Say hello to our newest dormitory
Last Saturday, the doors to Maseeh Hall finally opened for students — but only if they wore safety gear.
UA presidents call for student engagement reform
Five current and former UA presidents joined forces to write a letter addressing the administrative shortcomings in efforts to engage students on campus issues. The letter argued that the Task Force on Student Engagement (TSE) has failed in its mission of involving students in three important decisions from the past two years — cutting varsity sports, increasing enrollment, and restructuring dining.
Walker Memorial future an unknown
After Monday night’s Walker Memorial community meeting, the fate of Walker Memorial as a student space is still unclear. Associate Provost Martin A. Schmidt PhD ’88 addressed the concerns of student groups whose space in Walker may be affected by a potential renovation and repurposing of the building.
Chevron ordered to pay $9 billion by Ecuador judge
CARACAS, Venezuela — A judge in a tiny courtroom in the Ecuadorean Amazon ruled Monday that the oil giant Chevron was responsible for polluting remote tracts of Ecuadorean jungle and ordered the company to pay more than $9 billion in damages, one of the largest environmental awards ever.
Corrections
A sports headline last Friday incorrectly stated that the MIT Men’s Volleyball team raised their record to 11-7 after a win against Endicott College. The Men’s Volleyball team raised their record to 11-2 for the year with that win.
2013’s Brass Rat unveiled
It wasn’t the iPhone 5 or a new video game console that had a few hundred members of the class of 2013 waiting outside in the cold last Friday night. Bundled up in a large line outside Kresge Auditorium, sophomores patiently waited in 20-degree temperatures for an early seat to Ring Premiere — the unveiling of the iconic Brass Rat, MIT’s renowned class ring. The first 400 students to arrive at the auditorium were promised a mysterious free gift, and it was this lure that attracted so many students to arrive two hours early to an event that was only an hour long.
Over 100 receive Valentine’s serenades
Two MIT a capella groups spent yesterday delivering Valentine’s Day serenades.
Koch Industries quashes global warming parody
In December, a fake news release was sent out by a group claiming to be Koch Industries, the oil processing company owned by Charles D.G. Koch ’57 and David H. Koch ’62, the Republican donors, arts benefactors and global warming skeptics.
Iran uses force against protests as Persian Gulf region erupts
Hundreds of riot police officers in Iran beat protesters and fired tear gas Monday to contain the most significant street protests since the end of the 2009 uprising there, as security forces around the region moved — sometimes brutally — to prevent new unrest in sympathy with the opposition victory in Egypt.
Trade and monetary issues top agenda at G-20 meeting
PARIS — Developed economies still recovering from the financial crisis are looking for ways to regain momentum as the global economy shifts in favor of China and other emerging markets.
With $9 billion in cuts, Gates sees crisis in military budget
WASHINGTON — Even as the Obama administration on Monday rolled out its budget for 2012, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was dueling with Congress over military spending for this year, saying the Pentagon cannot do its job with cuts of more than $9 billion.
New system to add internet addresses as numbers run out
Who could have guessed that 4.3 billion Internet connections wouldn’t be enough?
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — The House on Monday voted to reauthorize and extend through Dec. 8 three ways in which Congress expanded the FBI’s counterterrorism powers after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Shorts (left)
President Barack Obama proposed a 2012 Department of Education budget Tuesday that would, if approved, significantly increase federal spending for public schools, and maintain the maximum Pell grant — the cornerstone financial-aid program — at $5,550 per college student.
Glimpses of springtime
Perhaps Punxsutawney Phil was right on Groundhog Day when he predicted an early end to winter this year. Since Feb. 2, there has been no accumulating snowfall in Boston, and about 10 inches of existing snow cover has melted away. Additionally, this week will feature some of the highest temperatures of the year so far. Yesterday’s high temperature of 56°F was our highest recorded temperature since Jan. 1, and temperatures could reach the 50s once again by the end of the week.
DISSENT Students shouldn’t accept blame for administrators’ unresponsiveness
While we agree with the basic premise of the above editorial — that the relationship between administrators and students has reached a low point — we differ with placing equal fault for the problem on students. Compared to the countless missteps in communication and access committed especially by the Division of Student Life, student leaders have been proactive and reasonable in attempting to engage with the administration, outlining time and again their desire for a more constructive relationship. Years after years of students have voiced their grievances about poor transparency and limited student involvement in decisions with important implications on student life. It’s now time for the administration to extend their hand.
Roadmap to reason
MIT needs to take a step back and take a look around. When it comes to student-administration interactions, we’re in a bad spot. Students have a deep mistrust of many elements of the administration, and the administration has found it extraordinarily difficult to successfully communicate with students about their motivations for student life policy changes. Both groups are talking, but the other side doesn’t understand.
Freedom on the march
For the past four years, Fukuyama-style neoconservatives such as myself have grimly born witness as, around the world, the lights of liberty and freedom grew dim or were snuffed out. Bush, chastened by his failed Social Security reform, Hurricane Katrina, and a midterm defeat, gave up his freedom agenda. Obama, more eager to extend an open hand to dictators than wrest them from power, similarly demurred. And so we stood by, outraged but helpless, as Hugo Chavez solidified his dictatorship in Venezuela; as Cuba’s despotism positioned itself to outlive its founder; as Russia backslid into authoritarianism; as much of Eastern Europe began its descent into autocracy; as Bush’s mismanagement of Iraq and Obama’s incomprehensible tolerance for election rigging in Afghanistan dashed our hopes for democratic reform; as the toeholds of Arab liberty in Lebanon and Palestine grew more tenuous; as Iran brutally suppressed the democratic urges of its people; and as Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mauritania, Niger, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Burundi, and Sri Lanka, amid recession and instability, became significantly less free.
Upcoming Home Events
Wednesday, February 16 Men’s Basketball vs. Wheaton College 6 p.m., Rockwell Cage Women’s Basketball vs. WPI 8 p.m., Rockwell Cage
Oh, when the Saints …
Editor’s note: This is a continuation of a Feb. 1 column on the most memorable sports moments of 2010.
Taking on Div. I at BU
The MIT Women’s Track and Field team was back in action at Boston University for the second time in three weeks, and the Engineers were once again up to the challenge of competing with some of the top athletes in New England, including a number of Division I competitors. The Engineers achieved seven different NCAA-level performances while narrowly missing a few more in its final weekend of competition before the Division III New England Championship.
Healing achy, breaky hearts
I remember the days when Valentine’s Day consisted of writing everybody in my third grade class a “Spiderman Valentine” that said things along the lines of, “you’ve got my spidey senses tingling” and “thanks for sharing your PB&J sandwich.” The more special friends got an extra Hershey’s Kiss, while the people I couldn’t stand got Laffy Taffy. There was no heartbreak involved — only trading of candies if you didn’t like the flavor or type you received from someone. If only Valentine’s Day were so simple now.
Craving for caving: Meet the MIT Caving Club
Tired of the daily grind, the salt-crusted asphalt, the grey sky above? Feel the itch to explore places unknown? Or perhaps you’ve conquered the gym’s rock wall and are looking for another challenge? A cave could be the place for you. See waterfalls, exotic wildlife, and nature’s rock sculptures, all underneath your very feet.
Events: Feb. 15 - Feb. 21
Events: Feb. 15 – Feb. 21 Tuesday (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.) Job Search for International Students. Learn how to develop your job search and interviewing skills as an international student — 1-190 (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MIT’s Moments of Decision: An Historical Retrospective. A panel discussion about how the Institute has reflected and shaped the history of science and technology in the U.S. — E14, Media Lab Complex Wednesday (3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Institute Faculty Meeting — 10-250 (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) “Help! I’m graduating in May!”: Full-time jobs in the Federal Government. This webinar will highlight a number of agencies and positions across the government and show students how to apply for job openings — 5-217 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) IBM Watson: Humans vs. Machine - Who Will Win? Come and watch Jeopardy history being made! — 10-250 Thursday (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) First Generation Students Dinner — 56-154 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Get in Gear for the 2012 Medical/Health Profession School Application Process — 4-163 Friday (6:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 — 26-100 (7:00 p.m. – 11:30p.m.) MIT Strategic Game Society Public Board Games Night — 50-316 Saturday (2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Handel, Israel in Egypt - Colloquium. Explore themes of liberation from authoritarianism and slavery in the story of Exodus — Kresge Auditorium (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) Patrol. Play a high-action game of live combat with the MIT Assassins’ Guild — 36-115 SUNDAY (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) CSC 2011 Chinese New Year Banquet. Celebrate Chinese New Year with the Chinese Students Club — Walker Memorial (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing — Student Center 2nd floor MONDAY (7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) Argentine Tango — 36-153 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Manning: Eight dances for the soldier who brought a helicopter massacre in Baghdad to the light of day. A Bread and Puppet Theater Production by the Lubberland National Dance Company — Wiesner Building (E15-001) Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
