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?
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.