John Mikhael awarded Rhodes
John G. Mikhael ’13 has received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University next year, the Rhodes Trust announced Saturday. Mikhael is one of 32 U.S. students and the only MIT student this year to receive the prestigious scholarship.
Koch childcare center meets parent demand
On Oct. 1, MIT opened a new daycare center at 219 Vassar Street. The center, known as David H. Koch Childcare Center or TCC Koch, is the fourth of MIT’s Technology Childcare Center (TCC) facilities. Three other on-campus centers are located at Eastgate, Westgate, Stata, and the fourth is in Lincoln, Mass., serving all MIT affiliates including Lincoln Labs employees. Additionally, there is also an on-campus infant care room in Building 68.
Kavli, benefactor of science prizes, dies
Fred Kavli, a physicist who left Norway for California as a young man and made millions manufacturing sensors for appliances, automobiles and aircraft, then late in life began donating much of his fortune to science, establishing a major prize he intended to rival the Nobel, died Thursday, Nov. 21 at his home in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 86.
Externship numbers
This January, 339 undergraduate and graduate students will be participating in alumni-sponsored externships. Now in its 17th year of operation, the externship program is run by the MIT Alumni Association and provides students with opportunities to explore career paths during the January Independent Activities Period (IAP). This year, 993 students submitted 2,459 applications (a student can apply for up to three externships); 861 were undergraduates and 132 were graduate students.
Shorts (right)
WARSAW, Poland — Two weeks of U.N. climate talks ended Saturday with a pair of last-minute deals keeping alive the hope that a global effort can ward off a ruinous rise in temperatures.
Wal-Mart names chief of international unit as new CEO
As Wal-Mart enters a fiercely competitive holiday season while still hampered by sluggish sales, the company’s board announced Monday that Michael T. Duke, its chief executive, would retire early next year and a longtime executive, C. Douglas McMillon, would replace him. McMillon, 47, president of Wal-Mart International, will take the helm Feb. 1, just after the holiday season, the company said. He was also elected to the board effective immediately and Duke will help with the transition.
Shorts (left)
NEW HAVEN — Police officers swarmed onto Yale University, asked nearby shops to shut down and warned students not to go outside after a gunman was reported on campus Monday morning.
In report, 63 percent favor path to citizenship
A consistent and solid majority of Americans — 63 percent — crossing party and religious lines, favors legislation to create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living in the United States illegally, while only 14 percent support legal residency with no option for citizenship, according to a report published Monday by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute.
Close vote raises tensions in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras appeared headed toward days of political tension Sunday as the two leading candidates each declared they had won the presidency. With 43 percent of the votes counted, Juan Orlando Hernández, the conservative candidate of the National Party, led with 35 percent to 28.4 percent for Xiomara Castro, the candidate of the left-wing Libre party.
Syrian peace talks to begin on Jan. 22
GENEVA — After months of delay, the United Nations said Monday that Syria’s government and the opposition would hold their first negotiations aimed at ending that country’s civil war in Geneva on Jan. 22. But the precise agenda for the negotiations, as well as a complete list of participants, remained unresolved.
Windy Wednesday could cause travel trouble
A strong cyclonic storm will have a big impact on this week’s weather in the Northeast. The storm, which as of last night was currently forming in the Gulf of Mexico, will bring high winds and heavy rains into New England beginning tonight. Although earlier forecasts had included the possibility of a travel-crippling snowstorm for this system, it is now apparent that there will be enough warm air advected ahead of the Nor’easter to keep the precipitation in the form of rain for each of the major cities in the Northeast Corridor. Still, the storm could pose problems for those traveling home for the Thanksgiving holiday, as winds on Wednesday are expected to exceed 30 mph, with gusts upwards of 50 mph possible in the afternoon. These potentially dangerous conditions had prompted the National Weather Service to issue a High Wind Watch for much of Southern New England at the time of this publication.
Oil prices dip after nuclear deal with Iran
LONDON — Oil prices dipped Monday on the heels of an interim agreement between Iran and the United States and other world powers to temporarily freeze Tehran’s nuclear program.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear President Reif, Acting Provost Schmidt, and Vice President Zuber:
When the artist’s brush catches the censor’s eye
One of the defining characteristics of art is its ability to affect people in strikingly different ways. Some might find a painting inspirational; others might find it poignant; still others might find it offensive. As the Supreme Court explained in Cohen v. California, “one man’s vulgarity is another’s lyric.” This is particularly true when an artist attempts to push boundaries. A society dedicated to freedom of expression ought to welcome such work and the potential for thoughtful provocation that it offers. But when unorthodox art triggers controversy on the modern college campus, administrators often take dramatic measures to suppress it.
CORRECTIONS
The arts events calendar in Friday’s issue provided incorrect times for LSC’s Despicable Me 2. The showings were Friday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Capturing a temporary home
I sat down with Nora Vrublevska in the Wiesner Art Gallery, walls lined with her black and white prints, to discuss the inception of her exhibit entitled Cambridge at Night. Vrublevska, a native Latvian, has been interested in photography for most of her life. When she was younger, she saved her lunch money to buy 35mm film and develop photos, but she says, “I didn’t really know what I was doing; I was photographing at that time but I didn’t get really serious until I came here.”
SURPRISED BY FIG JAM :
Although the restaurant name may not sound very appetizing, The Salty Pig is a great option if you are in the mood for charcuterie. To get to The Salty Pig, you can walk through the Prudential Center and cut through Copley Place. Once you exit the mall, the restaurant will be right there.
MIT Men’s Basketball takes down Curry, 69-62
Matthew M. Redfield ’15 scored a career-high 27 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the MIT men’s basketball team to a 69-62 road victory over Curry College this afternoon. The Engineers built a 17-point second half lead and then held off a comeback attempt by the Colonels, who were led by Antonio Jones’ 16 points.
Events Nov. 26 – Dec. 2
Events Nov. 26 – Dec. 2 Tuesday (2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Equilibrium Dynamics in a Fluctuating Environment with speaker Ruitian Lang, sponsored by Organizational Economics — E62-650 Wednesday (4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.) Combinatorics seminar on recent progress in distinct distances problems with speaker Adam Sheffer, sponsored by the math department — E17-133 Thursday (6:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) The Annual Oven Buster Blaster Stuffer on WMBR — 88.1 FM or wmbr.org Friday (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Friday After Thanksgiving Chain Reaction, sponsored by the MIT museum ($5 for students, $12.50 for adults in advance) — W33 (Rockwell Cage) Saturday (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Fun Tech Forum: Tech Show Time II, discussion on “the genius in ancient China,” sponsored by the GSC Funding Board, MIT CAST, and MIT CSSA — NW10 lounge (Edgerton) (7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) Hats: a ballroom social ($6 for students, $8 for MIT affiliates, and $10 for the general public), sponsored by the MIT Ballroom Dance Team and the GSC Funding Board — W20 (La Sala de Puerto Rico) Sunday (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing, teaching and beginner dances from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. — Lobdell Monday (7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Folk music of the British Isles and North America, featuring Jeff Warner, sponsored by the Literature Section and MIT Music and Theater Arts — 4-237 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
