Maseeh MHEC votes to secede from DormCon
Maseeh Hall Executive Council (MHEC) emailed the Dormitory Council (DormCon) last night to withdraw Maseeh from DormCon, citing budget-related and representation concerns. A 4-3 vote of Maseeh Exec passed the motion Sunday night. Previously, Bexley had been for years the only dorm not in DormCon, and it stopped paying its yearly $1,200 tax to DormCon in 2008.
Survey: few meals missed despite plan inflexibility
“It’s a big scam,” one student wrote of MIT dining in response to a survey The Tech sent out to undergraduates. Is it?
Dining plan now mandatory for Thetas, no plans for more dining communities.
Some Kappa Alpha Thetas were disappointed this past month when they found that their renegotiated lease contract for their sorority house on dorm row with MIT included a new provision: all members living in the house must be on a Dining Plan. However, Senior Associate Dean for Residential Life & Dining Henry J. Humphreys said that any fears of other current cook-for-yourself communities being put on the dining plan are unfounded.
Thousands attend Sean Collier memorial service
On Wednesday, MIT cancelled classes for the fourth time this academic year. This time, however, it was not for a natural disaster or terror threat, but for a memorial — a celebration of the life of Officer Sean A. Collier.
The role and function of the Institute-wide HDC
Next time you have something to say about the dining halls, consider talking to the members of MIT’s House Dining Committee (HDC).
Residential dining at the Institute
Among residential four-year universities in the U.S., providing some sort of dining plan for their undergraduates is commonplace. While plans vary, a significant number provide buffet style all-you-care-to-eat service. Until Fall 2011, MIT was not among that number.
Administration reflects on the future of dining
Now that the new dining plan has been in place for almost four semesters, how could it improve? Although the House Dining Program is unlikely to change in the short term, the system will be evaluated after next year in an assessment driven by student opinion and data that Residential Life & Dining can gather about usage of the plan, feedback about the quality of food, and other metrics, says Henry J. Humphreys, senior associate dean of Residential Life and Dining (RL&D).
Students discuss the value of the dining plans
The five MIT dining halls on campus — and their respective food quality — have produced a variety of comments, both good and bad, from students around the Institute. According to The Tech’s online survey, students tend to pick the lowest meal plan available to them. Moreover, given the choice, many students would prefer meal plans much lower than their own. When asked what they would change about dining at MIT, students responded saying they wished for rollover meals (where not used meals would be transferred to more meals the next week), relax the requirement for underclassmen to subscribe to costly meal plans, and add more variety to the food while also making the plans more friendly to those with dietary restrictions (i.e. vegan-friendly).
Graduate alumni survey published
If you’re a graduate student, how do you think you’ll view your MIT experience once you graduate? In order to get the answers to questions, like how worthy the degree has actually turned out to be in real life, how satisfied the graduates are, and what is the range of salary a MIT graduate receives, MIT’s Office of the Dean for Graduate Education has surveyed alumni who graduated in 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, and 2008. Among the 15,806 total graduate alumni, 3,692 responded, giving an overall response rate of 31 percent for Doctoral Alumni and 20 percent for MBA and other Master’s Alumni..
Carjacking victim recounts tale of harrowing night
The 26-year-old entrepreneur had just pulled his new Mercedes to the curb on Brighton Avenue to answer a text when an old sedan swerved behind him, slamming to a stop. A man in dark clothes got out and approached the passenger window. It was nearly 11 p.m. last Thursday.
Over 3K attending SpringFest concert with Macklemore tonight
MIT is gearing up for its highest attended Spring concert in recent memory, according to UA Events Committee members Daniela M. Yuschenkoff ’14 and Lindsey C. Osimiri ’14.
Exclusive Feature: Dining at MIT
The Tech investigated the state of dining, evaluating whether opinions have changed since the introduction of the new plan. We ran a survey to gather student opinions on various aspects of the dining system. 24 percent of the undergraduate population, including 564 students that are currently on a meal plan — 30 percent of the students currently enrolled in the meal plan — responded. We hope that this feature on the state of dining sheds some light on areas where residential dining can be improved.
A return to safety after manhunt ends, fallen MIT police officer remembered
Boston Police announced at 9:45 p.m. on Friday that the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, had been taken into custody after an intense manhunt that lasted nearly 24 hours, ending the threat to public safety.
Recap of other news last week
Want more out of Course 7? You’re in luck! At the faculty meeting last week, a Masters of Engineering Program (MEng) in Course 6-7 (Computer Science and Molecular Biology) was approved as well as two new classes — 7.015 and 7.016 — that fulfill the Biology General Institute Requirement. 7.015 is a more advanced introductory class for those who come in with a substantial background in biology, while 7.016 specializes in biochemistry. For more information, check out The Tech’s prior coverage last week at http://tech.mit.edu/V133/N19/biology.html.
Haitian Prime Minister visits MIT
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, came to MIT to sign a letter of agreement with the Institute regarding a collaboration to develop STEM teaching materials in Creole, the language spoken by a majority of Haiti’s citizens.
Criminal complaint sheds light on violence last week
The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was charged Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death. According to a press release from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s office, the criminal complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the charges carry a maximum penalty of death.
Faculty Newsletter focuses on education
With MIT’s involvement in the online education sphere, it is no surprise that the role of MIT in the future of education has yet again taken the spotlight in a faculty newsletter. The March/April issue, published April 12, opens with an editorial on MITx: “One happy consequence [of MITx] is unquestionable: we discuss how we teach more now than ever before.”
IN SHORT
There will be a memorial service for Officer Sean Collier on Wednesday at noon on Briggs Field. It is open to law enforcement and the MIT community. The following streets will be closed: Mass. Ave. between Albany and Beacon St. starting at 7 a.m., Vassar between Audrey and Mass. Ave. at 6 a.m., and Memorial Drive between Mass. Ave. and the BU Bridge at 12 a.m.
MIT remembers Officer Sean Collier
At 2:50 p.m. Monday afternoon, the state of Massachusetts paused in silence in honor of fallen MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. At the same time, hundreds of people linked hands and formed a human chain on Vassar Street from the MIT Police Station to the memorial where Officer Collier was slain, outside the MIT Stata Center. Those attending formed a continuous chain stretching more than eight-tenths of a mile, blocking traffic at the busy intersection with Massachusetts Avenue.