BC gets new housemasters
Burton-Conner #111, the housemasters’ apartment, has new residents. On Aug. 31, the new housemasters, history Professor Anne E. C. McCants and her husband, William D. “Bill” McCants, a senior attorney with the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education, moved into their new home. They follow Professor Merrit Roe Smith and Bronwyn M. Mellquist, who stepped down after eight years.
Sororities give out 173 bids
MIT’s Panhellenic Association offered 173 bids this year, the same number as last year. Alpha Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta gave out the most bids, with 37 each. Recruitment saw a slight increase in the number of registrants this year, with 350 students registered for the first day. Students who registered and stayed throughout Recruitment went through a five day process, with three days dedicated to mutual selection and ranking sororities at the end of the day.
Sorority women prohibited at frat rush
The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) recently passed a regulation restricting sorority women from participating in fraternity Rush events. This especially restricts sorority members from being “Rush girls,” friends of the house that help out with events during Rush.
Peer2Peer hopes to start next semester
Two years ago, MIT’s long-running Nightline phone service shut down, leaving the campus without an organized peer-to-peer support system. However, an anonymous email-based program, Peer2Peer, is tentatively expected to start operating next semester.
Dancing the night away
On Saturday night, members of the MIT Ballroom Dance Team gathered in Kresge Auditorium to perform their second annual dance concert. Elaborately costumed dancers took the stage, sometimes in pairs and sometimes in groups, to perform nearly 20 different numbers in styles including tango, waltz, cha-cha, and samba (the viral Korean hit “Oppa Gangnam Style” even made an appearance). The MIT Ballroom Dance Team consists of MIT undergraduates, graduate students, and other MIT-affiliates. Members have been working on planning the concert since April. The concert also featured guest performances by the MIT Asian Dance Team and by MIT’s South Asian Fusion dance team, Chamak.
Shorts (left)
Thousands of people were evacuated from the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on Monday after a telephoned bomb threat, the fourth such evacuation on a college campus in four days.
Shorts (right)
LONDON — A planned European Union law to impose penalties on companies that do not allocate 40 percent of the seats on their boards to women has drawn enough opposition from Britain and other countries to face being blocked before it is officially proposed.
Shell delays arctic oil drilling until next year
HOUSTON — With the prospect of rich new oil fields in tantalizing reach, Shell Oil announced on Monday that it was forced to put off exploration in the Alaskan Arctic for yet another year after a spill containment dome was damaged during a testing accident.
US files trade case against China over cars
BEIJING — The United States on Monday filed a broad trade case against China at the World Trade Organization, alleging unfair subsidies for exports of cars and auto parts.
UN reports sharp jump in attacks on Syrian civilians
BEIRUT — With the Syrian conflict reported to be spilling into the Lebanese border area on Monday, U.N. investigators said civilians were bearing the brunt of indiscriminate air and ground assaults in the fighting over the future of President Bashar Assad.
Unsettled weather ahead
An amplifying upper level trough and the remnants of a subtropical low from the Gulf of Mexico will combine to bring breezy and rainy conditions to our region over the next two days. As the system approaches today, rain showers will develop. The passage of a warm front will keep temperatures nearly steady overnight tonight with rain showers and thunderstorms throughout the evening into tomorrow morning. The rain could be heavy at times, so urban flooding is a distinct possibility. A strong southerly low level jet ahead of the approaching cold front will cause gusty winds. There is disagreement between the models regarding how quickly the front will move offshore, but it looks like most of the rain will stop by mid-morning tomorrow. Later in the week, seasonably cool temperatures are expected.
Truth panel in Thailand says conflicts are festering
BANGKOK — An independent commission set up by the Thai government to investigate deadly clashes in Bangkok two years ago warned Monday that conflicts in Thai society were still simmering and that the country risked another “escalation to violence.”
RLAD process not a failure
The process of implementing Residential Life Area Directors (RLADs or ADs) has been criticized by certain undergraduates, recently culminating in an editorial in The Tech on August 31, 2012. While we are glad to see The Tech encouraging a warm welcome for our ADs, we believe that many claims about the AD process are grossly exaggerated or even inaccurate. While not perfect, the process has been neither unacceptable nor “disturbing.” In fact, it has had considerable student involvement, and we urge students to continue to actively participate in shaping the AD into a successful new support role at MIT.
Obama opens a lead with seven weeks to go
As little as two weeks ago, polling put the ball game between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney as a tie. From Sept. 3 to Sept. 6, the RealClearPolitics average of polls put the race at an exact statistical dead heat.
SPORTS SHORTS
MIT Women’s Tennis opened the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season with a 9-0 victory over Springfield College. The team cruised through three doubles matches, winning each set 8-2. The round of singles was no different. Vynnie J. Kong ’15 won her first No. 2 set 6-2 while Julia C. Hsu ’14 finished off with a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the No. 6 match. Both Candace Wu ’13 and Victoria Tam ’16 scored a win at 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 3 and 4 match respectively. Michelle M. Dutt ’15 also delivered an outstanding No. 5 match with a win of 6-1, 6-0. At No. 1, Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 crushed her opponent with a 6-2, 6-1 win. After a strong win in the NEWMAC opener, MIT Women’s Tennis will have its next match at Tufts University on Sept. 20.
Smith, Simmons fall to MIT
In its first home matches of the 2012 season, the MIT women’s volleyball team defeated New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Smith College (25-17, 25-18, 25-11) and local foe Simmons College (25-15, 25-19, 25-12) on Saturday afternoon. These victories pushed MIT’s record to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in NEWMAC.
IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME: Building houses, building communities
“You can do it!” one of my sorority sisters cheered as I awkwardly held the circular saw, which was already weighing my arm down. My task was to cut some pieces of wood for the framework of the house I was building for Habitat for Humanity. In my mind, I thought of all the things that could go horribly wrong.
Events Sep. 18 - Sep. 24
Events Sep. 18 – sep. 24 Tuesday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) “The Power of the Crowdsourced Documentary” talk presented by Jigar Mehta — E14-663 Wednesday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) Inaugural Celebration Symposium: Infinite Innovation — Kresge Auditorium (12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Welcome luncheon honoring President and Mrs. Reif — Building 50 Thursday (4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) The Price of Climate Risk talk by Robert Litterman — E51-115 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Computer-Aided-Biology to Biology-Aided-Computers talk by Professor George Church — NE-30 Friday (2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Presidential Inauguration Ceremony — Killian Court (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows The Five-Year Engagement — 26-100 Saturday (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) Animal Petting Zoo — E55 courtyard (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) The 2012 Ig Informal Lectures at MIT — 10-250 Sunday (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) The Physics of the Kresge Organ, pre-concert lecture — Kresge (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) World Premiere of Kresge Organ Symphony by Leonardo Ciampa — Kresge Monday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Writing Books for a Wider Audience — E52-600 (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) RFID Event: What Technology Will Dominate Retail? — 32-155 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
