MIT Gangnam Style: gone viral
After a couple tantalizing teasers, MIT students woke up on the morning of Oct. 27 to the full-fledged “MIT Gangnam Style” video taking the Internet by storm. Since then, the MIT parody of Korean popstar Psy’s sensational “Gangnam Style” — which has skyrocketed to worldwide popularity — has garnered over 4 million views.
Siddiqui ’95 loses appeal before 2nd Circuit
Aafia Siddiqui ’95 lost her appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit yesterday morning. She was convicted in February 2010, and then appealed.
Is MIT red or blue?
Have you ever wondered whether your professor leaned right or left politically? This election season, MIT faculty and staff have given more than $300,000 in direct financial contributions to the presidential campaigns since April 2011, according to public data provided by the Federal Election Commission.
Underclassmen donate $4,000
The Underclassmen Giving Campaign (UGC) wrapped up last Friday, with students donating a total of $3966 to fund their classmates’ public service projects. As in past years, an anonymous MIT alumnus will match all student donations, doubling the amount raised to $7932.
Peer Ears: here to listen
Feeling stressed but don’t know what to do? Starting next spring, students will be able to take advantage of a new student-run program called Peer Ears, designed to allow students, or “peer ears,” to refer their peers in need to the proper MIT support resources. The program was founded by Divya Srinivasan ’13 and Emad Taliep ’14, who felt that many students were not always sure where to go if they encountered a problem. Unlike MedLinks, however, peer ears will not be trained to handle mental health issues themselves.
Swartz gets high-powered attorneys
Aaron Swartz has a new legal team. The Internet activist accused of mass downloading files from JSTOR through the MIT network has hired top San Francisco law firm Keker and Van Nest to represent him, according to court filings on Wednesday. Keker is a medium-sized law firm specializing in intellectual property law.
Sloan grad student found dead
Heng “Nikita” Guo, an MBA student in MIT’s Sloan School, passed away last Friday in her apartment in Cambridge. Her death has been ruled a suicide by the Medical Examiner’s office. She was 28.
Introducing the Predict the 2012 Presidential Election contest
Do you think you can predict the 2012 presidential election? Which direction will the swing states swing?
A note from the Chancellor
This death is a tragedy for the MIT community. Our hearts go out to Ms. Guo’s family — and to the larger MIT community of which she was a valued part. At this time, I urge all members of the MIT community to take especially good care of themselves and of one another at this difficult time. MIT’s full range of student support and mental health services is available to you all. Students can also turn to their housemasters and graduate resident tutors (GRTs) for support, as well as resident advisors in the fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (FSILGs). All members of the MIT community are encouraged to take advantage of grief counseling offered by Mental Health Service at 617-253-2916.
MIT prepares for the Frankenstorm
MIT is closed today due to considerations for Hurricane Sandy. There will be no classes, and all non-essential personnel will be off work for the three shifts of the day. Most of MIT Medical is closed, though Urgent Care is open.
14 million votes already cast
With more than one in three votes likely to be cast before Election Day this year, Republicans are stepping up their efforts to chip away at what has been a Democratic advantage in early voting in key battlegrounds like Ohio and North Carolina.
‘Fiscal cliff’ could lower MIT funding
The potential “fiscal cliff” at the end of 2012 would slash the U.S. federal budget across the board, hitting the nearly $475 million MIT receives from the government each year for research. The Institute could see up to 10 percent cuts in its federal research funding, according to Vice President for Research and Associate Provost Claude R. Canizares.
MIT closed on Monday for hurricane
MIT was closed yesterday due to considerations for Hurricane Sandy. There were no classes, and all non-essential personnel were off work for the three shifts of the day. While most of MIT Medical was closed, Urgent Care remained open.
Paintballs may deflect an incoming asteroid
In the event that a giant asteroid is headed toward Earth, you’d better hope that it’s blindingly white. A pale asteroid would reflect sunlight — and over time, this bouncing of photons off its surface could create enough of a force to push the asteroid off its course.
EdX platform integrates into classes
Nearly six months ago, Harvard and MIT announced the launch of edX, billed as a new online learning platform that would revolutionize education for students around the world seeking. But the universities associated with the nonprofit venture — which now include the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Texas system schools — are also in it to improve their residential classes. This fall, several courses that MIT students are taking on campus — including freshman General Institute Requirement 8.01 (Physics I) — are also making use of edX software.