Police Log
<i>The following incidents were reported to the MIT Police between Aug. 13 and Sept. 5, 2007. This summary does not include incidents such as false alarms, general service calls, larcenies, or medical shuttles.</i>
Dartmouth Expands Board; Alumni Role Reduced by Change
Dartmouth College announced late on Saturday night that its board of trustees would expand to 24 members, two-thirds chosen by the college and one-third elected by the alumni.
Sodium Injures Five in Charles River Fire
Five burn injuries from a boat fire on the Charles River last Thursday, Sept. 6, appear to have been caused by sodium, said Jake Wark, spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Local media sources reported that the substance may have come from a sodium drop, a traditional MIT activity in which sodium is thrown into the Charles River so that students can watch its violent reaction with water.
BU Dental No Longer Available For MIT Students
The Boston University Student Dental Plan will not be available to members of the MIT community this academic year. The plan had been the least expensive of the options available to students in the area and remains open to those enrolled in a number of other local colleges and universities. The Housing and Community Affairs subcommittee of the Graduate Student Council is exploring replacement options.
Congress Passes Overhaul Of Loan Programs
Congress gave final approval to a broad overhaul of federal student loan programs Friday, sharply cutting subsidies to lenders and increasing grants to needy students.
Leeland B. Ekstrom G
<b>Education Background:</b> BS in Engineering Physics and BS in Life Sciences from Queen’s University in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
News Briefs
The new automatic door mechanism for Lobby 7 has had persistent problems since its installation on Aug. 21. The exit door seems to fail every few days. As of last week the door has been blockaded and disabled. The failure is a result of a thermal overload in a relay that operates the door mechanism, and Facilities has been investigating temperature issues in the room that houses the control equipment.
President of GSC Speaks About Grad Student Life
<i>This is the sixth interview in a seven-part series introducing incoming students to some of MIT’s faculty, staff, and student leaders. Today, </i>The Tech<i> interviews Leeland B. Ekstrom G, president of the Graduate Student Council. Ekstrom talks about graduate student life and his plans for the GSC.</i>
So Long Summer
Although technically not yet autumn, temperatures over the foreseeable future will certainly make it feel like the fall season. Contrast this to just a few days ago when Logan tied a record high of 95°F, previously set way back in 1872. A cold front moved through early Sunday morning, bringing substantially cooler and somewhat drier air with its passage. The weekend also saw a weak Tropical Storm Gabrielle brush the North Carolina coast with mainly light rain and some gusty winds. Cape Hatteras recorded a top wind speed of 53 mph. Now a tropical depression, Gabrielle is currently racing off to the northeast and passed about 200 miles south of Nantucket last night.
U.S. Citizen Sentenced 24 Years Prison Time For Crimes Related to Terrorism
A California man convicted last year of aiding terrorists and lying to the FBI was sentenced on Monday to 24 years in prison.
Top U.S. Commander Warns Against Hurried Iraq Pullout
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, warned in stark terms against the kind of rapid pullback favored by the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, in a day of testimony that drove home the continuing inability of the Democrats to force a change in strategy in Iraq.
Sept. 11 Commemoration Moved Away From Ground Zero to Park
The planning for Tuesday’s commemoration of the 2001 terror attacks had become a seemingly familiar standoff. On one side was a vocal core of victims’ relatives threatening to hold their own event because the ceremony would, for the first time, take place not at ground zero but across the street, at Zuccotti Park. On the other, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, accused by the relatives of insensitivity, was holding firm that it was unsafe to allow mourners at what was now an active construction site.
Petraeus in Support of ProposalReducing No. of U.S. Troops in Iraq
Under the timetable embraced on Monday by Gen. David H. Petraeus, the number of American combat brigades would decline by one-fourth by next summer, from 20 now to 15 in July, with the prospect of deeper, if as yet unscheduled, reductions to come.
Shorts (left)
The government’s ability to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists overseas allowed the United States to obtain information that led to the arrests last week of three Islamic militants accused of planning bomb attacks in Germany, said Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence.
Shorts (right)
Li Runsen, the powerful technology director of China’s ministry of public security, is best known for leading Project Golden Shield, China’s intensive effort to strengthen police control over the Internet.
Suicide Bomber in Afghanistan Kills Afghan Civilians, Policemen
In one of the deadliest suicide attacks in Afghanistan this year, at least one suicide bomber killed at least 26 Afghans, half of them civilians, in a crowded market in southern Afghanistan on Monday night, Afghan officials said.
Corrections
A photo of LaVerde’s Market on page 1 of the Sept. 7, 2007 issue of <i>The Tech</i> was credited to the wrong photographer. The photo was taken by Sherry Yan ’11, not Alex Chan G.
Tech Beats Worcester State 5-2; Theurer and Pesce Each Score Two
MIT women’s soccer scored four unanswered goals in the second half, powering to a 5-2 victory against Worcester State in the 2007 home opener at Steinbrenner Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Jean E. “Liz” Theurer ’10 and Kathryn A. Pesce ’10 paced a remarkable performance for the Engineers by scoring two goals apiece, while Amy S. Ludlum ’08 also totaled four points to give MIT its second consecutive win.
Therkelsen’s Three Goals Power Tech to a 3-2 Win
Freshman sensation Christian W. Therkelsen ’11 emerged as MIT’s offensive hero for the second consecutive game, as the striker completed a hat trick in the Engineers’ 3-2 victory over Rhode Island College on Saturday afternoon at Steinbrenner Stadium. The Engineers exacted revenge on the Anchormen, who soundly beat MIT by a score of 4-1 early last season.
Water Polo Wins 13-9 Against National Champ UC Santa Cruz
The men’s water polo team competed against five other teams in last weekend’s MIT Invitational, notching victories in four matches and a tie in an exhibition. The Engineers were particularly impressive in posting a strong 13-9 win over the Division III defending national champion, the University of California Santa Cruz, in their opening match on Friday night.
Rants & Raves
I realize that there are some instances when people need to take the elevator to only go a couple floors — like, if they are in wheelchairs or have some sort of foot/ankle/knee injury. Taking the elevator is also acceptable if there are no nearby stairs. However …
God, Are You Out There?
I was having an existential crisis the other day, so I decided to seek help. Naturally, I knew where to turn.
Scott’s Travels
After having given up on our horses mid-journey, my adventurous acquaintance Will and I found ourselves standing alone on a remote dirt road in the Mongolian countryside. As we weren’t sure how long we’d have to wait, be it minutes or days, we were quite relieved when an old Russian minivan shortly came chugging around from behind a hillside and into view.
