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.
RingComm disappointed by alcohol discovered at 2015 Premiere
As hundreds of excited sophomores poured out of Kresge Auditorium after Ring Premiere on February 15, some left without enjoying the entire event. Instead, they had been in the bathroom vomiting.
Undergraduate tuition rises by 3.24 percent
MIT’s undergraduate tuition will increase by 3.24 percent for the upcoming academic year (2013-2014), according to an announcement made by the MIT Corporation last Friday.
DormCon budget causes grumbling
This past Thursday, MIT’s Dormitory Council approved a $23,000 budget that included about $15,000 for CPW, consisting of about $5,000 from Admissions, $5,000 from Housing, and $5,000 of its own money. The budget also included $4,000 for a 30-person DormCon retreat at Endicott House — an overnight retreat that includes chef-made meals. The space is popular with student groups and dorm governments for retreats. The retreat would be attended by the 12 executive members, 11 dorm presidents, and “plus ones” of any attendee, according to DormCon president Edward A. Mugica ’13.
Freshman GIR pass rates remain steady relative to yearly averages
Last semester, the freshman class’ passing rate for the math and science General Institute Requirements (GIRs) was 96.3 percent. According to Julie B. Norman, the Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, this pass rate is similar to previous years’ numbers. Of the 203 students who received fifth-week flags, 15 dropped the subject they were flagged in, and 39 did not end up passing.
Emphasizing effect of cuts a risky move
WASHINGTON — As the nation’s top Democrat, President Barack Obama has a clear imperative: to ratchet up pressure on Republicans for across-the-board spending cuts by using the power of his office to dramatize the impact on families, businesses and the military.
Searching for a successor to DUE Hastings
The search for the new Dean for Undergraduate Education, the successor to Dean Daniel E. Hastings ’78, is “well under way,” according to search committee chair Graham C. Walker.
Half of Longfellow Bridge to close from Summer 2013 to Fall 2016
According to the Mass. Department of Transportation, its board of directors approved a construction contract for final rehabilitation of the Longfellow Bridge. During the construction, according to the Boston Globe, the bridge will only accommodate one lane of cars traveling from Cambridge into Boston. One outbound lane will be a feature of the finished bridge, which will have wider bike paths and sidewalks. For the first phase of the project, slated to last from the start of this summer to Winter of 2014 or 2015, Cambridge-bound traffic will be redirected to the Craigie Bridge, which sits next to the Museum of Science. For the remainder of the project, the opposite side of the bridge will be closed, but vehicular traffic will still be restricted to flowing inbound. The Red Line will also be truncated at both ends of the bridge for 25 weekends once construction begins, said the Globe. Shuttle buses will be available to carry citizens across the river during these weekends, and temporary track will be put in place to allow the train to run at normal capacity on the weekdays.
MIT ranks 11th in alumni donations
In 2012, MIT raised $34,795 per student. This puts MIT as the 11th highest fundraiser when compared to other reporting U.S. colleges and universities, according to a press release last week from the Council for Aid to Education (CAE). Stanford University, which received the most total contributions with $1.03 billion in fundraising, ranked fifth with $55,745 per student. Yale University, California Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and Harvard University ranked 7th, 8th, 17th, and 18th, respectively.
Nate Silver talks to a packed MIT crowd
A large crowd packed Bartos Theater last night for a talk with Nate Silver, hosted by Seth Mnookin and the MIT Communications Forum. The auditorium quickly reached its 190-person capacity, and many wannabe audience members were left to watch the live feed outside the theater.
Linked genetic base for mental illnesses
The psychiatric illnesses seem very different — schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, major depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Yet they share several genetic glitches that can nudge the brain along a path to mental illness, researchers report. Which disease, if any, develops is thought to depend on other genetic or environmental factors.