Building 12 could be demolished by Summer 2014
Turning left off of the infinite corridor at Cafe Four could soon lead to a new destination. Director of Campus Planning, Engineering & Construction Richard L. Amster, confirmed that Building 12 could be demolished as early as this summer, pending approval by the City of Cambridge. The removal of the building will make way for the Nano-Materials, Structures, and Systems Lab (nMaSS), which is projected to be completed in 2018.
NEWS BRIEFS
According to an MIT News Office press release, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) included five MIT professors in the group of 388 scientists it named as fellows last Tuesday.
Willis H. Ware, computer engineer, dies
Willis H. Ware SM ’42, an electrical engineer who in the late 1940s helped build a machine that would become a blueprint for computer design in the 20th century, and who later played an important role in defining the importance of personal privacy in the information age, died Nov. 22 at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 93.
1983: MIT’s first sorority rush
Editor’s Note: This article originally ran 30 years ago in Issue 54 of Volume 103 of The Tech on Friday, Dec. 2, 1983. “From the Archives” is the first of a recurring segment where we reprint articles from The Tech’s archives that are relevant or interesting to today’s MIT community.
Retailer Amazon announces drone delivery plan
SAN FRANCISCO — Hard to believe, but there was once a time when the visionaries worked for the government. Rebuilding a ruined Europe, putting a man on the moon, ending poverty, connecting the American interior with highways — these were immense tasks undertaken, and often achieved, by bureaucrats.
Oxytocin and social behavior
Scientists have been eager to see if the hormone oxytocin, which plays a role in emotional bonding, trust, and many biological processes, can improve social behavior in people with autism. Some parents of children with autism have asked doctors to prescribe it, although it is not an approved treatment for autism, or have purchased lower-dose versions of the drug over the counter.
Insurgents strike in major Nigerian city
LONDON — Authorities in northeastern Nigeria imposed a 24-hour curfew around the region’s main city on Monday after Islamic militants staged an audacious attack apparently aimed at a government air base, news reports said, describing the assault as among the most dramatic in the insurgents’ campaign to create an Islamic state.
Biden faces delicate two-step in Asia
TOKYO — With Japan locked in a tense standoff with China over disputed airspace, Vice President Joe Biden arrived here late Monday for a weeklong visit to Asia intended to reassure a close ally and demand answers from a potential adversary.
Economies worldwide are showing momentum
Bucking fears of a sharp brake on growth after the government shutdown in the United States and earlier signs of distress in Europe and Asia, global manufacturing activity sped up in November, raising hopes for a broader global economic turnaround in the coming year.
December is here, but no snow yet
The first week of December will be reasonably warm, with a mix of sun and clouds and highs in the mid-40s°F. A low-pressure system is situated over the Atlantic Ocean, but most of the precipitation is expected to stay away from the New England coast. The precipitation, if any, will be in the form of rain instead of snow. Temperatures will be on par with historical averages for Boston at this time of year.
Ukrainian protesters control landmark plaza
KIEV, Ukraine — Even as thousands of protesters occupied Independence Square, blockaded the Cabinet Ministry and continued to demand his resignation, President Viktor F. Yanukovych of Ukraine on Monday defended his refusal to sign accords with the European Union, said he was on the verge of securing lower gas prices from Russia, and urged opposition politicians to wait for presidential elections in 2015 to challenge him.
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a ruling from New York’s highest court requiring Internet retailers to collect sales taxes even if they have no physical presence in the state.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — More than a year after the Supreme Court upheld the central provision of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, a fresh wave of legal challenges to the law is playing out in courtrooms as conservative critics and their Republican allies on Capitol Hill make the case that Obama has overstepped his authority in applying it.
Top UN rights official links Assad to crimes in Syria
GENEVA — The top U.N. human rights official linked President Bashar Assad of Syria to war crimes and crimes against humanity for the first time Monday, citing evidence collected by her panel of investigators over the course of the 33-month-old conflict in that country.
Are we willing to be honest about ethics?
Nothing would excite me more than to see individuals, institutions, businesses, and governments placing more emphasis on ethics. I applaud MIT President Rafael Reif’s recent article in The Tech “Ethics education at the Institute” requesting that we enhance our ethical awareness. However, as beneficial as placing a higher emphasis on ethics might prove, we must also accept that a keener perception of ethics would place a much greater responsibility on the Institute. The consequence of a serious inquiry into ethics will be a heavy burden to bear.
CORRECTIONS
In last Tuesday’s issue, the interview with photographer Nora Vrublevska incorrectly stated that the print of the MIT boathouse was developed in a darkroom, when it was only printed in a darkroom. Also, the article stated images were inject printed, when they were inkjet printed. Vrublevska would also like to thank Jennifer Recklet Tassi, whose name was originally printed as Jennifer Recklet.
Footloose hits the stage at Berklee
Some films are met with lukewarm welcomes when they hit the screen, only to go on to serve as snapshots of the eras in which they were made. I’ve always considered Footloose (1984) to be one of these ugly ducklings that are met with initial flurries of derision, yet mellow with time and nostalgia into appreciable works. For it in particular, this transformation has largely been possible because of its uniqueness as a film — not because of the acting or directing, but rather because of the music. The plot tells the tale of a dance-happy teenage boy from Chicago by the name of Ren McCormack, who moves to a small, much less excitable town where dancing and rock and roll have been banned under the orders of local minister Rev. Shaw Moore, who is still traumatized by the long past death of his son and three others in an alcohol and party-related car accident. After some clashes with the town’s rather puritanical adults and falling in love with the preacher’s rebellious daughter, Ren manages to convince the minister to allow for prom to be held, albeit outside of town limits. Cue dancing, and credits roll to music from the 1980s.
Hollywood remake still delivers
Delivery Man follows a forty-year-old serial screw-up and truck driver for his family’s butcher store who finds himself the defendant in a class-action lawsuit brought on by 142 of his children.
Perfectly on point
Boston Opera House was glowing with holiday spirit as attendees eagerly squeezed into the ornate, lavish venue for a sold-out opening night of Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is an extravagant, breath-taking production featuring eye-popping set changes, immaculately designed costumes, and energetic, striking choreography that takes the audience on an enchanting journey. Throughout the ballet, audiences alternated between erupting in laughter and breaking out in thunderous applause.
Boy band drops bubblegum pop status
I was unsure of what to expect when my headphones began streaming the first notes of One Direction’s third studio album, Midnight Memories. Although I haven’t been keeping up with the band since their days on the UK televised performing competition known as the X Factor, I’ve been listening to their music for a long enough time to be able to distinguish each member by voice, and I went to their Take Me Home Tour concert in Seattle this summer.
MIT squash team falls to Colby College, 7-2
At the final home match of the weekend, the MIT squash team were defeated by Colby College by a score of 7-2, with the lone wins coming from Nikhil N. Punwaney ’17 at No. 1 and Tyler M. Finkelstein ’17 at No. 2. After falling to Wesleyan and Bowdoin yesterday, the Engineers now have a record of 4-4 on the season following an undefeated start to their season.
Swimming and diving team receives 2 awards
Following a strong weekend of competition, the MIT men’s swimming and diving team received two conference weekly honors, as announced by the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) on the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 25. The 200-yard medley relay that was made up of Bradley A. Mattix ’16, Michael J. Liao ’14, Sean R. Corcoran ’16, and Austin D. Fathman ’15 was named Relay of the Week, while Liao also received Swimmer of the Week honors for his individual swims.
Events Dec 3 - Dec 9
Events Dec. 03 – Dec. 09 Tuesday (8:00 p.m.) LSC shows Ride Along — 26-100 Wednesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Brown Bag Lunch Series: Corals of the deep sea — E38-300 (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) xTalks: Online teacher education in Pakistan — 12-122 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Introduction to Web Design using Wordpress, sponsored by the Sloan Coders — E51-361 Thursday (4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Will MIT Lead Against Climate Change? A Discussion on Divestment — 4-237 (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Long-Form Journalism: Inside “The Atlantic” — 66-110 Friday (7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows The Nightmare Before Christmas — 26-100 Saturday (1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Anime Karaoke — W20-491 (2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Fun Tech Forum: TECH SHOW TIME III: Arts in Ancient China — 26-100 Sunday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) QWERTY is dead, long live QWERTY! The Birth of Input in Twentieth-Century China — E51-095 (7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Bangladesh Victory Day Celebration — 50-140 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Man on the street
What do your classmates think about food? We asked around in the Student Center to find out!
