MIT's The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Mostly sunny, 50°F (IO°C) Tonight: Clear, 38°F (4°C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Sunny 60°F (15°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 120, Number 16 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, March 31,2000 KSAvoids Admission Sanctions Tougher One Brother Blamed For 2004 InTrashing of House Reduced Class Size By Frank Dabek EDITOR IN CHIEF Adds to Competition Kappa Sigma emerged unscathed from their latest brush By Laura McGrath Moulton with the Cambridge Licensing ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Commission. The competition to gain entrance "No disciplinary action was to MIT was fiercer than ever this taken on charges stemming from a year, with only 15 percent of appli- January 23 incident in which the cants earning admission, making the first floor of the fraternity's HELENAFU class of 2004 the most selective in Memorial Drive house was trashed "Jonathan Sheffi '03 asks a panel of UA candidates about their views on activities funding during MIT history. and a smoke detector activated. We~nesday's UA Presidential Debate. This year's applicant pool of Commission members accepted 10,681 applicants was also the KS's explanation that a house largest ever, an increase of 17 per- member, acting alone, was respon- Candidates Probe Issues at Debate cent over last year's pool. sible for the damage. "We had a strong applicant pool. A campus police incident report UA Presidential Hopefuls Discuss MIT Culture and Incorporation of the UA There were people not admitted this presented by Campus Police Lieu- year who would have been admitted tenant Stephen Joiner at the CLC By Efren Gutierrez by a panel composed of Tech culture must be protected. Guide- in past years," said Betty S. Johnson, hearing on Tuesday night reported STAFF REPORTER reporters and the current VA presi- lines need to be implemented, such Associate Director of Admissions. that upon arrival officers "discov- Candidates for VA President dent, Matt L. McGann '00. The can- as my proposed Student Life Honor A combination of factors con- ered the entire first floor to be a sparred over issues ranging from didates also questioned each other Code, so we can bring back trust to tributed to the competitiveness this . complete catastrophe." The report MIT culture to student representa- and fielded questions from the audi- MIT." year, according to Johnson, includ- stated that "tables and chairs were tion in an ence. ing a reduced freshmen class size, knocked over, food thrown all over Incorporation of the VA increasing yields and a talented the floors and walls, and kitchen ~~~~~~:~~~t:Guarding the MIT culture Smith's platform includes the applicant pool. products and barrels were also all Presidential .All the candidates agreed that incorporation of the VA, turning the over the floors." Debate the VA President must defend MIT body into a legal corporation with Class size,yields restrict admissions A portable fire extinguisher was IJEI.ectionsA Wed n e s day culture against internal and external legal rights and standing distinct In an effort to relieve the hous- discharged in the house, activating night. Spon- attacks. from a student group. The idea ing crunch, MIT decided this year to smoke alarms. sored by The Tech, the debate Rao, Berk, and Shulman all sug- became a hot issue in the debate reduce its freshmen class size to Contradicting previous state- showcased"the candidates' aspira- gested bringing those who attack when a panel member questioned its 1,000 students. As a result, only ments to The Tech, members of the . tions as well-as their talents, which . MIT's culture to MIT to see what validity and expressed doubt that it 1,604 students were admitted to the fraternity testified that the condition includedjuggling and singing. our culture is about and to improve could be accomplished within one class of 2004. of the first floor was a deliberate Each of the presidential candi- relations. Rao went on to suggest year. Increasing yields - the percent- action to continue a lapsed house dates, Jennifer C. Berk '01, Sanjay dinners between faculty and stu- In defense of his plan, Smith age of admitted students choosing to tradition of giving underclassmen K. Rao '02, Peter A. Shulman '01, dents to improve relations on that said that incorporation will "mobi- attend MIT - also contributed to and Chris D. Smith "01, presented front as well. the smaller number of students Kappa Sigma, Page ~O their platforms and were questioned Smith said, "Students' rights to UA Debate, Page 9 admitted this year. "Last year we had a yield of 60 percent, and '" that was up by 5 percent" (rom the previous year, Johnson said. "We do anticipate a higher yield" this year, she said. Johnson said she expects fewer than 1,000 students to choose MIT, allowing the admissions office to use the waiting list to achieve the 1,000 student goal. 'Good matches' for MIT chosen Johnson said that the strength of the applicant pool also made choos- ing the class of 2004 very difficult. "We were trying to pick people who would be good matches for MIT, who best fit the culture of MIT," Johnson said. "We were looking for people who had done something in high school that had an MIT-ness about it," such as being involved in research or pursuing an interest at an unusually high level, Johnson said. The composition of the admitted students does not differ greatly from recent years. Male students make up 52 percent of admitted students this year, Johnson said. She said that the percentage of underrepresented minorities was consistent with past years at 18 percent. Students were admitted from all 50 states and 61 countries, Johnson said. The admitted class includes I05 international students. FEATURES Comics Forum on biotechnology brings World & Nation 2 The Johnson together multiple viewpoints on Opinion 4 Games are gene therapy and government Arts 6 revived. regulation of the industry. On The Town 8 Features 12 Page 12 Page 16 Page 11 Sports 22 Page 2 THE TEe March 31, 2000 ew York Senate Race s .&.&'-Ji~""" oeial ecurity for ew d-· ing , ,VEWSDAt' NEW YORK e Upgraded In a race on course to shatter the all-time enate campaign spend- ing record, ew York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani raised an By Glenn Kessler boom retirement crisis, when the mine efforts to put the two programs unprecedented $7 million in contributions in just the last three THE WASHINGTON POST number of workers per beneficiary on a sounder financial footing. months, while Hillary Rodham Clinton took in 4 million, their cam- A booming economy and a slow- is expected to drop from 3.4 today "Extending the solvency of paigns said Thursday. down in Medicare spending has to just over 2 in 2030. Medicare and Social Security for a The Giuliani campaign has raked in $19 million overall, some of extended the financial life of the Baby boomers, who were born couple more years does nothing to it with the help of direct-mail specialist Richard Viguerie, who also old-age health program from 2015 between 1946 and 1964, will begin modernize the structure of both worked on Oliver orth's campaign. to 2023, the most upbeat assessment to retire by the end of the decade, these vital programs and, in fact, The Clinton campaign's $4 million brought her total to $12 mil- by the program's trustees in a quar- and the Medicare report projects reduces the sense of urgency that lion since she began running last year. ter-century. enrollment will double, to 81 mil- improvements need to be made soon Each candidate seems to benefit from deep reservoirs of feelings The report - and an almost lion, by 2035. When that happens, to protect the 77 million baby about their opponent - both anti-Hillary and anti-Rudy sentiment, equally positive evaluation of the the trustees warn, the cost of caring boomers who start retiring in the Adler said. "The only thing that raises money more than love is hate," Social Security trust fund - could for those retirees will overwhelm next 10 years," Breaux said. he said. "These mountains of money are being built by hate." increase pressure on Congress to the system as it's now structured. Sen. Bill Prist, R- Tenn., -another add new benefits to the Medicare "There is one downside to this proponent of restructuring program without bothering to tackle year's good news," said Health ana Medicare, suggested the new sol- Russian Think-Tank Director Hails fundamental changes that would Human Services Secretary Donna vency projections might make it deal with the looming retirement of Shalala, one of the trustees. "It easier to add prescription drug ben- Putin's Economic Reform Strategy the baby-boom generation, lawmak- invites complacency, and compla- efits to Medicare but urged that LOS ANGELES TIMES ers said. Democrats and Republi- cency is a prescription for disaster." they be tied to more fundamental MOSCOW cans alike have offered competing President Clinton, speaking to reform. Russia will push forward swiftly with radical economic change bills that would provide a prescrip- several hundred people at an event "Prescription drugs and reform under newly elected President Vladimir V. Putin, the man in charge tion drug benefit to the Medicare at the Selfhelp Austin Street Senior must still go hand-in-hand if we are of setting the new policy said Thursday. program. Center in Queens, N.Y., said the to weather the upcoming democratic At a Moscow news conference, think tank chief German O. Gref. The Medicare trust fund, which reports demonstrated progress but shift and take full advantage of promised an ambitious strategy to continue Russia's transition to a pays hospital costs for 39 million also pressed for hia plan to provide breathtaking advances in medicine market system, including tax reform, banking system restructuring, Americans, gained eight years in its a prescription drug benefit to and technology," he said.