David House sues US after search of laptop
Was your laptop searched by U.S. Customs coming back from spring break? It could have been, without a warrant, and the government might have kept it for days, weeks, or even months while they searched it.
Nobel Peace Prize winner speaks at MIT
With all eyes fixated on her kind but piercing gaze, the overflowing room quieted as 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi stepped to the podium and addressed the audience.
MIT responds to Anderson death
Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 said that MIT will address “educational issues of health and safety on our campus” in light of Brian G. Anderson ’13’s death by opiate overdose.
Report released on dorm security
The Security Committee — charged by Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo to examine residential security issues in undergraduate and graduate dorms in mid-December — submitted its final report in February. According to Senior Associate Dean for Student Life Henry J. Humphreys, security plans for each dorm, which are based on the recommendations in the report, will hopefully be finalized in the fall semester.
Orientation report out
The Review Committee on Orientation (RCO), a broad group charged with evaluating every major aspect of freshman orientation, publicly released its final recommendations yesterday after nearly a year of work.
Three UA tickets to run this year
This month, three tickets will vie to be next year’s Undergraduate Association President and Vice President: Jonté D. Craighead ’13 and Michael P. Walsh ’13, Narendra “Naren” P. Tallapragada ’13 and Andrew C. Yang ’13, and Brendan T. Deveney ’13 and Mary A. Breton ’14. Campaigning officially began yesterday, and the campus will vote on April 11–13.
In Florida, intersection of tragedy, race, outrage
SANFORD, Fla. — Once again, a river of protest raged through Sanford this weekend to demand justice in the name of an unarmed black teenager shot dead. It gathered strength in front of the historic Crooms Academy, the first high school for black students in Seminole County, surged through the streets, and formed a flood of grief and outrage just outside the Sanford Police Department.
CORRECTIONS
An infographic about statistics from the Committee on Academic Discipline published on March 23 was incorrectly labeled. Eight of the academic misconduct violations were for “unauthorized colloboration.” In addition, 28 violations missing were from the graph about personal misconduct — they were listed as “other.”
Startups: a hidden lifestyle at MIT
“Sleep, friends, p-sets — choose two,” is a common mantra at the Institute. But what happens when you add your own startup into the mix?
Anderson’s cause of death determined
Brian G. Anderson '13 died of accidental 'acute opiate intoxication with cardiac enlargement contributory,' the Mass. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said yesterday.
MIT Libraries joins Ivy League partnership for access to over 50 million volumes
MIT Libraries recently became the newest member of the Borrow Direct program, a partnership between MIT and the Ivy League, which allows for MIT students, staff, and faculty to access over 50 million volumes available in libraries at Yale, Brown, Penn, Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, and Harvard (which joined shortly before MIT, in January). The service expands library access from the five million volumes currently available in MIT libraries.
Alzheimer’s drug approved
Four months before a best-selling Alzheimer’s drug was set to lose its patent protection, its makers received approval for a higher dosage that extended their exclusive right to sell the drug. But the higher dosage caused potentially dangerous side effects and worked only slightly better than the existing drugs, according to an article published Thursday in the British Medical Journal.
Committee on Discipline releases 2010-2011 report
The MIT Committee on Discipline (COD) gave its annual report Wednesday at the March faculty meeting in 10-250. Prof. Robert P. Redwine, the chair of the committee, presented the results from academic year 2010-2011.
4 MacVicar recipients
Last Friday, four MIT professors were announced as this year’s MacVicar Fellows; William Broadhead, Class of 1954 career development associate professor of history; Leslie P. Kaelbling, Panasonic professor of computer science and engineering; David Kaiser, Germeshausen professor of the history of science; and Nancy L. Rose, Charles P. Kindleberger professor of applied economics. The MacVicar Fellowship recognizes MIT professors for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education. These professors will hold their fellowships for a 10-year term, during which they will receive $10,000 annually for educational activities and other scholarly expenses.
Alcator C-Mod’s funding might be cut
Alcator C-Mod — MIT’s tokamak, a toroidal plasma confinement fusion device — is currently facing the possibility of getting all of its federal funding cut.
Kendall Biogen back
Joining the growing biotechnology industry presence in Cambridge, in 2013 Biogen Idec, the third largest biotechnology company in the world, will move its executive office from its location in Weston, Mass. to Kendall Square. The move reverses the company’s relocation two years ago, when Biogen Idec’s headquarters (including sales and marketing) moved from Cambridge to Weston, leaving its Research and Development (R&D) division in Cambridge.