Sodium Still Under Investigation
The Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate last week’s Charles River accident involving a block of sodium. No suspects have yet been named in the investigation, and MIT has only been associated with the event by Boston media sources who speculate that the traditional East Campus sodium drop caused the injuries.
UA President Tells of Goals, Daily Tasks
<i>This is the final 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 Martin F. Holmes ’08, president of the Undergraduate Association. Holmes talks about the UA and his goals for the upcoming year.</i>
Master’s Degree Programs Expanding Nationwide
The number of students in the University of Chicago program that bestows a Master of Arts degree in social sciences has quadrupled since 1989, jumping to 160 from 40, and despite a tuition price tag of $37,000, every year more students clamor for admittance.
Errors, Ambiguities Plague U.S. News Rankings; Data Uncertain
MIT’s fall from fourth to seventh place in this year’s <i>U.S. News and World Report</i> college ranking was driven in part by changes in how MIT defines and computes class sizes. Corrections in how MIT reports its entering class’s SAT scores also contributed to the drop.
D-Lab Research Center Targets Developing Countries
Beneath the bustling “infinite corridor” linking buildings at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, just past a boiler room, an assemblage of tinkerers from 16 countries welded, stitched and hammered, working on rough-hewn inventions aimed at saving the world, one village at a time.
Bedbug Infestation Irks Ashdown House Students
A bedbug problem that has been plaguing Ashdown since last spring is close to being resolved. An exterminator contracted to MIT has been visiting rooms several times a week over the course of the summer, and sticky-trap style bug monitors newly installed in each room show no sign of new activity.
Aug. Fires Change Outlook For Greek Parliamentary Elections
Just a month ago, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis called for early parliamentary elections, when his center-right New Democracy party seemed a shoo-in for victory.
Two More Earthquakes Hit Indonesia; Strongest Shock Was 8.4 in Magnitude
Two more strong earthquakes shook the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Thursday, after the powerful quake that hit on Wednesday, but the area escaped a major tsunami like the one that devastated the region in 2004.
Success Allows Limited Troop Cuts, Bush Says in Nat’l Address
President Bush contended on Thursday night that his plan to begin withdrawing some troops from Iraq gradually was based on a principle he called “return on success,” saying that progress made so far could be squandered by the deeper and speedier reductions that the war’s opponents have demanded.
Shorts (left)
Though President Bush said he would withdraw five Army combat brigades and several Marine units from Iraq by next summer, as the top commander in Iraq had recommended, the White House was careful Thursday not to be pinned down on just how many soldiers would remain.
Shorts (right)
The group whose $10 million prize spurred privately financed rocketeers to send a small piloted craft to the cusp of space in 2004 has issued a new challenge: an unmanned moon shot.
Fifteen Pakistani Commandos Killed in Apparent Suicide Blast
At least 15 soldiers from an elite commando unit were killed Thursday evening when a blast, apparently set off by a suicide bomber, tore through the dining hall of a military installation in northwestern Pakistan, military officials said.
Sunni Sheik Who Backed U.S. In Iraq Killed in Bomb Attack
A high-profile Sunni Arab sheik who collaborated with the American military in the fight against jihadist militants in western Iraq was killed in a bomb attack on Thursday near his desert compound. The attack appeared to be a precisely planned assassination meant to undermine one of the Bush administration’s trumpeted achievements in the war.
Pleasant Weather to Continue
September is typically one of the most comfortable (and easy to forecast) months in the New England year. Last year, the warmest days during September were in the low 80s°F while the coolest were generally in the mid 60s°F. In addition, nearly two-thirds of the days featured sunshine. By contrast, this month we have already experienced two days with highs in the mid 90s°F. However, those days were quite anomalous and most likely we are done with such hot weather for 2007. Already the fall march of cool Canadian high pressure areas towards the south has begun, with the first hard freeze since the spring being felt in the Upper Midwest earlier this week. This time of year marks the peak of Atlantic Hurricane season and there are two systems currently of note. After making landfall in east Texas Wednesday, the remains of Hurricane Humberto may add some moisture to a cold front for us over the weekend, and Tropical Depression 8 east of the Virgin Islands bears watching.
Letters to the Editor
As an alumna of MIT I am embarrassed and outraged at MIT’s “not me” behavior regarding the sodium drop and the injury of workers and damage to the river clean up boat. What kind of example is this administration setting for students by failing to compensate a struggling non-profit reeling from expenses incurred due to negligence with hazardous materials? I don’t accept this “you can’t prove it and you can’t make me” attitude from my nine-year-old — why should I think it appropriate from an institution supposedly run by adults?
Corrections
The Sept. 7, 2007 news article, “Free Wireless Access Points Placed Across Cambridge,” misspelled the name of one of the pilot programs. It is in Newtowne Court, not NewTown Court. The article also gave the wrong location of the pilot program. It is located on Main St. between Windsor St. and Portland St., not on Massachusetts Ave. Additionally, the article misspelled a company name. It is Meraki, not Maraki.
RESTAURANT REVIEW Tavern Too Tame
After seeing Tavern in the Square in Central Square (on Massachusetts Ave. just past Prospect St.) multiple times over the course of the summer, I was finally able to visit the restaurant a few weeks ago.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ None of That Pesky Plot
Shoot ‘Em Up” definitely surprised me. Every time I thought that this uber-violent flick couldn’t possibly get any more ridiculous, the film managed to take it to the next level. The title pretty much says it all — this is a violent action movie that is all about violence and action … and very little else.
Ludlum Nets Four Goals in 6-1 Victory Over UMass Dartmouth
Amy S. Ludlum ’08 delivered a four-goal, 10-point performance that propelled the Engineers to a 6-1 victory over University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on Tuesday at Steinbrenner Stadium. Ludlum, the reigning NEWMAC Player of the Year, scored four times in the first 37 minutes and assisted on another first-half finish as MIT (3-1-0) cruised to its third consecutive win.
Overtime Goal Lifts MIT In 2-1 Victory Over Lasell
The field hockey team picked up its first home win of the season following a 2-1 overtime victory against Lasell College on Tuesday night. Ashley N. Mobbs ’11 converted a feed from Jessica M. Oleinik ’11 with 5:52 remaining in overtime to give the Engineers (2-2) their second win in a row. With the loss, the Lasers’ ledger dropped to 0-3 on the year.
Tech Places Second in Hiram College Tourney Buchanan Named to All-Tournament Team
The women’s volleyball team continued its successful season this past weekend with a second-place finish at the Hiram College Invitational in Hiram, Ohio. MIT opened the weekend by blanking Geneva College 30-22, 30-20, 30-21, but then fell to the host Terriers 30-19, 30-23, 31-29. The Engineers bounced back by outlasting Saint Mary’s College (Ind.) 29-31, 30-23, 30-25, 21-30, 15-13 and sweeping Thiel College 30-24, 30-22, 30-28. Senior defensive specialist Carrie C. Buchanan ’08 represented MIT (6-1) on the All-Tournament Team.
