Obama, Democrats snub Prof. Gruber over remarks on health care law
MIT economics professor Jonathan H. Gruber ’87, often referred to as a key Obamacare “architect,” has come under fire recently for videos from 2012 and 2013 in which he calls American voters “stupid” and attributes the passage of the Affordable Care Act in part to “basic exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter,” according to press reports from this past weekend.
CORRECTIONS
An article about the Newbury Street Shutdown march in the Friday, Nov. 14 issue of The Tech incorrectly left the date of the event unspecified. It occurred Oct. 25.
Guichard-Ashbrook remembered
Work and marriage brought Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook to India, Japan, and Hong Kong, where she studied, taught, and assisted refugees. That was ample preparation to direct MIT’s International Students Office, but her emotional resume was just as pronounced. To sense the struggle of adapting to a distant new home, she needed only to look inside her heart.
Parents Weekend policy reignites dorm security talk
Dormitory security procedures during Parents Weekend have rekindled undergraduate resentment toward new security policies implemented at the beginning of the semester.
Petition launched after Mem Drive car accident
After an MIT Sailing employee was critically injured by a car in early September while trying to cross Memorial Drive, Marjory Bravard ’02, an active sailor during and after her time at MIT, launched a petition imploring President Reif and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to “improve pedestrian safety along Memorial Drive.” The petition currently has over 2,000 signatures.
Two Seamless members say hackathon misattribution was unintentional
Since the publiation of an article in The Tech about allegations of plagiarism against HackMIT contestants on the Seamless team, HackMIT organizers and two members of Seamless have stated that the videos they presented as output of their own code in the hackathon’s final presentation were actually published by Microsoft Research. Both these two contestants and the organizers said that the misattribution was unintentional, while a third member of the Seamless team has sought to publicly distance himself from the project.
Phone scammers target MIT community
Dozens of members of the MIT community reported being victims of phone scams last week, in which they received seemingly legitimate calls from local police departments demanding money.
Two retired MIT professors win Presidential Medal of Freedom
Earlier this week, Institute Professors Mildred Dresselhaus and Robert Solow were announced winners of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Smoot legacy continues on Harvard Bridge
An anonymous donor has given the Charles River Conservancy 2.5 million dollars to install new lighting along the Harvard Bridge, with one condition: that the new lights be installed every 30 Smoots.
CORRECTIONS
The HackMIT article in the Friday, Nov. 7 issue incorrectly referred to the class year of HackMIT organizer Richard Z. Ni ’15 as a ’16.
Watch for a hint of winter this weekend
For most of the country, the last week has been exceptionally cold as a frigid Canadian air mass left many of the states between the Great Lakes and the Rockies with snow cover and a reminder that colder weather is approaching. The Great Lakes region could see some lake-effect snow today as Northwesterly winds blow cold air over the relatively warm lake water. The signs of winter will also be apparent in the Cambridge area as it is likely to snow in the early morning today and temperatures will dip below freezing tonight and tomorrow night. The highs this weekend aren’t likely to get much higher than 40°F, and the moderate Northwesterly winds will make it feel colder still. It’s time to get used to these temperatures, as next week doesn’t project to be much warmer.
CORRECTIONS
An article by the New York Times in the Tuesday, Nov. 4 issue on the death of “Car Talk” host Tom Magliozzi incorrectly stated that he had earned his MIT degree in chemical engineering. Instead, he graduated with a degree in economics, politics & engineering. In addition, the car repair shop founded by Magliozzi and his brother was initially called Hackers Haven instead of Hackers Heaven. Finally, “Car Talk” became a national show in 1987, not 1977.
Two HackMIT teams disqualified for misrepresenting their hacks
Two of HackMIT’s top eight finalists were disqualified last month after it was discovered that they had “misrepresented” what they accomplished, according to a HackMIT blog post. One of the teams, a group of three MIT sophomores calling themselves Seamless, originally came in second and were awarded $3,000. The other team, AgileAssault, did not make the top three, but received a $1,000 prize for placing in the top eight.
‘It’s On Us’ campaign kicks off Wednesday
MIT will hold a kickoff next week for the “It’s On Us” campaign, a national initiative to promote sexual assault awareness on college campuses.
First free bitcoin reaches undergrads after launch of MIT study
The much-anticipated MIT Bitcoin Project launched last week, giving students one week to register as participants. Students who signed up and completed a survey by midnight last Sunday will receive $100 in bitcoin over the next month as the distribution phase of the project begins, though bitcoin has been distributed to some students already.
Dalai Lama visits MIT to discuss global challenges, draws protests
The Dalai Lama visited MIT’s Kresge Auditorium last Friday to participate in a panel discussion about how individuals can address major societal issues such as global warming and food security, The Boston Globe reported.