Flick Ever Made
Watching <i>Spider-Man 3</i> is like dating a hermaphrodite: no matter what you’re into, you’re bound to find something that you like. The Spider-Man franchise has been mostly based on cheesy romance and violence, and this third installment is no exception, delivering all of the 3-D panning fight scenes and life lessons that one could ever want. Throughout the film, Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) fights with his best friend Harry (James Franco), evil villains, his girlfriend Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), and the demons in his own soul, which, as Dr. Phil could tell you, are the hardest to excise. The Spider has obviously bitten again.
THEATRE REVIEW Even if They Never Made it to the Forum
This past weekend, the MIT Musical Theatre Guild opened their spring musical, <i>A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum</i>, with a bang. The musical, which was written by Stephen Sondheim, is a classic comedy about an ancient Roman slave, Pseudolus (Timothy I. Abrahamsen ’06) as he attempts to win his freedom by getting a girl, Philia (Kathleen McEnnis ’07) for his young master, Hero (Jonathan Arie Gray ’10). Since this is a comedy, Pseudolus’ plans are continually (and humorously) foiled by all of the other characters — including a pimp, courtesans, three Greek chorus members, a nagging wife, an unhappy husband, a powerful Captain, a blind neighbor, and an uptight slave — and confusion ensues. While the plot is interesting enough, it is a bit predictable and overshadowed by the humor of the dialogue. In fact, despite the title, I’m pretty sure no one even went to a forum; and if a character did, it was of no consequence to the work as a whole.
MOVIE REVIEW Hope For American Cinema?
I don’t know about you, but it is easy to get depressed about the current state of American cinema. <i>Disturbia</i> is number one for the third week in a row and somebody actually finances the likes of <i>Kicking it Old Skool</i> and the Nick Cage atrocity, <i>Next</i>. Before you decide to send a pipe bomb to Universal studios, keep in mind all the great smaller filmmakers pursuing innovative and interesting cinema! Last week, some of these brave filmmakers descended on Boston for the fifth annual Independent Film Festival of Boston. With over 70 shorts, documentaries, and narrative features including some premieres, the event has become a great destination for anyone who likes movies and is sick of the crap in wide release. Beyond the films, there were also panel discussions, Q&A’s with the filmmakers after most screenings, parties every night, and lots of free Utz potato chips.
DANCE REVIEW Ailey in Boston: Where’s the Energy?
The highly acclaimed and accomplished Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre gave an unusually awkward performance on opening night of Ailey Week 2007 in Boston. Alvin Ailey founded his modern dance company in 1958. Following his death from AIDS in 1989, the company, under the artistic direction of Judith Jamison, remains true to its origins by re-staging original works by Ailey alongside more modern works by other choreographers.
Men’s Track Earns NEWMAC Title to Cap Undefeated Season
This past Saturday, the men’s track and field team won the New England Men’s and Women’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship at Coast Guard. Competing on Coast Guard’s newly-constructed track, MIT beat runner-up Springfield by a score of 247 to 210. The victory followed an undefeated season and is the Engineers’ seventh consecutive title.
Taekwondo Places Second in League
MIT Sport Taekwondo team took second place behind Cornell in a ten-school tournament hosted by the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday, April 15. The Engineers finished with 575 points, behind Cornell’s 766 but well ahead of third place Tufts (90 points).
Cycling Team Defends ECAC Title, Will Send 8 Riders to Nationals
The MIT Cycling Team successfully defended its championship title in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference last weekend, concluding conference competition. Two full days of racing at Vassar College saw the team place second for the weekend and first overall for the season in Division II.
