Artist Jason Derülo to headline Spring Weekend concert
R&B will be the musical style of choice at this year’s annual MIT Spring Weekend Concert. Jason Derülo, known for his hits “Ridin’ Solo” and “Whatcha Say,” will headline the concert. Contemporary R&B artist Janelle Monae will be opening. The concert will take place on April 29, 8 p.m at Johnson Ice Rink.
John Reed meets with UA Senate
Chairman of the MIT Corporation John S. Reed ’61 spoke at last night’s UA Senate meeting, addressing student concerns over deferred maintenance, student life, academic policy, and budget plans. Last night’s meeting marks the first time Reed has spoken at the Senate since his election to the Corporation on June 4 last year.
Corrections
An article published last Friday about student input on potential orientation changes incorrectly stated that FPOPs this year will end by Friday before Orientation week. FPOPs will all begin on Tuesday of the week before orientation and run until Friday or Saturday.
Supreme Court hears Stanford v. Roche
The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday morning in Stanford v. Roche, and the justices did not indicate which way they were leaning in the university patent dispute. At issue is whether a Stanford researcher, Mark Holodniy, could sign away Stanford’s patent rights to an AIDS test to Cetus, a local biotech company. Holodniy first signed an agreement with Stanford that he “will assign” any future inventions to Stanford. But then he visited Cetus and agreed to “hereby assign” future inventions — inventions he had not yet created at the time of the agreement — to the biotech company. Which agreement wins is a question of more than just contract law.
MIT answer delayed in Styke suit
MIT has obtained an extension on its time to answer the lawsuit filed against it by Wolfe B. Styke G. MIT’s response had been due by Jan. 14, extended to Feb. 14, and is now due on March 15.
Broad plans extension in Cambridge Center
The Broad Institute has begun planning for an extension on 75 Ames St., an open lot behind its central 7 Cambridge Center campus. In an e-mail addressed to members of the Broad community last Friday, Alan Fein, executive vice president and deputy director of the Broad Institute, said that three of Broad’s buildings — located at 320 Charles St., 301 Binney St., and 5 Cambridge Center — have leases which will expire in the next 3–4 years. According to the e-mail, the new building would serve to consolidate these existing buildings and would have more total space.
Incident in Building 46
Around 5:30 p.m. yesterday, an unidentified male fell from an upper story of the Brain and Cognitive Sciences complex (Building 46) to the third floor atrium. It is possible he fell from the fifth floor of the building down to the open atrium two stories below. Police were on the scene immediately and traffic was directed away from Vassar Street.
One official ticket running for UA President/VP
As of the official late petition deadline yesterday at noon, only one pair of candidates had announced their intention to run for UA President and Vice President. Allan E. Miramonti ’13 and Alec C. Lai ’13 are the only candidates for president and vice president, respectively, although it is possible that write-in candidacies could be announced in the coming weeks.
China takes Middle East as example, calls for action and protests begin
BEIJING — The call to action shot across mobile phones and Internet chat sites, urging people to converge on 13 Chinese cities to demand an end to corruption, inflation, and the strictures of authoritarian rule.
Shorts (left)
BENGHAZI, Libya — Moammar Gadhafi’s forces struck back on three fronts on Monday, using fighter jets, special forces units, and regular army troops in an escalation of hostilities that brought Libya closer to civil war.
UN refugee agency declares Libya a humanitarian crisis
PARIS — Almost 100,000 people have fled Libya’s fighting to neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, the U.N. refugee agency said, in what it called a humanitarian emergency.
Academy Awards less popular than last year, ratings are poor
LOS ANGELES — The Oscars tripped in their transition to a hipper, younger, media-mad future, attracting 12 percent fewer viewers than last year in the important 18-to-49 age bracket.
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama told the nation’s governors Monday that he was willing to amend his landmark health care law to give states the ability to opt out of its most controversial requirements right from the start, including the mandate that most people buy insurance.
Digital music services such as Pandora gather new investors
Since it emerged in the 1990s, digital music has been hugely popular with fans, but for online music companies and their investors, it has almost never been profitable.
Another week of ups and downs
This week will again be a bit of a weather roller coaster as a few passing weather systems impact New England. After Sunday’s four-inch snow accumulation was washed away by over half an inch of rain on Monday, the remainder of the week will bring a few more weather extremes. After a relatively normal day today, gusty winds from the southwest will bring warm air to the area tomorrow. However, a cold front tomorrow night will then immediately knock temperatures into the mid-teens (°F).
Two popular Iranian opposition leaders are mysteriously missing
CAIRO — The mystery over the whereabouts of the two main Iranian opposition leaders, Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, deepened Monday with contradictory reports over whether they had been jailed on the eve of a nationwide protest or remained under extreme house arrest, completely cut off from the outside world.
Word association
A friend once complained to me that she couldn’t trust Republicans. Paraphrasing her words: “You see them in interviews on cable news and it’s uncanny — they’re all using the exact same phrase to describe a situation. Every hour, on the hour, you’ve got a right-wing talking head repeating the line of the day, and I can’t help but think that there’s some secret board of shadowy figures, passing out memos to conservatives that tell them what they’ll be saying.”
Table
Question 81. If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed, how, if at all, will your military career plans be affected? N Overall Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Coast Guard I will stay longer than I had planned 1,422 1.7% 1.9% 0.7% 2.2% 1.2% 1.7% I will think about staying longer than I had planned 1,500 1.8% 2.0% 1.2% 2.2% 1.4% 1.5% I will think about leaving sooner than I had planned 12,698 11.1% 11.8% 15.0% 8.6% 9.9% 9.1% I will leave sooner than I had planned 12,126 12.6% 14.2% 23.1% 7.9% 8.2% 6.2% My military career plans would not change 73,210 62.3% 60.2% 47.5% 68.0% 69.0% 67.5% Don’t know 10,690 10.5% 9.8% 12.2% 11.2% 10.3% 14.0% These statistics were recovered from the Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” released by the Department of Defense in November 2010.
Table
Questions 70 & 71. If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would it affect your immediate unit’s effectiveness at completing its mission… Very Positive/Positive Equally Positive and Negative No Effect Very Negative/Negative Question 70. Respondents without combat deployment experience since September 11, 2001 On a day-to-day basis 17.4% 32.6% 29.3% 20.8% When a crisis or negative event happens that affects your immediate unit 17.2% 32.8% 29.9% 20.0% Question 71. Respondents with combat deployment experience since September 11, 2001 In a field environment or out at sea 11.4% 25.8% 18.6% 44.3% When a crisis or negative event happens that affects your immediate unit 12.5% 33.3% 24.7% 29.4% In an intense combat situation 12.4% 31.4% 25.6% 30.6%
Keep your eye on the ball, America
The governments of Egypt and Tunisia have toppled like dominoes, accompanied by immense protests in Libya, Bahrain, Algeria, Jordan, and Yemen. Cries for freedom, revolution, and reform have been transformed into global slogans. Amidst the chaos and excitement, it is important to not lose sight of one of America’s most prevalent threats: a nuclear Iran.
Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t change
Let’s start with one basic, almost indisputable fact: the likely effect of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) will be to make our military weaker. Judging by the recent survey of servicemen, the Marine Corps will suffer the greatest impact: of those marines who say they’ve actually served with a homosexual leader, co-worker, or subordinate, they reported that in 28 percent of instances it worsened their unit’s ability to work together, in 26 percent it reduced unit morale, and in 25 percent it harmed the unit’s performance. Virtually no Marines reported that having an effectively open homosexual in their immediate unit had a positive effect.
Welcome, Chancellor Grimson
Today is the first day of the chancellorship of W. Eric L. Grimson PhD ’80. The Tech applauds his selection, and is excited to see the new ideas and perspective that he brings to the position. Student leaders have voiced strong support for the new chancellor, based on Grimson’s past service with students and faculty members on numerous committees. Grimson has also received praise for his work as a professor and academic advisor, and through his experience as a graduate student here, we feel that he is well positioned to understand and support the unique culture of the Institute.
Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t keep
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) does not simply disallow gay soldiers from serving — it marginalizes gays. Keeping this antiquated law is to continue institutionalizing discrimination within the military. Since 1941, the U.S. has discharged more than 110,000 soldiers for being gay. Since Obama took office, the U.S. has discharged more than 13,000 troops under DADT. We are firing good soldiers who have put their lives on the line to protect our country. We have lost our men and women not to war, but to our own bigotry. Thankfully, times are changing, because recent studies have shown that service members think positively of the repeal of DADT. At long last, openly gay service members are able to pridefully serve their country in a military capacity.
MIT defends conference title
On the strength of seven first-place finishes, MIT increased its lead during Saturday’s finals session in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship. The Engineers raised their total to 769 points while the U.S. Coast Guard Academy maintained its position in second place with a tally of 517. Springfield College continued to rank third with 346 points.
Upcoming Home Events
Tuesday, March 1 Men’s Volleyball vs. Elms College 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage Thursday, March 3 Men’s Tennis vs. Emerson College 4 p.m., Carr Indoor Courts
Squash finishes strong
The MIT Squash team came in second (3-6) to Vanderbilt on Sunday after three days of matches at the 2011 Men’s National Team Championships this weekend. In squash, the scores indicate the number of match wins of one team’s top nine against the other team’s corresponding nine. The squash team won 6-3 against the University of Washington on Friday in the first round of competition and 5-4 against UC Berkeley during Saturday’s semifinals at Harvard.
Men’s Basketball wins NEWMACs
The MIT Men’s Basketball team competed in the NEWMAC tournament held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute over the weekend. The Engineers, seeded second in the field of four teams, defeated Springfield College in the semifinals on Saturday, 77-68, before upsetting hosts and top-seeded WPI on Sunday, 63-52.
Pokémon Reactionism
The walk to and from school everyday simply can’t be uphill both ways, which is why I don’t want to ever turn into a “back in the day” person. Fifteen years from now, when all media is streamed over the Internet and free from FCC regulation, I don’t want to be running around saying things like, “Remember back in the day, when we used to have artists like Ke$ha and Britney Spears? Those singers had class!” Unfortunately, not becoming a “back in the day person” is easier said than done. I know this because I caught myself unknowingly turning into one.
Swinging the blues away
To the jazzy sound of the clarinet, pairs twirl and spin across the floor of Lobdell, switching styles from improvisational blues to fast-paced swing in tune to the music. But this wasn’t a dance competition, or an exclusive party — it was just one of the weekly dances run by the MIT Lindy Hop Society.
Baby, I was born this way
“Does this make me look fat?” Most guys hear this question and end up mumbling something along the lines of, “Honey, when I see your face, there’s not a thing that I would change, ‘cuz girl you’re amazing just the way you are.” Most girls hear that response and either melt on the inside or doubt the sincerity in the sentiment since it’s the standard response. Ultimately, a vicious cycle ensues where the guy is perpetually convincing the girl that she is indeed beautiful, and the girl is eternally on a quest for that elusive 36-26-36. In this society of aesthetic regulations, it seems like we’ve become more concerned about outfits and societal images speaking to our personalities instead of the other way around.
Institute Double Take
This view of the sunset from Lobby 7 was taken through the viewfinder of a medium format camera from the second floor balcony. The reflection on the viewfinder gives a different perspective of a view that we see every day on the way home from classes. The spectacular view is normally ignored, overshadowed by the tiredness of a whole day of classes and work.
Events: Mar. 1 - Mar. 8
Events: Mar. 1 – Mar. 7 Tuesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Welcome MIT’s new chancellor, W. Eric L. Grimson PhD ’80 — Lobby 7 (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) “Integration of mechanical and chemical signals in cell motility” talk given by Dr. Gaudenz Danuser of Harvard Medical School — 32-123 (8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Latke-Hamantashen Debate — 26-100 Wednesday (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Legatum Lecture: The Long Tail of Expertise presented by Dr. Alpheus Bingham of InnoCentive, Inc. — 32-155 (Stata lecture hall) Thursday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) Dr. Azad Bonni of Harvard Medical School speaks at the MIT Colloquium on the Brain and Cognition — 47-3002 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) An Evening with Jennine Capó Crucet, author of How to Leave Hialeah — E51-115 (Wong Auditorium) Friday (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Dedication of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research — Koch Institute, Bldg. 76. (8:00 p.m. – 10:00p.m.) Festival Jazz Ensemble concert — Kresge Auditorium Saturday (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Radius Ensemble: MIT Alumni Ensemble in Residence performs — Killian Hall (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Lontano Ensemble from the U.K. performs a concert of music by MIT composers — Kresge Auditorium MonDAY (3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Dr. Robert Jaffe presents “More Precious than Gold: Critical Elements for New Energy Technologies” — 26-414 (4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Dr. Hans Joachim Freund (Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) presents “Models for catalysts: Is there anything new?” — 6-120 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
