Gun control could prevent lawful self-defense
By now there must be a special command bunker ready for the White House communications team to man when Joe Biden decides to hold a press conference. If it exists, it certainly would have been used last week. Responding to Kate Ernest, who asked how a law-abiding citizen should best protect themselves if they have no access to firearms, the Vice President exclaimed, “Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun!” As the words rolled off of Veep’s tongue, communications staffers were likely sent into a panic mode that has become all too familiar.
Current gun control proposals could save lives
On Saturday morning, the entire MIT community was warned: “There was a person with a long rifle and body armor in the Main Group Building of MIT.” Minutes later, emails sent by RLADs, friends, and family members were less measured: “GUNMAN, STAY INSIDE!”, “Are you okay? Are you okay? Answer me!” Students stayed in, parents called in, and SWAT teams and news crews assembled.
CORRECTIONS
A story in Friday’s issue on the CPW event cap mistakenly indicated that DormCon lowered the cap, when in fact it was the Admissions Office. The same article named Kelly E. Snyder ’14 CPW Chair of East Campus; she actually the president of EC.
CORRECTIONS
A photo caption on the front page of last Friday’s issue incorrectly stated that the Barker Library reading room was reopened as a 24/7 study area. The reading room is not yet open 24/7.
A public relations campaign for science
One of the most exciting programs offered by MIT is the Undergraduate Association (UA) student faculty dinner program. Taking a professor out to eat, on MIT’s dime, is not only a great way to get to get to know your professors, but it also shows students that our professors are, in fact, real people. Getting to interact in a casual setting helps break the stereotype that our professors’ lives completely revolve around their work.
CORRECTIONS
A story in Tuesday’s issue on some of the 6.x70 competitions mistakenly indicated that 6.270 has only existed for “over a decade” — rather, 6.270 is in its 26th year, having started in 1987.
How MIT is doing it wrong in Kendall
In spite of a severe Cambridge housing crisis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans to build on-campus towers for lease to commercial tenants.
Understanding diversity
Many people hold a naïve conception of affirmative action and don’t understand what it actually involves, yet they deem it a dangerous program that threatens our Institute. We believe that affirmative action is actually incredibly fair and integral to the success of any merit-based institution in the world we live in.
Students need to be more self-reliant
While the series of student suicides at MIT and other colleges in the Boston area is not the focus of this piece, it has inspired my reflection on how to cope in difficult times at the Institute. These events have prompted me to stretch my search for solutions to perhaps controversial lengths. In any case, I wish to express my condolences to these students’ families and loved ones.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness
Florence Gallez calls on victims of mental illness to try something we already know doesn’t work, and is often dangerous to the individual: to tough it out, build up resilience, and get better on their own. Not only does this view run counter to virtually all research we have at our disposal today, but it is akin to asking victims with cancer to just try really hard to overcome it by themselves without seeking medical attention. Your body is just as incapable of getting rid of an illness like cancer as your mind is incapable of getting rid of an illness like depression. In fact, your body may even stand a better chance, as there’s no “immune system of the mind.” Gallez claims that we have everything we need inside of us, and by focusing on our needs and shutting out the noise of the world, we’ll get better. Gallez is wrong. Let’s take a look at what science has established with respect to mental illness.
A student perspective on MIT 2030
Over the past year, the Institute has been releasing “MIT 2030,” its framework for land use and renovation for the next 20 years, and it contains some interesting and ambitious ideas for commercial development on and around the MIT campus. However, behind flowery language of an “innovation district” lie major problems with MIT 2030. In effect, the plan neglects the central mission of the Institute: to “advance knowledge and educate students.”
RETHINKING MITX:
This past December MIT announced the launch of “MITx,” a new online learning initiative that will offer a large selection of MIT courses online and will allow those that demonstrate mastery of course material to earn a certificate of completion. The announcement has received much praise from both faculty and students as a mark of progress and a major step towards global education — but has the MIT community really considered the full impact of MITx?
OPINION IN REVIEW
2012 was marked by tumult and struggle. Thousands of Syrians were killed as an oppressive dictator clung to power. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians was re-ignited. Europeans took to the streets to protest austerity measures. The devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy was bracketed by the shootings of innocents in Aurora and Newtown.
CORRECTIONS
The Mystery Hunt feature printed in the Jan. 23 issue incorrectly stated the name of Matt Lahut’s team as A Plate; the team’s proper name was Up-Late. The article also mistakenly identified Enigma Valley Investment & Loan (EVIL) as Enigma Valley Savings & Loan.
CORRECTIONS
The third paragraph Jan. 22’s web update on MIT’s DNS attack ambiguously states that “the hack and subsequent outages were due to a compromise at EDUCAUSE.” The hack and subsequent outages were due to a compromise of MIT’s account at EDUCAUSE, not EDUCAUSE’s databases.