UA Calls for Dissolution of Blue Ribbon Dining Committee
The Undergraduate Association Senate passed a bill Monday calling for the dissolution of the Blue Ribbon Committee on Dining and the creation of a UA-chosen replacement committee comprised of students, faculty, and staff which would give students more say in the decision-making process. The bill also demands that plans described in the leaked consultant’s report to the Blue Ribbon committee be scrapped.
Dining Report Was Kept Under Wraps; UA To Discuss
Undergraduate Association President Noah S. Jessop ’09 announced on Wednesday night an emergency meeting of the UA Senate to discuss “concerns brought forth about the Blue Ribbon [dining] committee.” According to Jessop, members of the UA Senate and Executive Board were concerned about a lack of transparency after a student saw a copy of the independent consultant’s report to the committee on the desk of an administrator before most members of the Blue Ribbon Dining Committee were notified about the report’s completion. The students expected that the report would go directly to the committee. As UA president, Jessop is a member of the Blue Ribbon committee.
Clay, Reif, Stone Form Planning Task Force; 150-Member 3-Level Hierarchy Will Help
How is MIT reacting to the current economic situation? In a letter released to the MIT community on Monday, the MIT administration unveiled details of a new task force charged to reevaluate and recommend changes in MIT operations to improve financial efficiency.
Ben Folds to Perform for Spring Weekend
Twenty students in conjunction with the Student Activities Office have selected Ben Folds to headline this year’s Spring Weekend concert on Saturday, Apr. 25. Leading up to the main event will be a new festival and a series of events coordinated by student groups.
Mandatory Dining is Gone for Ashdown Undergraduates
MIT has quietly discontinued a novel mandatory dining fee program in which approximately 50 undergraduates living in a dormitory were required to pay $600 this fall and in return got free dinner five nights a week.
Hard Times in Workplace Mean More Grad Apps
As jobs get scarcer, several graduate departments at MIT are experiencing a jump in applications for the 2009 school year. Departments anticipate a drop in acceptance and enrollment, partially due to increased financial caution in the current recession.
Madoff Collapse Wipes Out $2M Grant from Picower Foundation
In 2002, the Barbara and Jeffry Picower Foundation gave MIT $50 million to build building 46 and establish what’s now the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT. At the time, the Picower Foundation had $1 billion in assets.
Governor Patrick Selected to Speak at 2009 Commencement
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, leader in clean energy policy and proponent of education and research, will give this year’s commencement address. Those involved in the decision and student leaders praised the choice, while students’ opinions ranged from impressed to indifferent.
Technology Leaves Fingerprints on the Stimulus Bill
To rally support for his administration’s economic recovery bill last week, President Barack Obama invited about a dozen chief executives, seven of them from technology and energy companies, to the Oval Office.
Brass Rat Unveiled;LHC, Koch Highlight New Additions to Ring
Unveiled amid laughter and hijinx at Kresge Auditorium last Friday, the Class of 2011 Brass Rat features a forward-facing beaver and all the usual winks and nods, this year depicting the goddess Athena, hackers on the Dome, and a salute to the newly-completed Large Hadron Collider.
Ragon Donates $100 Million to Start HIV Research Institute Near Kendall
MIT alumnus Phillip T. Ragon ’71 pledged $100 million last Wednesday to fund a multidisciplinary research institute dedicated to developing an HIV vaccine. The Ragon Institute will bring together scientists, engineers, and doctors from MIT, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital under Bruce Walker, an AIDS researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Mingling Wit with Wisdom, Ninja Motivator’ Teaches
Josh Shipp is in your face, but on your side. Last Sunday evening, the twenty-something “motivational ninja” spoke at Kresge Auditorium to a crowd of about 200, pausing in between wisecracks to encourage students to make positive choices.
Majority Vote on GIRs Isn’t Good Enough at Special Faculty Mtg.
The faculty defeated a motion to revise the General Institute Requirements on Wednesday. The vote, 81 to 69 in favor of the motion, lacked the three-fifths majority required to amend the rules and regulations of the faculty, which govern the current GIRs.
ATO Departs MacGregor, Repairs To Their House Not Yet Finished
The Alpha Tau Omega house, damaged last summer from a pipe leak, has completed repairs and is undergoing inspections. ATO plans to move into the house in late March to early April, pending housing approval by the Cambridge Licensing Commission.