Commemorating the Armenian genocide
During World War I, the world witnessed the first genocide of the twentieth century. From 1915 to 1918, 1.5 million Armenians (approximately 50 percent of the Armenian population at that time), along with other minorities living in the Ottoman Empire, were systematically killed by the Ottoman Turks. The Armenian Genocide is commemorated on April 24; it was on this day in 1915 that the Young Turks, the ruling party of the Ottoman Empire, ordered the killing of Armenian intellectuals, leaders, artists, and businessmen living in the Ottoman Empire. Following this day, many Armenian men were massacred and plans for the genocide were implemented.
Putin’s high IQ
One thing is sure about Putin: he is smart, very smart. You have to be, to maintain order over nine time zones, and stay at the top of the inner fightings of competing factions among the siloviki, desperate to protect the millions they have at stake from Russia’s economic boom. Putin has proved himself uniquely able to adroitly balance the various strategic interests of the competing parties. He has so far been a master at managing divisions within the government — and Russians know this.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
There has not been an election in recent history where individual votes have figured so greatly in the choice of the next UA president and vice president. We wanted to thank everyone for casting your ballot in this election, and in effect shaping the future of your student government.
Day of Silence
“Faggot!” I braced myself for the barrage of gum, paper, and pencils that they would throw at me. I quickened my pace to get to class before they could torment me further. I looked around for help but no one stood up for me — no students, no teachers, no staff. Almost immediately after I had come out as gay a few weeks earlier, the bullying had started.
CORRECTIONS
The first paragraph of an article published last Friday on orientation changes ambiguously described the nature of the change to the housing adjustment lottery. While the official “adjustment lottery” will not exist in its current form, there still will be an option for students to move to different dormitories after orientation. The difference is that this year, by default, students will remain in their assigned dorm but may opt-in for a change — as the article originally stated in paragraph four.
Nuclear Iran needs to step down
Last week, an international delegation met in Istanbul with the hope of securing a serious commitment from Iran to negotiate an end to its nuclear enrichment program. The talks, which resumed after more than a year without any negotiations, illustrated the broad global consensus against a nuclear Iran. It is critical that we too, as American citizens, fully comprehend the threat of a nuclear Iran to our national security and work in a bipartisan manner to prevent that end.
Athletes and allies
We are athletes. We are teammates. We are allies. April 20, also known as the Day of Silence, is the national day to take a stand against homophobic bullying, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) would like to take a moment to say why it’s important to have allies in athletics.
The importance of CityDays
CityDays has been part of orientation for 20 years. Having CityDays as an official activity of orientation conveys to incoming freshmen an ethic of service at MIT. Every year, 40–45 community organizations are served by 600–900 MIT student CityDays participants. The number of upperclassmen volunteer group leaders has doubled in the past two years to almost 200. This large-scale event is one of the highest-profile opportunities for MIT to publicize its commitment to volunteerism in the local community.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Endorsing a fresh, pragmatic perspective: student leaders for Tallapragada/Yang
A question of Putin’s intention
I admit it: I slept through the Russian presidential election of last month, which saw Vladimir Putin win a third term for a newly extended period of six years. This is unforgivable given my lifelong fascination for Russia and eight-year stay in the country as Moscow correspondent prior to MIT. My life and duties at the Institute have indeed kept me very distant from all things “Russia” — 4,482.88 miles away to be precise (Boston-Moscow distance).
Tallapragada & Yang
Editor’s Note: Jacob London is also an executive member of The Forum, a group founded and led by Naren P. Tallapragada.
The case of Trayvon Martin
Editor’s Note: This piece’s deadline was before the announcement of the second-degree charges against George Zimmerman were made public at 6 p.m. on April 11.
Vote Craighead/Walsh for UA P/VP
MIT has entered a time of great and rapid change. The Institute is preparing for a major campus overhaul, selecting a new president, and trying to push the frontiers of online education. Students should have a say in all of these issues. But who will lead them?
Voters, fortunately, have a tough choice this year
Editor’s Note: Ryan Normandin is the UA Council representative from MacGregor House, formerly UA senator.
A lasting and just solution for resolving the conflicts with the Iranian Regime
On March 14, 2012, I attended the CIS (Center for International Studies) sponsored book event by Trita Parsi at MIT [1]. I shall refrain from commenting on his book and instead refer those interested to the Jan. 23, 2012 Wall Street Journal article by Sohrab Ahmari titled “It Takes Two to Engage” [2]. However I would write about the question I wanted to ask from Abbas Maleki, the discussant at the event, but I couldn’t.
The legitimacy of CY Leung
On March 25, Leung Chun-Yin (梁振英) was elected as the fourth-term Chief Executive of Hong Kong by a 1,200 member committee of academics and businesspersons. Leung, former convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council, won 689 votes. The competitors, Henry Tang (唐英年), former chief secretary of the city government, and Albert Ho (何俊仁), a lawmaker, garnered 285 votes and 76 votes respectively. But the public approval for Leung is an all-time low (popularity ratings are below 35 percent), and allegations made against Leung’s background are surfacing more and more (he was part of the Communist Party, etc.). His victory raises the question for the seven million concerned citizens of Hong Kong, what is on Leung’s agenda?
The dangers of American deprecationism
Andy Liang’s opinion piece in the Tuesday edition of The Tech is insulting, disgusting, and wrong on so many counts that it is difficult to know where to start. It is a “shotgun blast” article, aiming to incriminate an “unapologetic media”, downplay (if not delegitimize) the notion that PTSD may have been involved, and altogether is indicative of a very troubling trend amongst American culture today.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
On March 16th, the MIT Wind Ensemble (MITWE) performed a concert in Kresge Auditorium, featuring the world premier of “Awakening” by Jamshied Sharifi. The next night, the MIT Symphony Orchestra (MITSO) performed another concert on the same stage. Yet the only coverage in The Tech of these events was a single captioned photo of a single musician from each concert.
The American perspective on a murderer
On March 11, Robert Bales, a 38 year old US soldier, was charged with 17 counts of murder for the deaths of 17 Afghans: nine children, three women, and four men, in the village of Balandi and Alkozai near Camp Belamby. Bales is currently being held in a maximum-security military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he will be tried for his counts of murders and other violations in an Article 32 Hearing. He will likely receive a lifetime prison sentence.