Faculty Consider Awarding Double Majors, Not Degrees
Future students pursuing separate programs in two courses will receive a single “double major” degree instead of double degrees if a Committee on the Undergraduate Program proposal is passed at the next faculty meeting on Wednesday, April 16.
Dean of Admissions Replacement Picked; Identity Still Secret
MIT has selected its next dean of admissions and is expected to make an announcement in the coming days.
Alumni Pool Introduces Single-Sex Swim Hours
The Alumni Pool next to the Stata Center will be open two extra hours each week to accommodate a single-gender swimming program from now until June 5.
News Briefs
A Harvard student was killed Monday in Cambridge after being struck by a Shaw’s delivery truck. Isaac J. Meyers was hit 6:45 a.m. while in a crosswalk at the corner of Prospect Street and Mass Ave. Meyers was dragged 160 feet while trapped between the fourth and fifth axles of the truck, according to a police report cited in the <i>Cambridge Chronicle</i>. He was pronounced dead at 12:20 p.m.
Bexley Withdraws From Dormcon
Bexley Hall has decided to stop paying its yearly $1,200 tax to the Dormitory Council and will not be represented by Dormcon, effectively seceding from the organization.
High Schools Underrepresent Dropouts to Government
When it comes to high school graduation rates, Mississippi keeps two sets of books.
Panhel Selects Three Finalists In Search for Extra Sorority at MIT
The MIT Panhellenic Association chose three sororities out of eleven that applied as finalists in the selection process for a sixth sorority at MIT. National representatives of Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi were invited to present at MIT in April, according to Tiffany W. Guo ’09, Panhel president.
In Short
A memorial service for Professor Jin Au Kong will take place this Saturday at the Douglass Funeral Home, 51 Worthen Rd, Lexington, MA. There is a visitation period from 1–3 p.m. and a memorial service from 3–5 p.m. Photos, videos, and stories for the memorial service can be submitted to ProfessorJAKong@gmail.com.
Claerbout’s Art Now On Display At MIT’s List Visual Arts Center
David Claerbout is a Belgian artist in his late 30s. Nationality is rarely determining as regards art. Jean-Luc Godard and Paul Klee, two of the freer-floating sensibilities in 20th-century culture, were born in Switzerland, for goodness’ sake. But in Claerbout’s case it’s telling that he should come from such an in-between place: not France, not the Netherlands, but a country that draws on both for an identity that’s distinct itself yet elusive.
Women’s Colleges Struggle To Adjust To Transsexual Students
It was late on a rainy fall day, and a college freshman named Rey was showing me the new tattoo on his arm. It commemorated his 500-mile hike through Europe the previous summer, which happened also to be, he said, the last time he was happy. We sat together for a while in his room talking, his tattoo of a piece with his spiky brown hair, oversize tribal earrings and very baggy jeans. He showed me a photo of himself and his girlfriend kissing, pointed out his small drum kit, a bass guitar that lay next to his rumpled clothes and towels and empty bottles of green tea, one full of dried flowers, and the ink self-portraits and drawings of nudes that he had tacked to the walls. Thick jasmine incense competed with his cigarette smoke. He changed the music on his laptop with the melancholy, slightly startled air of a college boy on his own for the first time.
1,554 Accepted Into Class of 2012; Admit Rate is Lowest Ever
MIT released admissions decisions for the class of 2012 on Saturday; 1,554 students, or a record-low 11.6 percent of 13,396 applicants, were admitted. This year’s round of admissions saw an increase in applications from women, under-represented minorities, and international students, said Stuart Schmill ’86, Interim Director of Admissions. There was an overall 8 percent increase in the number of applications from 12,443 last year.
Fed. Education Secretary Says Student Aid Stands, Despite Market Troubles
The federal education secretary told Congressional lawmakers Friday that despite tight credit markets, students would still be able to find a lender to help them borrow money for college.
Joseph Weizenbaum
Joseph Weizenbaum, professor emeritus of computer science at MIT who grew skeptical of artificial intelligence after creating a program that made many users feel like they were speaking with an empathic psychologist, died March 5 in Berlin. He was 85.
UROP Proposal System Moves to Web for All Students by Summer
In many departments, UROP research proposals can now be submitted online by students and approved online by faculty and UROP coordinators.
Report Urges New Focus On Math, Problem Solving In U.S. Education System
American students’ math achievement is “at a mediocre level” compared with that of their peers worldwide, according to a new report by a federal panel, which recommended that schools focus on key skills that prepare students to learn algebra.
Most Undergrads Pay Less Tuition Despite Increases, MIT Says
What should you make of MIT’s voluminous response to the Senate Finance Committee, which asked it to explain exorbitant tuition costs in light of a sixth-in-the-nation endowment?
Franklin Company’s Bloodless Glucose Monitor Passes Test
A small Franklin company says it is developing a novel device that could potentially let diabetics continuously monitor their blood-sugar levels — without having to draw blood.