Varsity cuts, 18 months afterwards
“It was the hardest decision I ever had to make in a leadership role.”
Gates calls for final push to end polio
NEW YORK — On Monday, in a Manhattan town house that once belonged to polio’s most famous victim, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Gates made an appeal for one more big push to wipe out world polio.
US pushes nuclear energy, but its projects lag
WASHINGTON — In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama proposed giving the nuclear construction business a type of help it has never had, a role in a quota for clean energy. But recent setbacks in a hoped-for “nuclear renaissance” raise questions about how much of a role nuclear power can play.
Looking in-depth at orientation plans
Following the Undergraduate Association emergency meeting last week, several student groups have responded in an effort to preserve Residential Exploration (REX) during next year’s orientation. While final changes to Orientation have not yet been confirmed, a reduced schedule could lead to timing conflicts, which could cut back on available time during the REX period. The final scheduling decision rests with Chancellor Phillip L. Clay PhD ’75, and will be made by mid-February, according to Julie B. Norman, Senior Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Academic and Advising Programming.
The Tech’s Year in Review
History gives perspective. Knowing how things have changed over time can powerfully inform how things will be. At a time when MIT, and the world at large, is facing the continued pressure of a new financial reality, it helps to look back to understand how we got to where we are today.
Shorts (right)
BEIJING — In another era, China’s leaders might have been content to let discussion of the protests in Egypt float around among private citizens, then fizzle out.
Sotomayor reflects on advice, race and public perception at UChicago talk
CHICAGO — Justice Sonia Sotomayor, speaking at a law school here Monday, said she had “taken heat” at her Supreme Court confirmation hearings two summers ago in part because she was the first Hispanic nominee.
Second judge strikes down Obama health care law
A second federal judge ruled Monday that it had been unconstitutional for Congress to enact a health care law that requires all Americans to obtain commercial insurance, evening the score at 2-2 in the lower courts as the conflicting opinions begin their path to the Supreme Court.
Afghan stoning video rekindles outcry in double murder case
KABUL, Afghanistan — Police officers investigating the double murder of a couple who were stoned to death in a prominent case five months ago could hardly have asked for more abundant evidence.
Shorts (left)
Three years ago, Dr. Bradley Thach, a professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, published findings that had the potential to upend nurseries across the nation, and perhaps save some lives too.
Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal poses challenge to US policy
WASHINGTON — New U.S. intelligence assessments have concluded that Pakistan has steadily expanded its nuclear arsenal since President Barack Obama came to office, and that it is building the capability to surge ahead in the production of nuclear-weapons material, putting it on a path to overtake Britain as the world’s fifth-largest nuclear weapons power.
Egyptian army renounces use of force, officials offer talks
CAIRO — The government of Egypt’s authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, shook Monday night, first as the Egyptian Army declared that it would not use force against protesters demanding his ouster, and then as Mubarak’s most trusted adviser offered to talk with the political opposition.
Messy weather arrives (again)
After a very stormy January for New England, yet another storm arrives just in time for February. A broad low pressure system, currently over the central Midwest as of noon, will meander its way across the eastern lower 48. Across the Great Plains and into the northern Midwest, snow, ice and strong winds will cause hazardous travel conditions for many of these areas. In only one day, this particular system will be making headlines in our region.
Dorm presidents defend REX
We have been told that the proposal to reduce the length of orientation has come down from your office, and so we as representatives of the student body are coming to you to ask that you amend the suggested changes to preserve the full length of Residence Exploration (REX).
CPW is not a replacement for REX
What has been happening to MIT recently? It seems as though the “powers that be” are chipping away at all the things that I thought made life at MIT worth it. At this point, I doubt I’ll recognize the place by my five-year reunion. I’ll spare you all the rant about dining, but shortening REX to a single day is completely unacceptable.
Living in a housing-constrained world
To the members of the student body who do not follow campus issues, there are only two facts you need to be aware of to have an above-average understanding of what is going on:
Resolutions for the new semester, by the economics
At the start of each year we collectively reflect upon the previous year’s achievements — or, too often, failures — and project our thoughts on the year ahead. On a wide scale, newspapers summarize the previous year’s news, give pop quizzes on the best gossip and make predictions on what key events will happen. As individuals, though, we have a certain degree of control over our future and so not only make predictions but resolutions about our future.
Corrections
In last Wednesday’s article about the Bad Ideas Competition, the sub-head incorrectly characterized an event as “frosh dog sledding.” The dog sledding event was open to all participants, and students from all classes participated.
THEATER REVIEW Geeky. Humorous. Inspiring. Powerful.
When I invited a friend to see the play with me, he asked me who R. Buckminster Fuller was. My response was, “He’s an architect, some kind of engineer … I think.”
2010’s defining moments
A few years from now, we will look back on 2010 and remember only certain moments in the world of sports — those instances of great influence, moments that changed the history and impacted the future of sports.
Upcoming Home Events
Wednesday, February 2 Women’s Basketball vs. Babson College 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage
Sports Shorts
MIT Skiing finished their IAP Training Camp with races in giant slalom at Gunstock on Friday and slalom at Blackwater on Saturday. Highlights from Friday’s race include a personal second best USSA points race for Jonathan D. Allen ’14, who finished 62nd for the men; a huge personal improvement for Alix M. de Monts ’13, who finished 60th for the women; and a top points race for Jennifer L. Hawkin, who finished 66th. MIT’s third woman was Sarah J. Laderman ’12 in 71st. Jillian R. Reddy ’11 did not finish. The men’s remaining scorers were Jason D. Pier ’13 in 28th, Michael J. Yurkerwich ’11 in 50th, and Joshua Walker CME in 65th.
An even more modest proposal
In 2009, 43.6 million Americans were living poverty, a number compounded by the effects of the recession. Of all the hardships of poverty, the most tragic is the lack of food. It saps strength and leads to listlessness and apathy, not to mention stunting growth in our still-developing youth. In 2009, 50.2 million Americans were at risk of hunger, and 17.2 million of them were children.
Fitting fitness in your daily schedule
“Sleep, Grades, Friends — Choose 2.” I’m sure you’re well acquainted with that phrase. Unfortunately, from experience, I know that of the three, sleep is usually the most sacrificed option. And also unfortunately, in the wake of psets, exams, and extracurriculars, sleep is not the only health-related activity that takes a back-seat.
10 websites you might not have heard of
Every once in a while, you run into someone who’s lived in a particular city for a long time and knows her way around. She call tell you the best local restaurants, the coolest clubs, and which places to avoid at all costs (the real-life equivalents of 4chan.org). I like to think of myself as that person — except for the Internet. So I might as well show everybody around. Here are ten good sites that you’ve probably never heard of:
Editor’s Note
Campus Life will be adding new features this volume, and I hope you’ll like them.
Events for Feb. 1 – Feb. 6
Tuesday 1. TBP MIT Spring 2011 Career Fair (9 a.m.–3 p.m.) — Rockwell Cage 2. Sloan’s Africa Business Club hosts Georgina Theodora Wood, the Chief Justice of Ghana (5–7 p.m) — E51-115 (Wong Auditorium) Wednesday 1. Sidney-Pacific Lectures Series lecture by Prof. Peter Diamond (6–7 p.m.) — Sidney-Pacific Multi-Purpose Room 2. Dress For Success Fashion Show (7:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.) — 10-105 (Vannevar Bush Room) Thursday 1. First performance of Dramashop’s Hydriotaphia (8–10 p.m.) — Kresge Little Theater 2. IPTV: The Scrum for the Last Six Feet with Mark Cuban (5:30–9 p.m.) — E51 (Wong Auditorium) Friday 1. Final day of APO Book Exchange (10 a.m.–5 p.m.) — W20-307 (Student Center, Mezzanine Lounge) 2. Technology Through Time: 150 Years of MIT History - Opening Reception (1:00–3:00 p.m.) — 14N-130 Saturday 1. Inside 150: Stories of the Institute (2–3 p.m.) — MIT Museum 2. Final performance of Musical Theatre Guild’s Jekyll and Hyde (8–10 p.m.) — W20-202 (La Sala de Puerto Rico) Sunday 1. Folk Dancing: Greek Night! (8 p.m.–11 p.m.) — W20-202 (La Sala de Puerto Rico) 2. LSC shows The A-Team and Megamind (7 p.m., 10 p.m.) — 26-100
