Rare hurricane hits Cape Verde
Although Tropical Storm Erika dissipated before coming close to the United States mainland, the Atlantic hurricane basin is not entirely quiet. Earlier this week, Hurricane Fred became the first known tropical cyclone to strike the Cape Verde Islands while at hurricane strength in over 100 years. Fred passed through the group of islands in the eastern Atlantic on Monday with sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h)—strong enough to be considered a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Thus, Fred became the first known hurricane to impact Cape Verde since 1892.
DormCon organizes student-led training for Allied Barton workers
Students were invited to apply to lead trainings for dorm security workers, the first of which is set to take place this afternoon. The trainings, which will focus on “MIT culture and undergraduate needs” are expected to “alleviate past tension with Allied Barton and … build a better relationship between our student body and the security staff,” Kyle S. Saleeby ’17, Dormcon Housing Co-Chair, wrote in an email sent to dorm leaders.
CORRECTIONS
An article about the closing of the Metropolitan Storage Warehouse printed in last week’s issue of The Tech said that customers were to remove belongings from the building by Oct. 30; in fact, the majority of customers were not affected by the closing and do not need to move their belongings by that date.
New sorority opens on campus
This semester, Delta Phi Epsilon will open a new chapter at MIT and become the seventh sorority on campus. Its recruitment will begin after MIT’s existing six sororities hold their bid nights.
Nu Delta fraternity receives IFC sanctions
MIT fraternity Nu Delta faces two sanctions by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) after hosting an unregistered event last Friday that violated Pre-Orientation rules.
The Daily Confusion: 2015 FSILG Edition
CORRECTION TO THIS ARTICLE: The Daily Confusion: 2015 FSILG Edition does not represent a comprehensive list of events hosted by every FSILG. Every FSILG was allowed to submit up to ten events by our publication deadline. FSILGs that did not meet our deadline were not included. The official and complete guide, provided by the IFC, is linked in the sidebar. The article has also been updated to include several omitted events from ILGs, which were received before the publication deadline.
Tropical Storm Erika threatens U.S.
Tropical Storm Erika is currently impacting the Antillean islands, and it could become the first tropical cyclone to strike the continental United States this year. Erika became the fifth named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season on Tuesday, just a few days after Hurricane Danny became the first storm of the year to attain hurricane strength. After passing near Puerto Rico later today, Erika is expected to track to the north of Hispañola and Cuba in the coming days. By the weekend, the storm could be strengthening as it encounters warm waters in the vicinity of the Bahamas. While it is very hard to predict the motion — and especially the intensity — of a tropical cyclone several days in advance, there is a distinct possibility that Erika could impact the southeastern U.S. coast by the beginning of next week.
Suspect charged with murder after shooting
On Monday, Roosselin Altidor of Medford was arraigned on a charge of murder for the Aug. 12 shooting of 31-year-old Rasaun Nichols near MIT’s campus.
MITx grants to fund digital learning projects
Eight projects have received MITx grants from the Office of Digital Learning to produce content and tools that will be hosted on MITx for the benefit of MIT students and others around the world. The purpose of the grant program is to encourage professors to use the technology in new ways, according to the MIT News Office.
Strandbeests walk MA beach, Media Lab demo is upcoming
Theo Jansen’s wind-powered strandbeests (Dutch for “beach animals”) roamed the beach in Ipswitch last Saturday, Aug. 22. It was their first stop on a tour that will take them through Boston, to MIT, and that will culminate in an exhibition of the artist’s work at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM).
Educators discover new ways that students cheat on MOOCs
While the proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has expanded learning opportunities for individuals around the world, the digital classroom is also subject to many of the same issues as the traditional one, such as cheating.
Metro storage set to make way for dorm
The Metropolitan Moving & Storage Warehouse, located on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street, will be closing after around 120 years of business. The Institute did not renew the moving company’s lease because it plans to renovate the building as part of the MIT 2030 capital projects.
Man fatally shot in car on Main Street
A male passenger was shot in a black sedan near Central Square around 8:41 p.m. on August 12. He was later found near the Kendall MBTA Station and pronounced dead at a local hospital, Cambridge police said.
Break-in at Senior House
An as-yet unidentified suspect broke into Senior House around midnight the morning of August 3, according to a campus-wide email.
Cooler weather follows strong storm
A period of cooler temperatures is poised to begin after a severe thunderstorm passed on Tuesday afternoon. The storm, which arrived shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, brought heavy downpours, strong winds, and a barrage of hailstones to MIT’s campus. At Boston’s Logan airport, the storm brought nearly half an inch of rainfall in less than an hour, with recorded wind gusts of up to 51 miles per hour (82 km/h). Golf ball-sized hail was reported in Harvard Square, while hailstones 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter were observed in nearby Jamaica Plain. The storm capped off an especially severe weather day in Massachusetts, in which supercell thunderstorms resulted in multiple tornado warnings being issued by the National Weather Service.
3 of New House’s 6 houses will remain closed next semester
Up to 140 MIT students will be given the option of moving into the Cambridge Hyatt Regency hotel for the fall semester, following a sprinkler pipe burst in New House.