Fusion research is a wise investment
Course 22 senior Derek Sutherland’s article in last Friday’s Tech did a great job of describing why the Alcator C-Mod magnetic fusion experiment, the largest experiment at MIT, deserves to be funded in the fiscal year 2013 federal budget. But it is also imperative to note how magnetic fusion energy research in the United States as a whole is in serious danger at this time, and how the path proposed for fusion in the 2013 budget is harmful to the future of U.S. energy independence and U.S. scientific leadership.
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?
The benefits of MITx
MITx has stimulated much discussion among MIT students, and seems to have divided them into two camps: the ones who believe that our degree will be devalued by the implementation of MITx and those who do not. In fact, the most likely outcome is that MITx will reap enormous benefits, both on campus and internationally.
Good riddance, Alcator C-Mod
No one likes to hear that their work is a waste of time and money. But the job of government is not to assuage the egos of research scientists — the public welfare, writ large, comes first. In a guest column last week, Derek Sutherland ’12 bemoaned a proposed cut to state funding of the Alcator C-Mod reactor at MIT. I’m sorry Derek, but it needed to be said: your research was not worthy of the public’s money, and to be frank, was also not worth your time and attention as a researcher.
Saving Alcator C-Mod
The MIT fusion experiment Alcator C-Mod has been slated for cancellation in the presidential budget request for fiscal year 2013, a cut of nearly $18 million to the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) to be enacted in September 2012. The shuttering of this single largest experiment at MIT will be devastating to the research of many of our professional scientists, upwards of 30 graduate students and dozens of undergraduate students at MIT. Luckily, this budget must still be passed by Congress to go into effect, and we need your help now to reverse this decision.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
(*)Examples of scholarly and human rights organizations condemning Armenian Genocide include the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem , Institute of Holocaust in Washington D.C, United Nations’ Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, World Council of Churches, International Center for Transitional Justice and many more.
CORRECTIONS
A World and Nation headline published on Feb. 28 incorrectly said “Iran’s prime minister increases power after political crisis.” It should instead be “Iraq’s prime minister.”
S ^ 3 is a valuable guide and resource
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that MIT is a difficult place. The challenges students face, whether academic or social, are difficult to handle even amidst the best mental health states. We enter the Institute as the top students from our hometowns with ambitions of maintaining this status by being the best in our classes and extracurricular activities. We have not failed until we get to MIT.
Enough
(As a preface to this letter, I make no assumptions about accidental or intentional nature of the sad passing of Brian G. Anderson ’13, and stand with the MIT community in sending our thoughts and wishes to his family and friends. Yet, I believe his death, as the most recent loss of a student on campus, brings to light a very concerning issue on campus.)
The importance of S^3 for students
As with all of MIT, we are deeply saddened by the loss of another member of our community. Over this academic year, the deans in Student Support Services (S ^ 3) have met with many individuals who have been impacted by the student deaths. The loss and circumstances are almost incomprehensible to many friends and peers of these students and to the community.
UA needs long-term vision
The UA Senate was popularly perceived as being inefficient, ineffective, and just not doing all that much. This, in fact, provided much of the impetus behind the restructuring that led to the creation of the UA Council. And this is more than just a feeling; the “exit polls” of graduating seniors indeed indicate that many students are dissatisfied with student government at MIT. This logically leads to the question of what exactly is it that the UA should be doing? For as long as I can remember, the UA has lacked a real vision; sure, they want to improve life for undergraduates and advocate on their behalf, but how? What can the Senate point to that it actually accomplished? The answer to that question is “nothing.” The “doing things” part of the UA has always been the committees. The committees on dining, space planning, events, sustainability, and education, to name just a few, have always been the ones who can point to things that they have actually accomplished and tangibly improved undergraduate life through. And this makes sense; the committees all have clear charters and projects that are led by chairs who have a vision for the committee.
Clarification on La Révolution Française
Two weeks ago, I wrote an article stating my opinion on a new piece of French legislation that proposed to criminalize the public denial of the events of 1915 that culminated in the deaths of many Armenians. I argued that the French government, or any other government for that matter, does not have the authority to restrict the freedom of speech and expression. The point I tried to get across with the article was that of liberty. In order to give our lives meaning, each and every one of us chooses and adopts certain doctrines, ideals, and objectives. These pervade through our lifestyle, affecting everything from the way we think, to the way we act, to the way we conduct our relations with others around us.
Getting better by leaving the Institute
I am no longer an undergraduate at MIT, but my mother still receives notices from the parents’ association now and again. Last week, she received an email from Christina Aprea informing the MIT parents community that a junior was found dead in his dormitory room. The cause of death has not been officially released yet.
Affirmative action: the perspective from admissions
In response to the recent discussions taking place in these pages, where a lot has been said about the admissions process, I want to take this opportunity to add to the conversation with a few comments.
Let’s take a moment
It seems all we do at MIT is talk about the future. How are med school apps going? Are you going to take your job offer? Are you ready for that test tomorrow? In a way, it’s justified; we’ve spent our whole lives working as hard as we can in hopes of mastering our futures — in hopes of controlling our destinies.
Responding to tragedy
The passing of Brian G. Anderson ’13 this past week marks the fourth death on campus in six months. This news is shocking to us all, and The Tech wanted to take this opportunity to address student morale on campus. As students ourselves, we know that on top of p-sets, exams, and general MIT stress, these events can be overwhelming.
Social issues surface in the final Republican debate
Just as Santorum surged into final Republican debate before Super Tuesday, the culture wars reignited; set alight by Obama’s Catholic contraceptives clash, Charles Murray’s book-length jeremiad about lower-class immorality, the Susan G. Komen foundation, and the word “transvaginal.”
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.”