MIT hackers show support for Ahmed Mohamed
Four days after high school student Ahmed Mohamed was arrested for building a clock that his teachers mistook for a bomb, hackers at MIT showed their support for the 14-year-old by constructing their own digital clock display and hanging it over a banister in Lobby 7 last Friday.
Pilot program will recruit spouses of grad students as child care providers
A new program led by the MIT Family Childcare Network will support the training, licensing, and operations of child care providers caring for children of graduate students in Eastgate and Westgate residences. In the first phase of the pilot program, spouses and partners of MIT graduate students will be recruited as caregivers.
Random Hall’s express guest list experiment continues this year
Random Hall’s express guest list system, implemented this past spring, is continuing into its second year. A similar program at Maseeh, implemented in fall 2014, will also continue.
3Q: Prof. Karen Gleason on the Metro Storage Warehouse
MIT is advancing a proposal to create a new hub for undergraduate residential life that would include housing, dining, maker space, common and study space, and street-level public retail. The proposed development at 134 Massachusetts Ave. — which could house more than 400 students — would incorporate the unique historic nature of the Metropolitan Storage Warehouse and provide needed flexibility as the Institute continues to enhance its undergraduate and graduate student housing stock. Associate Provost Karen Gleason, the Alexander and I. Michael Kasser Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is leading the effort and spoke with MIT News about the project.
More grads choose industry over PhDs
As students flock to Career Fair today to speak with recruiters from tech companies, hedge funds, and startups, many will be seeking full-time jobs and internships. If recent trends in GECD survey results are any indication, more MIT students than ever will enter the workforce upon graduating next semester.
Kendall development project poses traffic concerns
As MIT prepares to move forward with redevelopment plans for the east campus and Kendall Square area, Cambridge officials have expressed concerns that the project will draw increased traffic to an already-congested area.
Picturesque fall weather to continue
This week’s pattern of sunny, seasonable weather will continue through the weekend, with a strong high pressure system forecast to move in from the northwest. High pressure systems, or anticyclones, tend to be associated with calm, sunny weather, since their clockwise motion (in the Northern Hemisphere) induces large-scale subsidence, or downward motion of air from the upper troposphere. The air warms as it descends due to the increase in atmospheric pressure, and it remains dry, since air in the upper troposphere cannot retain much water vapor.
A tale of two generations
When I first saw the theatrical release poster for The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, I thought that I was in for a Devil Wears Prada part two — but I was only partially right. While The Intern is vaguely reminiscent of Hathaway’s breakout film, the roles are reversed. Hathaway plays the role of Jules Ostin, the hard working CEO and founder of an online clothing retail site, About The Fit. De Niro plays Ben Whittaker, a 70-year-old widow who joins the company as a senior intern after deciding that retirement was not for him.
Pilot episodes can be rough
I was incredibly excited to hear that Fox was premiering a TV spinoff of the futuristic sci-fi movie Minority Report (directed by Steven Spielberg, 2002). The series is appropriately (or perhaps, confusingly) called Minority Report. A quick summary for those who haven’t seen the film (I do recommend it!): fast forward to 2054, the government has future-predicting “pre-crime” tech that allows them to capture criminals before they commit (or even think to commit) crimes. Tom Cruise’s character, John Anderton, realizes that these methods are not completely reliable and can imprison innocent people. I enjoyed the movie version — I thought it was philosophically interesting and the plot was engaging and constantly thrilling. Minority Report, the TV show, however, leaves much to be desired.
Season opens with loss for women’s club soccer
The women’s club soccer team opened its season at Steinbrenner Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 19 against Harvard. After a goalless first half, which saw both teams missing several scoring opportunities, Harvard took the lead with a goal early in the second half.
Engineers win 3-0 over Mount Holyoke
After a tight first set that saw seven ties and five lead changes, MIT took control and went on to defeat Mount Holyoke College, 25-17, 25-14, 25-6, in a NEWMAC women’s volleyball match on Tuesday night. In two sets, Abigail C. Bertics ’19 tallied a match-high 10 kills to go along with a .471 hitting percentage and two blocks for the Engineers (11-1, 3-0 NEWMAC). Emma Sweeting paced the Lyons’ balanced attack with five kills to go along with five digs and a solo block.
Laundry and life
My first day of class, I was up before my alarm. I typically take an extra ten minutes to mourn the end of summer. That morning, however, was the exception. That morning was a magical microcosm of perfection, on par with a sunny “getting-ready-for-school” movie montage. I could almost hear faint echoes of peppy ukulele music.
