3Com Corporation’s New CEO Signals Change in Focus to the Chinese Market
Telecommunications equipment maker 3Com Corp. is based in Marlborough, Mass.
Dean for Student Life Search Committee Will Start Interviews in May
The search for Dean for Student Life Larry G. Benedict’s replacement is well underway, and a preliminary list of the top eight candidates will be chosen Monday afternoon.
In Short
Pi Beta Phi has accepted an invitation from MIT to colonize and will be the Institute’s sixth sorority. Founded in 1867, the sorority has 131 chapters at colleges across the country, according to its national organization’s Web site. There are currently no other Pi Phi chapters in Massachusetts colleges.
MIT Will Release Student Birth Dates, Enhance Opt-Out System
MIT will release students’ dates of birth for statistical purposes, but it will not publish those dates. The release will take place in the fall, following a proposal discussed by Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings PhD ’80 at a meeting with undergraduates last night.
U.S. Airstrike Kills Militia Chief Linked to Al-Qaida
A U.S. missile strike in Somalia apparently killed one of al-Qaida’s top operatives in East Africa on Thursday, but while administration officials claimed success they also acknowledged facing an uphill battle to score lasting blows in their final months against the terrorist group around the world.
Double Bombings in Iraqi Town Kill At Least 35, Wound 62
Two thunderous blasts set off by suicide bombers ripped through a crowded shopping street in the town of Balad Ruz in Diyala province on Thursday, killing at least 35 people and wounding at least 62 others, many of them seriously.
Investors Disappointed by Exxon’s Near-Record Quarterly Profits
Exxon Mobil reported the second-best quarterly profit in its history on Thursday — and investors could barely hide their disappointment.
Bush Proposes U.S. Spend More On Food Aid Programs for Poor Nations
President Bush on Thursday proposed spending an additional $770 million in emergency food assistance for poor countries, responding to rising food prices that have resulted in social unrest in several nations.
Shorts (left)
President Bush’s $1 billion-a-year initiative to teach reading to low-income children has not improved their reading comprehension, according to a Department of Education report released on Thursday.
Shorts (right)
Beijing airport’s new Terminal 3 — twice the size of the Pentagon — is the largest building in the world.
Congress Clears Bill to Prevent Genetic Screenings by Insurers
A bill that would prohibit discrimination by health insurers and employers based on the information that people carry in their genes won final approval in Congress on Thursday by an overwhelming vote.
Temperature Extremes
We are still in that time of the year when the diurnal, or daily, temperature range can be rather large. Clear skies and light winds are ideal conditions to make this happen, with abundant sunlight to warm the surface during the day, and good radiational cooling at night lowering temperatures. For instance, Bedford (10 miles to the northwest of Boston) reported a temperature of 26 degrees yesterday morning, while Martha’s Vineyard was even colder — an amazing 22 degrees Fahrenheit! Meanwhile in Boston, the ocean’s influence kept temperatures near 40. Within two hours of sunrise, all three locations were nearly the same temperature — about 50°F. So within the next few weeks, if the sun is setting upon clear skies and light winds, there’s a good chance it’ll be cold before sunrise.
Letters to the Editor
I have never really been too energized about the cause of Tibet (worthy, no doubt, but just not one of my “pet” causes) and was somewhat ambivalent on the whole issue of the Olympics in China. On one hand, it would be nice to have the Olympics hosted in a place that was more representative of the values the Games are so frequently said to stand for, on the other hand it would be a bit hypocritical of me not to allow my televised sports entertainment to come from a place that already produces pretty much everything else I consume. Even the fact that China is taking this chance as an opportunity to show off its new-found wealth didn’t bother me — hosting and competing in Olympic Games has always been about nationalism, determining who has the best genes, the best doctors, the best coaches, and sometimes even the best athletes. However, the seemingly organized uproar that has been created by an apparently significant portion of the Chinese population at MIT and elsewhere to the vocal criticisms of a few semi-organized activists has managed to change my mind.
Corrections
Because of a typographical error, the April 15 editorial “COD Should Face Tough Questions” misstated the middle initial of the Committee on Discipline’s former chair. He is George E. Apostolakis, not George J. Apostolakis.
The Best Concerts of May 2008
April showers bring May flowers, and in this case, the downpour of ex-lead-singer shows last month has led to a hefty crop of diverse acts (okay, Jeremy Enigk snuck in there, somehow). There are so many notable groups playing locally this month that I didn’t even get to list (The Teenagers, Los Campesinos!, The New Deal, Firewater, Eyedea & Abilities and Kevin Devine, to name a few), so I highly recommend scouring venue Web sites to see if I skipped over one of your favorites. But this is my column, after all, and so my picks get top billing. With that I present to you May’s best shows; especially notable ones are marked with stars.
OPERA REVIEW Lyric Opera’s Last Production
It’s no surprise that in Boston, a city inundated with eager students, free arts events harness high attendance. Last week, hundreds of such students attended a free performance of the Boston Lyric Opera’s last production of the season, <i>The Abduction from the Seraglio</i>. Though this is one of Mozart’s lesser known operas, the theatre filled to near full capacity. The Boston Lyric Opera has been offering free tickets to the public (but specifically targeting students) for the dress rehearsals of all its major productions. Before the beginning of the overture, Janice Mancini Del Sesto, the exuberant General Director of the BLO, arrived in the left box seat to announce this season’s recipient of the Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence. She then proudly led the audience in a grand applause for Joseph Valone, a Boston University music program alumnus; the award was a cash prize for a young, up-and-coming performer wishing to further his or her career in professional opera.
CONCERT REVIEW Are You That Girl?
Dear girl from Boston College who stood in front of me at the Third Eye Blind show,
Scoreboard
Baseball Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Fisher College (18-17)1 MIT (18-15)3 Women’s Lacrosse Wednesday, April 30, 2008 MIT (5-7)13 Wheaton College (7-10)12
GAME OF THE WEEK O’Keefe Scores Twice in Final Minute to Beat Wheaton by One
Down by one with a minute left, the women’s lacrosse team was facing elimination in the quarterfinals of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Tournament. Samantha F. O’Keefe ’09 and the MIT offense wouldn’t stay down though, as O’Keefe scored two goals in the final minute to propel MIT to its first semifinal since 1995.
Sailors Earn Berth to the ICSA Dinghy National Championship
For the first time since 2003, the MIT sailing team qualified for the Inter-collegiate Sailing Association Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship in Newport, R.I. on June 2-4. The Engineers earned a berth by placing a fifth place out of eighteen teams at the ISCA Western Semifinal at the University of Southern California this past weekend.
MIT Sport Taekwondo Finishes 2nd Overall On Road to Nationals
The MIT Sport Taekwondo Club traveled to Columbia University on Sunday, April 20 to compete in the final tournament of the Ivy/Northeast Collegiate Taekwondo League Season. A strong performance by the team, coached by MIT Sport Taekwondo Coach Daniel Chuang, secured both second place at the tournament and second place overall for the season, surpassed only by Cornell University.
Summer Style
Summer is fast approaching, and with warm weather and no classes comes a new focus on fashion. Indeed, this is the perfect time to experiment with your own fashion sense, and get a better understanding of what trends, fits, and colors suit you. Although we’re excited to get started with this time of year, we wanted to warn you all to avoid some of the pitfalls that can keep you from feeling the full warmth of summer.
Special Thanks to the MIT Flying Club
The MIT Flying Club is a student-run organization. The MITFC is free to join and offers opportunities for free or subsidized hands-on flying experiences in General Aviation aircraft, lectures, free use of a fully-certified FAA-instrument simulator, carpools to airports, and FAA seminars. The club also sponsors two students per semester to train and fly with the Hawk Flying Club in Lawrence, brings helicopters to Briggs field every September (and offers free rides around campus and Boston to MIT students) and is working on obtaining funds to offer flying scholarships to offset the cost of training for ratings.
