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.
Unconfirmed gunshots heard near Central
Shortly after 9:30 p.m. on April 2, Cambridge police officers reportedly heard gunshots in the vicinity of Pearl and Green Streets in Central Square. A search of the area revealed no evidence of gunshots.
Red Sox have 0-6 season start
The long, cruel winter is over. The maple sap is running. The Swan Boats soon will grace the Public Garden. And Boston’s beloved Red Sox, forever the symbol of spring’s renewal in New England, will open their home schedule Friday at Fenway Park as the preseason favorites to win the World Series.
Earl Lee
“OMG” was the response I received from my father when I texted him that MIT’s CPW events last until 4 a.m. It is almost midnight during my first night of CPW, and I already feel like I just ran a marathon while indulging in a three-Michelin star buffet. CPW, quite simply, is a sensory overload. Where else can you experience a smorgasbord of offerings ranging from liquid nitrogen ice cream to East Campus hacking culture? My body aches and yearns for sleep, but I know that there are still four exciting hours of molecular gastronomy cooking and Firehose Lectures — events which I have been looking forward to partaking in ever since MIT posted the CPW schedule online. After those four hours, I have an equal amount of time to recharge before beginning another propane-charged day of activities. After tomorrow, I have yet another full day of events until I can relax on the plane ride home.
Cosmos Darwin
The sheer magnitude of MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend is as awesome as it is frankly ridiculous. Its schedule — a document the size of a novel — lists over 750 events slated to take place over the next four days. One rapidly realizes that there is much more to do than could ever be possible for an individual more or less bound by the laws of physics.
Stephanie C. Liu
Hello! My name is Stephanie, and I am a senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. When I first drove over the Charles River this afternoon, I had my first glimpse of MIT — a fleet of at least fifteen sailboats gliding smoothly down the river, the dome in the background, the setting sun gleaming off its top. On the other side of the bridge, I was startled to find a combination of city and campus life, with restaurants and strolling students on one block, and labs on the next.
British publisher enhances search technology with video
The line between cyberspace and the physical world is blurring with a new search technology being demonstrated by Autonomy, a British software publisher.
Institute turns 150
One hundred and fifty years ago this Sunday, Massachusetts Governor John Andrew put pen to parchment, signing a charter to create the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The April 10, 1861 charter, as passed by the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives, called for an institute to advance “science in connection with arts, agriculture, manufactures and commerce.” A century and a half later, those words greet students as they make their daily passage through Lobby 7. Though the 1861 charter’s words continue to inspire the Institute’s mission today, the MIT of 2011 is the product of 150 years of development, evolving from a small tech school across the Charles to the world’s leading research university.
Maseeh dining facility named Howard Dining Hall
With about five months left until its opening, Maseeh Hall’s dining facility now has a name. The 360-person dining hall was named Howard Dining Hall by the anonymous donor whose contribution set the renovations of the former graduate residence hall into motion. According to an April 7 MIT News Office article, “‘Howard’ has significant personal meaning for the donor, but it is not the donor’s name.”
College Board, other companies send spam warnings
Prefrosh, beware! SAT scores and monthly newsletters may not be the only thing College Board puts in your inbox. Last weekend, hackers broke into Epsilon Data Management LLC’s systems, gaining access to customers’ names and e-mail addresses. Epsilon, a marketing company for large companies like Best Buy, JPMorgan Chase, and College Board, sends more than 40 billion emails annually. While no financial information — like credit card numbers or social security numbers — was compromised, Reuters reports that this data breach could be “one of the biggest such breaches in U.S. history.”
Big Screw nominations and Thursday totals
This week, Alpha Phi Omega hosted its annual charity fundraiser, the Big Screw, which recognizes the MIT faculty or staff member who “screws” students the most. Each cent donated to each nominee’s charity of choice counts as one vote, and the winner is awarded a 3-foot-long left-handed screw engraved with their name, which is passed down from year to year. Heading into its last day, the Big Screw has raised just over $745, with Professor of Mathematics Pavel Etingof maintaining his lead with $149.94 for the American Cancer Society.
Paul Harris
Hi everyone! My name is Paul Harris (yes, there was a movie that just premiered entitled Paul, but I advise you to wait until the DVD comes out). I am in Boston for my first time for CPW, and I must say, it is a huge change from what I am accustomed to. I’m originally from Atlanta, Ga., where the spring and summers are sweltering and the AC is always broken, so being in Boston — where the temperatures can drop as low as 50°F in April — is a huge change for me. My experience during my first day at MIT (where I’ve been enjoying the seemingly infinite amounts of free food and dance parties) has been idyllic! I’ve never seen so many people willing to just hand me food!
