Demolition of Bexley awaits Corp. approval
Four months after the Department of Facilities and the Division of Student Life recommended the demolition of the dormitory, the future of Bexley Hall and 50 Massachusetts Ave. has yet to be determined.
Faculty briefed on shortage of 500–600 grad dorm beds
The Graduate Student Housing Working Group continues to solicit feedback on a January draft report, which says that the unmet demand for on-campus graduate student housing totals approximately 500–600 beds.
CORRECTIONS
In the caption to the front page picture of Alcator C-Mod in the Tuesday, Feb. 25 issue of The Tech, Massachusetts State Representative Jay Livingstone was incorrectly referenced as a Massachusetts Congressman. We regret the error.
Fraternities, sororities, and ILGs by 2013 GPA
The Division for Student Life released its Fall 2013 grade report for fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups on Wednesday. The average GPA for sorority sisters in the Fall 2013 semester was 4.46. The average GPA for fraternity brothers was 4.33. The average GPA for members of independent living groups was 4.44. The average GPA for all FSILGs was 4.38. Between Spring 2012 and Fall 2013, pika fell from 1st place to 25th place. In the same time, Tau Epsilon Phi rose from 14th place to 1st place. MIT has 39 FSILGs.
Merkel warns Britain not to expect too much from the E.U.
LONDON — Given red-carpet treatment in London, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany responded Thursday with warm words, but few hard promises to Prime Minister David Cameron, who is counting on her support in his efforts to loosen British ties to the European Union.
Shorts (left)
More than 8 in 10 Democrats say they want Hillary Rodham Clinton to run for president in 2016, showing a level of interest in her that no other potential candidates — Democrat or Republican — come close to matching among their party’s voters, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll.
China announces new cybersecurity push
SHANGHAI — President Xi Jinping is presiding over a new working group on cybersecurity and information security, China announced Thursday, a sign that the Communist Party views the issue as one of the country’s most pressing strategic concerns.
Shorts (right)
Children born to middle-aged men are more likely than those born to younger fathers to develop any of a range of mental difficulties, including attention deficits, bipolar disorder, autism
Federal judge strikes down Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage
HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage Wednesday, ruling that the laws restricting marriage to a man and a woman violated the U
Continued cold temperatures ahead
Due to a strong high-pressure system settling in over the Northeast, the cold temperatures we experienced this past week will persist for at least a few more days. This high-pressure system brings a mass of cold Arctic air, and as a result, the high today will be only in the low 20°Fs. With winds of 15 mph during the day, the wind chill today may be as low as -5°F! Like today, Saturday will be sunny, but it will be slightly warmer.
North Korea displays another captured missionary
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean Baptist missionary held in North Korea appeared in a government-arranged news conference in Pyongyang on Thursday, saying that he had plotted to build underground churches in the isolated country to help undermine its government.
Punished by data breach, profit at Target declines 46 percent
The widespread theft of Target customer data had a significant impact on the company’s profit, which fell more than 40 percent in the fourth quarter, the retailer reported Wednesday.
Don’t Divest
Recently Fossil Free MIT (FFMIT), an MIT student group, has circulated a petition, now with over 2000 signatures, urging the Institute to cease the investment of its endowment in fossil fuel companies. FFMIT is one chapter of Fossil Free, a multinational organization that advocates this position to facilitate broader divestment among institutions that serve the public good. Their ultimate goal is to influence legislation that would implement measures to limit global temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius. While their aspirations are admirable, their strategy is unlikely to work, and their efforts would be better spent advocating clean energy in other ways. Worse, their misguided advocacy could have negative repercussions for MIT and others.
Boston Fashion
While it still seems like winter outside, spring is just around the corner. Luckily, Lori Kyler Christensen began showing pieces from her label Venni Caprice’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection last week (http://www.vennicaprice.com). Christensen’s line is filled with fun dresses and bohemian prints. While the adventurous designs are not for everyone, Christensen also had some interesting insights into the clothing design process. The Tech had the opportunity to view Christensen’s collection for Venni Caprice and ask her about her designing process.
MIT men’s volleyball team takes down No. 1 New Paltz
In a back-and-forth battle with nationally-ranked No. 1 SUNY New Paltz, the No. 6 MIT men’s volleyball team registered a 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 17-25, 16-14 victory on Tuesday night. Kenneth M. Siebert ’14 paced the Engineers (12-2, 6-1 UVC) with a match-high 18 kills on a .536 hitting performance to go along with six digs, three blocks, and an ace. The Hawks (13-2, 5-1 UVC) saw four players reach double-digits in kills with freshman Steven Woessner and sophomore Tim Ferriter leading the way with 13 apiece.
