Binghamton halts pledging amid hazing concerns
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Binghamton University, one of the Northeast’s top public colleges, has halted all fraternity and sorority pledging this spring after what it called an “alarmingly high number of serious hazing complaints.”
Craighead/Walsh win by a hair
In what was the closest election in recent memory, Jonté D. Craighead ’13 and Michael P. Walsh ’13 were elected Undergraduate Association (UA) president and vice president last Friday.
Phyo Kyaw ’10
Phyo N. Kyaw ’10, 23, died on Dec. 27 in a traffic accident while riding his bicycle at the intersection of Vassar Street and Massachusetts Avenue. At the time of his death, he was working as a research scientist at Cambridge-based Soane Labs. Kyaw received an SB in chemical-biological engineering, Course 10B, in 2010.
Friends remember Phyo
I often joked with Phyo that he looked like the Buddha on earth, always kind-looking, always smiling. His happiness is contagious, and his words are always comforting! Phyo is someone I’d cry in front of because he emphasizes and his words empower my spirit, and so he does for others as well! But through his always bright smiles, I see also his strong and relentless spirit — no difficulties can ever rob his happiness and optimism — because Phyo is also determined! Freshman year, Phyo struggled with his every breath as we ran by the Charles River because his severe congenital health conditions had prevented him from doing any physical exercises since birth. Before graduation, Phyo had transformed himself to be an avid workout member of Z-Center and MIT crew team. It is his unyielding spirit that bears the fruits of his physical transformation, his unfailing smiles, and his passion for life. And because Phyo’s spirit never gives up, his smiles and his passion forever linger in our minds, brightening our spirit in the dark nights. Phyo never left us, he is always here.
Hope for Alcator C-Mod
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations met Wednesday to discuss the energy and water appropriations bill — the same one that proposed to cut funding to MIT’s Alcator C-Mod for fiscal year 2013.
Postdoc found dead in jail cell
Yaron Segal, arrested on March 28 for allegedly arranging a sexual encounter with minors, died on Friday, April 13. An Israeli national, Segal was a postdoc in MIT’s Photovoltaic Research Lab (PVLab) and had received his PhD in physics from Yale last year.
Kendall committee summarizes work
The MIT student community was a no-show at Tuesday’s presentation on the reinvention of Kendall Square. There were about 100 people in attendance; 80 percent were the general public, while the remainder were city employees, committee members, etc. Two MIT students were there, and also many community residents, including some MIT faculty and retirees from 303 Third Street.
Additional updates to orientation report
The Review Committee on Orientation (RCO) released its final recommendations on Orientation last week with more updates on the state of Residential Exploration (REX) and freshman pe-orientation programs (FPOPs) for this fall. The biggest changes are that REX will no longer include a freshman adjustment lottery to change dorms, and an additional fee will be charged to FPOP students arriving early and staying on campus. The timing of FSILG Recruitment will be subject to further committee-based assignment, but no change in timing will be made for this coming fall.
What do students want in a pres.?
On April 6, the Student Advisory Committee to the Presidential Search released their preliminary report, entitled “The Student Perspective on the MIT Presidency.” Drawing upon the responses they received from six town hall meetings, each of which were attended by between 10 and 60 people, as well as hundreds of student responses from online forms, paper questionnaires, focus groups, and informal discussions, the SAC described in their 20-page report what they found to be the most important challenges, desires, and concerns of MIT. This preliminary report does not contain the list of candidates that the SAC would like to nominate.
Start-ups forced out of Kendall Square due to prices
When Ben Carcio’s idea for a Web start-up won a national competition last year, the prize included free office space at a dream address for techies: Kendall Square. He was surrounded by engineers from Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc., and venture capitalists who fund young tech companies.
Three tickets talk student issues in the UA debate
In a debate co-hosted by The Tech and the UA this past Sunday, the three tickets of potential future Undergraduate Association (UA) leaders discussed issues such as the search for a new MIT president, student-administration relationships, MIT culture, orientation, and the role of the UA on campus. Running for UA president and vice president are Jonté D. Craighead ’13 and Michael P. Walsh ’13, Naren P. Tallapragada ’13 and Andrew C. Yang ’13, and Brendan T. Deveney ’13 and Mary A. Breton ’14. The debate, which took place on the first floor of the student center, had an audience of about 30, with more people attending for some portions.
Course 2-A curriculum sees major changes
The Department of Mechanical Engineering (Course 2) is making major changes to its 2-A program, which will take effect for the Class of 2016. A pilot program for current freshmen who choose to opt in will take place in Fall 2012.
CORRECTIONS
An an article published last Friday on David House’s lawsuit against the federal government gave conflicting information about the date his laptop was seized. His laptop was taken on Nov. 3, 2010, as the article stated initially, not in “spring of 2010,” as it stated later.
Two-tier self-help system eliminated
In the 2012-2013 academic year, MIT’s tuition and fees will increase by 3.25 percent to $42,050, while its financial aid budget is set to increase by 4.7 percent to $95.6 million, according to a release from MIT News Office. Though unmentioned in the release, self-help level has risen for students with family income of $75,000 or less from $4,400 to $6,000, but remains unchanged for other financial aid recipients who had to contribute $6,000 since last year, according to the MIT Student Financial Service website.
MIT postdoc arrested in Colorado in sex sting
MIT mechanical engineering postdoc Yaron Segal, 30, was arrested on March 28 for allegedly arranging a sexual encounter with what he thought was a mother and her two underage children.
Meeting tonight to shape future of Kendall Square
The city is running a public meeting to present the work of the Kendall-to-Central study’s Kendall Square phase, and to solicit feedback.