Taxi riders don’t fear cold: data
For years, Boston’s Department of Transportation has collected GPS data on every taxi pickup and drop-off throughout the city. It is an astonishing accumulation of raw numbers on how Bostonians get around, ripe with opportunity for analysis.
Late-night T service starts strong
The MBTA’s extended late night hours of service, which began March 28, mean that the T and certain bus routes will now run for nearly 90 minutes longer on Friday and Saturday nights. The final trains from downtown stations will leave at about 2:30 a.m. during extended hours, according to the MBTA’s website.
CORRECTIONS
A quote in an April 4 article about MIT’s performance in the Putnam Mathematical Competition incorrectly attributed a quote about the exam to Travis Hance. The quote was actually from Tianyou Zhou.
Chemical engineering professor appointed associate provost
Karen K. Gleason ’82, a chemical engineering professor, began her appointment as associate provost last Monday.
Harvard College sophomore dies after falling from building
Andrew Sun, a Harvard College sophomore, died 4 a.m. Monday at Massachusetts General Hospital after falling from a building in downtown Boston the day before, The Crimson reported in an online article that morning.
Shorts (right)
KABUL, Afghanistan — After enduring months of Taliban attacks and days of security clampdowns, Afghans reveled Sunday in the apparent success of the weekend’s presidential election, as officials offered the first solid indications that the vote had far exceeded expectations.
Shorts (left)
PRETORIA, South Africa — The trial of Oscar Pistorius was scheduled to resume on Monday as the defense begins to lay out its case that the double amputee track star killed his girlfriend in a tragic error and should not go to jail for murder.
Jet search team: signals are ‘consistent’ with black boxes
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Even as they celebrated the discovery of underwater signals that may have come from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the authorities involved in the search cautioned Monday that they were still far from confirming the location of the airliner and solving the mystery of its disappearance.
Surge of violence across Syria kills over two dozen
BEIRUT — Violence flared across Syria on Sunday, as an explosion killed more than two dozen anti-government fighters in the central city of Homs and shells struck areas of Damascus, the capital, killing at least two people. On Saturday, a man died after a riot broke out in the crowded Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
Justices decline cases on gay rights and campaign finance
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear closely watched cases on gay rights, campaign finance and lethal injections. As is their custom, the justices gave no reasons for turning down the appeals.
Spring has arrived
After an unseasonably cold month of March, normal springtime weather has finally found its way to New England. Temperatures in Boston have broken the 50-degree barrier in each of the last three days, and that city has not seen a temperature below the freezing point since March 27. This warming trend will continue for most of the upcoming week, with temperatures meeting or exceeding their climatological normals on each day. (For this time of year, normal high temperatures are in the mid 50s, while normal lows are in the high 30s).
Protestors in Ukraine’s East call on Putin to send troops
MOSCOW — Under the watchful eye of Russian state television, several hundred pro-Russian demonstrators in the city of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, declared Monday that they were forming an independent republic and urged President Vladimir Putin to send troops to the region as a peacekeeping force, even though there are no obvious threats to peace in the area.
Prime minister wins a second term in Hungary election
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Voters in Hungary have re-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his conservative political alliance in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary election results released Monday.
Daisies in the streets
Apart from their far-reaching influence and status as two of the most respected groups in Hip-Hop, Mobb Deep and De La Soul stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. Mobb Deep, self-proclaimed “official Queensbridge murderers,” represent the hard-hitting, ominous, street-fueled Hip-Hop that rose to popularity in the 90’s after N.W.A’s landmark Straight Outta Compton (1988). De La Soul stands in stark contrast as part of the Native Tongues Posse alongside A Tribe Called Quest, and helped establish jazz rap, afrocentric lyrics, and a playful positive style with their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising (1989).
MIT group joins Rueda de Casino event
On March 29, 2014 Salsa groups and dancers from all over New England joined together to enjoy a full day of Cuban-style dancing and a flash mob in Harvard Square in celebration of the first International Rueda de Casino Day. The Tech had the opportunity to speak with Or Gadish, vice president of MIT Casino Rueda, about this style of dancing and about the flash mob organized in Cambridge in celebration of it.
Not your average cafeteria food
On the corner of Newbury and Gloucester Street, Back Bay restaurant Cafeteria offers a classy interpretation of a typical cafeteria menu. Dinner prices range from $12 to $18, and the polished, upscale atmosphere resembles nothing of a stereotypical cafeteria. The menu includes a few quirky selections, like Cheeseburger Spring Rolls and a Boston Cream Burger, but there are also a variety of traditional American comforts like grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese.
Women’s lacrosse team stops Smith College comeback
A four-goal run late in regulation helped the MIT women’s lacrosse team thwart a comeback attempt by Smith College and secure a 20-13 NEWMAC victory on Saturday, April 5. Hannah A. Levy ’17 generated a game-high six points on four goals and two assists for the Engineers (7-3, 1-0 NEWMAC). The Pioneers (1-10, 0-3 NEWMAC), playing with only 10 field players, saw Olivia Timmins and Anne Zawacki record hat-tricks.
Men’s volleyball team earns five wins en route to title win
In a back-and-forth five-set thriller, No. 8 MIT emerged with a 25-18, 16-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-11 victory over No. 6 UC Santa Cruz to claim its first MIT Men’s Volleyball Scramble Tournament championship on Saturday, April 5. The Engineers (24-5) defeated Hunter College (25-11, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18), Bard College (25-18, 25-16, 25-14), and Southern Vermont College (26-24, 25-18, 25-18) before picking up their second five-set win over the Banana Slugs this season. Paul M. Syta ’14 was named Tournament MVP while Kenneth M. Siebert ’14 was tabbed for All-Tournament Team honors.
T is for terrible
Boston T, you’ve got a lot to learn from the New York subway system.
Events Apr 8 - Apr 10
Events Apr. 08 – apr. 14 Tuesday (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) The Investment Crisis in Life Science — MIT Museum (7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) The Square screening, movie about the Egyptian Revolution — 6-120 Wednesday (12 p.m. – 1 p.m.) Diamond: Engineer’s Best Friend, nanotechnology lecture — 34-101 (5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) OpenMind: How the Internet is Changing Our Lives — E14-6th floor Thursday (12 p.m. – 1 p.m.) Energy 101: Solar Technology — E51-325 (5 p.m. – 6 p.m.) Poetry reading with Adam Dickinson — 14E-109 Friday (12 p.m. – 1p.m.) Advanced Music Performance Student Recital featuring Peter Godart, jazz piano — Killian Hall (5 p.m. – 8 p.m.) Second Fridays at the MIT Museum: Nautical Night — MIT Museum Saturday (12 a.m. – 12 p.m.) CPW — MIT Monday (6 p.m. – 7 p.m.) Nationalism, Sentimentality, and Judgment: Cultivating Sympathy in the Syrian Uprising, 2011-2013 — 3-133 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
