Desk policies vary across campus
Must pass desk to get in? Desk Hours Extra workers? Sign in sheet for visitors?* Guest lists?* Visitor escort needed? Keys available at desk? Changes this semester Locked out of dorm? Baker Yes 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. During dining hours During the evening No Yes Yes Two workers during dining hours. Knock or call Burton Conner Yes 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. No Yes Online Yes Yes No Get buzzed in Bexley No 8 a.m. to midnight No No No No No No Knock to be let in East Campus No 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. No No No No No No keys for checkout at desk Call to bet let in MacGregor No 7:45 a.m. to 1 a.m. No Yes At desk Yes Yes No Knock or call Maseeh** Yes 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. During dining hours Yes Yes Yes Yes No Knock McCormick Yes 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. During dining Yes Yes Yes Yes Two workers during dining hours. Knock or ring bell New House No 8 a.m. to midnight No Yes No Yes Yes No longer allowed to check out keys to non residents. Knock or call to be let in Next House Yes 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. During dining hours Yes At desk Yes Yes Two workers during dining hours. Ring doorbell, talk to desk worker Random Hall Uncertain 8 a.m. to midnight weekdays, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekends No Yes At desk After midnight Yes No longer allowed to check out keys to non residents. Knock, talk to desk worker Senior House Yes 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. No Yes No Yes Yes No Knock Simmons No 7:15 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. During dining hours Yes Online Yes, if not on guest list. If on guest list, no. Yes Two workers during dining hours. Knock
Swartz indicted for breaking and entering
Aaron H. Swartz, the former Harvard ethics fellow who allegedly orchestrated a mass download of JSTOR documents from an MIT network closet, was indicted a second time yesterday, this time in Middlesex Superior Court.
UA Council Bylaws
The name of this organization shall be the Council of the Undergraduate Association of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Council).
Cambridge elects new City Council
Municipal elections in Cambridge wrapped up last week, with only one nonincumbent councillor winning a seat on Cambridge City Council. Minka Y. vanBeuzekom won over Sam Seidel, but all eight other councillors will return next year. The new Council officially takes office on Jan. 2, 2012.
UA draft constitution & bylaws released for new government
After months of committee work, the UA has released a draft constitution and bylaws for a revamped governing structure, which President Allan E. Miramonti ’13 hopes to instate during an IAP transition period. The proposed changes went to debate at the UA Senate last night, and Senate will have to approve the changes within three meetings — otherwise, they must be re-submitted.
Harvard walks out of Econ 10
On Nov. 2, 70 Harvard students walked out of class in the middle of their introductory Economics 10 lecture to show solidarity with the Occupy Boston movement and protest the conservative bias they felt was present in their course.
Rainn Wilson comes to MIT to discuss Bahá’í film
Last Friday, Nov. 11, the MIT community welcomed Rainn Wilson, popularly known as Dwight Schrute from NBC’s The Office, as a panelist for Amnesty International’s screening and discussion of the documentary Education Under Fire.
Sikka ’13 elected Panhel president
The Panhellenic Association released the names of its new executive board Sunday, elected earlier this month. Denzil Sikka ’13 of Alpha Phi, Panhel’s current vice president for finance and administration, will take over as president on Dec. 10. Panhel’s new officers were elected by a majority vote of the six Panhel delegates from their respective sororities. Topping Sikka’s priority list for Panhel is a revamped website and increased sharing of information among sororities, specifically regarding events and scholarships. She also wants to continue to ensure smooth sorority recruitment periods and “inspire Panhellenic spirit.”
Classes overflowing!
People say that attending MIT is like drinking from a fire hose. In many classes this fall, however, the only overflow was in the classrooms.
Professor emeritus Gobind Khorana, Nobel Prize winner, dies at 89
H. Gobind Khorana, MIT’s Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry emeritus, died of natural causes in Concord, Mass., Wednesday morning. He was 89.
MIT Post Office on chopping block again
The MIT Post Office’s future once again looks grim, especially in the context of the U.S. Postal Service’s continuing fiscal problems.
Camera in Lobby 5, intended to catch vandals
Continuing its use of surveillance to combat crime and mischief, MIT’s Security Office has installed a camera in the lobby of Building 5, overlooking the wheelchair lift.
Orientation Committee solicits input
Last March, the Review Committee on Orientation was established and commissioned to examine and re-evaluate MIT’s orientation program. This includes the Freshman Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOPs), Freshman Orientation, Residential Exploration (REX) and Housing, and FSILG Rush. On Nov. 10, the committee held its first public forum for students to give their input on the orientation evaluation process. The committee expects to present its findings and final recommendations in January 2012 to Dean for Undergraduate Education Daniel E. Hastings ’78 and Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo, who will make a final decision.
Why do science majors change?
Last fall, President Barack Obama threw what was billed as the first White House Science Fair, a photo-op in the gilt-mirrored State Dining Room. He tested a steering wheel designed by middle schoolers to detect distracted driving and peeked inside a robot that plays soccer. It was meant as an inspirational moment: children, science is fun; work harder.
More than $600 million missing from MF Global
A few days before MF Global’s collapse, regulators stationed at the firm were assured its books were in order.
Zuckerberg press conference
Before speaking to an assembly of students in 26-100 yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a brief press conference outside Lobby 10. Much of the discussion referred to his comments at a Stanford University event last Saturday, when he said that he may have kept Facebook in Boston if he had the chance to start over.
MIT and Russia to build research university
On Oct 26, MIT signed an agreement with Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation, marking the beginning of a three-year endeavor to develop a graduate research university, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (SkTech, pronounced S-K-Tech). SkTech is located in Skolkovo, a region near Moscow that has been described as Russia’s future Silicon Valley. The agreement was signed by MIT President Susan J. Hockfield, Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg, and SkTech founding President Edward F. Crawley ’76, a Course 16 Professor.
Facebook, Zuckerberg “like” MIT
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg swung by MIT yesterday to tell a packed 26-100 about Facebook’s corporate culture, what it’s like working in Silicon Valley, and — not surprisingly — why MIT students would make good Facebook engineers.