Chile president visits MIT, tours Media Lab
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera visited the MIT Media Lab last Friday to give a speech in front of an audience consisting primarily of Chilean students in the Boston area. Piñera encouraged his audience members to return to their native country, Chile, after completing their education. Piñera addressed his audience in Spanish.
Only over-the-counter inhaler off shelves in 2011
If you are among the 2 million Americans depending on a drugstore inhaler to deal with asthma, it may be time to schedule a doctor’s appointment. At the end of the year, your only non-prescription treatment option is coming off the shelves.
Toast for sale! Grab a bite for $1.875 million.
“I really like the human-like statue with a hamburger head and a sombrero.”
Diagnostic sees changes
For a majority of the class of 2015, the math diagnostic was the first academic hurdle to conquer at MIT. On Aug. 29, 700 freshmen sat for the two-hour exam, used to suggest class placement for their Physics I GIR course.
CORRECTIONS
Because of an editing error, a letter published last Friday omitted several words from the second sentence. It should read, “Yet data from the Guttmacher Institute show that the abortion rate is over twice as high for women who live with their partner as for those who do not.”
Startups scramble over MIT students
When it comes to the job market, MIT students have still got it. A record 350 companies turned out for Wednesday’s Career Fair in Johnson. This year also marked the first time Career Fair was held — not coincidentally — on a student holiday.
Hungry in EC? Head to Pinkie’s
It’s 1 a.m. You’ve just finished a p-set and you’re starving. What do you do? Most students hit up LaVerde’s or Chicago Pizza, but now East Campus residents have another choice for cheap, late-night snacking thanks to Vincent P. Le ’13, also known as Pinkie. Le and a small group of volunteers have recently started Pinkie’s Diner, open Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the Talbot lounge in EC.
In a newly revamped Rush, 455 bids offered
Gordon W. Wintrob ’12, Interfraternity Council (IFC) president, can sleep very well at night. The IFC had “a very safe, hassle-free Rush,” in which 455 bids were offered to 369 men, he said — about 1.23 bids for each freshman who rushed. Of the men that were offered bids, 321 (about 87 percent) have pledged as of Monday night.
Former MIT adult stem cell researcher resumes fight against human embryonic stem cell funding
James L. Sherley is at it again. When a court decided in July that the NIH could indeed fund human embryonic stem cell research, and that they were not violating a Congressional appropriations rider to do so, Sherley and his co-plaintiff, Theresa A. Deisher, said they would appeal.
Hungry on the weekend? Clover will soon be open!
The delicious smell of chickpea fritters wafted over the west side of campus this past weekend. Saturday and Sunday, the Clover food truck that is normally parked on Carlton Street behind the MIT Medical building was docked in front of the Z-Center for the t=0 entrepreneurship conference (only for the weekend, sorry!).
UA elections see low voter turnout
The biannual whirlwind of Undergraduate Association elections has passed, leaving a Senate-elect consisting of dedicated students, a Pokémon, a risqué historical figure, a feline, and several seats still to be determined by run-off elections.
Perry and Obama diverge on border
To the president of the United States, the 1,200 border miles that stretch from Brownsville to El Paso are either “among the safest in the nation.” But to the governor of Texas, the border is “not safe.”
OBITUARY Nicolás E. Del Castillo ’14
Nicolás E. Del Castillo ’14 was found dead in his East Campus dorm room on Sept. 4. He was 18. His death was the result of an apparent suicide by asphyxiation. A memorial mass was held for him at the MIT Chapel the following Sunday.
FredFest IV showcases local bands
Last Friday marked the fourth anniversary of FredFest — MIT’s largest outdoor concert — held in East Campus courtyard.
Activists, doctors split on HIV bill
A proposal to change how people give consent for HIV tests has divided AIDS advocacy groups in Massachusetts and upset major medical organizations, stymieing legislators trying to bring the state into compliance with federal recommendations aimed at promoting more testing.
Alchemist to call MIT home
Alchemist, originally on loan for the duration of MIT’s 150th anniversary celebration, can now call the Institute home. The sculpture, which sits between the Student Center and Massachusetts Avenue, represents a thinking man comprised of numbers and math functions.
We’re number five!
MIT is in a five-way tie for fifth place in U.S. News and World Report’s 2012 national university rankings. The Institute took the No. 5 spot along with Caltech, Stanford, UChicago, and UPenn. Havard and Princeton tied for the No. 1 spot, followed by Yale in third and Columbia in fourth.