Ten key words to learn in every language
Apparently there are more than 6,000 spoken languages in the world, as catalogued and described in the book “Languages of the World”, according to Wikipedia. So it turns out that to be outrageously multilingual, you’d have to learn a new language about every five days, given that you live until the ripe old age of 80 years. However, I would like to inform you of two possibilities you have in this regard:
Help fix MIT’s student government
In high school, many of you were likely involved in some form of student government. Whether as a class officer, a member of the executive board of Student Council , or as a student leader in some other capacity, I’m willing to bet that you left a positive mark on your school. In fact, I know you have. According to the May/June Faculty Newsletter, 31 percent of you founded an organization. Perhaps, like myself when I was a freshman, you are proud of what you’ve accomplished so far, but are wondering where you will find your niche at MIT. With over four thousand undergraduate students at this school, will you be able to have as big an impact as you did in high school? I’m here to tell you that the answer to that is a resounding “yes.”
Keynesian quandaries: The debt deal aftermath
The Stewart-Colbert rally was a good bit of entertainment in and of itself, but the best bit of comedy to come out of it was a video made by a pair of faux reporters who went about asking the rally-goers “Is Barack Obama a Keynesian?” The attendees, unaware of John Maynard Keynes and his contribution to modern macroeconomics, confused Keynesian for Kenyan; hilarity ensued.
Obama is vulnerable, but none of the GOP field seem capable of unseating him
As the 2012 race takes shape, the man that Republicans hope to beat, President Barack Obama, is looking more vulnerable with each passing day. The debt ceiling negotiations have collapsed his numbers, and recent Gallup polling shows him with just a 24 percent approval rating of his handling of the federal budget deficit. His numbers on the economy and job creation are similarly dismal, with approval hovering at 26 percent and 29 percent, respectively. In the other areas tracked by Gallup, his popularity has waned considerably — on Afghanistan, education, and foreign affairs, his approval is at 38 percent, 41 percent, and 42 percent, roughly a 10 point decline in each category from May of this year. Terrorism is the one issue on which the president has a majority approval rating, but even that number, 53 percent, is down 10 points from May, and is conspicuously low, given the recent death of Osama bin Laden. Worse still, there is little upside for the president when the numbers are broken down by party affiliation — there isn’t a single area in which 50 percent or more of independents approve of Obama’s job performance.
Living Pink (or blue, or green, or obsidian)
While I realize that almost every freshman has some anxiety about their move to their new home, I know that some of you have worries beyond not finding friends, spending REX alone, or flunking out after the first semester (which I’ll have you know is impossible thanks to pass/no record). Some of you also have to worry about revealing an aspect of your identity that you might not even be comfortable with yourself. You freshmen who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender have the added burden of finding a living group and a circle of friends who accept your deviation from traditional norms.
Capitalize smarter, not harder
Suppose for a moment that there are two farmers, Jim and Bob. Jim grows tomatoes, and Bob grows corn. Both crops take tractors to produce. Normally, corn and tomatoes are equally profitable, but this year, corn is expected to be 15 percent more profitable than tomatoes. Accordingly, Jim would like to loan out his tractors to a corn farmer and split the extra profits, while Bob is looking to borrow some tractors from someone else.
Buddy from the East
China has been compared to many things stereotypical: “a fiery dragon waking from its long sleep,” “a skyward-reaching bamboo growing towards prosperity,” and “a fortune cookie telling an everlasting fortune.” Okay — maybe I made up the last one. But many economists speculate too often that China’s market is on a meteoric rise. Although this prediction may be true, the recent debt debates blowing across Capitol Hill have presented themselves as a Great Wall for China.
Embrace, don’t shoot
Sorry, extremists — multiculturalism is no longer debatable. It is simply nonsensical to consider the 21st century world as something resembling a medieval kingdom of homogenous fiefs.
CAR REVIEW The Nissan Leaf: An improbable electric future
I’m a fan of Formula One racing, the kind of guy that has seen every episode of the BBC’s Top Gear … six times. My idea of wealth is having a 10-car garage. It is with a heavy heart that I recognize a sad fact of life: in order to allow the weekend indulgence of driving a fast, gasoline-powered car, we’re all going to have to start driving motors on the weekdays that do not consume fossil fuels. It is thus, ironically, that the widespread adoption of alternative-fuel vehicles will save the enthusiasts’ 500-horsepower sports car.
Yes on same-sex marriage
Last month’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage in New York was a welcome victory in the struggle to provide all Americans, no matter their sexual orientation, with equal rights. It is self-evident that people should have the right to marry whom they love.
Good job ending bias toward heterosexuals…
A central tenet of all true libertarianism is that individuals, not the state, are the final arbiters of morality. The role of the state as a promoter of moral behavior exists only as a corollary to its monopoly on force or its role as a coordinator of collective action, i.e., the state exists to prevent a man from imposing his will upon another through violence or theft, and to broker an agreement when decisions cannot be made at the individual level. To extend the law beyond that is to make the state a conduit for the very impositions that it was built to defend against. It is a subversion of free society.
Gay marriage should not be made legal
It is unfortunate that there is such a growing stigma attached to arguing against gay marriage — at least here in the liberal bastion that is Massachusetts. If one is opposed to legalizing gay marriage, it is automatically assumed that the opposition rests on a basis of hate, homophobia, or other such negative motivations. There are, in fact, legitimate, substantive reasons as to why gay marriage should not be legalized.
DISSENT
I am dissenting from the above editorial because it is my firm belief that by legalizing gay marriage, New York has become the latest state to embarrass itself and this country. Contrary to what the rest of the editorial board suggests, there is strong research conducted by Dr. Bruce J. Ellis, Professor of Psychology at the University of Canterbury, and others demonstrating that a child needs a father to develop properly. Further, there is no interest compelling enough to justify legalizing gay marriage. By the logic above — namely that “it is self-evident that people should have the right to marry whom they love,” the government should allow first cousins or siblings to marry. Love is not enough for the government to spend my tax dollars subsidizing a relationship which does not serve a compelling interest. Heterosexual relationships, on the contrary, allow for the propagation of American society, which justifies a government subsidy. For the rest of my argument, please see my counterpoint on page five. While I do not endorse New York’s decision, I do agree with the rest of the editorial board’s encouragement of the MIT community to continue providing support and services and raising awareness for LGBT students, as it would for any other group that has faced lack of acceptance or has been the subject of social marginalization.
A reminder to Patrick: illegal means illegal
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has a long history of pandering to illegal immigrants. During his first term, Patrick reversed a decision by the previous Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, which gave state troopers the power to arrest illegal immigrants. Let me point out that Romney’s policy makes sense because, as the title may imply, illegal immigrants are here illegally. They are breaking the law. As such, they should be arrested. Shocking, I know. Deval Patrick’s rationale for promptly reversing Gov. Romney’s decision was that state troopers “have a very big job as it is, without having to add enforcing federal immigration laws on top of it.” Ah, well there we are. Those poor state troopers are just too busy enforcing other laws. So if they pull over someone for speeding and it turns out that the individual is also an illegal immigrant, too bad! After all, according to Patrick, they have more important things to do—like enforcing laws that don’t alienate one of Patrick’s key special interests (the immigrant community).
A reflection, and farewell, from the UA president
I want to begin by thanking The Tech for the opportunity to write in this Commencement issue, which coincides with the culmination of the MIT150 sesquicentennial celebration. The Undergraduate Association (UA) is at a defining point in its history. Over the past several weeks, the UA has been described as “weakened,” “poorly-functioning,” and “unwilling to cooperate.” Disproportionate emphasis on this negative perspective has diminished some undergraduates’ confidence in their representative body. My goal in writing this letter is to leave students with an improved outlook on the state of the UA by providing a different perspective on this year’s successes and failures and by examining upcoming opportunities and challenges.
LETTERS TO THE CLASS OF 2011
Commencement always stands at the intersection of the past and the future. We honor the 50th reunion class for all they have accomplished in their lives. For the undergraduate and graduate students who will receive their degrees, it marks the joyful culmination of years of toil, now completed. At the same time, we gather not simply to recognize what has been done, but to look ahead to an infinite number of new possibilities, just beginning.
EDITORIAL 150 celebration hit the mark
You only turn 150 once, and MIT pulled out all the stops for its sesquicentennial. This past semester’s anniversary celebrations were, for the most part, what celebrations should be. From the 150 Exhibit at the MIT Museum to FAST Art to the Open House, MIT150 was fun. We hope that today’s commencement activities tie it all together nicely.