An Institute listening tour
On Tuesday evening, President L. Rafael Reif gave a presentation at the Sidney-Pacific graduate residence as a part of his Institute-wide listening tour — one of the methods that Reif is using to gather feedback on a number of topics, including thoughts on education, research, and the community, from students and members of the MIT community. The tour will consist of a dozen open sessions with faculty in all five schools, and will serve as a way in which students and staff can both formally and informally interact with Reif.
Change on the horizon in east campus region
Mixed-use towers rivaling the Green Building in height may be on the horizon for MIT’s east campus after members of the Cambridge Planning Board commended MIT’s Kendall rezoning petition at a meeting Tuesday evening. The board is expected to formally recommend the petition to the City Council early next month.
X University Consortium goes international
Students in Austrailia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Canada can now feel more represented in the edX universe than ever before. The Australian National University (ANU), Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, McGill University and the University of Toronto in Canada, and Rice University in Texas joined edX on Wednesday, according to an edX press release.
Small crowd attends first State of the Undergraduate Association address
Monday night marked the first State of the UA address, headed by UA President Jonte D. Craighead ’13.
Macklemore is Spring Weekend headliner
The Undergraduate Association (UA) Events Committee has announced Macklemore featuring Ryan Lewis as the headliner for SpringFest 2013, MIT’s annual concert event. The concert will be on April 26 in Johnson, and the opener will be determined in the coming weeks. A survey sent by the committee in the fall showed “overwhelming” support for Macklemore, according to committee member Daniela M. Yuschenkoff ’14. The survey included other artists that, according to Yuschenkoff, were not touring far away or recording at the time of the concert, and also asked students what genres of music they would prefer.
Charges proposed for Syria
GENEVA — The U.N. Security Council should refer Syria to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to prosecute those responsible for war crimes and other abuses committed in nearly two years of conflict, Carla del Ponte, a U.N. human rights investigator, said Monday.
Brass Rat unveiled: 2015 Ring Premiere
It was a chilly 37-degrees as the Class of 2015 began to amass along the perimeter of Kresge on Friday. They came in droves — fraternities, sororities, halls, clubs — all individual groups, and yet on this night united for one reason: the premiere of the Class of 2015 Brass Rat.
China’s army seen as tied to hacking against US
On the outskirts of Shanghai, in a run-down neighborhood dominated by a 12-story white office tower, sits a People’s Liberation Army base for China’s growing corps of cyberwarriors. The building off Datong Road is the headquarters of PLA Unit 61398.
MIT in the storm
While students were out enjoying the snow, MIT employees were busy keeping the campus running. Though classes were canceled last Friday, hundreds of workers for Bon Appétit and facilities were hard at work. Due to the lack of transportation, many of them remained around campus on Friday night.
Feeling under pressure recently?
How can MIT students change expectations so they don’t compete against each other? Should undergraduates feel like underachievers if they are taking only four classes? Can a grad student work a 9–5 schedule without feeling like they are slacking? Are certain majors “less hardcore” than others? Where does the faculty fit into the picture of student stress?
A revised policy on alcohol
MIT has recently changed its “Good Samaritan Policy.” Meant to protect those who call for help for a victim in an alcohol-related emergency, the policy is designed so that the “good samaritan” will not get in trouble for calling an ambulance for someone. The old policy, largely unchanged since it was written in the mid-2000s, was several pages long, and also included minimum outcomes (e.g. a follow-up from housemaster, or review by the Committee on Discipline) for individuals transported to a hospital many times or living groups responsible for the intoxication. Last spring, Don Camelio, director of Community Development and Substance Abuse, and Judith M. Robinson, associate dean for Student Outreach and Support, conducted focus groups about the old policy, and then created the Alcohol Policy Working Group to further review it. They decided to modify the policy “to remove some of the perceived barriers to seeking help”, according to the CDSA website. Camelio described the old policy as “not user friendly.”
Admissions Office lowers CPW event cap to 175
Dorms will be limited in the number of Campus Preview Weekend events that they can hold this year, according to Katherine Kelley, assistant director of admissions. The total number of dorm CPW events will be capped at 175, and the events will be divided between dorms by DormCon, according to Kelley. This is the second year that a cap has been in place for dorm events; last year, the number of events was capped at 200.
Early sophomore standing
This year, 25.9 percent of freshmen were offered early sophomore standing, down slightly from last year’s 26.9 percent. Of the 296 eligible, 134 freshmen have accepted so far. Offers were sent out in late November by the Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Julie B. Norman. Although freshmen have until Add Date, March 8, to accept, Norman does not expect the number to rise significantly.
Winter storm brings headaches & fun to Institute
Winter storm “Nemo” (as named by The Weather Channel) swept through Cambridge this past weekend, dumping 24.9 inches of snow and leaving much of New England in disarray. MIT was closed on Friday, on Saturday, and for the first two work shifts on Sunday. The storm was the fifth largest snowstorm to hit Boston in recorded history.
IN SHORT
The UA’s shuttle service to Costco, Target and the rest of the Gateway Center in Everett will begin on Saturday, Feb. 16 and continue on a biweekly basis. A full schedule and map of pickup locations (which are throughout campus) can be found at http://web.mit.edu/facilities/transportation/shuttles/grocery.html.
Nevin S. Scrimshaw dies at age 95
Institute Professor emeritus Nevin S. Scrimshaw, who founded MIT’s former Department of Nutrition and Food Science, died in Plymouth, N.H., on Friday, Feb. 8. He was 95 and died of congestive heart failure.
Watching Obama for pre-speech signs of change
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday night, the president will address the nation and Congress on the state of the union. But many will watch as well for signs of the state of Barack Obama.