Cambridge ban on single-use plastic bags will affect campus retailers
Cambridge has become the largest city on the East Coast to ban single-use plastic bags with the passing of the “Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance” on March 30. City councillors voted 8-1 to ban single-use plastic bags and impose a 10-cent fee on paper bags.
SAO to put ‘checks and balances’ on student group transactions
In wake of the controversy surrounding rapper Lil B’s appearance on campus, the Student Activities Office (SAO) will be adding additional “checks and balances” to the process by which student groups can enter into contracts with outside service providers and transfer funds between other groups, according to Leah Flynn Gallant, director of the SAO.
Four professors named 2015 MacVicar Fellows
On March 13, four MIT professors were named MacVicar Fellows for their contributions to undergraduate education: Arthur Bahr, Catherine L. Drennan, Lorna J. Gibson, and Hazel L. Sive. Each will receive $10,000 annually for 10 years to aid them in their efforts to enhance the learning experience at MIT.
Spring?
A late-season push of cool air has reminded Bostonians of a dreadfully active winter. Yesterday, Boston saw light rain with sleet mixing in at times. A low pressure system to the south has pushed a tongue of warmer air into region, causing snow to melt as it falls to the surface. After passing through the warm layer, precipitation refreezes and reaches the ground as sleet.
Man arrested after bag of human remains found in Kendall Square
A duffel bag containing parts of a dismembered body was found in front of the Biogen office in Kendall Square roughly half a mile away from the MIT campus on Saturday after the Cambridge Police Department received a call about a suspicious package.
CORRECTIONS
Undergraduate Association President Shruti Sharma ’15 has retracted a quote published last week in an article about her authorization of a payment to rapper Lil B. Sharma originally said: “I wanted to do something that would make it easier and the way it was presented was almost like SAO [Student Activities Office] also wanted me to sign this … it seemed like I needed to sign it that day.” In an email to The Tech, Sharma clarified her position: “It was not the SAO pressuring me directly as conversations with Leah [Flynn] only started after the fact. Instead, it was presented from the student that the contract had been signed already and as a result, funding had to be delivered so BSU [Black Students’ Union] would not go into debt. As the UA’s responsibility is to help students and especially to support groups, it seemed to me that the UA needed to step in to help.”
Tsarnaev found guilty of bombing marathon, killing MIT officer
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty on Wednesday of all 30 counts he was charged with in the Boston Marathon bombings, including the killing of MIT police officer Sean Collier. The verdict was unanimously reached by the jury after 11 hours of deliberations over two days.
President of Niger visits MIT
On April 3, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger visited MIT and toured the biophysics laboratory of Ibrahim Cissé, a native of Niger and an assistant professor of physics courses including 8.01 and 8.02.
The unnoticed expansion of domestic surveillance
Earlier this week, John Oliver of HBO’s Last Week Tonight presented a compelling piece on the upcoming deadline for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act — the law passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks which greatly enhanced the government’s powers of surveillance. At the time, the public asked few questions, demanding action for greater security and disregarding the potential cost. Twelve years later, Edward Snowden leaked classified documents from the National Security Agency about the breadth and depth of the NSA’s surveillance programs from that point forward, sparking national and international debate.
Revelations in body and soul
Try telling a wordless story in five minutes that inspires your audience and distills reality. At the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), this art is perfected by a team of performers as graceful and poetic as they are energetic and assured. Billed as a “ballet”, Alvin Ailey is refreshingly accessible and attracts a more diverse audience than the typical “Nutcracker” or “Swan Lake.” While generally following the forms of classical ballet, the show includes contemporary music and costuming, and small gestures like jazz hands or waving goodbye help turn dancers into relatable people.
Capturing experience
Herb Ritts has returned to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts for the first time since 1996. The exhibit opened on March 14, and it revisits some of the American fashion photographer’s finest works.
April’s Player of the Month: Maryann Gong ’17
The Tech’s April Player of the Month is Maryann Gong ’17. Gong was recently named the NCAA Division III Women’s Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. She won the 3000m race at the national meet to go along with a third place finish in the mile race and helped her team clinch second in the relay. She was also instrumental in leading the women’s track and field team to victory in the Division III regional meet.
Men’s volleyball team wins annual Scramble Tournament
In their final outing of the season, the MIT men’s volleyball team captured their second straight MIT Scramble Tournament title on Saturday, April 4. The Engineers blanked Lehman College (25-12, 25-13, 25-17), Bard College (25-17, 25-14, 25-20), and Endicott College (25-21, 25-23, 25-15) to finish the year with a record of 18-11. Alex Klein ’15 was named the Tournament MVP while Brendan Chang ’16 secured a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Men’s tennis blanks Springfield 9-0
MIT swept the doubles matches against Springfield College and used the momentum to complete a 9-0 win over the Pride in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men’s tennis action. MIT improved to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the NEWMAC while Springfield fell to 4-5 and 1-1.
Spiral
“SAAM Says” is a collection of narratives by sexual assault survivors and victim advocates being published during MIT Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This is the first of four pieces in the series.
