Drink Coffee, Have Fun, and Don’t Forget to Count Your Blessings
<i>Below is the text of outgoing Graduate Student Council President Eric G. Weese’s address to the graduates of 2007.</i>
News Briefs
Information Services and Technology has updated MIT’s spam filtering software to support “allow” and “deny” lists for the “To:” field of e-mails. The lists override the regular spam scoring, and permit all messages to or from a given address to be classified as non-spam (allow lists), or all messages to or from a given address to be classified as spam (deny lists). Prior to Wednesday, June 13, allow and deny lists only supported the “From:” field. The new feature does not operate on the “Cc:” header.
Ryan M. Davis ’10
Ryan M. Davis ’10, an energetic and vibrant student with a passion for chemistry, died on May 26 in the Mount Holyoke Range after being missing for nearly two months. He was 20.
Newly Elected Members of the MIT Corporation
The MIT Corporation elected the above members at its quarterly meeting on Friday, June 8. All memberships are effective beginning July 1. From then, the Corporation will consist of 70 members, 20 of which are life members and eight of which are ex officio. An additional 34 individuals are life members emeritus, who can participate in meetings but do not having voting privileges.
We Survived! Graduates Urged to Use Powers for Good, Not Evil
<i>Below is the text of Class of 2007 President Susan Shin’s address to the graduates during Commencement on June 8.</i>
More Successful Apps: 81 Percent of Summer UROPs Find Funding
As of the end of the Spring Term, 335 out of the 469 students who applied for direct summer funding from the Undergradute Research Opportunities Program received funding, according to Melissa J. Martin-Greene, staff associate in the Academic Resources Center. An additional 10 percent of the applicants were funded through non-UROP sources, such as UROP faculty and special departmental funds.
Speakers Challenge Graduates: Only You Can Save the World
Over 2,000 students received degrees last Friday during MIT’s 141st Commencement in front of approximately 10,000 guests, including members of the 50-year reunion Class of 1957.
Hockfield Asks Graduates To Lead and Inspire
<i>Below is the text of MIT President Susan Hockfield’s charge to the graduates, delivered at MIT’s 141st Commencement held June 8, 2007.</i>
CEE Prof. Lerman Appointed Dean for Graduate Students, Replacing Colbert
Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Steven R. Lerman ’72 has been appointed the new Dean for Graduate Students, effective July 1. He will replace Isaac M. Colbert, who will be stepping down from the position after eight years as Dean.
Embrace Opportunity: Good Things Come to Those Who Serve
<i>Below is the text of MIT President Emeritus Charles M. Vest’s charge to the graduates, delivered at MIT’s 141st Commencement held June 8, 2007. Vest served as president from 1990 through 2004. He will begin a six-year term as president of the National Academy of Engineering on July 1.</i>
Subway Opens in Student Center After Many Delays
Subway opened in the Lobdell food court on Monday, June 11, after a construction period that “took a lot longer than we had hoped,” according to Richard D. Berlin III, director of Campus Dining. Subway will be open daily during the summer from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Which Way the Wind Blows
This time of year, one can often figure out how warm or cold it will be based only on whether the wind is blowing from the ocean. The water is still a chilly 55°F (13°C) in Boston Harbor. If there is no sunshine and a strong wind out of the east, as there was last Wednesday when it felt more like the beginning of April than mid-June, our air temperature will be very close to the water temperature in the harbor. If instead of clouds we have the strong June sun, the marine air will absorb heat from the sun-drenched ground as it moves towards campus, resulting in afternoon temperatures near a comfortable 70°F (21°C). With the prevalence of more clouds than sun today, we’ll likely fall short of 70°F (21°C), but it will still be warmer than the past couple of days.
US May Leave Gaza to Hamas, Supporting Fatah in West Bank
Bush administration officials said Thursday that they had been discussing the idea of largely acquiescing in the takeover of Gaza by the militant Islamic group Hamas and trying instead to help the Fatah party of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, retain its stronghold in the West Bank.
Clintons Sell Millions in Holdings To Escape Any Political Liability
Concerned that their personal finances might become a political liability once again, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton in April sold the millions of dollars of stocks held by their blind trust after becoming aware that those investments included oil and pharmaceutical companies, military contractors and Wal-Mart, among others, their aides said Thursday.
151–45 Vote Shuts Down Amendment To Outlaw Same-Sex Marriage in MA
Same-sex marriage will continue to be legal in Massachusetts, after proponents on Thursday won a months-long battle to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Shorts (left)
A federal judge refused Thursday to delay the start of the prison sentence for I. Lewis Libby Jr. in the CIA leak case while he appeals his conviction, meaning he could be ordered to surrender within two months.
Shorts (right)
Violence increased throughout much of Iraq in recent months, despite a security crackdown in Baghdad that at least temporarily reduced sectarian killings there, according to a quarterly assessment of security conditions issued Wednesday by the Pentagon.
US Pushes Missile Defense in EU Despite Putin’s Proposal
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates made clear Thursday that the United States would not alter plans to deploy parts of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, despite an unexpected proposal by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to use a radar base in Azerbaijan instead.
As Bounty of Low Rates Fades, Leaner Times May Be Imminent
The unusually low interest rates of the last three years have been an enormous boon to almost every corner of the U.S. economy.
Corrections
The June 8 letter to the editor, “Maintaining Curriculum Standards Depends on Admissions Criteria,” suggested that the reduction of the physics and calculus core requirement from two years to one year was a recent occurrence. In fact, the requirement was reduced in 1964, not “a short time ago.” <i>The Tech</i> previously published a correction in response to a similarly misleading statement in a May 11 letter (<i>http://www-tech.mit.edu/V127/N26/</i><i>correction.html</i>).
Statistics Say Sox Will Weather Yankees’ Hot Streak
What would you sacrifice for Red Sox-Yankees tickets at Fenway Park? A kidney, a 5.0 GPA, an advance copy of <i>Harry Potter</i>?
