UA VP candidate withdraws
This year’s Undergraduate Association Presidential/Vice Presidential election took a surprise turn late Sunday night, when UA VP candidate Johnathan Kongoletos ’14 emailed out to several dorm lists announcing his withdrawal from the UA VP candidacy at 11:21 p.m., under 10 hours before online voting opened at 9 a.m. yesterday morning. At that time and throughout the day, both of the tickets — Sidhanth P. Rao ’14/Devin T. Cornish ’14 and Cory D. Hernandez ’14/Johnathan Kongoletos ’14, for UA P/VP — still appeared on the ballot at vote.mit.edu.
Reif’s letter to the MIT community
I am writing to explain an important step that MIT has decided to take relating to the Aaron Swartz situation. Since this action affects members of our community, directly or indirectly, I want you to hear about it from me.
Police find body in Charles, has tentative identity
Around noon yesterday, state police troopers and the state police marine unit responded to the report of a dead body under the Harvard Bridge near Memorial Drive. According to the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) Twitter feed, the body was recovered and under investigation by the Middlesex County detective unit as of 2:43 p.m.
Four professors selected for MacVicar fellowships
Today is MacVicar Day, a celebration of MIT’s dedication to enriching undergraduate education. As part of the celebration, this year’s MacVicar Fellows are being honored at this afternoon’s symposium.
A memorial for Aaron Swartz
A memorial was held for Aaron Swartz on the sixth floor of the Media Lab Tuesday evening. The event, hosted by Media Lab director Joi Ito, included speakers like Swartz’ colleagues, friends, and family.
Two tickets on the ballot for 2013-2014 UAP/VP
Students will cast their votes next week for the 2013–2014 Undergraduate Association President and Vice President. The next UA President and Vice President will take office at the end of the spring term. There are two tickets running this year: Cory D. Hernandez ’14/John Kongoletos ’14, and Sidhanth P. Rao ‘14/Devin T. Cornish ’14. Voting opens on Monday, March 18 and will be open at vote.mit.edu until Friday, March 23.
UAP/VP candidates debate goals
The two tickets running for UA President and Vice President faced off last night in a debate in the student center, co-hosted by the UA and The Tech. Running for President and Vice President, respectively, is the team of Cory Hernandez ’14 and John Kongoletos ’14, and the team of Sidhanth Rao ’14 and Devin Cornish ’14.
1548 admitted frosh for the Class of 2017
Yesterday evening, 898 high school seniors found extra reason to celebrate, besides the inherent mathiness of the date. As per tradition, MIT released admissions decisions for the fall’s incoming freshman class on Pi Day at precisely 6:28 p.m., or “tau o’clock,” in honor of pi’s bigger cousin constant.
US Attorney General questioned on Swartz
U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder was questioned by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) last week over the prosecution of Aaron Swartz. At a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, Cornyn asserted that the penalties Swartz faced for mass downloading JSTOR articles via MIT’s network were disproportionate to the magnitude of the crime.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Chief Google economist talks on data, statistics, and Google tools
Yesterday afternoon, the Undergraduate Economics Association hosted a lecture by Google’s Chief Economist, Hal R. Varian ’69, on “Predicting the Present with Search Engine Data.”
Harvard comments on search of email accounts
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University and its president on Monday made their first public comments on the university’s searching of staff members’ email accounts, and offered a qualified apology for keeping the searches secret from most of the employees involved.
UA elections coming up next week!
Undergraduate Association election week begins at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 18, and students can vote online at vote.mit.edu until 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 23.
EECS considers 6-M major
This year’s new 6.S02 survey course is a first foray into what is proposed to be the new 6-M (“6-Medical”) major within Course 6 (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science). 6.02 (Intro to EECS II) is a required lab class for Course 6 majors, but was not taught this spring. In its place appeared 6.S02, Intro to EECS II from a Medical Technology Perspective, which will also be the only 6.02 option next Spring. The new 6-M major has gained popularity as a concept among students currently enrolled in 6.S02, though the class has also garnered criticism from enrolled students about how the class is taught — because the class is in its first iteration, there are still many kinks to iron out.
Obama nominates Moniz
On Monday, President Obama nominated MIT’s Ernest J. Moniz as the next secretary of energy. He will replace Steven Chu, who announced last month that he would resign. Only in the past decade have scientists occupied the position. If confirmed by the Senate, Moniz, a physicist, would continue that pattern.