Lil B delivers freestyle lecture at MIT
Last Friday, recognized rapper Lil B visited MIT to give a lecture that touched on identification, feminism, race, and even included an impromptu freestyle rap. Known for his social media presence that helped propel his fame, Lil B announced the lecture through a tweet two and half weeks in advance. The lecture was sponsored by the MIT Black Students’ Union and held in room 32-123 of the Stata Center.
Externship numbers increase
A record 1208 students sent in over 3000 applications to the MIT Alumni Association’s Externship Program this year, according to Katie C. Maloney, Director of Parent Association and Student/Alumni Relations. Over a third of the applicants plan to spend this January’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) working with alumni sponsors worldwide.
Warm up on the way
The pesky trough which kept weather in the area cold and rainy this week will gradually transition to the east tonight. A ridge will begin to influence the eastern US tomorrow, allowing highs to reach the lower 40s°F (5°C). On Sunday, the ridge amplifies allowing much warmer air to overspread the region. Southerly winds will notch highs into the lower 50s°F (10°C) and bring overcast skies to the area. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. We finally make it into the lower 60s °F (10°C) on Monday, but the trade-off is rainy weather.
CORRECTIONS
In the Friday, Nov. 14 issue of The Tech, a photo caption states the MIT water polo team won the Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Division Championships when in fact they did not.
Board’s chair on future of Institute
Leadership of MIT’s Corporation changed hands this fall, with Robert B. Millard ’73 elected as the Corporation’s new chairman.
Olympic Committee visits MIT regarding Boston bid
On Nov. 18, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) visited Boston and MIT’s campus to evaluate Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games, according to the MIT News Office.
Obama, Democrats snub Prof. Gruber over remarks on health care law
MIT economics professor Jonathan H. Gruber ’87, often referred to as a key Obamacare “architect,” has come under fire recently for videos from 2012 and 2013 in which he calls American voters “stupid” and attributes the passage of the Affordable Care Act in part to “basic exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter,” according to press reports from this past weekend.
CORRECTIONS
An article about the Newbury Street Shutdown march in the Friday, Nov. 14 issue of The Tech incorrectly left the date of the event unspecified. It occurred Oct. 25.
Guichard-Ashbrook remembered
Work and marriage brought Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook to India, Japan, and Hong Kong, where she studied, taught, and assisted refugees. That was ample preparation to direct MIT’s International Students Office, but her emotional resume was just as pronounced. To sense the struggle of adapting to a distant new home, she needed only to look inside her heart.
Parents Weekend policy reignites dorm security talk
Dormitory security procedures during Parents Weekend have rekindled undergraduate resentment toward new security policies implemented at the beginning of the semester.
Petition launched after Mem Drive car accident
After an MIT Sailing employee was critically injured by a car in early September while trying to cross Memorial Drive, Marjory Bravard ’02, an active sailor during and after her time at MIT, launched a petition imploring President Reif and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to “improve pedestrian safety along Memorial Drive.” The petition currently has over 2,000 signatures.
Two Seamless members say hackathon misattribution was unintentional
Since the publiation of an article in The Tech about allegations of plagiarism against HackMIT contestants on the Seamless team, HackMIT organizers and two members of Seamless have stated that the videos they presented as output of their own code in the hackathon’s final presentation were actually published by Microsoft Research. Both these two contestants and the organizers said that the misattribution was unintentional, while a third member of the Seamless team has sought to publicly distance himself from the project.
Phone scammers target MIT community
Dozens of members of the MIT community reported being victims of phone scams last week, in which they received seemingly legitimate calls from local police departments demanding money.
Two retired MIT professors win Presidential Medal of Freedom
Earlier this week, Institute Professors Mildred Dresselhaus and Robert Solow were announced winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Smoot legacy continues on Harvard Bridge
An anonymous donor has given the Charles River Conservancy 2.5 million dollars to install new lighting along the Harvard Bridge, with one condition: that the new lights be installed every 30 Smoots.
CORRECTIONS
The HackMIT article in the Friday, Nov. 7 issue incorrectly referred to the class year of HackMIT organizer Richard Z. Ni ’15 as a ’16.
Watch for a hint of winter this weekend
For most of the country, the last week has been exceptionally cold as a frigid Canadian air mass left many of the states between the Great Lakes and the Rockies with snow cover and a reminder that colder weather is approaching. The Great Lakes region could see some lake-effect snow today as Northwesterly winds blow cold air over the relatively warm lake water. The signs of winter will also be apparent in the Cambridge area as it is likely to snow in the early morning today and temperatures will dip below freezing tonight and tomorrow night. The highs this weekend aren’t likely to get much higher than 40°F, and the moderate Northwesterly winds will make it feel colder still. It’s time to get used to these temperatures, as next week doesn’t project to be much warmer.