Novartis selects Maya Lin as architect for new complex
Novartis has selected Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., as the architect and designer of its new campus to be built on Massachusetts Avenue just north of MIT, at the former Analog Devices site, between Albany Street and Windsor Street.
Narrowing the gender divide
In 1999, a group of women faculty members came together to report on the experience of being a tenured female faculty member at MIT. According to the original report, women faculty “proved to be underpaid, to have unequal access to the resources of MIT, to be excluded from any substantive power within the University.”
Student leaders consider governance overhaul
At the Undergraduate Association (UA) Senate meeting on Monday, March 28, UA President Vrajesh Y. Modi ’11 proposed a total overhaul of the UA Constitution to address internal organizational issues, in conjunction with 42 UAS 14.2, the Bill to Unify the Undergraduate Student Voice at MIT. The UA passed a bill proposed by Senate Speaker Jonté M. Craighead ’13 — 42 UAS 14.1 — which formed an ad-hoc committee to review the current structure of the UA and to consider the changes proposed in 14.2. Together, the bills may mark the beginning of the end of the UA Senate.
McCormick refugees flee to MacG, BC
Sophomores and juniors at McCormick Hall have been given the option of moving to Burton Conner or MacGregor next fall due to dissatisfaction with the new dining plan. The former McCormick residents will be integrated as formal residents of their new houses, residing in non-dining communities that maintain the single-sex aspect of living in McCormick.
Thought winter was over? April Fools!
Although spring officially started more than 10 days ago, we have not yet quite escaped the grasp of wintry weather. A nor’easter storm coming up the coast will bring a mix of snow and rain as well as blustery winds and chilly temperatures today, making for a rather miserable first day of April. The wintry mixture began yesterday evening, and it will intensify as the center of the storm passes over eastern Massachusetts. The heaviest precipitation will likely fall as rain this morning, but rain and snow could continue to fall all day, potentially putting a damper on the Red Sox’s scheduled opening day.
Shorts (right)
Ten years ago, Goldman Sachs proclaimed that Brazil was among the new economic powerhouses. Now it is the next frontier for hedge funds.
Shorts (left)
A group of 16 people who filed a Title IX complaint against Yale University last month said Thursday that the federal Department of Education had launched an investigation to review Yale’s policies for dealing with sexual harassment and assault cases.
Syria offers changes to ward off anti-government protests
CAIRO — As Syria braced for renewed anti-government demonstrations, the government announced new measures on Thursday seemingly aimed at addressing the protesters’ demands.
NATO warns Libyan rebels not to attack civilians
WASHINGTON — Members of the NATO alliance have sternly warned the rebels in Libya not to attack civilians as they push against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi, according to senior military and government officials.
Gbagbo, leader of Ivory Coast, seems poised to fall
DAKAR, Senegal — The end of Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo’s rule appeared to be nearing Thursday as his rival’s troops approached the country’s main city of Abidjan, his own army chief of staff abandoned his post, and his opponents claimed substantial defections of his troops and police officers.
Geithner again urges China to adopt a flexible currency exchange rate
NANJING, China — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged China again Thursday to adopt a more flexible exchange rate policy, saying failing to do so could worsen inflation in China and impede growth elsewhere.
Fed emergency loans saved many banks during financial crisis
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s huge lending programs, which saved Wall Street in fall 2008, also benefited a wide range of other financial companies, including community banks, credit unions, and foreign banks, according to documents released Thursday by the Fed.
The Guantanamo Bay camps must be closed
Let us begin with one obvious fact: the decision to establish detention camps at Guantanamo Bay has cost us much more than we have gained.
The Guantanamo Bay camps must be reformed
In his defense of Guantanamo Bay (and of our detention policy in general), Yost makes a fair point — our legal system, at its core, is a decision-making system with Type I and Type II errors, and the Guantanamo Bay detainees form a category of suspects that do not appropriately fit into either of our existing legal pathways.
GUEST COLUMN In the shadow of good will
Development agencies say they are concerned about corruption. A large part of the West’s donations of aid to poorer countries intended to do good ends up in the pockets of ruthless officials with no qualms about stealing from their underprivileged fellow citizens.
The Guantanamo Bay camps must remain open
Forget for a moment all of the legal exegesis of whether or not the detainees at Guantanamo Bay are prisoners of war (subject to indefinite detention and military tribunals), civilians (subject to the court system of the United States), or “unlawful combatants” (constituting a newly defined class of suspects). A legal system is, at its core, a decision-maker, determining whether alleged criminals are innocent or guilty. Like any other imperfect decision-maker, the system has two types of error: Type I error (deciding a person is guilty when they are innocent), and Type II error (deciding a person is innocent when they are guilty). For a legal system with a given degree of accuracy, we can trade-off between the two types of error, reducing Type I at the expense of increasing Type II, or vice-versa.
DISSENT Students are right to fight
Editor’s note: this is a dissent by the above members of The Tech’s Editorial Board in response to the editorial published on March 29.
CORRECTIONS
Tuesday’s Campus Life events calendar indicated the incorrect time for a talk by Jonathan E. D. Richmond PhD ’91 on corruption in developing countries. The talk will begin at 12:30 p.m., and lunch will begin at 12:15 p.m (W20-307).
MOVIE REVIEW Bieber movie features 3-D hair, flat story
It’s easy to make fun of Justin Bieber, but his commercial value is undeniable. His name and likeness is attached to everything from clothing to trading cards to nail polish. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, the latest product from the Justin Bieber propaganda machine, is merely another way to suck money from his fans. It’s thinly disguised as an inspiring 3-D documentary about the 17-year-old’s journey from boy next door to international YouTube sensation to pop-idol-slash-force-of-nature. The film is structured around a countdown to his concert last August in the iconic Madison Square Garden, which sold out in 22 minutes. Strained vocal cords and a cold threaten his ability to perform at his biggest concert to date. Can the normal boy still fulfill his role as a superhuman pop star and make his fans happy?
THE STERNEWIRTH PRIVILEGE Wheat Wine Ale Wins
This week, we’re tasting Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale. This beer is part of Smuttynose’s Big Beer Series, an ambitious set of brews that have more body and a higher alcohol content than their “core” offerings. In short, these beers are the pride and joy of Smuttynose and are meant to be treated specially. This is the first beer I’ve tried of the series, which earned very good recommendations from my friends.
THEATER REVIEW Romeo and Juliet takes new shape in old Verona
The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble performed Romeo and Juliet — at least, an interpretation of it — a few weeks ago, and for those who missed out, it only seems fair to share all that was unconventional about the production. To be perfectly blunt, this is not your high school’s time-updated, boyfriend-and-girlfriend-in-the-lead-roles, by-the-book production. Not even close.
MOVIE REVIEW ‘For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know.’
After two years of production, Zack Snyder returns with his fifth big movie, Sucker Punch, which many fans have been eagerly awaiting. The film has all the characteristics that Snyder’s previous projects have been well known for, but it is partially overloaded with action sequences that do not essentially contribute to the storyline.
After Tour de Troy, Cycling boasts 300 pt. division lead
MIT Cycling returned from yet another weekend race with a victory. The Engineers are having one of their best road cycling seasons in recent years: four weeks into an eight-week season, MIT has a commanding division lead of nearly 300 points over Bucknell University, as well as the overall lead by 50 points.
Baseball improves to 12-4 with WPI walk-off win
Holding onto a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, starter Chrisopher L. Vaughan ’12 found himself in a bases-loaded jam, pitching on a frigid Tuesday afternoon against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. This is the type of situation when dugout chatter tends to pick up. Dugout chatter is a rhythmic composition of the digits of the player’s numbers (2 and 8, in the case of Vaughan), a disyllabic nickname (Vaughanie), and exhortations like “here we go” or “battle.” The presence and intensity of the chatter matters far more than the content. As such, heads turn when someone from the dugout artfully weaves in the suggestion that Vaughan should actually “have fun” and that, in fact, “baseball is fun.”
The Tech’s sports staff weigh in as Final Four compete for NCAA Championship
From an original field of 68 teams in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, four teams — VCU, Butler, Connecticut, and Kentucky — are left, their hopes for a national title still alive. Both VCU and Butler, seeded eleventh and eighth, respectively, reached the Final Four by way of a string of upsets; Kentucky and Connecticut had close calls of their own, with the Wildcats upsetting Ohio State on their final possession and the Huskies edging Arizona by two points to reach the Final Four.
Men’s Swim takes 4th
The MIT Men’s Swimming team competed at Division III Nationals last weekend. Five swimmers, as well as five relay teams, earned All-American finishes, as the Engineers took fourth overall, the best finish in program history.
