Senate approves UA restructuring
The Senate of the Undergraduate Association voted unanimously to dissolve itself yesterday evening, a milestone in the months-long effort of the organization to substantially restructure itself.
Frank will not run for reelection in redrawn district
Facing a new electoral hurdle in a dramatically redrawn district, U.S. Representative Barney Frank, a stalwart of Massachusetts politics for more than 40 years and one of the nation’s leading liberal voices, announced Monday that he will leave Congress when his term expires.
MIT holds ethics discourses
“MIT requires a swim test to graduate but no formal course in ethics,” notes Manish Bhardwaj, a Fellow at The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT.
CORRECTIONS
A photo caption about the Major League Gaming competition published last Tuesday ambiguously referred to the “finals” of the Halo: Reach event. The photo depicts the winner’s bracket finals, not the grand finals.
6,102 apply early to MIT, slight drop from last year
6,102 people applied early-action to MIT this year, a 4.72 percent drop from last year’s 6,405. Early applications were due Nov. 1, though some residents affected by the late October blizzard were granted an extension. Early applicants can expect to hear back from MIT around mid-December.
Israeli leader visits Jordan to discuss Palestinian issue
JERUSALEM — King Abdullah II of Jordan played host Monday to Shimon Peres, the president of Israel, in an effort to make progress on the stubborn Palestinian question at a time of regional diplomatic uncertainty and fragmentation.
Obama meets with EU leaders on debt crisis
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama met with top European Union leaders as the eurozone sovereign debt crisis entered a perilous new phase, with increasing worries about the sustainability of the 17-country monetary union and borrowing costs climbing to new peaks.
Silver Lake and Microsoft expected to bid for stake in Yahoo
A consortium of investors led by the private equity firm Silver Lake and Microsoft is one of several parties that will be submitting a plan to take a minority stake in Yahoo, according to people briefed on the matter.
Shorts (right)
BAGHDAD — A yellow taxi loaded with explosives blew up Monday at the crowded front gates of a prison north of Baghdad, killing at least 13 people, many of them security guards or civilians waiting to visit jailed family members.
Shorts (left)
MOGADISHU, Somalia — The al-Shabab militant group, which has already blocked many aid agencies from reaching starving people in Somalia’s famine zones, ordered 16 more aid agencies to shut down Monday. Heavily armed al-Shabab fighters then raided the offices of several aid groups, looted equipment and accused the aid workers of being spies.
Showers, then seasonable weather
Yesterday was an unseasonably warm day here in the Cambridge area. Logan Airport recorded a high of 67°F. This was 20 degrees warmer than the normal high, but well shy of the record of 74°F.
Democrats propose extended payroll tax cut
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats introduced legislation Monday to extend and expand an expiring payroll tax cut, setting the stage for a showdown with Republicans who are almost certain to reject the Democrats’ proposal for paying for the cut.
Syria calls the Arab League’s sanctions ‘economic war’
DAMASCUS, Syria — The Arab League declared “economic war” on Syria when it leveled broad trade sanctions against it, Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, said Monday, warning that the country could use its strategic location to retaliate.
Vote YES on UA reform
Editor’s Note: The UA passed a restructuring bill last night, after the deadline for this column.
A night at the Brit-rock sock hop
Reading too many I Saw You MIT posts making you feel angsty? If you feel like you’re still going through the same tensions of high school over and over again, you’ll probably fit right in with The Postelles and The Kooks, two bands whom, although grown-up now, are still rehashing the trials and tribulations of their young romances. They certainly don’t take those pains too heavily though, both bands pairing their cheekily tortured lyrics with upbeat rock and roll.
Well, I guess this is it
Let me start out by saying that the trailer for The Descendants essentially reveals the entire plot, so either don’t watch the trailer or don’t expect much at the theatre. The premise of The Descendants is refreshingly creative: a mother, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie), who has fallen into a coma because of an accident leaves behind a husband, Matthew (George Clooney), who is in charge of a large amount of land; a daughter, Alex (Shailene Woodley), who knows about the mother’s affair with another man; and another daughter, Scottie (Amara Miller), who imitates every rebellious act of her older sister starting with very obscene language. Despite the original plotline, however, I ended up leaving the theater rather peeved.
An ode to the NBA lockout
Players and owners in the NBA met on Black Friday to continue their attempts at negotiations to put an end to the lockout that has plagued the league for the past few months. After 15 hours of discussion that lasted through Friday night into Saturday morning, they reached a tentative agreement that will end the 149-day lockout. They plan to start the season on Christmas day, with promises to feature three highly anticipated matchups (Knicks vs. Celtics, Heat vs. Mavericks, and Lakers vs. Bulls). Although the season will likely be shorter than the usual 82-game regular season, many fans are relieved to hear that there will be a season and a spring of NBA playoffs.
Women’s B-ball defeats Caltech
Despite early foul trouble that put Caltech in the bonus after 4:19 elapsed, the MIT Women’s Basketball team defeated the Beavers, 100-26, on Friday night. The Engineers reached the century mark for the second time in program history and also registered the second largest margin of victory as the Tech set these marks in a 105-30 decision over Rivier College in 1998.
Events: Nov. 29 - Dec. 5
Events Nov. 29 – Dec. 5 Tuesday (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) The Music of Ethiopia and Eritrea — 2-105 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) The Street Just Out of Sight: A reading and talk with Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor at The Atlantic — 6-120 Wednesday (12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) Lunchtime Gallery Talk by Professor Caroline A. Jones — E15 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) DISCUSS.it with Pranav Mistry, creator of Sixth Sense — 3-422 Thursday (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) List Visual Arts Center Gallery Talk by Art Historian Martha Buskirk — E15 (6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) MISTI Foreign Night Film series: The Green Dumpster Mystery — W31-301 Friday (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Thai Festival of Light — 50-100 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) MIT SAAS: Brownies On Ice — W34 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Logarhythms Winter Concert — Kresge Auditorium (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) RAMBAX Senegalese Drumming Ensemble — W20 Lobdell Saturday (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) 150 Alive: The Most Studied Brain — MIT Museum (8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) Trashion Show — Next House TFL Commons (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Concert Choir, William Cutter, Music Director — Kresge Auditorium Sunday (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Techiya Fall 2011 Concert — 6-120 Monday (7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Elijah Wald Presents the History & Early Blues’ Traditions — 4-231 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
