DormCon overspends on already controversial overnight retreat
At a May 16 meeting of MIT’s Dormitory Council (DormCon), members were informed that the their annual retreat cost more than anticipated, by an amount not mentioned in the DormCon meeting minutes. The original budgeted cost for the retreat was $4000 — a figure that had already caused discontent among some undergraduates who felt the money would be better spent on events that directly benefit residents of each dormitory.
Dennis Freeman is next DUE, succeeds Hastings
Dennis Freeman PhD ’86, Professor of Electrical Engineering and the Course 6 undergraduate officer, has been appointed MIT’s next Dean for Undergraduate Education (DUE), Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 wrote in an email to the MIT community last Thursday. Freeman will step into the position on July 1, succeeding Daniel E. Hastings PhD ’80, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems, who has served as DUE since 2006.
Bexley Hall vandalized on night before move-out date
This past Saturday morning, Bexley Hall House Manager Jon Nolan notified Bexley residents of vandalism done to the dorm’s 50 entry the night of Friday, June 7. According to the email, the damage was significant, including broken glass strewn across the floor, fixtures torn from the walls and ceiling, and a hole in the wall that Nolan described as “the size of a human being.”
President Obama pays Boston visit
President Obama breezed through Boston Wednesday, in town less than three hours to help Democrats fortify U.S Representative Edward J. Markey’s campaign for U.S. Senate.
Institute Double Take
For a fleeting moment Wednesday afternoon, two rainbows emerged over Boston, pulling the landscape out of the dreary pallor that has characterized the past week. All over campus, work stopped as people noticed the view, and social media exploded with hastily snapped photos. Most of these were from street level or near to it, with buildings obscuring the view, and taken on cameras with sensors incapable of capturing the full dynamic range and spectrum of colors. I wanted to preserve the full view of the moment, and was fortunately able to grab both a wide-angle lens and an excellent view. I left the aperture wide open for this shot, preserving the hazy, almost dreamlike, character of the landscape. It’s wonderful to be reminded how beautiful this campus, and this city, can be.
Record yield of 73 percent for admitted Class of 2017
The yield for the incoming Class of 2017 is MIT’s highest ever. According to Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill ’86, 1,125 took up MIT’s offer of admission, representing 73 percent of the pool of 1,548 accepted students, who themselves made up only 8.2 percent of the 18,989 applicants. The yield is up from 2012 and 2011, when 70 percent and 65 percent of accepted students chose to enroll at MIT, respectively.
MIT Corporation elects 12 term members, 5 life members
The MIT Corporation elected 12 term members and five life members during its quarterly meeting on June 6, according to an MIT press release. Entrusted with seeing that MIT carries out its mission, the Corporation approves annual budgets and degrees, elects and advises the president, and forms committees to look into the Institute’s long-term concerns.
Shorts (right)
NEW YORK - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed major changes to New York City’s building code on Thursday, saying Hurricane Sandy showed that both commercial and residential properties needed additional safeguards to withstand severe weather.
A rare June Nor’easter
A Nor’easter, the type of weather system that usually brings snowstorms to New England in the wintertime, will make a rare June appearance today, creating breezy conditions and drenching rain. This is the same storm system that brought severe weather, including a large complex of thunderstorms known as a derecho, to the Midwest on Wednesday evening. Having moved through the Mid-Atlantic states on Thursday, the storm system moved offshore overnight and underwent a process called cyclogenesis, forming a strong low pressure center. That low will move northeastward (hence the name) past the tip of Cape Cod today, bringing the aforementioned rain and wind to our area.
Greek state broadcaster shut down, prompting worker strikes in protest
ATHENS, Greece - Thousands of Greeks walked off the job Thursday in the third general strike of the year, this time called by labor unions to protest a surprise decision by the conservative-led government to close the state broadcaster and put about 2,900 employees out of work.
NSA chief to release details on surveillance program
WASHINGTON - The director of the National Security Agency said Thursday that he would release more information about the top secret programs that sweep up vast quantities of communications data on people here and abroad, and vowed to clear up what he said were inaccuracies and misperceptions about how the programs work.
Secret-court ruling in 2008 put tech firms in legal data bind
SAN FRANCISCO - In a secret court in Washington, Yahoo’s top lawyers made their case. The government had sought help in spying on certain foreign users, without a warrant, and Yahoo had refused, saying the broad requests were unconstitutional.
Shorts (left)
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has decided not to investigate or prosecute the former pope and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church on allegations of covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests.
Inspector commits suicide after Philly building collapses, killing six
PHILADELPHIA - A city building inspector was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound late Wednesday, a week after a building collapsed at a site he had inspected in central Philadelphia, killing six people.
Bill Clinton’s dissent on Syrian action puts White House on the spot
WASHINGTON - A day after former President Bill Clinton endorsed a more robust U.S. intervention in Syria, the White House pushed back Thursday on an issue that has Clinton aligning himself with Sen. John McCain, who has faulted President Barack Obama for his reluctance to get entangled in the bloody civil war there.
Tilting at windmills
As Washington Post staff listened to the fantastical stories being woven by Edward Snowden, our leaker du jour, I can’t help but wonder why they didn’t greet his tales with a healthy dose of skepticism. Surely the memory of Bradley Manning, the private who cried wolf, couldn’t have been distant in their minds. For all the grand claims of U.S. malfeasance that Manning made, when his stolen database of secret diplomatic cables was finally out for all to see, there was very little that appeared out of the ordinary. Now the confused youth sits in a maximum security prison, discredited among all but a few small groups that still misguidedly regard him as a cause célèbre.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
There aren’t many people to look up to in the public eye nowadays, but Edward Snowden is one. The 29-year-old former analyst is responsible for leaking details of the NSA’s massive citizen surveillance programs, including PRISM, a secret program collecting masses of personal data from all channels of digital communication. Snowden did not wait to be discovered, but instead revealed himself in a thoughtful and inspiring video interview with The Guardian.
CORRECTIONS
An article in last Friday’s issue of The Tech on MIT’s highest compensated employees previously had an incorrect headline. Susan Hockfield was not the highest compensated individual at MIT in 2010. She was the highest compensated only for 2011, receiving $1,199,877. In 2010, Seth Alexander was the highest compensated, receiving $1,316,463 compared to Hockfield’s second-place $1,006,969.
Cult espionage
The East is a movie for our times. It grounds its narrative in the complexity of the two ubiquitous evils of our capitalist societies. The first is negative externalities — power companies make more money if they skimp on environmental measures, thus polluting the water you have to drink. The other is moral hazards — a pharmaceutical company downplays the side effects of a drug in order to boost its sales.
A recruitment ad for Google
Wedding crashers Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn team up again in Shawn Levy’s feel-good buddy flick about two underdogs with no technical skills who talk their way into a summer internship program at Google and show that spirit can overcome even the most difficult of projects. Nick (Wilson) and Billy (Vaughn) are watch salesmen who lose their jobs and face a bleak future in which their sales skills can’t translate into anything other than selling mattresses for a scumbag boss. Billy somehow lands them an interview for internships at Google, The committee decides that hiring two charismatic guys with “life experience” who humorously BS-ed their way out of actually answering the interview question represents a nod to diversity at a company where everyone else is too predictably educated.
Superman: the man, the hero — and the genre
Man of Steel is a Superman movie. I don’t mean just with regards to its subject, but as a definition of the genre. And, even though it is a good movie, the self-imposed constraints it followed to fall square within that genre make it a good-enough movie, when it could have been — or at least I was hoping it would be — a great movie. The plot of the movie suffices to keep it afloat, although I do think the city-wrecking fighting went on for too long. The special effects are well-executed, even if the shaky-camera trick may have been overused.
A poignant tale of unsettling compromises
One afternoon during last fall, I came back from class exhausted and frustrated by the never-ending amount of studying and homework waiting for me. I decided to relax and watch a movie that would require minimum mental attachment, which for some reason always helps to clear my mind. I remembered my friend telling me to watch some romantic movie from the 90s called Before Sunrise. I wasn’t very picky at that moment, so I found the movie, made some mood-elevating dinner and sat down for a session of good old leisure.
Summer sounds of Danish electronic soul
This year ought to be a milestone for Robin Hannibal. Just earlier this year, he and Mike Milosh released a spectacularly sensual album Woman under the artistic moniker Rhye, which swept the critics and the fans off of their feet. Now, only a few months later, he reunites with Coco O, the second half of his well-established musical project Quadron, to release their sophomore album Avalanche and set the ground for this summer’s music scene.
New competition for Volleyball
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The MIT men’s volleyball team will join the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) starting in 2014. The Engineers, who have been an independent team for the past two seasons, will begin conference play immediately with the UVC.
SPORTS SHORT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The MIT men’s lightweight crew team traveled to California for the 111th annual IRA National Championship Regatta, which took place from Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2. Tech entered one varsity four boat in the championships, competing in their first race early on Sunday morning.
