MIT Places 9th on Times’ Higher Education List of Top Universities
MIT ranked ninth on the <i>Times Higher Education</i>’s list of the Top 200 World Universities which was published on Oct. 9.
Proposed Changes to GIRs Would Revamp HASS Requirements
Motions to implement changes to the General Institute Requirements, including the addition of more varieties of core science subjects and the elimination of HASS-D designated subjects, will be made at the next faculty meeting in November.
Chomsky Discusses US-India Nuclear Deal, Iran
<i>This is the first of a three-part interview with Institute Professor Noam A. Chomsky, conducted in early September by Subrata Ghoshroy, a researcher in the Science, Technology, and Global Security Working Group at MIT. In this part, Ghoshroy and Chomsky discussed the then-pending U.S.-India nuclear deal and why a “majority of the world supports Iran.”</i>
IMF Mulls Credit to Stem Crisis in Developing World
With the financial crisis engulfing developing countries from Latin America to Central Europe, raising the specter of market panic and even social unrest, Western officials are weighing coordinated action to try to stabilize these economies.
Greenspan Concedes Flaws In His Hands-Off Approach
For years, a congressional hearing with Alan Greenspan was a marquee event. Lawmakers doted on him as an economic sage. Markets jumped up or down depending on what he said. Politicians in both parties wanted the maestro on their side.
Lagging, McCain Can Still See Several Victory Scenarios
Sen. John McCain woke Thursday morning to what has become a fairly common greeting in these tough last weeks of his campaign. A raft of polls showing him well behind. Early post-mortems on his candidacy. Even Republicans speaking of him in the past tense.
Shorts (left)
The City Council on Thursday cleared a path for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to run for re-election next year, voting to revise a term limits law twice approved by voters.
Shorts (right)
Half of all American doctors responding to a nationwide survey say they regularly prescribe placebos to patients. The results trouble medical ethicists, who say more research is needed to determine whether doctors must deceive patients in order for placebos to work.
Tribal Militias Walk a Tightrope in Fighting Taliban
Two tribal elders lay stretched out in an orthopedic ward here last week, their plastered limbs and winces of pain grim evidence of the slaughter they survived when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the midst of their tribal gathering.
Say It Ain’t Snow
The mere mention of snow sends people flocking to get sweaters, gloves, scarves, and occasionally every last loaf of bread and gallon of milk in supermarkets as well. We’re approaching that time of year when the flakes will begin to fall and cover the ground in a serene white. On average, the first snow arrives in Boston around Nov. 4, and the first inch of accumulating snow doesn’t usually occur until the first part of December. However, some years are curveballs, including 2005. On Oct. 29 of that year, 1.1 inches (2.8 cm) of slushy snow coated the still changing leaves.
The Future of Development Policy
There are a lot of big issues at stake this election. Global warming, the war in Iraq, health insurance, and the economy all have earned a prime share of the public consciousness.
Letters to the Editor
The Oct. 14 article “Gender Ratios Vary Widely Across MIT Courses” nicely summarized the statistics on gender diversity within the undergraduate population.
You Can Be the Difference
Last Friday night, I went to an event called “Stand Up” hosted by the Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA) at Harvard University. At the event, over fifty students from around the Boston area listened to the words of student leaders, stood up, and pledged to take action against poverty.
Addressing Poverty
Poverty. It’s not a nice thing to dwell on. We hear the word and we conjure up images of malnourished children in Africa, staring at us with their big haunting eyes and distended bellies. For some of us, we recall annoying homeless people who manage to make us feel guilty every time we pass them without putting a quarter into their coffee cups.
Corrections
The Friday, Oct. 10 article “Senior Gets A Second Shot at <i>Jeopardy!</i>” incorrectly reported the age of Anjali Tripathi ’09 in 1999. She was eleven — not nine — when she first appeared on <i>Jeopardy!</i>.
CONCERT REVIEW Michel Camilo, Pure Love
Saturday night. Full house. Glasses clink and lapels straighten.
ALBUM REVIEW How to Be Unpopular
From all accounts, Gustav Mahler was a formidable grouch. It’s not hard to hear this in his music — his ninth symphony is nearly an hour and a half’s worth of rich, Wagnerian lines, rife with paranoid navel-gazing over his imminent death. His orchestral song-cycle, Das Lied von der Erde is a meditation on eastern philosophy and a hidden symphony meant to cheat fate (Beethoven had nine symphonies, so did Dvorak, Schubert1, Mahler knew where this was headed).
GAME OF THE WEEK MIT Football Overpowers WNEC 48-15 in NEFC Conference Game
DeRon M. Brown ’10 and Robert C. Utz ’09 combined for 351 yards on the ground as MIT unleashed a nearly unstoppable rushing attack en route to a 48-15 victory over Western New England College in a New England Football Conference Boyd Division battle on Saturday. Brown paced a running game that totaled 435 yards with 207 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries.
Field Hockey Drops Close Decision, Loses to Wheaton, 1-0Women’s Volleyball Blanks Babson, 3-0Men’s Soccer Sets Records In Win Over Johnson & Wales
Senior Alisa Ardito provided the lone goal of the game, just over two minutes in to lead Wheaton College past MIT, 1-0, in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference field hockey action Tuesday night. The Engineers have now lost four one-goal contests during their NEWMAC campaign.
Women’s Tennis On Road to NEWMACs, Beats Wheaton, 6-3
Last week, the MIT women’s tennis defeated Wheaton College 6-3. Both teams had only one loss this season so a close match was expected.
