Anna Tang finished with court, now a free woman
Anna L. Tang, the troubled former Wellesley student, is finally free to resume her life and has been discharged from court custody. Under house arrest since early 2008, Tang will not be committed to a mental institution, and there are no longer any court-ordered restrictions upon her. Tang had been found not guilty by reason of mental incapacity on Dec. 10, 2010, but the Commonwealth petitioned to have her committed to a locked mental health care facility. That petition was dismissed yesterday afternoon by Judge Bruce R. Henry in Middlesex Superior Court.
Corrections
In a sports article last Friday about Super Bowl predictions, Al Harris and Aaron Kampman were incorrectly cited as being current Green Bay Packers players. Harris and Kampman are no longer on that team.
Scott Brown tours MIT, promotes science bill
Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) toured the Koch Institute and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) last Friday and thanked MIT for supporting his Innovate America Act proposal.
Post comments about our articles
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Losing money, losing structure
In April 2009, faced with over $400,000 in budget cuts, MIT’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER) cut eight varsity teams — Women’s and Men’s Gymnastics, Women’s and Men’s Hockey, Golf, Alpine Skiing, Wrestling, and Pistol. The move saved DAPER nearly half a million dollars in expenditures annually, but caused outcry across campus and lost MIT its status as one of only two schools in the nation with 41 varsity sports — the other being Harvard.
Potential changes coming to Number 1 Bus Route around MIT
The popular Number 1 bus that stops outside 77 Massachusetts Ave. may see major changes as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Key Bus Route Improvement Program. Preliminary recommendations presented at the MBTA’s last community meeting include the elimination of inbound stop 76 at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Memorial Drive, located slightly past Bexley in the direction of the Harvard Bridge.
McCormick asks for more female floors
In response to the new mandatory dining policy in McCormick Hall, some residents are calling for the establishment of a satellite all-female community in a non-dining dorm. Representatives from McCormick have met with administrators to discuss possible solutions. Though many residents have concerns about the new dining plan, only a minority are hoping to move to a new single-sex community.
Sudan leader to accept secession of southern region
KAMPALA, Uganda — With the announcement of final voting results, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan said Monday that his government would accept the choice of the long-embattled region of southern Sudan to separate from the north, setting the stage for the creation of the world’s newest country this summer.
Cairo moves towards normalcy as protests continue in the capital
CAIRO — As Egypt’s revolt entered its third week the government of President Hosni Mubarak sought to seize the initiative from protesters still crowding Tahrir Square on Monday, offering a pay raise for government employees, announcing a date for opening the stock market and projecting an air of normalcy in a city reeling just days ago.
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — Gone for now are the likes of the taxpayer-financed teapot museum, or studies on the mating habits of crabs.
Shorts (left)
LONDON — Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said at a court hearing on Monday that they think he will not receive a fair trial if he is extradited to Sweden to face accusations of sexual misconduct.
Iran opposition requests rally supporting uprisings in region
TEHRAN, Iran — With democracy tremors rocking the Arab world, Iran’s opposition has challenged its hard-line leaders to allow a peaceful demonstration — ostensibly in support of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
Thai and Cambodian troops clash violently at the border
THNAL BEK, Cambodia — Refugees clustered around cooking fires at a schoolhouse here as Cambodia and Thailand prepared for the possibility of further violence after a fourth day of shelling Monday at their disputed border.
Chilly conditions coming mid-week, and light snow
Light snow with a mix of rain is likely today, followed by a plunge in temperatures mid-week. A low pressure disturbance moving northeastward will provide the snow, but not in amounts that were common in previous storms this season. Today’s storm is far out in the Atlantic Ocean and not close enough to bring large amounts of precipitation to our region. As the storm continues to move away, clear skies and a cold air mass will settle across New England. Winds will also increase tonight, with some wind chill readings just below 0°F (-18°C). Despite the chilly February temperatures, mostly sunny skies will dominate the forecast period. Breezy conditions are likely through Thursday as well, with the strongest winds occurring tonight and into Wednesday.
It’s a MAD World
Imagine two men, John and Nick, standing at the edge of a precipice. They are chained together at the ankle by a heavy chain such that if one falls over the edge (or throws himself off the edge), the other will fall with him, and both will die. John is trying to coerce Nick into giving him something — for convenience, let’s call it a MacGuffin. John has the strength to throw Nick off the cliff, but does not have the strength to simply seize the MacGuffin from Nick — he can only have it if it is willingly given away. Let us also imagine that John values the MacGuffin more than Nick does.
Sports Shorts
The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in a tri-meet against Williams and Moravian on Saturday. Both teams took first place by a wide margin.
Upcoming Home Events
Tuesday, February 8 Men’s Volleyball vs. Endicott College 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage
The Red Sox are back
Welcome back. For some of you, this has been a four-month hibernation from reading or thinking about professional baseball. I’ve kept tabs on all of you. In Dallas, you despaired for the plight of Tony Romo, agonized over Wade Phillips, and fell back in love with Jason Garrett. In Alabama, you invested your life savings in a Cam Newton legal defense fund and vowed to take those bureaucrats at the NCAA to the Supreme Court over Newton’s eligibility, if it came to that. In Green Bay, you went to your neighborhood Packer shrine and thanked the Cheesehead gods for giving you a general manager with the guts to say “no” to Brett Favre and “yes” to Aaron Rodgers when it came down to it in 2008. In New England, you thought that this year was going to be better than the 18-1 2007 season, until it wasn’t.
From pencils to pens
This semester, I switched from pencils to pens. I could never understand people who use pens. You can’t erase with pens — it’s like buying a keyboard without a backspace key.
Learning how to say “no”
“Divya! You should come downstairs with your plate and fork. There’s a ton of food downstairs.” My friend looked at me with a sense of urgency as I walked into my room with Trader Joe’s grocery bags in hand.
Events Calendar
Events: Feb. 8 – Feb. 14 Tuesday (4:00 pm – 5:30 pm) Ronald L. Rivest speaks at 39th Annual James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award Lecture — 10-250 (12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MIT Produce Market — 32-TSMC Wednesday (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Nobel Laureate Peter Diamond PhD ’63 speaks at Sidney-Pacific Lecture Series: Search Frictions, Unemployment, and Vacancies — NW86 Thursday (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Learn about the machine that will compete against two of the most successful players on Jeopardy. Watson on Jeopardy: The Turing Test Breaks the 4th Wall — 56-114 (7:15 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Join the Addir Fellows for Prof. Stephen Prothero’s “God Is Not One” From Interfaith 1.0 to Interfaith 2.0 — W11 Friday (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) The Vagina Monologues — 32-123 (8:30 p.m.) iNight with the International Students Association — W20-202 saturday (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m) Professor Susan Reverby guest lectures at LUChA — 4-237 (7:00 p.m) LSC shows Red — 26-100 SUNDAY (6:30 p.m.) LSC shows Contact — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing — W20 Second Floor MONDAY (12:30–2:00 p.m) Japanese ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki speaks about US-Japan Relations: Where Are We Going? — E40-496 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
