IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME: Building houses, building communities
“You can do it!” one of my sorority sisters cheered as I awkwardly held the circular saw, which was already weighing my arm down. My task was to cut some pieces of wood for the framework of the house I was building for Habitat for Humanity. In my mind, I thought of all the things that could go horribly wrong.
Events Sep. 18 - Sep. 24
Events Sep. 18 – sep. 24 Tuesday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) “The Power of the Crowdsourced Documentary” talk presented by Jigar Mehta — E14-663 Wednesday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) Inaugural Celebration Symposium: Infinite Innovation — Kresge Auditorium (12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Welcome luncheon honoring President and Mrs. Reif — Building 50 Thursday (4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) The Price of Climate Risk talk by Robert Litterman — E51-115 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Computer-Aided-Biology to Biology-Aided-Computers talk by Professor George Church — NE-30 Friday (2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Presidential Inauguration Ceremony — Killian Court (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows The Five-Year Engagement — 26-100 Saturday (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) Animal Petting Zoo — E55 courtyard (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) The 2012 Ig Informal Lectures at MIT — 10-250 Sunday (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) The Physics of the Kresge Organ, pre-concert lecture — Kresge (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) World Premiere of Kresge Organ Symphony by Leonardo Ciampa — Kresge Monday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Writing Books for a Wider Audience — E52-600 (6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) RFID Event: What Technology Will Dominate Retail? — 32-155 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Burning Man
Burning Man is a weeklong art festival of sorts, held annually in the middle of nowhere: Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. This year the event ran from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3 and was attended by more than 50,000 people. The festival revolved around the art theme “Fertility 2.0.”
Events Sep. 11 - Sep. 17
Events Sept. 11 – 17 Tuesday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) The Brain’s Politics: How Campaigns are Framed and Why talk by George Lakoff — E15-070 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) 23andMe and Consumer Powered Research talk on personal DNA sequencing — NE30, Broad Institute Auditorium Wednesday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) The Sense of Style: Scientific Communication for the 21st Century talk by Steven Pinker — 34-101 (5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) The New, New Mobile: Commerce on Wheels panel (registration required) — 32-123 Thursday (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) A Modern Day Challenge: safeguarding, conserving and protecting the cultural heritage of Israel — E40-496 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Urban Films: The Parking Lot Movie, introduction by by Professor Eran Ben-Joseph — 3-133 Friday (6:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows The Avengers — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Shakespeare Ensemble shows 10 Things I Hate About You — Kresge Lawn Saturday (8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Boston Open Powerlifting Championship — Walker Memorial (8:30 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Team Dance Concert — Kresge Main Auditorium Sunday (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) MIT Heritage of the Arts of Southasia presents Kalapini Komkali (Hindustani khyal) concert — E51 Monday (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Challenges and Excitement of Space Exploration talk by Dr. Charles Elachi — E51-115 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME: Choices, choices
“It’s All Greek To Me” tells the individual stories of MIT sorority girls. Check in every Tuesday to hear a new voice. Katherine Chasins is a junior in Courses 2-A and 15 and the vice president of public relations for the Panhellenic Association.
Orientation and REX in review
Although Rush and Recruitment are continuing around campus, orientation and Residence Exploration (REX) events are officially over. How has it been?
The summer before MIT
We often hear about the summer after high school, of those warm days shrouded in familiarity before the thrilling independence of college. After graduation, I promised myself to make the most of this last summer, to try new things, take risks, and gain perspective.
IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME: My final Recruitment
“It’s All Greek To Me” tells the individual stories of MIT sorority girls. Check in every Tuesday to hear a new voice. Denzil Sikka ’13 is a senior in Course 6 at MIT and president of Panhel, the governing council of all six MIT sororities.
Hell is other people
I was a freshman once. Escaping my hometown of Tampa, Florida, I went to MIT, leaving my family and high school friends behind. I was an unattached soul, with no group to call my own. Faced with the fear of being alone and unsupported, I was easily tempted by the promises of Sorority Recruitment.
Surviving the first year at the Institute
Starting at any college can be nerve-wracking for freshman, and MIT is no different. Freshmen are in a new environment and worried about academics and managing their lives — all without the familiar comfort of home and their parents. With so many things to do, from registering for classes to living alone for the first time to doing laundry, students can feel overwhelmed. Luckily, there are a number of encouraging support systems around campus.
MIT protips
Well, it’s that time again. All you hordes of freshman are pouring onto campus, bright and unsullied. Some of you fancy yourselves engineers, scientists, the bright minds of the future. All so innocent, easy prey for the dangers lurking behind the institute’s marble columns. Right now, you probably think “p-set” is a dirty word.
Understanding the perfection of imperfection
A survey once asked me to describe my perfect day. I had more than one perfect day in my mind, as many people probably do, but it made me wonder — what makes something “perfect” in the first place?
Considering the implications of our inventions
My last summer of high school — before I enter the heavenly gates of MIT (thanks to a certain St. Peter called Stu Schmill and the admissions committee) — has been one gigantic conglomeration of everything I have wanted to do but have otherwise slipped up on during the previous eighteen years of my life.
In anticipation of MIT
Here I am, less than a month from starting what will arguably be the best four years of my life. Am I incredibly excited? Scared? Still half-convinced that I was perhaps admitted by mistake?
A “grate” salad and the sweet turned savory
I was staring at the wall of energy bars at LaVerdes, looking for a quick snack between work and exercising. Bright and colorful, they tempted the eye with bold statements like “10 grams of protein!” and “Chocolate-Caramel flavoring.” Yet even the “healthy” bars often contained more sugar than protein, and I wanted something more … meaty. Unfortunately, I don’t have the technology to produce a slab of pure dried animal flesh, so I did the next best thing: I made a batch of savory granola.
“There and back again:” From home to home
If there’s one thing everyone seems to get excited about at the end of the semester, it’s about going away. Although no one likes moving, whether to go home or travel to some foreign land for an internship, the vast majority of people are ecstatic about getting out and away.
A paradoxical graduation
Life can change in an instant — the instant you get that acceptance letter, the instant you walk across that stage, the instant someone dear to you dies. I never imagined that my life would change so drastically before graduation — that I would be graduating without my partner, the guy who loved and supported me for the bulk of my MIT undergraduate career.
The art of advocacy at MIT
On May 1, MIT Corporation Member Barun Singh ENG ’06 called for MIT students to advocate for themselves. This is difficult with MIT’s current structure of advocacy, which lacks proper forums to share problems and ideas. Students advocate through the student groups they are a part of, and student groups are forced to make advocacy entertainment. Events such as Alpha Chi Omega’s Lipsync for raising domestic violence awareness and the Chorallaries’ Bad Taste, which makes fun of scandalous occurrences on campus, are fun but students do not leave the show with a heightened sense of awareness — they are often focused on the event itself, and not the issue at hand. I would like to explain why advocacy currently happens as it does and make suggestions for how to get students more involved in politics.
Heavenly voices
Gospel Choir is one of MIT’s Christianity-based music singing groups. Founded over 35 years ago, their 30-some members come from a a variety of Christian backgrounds. The group provides an opportunity to practice while they preach, with prayer and scripture readings during rehearsals.