News Briefs
A safe was stolen from the Student Life Programs Office sometime over the weekend, prompting the cancellation of checks and a delay in student group reimbursements.
One Laptop Per Child Sees Surge in National Orders
Despite slower-than-expected sales and tough competition from commercial rivals, the One Laptop Per Child Foundation of Cambridge is enjoying a surge of new orders.
Wikipedia Will Pay Illustrators for Work
The foundation that runs Wikipedia has finally agreed to pay contributors to the online encyclopedia a modest fee for their work. But it won’t pay the thousands of people who participate in creating the wiki pages just artists who create “key illustrations” for the site.
Alumnus Kirsch Develops Advanced Spam Filtering
Twenty-five years ago Steven T. Kirsch ’80, built a better mouse. Now he believes he has found a way to create a better trap — for spam, not mice — if he has enough time to finish his project.
Freshmen In Next House Can Take Part In REX
Beginning next fall, freshmen placed in Next House during the summer will be able to participate in Residence Exploration and enter the Housing Readjustment Lottery. McCormick Hall was not included in the change.
Life Is Interesting for Only Male Student at Wellesley
To many women, he is simply “the boy.” They know who he is, even if they do not know his name. They know his story, even if they have never spoken to him.
New Bose System Ready for Next Step
Fifty years ago, Amar G. Bose ’51, the founder of Bose Corp., was a car nut. A geeky kind of car nut.
IFC Elects Leaders; No Rush Chair Found Yet
On Wednesday, Alberto Mena ’09 and Reid C. Van Lehn ’09 were elected president and vice president of the Interfraternity Council, respectively. Mena said that one of his primary goals is to improve IFC transparency and communication.
MIT Launches Clean Energy Contest With $200,000 Cash Prize
If soaring oil prices don’t provide enough encouragement to develop alternative energy, MIT has come up with an extra incentive: $200,000 in cash.
OLPC Sued for Allegedly Copying Keyboard Design
A Natick-based company filed a lawsuit against the One Laptop Per Child Foundation last Thursday, claiming OLPC copied its multilingual keyboard technology.
10-250 Renovations to Begin During IAP
The lecture hall 10-250 will be closed for renovation during January’s Independent Activities Period and the spring semester. Large classes traditionally held in 10-250 will move to other venues for the spring.
Campus Birth Control Expenditures Increase
In health centers at hundreds of colleges and universities around the country, young women are paying sharply higher prices for prescription contraceptives because of a change in federal law.
MIT Early Applicants Increase As Harvard Stops Its Program
Early applications increased by 13 percent this year, to a total of 3,937 applicants. The increase comes as Harvard and Princeton Universities eliminated their early admissions programs. The rise, however, falls far short of increases at other competitive institutions such as Yale University.
Psych. Departments Ignore Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis and its ideas about the unconscious mind have spread to every nook and cranny of the culture from Salinger to “South Park,” from Fellini to foreign policy. Yet if you want to learn about psychoanalysis at the nation’s top universities, one of the last places to look may be the psychology department.
Killing of University of Chicago Student Unsettles Campus Life
The students stood in a circle on the campus quadrangle at the University of Chicago and held slender white candles as they remembered a gentle graduate student from Senegal who was killed early Nov. 19, weeks before he was to receive his doctorate.
News Briefs
Legatum, a private investment firm with an interest in sustainable development, gave MIT a $50 million structured gift to create the new Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, according an MIT press release. The LCDE hopes to offer a fellowship program for graduate students, starting in the 2008–2009 academic year and to “create a platform for sustainable development,” according to the center’s Web site.