Americans spend lots on communications annually
John Anderson and Sharon Rapoport estimate they spend $400 a month, or close to $5,000 a year, keeping their family of four entertained at home. There are the $30-a-month data plans on their BlackBerry Tour cell phones. The Roanoke, Va., couple’s two teenage sons each have $50 subscriptions for Xbox Live and send thousands of texts each month on their cell phones. DirecTV satellite service, high-speed Internet access and Netflix for movie nights add more.
IN MEMORY OF Carl Kaysen
Twenty years ago, as the crumbling of the Berlin Wall signaled the end of the Cold War, Carl Kaysen wrote an essay whose title asked: “Is War Obsolete?” Coming from someone else, the question might have seemed rhetorical or whimsical, but Dr. Kaysen’s career brought to his musings the force of history.
2012 ring design allegedly leaked
On Sunday, alleged pictures of the Class of 2012 ring design were sent to three dormitory mailing lists from a Gmail account impersonating the Class of 2012 Ring Committee. Members of the actual Ring Committee said they did not send the e-mail, but refused to confirm or deny if the pictures were genuine.
MIT students rally to help Haiti quake victims
After the most powerful earthquake to hit Haiti in a century, more MIT students have raised their voices in response to the catastrophe and have held events to help with the Haiti earthquake relief. From video game marathons to prayers to collages, students have found new ways to engage the community in furthering efforts to help earthquake victims.
Corrections
A story on Tuesday misspelled the name of the winning 6.370 BattleCode team. The correct name is “My Archon Died BellmanFording the Stream,” not “BellamFording.” Bellman-Ford is an algorithm for computing shortest-paths in networks.
Update on the HASS Requirements Changes
Further developments on changes to the Humanities Arts and Social Sciences requirement have been released.
Alumna convicted in terrorism trial
Aafia Siddiqui ’95 was convicted on Wednesday of trying to kill American military officers while she was in custody in Afghanistan, capping a trial that drew notice for its terrorist implications as well as its theatrics.
Executive vacancies in UA, ASA
Paul Baranay ’11, speaker of the Undergraduate Association Senate, has resigned his position as Speaker. Baranay announced his intention to resign at the Dec. 7 senate meeting, with the intention to take a medical leave from MIT, he said.
Demands for More Student Input Characterize Year in Dining Reform
2009 marked a continued push for greater transparency and student involvement in the dining reform process. Proposals maintained a delicate balancing act between the need to address student concerns and to slash the rising deficits of the dining system.
After a Number of Violations,
MIT’s chapter of Alpha Tau Omega had a trying year in 2009. After losing its housing license in summer 2008, the fraternity was granted a housing license for six occupants in June by the Cambridge Licensing Commission (CLC), only to be expelled from the Interfraternity Council (IFC) — and from MIT — in September. An incident in May 2009 involving “underage consumption” and a “failure to provide emergency medical assistance” was the incident responsible for the expulsion, according to minutes of a September 2 IFC meeting.
MIT Police Officer Arrested on Charges of Drug Trafficking
The MIT Police found one of its officers, Joseph D’Amelio, arrested for drug trafficking in mid-March. The eventual fallout led to his dismissal, and, separately, the dismissal of one MIT police officer and the suspension of another for recycling 400 issues of <i>The Tech</i>. D’Amelio’s trial began on January 11, 2010 and is ongoing.
Economic Crisis Hits MIT, Necessitates Budget Cuts Throughout the Institute
This past year, MIT saw sweeping budget cuts in response to the national economic crisis. One-fourth of the General Institute Budget is funded by MIT’s endowment, which saw a 20.7 percent decline in value during FY2009 from slightly over $10 billion to $8 billion. The original proposal to avoid a major Institute deficit was to reduce expenses by up to $150 million over two to three years, but this plan was changed to up to $130 million over the next two fiscal years. Through immediate cuts, such as DAPER’s cut of eight varsity sports and the closing of two libraries, the FY2010 budget was reduced by $58 million on a goal of $50 million.
MIT Makes National, International Headlines in 2009 News
Throughout 2009, MIT made national headlines in its usual fashion. While members of the MIT community received prestigious awards and pioneered groundbreaking research, this past year ranged from the highs of White House collaboration to the lows of an epidemic and poor economy.
From the Editor
As spring semester begins, take a moment to reflect on everything that has happened at MIT and in the world over the past year. In the pages of this Year in Review issue, you’ll find an overview of what made news at the Institute. We highlight some of the year’s best editorials and opinion submissions. Remember last year’s movies? We’ve summarized them with haiku.
Obama Visits MIT, Pushes Clean Energy
On October 23, 2009, President Barack Obama came to MIT to speak about clean energy and the Recovery act. He also toured several Institute labs that are working on energy issues.
Hack Taken Seriously: Bomb Squad Called on Burton Third Promotion
In 2008, Burton Third hung a silhouette of a bomber plane, bearing the letters “DTYD”, in Lobby 7 as a way of advertising their annual party. In 2009, they took it a step further. Early on April 24, a giant concrete structure, shaped to look like a bomb, appeared on the lawn of Kresge. What was meant as a simple advertisement for an annual event spun out of control, leading to investigation by the Cambridge Bomb squad.
Howard Johnson
Former MIT President Howard Wesley Johnson, who drew upon his management acumen to guide the Institute during the tumultuous late 1960s, died Saturday December 12, 2009. He was 87.