Students Form New Dining Comm.
The Undergraduate Association Senate passed legislation on Monday night creating a new UA Dining Proposal Committee charged with recommending “a comprehensive program that meets the needs of the MIT community,” according to the bill. The new committee will consist entirely of students and will develop a dining proposal at the same time the Blue Ribbon Committee on Dining, charged by the MIT administration with re-envisioning dining at MIT, aims to develop its own.
Tang Trial Scheduled for October
Anna L. Tang, the former Wellesley student accused of stabbing Wolfe B. Styke ’10, is tentatively scheduled to face a jury trial on October 13, 2009. In October of 2007, Tang allegedly stabbed Styke -- her ex-boyfriend -- seven times in his neck and torso as he slept.
Amherst Alley Steam Leak to Be Repaired This Summer
A steam leak under Amherst Alley between Burton-Conner and the tennis bubble will be repaired this summer, but until then, steel plates will remain in the road covering the site of the leak.
Denoncourt Says Dining Committee Will Report Back Soon
The Blue Ribbon Committee on Dining has been given until April to release final recommendations for dining at MIT reported Donna M. Denoncourt, associate dean for residential life, at last night’s Undergraduate Association Senate meeting.
‘Change’ Is Theme At 4th MIT Energy Summit
The Fourth Annual MIT Energy Conference brought together over 1000 people this past weekend to talk about the future of energy, how technology is involved, and how MIT can help.
2009 Sophomore Standing Numbers Roughly the Same
This year, 128 freshmen accepted early sophomore status out of the 1051 students in the Class of 2012. 181 qualified for early sophomore standing. The percentage of freshmen offered sophomore standing this year is consistent with the percentages of recent years.
UA Candidates Spar Over Student Issues
From the dining system to student-administration transparency, Undergraduate Association presidential and vice-presidential candidates discussed popular student government issues in a debate last Sunday night. The debate was co-hosted by <i>The Tech</i> and the UA Election Commission.
Admissions Reduces Staff, Travel, Will Use The Web for Recruiting
The admissions office has laid off staff, will reduce travel spending by 30–50 percent, and will move much of its communication with students to the Web. The measures will help Admissions meet MIT’s mandated 5 percent budget cut for the fiscal year beginning in July.
Jackson, Bulovic, Jones, And Henderson Achieve MacVicar $100K Grants
On Thursday night, four MIT faculty members were named MacVicar Faculty Fellows in recognition of their contributions to undergraduate education. They each receive $100,000 for educational activities and research.
Von Maltzahn Wins $30,000 Award for Cancer Research
Last Tuesday, graduate student Geoffrey von Maltzahn was named winner of the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize and received an unrestricted cash gift of $30,000 for his innovative work in cancer therapy.
Battle of the Jewish Pastries:
On Wednesday night, six respected professors gathered in 26-100 for the Seventh Annual Latke-Hamentashen Debate. Students and faculty, ushered by a yarmulke-wearing Tim the Beaver, packed the lecture hall for the humorous academic dispute over the virtues and shortcomings of the latke and the hamentashen.
E-mail of the Week!
An e-mail thread yesterday on the Campaign for Students mailing list discussed bringing pitchforks and broadswords to an upcoming UA meeting where the mandatory dining controversy would be discussed with Dean Donna M. Denoncourt, who chairs the Blue Ribbon Dining Committee. Andrew R. Drechsler ’10 wrote, “I think we should forge our own instead of buying them.”
In Short
CORRECTION TO THIS ARTICLE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Debian Linux was the operating system running the new beta release of Athena. The operating system is Ubuntu, which itself is based on Debian Linux. This article has been revised to reflect this correction.
FSILGs Face Loss of Option to House Non-MIT Summer Renters
The ability of Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups (FSILGs) to charge and accept non-student summer boarders is in jeopardy. Those boarders have been critical to struggling revenues at FSILGs.
Bareilles, Hotel Lights To Open for Ben Folds at Spring Weekend Concert
Sara Bareilles will open this year’s Spring Weekend concert, which will be headlined by Ben Folds. Folds will be bringing along the indie band Hotel Lights.
Visa Hassles May Discourage International Students
When Alena Shkumatava opens the door to the “fish lab” at the Whitehead Institute of MIT, she encounters warm, aquarium-scented air and shelf after shelf of foot-long tanks, each containing one or more zebra fish. She studies the tiny fish in her quest to unravel one of the knottiest problems in biology: how the acting of genes is encouraged or inhibited in cells.
Chorallaries’ ‘Concert in Bad Taste’ Features Comedic, Bawdy Songs
Chances are, if you’re Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, or just a member of the MIT community, you got offended by the a cappella group the Chorallaries (or the “Whore-allaries,” as they called themselves) at the <i>n</i>th Annual Concert in Bad Taste last Saturday night.