Warmer weather on the way
Slush filled the streets yesterday as temperatures around Boston broke 40 °F for the first time since early January. Bostonians have gained a sense of “weather relativity” this week. Some may call the warmer weather a return to normalcy; for others, it’s a heat wave. Most of the brutal weather this winter resulted from a series of persistent troughs over the eastern U.S. Luckily, that pattern has broken down, allowing warmer air to surge northward.
Quiet clouds likely in Boston as South copes with winter storm
High pressure over the Midwest is keeping the forecast for the northeastern part of the country mercifully precipitation-free. Considering the troubles that we have had trying to find a place to put all of the snow that has fallen, a week or string of 10 days without heavy snowfall is a welcome outlook. Through the end of the weekend, we should have little to no snow and varying levels of cloudiness. Temperatures will probably not venture above freezing until Monday, and overnight lows will be dipping down into the chilly single digits (°F).
Police tell students to get off Mt. Simmons
Students scaling the mountainous pile of snow behind Simmons Hall in past weeks were confronted by police officers and told to leave. Some were reportedly threatened with arrest if they did not comply.
Lawmaker asks whether MIT climate researcher took oil money
A prominent Democratic congressman is probing MIT about funding for professor emeritus Richard S. Lindzen, who is known for his skepticism of what he calls climate change “alarmism.”
Assembly limit for Boston ILGs, frats, and sororities lifted
A new social event policy for fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups has been issued and is set to go into effect today. Among other things, it will lift the party ban established last year by increasing the assembly numbers of FSILGs located in Boston that were previously limited to 49 people.
CORRECTIONS
An article about the Class of 2017 Ring Premiere published last Thursday incorrectly said that over 1,100 students had bought rings by the Wednesday following the event. In fact, over 1,100 rings had been sold by that time, with some students buying multiple rings.
GPAs released for FSILGs
The Division for Student Life has released a grade report for fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (FSILGs). In the Fall 2014 semester, the average GPA among members of independent living groups was 4.45. The average GPA among sorority sisters was 4.43. The average GPA for fraternities was 4.38.
Was last year's ring design influenced by fraternities?
Every year, a group of MIT students is chosen by its respective class council to design MIT’s iconic class ring, the Brass Rat, as well as organize the annual Ring Premiere and Ring Delivery ceremony. This prominent role exposes the group to criticism.
Boston Marathon bombing trial scheduled to begin next week
Opening statements are expected to commence next Wednesday in the trial of the accused Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, according to a court official. Pending motions will be addressed in a hearing on Monday, and on Tuesday the defense and prosecution teams will whittle down the 70 remaining potential jurors to the 18 who will be seated for opening statements.
Irving Singer, philosophy professor and author of 21 books on diverse topics, dies at the age of 89
Stung by family members urging him to be more affectionate, Irving Singer, a philosophy professor, spent years researching and writing a 1,300-page, three-volume examination of the subject titled “The Nature of Love.”
MIT accuses Apple of patent infringement
MIT has filed a lawsuit against Apple and Micron over their alleged patent infringement concerning a technology used to manufacture semiconductor wafers. The patent describes a laser-cutting process for semiconductor metals and was originally issued in 2000 to then-MIT scientist Joseph Bernstein and co-inventor Zhihui Duan.
UA President wins Gates Cambridge Scholarship
For Shruti Sharma ‘15, whose exploits include leading landmine-clearing initiatives in Venezuela and developing prosthetics, winning the Gates Cambridge Scholarship is an opportunity to continue her pursuit of improving the lives of those with disabilities through advancements in materials science and medical devices.
Brass Rat design revealed at 2017 Ring Premiere
Little could have inspired me and so many other sophomores to brave the freezing temperatures and inclement winds last Friday evening, save the highly anticipated premiere of the Class of 2017 Brass Rat. I arrived at Kresge Auditorium at 6:30 p.m., half an hour before the doors opened, to wait outside with my fellow ’17s; the semi-organized line of sophomores soon began to curve around Kresge and extend toward the Z Center.
Two house managers leave MIT, interim managers chosen by administration
MIT lost two dorm house managers this month and has begun the process of replacing them. A campus official said that housemasters administrators, and students will be involved.
Annual diversity summit seeks to spread awareness of biases
Student involvement is crucial to improving MIT’s diversity and equality, says Edmund Bertschinger, the Institute Community and Equity Officer and former physics department head. The 2015 Institute Diversity Summit, titled “Advancing a Respectful and Caring Community,” featured a series of workshops advancing this message.
Relentless march of winter continues
I don’t know about the rest of The Tech’s readership, but this meteorologist is ready to pack up and move to Florida! So far this winter, Logan Airport has received an incredible 96.3 inches of snow (244.6 cm), 90.8 inches (230.6 cm) of which has fallen since Jan. 23. Currently, Boston is only 11.3 inches (28.7 cm) away from tying the all-time total seasonal snowfall record of 107.6 inches (273.3 cm) set in the winter of 1995-1996 – a record that could very well be broken before the end of the month. As if the historic snowfall wasn’t enough, Boston has also endured near-record setting cold. So far this February, the average temperature has been a bone-chilling 18.1°F (-7.7°C), only 0.6°F (0.4°C) warmer than the all-time coldest average February temperature of 17.5°F (-8.1°C) set back in February of 1934.
Wrongful death lawsuit against MIT continues after years of contention
Sloan graduate student Han Nguyen committed suicide by throwing himself off the roof of Building E19 on June 2, 2009. Minutes earlier, Nguyen had gotten off the phone with Sloan professor Birger Wernerfelt. Wernerfelt had “read him the riot act” in regards to a presumptuous email Nguyen had sent to Trey Hedden, his summer research supervisor, according to court filings.
Historic snowfall will not abate
The greater Boston area has experienced record-setting snow over the past three weeks, and snowfall will continue at least through the weekend.