Save our salon
Just over a week ago, a federal appeals court handed down a decision that may radically alter the relationship between Americans and the Internet. Since 2004, in an effort to uphold the ideal of net neutrality, the FCC has enforced non-discriminatory practices among Internet service providers (ISPs), forcing equal treatment of all traffic. However, with the court’s decision in Verizon v. Federal Communications Commission to gut net neutrality (at least temporarily), equality on the web is no longer legally guaranteed. Companies are now free to give preferential treatment to certain sites and thereby financially assert more control over the content their customers can access.
Taming the firehose
One of the reasons MIT is one of the best universities in the world is because it is hard. The workload is vast, the problems are difficult, the exams can feel impossible, grading is harsh, and it often feels like there just isn’t enough time in the day. But there is an often-overlooked reason the Institute is challenging — for most, the problem isn’t a lack of desire, ambition, or effort, but rather a lack of proper preparation.
CORRECTIONS
A guest column on CityDays in the April 20, 2012 issue gave the incorrect class year for Cory D. Hernandez. He is a member of the Class of 2014, not 2013.
A bipartisan solution to gun violence — better bullets
Set phasers to stun — technology like Star Trek’s phasers lies under the radar and behind red tape, but it has the potential to solve a problem that has afflicted America for decades: gun violence. Unfortunately, solutions to gun violence discussed in mainstream politics have only brought limited effectiveness and intense partisan gridlock. Fortunately, other solutions have tremendous potential, and they are politically feasible.
CORRECTIONS
An article on 2.009 presentations in the Dec. 10 issue mistakenly referred to the Silver Team as the White Team.
Protecting religious freedom at MIT
I am a chaplain at MIT, as a well as a rabbi working for Hillel. In case it is not already abundantly clear, I am Jewish.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
MIT is planning changes to the FSILG resident advisor (RA) program for the upcoming academic year. As leaders in the FSILG community, we are concerned about the process used to make these changes and the way they will affect our organizations.
CORRECTIONS
The arts events calendar in Tuesday’s issue misstated the time for the Chamber Music Society recital on Monday, Dec. 9. It is at 5 p.m., not 5:30 p.m. (There was also a 7 p.m. Chamber Music Society recital on the same day.)
CORRECTIONS
The Naturalist’s Notebook in Tuesday’s issue indicated that Charles Darwin promptly died from Chagas’ Disease, while his death is only speculated to have been caused by this disease.
Are we willing to be honest about ethics?
Nothing would excite me more than to see individuals, institutions, businesses, and governments placing more emphasis on ethics. I applaud MIT President Rafael Reif’s recent article in The Tech “Ethics education at the Institute” requesting that we enhance our ethical awareness. However, as beneficial as placing a higher emphasis on ethics might prove, we must also accept that a keener perception of ethics would place a much greater responsibility on the Institute. The consequence of a serious inquiry into ethics will be a heavy burden to bear.
CORRECTIONS
In last Tuesday’s issue, the interview with photographer Nora Vrublevska incorrectly stated that the print of the MIT boathouse was developed in a darkroom, when it was only printed in a darkroom. Also, the article stated images were inject printed, when they were inkjet printed. Vrublevska would also like to thank Jennifer Recklet Tassi, whose name was originally printed as Jennifer Recklet.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear President Reif, Acting Provost Schmidt, and Vice President Zuber:
When the artist’s brush catches the censor’s eye
One of the defining characteristics of art is its ability to affect people in strikingly different ways. Some might find a painting inspirational; others might find it poignant; still others might find it offensive. As the Supreme Court explained in Cohen v. California, “one man’s vulgarity is another’s lyric.” This is particularly true when an artist attempts to push boundaries. A society dedicated to freedom of expression ought to welcome such work and the potential for thoughtful provocation that it offers. But when unorthodox art triggers controversy on the modern college campus, administrators often take dramatic measures to suppress it.
CORRECTIONS
The arts events calendar in Friday’s issue provided incorrect times for LSC’s Despicable Me 2. The showings were Friday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
MIT should divest from fossil fuels
4,000: The number of people confirmed killed by Typhoon Haiyan, perhaps the most powerful storm ever to make landfall.
CORRECTIONS
An article in Tuesday’s issue on MIT’s Athena clusters misstated the title of Jonathan D. Reed ’02 and neglected to include his middle initial and class year. He is the IS&T Special Liaison to the Students. The same article also listed the incorrect room number for an Athena cluster (37-332 is a cluster, not 36-332). Additionally, the Building 37 clusters have already closed permanently.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
In his letter to The Tech last Friday, Gregory Kravit ’15 presents our community with a profound challenge. He describes with gratitude hearing an MIT professor take a principled stance on financial ethics in research. But Gregory goes on to explain that his own education at MIT has not given him clear ways to think about the moral, ethical and societal context of the advanced technical work MIT is preparing him to do.
CORRECTIONS
The arts events calendar in Friday’s issue provided incorrect or incomplete information for four events. The Chamber Chorus concert occurred twice on Saturday, Nov. 16, at both 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Ellipsis Trio’s Boston performance was on Sunday, Nov. 17, not Saturday. Musical Theatre Guild’s Young Frankenstein performance on Sunday, Nov. 17 was at 2 p.m., not 12 p.m. Mariel Roberts’ performance on Thursday, Nov. 21 was at 8 p.m., not 7 p.m.
Mens et Manus … but what else?
I was waiting in line to pay for my food a few days ago when I overheard a conversation between two people whom appeared to be a professor and a researcher. They seemed to be catching up. Among other things, the researcher asked about a company in which the professor had some financial stake. Receiving a positive response, the researcher then asked if the professor ever receives any research money from said company. The researcher received a strong rebuke. The professor answered that he could not in good conscience advise a graduate student’s research while he had a financial interest in his or her work.
CORRECTIONS
An article in Tuesday’s issue incorrectly reported pin-up photography site SuicideGirls’ founding year as 2011. It was founded in 2001.