Tuition and Inflation Over Time
Tuition & Fees During Year Beginning in Fall Percent Increase Tuition and Fees Consumer Price Index in December of Previous Year Inflation Rate(% Increase in the CPI) 2005 $32,300 4.87% 190.3 3.26% 2006 $33,600 4.02% 196.8 3.42% 2007 $34,986 4.13% 201.8 2.54% 2008 $36,390 4.01% 210.0 4.08% 2009 $37,782 3.83% 210.2 0.09%
Students Expect A’s As Default Grade, Even If They Just Attend Class
Prof. Marshall Grossman has come to expect complaints whenever he returns graded papers in his English classes at the University of Maryland.
In Wake of GIR Defeat, Back to Drawing Board
President Susan J. Hockfield announced at the faculty meeting on Wednesday that the motion to revise the General Institute Requirements had been defeated, eliminating any lingering uncertainties among faculty about whether the motion had passed by the required margin. Now, faculty and administrators have gone back to the drawing board to craft an improved plan for amending the GIRs.
MacGregor Dining Program Closed Due To High Costs
Because of inconsistent food quality, low attendance, and high costs, the MacGregor Dining Pilot Program ceased operations as of Tuesday. The program, which served dinner in MacGregor weekly, was instated to test the potential for a full-service dining hall in the dormitory. The program suffered from a $7500 deficit last semester in food and labor costs.
New Invention Gives People ‘Sixth Sense’
Ever wanted to be able to manipulate images on a computer the way Tom Cruise did in <i>Minority Report</i>? A new Media Lab invention, sixthsense, lets you do just that as it allows users to manipulate digital information with hand gestures.
Tuition Increase is Lowest in 8 Yrs, High Relative to Inflation
Chancellor Philip L. Clay PhD ’75 announced at Wednesday’s faculty meeting that tuition and fees will increase from $36,390 to $37,782 for the 2009-2010 academic year, marking the lowest percentage increase in eight years. But with respect to the inflation rate of 0.09% over the last year, the 3.83% increase in tuition represents a greater financial burden on families as an MIT education is now more expensive relative to family income.
Faculty, Staff Salaries Frozen
Faculty and staff salaries will be frozen next year for faculty making more than $125,000 a year and staff making more than $75,000 a year, President Susan J. Hockfield announced at Wednesday’s faculty meeting. MIT’s $10 billion endowment has lost 20 to 25 percent of its value, Hockfield said in a letter to the community sent yesterday.
Obama Visits Canada in Bid to Improve Relations
President Barack Obama charted a delicate course with Canada on Thursday, using the first foreign trip of his presidency to ease tensions over trade policy, climate change and the war in Afghanistan — all the while basking in his celebrity status in a nation where his approval ratings are so high that a local bakery named a pastry after him.
Newly Poor Swell Lines At America’s Food Banks
Once a crutch for the most needy, food pantries have responded to the deepening recession by opening their doors to what Rosemary Gilmartin, who runs the Interfaith Food Pantry here, described as “the next layer of people” — a rapidly expanding roster of child-care workers, nurse’s aides, real estate agents and secretaries facing a financial crisis for the first time.
Lending Locked, U.S. Tries Trillion-Dollar Key
Credit cards, home equity lines, student loans, car financing: None come cheaply or easily in these credit-tight times. The banks, the refrain goes, just will not lend money.
Shorts (right)
On the same day last month that a federal judge in St. Paul threw out hundreds of lawsuits against the maker of a faulty heart device, a man entered a nearby hospital to have one of those flawed products surgically removed.
Shorts (left)
It may be the longest train delay in history: More than 40 years after the first bullet trains began zipping through Japan, the United States still lacks true high-speed rail. And despite the record $8 billion investment in high-speed rail added at the last minute to the new economic stimulus package, that may not change any time soon.
U.N. Says Iran Enriched More Uranium Than Reported
In their first appraisal of Iran’s nuclear program since President Obama took office, atomic inspectors have found that Iran recently understated by a third how much uranium it has enriched, UN officials said Thursday.
In Budget Deal, California Shuts $42 Billion Gap
Take-home pay for Californians is about to shrink. Jeans, hammers, burgers and fries will cost more. Public school children will make due with old textbooks and find more classmates sitting next to them. Parents will receive fewer tax benefits, and state university students will pay 9 percent more in tuition.
Only a Month Until Spring!
By now, the semester has hit you like a bus; we’re three weeks into term and the problem sets are stacking up. You’re probably starting to get stressed with the first round of tests and chilly weather isn’t helping. “When’s winter going to end?” a Texan friend asked as it was snowing this Wednesday night. But never fear, spring’s almost here! The daily highs are increasing, slowly but certainly. The normal high for today is 40˚F (4˚C), and the low 25˚F (-4˚C). By next week, climatology for Boston shows highs increasing to 41˚F (5˚C) by next Friday, but by the following Friday (March 6th) we could be seeing temperatures reaching from 43˚F (6˚C) to 29˚F (-2˚C). And a month from now, we’ll be seeing an average high of 48˚F (9˚C), and the average low will finally be above freezing.
Letters to the Editor
I would just like to thank the MIT administration for providing the MIT student body with so many great community-building opportunities like the protest in Lobby 7 on Tuesday.
Stop Complaining
The consultants’ draft to the Blue Ribbon Committee was leaked and, as per MIT tradition, a flurry of e-mails filled our inboxes from concerned, upset, and protesting students.
Susan Hockfield, Budget Cuts, and the Blue Ribbon Dining Problem
How are three of the hottest topics on campus tied together? As most of us found out recently, the consultant firm working with the Blue Ribbon Dining Committee (BRDC) published a report recommending a mandatory “nutritional” cost to all students. In fact, the only reason we all found out was because the report got leaked.
Secret Meetings Breed Distrust on Dining
The leak of a draft consultants’ report to the Blue Ribbon Committee on Dining clearly sparked some strong feelings on campus over the past week. One of the ways in which this concern manifested itself was in the form of a well-attended and fairly conspicuous protest rally in Lobby 7 last Tuesday.
CD REVIEW The Bad Plus, Plus One
Jazz is a genre that consistently flirts with risk-taking. Whether this manifests itself in compositional structure, instrumentation, harmonic choices, or transcending implicit musical boundaries, The Bad Plus is a group that has done it all. Since the release of the group’s first record on the Fresh Sound / New Talent imprint, the critic community has argued over the true categorization of these three veteran musicians from Minneapolis. At the very base, they are indisputably a jazz group. But what causes most listeners to question this blanket classification is The Bad Plus’ penchant for risk. Boasting a catalogue of astounding original compositions (each member plays piano and writes for the whole band) and an arsenal of jazz-tinged rock and pop covers, The Bad Plus explores more musical territory than most of their jazz or indie contemporaries. This past summer, at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands (an event I was fortunate enough to attend) Reid Anderson (bass), Ethan Iverson (piano), and David King (drums) announced the upcoming release of their new album, <i>For All I Care</i>. They also mentioned that they’d had a surprise waiting for the audience backstage. Seasoned Bad Plus fans are no stranger to the antics that this trio brings to the stage, but there’s just one thing that fans were not expecting: Wendy Lewis.
DANCE REVIEW MIT Natya Presents Shakti: Women of Power
Last Sunday MIT Natya performed their annual show in Little Kresge, entitled <i>Shakti: Women of Power</i>. Natya is purely devoted to Bharatanatyam, a classical dance tradition originating from South India. The show utilized the art of dance to convey the stories of three women in Hindu mythology who have had notable impact on the status of women. Bharatanatyam is an extremely technical and challenging dance form that incorporates percussive foot movements, which often complement the rhythm of the drums in the accompanying music.
THEATER REVIEW ‘The Vagina Monologues’
What would Valentine’s Day weekend be without a celebration of women? And I’m not just talking about getting your girlfriend or gal pals chocolates or flowers, or taking that cute girl from lab out for dinner. I’m talking about the<i> Vagina Monologues</i>, a production that has raised millions of dollars for anti-violence organizations over the past decade.
THEATER REVIEW MIT Dramashop Puts On ‘Julius Caesar’
Conspirators wear business suits. Mark Antony chats on his cell phone. The soldiers of Brutus deck themselves out in camo and army boots.
MOVIE REVIEW ★★ Shopaholic During a Recession?
Movies make the worst first dates — unless they invoke insightful discussion. This Valentine’s Day, I decided to watch <i>Confessions of a Shopaholic</i> — on a first date — because, well, I wasn’t expecting much from the date nor the movie. Instead, I had a great first date, at the expense of not taking the movie seriously.
Staff Picks
Trumpeter Dominick Farinacci performs repertoire off his US debut album Loves, Tales & Dances (E1 Music) at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston. Since being “discovered” by Wynton Marsalis at the age of 15, Dominick has charmed fans and critics alike with the warmth and rich lyricism of his sound. Produced by the legendary Russ Titelman (Eric Clapton, James Taylor, etc), Lovers, Tales & Dances features some of the greatest players in jazz, including Kenny Barron, James Genus, and Joe Lovano.
Sports Shorts
In its final tune-up before the National Rifle Association (NRA) Intercollegiate Championship, the MIT pistol team secured a 6,168-5,960 win over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy this past weekend. The women’s squad was also victorious, registering a 2,655-2,607 decision.
GAME OF THE WEEK Men’s Volleyball Tops Lesley in Straight Sets For Four Game Streak
The MIT men’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to four courtesy of a 30-10, 30-12, 30-12 decision over Lesley University in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division match on Tuesday. The victory lifted the Engineers’ record to 9-9 on the year and 5-3 in conference play while the Lynx saw their record dip to 1-11 overall and 1-7 in the league.
