Cambridge elects new City Council
Municipal elections in Cambridge wrapped up last week, with only one nonincumbent councillor winning a seat on Cambridge City Council. Minka Y. vanBeuzekom won over Sam Seidel, but all eight other councillors will return next year. The new Council officially takes office on Jan. 2, 2012.
UA draft constitution & bylaws released for new government
After months of committee work, the UA has released a draft constitution and bylaws for a revamped governing structure, which President Allan E. Miramonti ’13 hopes to instate during an IAP transition period. The proposed changes went to debate at the UA Senate last night, and Senate will have to approve the changes within three meetings — otherwise, they must be re-submitted.
Harvard walks out of Econ 10
On Nov. 2, 70 Harvard students walked out of class in the middle of their introductory Economics 10 lecture to show solidarity with the Occupy Boston movement and protest the conservative bias they felt was present in their course.
Rainn Wilson comes to MIT to discuss Bahá’í film
Last Friday, Nov. 11, the MIT community welcomed Rainn Wilson, popularly known as Dwight Schrute from NBC’s The Office, as a panelist for Amnesty International’s screening and discussion of the documentary Education Under Fire.
Sikka ’13 elected Panhel president
The Panhellenic Association released the names of its new executive board Sunday, elected earlier this month. Denzil Sikka ’13 of Alpha Phi, Panhel’s current vice president for finance and administration, will take over as president on Dec. 10. Panhel’s new officers were elected by a majority vote of the six Panhel delegates from their respective sororities. Topping Sikka’s priority list for Panhel is a revamped website and increased sharing of information among sororities, specifically regarding events and scholarships. She also wants to continue to ensure smooth sorority recruitment periods and “inspire Panhellenic spirit.”
Classes overflowing!
People say that attending MIT is like drinking from a fire hose. In many classes this fall, however, the only overflow was in the classrooms.
Professor emeritus Gobind Khorana, Nobel Prize winner, dies at 89
H. Gobind Khorana, MIT’s Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry emeritus, died of natural causes in Concord, Mass., Wednesday morning. He was 89.
MIT Post Office on chopping block again
The MIT Post Office’s future once again looks grim, especially in the context of the U.S. Postal Service’s continuing fiscal problems.
Camera in Lobby 5, intended to catch vandals
Continuing its use of surveillance to combat crime and mischief, MIT’s Security Office has installed a camera in the lobby of Building 5, overlooking the wheelchair lift.
Orientation Committee solicits input
Last March, the Review Committee on Orientation was established and commissioned to examine and re-evaluate MIT’s orientation program. This includes the Freshman Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOPs), Freshman Orientation, Residential Exploration (REX) and Housing, and FSILG Rush. On Nov. 10, the committee held its first public forum for students to give their input on the orientation evaluation process. The committee expects to present its findings and final recommendations in January 2012 to Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings ’78 and Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo, who will make a final decision.
In Egypt, Mubarak loyalists are ousted but still feared
MANSOURA, Egypt — Mortada Mansour, the man accused of directing the notorious Battle of the Camel during the Tahrir Square protests in February, came to a courtroom in this provincial city to defend the right of former regime stalwarts to run in the coming parliamentary elections.
Shorts (left)
Herman Cain became badly flustered on Monday when asked to assess President Barack Obama’s policy toward Libya, raising new questions about his command of foreign policy as he lurched over five minutes from awkward pauses to halting attempts to address the issue.
Italy’s new leader is qualified but faces uphill fight
ROME — In the news media he is known simply as “Super Mario.” But Mario Monti, the new leader of Italy’s new government, which is being formed amid a crisis that threatens the European monetary union itself, will face a strong challenge in living up to his admiring nickname as he tries to steer his country from the brink of economic turmoil and through the machinations of Italian politics.
Congress turns to spending bills, deficit panel negotiates
WASHINGTON — As members of the congressional deficit reduction panel retreated to conference rooms Monday to continue negotiations, House Republicans and Senate Democrats were putting their final touches on a series of spending bills that they hope will avert another showdown over short-term financing of the government.
Taliban spokesman denies reports of his arrest on Monday
KHOST, Afghanistan — A Taliban spokesman whose provocative and taunting media reports have often infuriated Afghan and Western officials firmly denied that he had been captured Monday.
Shorts (right)
At a special session of the Nebraska Legislature, a state senator announced Monday that TransCanada had agreed to adjust its intended route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline to avoid the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of the state.
Clouds and showers lingering through Thursday
The bright sunny weather from last week is giving way to more unsettled weather. Gloomy skies, typical of impending fall storms, will sweep across our area through Thursday. Any time from now until then, showers will be possible and you shouldn’t stow away the umbrella. The highest probability of rain should arrive on Tuesday night into Wednesday. These increased chances will come from two developing low pressure centers across the southeastern U.S. These lows will meander northeastward toward New England, and should dissipate just off Cape Cod by late Thursday. Any rainfall in our area should be light however, since the systems are quite weak.
King of Jordan calls for Syria’s leader to step down
James Kanter contributed reporting from Brussels, and Neil MacFarquhar from Cairo.
Incompetency abounds in GOP pack
I envy people like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who get to talk about the many political absurdities on broadcast television. Since the beginning of the debates for next year’s Republican presidential primaries, the two hosts have had daily opportunities to expose how amazingly unfit for duty some candidates are. If I wanted to enumerate all the astonishing remarks made by the candidates, I think I would have to fill up an entire edition of The Tech. Instead, what follows is a “Best Of” list covering the top three candidates, who have managed to show unparalleled creativity in the many ways they mess up. So without further ado, let’s look at our winners.
CORRECTIONS
An article about Amphibious Achievement in last Tuesday’s issue incorrectly named one of the Public Service Center’s staff. The staff member is named Jennifer Currie, not Jennifer Higgins-Spiers.
Keeping up with the Kardashians
Who’s Kim Kardashian? I’ve been seeing her name everywhere. Over internet posts and magazine spreads, headlines read, “Kim Kardashian’s Divorce — TMZ.” I did not know that this person was getting divorced. In fact, I hadn’t known that this person was married, either. Another celebrity married-in-a-heartbeat-then-divorced-just-as-fast. In other words, publicity-publicity-publicity-publicity.
DOCUMENTARY REVIEW Reviving a culture through language
The Wampanoag people of southeastern Massachusetts, who helped the Pilgrims survive 400 years ago, had no spoken language to call their own until about 20 years ago. Anne Makepeace’s newest documentary, We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân, delves into the fascinating linguistic — and consequently, cultural — revival of a tribe.
Why they fired JoePa: The Penn State scandal
Earlier this month, news spread that Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team, was arrested for sexually assaulting young boys from his charity, The Second Mile. Although he denies the charges, there is credible evidence against him.
Engineers fall to Harvard in preseason game
Last Friday, MIT competed against its Division I crosstown rival, Harvard, in a preseason Men’s Basketball game. At Laviete’s Pavillion, MIT drew in an enthusiastic fan base — though only a fraction of the crowd, the MIT student section out cheered the entirety of the Harvard side.
Events: Nov. 15 - Nov. 21
Events Nov. 15 – Nov. 21 Tuesday (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Business Etiquette — Manners, Meals, and Mastering business interactions — 5-217 Wednesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Mimi Ito: “Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World” — E14-633 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Jay Keyser discusses Mens et Mania: The MIT Nobody Knows — 14N-118 Thursday (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Legatum Lecture: Chocolate Symposium with Kopali Organics — E62-233 (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) We Still Live Here — Film Screening — 1-190 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Genome Engineering and the Construction of New Genetic Codes — NE20 (Broad Institute Auditorium) Friday (8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) Roadkill Buffet’s improv comedy show — 6-120 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Chorallaries Fall Concert — 10-250 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble — W16 (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) MIT Musical Theatre Guild Presents: Chidlren of Eden — W20 La Sala de Puerto Rico Saturday (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) Captain America: The First Avenger — 26-100 (2:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) MIT-China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (MIT-CHIEF) — 32-123 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Chamber Chorus, William Cutter, Music Director — W16 Kresge Auditorium Sunday (2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) MIT Chamber Chorus, William Cutter, Music Director — W16 Kresge Auditorium Monday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) The Returns to Hospital Spending: Evidence from Ambulance Assignment — E51-151 (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MTA Composer Forum features John Harbison — 14E-109 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
