PBE suspension terms relaxed by MIT; IFC uneasy
The terms of Phi Beta Epsilon’s suspension have been changed as a result of a new agreement between MIT and PBE. MIT recently granted PBE the privileges to stay in their house at 400 Memorial Drive, to remain members of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) — although under probation — and to participate in rush starting in fall 2012 provided that they abide by the terms of their suspension and avoid future violations. The IFC did not sign or agree with the wording of the joint statement.
Astronomy Professor James Elliot dies at 67
James Ludlow Elliot ’65, an MIT professor of planetary astronomy and physics who discovered the rings of Uranus in 1977, died on March 3 from cancer-related complications. He was 67.
YouTube acquires web video company Next New Networks
SAN FRANCISCO — YouTube, the video site owned by Google, formally announced on Monday that it had acquired Next New Networks, a Web video production company, in its biggest effort yet to move beyond short, quirky home videos to professionally produced content.
David Koch marks institute dedication
On March 4, some of the most powerful people in the United States gathered under the tent outside the Building 76 to celebrate the dedication of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. All of MIT’s top brass was joined by Senator Scott P. Brown (R-Mass.) and David H. Koch ’62 himself — who Forbes listed as the 24th richest person in the world in 2010.
Lone runners
Beginning March 16, 2011, the MIT undergraduate student body will have three days in which to vote for Allan E. Miramonti ’13 and Alec C. Lai ’13, uncontested candidates for president and vice president of the Undergraduate Association, respectively. Miramonti is currently a Senator from Random Hall, and Lai is Next House President and UA Secretary General.
Co-founder of Reddit speaks at MIT Startup Club meeting
Last night’s gathering of the MIT Startup Club featured a presentation and Q&A from Alexis Ohanian, cofounder of the popular social news site Reddit ().
Hate crime in Baker
A hate crime involving paintings of a swastika, penis, and the letters “FU” occurred at Baker House over President Day weekend. The perpetrator has not been found, and the issue remains unresolved, according to the victims.
Libyan government presses rebel assault in east and west
RAS LANUF, Libya — Government warplanes taunted rebels with flyovers and repeatedly bombed their positions near this coastal city’s oil refinery Monday, seeking to drive the opposition forces back farther to the east, as Libya continued what appeared to be a slide into civil war.
LVMH buys Bulgari, doubles presence in jewelry market
The Bulgari family’s long quest to figure out the future of its 127-year-old jewelry and watch business ended last Thursday at a dinner overlooking the Roman skyline.
Time for a thaw
Every year, one of the early signs that spring is on the way is the thawing of the Charles River. That sign has arrived this week as the layer of ice covering the river has melted away from most of the river’s surface. As of Monday evening, the only sections of the river close to MIT with remaining ice cover were near the Harvard Bridge, and the total frozen area appeared to be decreasing throughout the day.
Shorts (right)
NEW YORK — The producers of Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark were negotiating on Monday with their director, Julie Taymor, for her to work with a newly expanded creative team to fix the critically derided, $65 million musical or possibly leave the show, according to people who work on Spider-Man or have been briefed on the negotiations.
Brooklyn bike lane pitting residents against riders and city
NEW YORK — A group of well-connected New Yorkers has taken the unusual step of suing the city to remove a controversial bicycle lane in a wealthy neighborhood of Brooklyn, the most potent sign yet of opposition to the Bloomberg administration’s marquee campaign to remake the city’s streets.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to nominate Gary Locke, the commerce secretary and one of the highest-ranking Chinese-Americans in the administration, as the next U.S. ambassador to China, administration officials said Monday. Locke, 61, would replace Jon Huntsman, who is stepping down next month to explore a bid for the Republican nomination for president.
Jewish texts lost in World War II are surfacing in New York
In 1932, as the Nazis rose to power in Germany, a Jewish librarian in Frankfurt published a catalog of 15,000 books he had painstakingly collected for decades.
Defense secretary says US ‘well positioned’ for pullout
KABUL, Afghanistan — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that the United States was “well positioned” to begin withdrawing some U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July, but he said that a substantial force would remain and that the United States was starting talks with the Afghans about keeping a security presence in the country beyond 2014.
Corrections
An article published last Tuesday regarding the UA presidential candidacies incorrectly identified “Random Hall” as “Random House.”
No precedent for peace
The Libyan people have been met with fighter jets, bullets, and clubs as Moammar Gadhafi attempts to quell the uprisings overtaking his country. The violence being used against the protesters has been unrivaled in any other Arab country, and what began as protests now resembles something closer to civil war. Thousands have tried fleeing the brutality in fear of their lives, creating a refugee crisis in the process. However, it seems unlikely that Gadhafi picked up such a violent disposition overnight. Why, then, was more international effort not spent exposing Gadhafi’s cruelty before the situation deteriorated to the point of hundreds of people being murdered in the streets?
Libya: A foreign policy no-brainer
For a people who have been under the thumb of a dictator for over four decades, Libyans sure do make up for lost time. In the course of just a couple weeks, the rebels in Libya have done much to end Moammar Gadhafi’s 42-year rule. They have gained effective control, in terms of area, of most of the country, leaving the old regime buttoned up in Tripoli and a few surrounding areas.
GUEST COLUMN View from the other side of the Wall
I am currently in my final semester as an undergraduate at MIT. The Institute is a great place to learn how to make an impact in any part of the world, and I believe that one of the most important skills that we can take from our four years of study here is the development of a critical perspective and analysis.
Track & Field tussle at ECAC
The MIT Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams competed this weekend in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and IC4A indoor track championships. For those who are unfamiliar with the sport, in track events, individuals race around an oval track, sometimes in individually painted lanes. For field events, athletes perform a variety of feats of strength like pole vaulting (running with a long, flexible pole, planting it in the ground, and launching over a bar as high as possible), the long jump and triple jump (both involving sprinting at full speed and jumping as far as possible into a pit of sand), and throwing events such as discus, hammer throw, javelin, and shot put (throwing objects of various shapes and sizes).
B-ball falls to Rochester in second round of Div. III
Eric S. Zuk ’11 had a season-best 15 points and William Tashman ’13 added 16, but it was not enough as MIT fell to the University of Rochester, 60-52 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball on Saturday evening. The Engineers were outscored 40-27 in the second half, narrowly missing out on the Sweet Sixteen for the second time in three years. Tech sees its season come to an end at 20-9, the third consecutive 20-win campaign for Coach Larry Anderson’s squad.
RANDOM NEURONAL FIRINGS Are you a stressed out student? Read this.
S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D O-U-T! Here at MIT, that’s the usual answer to the question, “How are you?” — especially midway through the semester. While some studies suggest that stress is a significant factor contributing to weight gain, aka the infamous “freshman fifteen” issue, we really do not mind the pressure. Because, hey, pressure is what turns a lump of coal into diamond, as my friend Deeni Fatiha ’13 would say.
Afterhours with Cathy Drennan
Catherine L. Drennan is head of a chemistry laboratory investigating medically- or environmentally-relevant enzymes here at MIT. She is also co-professor of 5.111, a popular freshman chemical principles course, in the spring. In December, I had the opportunity to sit down with Drennan to find out more about her strange connection to Lisa Kudrow, why she thinks purple is the best kind of dinosaur, and why she wishes students would ask questions at her office hours and not in her shower.
Around the world during summer break
Looking to travel overseas this summer? Want an awesome summer internship — and all on MIT’s dime? Then MISTI, the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives, may be the thing for you.
EventsMar. 8 – Mar. 14
EventsMar. 8 – Mar. 14 Tuesday (12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Women and Gender Studies celebrates International Women’s Day with Open Mic — W20 Coffeehouse (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) Legatum Lecture: 2010 Prosperity Index. Lecture given by Dr. Ashley T. Lenihan and Jiehae Choi — 32-144 (8:00 p.m.) Mardi Gras Contra sponsored by the MIT Folk Dance Club — W20-491 Wednesday (12:05 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) Ash Wednesday Service — W15 (MIT Chapel) (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) Graduate Women at MIT (GWAMIT) Empowerment Conference Keynote: “Power, and How to Find it in Places You Didn’t Expect” by Cindy Gallop — 46-3002 (BCS Auditorium) Thursday (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) So You Got a Job … Now What? Strategies for success in your new position — 1-246 (5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) GWAMIT Empowerment Conference Panel: “Power Couples” — Successful partners from academia and industry — E51-345 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Killian Hall Jazz Series concert by composer and pianist Guillermo Klein and saxophonist Bill McHenry — 14-111 (Killian Hall) Friday (4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.) GWAMIT Empowerment Conference Panel: “I’m not a Feminist, but …” — Conversations on what modern feminism looks like — 32-G449 (Stata Kiva Room) (7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) Thai Night 2011: Siam HD — Morss Hall (Walker Memorial) (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Symphony Orchestra, featuring Amanda N. Mok ’11, winner of the 2011 Concerto Competition — Kresge Auditorium Saturday (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Special tour given by MIT Museum Curatorial Associate Ariel Weinberg; Inside 150: Gracious Professionalism, Cooperation, and Competition — MIT Museum (6:00 p.m.) MIT Figure Skating Club’s Annual Figure Skating Exhibition — Johnson Athletics Center (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) MIT Wind Ensemble, with guest composer and pianist Guillermo Klein and saxophonist Bill McHenry — Kresge Auditorium Sunday (2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble presents Romeo and Juliet — W20 La Sala de Puerto Rico (7:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.) LSC shows Due Date — 26-100 Monday (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, speaks about “The Future of Science as Public Service” — Kresge Auditorium (1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Celebrate Pi Day with pies, sponsored by the Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics — 33-104 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
Cheat Sheet aka that random stuff that never shows up on the test
The Tech: What’s your favorite song right now? What have you got playing on repeat?
Institute Double Take
I took this photo with a Nikon D300 camera on my way home from a track barbeque on Oct. 3, 2010. It was decently warm outside, with only a little bit of cloud cover. I stopped to take this picture of the tree on Briggs Field because it still had some leaves, but few enough that you could see the pattern of the branches.
