Undergrad Rooms in NW35 Dorm Will Not Have Stoves
The undergraduates living in NW35 this fall will not have access to the stoves that were to be installed in their rooms.
Top-Tier Universities Report Record Low Acceptance Numbers
The already crazed competition for admission to the nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges became even more intense this year, with many logging record low acceptance rates.
New Grad Dorm Will Not Have Analog Telephones
NW35, the new graduate residence that will be named Ashdown House when it opens this fall, will not have analog phone lines in the rooms. Residents who want room phones will need to purchase a voice over IP phone and Internet phone service.
GSC Officers Elected
The Graduate Student Council elected Oaz Nir, a third-year PhD student and the current editor of the <i>Graduate Student News</i>, as its new president for the 2007–2008 school year on Wednesday.
William L. Kraushaar
Professor William L. Kraushaar, a former MIT physics professor and a pioneer in the field of high-energy astronomy, died March 21 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 87.
Amid a Peruvian City’s Debris, Visions of Rebirth
In August 2007, earthquakes devastated the small coastal town of Tambo de Mora, located just south of Lima, Peru. This spring break, about three dozen students, myself included, traveled to the town as part of CityScope (4.001/11.004) to learn how we could help its residents.
Judge Orders Boston University Not to Reveal Students’ Names
Boston University students have won what one lawyer hailed as a “David and Goliath” victory after challenging one of the recording industry’s most aggressive tactics: lawsuits targeting people who illegally download music.
Shorts (right)
North Korea’s rising tensions with South Korea and the United States, coupled with soaring international grain prices and flood damage from last year, will probably take a heavy toll among famine-threatened people in the isolated country, relief experts said Thursday.
Appeals Court Panel Throws Out Class Action Over ‘Light’ Cigarettes
In a victory for the tobacco industry, a federal appeals court threw out on Thursday an $800 billion class-action lawsuit on behalf of smokers who said they had been misled that light cigarettes were safer than regular ones.
Americans Voice Serious Concern Over U.S. Future
Americans are more dissatisfied with the country’s direction than at any time since the New York Times/CBS News poll began asking about the subject in the 1990s, according to the latest poll.
Testimony Offers Details of Bear Stearns Takeover
Three weeks after the market crisis that forced the rescue of Bear Stearns, federal officials and senior Wall Street executives offered their first public account on Thursday of the harrowing four days of negotiations that led to a deal to sell the investment bank to JPMorgan Chase.
Former Kosovo Leader Acquitted in Hague Trial
The U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Thursday acquitted a former commander of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army of all charges of war crimes in a decision that could inflame anti-Kosovo sentiment in Serbia just weeks after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence.
Shorts (left)
Zimbabwe’s government staged separate police raids on Thursday against the main opposition party, foreign journalists and at least one democracy advocate, raising the specter of a broad crackdown aimed at keeping the country’s imperiled leaders in power.
NATO Endorses Missile System, More Troops for Afghanistan
NATO leaders agreed Thursday to endorse a U.S. missile defense system based in Europe and to provide more troops for Afghanistan, but they refused to back President Bush’s proposal to bring Ukraine and Georgia closer to NATO membership.
WxChallenge
The letters “wx” stand for the weather, hence the name WxChallenge, a national collegiate weather forecasting competition. MIT has competed in both this competition since its inception in 2006 and also its predecessor, the NCWFC (National Collegiate Weather Forecasting Competition). In fact, we have taken the national title five of the past six years. In the contest, we forecast for a different city every two weeks, estimating the high and low temperatures on any given day, the highest wind speed, and also the precipitation amount. The contest ends today, and what happens today at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport will determine if MIT takes the title again, or if our rival, Mississippi State University, comes out with a narrow victory. The final results will be posted on the “cumulative results” page of the WxChallenge Web site tomorrow afternoon, so check it out: <i>www.wxchallenge.com</i>.
Corrections
A page 11 table in the April 1, 2008 issue of <i>The Tech</i> omitted one of the candidates for 2010 Class Council. Barry D. Bannon ’10 is running for Class of 2010 Vice President.
Letters to the Editor
The Recording Industry Association of America continues to send “pre-litigation settlement letters” to college students throughout our country.
Today I Wish I Were a Harvard Man
Last night Dean for Student Life Larry G. Benedict sent the MIT community a letter warning about the dangers of copyright infringement. As I read through this and past letters to campus, I came to realize something extraordinary. You’ll have to take my word on how insane it feels to write these words, but today I wish I were a Harvard man. Why? Simply put, because unlike our own Institute, Harvard treats its students with respect.
EVENT PREVIEW Best Way to Get Your Flick Fix
I can’t be the only one sick of the terrible movies in theatres lately; the filth that comes out in this springtime post-awards season lull is pathetic. Thankfully, some relief is coming to Boston later this month is the form of the sixth annual Independent Film Festival of Boston. It may not be as well known a festival as Sundance, or SXSW, but this relative anonymity might be a good thing. The festival is small enough for anyone to enjoy but large enough to attract some fantastic entries.
CONCERT LISTINGS The Best Concerts of April 2008
It seems former frontmen and recently-gone-solo band members are presently dominating this month’s Boston music scene. Rather than worry that the duplicate prevalence of lead singers might bar new acts from booking shows at local venues, I recommend you revel in the prolific songwriting of these musicians and try to catch them outside of their comfort zones. Special recommendations are denoted with stars.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★★ Don’t Pass on ‘21’
In 2002, Ben Mezrich released his bestselling non-fiction story, <i>Bringing Down the House</i>, about a group of MIT students who counted cards to win millions playing blackjack and beat the house in Vegas. Now, the story has taken a new form in the recently released movie <i>21</i>.
Women’s Tennis Dominates Caltech On Spring Break Trip to California
The women’s tennis team traveled to Pasadena, CA over spring break last week for the opportunity to train, bond, and compete. On Monday, they faced rival Caltech, whom they dominated, 9-0.
Sophia Harrison Wins National Championship on Uneven Bars
Behind a school-tying mark of 9.75, Sophia L. Harrison ’08 captured the uneven bar title at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association National Championship held this past weekend at State University of New York at Cortland. In addition to a trio of All-America honors, Harrison was the recipient of the NCGA Outstanding Senior Award, the highest recognition within the organization.
Dressing Your Body Figuring Out Fashion
Some of you have asked how come after following our column and using our hints, you haven’t come out of the deal looking any better. We were originally quite perplexed by this dilemma, but we finally realized the problem in our work so far: none of it really matters if you aren’t finding clothes that fit your body. We all have flaws and areas that we are self conscious about. Stylish clothes that accentuate those parts and make you feel uncomfortable will be no improvement on your current wardrobe. To figure out how to dress different body types, we took to the mall with a diverse crew to find some remedies …
Ask A TA Holds Recitation
Hi kids. I see that you have questions about today’s <i>The Tech</i>, but I’ve prepared answers for your questions about March 21’s <i>The Tech</i>, so let’s go over that instead.
