IN SHORT
September 15 is the last day to sign the 2014-2015 waiver for MIT health insurance if you are using your family’s insurance plan. Be sure to waive individual coverage through the MIT Student Extended Health Plan. You can waive coverage for just the fall semester or the full academic year. Go to http://medweb.mit.edu/healthplans/student/waiver.html.
Sacra recovering from Ebola
Dr. Richard A. Sacra, the Massachusetts physician infected with Ebola while working at a hospital in Liberia, has taken major steps toward recovery, a doctor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center said Thursday.
BitComp projects aim to encourage students to spend their bitcoin
MIT’s BitComp, a summer-long competition to incentivize bitcoin-related development to correspond to an upcoming distribution of the cryptocurrency to undergraduates, announced its winners last week.
Analysis: US schools that enroll both rich and poor
Vassar has taken steps to hold down spending on faculty and staff. Amherst and the University of Florida have raised new money specifically to spend on financial aid for low-income students. American University reallocated scholarships from well-off students to needy ones. Grinnell set a floor on the share of every freshman class — 15 percent — whose parents didn’t go to college.
Austin Travis, grad student in chemistry, dead at age 26
President L. Rafael Reif emailed the MIT community last Friday afternoon to announce that chemistry graduate student Austin L. Travis, 26, had died Wednesday, Sept. 3.
Apple expands Kendall Square space
Apple is quietly expanding its Kendall Square research office, according to an article in BetaBoston, a website operated by the Boston Globe.
Graduate student Austin Travis dead
President L. Rafael Reif emailed the MIT community Friday afternoon to announce that chemistry graduate student Austin Travis, 26, had died Wednesday.
New cancer drug gets FDA approval
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first of an eagerly awaited new class of cancer drugs that unleash the body’s immune system to fight tumors.
Party ban expanded to all fraternities, sororities, and ILGs as Boston, MIT seem at odds
Large parties and gatherings are once again effectively banned at MIT fraternities, campus officials announced Wednesday afternoon, three days after a woman was injured in a fall from a window at the now suspended Lambda Chi Alpha.
New East Campus housemaster Professor Robert Miller moves in
Almost twenty years after leaving East Campus upon graduating MIT, computer science professor Robert C. Miller ’95 has returned to the dorm — this time as its housemaster. MIT named Miller to the position in August after a months-long selection process.
Charles River receives A- for water quality
The Charles River was awarded an A- for water quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced at a ceremony held Wednesday at the Boston Museum of Science.
MIT Medical confirms no Ebola cases on campus
In light of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, MIT Medical has reached out to community members returning to campus this fall from countries most affected by the disease.
Greek events banned again, now restricting all FSILGs in wake of 'intoxicated' fall
Parties and large gatherings are once again effectively banned at MIT fraternities, campus officials announced Wednesday afternoon, just days after a woman fell from a window at Lambda Chi Alpha. The student, who survived, was reportedly intoxicated, according to MIT Police logs, which listed the incident as alcohol-related. MIT prohibits alcohol at fraternity events during rush, which began last Saturday. The MIT chapter of LCA is now under suspension by both its international organization and MIT.
Student injured in fall from window at MIT Lambda Chi Alpha Student is not affiliated with MIT
A student not affiliated with MIT fell from a window at the MIT chapter of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday and sustained injuries of unspecified severity according to Kimberly Allen of the MIT News Office.
Drug, alcohol, hazing policies undergo major modifications
On Aug. 26, Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo emailed all MIT students to announce changes to the Mind and Hand Book, a set of guidelines and rules that apply to undergraduates and graduates. The alcohol and drugs and hazing policies were updated significantly, while minor changes were made to other policies, including those on sexual misconduct.
MIT brings top entrepreneurship students together in person
MIT has just concluded an experiment in blended learning that could reshape existing educational paradigms. A unique program held on campus Aug. 18-22 brought together students from around the world who had taken an online course in entrepreneurship and then immersed themselves at MIT — to learn how to create a startup.
New FSILG policy allows use of some roof decks this term
The Interfraternity Council, the Association of Independent Living Groups Board, and the AILG Facilities Committee have instated a new policy regarding approval for roof deck usage at fraternities, sororities, and independent living groups (FSILGs), overriding the existing prohibition of roof deck use.