Letters to the Editor
Gary, I wholeheartedly agree with you, specifically concerning the three main disadvantages of obtaining a PhD (narrow job market, esoteric skill set, drain on passion). I was interested by the statistics regarding America’s loss of domestic applicants and what specific steps Obama and his new administration have done to build-up its STEM research focus. (The recent reversal of Bush’ restrictive stem cell research policy is a good sign.)
Chan: A Strong Leader for the GSC
Tomorrow evening, Graduate Student Council representatives will vote in a contested election for GSC President for the first time in three years. From among the three candidates, Alex H. Chan stands out in his experience, vision, and dynamism, and we believe that Chan is the best person to lead the GSC in the coming year.
Too Big to Fail. Really?
The too big to fail gospel has an aura of conventional wisdom and self evident truth that makes it very hard to debate. It is, however, one of the key assumptions behind the massive government intervention we have been seeing since last year. If these financial institutions were not saved, or so goes the gospel, the entire worldwide financial system would have collapsed and all hell would have broken loose.
An Unconventional Election
The UA election is over, and all candidates who ran should be congratulated for their efforts. Participation in student government is a crucial part of campus life. When more people show interest in on-campus affairs, variety of opinions increases, and it’s more likely we’ll find effective solutions to our problems.
Unions Are Irrelevant
The Undergraduate Association Senate’s recent talks with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615 have been sold as a way to join two entities in pursuit of a similar goal: administrative transparency on the pending budget cuts at MIT. Certainly, this is an admirable objective, but it’s really just a means to an end. A call for transparency in the budget just adds an extra layer of review in ensuring that the best items remain funded and the right items get cut.
Letters to the Editor
The MIT Grad Gala invitation has been pinging into my inbox and, finally succumbing to the relentless assault, I decided to buy a ticket … that is until I noticed the date. While I am not generally one to rain on a parade, I am surprised that the GSC did not exercise more care in scheduling.
The M&M Effect
MIT is at a crossroads. Amidst news of the budgetary crisis and GIR reform, students are troubled by repeated overtures against established traditions of hacking and dining. At the same time, the student body as a whole has become increasingly aware of the existence and the value of the Undergraduate Association.
Letters to the Editor
In last week’s opinion column (“Three Myths About the President’s Budget”), David A. Weinberg says, referring to the increase in federal spending, that “the undisputed cause of this jump is the federal effort to save our economy.” This is not true.
The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers
The <i>Rocky Mountain News</i> closed down on Feb. 27th, 2008, just 55 days short of its 150th anniversary. Having lost $16 million dollars last year and unable to find a buyer, the <i>News</i>’s owner decided to shut it down instead of letting it limp on with mounting losses.
Toward a Better Dining System
As many of you are surely aware, the future of MIT’s dining system has become a subject of great controversy on campus, especially for undergraduates. In this letter, we hope to inform you of what the Undergraduate Association has been doing to ensure that student input is properly considered before decisions are made.
Bennie and Delano: the Safe Bet
The Undergraduate Association stands at a crossroads. This year, the organization has struggled with its own identity and concerns about its effectiveness amidst a seeming leadership vacuum in the Presidency. What successes the organization has seen are a credit to the work of Mike Bennie ’10 and Maggie Delano ’10. Their demonstrated dedication, strong relationships with active student leaders, and unequalled insight into improving the organization, make them the most likely to lead the UA into stable footing.
Corrections
An article in Tuesday’s issue about Sunday’s Undergraduate Association presidential debate misattributed some quotes from Raeez Lorgat ’12 and Benjamin J. Agre ’12. Agre, not Lorgat, said “People should not be forced to eat.” Lorgat, not Agre, said “We believe we have more time and more energy.”
Letters to the Editor
This year, the MIT men’s basketball team won the NEWMAC tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in MIT history. Hundreds of MIT students, faculty, staff, and alumni traveled to Worcester and Rhode Island to support the team, including President Hockfield. But last Friday’s <i>Tech</i> barely mentioned the team in a tiny, one inch news blurb below the fold of the front page, and Tuesday’s <i>Tech</i> had a small headline referring to the sports page. The MIT basketball team was featured in the <i>New York Times</i>, the <i>Denver Post</i>, the <i>Boston Herald</i>, ESPN.com’s <i>Page 2</i>, ESPN’s <i>SportsCenter</i>, NECN, and other news outlets, but our own <i>Tech</i> couldn’t give them a front page article with a picture? <i>The Tech</i> fundamentally misunderstood the achievement of the MIT basketball program as being separate from student life, public relations, admissions, and other topics it regularly reports on. The publicity surrounding the team by national and local news media has incalculable benefits for the school in terms of strengthening alumni relations and attracting top-notch students. Perhaps <i>The Tech</i> needs to reassess how it views the achievements of its student-athletes. Then again, maybe I’m overlooking the importance of how nothing’s changed with the Sophomore Standing numbers.
Three Myths About the President’s Budget
The President’s budget has elicited a vicious backlash from conservative pundits, one that I think is worth addressing head-on. Here are three key myths about the budget that have gained traction among Republicans in recent days.
Corrections
A caption on page 1 on Friday’s issue incorrectly stated that the label on Tim the Beaver’s shirt read “MIT” in Hebrew. It actually read “TIM.”
Letters to the Editor
By chance I stumbled onto an article that was written by a Dr. Jonathan Farley that appears in your February 13, 2009 publication, <i>The Tech</i>.
A Broken Model for Energy Change
The past few weeks have seen a flurry of energy news, more than all the news from the last three administrations put together. What’s a cynical, snarky graduate student to do to keep up?