Should MIT go vegan?
Bruce Friedrich, the vice-president of policy and government affairs for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), debated the ethics of eating meat with the MIT Debate Team on Monday night in 10-250. Shireen S. Rudina ’13, the debate team’s vice president of tournaments, argued against Friedrich’s proposal that eating meat is unethical under all circumstances.
Broad Institute extension approved
Early last week, the Broad Institute Board of Directors authorized plans to construct a Broad Institute extension. Alan Fein, executive vice president and deputy director of the Broad Institute, delivered the news in an email sent to the Broad community last Friday. According to the email, the Planning Board of the City of Cambridge approved the external appearance of the building on April 12. The transcript of the meeting is not yet available.
Students question death of Princeton lecturer
One Friday morning this month, a security guard showed up at the office of Antonio Calvo, a popular Spanish instructor at Princeton University, to escort him from the building. Friends and former colleagues say Calvo was abruptly dismissed from his job, and because he lived in the United States on a temporary visa, he faced a compulsory return to his native Spain.
EECS-Biology major to give foundation in two thriving areas
The requirements for the new Course 6-7 (Computer Science and Molecular Biology) were recently unveiled on the newly-launched course website, ahead of the April 29 deadline for freshmen to declare their majors. The goal of the new joint major between the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Biology is to provide instruction in the field of computational and molecular biology while also fostering an understanding of both biology and computer science.
Ambassador Meera Shankar discusses Indian economy
Indian Ambassador to the United States Meera Shankar visited MIT Wednesday to speak about the Indian government’s goal of maintaining a high economic growth rate. Shankar’s talk came as part of the B&K Securities MIT India Forum, a series of lectures by prominent Indians.
New Course X major allows concentration in ChemEng fields
A new flexible Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering as recommended by the chemical engineering department was approved during Wednesday’s faculty meeting. According to Course 10 Executive Officer Paula T. Hammond ’84, the new 10-ENG degree was designed over the past 2.5 years to allow students to focus on a sub-topic in chemical engineering.
Steve Leeb wins Big Screw; proceeds to go to Pine Tree Inn
From April 4â8, APO collected over $2,600 in the annual Institute Screw Competition fundraiser. Steven B. Leeb â87, Professor of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and a MacVicar Faculty Fellow, took the top spot, raising $1,376. All Big Screw proceeds will be donated to Leebâs charity of choice Ââ Pine Street Inn, a homeless shelter in Boston. Organizers also raised C$0.07, â¬0.02, 1000 Korean won, and a copy of a drop form for 18.100B.
Lobby 7 design winners announced
The winners of the Lobby 7 Design Competition were publicly announced last Friday. Frederick C. Kim ’11 and Kayla C. Manning ’11, competing as a team, and Benjamin J. Peters ’11 won first place prizes in the undergraduate competition, while Florence N. Doughty G, Nadine M. Volicer G, and Ann C. Woods G won in the graduate section, also as a team. The competition, launched in May of last year, asked students to design creative adornments for the four empty plinths of Lobby 7.
Dinner will be served by Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit Management Company will be the provider for the new House Dining, effective next semester. Bon Appétit is the current provider for residential dining.
France crafts ‘new university’
Valérie Pécresse, the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, visited Harvard University Monday to give a public lecture and question-and-answer session on “The New French University: An Opportunity to Cooperate with American Academics?” Pécresse has held prior government positions as regional councillor and as a member of the French National Assembly. On Tuesday, the Minister discussed with The Tech and other media the “new French university” and what the concept means for French and American academics.
MIT-China agreements established
On Wednesday, Chinese State Councilor Yandong Liu met with President Susan J. Hockfield for the signing of two important documents that will further strengthen MIT’s partnership with China. The first document confirmed the agreement between MIT and China to establish the China Scholarship Council Graduate Fellowship Program, a program that will be offered to MIT graduate students who are also citizens of the People’s Republic of China. The second document was a letter of intent calling for collaboration between MIT and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU).
DormCon, Senate will live on
The Dormitory Council voted yesterday against the proposed student government restructuring brought forth by Undergraduate Association President Vrajesh Y. Modi ’11 in late March. DormCon voted 57 percent in favor of 42 UAS 14.2, the Bill to Unify the Undergraduate Student Voice at MIT — 18 points below the amount required to pass and 11 points below the previous April 3 vote on the measure. The setback may end the potential for any dramatic UA changes in the near future.
UA holds hearing ahead of overhaul
The Undergraduate Association (UA) held an open session yesterday evening to collect feedback and student input on a proposed student government restructuring. The Ad-Hoc Committee on the Implementation of Potential Restructuring (CIPR), which was created at the UA Senate meeting on April 4, met over the past week to hash out details on representation in a new UA Council and the transition process from the current UA structure. The Dormitory Council and the Senate are expected to vote on a measure to enact a new constitution — as recommended by CIPR — this Thursday.
MIT150 celebrated at Next Century Convocation
The 150th anniversary convocation of the signing of MIT’s charter took place Sunday at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. It proceeded much like an MIT commencement ceremony, right down to the framing of the huge stage with imitation Killian Court columns.
CORRECTIONS
Last Friday’s spread on MIT dormitories omitted photographer attributions. Greg Steinbrecher, Jessica L. Wass, Jessica Liu, Jeremy E. Deguzman, Yuanyu Chen, Vivek Dasari, Nicholas Chornay, and Jaswanth Madhavan contributed photography.
Miliband speaks on East Asia
Former British Foreign Secretary David W. Miliband SM ’90 kicked off a week-long visit to MIT with a roundtable discussion yesterday hosted by the Department of Political Science. Entitled “Contemporary East Asia,” the discussion featured Course XVII Professors Taylor M. Fravel, Richard J. Samuels PhD ’80, and Edward S. Steinfeld. Miliband will continue to meet with Institute faculty and students for the remainder of the week as part of his brief tenure as a Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow in Residence.