Sherley Seeks Tenure Process Review; MIT Police Posted at Lab
James L. Sherley, an African American associate professor in the Biological Engineering Department, said that he remains steadfast in staying at MIT until the Institute assesses the validity of his charges of discrimination in the tenure process. According to Sherley, the administration agreed to reassess problems in the tenure process through an external panel in exchange for Sherley ending his hunger strike. The Institute says that there is no agreement for external review of the tenure process.
MIT Rejects SAE's DRM Policy, Prompts Review
Following opposition by MIT, the Society of Automotive Engineers halted implementation of digital rights management controls aimed at restricting access to SAE documents. On April 19, SAE issued a press release stating that they would not enable DRM controls "on the Society's Digital Library of technical papers for licenses at colleges, universities, and other academic institutions."
MIT Chooses to Divest From Sudan
Ending months of speculation, MIT yesterday released a statement on the issue of divesting from corporations involved with the Sudanese government.
Prof. Sherley's Press Release — May 7, 2007
Today, May 7, 2007, at about 1:30 pm, Professor James Sherley was informed by an officer of the MIT Police that MIT's upper administration had ordered that MIT police officers be posted near his laboratory from now until his scheduled forced eviction from MIT on June 30. The reason given was to reduce anxiety among neighboring MIT laboratories as the announced date of Professor Sherley's unilateral forced eviction by Provost Rafael Reif approaches.
Students at Harvard on Hunger Strike For Security Guard Wages
A Harvard University sophomore was hospitalized early Tuesday after going on a hunger strike to lobby for fairer wages and working conditions for campus security guards.
Government Probes College Ties to Loan Companies in Boston
Wading into a roaring national controversy, Attorney General Martha Coakley is investigating whether Massachusetts colleges have improper relationships with loan companies, her office said yesterday.
Teaching Lacking at Harvard, Say Undergraduates
Joshua Billings, 22, says he did not come to Harvard for the teaching.
Team From Baker House Walked For Hunger, Raised $5K For Project Bread
Would you walk 500 miles to fight hunger? How about 20 miles?
Charles D. Paton
Charles D. Paton, retired director of the Electrical Engineering Laboratories, died April 29. He was 78.
Shinkansen Exterminated After Complaint of Cockroach Activity
A March 21 complaint against Lobdell’s Shinkansen Japanese restaurant prompted an inspection on the same day that found minor cockroach activity in the restaurant, according to health reports from the Cambridge Inspectional Services Department. The restaurant was exterminated the following day and three follow-up reports, including one from May 9, found no evidence of roaches, said Richard D. Berlin III, director of Campus Dining.
Yield For Class of ’11 Reaches 69 Percent
As of yesterday, a total of 1,053 students of the 1,533 who were admitted to the Class of 2011 had chosen to enroll, giving MIT a record 69 percent yield, Interim Director of Admissions Stuart Schmill said in an e-mail. According to Schmill, a more final yield number will be available next week. “There are still some outstanding offers out there,” Schmill said.
Preferred Dining Program Is Loss For Baker Students, Report Says
A majority of Baker House residents are satisfied with the quality of Baker Dining but do not consider the Preferred Dining membership program to be a value to them, according to a report released last week by the Baker House Dining Committee. The committee found that the average Baker resident loses $125 per term through Preferred Dining, a mandatory program for most residents of dormitories with dining halls that gives students a 50 percent discount on dining hall food after paying for membership.
Lack of Water Closes Kresge Auditorium on Friday
A fault in Kresge Auditorium's water system occurred Friday, May 4, disrupting performances by the Festival Jazz Ensemble and the Musical Theatre Guild. The Campus Activities Complex shut down Kresge because of a failure in the fire sprinkler system related to a lack of running water. Water was restored at around 9:40 p.m.
Inca Leapt Canyons With Fiber Bridges
Conquistadors from Spain came, they saw, and they were astonished. They had never seen anything in Europe like the bridges of Peru. Chroniclers wrote that the Spanish soldiers stood in awe and fear before the spans of braided fiber cables suspended across deep gorges in the Andes, narrow walkways sagging and swaying and looking so frail.