UA proposal seeks flexible dining options
Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo met with Undergraduate Association leaders last Friday to discuss possible changes to the new dining plan this fall. UA President Vrajesh Y. Modi ’11 and Vice President Samantha G. Wyman ’11 presented a proposal in which dorms would decide their own dining plan and current upperclassman could opt out of the new dining plan.
Early action applications on the rise
The number of undergraduate early action applicants has again increased, by about 14 percent over last year. Though the admissions office does not have an exact tally yet, they predict that there will be nearly 6,500 early applications, which would be 800 more than last year’s 5,684.
News Briefs
A complaint against Kappa Sigma for holding noisy pledge events at Burton Conner on Oct. 10 has been investigated by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and dismissed after following the pre-hearing procedures outlined in the IFC Judicial Bylaws, according to Ryan Schoen ’11, president of the IFC.
News Briefs
The UA Committee on Space Planning is working on revitalizing the former game room next to LaVerdes Market on the first floor of the Student Center.
20 arrested in NYC trying to see underground art
The New York City police have arrested 20 people for trying to enter an abandoned subway station housing the formerly secret guerrilla exhibition of underground street art that was revealed to the public this month.
The secret to how cats drink, as told to professors by Cutta Cutta
It has taken four highly qualified engineers and a bunch of integral equations to figure it out, but we now know how cats drink. The answer is: very elegantly, and not at all the way you might suppose.
Corrections
The article about Commencement speaker Ursula Burns incorrectly stated that the MIT Corporation make the final decision selecting the Commencement speaker. In fact, it is President Susan Hockfield who has the final say.
Two new petitions fight dining process
Two more student petitions against the new dining plan have sprung up this past week, one at Next House and another at Baker.
In schools’ efforts to end gay bullying, some see agenda
HELENA, Mont. — Alarmed by evidence that gay and lesbian students are common victims of schoolyard bullies, many school districts are bolstering their anti-harassment rules with early lessons in tolerance, explaining that some children have “two moms” or will grow up to love members of the same sex.
2010-2011 IFC Executive Board election results announced
A new Interfraternity Council (IFC) executive board was elected last Wednesday, Nov. 3. Gordon W. Wintrob ’12, a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, will be the new president. The new board will assume their positions at the next Presidents’ Council on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
Corrections
Friday’s article about the Underclassmen Giving Campaign incorrectly stated that the Public Service Center spearheads the campaign. Though the campaign supports the Public Service Center, it is actually spearheaded by the Alumni Association. Also, in one instance, the article incorrectly referred to the Underclassmen Giving Campaign as the Undergraduate Giving Campaign.
Xerox CEO Ursula M. Burns to speak at Commencement
Ursula M. Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation, has been named the keynote speaker for the 145th Commencement on Friday, Jun. 3. This year’s speaker announcement comes at its earliest in more than 30 years. Commencement weekend will mark the conclusion of MIT’s 150-day celebration marking its 150th anniversary.
Police arrest suspected robber
Police have arrested one of the two male suspects believed to be responsible for the recent string of street robberies in Cambridge. He was spotted by detectives from Brookline and Cambridge police departments in Medford on Wednesday morning.
HDAG releases new dining plan fact sheets
The House Dining Advisory Group (HDAG) has released new fact sheets this past week explaining the pricing, hours, and choices of the new dining plan, which is planned to begin next academic year 2010-2011. HDAG also released a fact sheet on “student engagement and transparency” and the logistics of the Request for Proposal process.
After 10 years, Clay bows out
Chancellor Philip L. Clay Ph.D. ’75 will be stepping down from his role as Chancellor, President Susan Hockfield announced on Wednesday in an e-mail to the MIT community. Clay, a professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, has been the Chancellor since 2001. He plans to go on a one-year sabbatical, and then resume his professorship.