Regulatory issues
NEW YORK — In a 50th-floor conference room overlooking Central Park, JPMorgan’s board members had a pressing question about regulatory problems that have dogged the bank for more than a year: Are we done yet?
The expense of career fair
Fall Career Fair 2013 will see a skewed distribution of industries: Course 6 again dominates the population, and almost all of the participating companies are for-profit corporate organizations.
New restrictions on FSILG roof deck use
On Thursday afternoon, Fraternity, Sorority, and Independent Living Group presidents received an email from Assistant Dean of FSILGs Marlena Martinez-Love, Senior Associate Dean for Students Henry J. Humphreys, and Chair of the Association of Independent Living Groups Steve Baker ’84 stating that, effective immediately, the use of all roof decks should cease pending inspections by the presiding city. In addition, all FSILG events may not host no more than three times the legal occupancy listed on their dormitory license until an agreement is reached with the cities on assembly occupancy. These restrictions come on the heels of an MIT freshman falling four stories through a skylight of Phi Sigma Kappa, which was accessible from an uninspected roof deck. (The freshman sustained no life-threatening injuries.)
Pope calls for church as ‘home for all’
Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues despite recriminations from critics.
Vice President for Human Resources plans to retire
MIT’s Vice President for Human Resources Alison Alden has announced her plans to retire in the spring of 2014. Alden began working at MIT in 2007 and has made substantial contributions to MIT’s HR department. Israel Ruiz, Executive Vice President and Treasurer, is “grateful to Alison for her seven years of exceptional service to MIT.”
VP for RD Newton to retire
MIT Vice President for Resource Development Jeffrey L. Newton has decided to retire after seven years in the role, president L. Rafael Reif announced in an email to the MIT community yesterday morning. Newton will continue to serve in an advisory role through January 2014. Kirk Kolenbrander, Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation, will “oversee the day-to-day management and strategic direction of our fundraising operations” while MIT searches for a Newton’s successor.
House Republicans pass bill with deep cuts in food stamps
WASHINGTON — House Republicans narrowly pushed through a bill Thursday that slashes billions of dollars from the food stamp program, over the objections of Democrats and a veto threat from President Barack Obama.
Weather
The high pressure system that has brought good weather to our area for the past few days will continue to linger over the East Coast until at least the beginning of the weekend. Today and tomorrow will see clear skies, calm winds, and warm temperatures in the 70s°F, with nighttime lows in the upper 50s°F.
Shorts (right)
HONG KONG — A company listed in Hong Kong that is caught up in a corruption investigation focused on China’s biggest state-owned oil conglomerate said Thursday that Chinese investigators had questioned it about projects, seized documents and frozen some bank accounts.
Shorts (left)
LONDON — Ed Miliband, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, appeared to have Prime Minister David Cameron on the ropes. Cameron had just lost a vote in Parliament on a nonbinding motion to consider military action in Syria over chemical weapons, the first time in at least a century that a prime minister had not gotten parliamentary support for war. Cameron threw in the towel.
Gunman was ‘wandering’ halls as he shot, FBI chief says
WASHINGTON — The director of the FBI, James B. Comey, provided Thursday the most up-to-date account of the gunman’s rampage at the Washington Navy Yard, saying that he was “hunting people to shoot” as he made his way through the building but did not appear to have targeted a particular person or group of people.
New Taliban attack reported on Afghan police in remote area
KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents have reportedly captured or killed large numbers of Afghan government forces in the remote and usually quiet northeastern corner of the country for the second time this year, officials said Thursday.
Merkel faces tough questions in former East Germany
MAGDEBURG, Germany— When Chancellor Angela Merkel made an hourlong campaign stop in this town in the former East Germany this week, Ilse Siegert was determined not to miss her chance.
Nigeria’s politicians profit from ‘industrial scale’ oil theft, report says
DAKAR, Senegal — Oil is being stolen on an “industrial scale” in Nigeria, the world’s 13th-largest producer, and the country’s politicians and security officials are among those profiting, according to a new report from a prominent British research group.
Why the career fair is a disappointment
When I applied to MIT in 2012, I pictured a brilliant haven filled with talented, driven, and passionate young people, striving to learn and apply their knowledge to solve the world’s greatest problems. Across this square mile of Cambridge, I pictured ten thousand minds working toward global improvement, and an institute that wants nothing more than to see its students facilitate change. At the time, being able to join this community seemed like a remote possibility.
CORRECTIONS
An article in Tuesday’s issue about the t=0 entrepreneurship conference incorrectly referred to the organizer as the “Martin Center for Entrepreneurship at MIT.” It is the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.
Facing the truth: animal research
Almost every MIT student has conducted a scientific experiment on an animal — ranging from dissecting a frog in middle school to studying the behavior of conditionally trained mice in a UROP. At some point, many of us have probably found ourselves questioning the ethics of using animals for research. Though I was vaguely aware of this debate, it wasn’t until I took my first Institute lab that I finally understood the purpose of using animals in scientific pursuit.
Arts Events SEPt. 20 – SEPt. 26
Arts Events SEPt. 20 – SEPt. 26 Friday (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MITOC and LSC present Radical Reels, short films about outdoor sports — 26-100 (All Week) RSVP for Fantasies from Verdi’s Operas by La Scala Chamber Orchestra performance on Oct. 6. Advanced online registration required, closes Sept. 27. The event is free and exclusive to MIT Community members. Saturday (12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.) Family Day at the List Visual Arts Center — E15, Upper Atrium (7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) Chinese cultural performances — 50-Morss Hall (7:30 p.m. - 11:59 p.m.) Masquerade Ballroom Social — Sala de Puerto Rico, W20 Sunday (12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.) Middle-East-Style Sukkah — Kresge Oval (2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Rumba and Samba Workshops — W20 (5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.) MITHAS presents Sandipan Samajpati, Khyal — Wong Auditorium (8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) Folk Dancing with live music by the Cambridge Folk Orchestra — Sala de Puerto Rico Monday (7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.) Folk Music of the British Isles & N. America, Fall 2013 concert series — Killian Hall (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Foxtrot Workshops — Lobdell Tuesday (10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.) Media Lab Conversations Series: Daniel Suarez — E14-3rd Floor Atrium (8:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) Contra Dance with live folk music — W20 Wednesday (12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.) Poetry Reading by Nina Olff — 14W-111 (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) Katsura Sunshine presents Japanese Rakugo comic story-telling — 32-123 Thursday (7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) Urban Films: 5 Broken Cameras (2011) — 3-133 (8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) Ellipsis Trio — 14W-111 Send your arts events to arts@the-tech.mit.edu.
Too many bodies, not enough laughs
Near the beginning of The Family, Giovanni (Robert De Niro) narrates his life story. A former mafia boss who snitched on the mob, Giovanni is forced to become “Fred Blake” and enter witness protection in Normandy with his wife “Maggie” (Michele Pfeiffer), daughter “Belle” (Diana Agron) and son “Warren” (John D’Leo). Though he’s committed untold numbers of murders, tortures, and other devious schemes, he somehow sees himself as a misunderstood “good guy” living with his own moral code. And this absurd delusion seems like an apt metaphor for The Family, a movie convinced that gruesome murders and thin laughs can create a good gangster movie.
Ceci N’est Pas Une Déconstruction Artistique
In the introduction to Cannibals and Kings, the anthropologist Marvin Harris wrote that “cultures on the whole have evolved along parallel and convergent paths which are highly predictable from a knowledge of the processes of production.” This belief is the crux of his greatest contribution to anthropology, the theory of cultural materialism. Over the course of his career and many books (of which I own all), Harris applied this principle to explain many of the seemingly irrational practices and tenets of the world’s varied cultures, notably including cannibalism and prohibitions on consumption of pork. In a contemporary context, however, I think it can be equally well applied to the phenomenon of so-called modern art.
Janelle Monáe’s android-inspired saga continues with The Electric Lady
“Also, I wanna say The Droid Control can kiss the rust of the left and the right cheek of my black metal ass,” says the voice of a female caller during a radio call in Monáe’s interlude “Good Morning Midnight.” The radio station WDRD, led by DJ Crash Crash, receives comments and thoughts from various callers, who discuss their opinions on Monáe’s heroine alter-ego, android Cindi Mayweather.
Lessons from the good love stories
Hey, you. Yes, you, at MIT with the glasses and the projected science degree. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has relationship advice for you. And it is nerdy.
Ethics and Consequences
Perhaps the most terrifying thing about disaster is the idea that it can strike at any time. Prisoners, a harrowing tale of kidnapping, is about two average families in an eerily beautiful suburbia.
Culture Tap and the Street Experience
The walk from the Orange Line Back Bay station, down Clarendon Street, and to the intersection with Tremont Street, is a pleasant one. The street presents itself somewhat like you would expect it to in the North End. It feels old, solid, well-kept and welcoming. The atmosphere is curiously fascinating, marking the place as a distinct piece of Boston, made up of “neighborhoods” and the transitional moments between them. Culture Tap has been situated in a plaza-like wide sidewalk on one of the most delightful streets in Boston.
Club soccer resumes
After a week off from club soccer due to international fixtures, the European soccer leagues have picked up where they left off with some action packed matches. Barcelona went up 2-0 against Sevilla in the beginning, but Sevilla managed to make the score 2-2 by injury time. When it was almost certain Sevilla was going to get away with the one point, Alexis Sanchez of Barcelona scored an extremely late winner (90+3’). Borussia Dortmund managed to retain their winning streak by overcoming Hamburg 6-2 in a match where Hamburg had come back from 2 down to equalize the score at 2-2. In England, Jose Mourinho suffered his first defeat in his second stint with Chelsea. Chelsea missed many chances to score and Everton managed to score on their first big chance at goal, so it was an unlucky day for the skillful Chelsea squad. In Italy, Napoli went up to three victories in three matches while Inter and Juventus tied 1-1 bringing both their points up to 7 in three weeks. As interesting as this past week’s matches were, this Sunday will bring even more soccer delight with several big matches to look forward to. Here is a brief list:
Field hockey team beats Lasell College
Kyritsis stopped the attack by kicking the ball away in the middle of the arc.
