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?
Corrections
Because of inaccurate information provided by the Undergraduate Association Election Commission, Tuesday’s table that listed UA and Class Council candidates gave the incorrect class years for some Class Council candidates. Rishi Dixit ’12 is running for class of 2012 — not 2011 — president. David S. Zhu ’12 is running for class of 2012 — not 2011 — treasurer. Zhu is also a <i>Tech</i> sports editor, which the table did not disclose because of an editing error.
Uncertainty Threatens UA Elections
With the issues of dining reform, GIR overhaul, and severe budget cuts on the horizon, more than ever the Undergraduate Association requires strong student leaders that have the confidence of the student body and the respect of the administrators they will engage.
Obama’s Vision of Change: A United States of Soviet Socialist Republics
President Barack Obama’s recent address to Congress started with a promise that he would speak freely and candidly. He acknowledged that the confidence of the American people has been badly shaken as the recession gains momentum, job losses mount, and certainty in the future erodes. He promised the American people that the nation would rebuild and recover stronger than ever.
A Technical Solution to a Human Problem
The only threat “to disrupt the ability to run a timely election” in the latest fiasco from the Undergraduate Association’s Election Commission came from the leaders who decided to fire their computer guy three weeks before he was supposed to start running the elections.
Corrections
An article Friday about MIT’s property development at 650 Main Street gave an incorrect affiliation for Michael K. Owu ’86. He is Director of Real Estate for the MIT Investment Management Company; he is not the Director of the Center for Real Estate. The Center for Real Estate is an academic center associated with the School of Architecture and Planning; the MITIMCo manages the financial resources of the Institute.
Letters to the Editor
Over the last few weeks there has been an accelerated amount of debate over student issues, especially dining. There has been debate over how MIT should step into the future, while remembering our roots, and being realistic about our present. There are administrators, trying to enhance MIT as a fun and competitive university, and students, trying to keep MIT … well, like MIT.
Obama Knocked it Out of the Park
President Obama delivered a brilliant speech Tuesday evening in what was billed as a quasi-State of the Union address. In fact, a whopping eighty-five percent of people interviewed in a CNN poll said that the speech made them feel more optimistic about where the U.S. is headed in the next few years.
Letters to the Editor
In his Feb 20 opinion in <i>The Tech</i>, Akash Chandawarkar feels that the MIT administration’s policies have been beneficial enough to students to deserve their trust, and many others, myself included, disagree. But even if for the sake of charity we assume that until two weeks ago the MIT administration was the good shepherd, a cursory examination reveals that its recent actions give few reasons to trust its intentions.
Corrections
Because of an editing error, an article in Friday’s issue about changes to the General Institute Requirements incorrectly stated that faculty voted on changing the GIRs “last week.” They actually voted two weeks before the article’s publication — on Feb. 4.
Letters to the Editor
I would just like to thank the MIT administration for providing the MIT student body with so many great community-building opportunities like the protest in Lobby 7 on Tuesday.
Stop Complaining
The consultants’ draft to the Blue Ribbon Committee was leaked and, as per MIT tradition, a flurry of e-mails filled our inboxes from concerned, upset, and protesting students.
Susan Hockfield, Budget Cuts, and the Blue Ribbon Dining Problem
How are three of the hottest topics on campus tied together? As most of us found out recently, the consultant firm working with the Blue Ribbon Dining Committee (BRDC) published a report recommending a mandatory “nutritional” cost to all students. In fact, the only reason we all found out was because the report got leaked.
Secret Meetings Breed Distrust on Dining
The leak of a draft consultants’ report to the Blue Ribbon Committee on Dining clearly sparked some strong feelings on campus over the past week. One of the ways in which this concern manifested itself was in the form of a well-attended and fairly conspicuous protest rally in Lobby 7 last Tuesday.
Meal Plan Not What Students Ordered
We call on students and administrators alike to reject the plans for MIT’s dining system described in the recently leaked draft consultants’ report to the Blue Ribbon Committee on Dining. The report emphasizes “nutrition,” “social engagement,” and “community building” as core principles at the expense of personal responsibility, independence, and free will.
Preferred Dining
MIT offers great flexibility with its dining plan. Many other schools around the country force students to buy into a dining plan that could feed a family of four for six months. Whatever money the student does not spend on food is lost. At MIT, we instead boast a “pay as you go system” that gives students more dining options.