Stop Spying on Freshmen
The Inter-Fraternity Council recruitment rules this year include mandatory use of the Clearinghouse system.
Cheat Sleep!
Sleep deprivation is one of the oldest forms of torture. A good night’s sleep is one of life’s best cheap thrills.
Affordable Dental Care for Graduate Students
Most MIT graduate students lack dental insurance and defer dental care as a result. At present, to obtain dental care, graduate students must either pay for services in full, have insurance under their own prepaid plans from private insurers, or have coverage under their parents’ or spouse’s plans.
Improving Nutrition at MIT
There is no way around fueling your body if your hope is to have success, energy, and health. Many MIT students lack the basic nutritional balance needed to perform at their highest cognitive and/or physical potential.
Letters to the Editor
Given the endless attention in the past few issues to China’s human rights abuses as the summer Olympics in Beijing approach, I thought this photograph (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3128202.stm) found in a German archive could spark further discussion about possible parallels between China today and Nazi Germany.
Creating an Open Dialogue Between Students and Medical
As the clinical director for campus life at MIT Medical, I’ve been fortunate to partner with dedicated and passionate students to advance many health-related projects in the last six years. During that time, my colleagues at MIT Medical and I have given considerable thought to approaches to support the health of individual students, but also the entire campus community. As a means of advancing this dialogue, I’d like to share our philosophy with you and discuss some areas where we can continue to improve.
Woes of Urgent Care
Students enrolled at MIT are guaranteed free access to help at Urgent Care, regardless of whether they use the MIT Student Extended Insurance Plan or an outside provider. Sounds great, right? Free round-the-clock coverage for problems such as strep throat or headache, conveniently located right on campus.
About Resilience and Mental Health
Since coming to MIT Mental Health in 2002, I have been impressed by the resilience of MIT students.
Letters to the Editor
In the last issue of the Tech, Miguel Valença Pires G has labeled the response of the MIT Chinese student community to recent cartoons as “a type of attack,” raising a question “what chance do more basic human rights stand?” However, the author misunderstands the response of Chinese students and I do not agree that it is a type of attack. Moreover, I doubt that the author even knows what <i>basic</i> human rights means, especially to people living in China.
Foreign Policy Principles for the Next Administration
Restoring America’s standing in the world must surely rank as the next administration’s foremost priority. Unfortunately, the three remaining presidential candidates have yet to articulate a clear strategy for achieving this (admittedly daunting) objective. Whoever prevails in November should ground their strategy in seven principles and policies. I do not regard the first three as particularly controversial — the experiences of the past decade or so yield them quite naturally — and, as such, I present them without comment:
Letters to the Editor
In the May 2 issue of <i>The Tech</i>, Miguel Valença Pires describes the reaction of some Chinese students to the cartoons critical of their country as a personal “attack,” and advises “brushing aside the criticism” or “taking it at face value.”
Letters to the Editor
I have never really been too energized about the cause of Tibet (worthy, no doubt, but just not one of my “pet” causes) and was somewhat ambivalent on the whole issue of the Olympics in China. On one hand, it would be nice to have the Olympics hosted in a place that was more representative of the values the Games are so frequently said to stand for, on the other hand it would be a bit hypocritical of me not to allow my televised sports entertainment to come from a place that already produces pretty much everything else I consume. Even the fact that China is taking this chance as an opportunity to show off its new-found wealth didn’t bother me — hosting and competing in Olympic Games has always been about nationalism, determining who has the best genes, the best doctors, the best coaches, and sometimes even the best athletes. However, the seemingly organized uproar that has been created by an apparently significant portion of the Chinese population at MIT and elsewhere to the vocal criticisms of a few semi-organized activists has managed to change my mind.
Corrections
Because of a typographical error, the April 15 editorial “COD Should Face Tough Questions” misstated the middle initial of the Committee on Discipline’s former chair. He is George E. Apostolakis, not George J. Apostolakis.
Multiculturalism May Erode Strength Of Western Values
Amal Dorai G mischaracterizes my letter from last week. Far from saying that we should accommodate the intolerance of other cultures, I was posing a question — how do we reconcile our liberal society (here I use “liberal” in its classical sense) with respect for multicultural diversity, when some of our own values, such as respect for the rights of homosexuals, conflict with those of other cultures? Do we dare to assert the superiority of civilized Western liberalism over the medieval puritanism which still persists in some parts of the world today? Dorai seems to think so, and his letter suggests that it is ridiculous to think otherwise — he believes it is “ludicrous” to accommodate another culture’s bigotry.
Letters to the Editor
Whose idea was it to give far more page space to Baker House’s Piano Drop than the UA presidential elections? Last time I checked, two broken pianos don’t have a say in whether I have to eat in a dining hall or if incoming freshmen get their choice of living groups. The UA may not be the most well-liked group on campus, but without a doubt it is one of the most influential and their elections (which determine who represents me and the entire undergraduate community to the administration) deserve a bit more attention. At least we know that if Baker House decides to drop the UA Exec Board off a roof, everyone will hear about it.
Corrections
The headline for an April 15 article discussing the Media Lab’s Center for Future Banking incorrectly identified Sloan Professor Dan Ariely as the lead of the new group. Ariely is a member of the group, which is directed by Deb K. Roy, associate professor of Media Arts and Sciences.
Power From Space: Its Time Has Come
Last week, we saw a significant policy shift on greenhouse gas emissions when President Bush called for a halt in the growth of U.S. emissions by 2025 and urged other major polluting nations to develop national goals to address climate change. On the same day, South Korea’s president started a visit to the U.S. to make a pitch to companies and investors to assist the country’s desire to become an energy producer following the discovery of deposits of gas hydrates — crystalline solids of methane and water molecules — off its coast last year. The country’s aspirations are understandable. They would, however, add to emissions from methane released during extraction. Gas hydrates have also been found in large quantities off the coasts of China, India, and Taiwan, all of which have increasing energy demands.
Letters to the Editor
Thomas Armet suggests that The Tech should have not published Artem Kras’ name to avoid a “witch hunt.” The term “witch hunt” distinctly implies an absence of “witches,” which is not the case here — there was a severe incident with an identifiable perpetrator, and the Committee on Disciple proved too impotent to effectively punish him. <i>The Tech</i> is acting as an important public servant by ensuring that Kras is roundly ridiculed for his actions, and is doing the COD’s job by ensuring that this kind of action does not go unpunished in our community.