Students Choose Soph. Standing
This year, 111 of the 187 students eligible for attaining sophomore standing chose to do so, a two percent increase from last year. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science was the most declared course by students in this group.
UA Voting Site Records Inaccurate
The Undergraduate Association voting Web site (<i>http://vote.mit.edu</i>) has experienced problems over the last few days as some users have been unable to vote without contacting the Election Commission. Michelle Jeong ’08, chair of the UA Election Commission, attributed the problem to lists provided by MIT that describe class affiliation and housing. She said that inaccuracies in those lists have commonly led to voting troubles.
Undergrad Giving Program Meets Goals
A total of $3,880 from freshmen, sophomores, and juniors was collected over the course of the two-week Underclassmen Giving Campaign. The first week of the campaign, held last October, brought in 460 gifts and $2,500. The remaining money, donated by 207 students, was raised last week during the second part of the UGC, bringing the total underclassmen participation rate to 21 percent, up from 15 percent after the first week.
In Short
A St. Patrick's Day Saferide Program is being offered to students from MIT fraternities and sororities, who may call to request an Ambassador Brattle taxi cab ride from March 17 at 11 p.m. to March 18 at 3 a.m. Students calling must identify the MIT Saferide/Safecab program and must provide vouchers to be completed by the driver. MIT will collect vouchers and pay for all rides during the program time that do not exceed $35. See Daniel A. Trujillo, associate dean for Community Development and Substance Abuse Programs, for vouchers.
Confusion Fills 2008 VP Election
Confusion, bureaucracy, and claims of bias surround the current Undergraduate Association Class Council elections, as the status of candidate Prashant K. Dilwali '08 continues to be contested.
Soriero Selected to Assume Duties as Athletics Director
Ending a 10-month long search, Colorado College Director of Athletics Julie Soriero has been named the new head of the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation and director of athletics at MIT.
Tuition Increase Set; New UROP Funding Program Announced
Tuition will increase by 4.1 percent to $34,986 and a total of $68 million will be allocated for financial aid, an increase of $7 million, for the 20072008 school year. Additionally, $400,000 of Institute funds have been budgeted for a new program offering guaranteed direct funding for the UROP program to help financial aid students fulfill their "self-help offer" costs in their financial aid packages, MIT announced last week.
New Development Surrounds Riverside Neighborhood
Town and gown are finally meeting in Cambridge's Riverside neighborhood.
Educ. Dept. to Answer For Loan Subsidies
Lawmakers from both parties are pressuring the Education Department to explain why it let a student loan company keep $278 million in subsidies that an audit found improper.
Harvard Ups Pay For Doctors Who Teach
Harvard Medical School will increase by millions of dollars a year its payments to doctors for teaching students, a recognition of how difficult it has become to persuade busy physicians to devote time to educating the next generation of care givers.
Stowell Death Ruled a Suicide; Memorial Service to Be Held Today
The cause of death for Ronald H. Stowell, who passed away on March 4, was suicide by hanging, said a representative of the Executive Office of Public Safety for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was found dead at his residence by the Somerville Fire Department shortly after 3:30 a.m. on March 4.
The Tech Interviews the UA President and VP Candidates
Elections for Undergraduate Association President and Vice-President will begin this week. Electronic voting begins at <i>http://vote.mit.edu/</i> on Thursday, March 15 and ends Tuesday, March 20. Paper balloting will start Wednesday, March 21 in Lobby 10. Read on for <i>The Tech</i>’s<i> </i>interviews with the UA candidates for President and Vice President: Martin F. Holmes ’08 and Ali S. Wyne ’08; Manisha Manmohan ’08 and Fernando Funakoshi ’09; Lauren E. Oldja ’08 and Steven M. Kelch ’08.
Downed Mail Server Up Saturday, Then Another Fails, Webmail Too
The mail server outage that began last week Wednesday drew to a close on Saturday morning, but then was followed by an unrelated outage of another of the five post office servers on Monday afternoon. In a third outage, early Tuesday, two of the six Webmail servers were down for about half an hour.
Manmohan and Funakoshi
Manmohan and Funakoshi said that they believe they can bring a fresh perspective to the UA because neither has been directly involved in the UA administration.
Holmes and Wyne
“I feel that there are a lot of inefficiencies and problems with the UA and I’d like to reform them,” Holmes said. Wyne pointed out that “some people don’t even know the UA exists. … we really want to make this the student body’s association. It’s about pushing the agenda of the students.” Both emphasized the need for change within the UA.
Oldja and Kelch
“I feel at home in the UA,” said Oldja. “I think … what’s very important for the role of a president is to have the proper experience … That way, you can hit the ground running.”