Forum Features Controversial Speakers
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss and Imam Mohammed al-Asi, who both hold anti-Zionistic views concerning the formation of an Islamic state, were asked to speak at the Forum on American Progress last Thursday night, a choice which was viewed as controversial by both the Jewish and Muslim communities at MIT. The forum, titled “Foreign Policy and Social Justice: A Jewish View, A Muslim View,” began with prepared lectures from the two speakers followed by a question and answer session.
'Socially Awkward' Told to Leave DePauw Sorority
When a psychology professor at DePauw University surveyed students, they described one sorority as a group of "daddy's little princesses" and another as "offbeat hippies." The sisters of Delta Zeta were seen as "socially awkward." Worried that a negative stereotype of the sorority was contributing to a decline in membership that had left its Greek-columned house here half empty, Delta Zeta's national officers interviewed 35 DePauw members in November, quizzing them about their dedication to increasing recruitment. They judged 23 of the women insufficiently committed and later told them to vacate the sorority house.
Film on 'Islam's War Against The West' Causes Protests
When <i>Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West</i>, a documentary that shows Muslims urging attacks on the United States and Europe, was screened recently at the University of California, Los Angeles, it drew an audience of more than 300 — and also dozens of protesters.
Fire at Boston University Kills Two Students
Boston fire officials are investigating what caused a blaze to rip through an Audubon Circle apartment building yesterday , killing two Boston University students, injuring a third man, and displacing 30 people, many of them college students.
Winter Hangs On
Despite the approach of the first day of climatological spring on March 1, winter conditions continue to stay with us. As of yesterday evening, Logan Airport had received 1.6 inches of snow from the most recent snowstorm, bringing the seasonal total to 6.4 inches. On this day last year the total was 39.9 inches. It looks like we will have another chance to increase the total late this week and into the weekend, as a low pressure system over the Rockies moves eastward and intensifies. This system brings a whole bag of goodies in terms of precipitation — everything from snow to rain and freezing rain. High temperatures this week will be in the upper 30s°F, while lows will be in the upper 20s°F.
Int'l Court of Justice Rules That 1995 Massacre Was a Genocide
The International Court of Justice on Monday for the first time called the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 an act of genocide, but determined that Serbia itself was not guilty of the enormous crime.
CIA Perjury Case Juror Dismissed, Trial Will Continue With 11 Jurors
The judge presiding over the perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr. dismissed one of the jurors in the midst of deliberations on Monday and ruled that the case should go forward with the remaining 11-member jury.
Iraqi Blocs Reach an Accord On Oil Revenue Distribution
The Iraqi Cabinet approved a draft of a law on Monday that would set guidelines for nationwide distribution of oil revenues and foreign investment in the immense oil industry. The endorsement reflected a major agreement among the country's ethnic and sectarian political blocs on one of Iraq's most divisive issues.
Judge Blocks City's Attempt To Use Obscure Law to Cap Fines
A federal judge on Monday rejected New York City's attempt to use an obscure 19th-century maritime law to cap its liability in the 2003 crash of a Staten Island ferry at $14 million.
Research Uses Sonofusion to Generate Temperatures Hot Enough For Fusion
Brian Kappus, a physics graduate student at UCLA, tipped the clear cylinder to trap some air bubbles in the clear liquid inside. He clamped the cylinder, upright, on a small turntable and set it spinning. With the flip of another switch, powerful up-and-down vibrations, 50 a second, started shaking the cylinder.
Shorts (left)
The coalition of six world powers that has been trying to get Iran to rein in its nuclear program will begin drafting a new U.N. Security Council resolution to ratchet up the pressure again, officials said Monday after a meeting in London.
Shorts (right)
No political party currently in power anywhere in the world has governed longer than the Colorado Party here, not even the Kim family's Communist dynasty in North Korea. But a charismatic Roman Catholic bishop recently suspended by the Vatican is threatening that hegemony and has emerged as the front-runner for next year's presidential election.
Institute Wisdom Watch
<b>Hunger Strike Ends; Sherley Blinks First:</b> Legal Sea Foods beats dying defiantly outside Provost's office. — thumbs down
Corrections
In the Friday, Feb. 23 article "Used Grease to Power Shuttles," Matthew R. Zedler '07 should have been identified as a <i>Tech</i> Campus Life staff writer.
Defending Free Speech at MIT
Who should be allowed to lecture in public forums? Rabbi Dovid Weiss and Imam Muhammad al-Asi spoke last Thursday at "Foreign Policy and Social Justice: A Jewish View, A Muslim View." Given that their opinions are so contentious, should the event's sponsors have hesitated before inviting them?
Letters to the Editor
The organizers of the recent event entitled “Foreign Policy and Social Justice: a Jewish View, a Muslim View” abused their academic right to free speech to spread horrible lies, hurting the MIT community and staining the good name of the Institute. As Jewish alumni, we are disgusted that Dovid Weiss was invited to present a “Jewish” view, despite the fact he is rejected across the Jewish spectrum for his unethical politics and his disgraceful warping of the history of the Holocaust.
Hockey Advances To Finals By Defeating Western Connecticut
Nicholas R. LaBounty '09 scored the winning goal just 2:32 into the contest and Timothy E. Studley '07 helped pad the lead with two tallies of his own, as the Engineers blanked Western Connecticut State University 4-0 in Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association (NECHA) Conference A semi-final action on Saturday evening.
Volleyball Beats Lasell, Now 8-0 in NECVA Pamidimukkala Leads MIT With .471 Hitting Percentage, Tech Wins in Four Games
In a non-conference men's volleyball match last Tuesday night, nationally-ranked No. 10 MIT registered a 30-21, 30-16, 23-30, 30-21 victory over Lasell College.
Men's Gymnastics Loses Springfield Dual Despite Rasin's Meet-Best 45.800
Boris Rasin '09 won Saturday's all-around competition with a score of 45.800 to lead the men's gymnastics team to a season-high point total of 181.700, but MIT was still unable to overcome Springfield College. The Pride nipped Tech with a tally of 182.950. The University of Vermont's club team participated in the competition as well, finishing with 121.35 points.
In Fencing's First Postseason Meet Women Place Second, Men Third
In their first post-NCAA season competition of the year, the MIT women's and men's fencing teams fought their way to victory at the New England Fencing Championships, held Saturday at the Johnson Indoor Track. The women took second place, while the men earned third in a competition against 11 other schools.
A Guide to the Joys of Frozen Foods
It's not that I don't know how to cook. No, I occasionally bust out the pots and pans and make enough ziti or latkes to feed a small army. It's not that I can't — it's just that I don't want to. And over the past three years at MIT, I've learned how to avoid it very well. A bit too well some might say.
Scott's Travels
By the end of last week's column I was cold, soaking wet, and alone in the streets of Moscow, faced with the prospect of spending my first night abroad desperately huddled up under some old cardboard in an entryway somewhere. But the good luck I'd had in navigating the public transportation system held up, and I didn't end up spending the night in the streets after all. Not that night, anyway.
