MIT hosts community meeting about Title IX, professors win MacArthur Grants
Earlier this week, posters related to the removal of Burton-Conner murals were displayed around the MIT campus. Barbara Baker, the Title IX Co-Coordinator for MIT, wrote an email to the Burton-Conner community in response to concerns about these posters, encouraging residents to attend a community meeting to “discuss MIT’s policy against sexual harassment and misconduct in compliance with Title IX,” among other topics.
Rush 2013 sees more students rushing, over 50 percent of freshman men pledging
The first week of the academic year marked another successful Rush period, according to IFC Rush Chair Haldun Anil ’15. Of the 451 bids MIT fraternity chapters issued to 381 students, 330 have accepted their bids, accounting for more than half of the male freshmen population. (Not all students issued bids were freshmen.) These numbers are an increase over 2012 when 440 bids were issued to 375 students, yielding 324 pledges, and 2011 when 455 bids were offered to 369 students, yielding 321 pledges. Historical records show that the number of bids issued has remained fairly constant over the years but that the number of students receiving bids has increased steadily since around 2009.
Small offices for profs during renovations Courses 14, 18 move to cramped spaces
After being relocated into smaller offices due to renovations of their buildings, the Mathematics and Economics Departments are optimistic, though frustrated with their situation.
Regulators fine British firm ICAP $87 mil in Libor scandal
LONDON — U.S. and British authorities moved a step further Wednesday in their investigation into the manipulation of the benchmark interest rate known as Libor, fining the British financial firm ICAP a combined $87 million for its role.
Google alters search engine to handle complex queries
Google on Thursday announced one of the biggest changes ever to its search engine, a rewriting of its algorithm to handle more complex queries that affects 90 percent of all searches.
Russian court orders Greenpeace activists held
MOSCOW — A Russian court ordered Thursday that 10 Greenpeace activists, including a U.S. ship captain and a photographer who was accompanying the group, be held in custody for two months while the authorities investigate whether a demonstration at an offshore oil rig in the Arctic was an act of piracy.
Detroit manager seeks to freeze pension plan
On Thursday, the emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, issued the preliminary results of a three-month investigation that identified diversions of shared money into individual accounts, real estate investments that lost millions of dollars and “disconcerting administrative protocols” for handling health care and other benefits.
Security council agrees on resolution to rid Syria of chemicals
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have agreed on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapons, but the text will not threaten the use of force for a failure to comply, officials said.
Shorts (left)
NAIROBI, Kenya — Only days after heavily armed assailants stormed a crowded mall and killed scores of people in the capital, militants killed three people near the border with Somalia, Kenyan officials said Thursday, putting this country even further on edge.
Quiet, sunny weather persists
It will be a pleasant early fall weekend, thanks to a high pressure system that will remain in control of our weather. The high temperatures will be near or slightly above the climatological normal value of 69°F, while the low temperatures will likely be slightly cooler than the climatological normal value of 54°F, thanks to mostly clear skies that allow for strong radiative cooling at night. It is unlikely we will receive rain before the end of the month on Monday, so we will fall far short of the 3.44” that is the climatological average for September precipitation (so far, we’ve received 2.21”). Looking farther ahead, a coastal low will pass to our east on Monday night. There is significant model spread in the position of the low, but there is a chance that rain will impact the Cape and Islands.
Davis is expected to run for Texas governor
HOUSTON — Wendy Davis, the Texas state senator whose filibuster in June against an abortion bill backed by the state’s powerful Republicans catapulted her to national political prominence, has told supporters and potential donors that she plans to announce next week that she will run for governor, according to Democrats in Texas and Washington.
EA sports settles lawsuit with college athletes
EA Sports and the Collegiate Licensing Co., two defendants in a lawsuit filed by student-athletes seeking to be paid, have settled their roles in the case, according to a federal court filing Thursday.
CORRECTIONS
A caption and an article in Tuesday’s issue on MIT’s new Innovation Initiative misspelled Phillip A. Sharp’s name.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
On August 7, 2013, Artem Krasnoslobodtsev wrote a letter to The Tech in which he attempted to apologize to the MIT community and to those whom he had hurt in 2007. At that time, he sent an email to the Sloan LBGT Group insulting them for being LBGT and threatening their lives. The Committee on Discipline cut him some slack and placed him on probation: if he had one more infraction, he would have been expelled.
Even the dancing seems cliché
Jason Blake (Josh Holloway), a once successful basketball coach who turned to alcohol after the death of his wife and son, is recruited by his hip-hop big shot friend Dante Graham (Laz Alonso) to form a “Dream Team” of the best b-boys from cities all over the U.S. to compete in the largest international breaking competition, the eponymous Battle of the Year.
arts Events SEPT. 27 – OCT. 3
arts Events SEPT. 27 – OCT. 3 Friday (5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.) Architecture Lecture: Inaqui Carnicero, “Second Hand Spaces,” — 7-429 (6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) ”In the Family” Film Screening and Discusion with the director — 32-155 (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.) LSC presents Much Ado About Nothing. Free admission — 26-100 (8:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) Fred Fest — East Campus Courtyard Saturday (9:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.) Hacking Arts event — MIT Medialab (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.) Futuristic movie showing with pizza and popcorn — MIT Museum (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.) LSC presents Much Ado About Nothing. Free admission — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) MIT Shakespeare Ensemble presents Measure for Measure. Free admission — W16-035 Sunday (9:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.) Hacking Arts event — MIT Medialab (2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Rumba and Samba Workshops — Sala de Puerto Rico (4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.) MITHAS presents: Violin Maestro Padmashri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman Memorial Concert & Biography Book Release — Wong Auditorium (7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MIT Shakespeare Ensemble presents Measure for Measure. Free admission — W16-035 (8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing — Sala de Puerto Rico Monday (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Foxtrot Workshops — Lobdell Tuesday (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) MIT Folk Dance Club presents Contra Dance with live music by Larry Unger and Julie Metcalf — Student Center 491 (8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Students perform modern Korean Adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew — Killian Hall Wednesday (7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Israeli Dance beginner’s night — Sala de Puerto Rico Thursday (10:00 a.m. – 9:45 p.m.) Think Pink Exhibit Opens — MFA Loring Gallery (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Architecture Lecture: Rafi Segal, “One Line is Given” — 7-429 Send your arts events to arts@the-tech.mit.edu.
Saving the world from sentient food mutants
I walked into this movie determined that I would not laugh harder than the eager, soda-sipping, snot-flinging kids that surrounded me. I walked in with my head high and my ego puffed, confident that I would not shed a tear at the emotions on screen until little Timmy and his barely coherent sister next to me were bawling with sentimentality. I walked in, steadfastly thinking that this was a silly animated flick that had no power over me.
Go, but not for the dumplings
One of the most underrated assets of MIT is its location. A 10-minute bridge walk takes you into the heart of Boston, and a 10-minute bus ride gets you to that other university. What this means is that great food is never too far away. As company info sessions wind down, it is time to go out and explore the restaurants that our city has to offer.
Back with swagger
“Comin’ off the last record, I’m gettin’ 20 million off the record.”
Dancing under the stars
The Boston Ballet opened its 50th season before an estimated audience of over 45,000 ballet aficionados, performing the dazzling Night of Stars in Boston Common last Saturday. The free one-night performance featured excerpts from Boston Ballet’s entire repertory of classical, neo-classical and contemporary ballets. Multiple giant screens, a velvety state-of-the-art sound system and the gigantic stage, which at times dwarved soloist and pas de deux performances, made for an enchanting evening of highbrow artistry.
MIT Women’s Volleyball improves to 10-5 on the season, 2-1 in league play Engineers victorious over Mount Holyoke College in straight sets: 25-23, 25-13, 25-22
The MIT women’s volleyball team battled Mount Holyoke College for a 25-23, 25-13, 25-22 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory on Tuesday night. With the win, the Engineers improved to 10-5 on the year and 2-1 in league play while the Lyons dipped to 8-3 overall and 0-3 in the NEWMAC.
