Phoebe Wang’s cause of death determined
The death of MacGregor resident Phoebe Wang ’17 on Sept. 21 has been ruled a suicide, according to an email from Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the Massachusetts chief medical examiner’s office. The cause of death was listed as “asphyxia due to displacement of oxygen.”
Boston inching toward snowfall record
The onslaught of major snowstorms that struck the Boston area in late January and February has left the city just inches shy of the all-time record for snowiest winter. That record of 105.7 snowfall inches, set in the winter of 1995-1996, will be tied if an additional 1.9 inches of snowfall are recorded at Logan Airport before July 1st. In fact, the record has a chance to be broken this weekend, as a low pressure system will bring moisture from the Gulf of Mexico north to New England in the form of rain and snow. At this time, it appears most likely that the storm will begin as a mostly-rain event on Friday night or Saturday morning before a possible changeover to snow showers on Saturday night or Sunday. Although above-freezing temperatures may make snow accumulation challenging during this storm, there may be another chance for the record to be broken as snow showers move through the area on Monday night. That this record is on the verge of being surpassed is especially impressive considering that the seasonal snowfall total stood at only 5.5 inches as of January 23.
CORRECTIONS
An article about a recent production of the Boston Ballet, Lady of the Camellias, incorrectly attributed the book that the ballet was based on to Alexandre Dumas, who is famous for writing The Three Musketeers and The Count of Montecristo. The book, La Dame aux Camelias, was in fact written by Dumas’ bastard son, who was also named Alexandre Dumas.
Christina Tournant, freshman of Maseeh Hall, dies in Florida
Christina E. Tournant ’18, who lived in Maseeh Hall, has died at home in Florida while on voluntary medical leave, President L. Rafael Reif wrote in an email to campus last Friday.
Tsarnaev's lawyer: brother, not Dzhokhar, killed Sean Collier
The defense attorney for alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said Wednesday that it was his brother Tamerlan, and not Tsarnaev himself, who killed MIT Police Officer Sean Collier on April 18, 2013.
Matthew Nehring, freshman of East Campus, dies
A dorm meeting was held Sunday afternoon in East Campus with representatives from MIT Mental Health and MIT Student Support Services, as well as chaplains, the East Campus graduate resident tutors, and Chancellor Cynthia A. Barnhart PhD '88.
New career fair hoped to strengthen MIT-Arab ties
MIT needs to develop its relationship with the Arab World, according to the MIT Arab Students Organization (ASO). This is the focus of their most recent effort, the MIT Middle East and North Africa Career Fair (MENA).
Students reach out to each other after death of freshman
Matthew L. Nehring ’18, a resident of East Campus and a native of Colorado, died Saturday night.
Alumni group starts fund to pressure MIT to divest
Thousands of MIT alumni, students, and faculty are calling on MIT to divest its $12.4 billion endowment from fossil-fuel companies, an endeavor that MIT alumnus Rajesh Kasturirangan PhD ’04 calls “a moral obligation comparable to college divestment from South Africa during the Apartheid regime.”
Alabama Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage illegal despite federal judge’s opposite decision
The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday night ordered probate judges around the state to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, ruling indirect opposition to a federal judge that the state’s ban on same-sex
In opening statement, defense says Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's brother killed Sean Collier
The defense attorney for alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said Wednesday that it was his brother Tamerlan, and not Tsarnaev himself, who killed MIT Police Officer Sean Collier on April 18, 2013.
CORRECTIONS
An article about Mt. Simmons published last Thursday identified Dheera Venkatraman incorrectly with the pronoun “she.” The correct pronoun is “he.” A movie review published last Thursday misspelled the name of one of the writers of Song of the Sea. He is Tomm Moore, not “More.”
Warmer weather on the way
Slush filled the streets yesterday as temperatures around Boston broke 40 °F for the first time since early January. Bostonians have gained a sense of “weather relativity” this week. Some may call the warmer weather a return to normalcy; for others, it’s a heat wave. Most of the brutal weather this winter resulted from a series of persistent troughs over the eastern U.S. Luckily, that pattern has broken down, allowing warmer air to surge northward.
Quiet clouds likely in Boston as South copes with winter storm
High pressure over the Midwest is keeping the forecast for the northeastern part of the country mercifully precipitation-free. Considering the troubles that we have had trying to find a place to put all of the snow that has fallen, a week or string of 10 days without heavy snowfall is a welcome outlook. Through the end of the weekend, we should have little to no snow and varying levels of cloudiness. Temperatures will probably not venture above freezing until Monday, and overnight lows will be dipping down into the chilly single digits (°F).
Police tell students to get off Mt. Simmons
Students scaling the mountainous pile of snow behind Simmons Hall in past weeks were confronted by police officers and told to leave. Some were reportedly threatened with arrest if they did not comply.
Lawmaker asks whether MIT climate researcher took oil money
A prominent Democratic congressman is probing MIT about funding for professor emeritus Richard S. Lindzen, who is known for his skepticism of what he calls climate change “alarmism.”
Assembly limit for Boston ILGs, frats, and sororities lifted
A new social event policy for fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups has been issued and is set to go into effect today. Among other things, it will lift the party ban established last year by increasing the assembly numbers of FSILGs located in Boston that were previously limited to 49 people.