MIT’s The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Snow and sleet, 35°F (2°C) Tonight: Sleet, then rain, 32°F (0°C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Rainy, cloudy, 40°F (4°C) Details, Page 2

Volume 124, Number 2 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, February 6, 2004 Net Decline in MIT Endowment Community Petitions By Lauren E. LeBon universities, including Harvard, can change as a result of gifts and STAFF REPORTER Princeton, and Stanford, have all pledges donated to the university, MIT was one of two among the ten increased over the past year. investment performance, and Insurance Rate Hike richest universities in the nation to Ninth-ranked Emory University expenditures, said MIT Treasurer By Beckett W. Sterner cle in the Stanford Report, and $730 see a slip in its endowment last saw a decline in its endowment of Allan S. Bufferd ’59. NEWS EDITOR at Princeton according to its Student year, according to a report issued 11.9 percent. The combination of these three Over 1,700 graduate students Health Plan guide. in January from the National Asso- MIT’s endowment is currently aspects leads to the dollar value of and faculty have signed a petition Without any changes in the cov- ciation of Colleges and University the sixth largest in the nation, the endowment. In 2003, although asking MIT to improve on covering erage, costs would rise again this Business Officers. behind those of Harvard, Yale, investments were positive, gifts the cost of health insurance through year although not by as much as last At the end of the 2003 fiscal Princeton, the University of Texas decreased and expenditures either a subsidy or an increase in year, said director of finance and year, last June, MIT’s endowment system, and Stanford. increased, leading to a net drop in stipends. health plans at MIT Medical Ellen slipped by 4.2 percent from 2002 the value of the endowment, The MIT petition follows a 60 Offner. Offner said that the 60 per- to $5.1 billion. Meanwhile, the Several factors lead to decrease percent increase in the extended cent jump was a one-time increase endowments at several other major The value of the endowment Endowment, Page 15 health plan at MIT as well as a dis- due to the depletion of a budget sur- proportionate rise in the cost of liv- plus that MIT Medical was using to ing compared to research or teach- subsidize the health plan. ing assistant incomes. Dean for Graduate Students Thomas A. Pasquini G, one of Isaac M. Colbert said that there will the petition organizers, said that the be a “substantial double digit ultimate goal of petition was for stu- increase” in percentage next year. dents to be “treated fairly compared to other institutions.” Petition addresses cost of living The costs at similar institutions Jamil R. Abo-Shaeer G, one of such as Stanford or Princeton are the petition organizers, said that the several hundred dollars lower; the primary intention of the petition was cost is $1,440 at MIT compared to $864 at Stanford according an arti- Health, Page 14 Students Oppose Fee for Group Exercise Classes By Jolene M. Singh Manager, said that physical educa- tion classes are designed to accom- Last Saturday, in an effort to dis- modate a wide range of fitness and courage registration for fee-based skill levels. In contrast, specialty group exercise classes, a group of and fee-based classes are designed MIT students, alumni, faculty and to focus on more advanced move- staff began posting signs to protest ments and workout. The specialty

JINA KIM—THE TECH $60 fees for programs at the Al and classes were developed to expand Students have begun to protest the $60 fee attached to new classes offered at the Zesiger Barrie Zesiger Sports and Fitness group exercise offerings and address Sports and Fitness Center. The fee is intended to cover budget shortfalls. Center. Much of the dissatisfaction a growing interest in this activity is directed towards the employees area, he said. and practices of the Health Fitness Corporation, which oversees the Mixed feelings about fee classes management of the Z Center. In addition to gripes about stu- Sixty Undergrads Change Dorms in Fall; The recent postering against fee- dent life fees and increased mem- based classes and Tuesday's letter to bership fees, some faculty, alumni the editor, titled “Zesiger Center and students have voiced their con- Baker, EC Have Largest Positive Flux Staff: Sacrificing Community for cern over fee-based fitness classes By Tatyana Y. Lugovskaya his chances for transfer by being that more students are looking for Profits,” by Adriane Faust ’98, show offered after the opening of the Z flexible rather than focused on just MIT housing these days. that some members of the MIT Center. Sixty-seven people entered the moving into one particular dorm, “The sense in which the demand community are dissatisfied with cer- Ayanna Samuels G directed her undergraduate fall housing transfer Gray said. By including four hous- is diverse and the supply is scarce tain aspects of their experience at criticism toward the HFC, saying, “I lottery this past December, and 60 ing preferences instead of the two, is what causes tension,” said Gray the Z Center. have been very disappointed with of those students were able to a person has a higher chance of Tim Moore, Z Center General the recent changes imposed on us by change dormitories. Although the getting their desired Lottery, Page 16 the HFC management and I am lottery results came out by Dec. assignment. turned off that the good PE classes 12, most moves occurred over the Accordingly, six are not being offered free with past two weeks, said Anthony females who only tuition.” Gray PhD ’01, project director for entered two choices Ji-Eun Kim G concurred. “PE graduate housing. into the fall transfer classes should be for the welfare of According to data from the lottery were unable to the students, not for profit-making,” Undergraduate Housing Office, the move, and one male she said. most popular dormitories were who only listed one Protestors had other concerns Baker, where only one person preference could not about the classes. Ellen Ko, for moved out and twelve moved in, transfer to a different instance, claimed that the instructor and East Campus, where two dormitory. of yoga for relaxation, a free class moved out and nine moved in. The Denise A. Vallay, offered during the first quarter of least desired dormitories were assistant director of P.E. classes, was dangerous. Next House and Burton-Conner, undergraduate hous- “The instructor gave almost no where number of residents moving ing said, “the lottery instruction whatsoever. She talked a out were much higher than num- system helped elimi- lot and did not correct people who bers of residents moving in. nate waiting lists, exhibited bad form,” Ko said. How- which were out of ever, Ko said that power yoga, Lottery favors flexibility hand when I started another free class offered through Currently, the lottery algorithm in 2001.” the DAPER lottery, was a good, strives to maximize the number of Because it is instructive class. first choices satisfied, said Gray in increasingly difficult STEPHANIE LEE—THE TECH Jennifer J. Cheng G said, “The Z a talk over Independent Activities to find affordable Students and spectators look on at the 2.670 spinoff in Papalardo Lab last Center is supposed to be for the Period about the mechanics of housing in the Cam- Friday afternoon. Honors are given to the fastest, slowest and most aes- MIT community. I love P.E. classes. housing assignments. bridge and Boston thetically pleasing sterling engines. However, a person can improve areas, Vallay said Center, Page 12

Akshay Patil Comics NEWS World & Nation ...... 2 reviews a Sorority rush numbers increase Opinion ...... 4 rather frus- by 25 percent from last year, Features ...... 7 trating year. despite its shortened length. Events Calendar ...... 11 Sports ...... 20 Page 8 Page 10 Page 13 Page 2 THE TECH February 6, 2004 WORLD & NATION Syria Arming Anti-Israeli Tenet Says Intel May Have Guerrillas, Officials Say THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON Overestimated Iraq’s WMDs Syria has resumed weapons transfers to anti-Israel guerrillas based in Lebanon, including a covert shipment of weapons from Iran smug- By Douglas Jehl a “provisional bottom line,” he said regime is a grave and gathering dan- gled aboard a Syrian cargo plane that had delivered earthquake relief, THE NEW YORK TIMES U.S. spy agencies “were generally ger.” American and Israeli officials say. WASHINGTON on target” in prewar warnings about With U.S. teams still hunting in The officials said a Syrian government plane that carried aid to George J. Tenet, the director of Iraq’s missile and unmanned aerial Iraq for weapons of illicit weapons Iran in late December had loaded up with small arms and possibly central intelligence, acknowledged vehicle programs, but “may have and information about them, Tenet explosives intended for Hezbollah and Hamas, militant groups carry- for the first time on Thursday that overestimated the progress” that cautioned repeatedly in his speech ing out armed attacks against Israel. U.S. spy agencies may have overes- Iraq was making toward develop- that it was too soon to draw firm con- “The supply flights seem to have restarted for Hezbollah and timated Iraq’s illicit weapons capa- ment of nuclear weapons. clusions. Hamas,” a State Department official said. bilities, in part because of a failure Tenet also made clear that the Tenet made clear that the prewar The Bush administration has repeatedly demanded that Syria halt to penetrate the inner workings of failure so far to find chemical and assessment that Iraq possessed stock- the flow of weapons to the radical groups, saying that only then the Iraqi government. biological weapons in Iraq had piles of chemical and biological would Washington consider an improvement in relations. Adminis- In a remarkable address at raised serious questions about the weapons was based to a significant tration officials are now preparing a report on policy toward Syria Georgetown University, Tenet pre- prewar intelligence that the stock- degree on reports relayed by a friend- that could lead to new sanctions against Damascus under the Syria sented a steadfast defense of U.S. piles existed, though he said he ly foreign government from human Accountability Act approved last year by Congress. spy agencies and their integrity. The believed that Iraq intended to devel- sources whose information the Unit- speech marked the first attempt by op such weapons and had the capa- ed States has still been unable to cor- Tenet to provide a comprehensive bility to produce them on short roborate. Musharraf Pardons Scientist Who accounting of the gaps between pre- notice. “We did not ourselves penetrate war intelligence on Iraq and what He insisted that intelligence agen- the inner sanctum,” Tenet acknowl- Shared Nuclear Secrets was has been found on the ground cies had acted independently of poli- edged, saying that U.S. agents THE NEW YORK TIMES there, which critics have called a cy-makers, noting that intelligence remained “on the periphery” of Iraq’s RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN major intelligence failure. analysts had never portrayed Iraq as illicit weapons activities. “What we President Pervez Musharraf granted a full pardon Thursday to “When the facts on Iraq are all presenting an imminent threat to the did not collect ourselves, we evaluat- Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons pro- in, we will be neither completely United States before the U.S. inva- ed as carefully as we could,” he gram, a day after Khan appeared on television and confessed to shar- right nor completely wrong,” Tenet sion last March. “No one told us added. “Still, the lack of direct access ing nuclear technology with Iran, North Korea and Libya. told a gathering of students and fac- what to say or how to say it,” he said. to some of these sources created As a result, Khan, 67, will not face prison, a fine or any other ulty that had been arranged at the Later Thursday, some Democrats, some risk — such is the nature of our sanctions. request of the CIA on less than 48 including Sen. John Kerry of Massa- business.” In a news conference here, Musharraf said that Pakistan would not hours notice. chusetts, the front-runner for the Tenet’s speech was the most hand over all documents from its investigation to international Tenet’s presentation, though Democratic presidential nomination, detailed presentation on the issue by nuclear monitors. He said it would not order an independent investi- careful and calibrated, was more seized upon that statement as evi- a U.S. official since last October, gation into the Pakistani army’s role in the proliferation, calling the candid and less defensive than any dence that the White House had no when David A. Kay, then the chief idea “rubbish.” And he said he would never allow U.N. supervision previous government comment on foundation for President Bush’s pre- U.S. weapons inspector, issued an of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. the issue. In offering what he called war claim that “Saddam Hussein’s interim report on his findings. The White House praised Musharraf for breaking up the network linked to Khan, which appears to have been one of the largest ever discovered, but made little mention of the pardon and declined to say whether it would insist that Pakistan sign the nuclear nonproliferation Dean Says He Needs Wisconsin treaty. Courier ‘Glitch’ Sinks Berkeley’s Victory To Remain in Primaries Fulbright Chances By Adam Nagourney And Jodi down to this: we must win Wis- Dean would gain from a win in THE NEW YORK TIMES Wilgoren consin,” Dean wrote in an e-mail Wisconsin on Feb. 17. By then, he BERKELEY, CALIF. THE NEW YORK TIMES message that included a plea for is likely to have gone through 16 A missed courier pickup, an honest clerk, and an unyielding feder- WASHINGTON $50 contributions to finance televi- state contests without a victory. al bureaucracy have conspired to deny 30 college students here the Reeling from a string of defeats sion advertisements there. “Any- Kerry seems poised to win con- chance to compete for a prestigious Fulbright research grant. and rising disillusionment among thing less will put us out of this tests this weekend in Michigan, “It seems surreal to me,” said Mary Ann Mason, dean of the grad- his supporters, Howard Dean said race.” Maine and perhaps Washington uate division at the University of California at Berkeley. “It is an Thursday that his presidential bid Dean’s advisers said that in state, and is making an aggressive unnecessary, foolish, tragic incident.” would end if he failed to win the choosing Wisconsin to make his effort to win contests next Tuesday The students, all enrolled in doctoral studies, got the news on Democratic primary in Wisconsin last stand, he had fixed on the state in Tennessee and Virginia. Tuesday night from the university’s chancellor, Robert M. Berdahl, in 12 days. that was the birthplace of the Pro- The fight in Wisconsin is now that their applications were disqualified because they were late. Dean, the former governor of gressive movement and that had a shaping up as perhaps the last big Berdahl had flown earlier to Washington in a failed bid to persuade Vermont, made his announcement history of supporting liberal caus- battle of the 2004 Democratic education officials in the Bush administration to change their in a dramatic overnight e-mail es. They expressed optimism that nomination campaign. Aides to minds. message to supporters. He was Dean would get his candidacy on Kerry, Dean and the other two The department, which administers the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral bowing to the reality of the col- track there and emerge as the chief major Democratic contenders, Sen. Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program, rejected the lapse of a candidacy that had once alternative to Sen. John Kerry, John Edwards of North Carolina applications because they were not mailed by the Oct. 20, 2003 dead- seemed so far advanced that his who won seven of the first nine and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, line, according to a letter to Berdahl from Sally L. Stroup, an assis- aides had discussed whom he Democratic contests. said Thursday they were preparing tant secretary of education. might pick as a running mate. Still, Democratic strategists full-scale campaigns to win Wis- “The entire race has come said it was unclear how much consin. WEATHER FA 4-for-1 Deal Situation for Noon Eastern Standard Time, Friday, February 6, 2004 By David Flagg 130°W 125°W 120°W 115°W 110°W 105°W 100°W 95°W 90°W 85°W 80°W 75°W 70°W 65°W 60°W STAFF METEOROLOGIST 40°N It is not often that we can experience four distinct types of precipitation

in one day, but here is our chance! After a week of the mildest weather in

Boston since the beginning of the year, the start of this weekend will feature ▲

▲ 1020

a stark reminder that it is only February. A broad, swift-moving area of low- ▲

▲ pressure will bring precipitation to Boston starting around midday. It will ▲ 35°N 1037 ▲▲ fall first as snow with minor accumulations likely, but perhaps up to 6” (15 1005 ▲ ▲ cm) in the suburbs far north and west of Boston. The precipitation will grad- ▲ ▲

ually change to sleet (ice pellets) and freezing rain as warmer air enters ▲

▲ aloft. Then, by early evening, all precipitation will have changed to rain in ▲ 30°N

the city and may be heavy at times. For those with travel plans beyond the ▲ 1037 ▲

city this weekend, outlying areas west and north of town may have a pro- ▲ ▲

longed period of icing tonight before any changeover to rain making travel ▲

▲

especially hazardous. The rain will wind down early on Saturday morning, ▲

▲ 25°N leaving mostly cloudy skies and mild temperatures. A few light snow flur- ▲

ries may dot the landscape later in the afternoon as the storm sweeps up ▲ through the Canadian Maritimes, leaving gusty winds in its wake for the balance of the weekend. 1034 Weekend Outlook Today: Snow developing around midday, changing to sleet and freezing rain, heavy at times. High near 35°F (2°C). Weather Systems Weather Fronts Precipitation Symbols Other Symbols Tonight: Sleet and freezing rain quickly changing to rain, heavy at Snow Rain Fog times. Low near 32°F (0°C). High Pressure Trough - - - Showers Thunderstorm

Tomorrow: Morning rain showers ending, giving way to variable ◗ ◗ ◗ ◗ Warm Front Light Low Pressure Haze cloudiness. A chance of afternoon snow flurries. High near 40°F (4°C). ▲▲▲▲▲ Cold Front Moderate Compiled by MIT Sunday: Mostly sunny, windy. High near 25°F (-4°C). Hurricane ◗ ◗ Meteorology Staff ▲ ▲ Stationary Front Heavy Monday: Partly cloudy. High near 28°F (-2°C). and The Tech February 6, 2004 WORLD & NATION THE TECH Page 3

German Court Acquits Person A Vaccine For Humans Clears A Hurdle As Bird Flu Expands Accused of Aiding 9/11 Attack THE NEW YORK TIMES Avian influenza is still spreading in birds in Asia despite the By Desmond Butler a colorful ski sweater as the presid- and only one of a Sept. 11 defen- slaughter of millions of chickens and other poultry, the Food and THE NEW YORK TIMES ing judge, Klaus Ruhle, pronounced dant anywhere in the world. Last Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said Wednesday. HAMBURG, GERMANY him a free man, if not precisely an week, the high court made clear that The United States also announced a ban Wednesday on importing Citing a refusal by the United innocent one. the new evidence issued in Mzou- birds and bird products from eight Asian countries where there have States to allow testimony from a “You are acquitted,” said the di’s trial would be a factor in their been outbreaks of the avian influenza. suspected Qaida operative in its judge, glancing at the defendant, decision, which could result in a Meanwhile, scientists have passed the first major hurdle in the custody, a German court on Thurs- who was allowed to leave jail in retrial. complex process of developing an experimental bird flu vaccine for day acquitted a former roommate of December. “Not because the court Prosecutors blamed the acquittal humans in case it is needed, an official of the World Health Organiza- Mohamed Atta who was accused of is convinced of your innocence, but on the Bush administration’s reluc- tion said. The scientists are also working to develop a safer and easier providing support to three of the because the evidence was not tance to make captured terrorists test to detect the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza now spreading suicide pilots in the Sept. 11 enough to convict you.” available for testimony and to allow across Asia, a mutation of the strain that caused outbreaks in Hong attacks. German prosecutors, who said prosecutors to make use of intelli- Kong in 1997 and 2003. The court cleared Abdelghani they would appeal the verdict, had gence information on the terrorist The steps are being taken as a precautionary measure because of Mzoudi, the second suspect to be already convicted another former network. “They must have their rea- fears that A(H5N1) might swap genes with a human strain to create a tried for involvement in the attacks, roommate of Mzoudi, Mounir el sons, which they did not communi- new one that could cause a worldwide epidemic, the organization of accessory to murder and mem- Motassadeq, on the same charges cate to us,” said the chief federal said. The chance of that occurring is considered low. bership in al-Qaida. Mzoudi, 31, and based on virtually the same evi- prosecutor, Kay Nehm, according So far this season in Thailand and Vietnam, the organization said, who arrived in Germany from his dence. A German high court is to The Associated Press. “I find this 17 people have been infected with the A(H5N1) strain; 13 died. native Morocco in 1995 to study scheduled to rule Mar. 4 on an conduct by the United States According to the organization, nine of the 13 Vietnamese cases were electrical engineering, sat quietly in appeal of that conviction, the first incomprehensible.” fatal, as were all four Thai cases, including that of a Thai boy, 6, whose infection had been previously confirmed. The organization reported his death on Wednesday. China Advises U.S. to Intervene Judge Strikes Down NFL Rule THE NEW YORK TIMES A federal judge ruled Thursday that the National Football On Proposed Taiwan Referendum League’s rule restricting younger players from entering the draft was By Joseph Kahn to the referendum plan. ther appeal to the United States to in violation of antitrust laws, opening the way for Maurice Clarett, THE NEW YORK TIMES The Chinese effort reflects take firmer steps to derail the refer- the suspended Ohio State running back, to be eligible for the draft BEIJING growing concern in Beijing that the endum was relayed by Chen Yun- this year. China is putting pressure on the Taiwan problem is becoming more lin, the head of the Taiwan Affairs Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of U.S. District Court in Manhattan Bush administration to intervene acute, even though Chen recently Office of China’s State Council, or struck down the NFL rule, which prohibits players from entering the more decisively to prevent Taiwan softened the language of his pro- Cabinet, who met State Depart- draft until three years after they graduate from high school. from holding a referendum on rela- posed referendum and offered to ment officials in Washington this The league said it would appeal the decision. tions with the mainland, calling the resume talks with China if he wins week. If upheld on appeal, the ruling would have potentially broad planned vote a “dangerous provo- re-election on March 20. Some Asking the United States to implications for the NFL, the National Collegiate Athletic Associa- cation” that could lead to a con- officials and analysts here are play an intermediary role with Tai- tion and high school sports. In basketball, baseball and hockey, ath- frontation. alarmed that Chen has pushed wan breaks a longstanding taboo in letes can already jump directly from the playground to the profession- Beijing sent a mission to Wash- ahead with the plebiscite despite Beijing, where officials have often al ranks. Similar court rulings in those sports helped make it possible ington this week to urge the United U.S. opposition. criticized Washington for med- for teenagers to join elite professional leagues immediately after high States to take more concrete steps A foreign ministry official, who dling in relations between China school. to rein in Taiwan’s president, Chen declined to be identified by name, and Taiwan. As such, it shows how Scheindlin’s decision could make it feasible for football players to Shui-bian, a Chinese foreign min- said a request for more active inter- limited China’s options are for make a similar leap, including the 20-year-old Clarett, who sued the istry official said. Chen has repeat- vention was conveyed to Deputy dealing with the matter, which NFL in September. Clarett contended that the eligibility rule, which edly played down statements from Secretary of State Richard some analysts here fear could lead would have prevented him from entering the draft until 2005, repre- President Bush and the State Armitage, who visited Beijing late to a military clash if its is not sented a restraint of trade and an antitrust violation. Department expressing opposition last week. The official said a fur- resolved soon.

CHICAGO • SAN FRANCISCO • LONDON • TOKYO

Stay ahead of the curve At Citadel, we work every day to gain an edge in the global financial markets. With world-class analytics, risk management capability, state-of-the-art technology and a global footprint, we see what others cannot see.

Founded in 1990, Citadel is a world leader in alternative investments. Our team of more than 600 professionals excels in relative value, event-driven and fundamental investment strategies. Determined, focused, and passionate about winning, our team members capitalize on their individual and collective expertise to identify and seize market opportunities. At Citadel, we work every day to gain an edge in the global financial markets.

Internship opportunities for university December ‘04 and Spring ‘05 graduates include positions in: Investment Management, Research & •Investment Management, Research and Trading Trading and Information Technology • Quantitative Research Internships • Information Technology We welcome applications via your university’s on-campus recruiting process. LAST CHANCE TO APPLY! For more information visit www.citadelgroup.com Resume Drop Deadline: TONIGHT!

CTAD178 Page 4 THE TECH February 6, 2004 OPINION

Chairman Hangyul Chung ’05 Editor in Chief Brian Loux ’04 Business Manager Roy K. Esaki ’04 Managing Editor David Carpenter ’05

NEWS STAFF News and Features Director: Beckett W. Sterner ’06; News Editors: Kathy Lin ’06, Marissa Vogt ’06, Jenny Zheng ’06; Associate Editors: Waseem S. Daher ’07, Gireeja V. Ranade ’07, Julián E. Vil- larreal ’07; Staff: Jeffrey Greenbaum ’04, Eun J. Lee ’04, Michael E. Rolish ’04, Jay K. Cameron ’05, Christine Fry ’05, Sam Hwang ’05, Issel Anne L. Lim ’05, Jessica A. Zaman ’05, Brian C. Keegan ’06, Tiffany Kosolcharoen ’06, Lauren E. LeBon ’06, Jennifer Wong ’06, Ray C. He ’07, Tongyan Lin ’07; Meteorologists: Samantha L. H. Hess G, Robert Lindsay Korty G, Greg Lawson G, Nikki Privé G, William Ramstrom G, Michael J. Ring G.

PRODUCTION STAFF Editors: Andrew Mamo ’04, Sie Hendrata Dhar- mawan ’05, Tiffany Dohzen ’06; Associate Edi- tors: Nicholas R. Hoff ’05; Staff: Kevin Chen ’05, Albert Leung ’06, Jolinta Lin ’06, Jonathan Rein- harth ’06, Jennifer Huang ’07, Yaser M. Khan ’07, Y. Grace Lin ’07, Sylvia Yang ’07 .

OPINION STAFF Editor: Vivek Rao ’05; Columnist: Andrew C. Thomas ’04; Staff: Basil Enwegbara SM ’01, Gretchen K. Aleks ’04, Ken Nesmith ’04, Atif Z. Qadir ’04, W. Victoria Lee ’06, Daniel Barclay ’07, Ruth Miller ’07.

SPORTS STAFF Editor: Phil Janowicz ’05, Brian Chase ’06; Staff: Yong-yi Zhu ’06.

ARTS STAFF Editors: Christine R. Fry ’05, Amy Lee ’06; Letter To The Editor Associate Editor: Kevin G. Der ’06; Staff: Bog- that Miller’s lower-class neighbors don’t believe in him or not, God has been what has dan Fedeles G, Ruby Lam G, Sonja Sharpe G, Defending the understand that. carried many Americans through their rough- Fred Choi ’02, Chikako Sassa ’02, Jed Horne ’04, What’s more, her derision of religion is est times. Pey-Hua Hwang ’04, Josiah Q. Seale ’04, Petar Southern Mentality Simich ’04. ridiculous. For many Southerners and many One more thing. Regardless of where he I find Ruth Miller’s stereotyping of the other people, religion is extremely important. stands on the issues, wouldn’t you rather have PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF Southern Republican voter to be extremely This country was founded on many religious a man of character in the Oval Office? He is Editors: Peter R. Russo G, Brian Hemond ’04, Jina offensive (“How Dems Could Win the principles. Read the Declaration of Indepen- after all the leader of our country. According Kim ’06; Associate Editors: Daniel Bersak ’02, South,” February 3). While she states that she dence. While you don’t have to agree with the to John Adams, “It is religion and morality Jonathan T. Wang ’05; Staff: Marcus Dahlem G, is from the South, it seems that she must be religious beliefs of your neighbors — we have alone which can establish the principles upon Wendy Gu G, Stanley Hu ’00, Scott Johnston ’03, from the elite Southern class — certainly not freedom of religion — you could try to have a which freedom can securely stand. Religion Miguel A. Calles ’04, Jimmy Cheung ’04, Ben from the working class that she so wonderful- little respect. Bush’s “stance on faith is bold” and virtue are the only foundations… of Gallup ’04, Dmitry Portnyagin ’04, Hassen Abdu ’06, ly derides. Otherwise, you would not put into not because he is very religious himself, but republicanism and of all free governments.” Matt D. Brown ’06, John M. Cloutier ’06, Grant Jordan print such a ridiculous description of the because he has done a lot to protect our right Adams added, “Our Constitution was made ’06, Stephanie Lee ’06, Edward Platt ’06, Omoleye Southern mentality. to our freedom of religion. The right to prayer only for a moral and religious people. It is Roberts ’06, Rene Chen ’07. According to Miller, “the worst justifica- in public is something which many liberals wholly inadequate to the government of any FEATURES STAFF tion for voting is to base your decision on want to take away, and for many religious other.” character.” Well, this sub-human Southern Southerners, this is a huge issue. Whether you Jimmy Vanzo ’06 Editor: Akshay Patil ’04; Associate Editor: voter that she has described clearly cares Ricarose Roque ’06; Columnists: Bruce Wu G, about the issues as well as character. He Kailas Narendran ’01, Devdoot Majumdar ’04, says that President Bush is “family-orient- Danchai Mekadenaumporn ’05, Alex Nelson ’06; Cartoonists: Jason Burns G, Jumaane Jeffries ’02, ed.” For many people, issues surrounding Sergei R. Guma ’04, Sean Liu ’04, Jennifer Peng the family are extremely important. These Errata ’05, Nancy Phan ’05, Qian Wang ’05. include marriage rights, abortion rights, the welfare/tax system, and the education sys- BUSINESS STAFF tem. Also, I’d like to point out that Jimmy Because of an editing error in last Tuesday’s issue, a page of the “Perspectives on Advertising Manager: Donald H. Wong ’07; Carter has in fact very little character. While Diversity” spread was lost and an advertisement was placed on page 11 instead. The Operations Manager: Lauren W. Leung ’07; he has a genuine desire to help others, he columns “Are We Ready for a Minority President?” by Natasha N. Running and “Diversity Staff: Lynn K. Kamimoto ’05, William Li ’06, has no spine or, apparently, values. Just GIR Would Benefit MIT Community” by Terrence R. Strader are available on the Tech Victoria Fan ’06, Jennifer Y. Wong ’07. keep in mind that he shook hands with Fidel web page at http://www-tech.mit.edu/V124/N1/ and on page 17 of this issue. Castro. A man of principle would have spat TECHNOLOGY STAFF on it. In a photo spread last Tuesday [“Killian Chaos Erupts in Kresge”], one photo caption Staff: Frank Dabek G, Roshan Baliga ’03, Daniel So while Miller obviously thinks that her was missing. The caption for the top left photo should read, “The team of Chris Grossman Leeds ’05, Lisa Wray ’07. neighbors in the South are morons, maybe she ’06, Eric Lieberman ’05, and Eric Hilton ’04 sets up their robot for competition.”

EDITORS AT LARGE should try to take a closer look before passing judgement. She says that “War is like football; In the same photo spread, a caption misidentified the year of Tiffany Dohzen. She is a Senior Editors: Keith J. Winstein G, Satwiksai they’re both hereditary.” In fact, war is much member of the class of 2006, not 2004. Seshasai G, Jennifer Krishnan ’04; Contributing more serious than football, and don’t think Editor: Jeremy Baskin ’04.

ADVISORY BOARD property of The Tech, and will not be returned. The Tech makes no V. Michael Bove ’83, Barry Surman ’84, Robert Opinion Policy commitment to publish all the letters received. E. Malchman ’85, Deborah A. Levinson ’91, Editorials are the official opinion of The Tech. They are written The Tech’s Ombudsman, reachable by e-mail at ombuds- Jonathan Richmond PhD ’91, Saul Blumenthal by the editorial board, which consists of the chairman, editor in [email protected], serves as the liaison between The Tech and ’98, Joseph Dieckhans ’00, Ryan Ochylski ’01, chief, managing editor, opinion editor, and a senior editor. its readers. From time to time, the Ombudsman writes an indepen- Rima Arnaout ’02, Eric J. Cholankeril ’02, Ian Lai Dissents are the opinions of signed members of the editorial dent column reflecting the complaints, questions, and concerns of ’02, B. D. Colen. board choosing to publish their disagreement with the editorial. the readership. Letters to the editor, columns,and editorial cartoons are writ- OMBUDSMAN ten by individuals and represent the opinion of the author, not nec- John A. Hawkinson. essarily that of the newspaper. Electronic submissions are encour- To Reach Us aged and should be sent to [email protected]. Hard copy PRODUCTION STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE submissions should be addressed to The Tech, P.O. Box 397029, The Tech’s telephone number is (617) 253-1541. E-mail is the Editors: David Carpenter ’05, Sie Hendrata Dhar- Cambridge, Mass. 02139-7029, or sent by interdepartmental mail to easiest way to reach any member of our staff. If you are unsure mawan ’05, Tiffany Dohzen ’06; Staff: Jennifer Room W20-483. All submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. two days whom to contact, send mail to [email protected], and it will Huang ’07, Sylvia Yang ’07. before the date of publication. be directed to the appropriate person. Please send press releases,

The Tech (ISSN 0148-9607) is published on Tuesdays and Fridays during the academic year Letters, columns, and cartoons must bear the authors’ signatures, requests for coverage, and information about errors that call for cor- (except during MIT vacations), Wednesdays during January and monthly during the summer for $45.00 per year Third Class by The Tech, Room W20-483, 84 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, addresses, and phone numbers. Unsigned letters will not be accepted. rection to [email protected]. Letters to the editor should be Mass. 02139. Third Class postage paid at Boston, Mass. Permit No. 1. POSTMASTER: Please sent to [email protected]. The Tech can be found on the send all address changes to our mailing address: The Tech, P.O. Box 397029, Cambridge, Mass. The Tech reserves the right to edit or condense letters; shorter letters 02139-7029. Telephone: (617) 253-1541, editorial; (617) 258-8329, business; (617) 258-8226, will be given higher priority. Once submitted, all letters become World Wide Web at http://the-tech.mit.edu. facsimile. Advertising, subscription, and typesetting rates available. Entire contents © 2004 The Tech. Printed on recycled paper by Charles River Publishing. February 6, 2004 OPINION THE TECH Page 5 If You Thought Soylent Green Was Begetting Bad,Try Hamburger the Bomb hundred cuts they make within an hour. This why euphemize? “Cold pasteurization” is the Ruth Miller is just one of the reasons factories must slow official USDA term for exposure to gamma Daniel Collins down their production speed to prepare meat radiation, and is accompanied by an under- For years, I’ve apathetically used the phrase for exportation to meet foreign food safety marketed, happy, green symbol. If this tech- Contrary to popular belief, it was not the “It’s in the water” to write off the stupid actions regulations. nique is safe, which is yet to be proven, it U.S. that produced the world’s first self-sus- of various people. Until recently, I wasn’t the More pertinent to the current scare is how would only allow the processing plants to taining nuclear chain reaction, but Gabon. In a only one with this cavalier attitude towards the the cattle are cared for while they await pro- speed production and become even more care- hardened, underground facility called the food supply. So when news broke that a cow cessing. Years ago, the cattle industry made less with our food supply. Oklo Fossil Reactor, a rich uranium deposit infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopa- the transition to grain from grass in their feed- It’s unreasonable to expect the government achieved criticality and operated for at least thy, commonly known as mad cow disease, had lots as a method of saving money. The to do its job in ensuring USDA regulations are 10,000 years. The technical details of its oper- been found in the United States, people sudden- increase in grain prices has encouraged the being met inside processing plants. With the ation were kept buried, away from regions ly took an interest in their food. use of cheaper, higher protein feed. Prior to strong movement toward deregulation, and the with nuclear ambitions. Gluttony and avarice are a deadly combi- 1997, about 75 percent of the cattle in the favoritism played by the current administra- Today, in an age of espionage, KaZaA, nation. In the interest of its own survival, the United States were routinely fed the remains tion, nothing will change on its own. and the Patriot Act, information is no longer meat packing industry has earned a reputation of dead cattle and sheep, as well as dead cats Other methods of rearing cattle and pack- as secure. The Manhattan Project, which of recklessly cutting costs to produce a more and dogs purchased from animal shelters. ing meat do exist. Australia, the only major imported many great minds to give the U.S. palatable product. Two books that outline These practices were only banned by the FDA beef producing nation that has yet to see a the bomb in 1945 and whose piece de resis- these atrocities of the meat packing industry to stop the spread of mad cow disease. Until case of mad cow disease, feeds its cattle grass, tance ended World War II, was the subject of are Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) and December 2003, “downers,” or cattle that saving its grain for hungry people. Some Soviet spying. Four years later, the USSR det- Eric Schlosser’s more recent Fast Food were too sick to walk, were allowed to be small ranches and processing plants in the onated it first atomic bomb, and the Cold War Nation (2002). In combination, they illustrate processed. United States employ safer measures than arms race was truly underway. Britain, which how little has changed in the last century. As encouraging as it may be that the indus- those of the larger processors. These fall also pursued a wartime nuclear weapons pro- By running production lines at increasing- try is making a few steps in the right direction, under the headline “organic,” and might just gram, caught up in 1952, and France in 1960. ly ridiculous speeds, and by staffing employ- they still allow dead pigs and horses to be fed be what America needs. With France’s help, Israel joined in the late ees with stagnant or decreasing hourly wages, to cattle. Not only can dead poultry be fed to I’ve never imagined life to be possible as a 1960s, and with Soviet assistance, China in the meat packing industry increases its vol- cattle, but dead cattle can be fed to poultry. vegetarian, though I can respect those with the 1964. This unsettled India, which tested its ume while expenses remain approximately the Cattle blood is still allowed in cattle feed. strength to do so. After beginning this article, first device in 1974. China responded by help- same. To keep up with the speed of produc- Cows are not carnivores. They have four I went to Pour House for half-price burger ing Pakistan on its way, a journey it complet- tion, employees are given small, repetitive stomachs to digest products with a high cellu- night. I don’t claim to be an activist; I’d rather ed in 1998. tasks. Risks associated with high production lose content, not protein. leave that to the professionals. As an average Dr. A. Q. Khan, Pakistan’s leading nuclear speeds include not only decreased safety of In the interest of reassuring the public, consumer, I can be concerned about what I’m researcher and national hero, recently admit- the employees, but also easier spreading of E. some groups have taken an interest in expos- eating. I encourage the dining services of MIT ted to having shared nuclear technology with coli 0157:H7, a bacterium native to the fecal ing foods to radiation as a safety measure. I’m to take an interest as well. If they subsidize Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Iran has been in matter in an animals’ intestines. All it takes to not going to debate the benefits of nuclear sci- organic foods as heavily as everything else, intense diplomatic negotiations for many infect the meat with this bacterium is for the ence; instead, I’ll pose the question: if we they might be surprised what choices their months now, but does not yet have the bomb. worker to slip with their knife on one of the have nothing to fear from irradiated meat, patrons make. North Korea is believed to possess nuclear capability, while Libya has recently acqui- esced its WMD programs. Iraq had a program, but the U.N. sanctions and IAEA inspections Howard Dean:What Really Went of the 1990s put an end to that. Argentina, Brazil and South Africa also sought the bomb. It should be noted that each country that Wrong? ceased its nuclear program did so under inter- national pressure. tal that they have little new to offer. Combin- every opportunity Dean’s blunders presented. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Basil Enwegbara ing this criticism with his electrifying antiwar Not only did the Massachusetts politician (NPT) is the most widely accepted interna- rhetoric, Dean was able to draw a large crowd, build a strong base that did not alienate his tional arms control agreement, and is signed I have followed American politics since I particularly among youth and those who over fellow Washington insiders. He ensured that by every nation except India, Israel and Pak- was a teenager. And since the Jimmy Carter- the years lost interest in politics. he presented himself as more reliable on deal- istan. Despite its successes, there is growing Ronald Reagan race, I have always predicted With everything going well for him, Dean ing with uncertainties than Dean, something debate on whether the NPT should be over- the winners of the presidency. Even when Bill pushed his luck, trying to embrace those he proved earlier by mortgaging his own hauled. This stems from the apparent non- Clinton was confronted with sex scandals past Southerners who fly Confederate flags in their house in Boston when his campaign was sti- compliance of various nations and the sugges- and present, I still predicted that he looked pickup trucks. As if he had not made enough fled by a lack of funding. tion of UN impotence. With the risk of presidential and seemed appealing with his of a political blunder, Dean accused the One thing is certain; it will take a miracle non-state actors such as Al Qaeda, the need to message. The same happened with the Al national chair of his party of not doing enough for Dean to turn events around in his favor, secure both know-how and materials is more Gore-George Bush race; I got it right. to stop what he called unnecessary attacks on especially since time is not on his side, and pressing than ever. When I saw Howard Dean a year ago, I him by his opponents. Senator Kerry has growing momentum as the Part of the solution was proposed by an saw a man with all the qualities that I was But the straw that broke the camel’s back most electable candidate to beat President MIT report released last July. With nuclear looking for in a presidential candidate, even was an unfortunate episode in the days before Bush by polls. The only good news — if it energy so often being a veil for weapons though he sometimes seemed too angry to the Iowa caucuses, as Dean angrily shouted ever comes — will be Kerry coming to recog- development programs, ceasing the separation make it to the White House. I knew that John down on someone trying to ask him some nize that the crowd Dean commanded is still and recycling of plutonium in nuclear energy Kerry was more experienced and also has a embarrassing questions. Most people, includ- loyal to him and may not go out to vote production, which yields by-products prime presidential outlook, but Dean seemed full of ing myself, were outraged that the man who should Dean be disgraced out of the race. Sen- for weapons development, would alleviate energy and enthusiasm. wanted to become president could not control ator Kerry must come to appreciate that in non-proliferation concerns. In a similar vein, So the questions are: Am I wrong this his temper. People began to doubt if he had all order to win the November elections, he has lessening the perceived regional security risk, time? What really went wrong with Dean’s it takes to compete with President Bush and to to bring everyone on board. And if that means which is so often the motivation for prolifera- momentum? Can Dean recover and beat become America’s president. making Dean his running mate, let it be so. It tion, could go a long way. This would require Kerry, who now seems unstoppable? Complicating the already sorry situation is politically obvious that Kerry, as a senator, more open dialogue, more give and take, and There is a saying that what is gotten easily, was the discovery that four year ago, Dean must not choose a fellow senator as his run- a re-assessment of the responsibilities of the goes away easily. Dean became the frontrun- accused the Iowa caucuses of being a bunch ning mate. The most appropriate choice would U.N. Side-stepping international organiza- ner with less effort than others. As a result, he of special interest groups who have hijacked be a governor, like Dean, who has been a tions, as is currently en vogue, is a recipe for quickly saw his success as a given, and the process. His unplanned meetings with chief executive officer of a state with good disaster. believed the deal was already completed with President Carter and the embarrassment of records. We should think harder about how to the American electorate. He even began to trying to steal a political moment presented by Kerry must search for the best way to rec- achieve security in a post-Cold War environ- think about his vice presidential candidate. the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday oncile with Dean and his followers. I am not ment, and limit the transfer of harmful infor- Without any careful thinking of the conse- seemed to send the message of arrogance to a claiming that if Kerry does all of the above, he mation. Nuclear technology is being passed quences, he began to attack the so-called lot of people. will definitely beat President Bush. Nor am I around like a sexually transmitted disease — Washington politicians, describing them as And the results are reflected in what his saying that if he does not do them he will not we need some nuclear family planning. insider folks who have never done well and campaign has become in such a short period win. As far as the battle with Bush is con- Daniel Collins is a graduate in the Depart- have spent so much time in the nation’s capi- of time. Senator Kerry did not hesitate to seize cerned, it is a huge strategic game of its own. ment of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The Ombudsman publish anything that might be sharp or criti- run the letter. Loux expressed in an e-mail, “we dential candidates, I don’t think it would be a John A. Hawkinson cal isn’t the best road either. It’s a fuzzy line. have no way to verify his story,” but I think bad thing. On Jan. 26, Jonathan Katz, a professor of that’s unfair. I think that any actions taken by physics at Washington University sent an e- anyone who is at all a plausible candidate for Tuesday’s Issue New Volume mail to letters@the-tech. Katz wrote: the president are fair game for criticism. On the whole, I was pleased with Tues- Starting last issue, The Tech rolled over Mark Wrighton, presently chancellor at Certainly the presidential search commit- day’s issue. On the front page, the comics from Volume 123 to Volume 124. A new Washington University, is believed to be on the tees can’t be expected to verify who they are moved from the center front inside box over cadre of editors took over the masthead, and “short list” for the president’s job at MIT. He considering, but everyone else may take edu- to right-hand index listing, making room for we can expect to see differences in how the is responsible for expelling from campus cated guesses. If The Tech prints accurate prominent placement of three stories, rather paper appears. Traditionally this is announced reporters covering a student demonstration, information about potential candidates (even than the usual two. in a spoof article called the “Gaggle”; I guess and for the Washington University “Guide- if they’re not being considered by the search On the other hand, I was disappointed that it may publish soon… lines for Media.” These stated that no reporter committee) and their actions, no harm is done the right-hand inside box went to the back- could come onto campus and no student or to those parties. page sports story, which is already easily Too much fact-checking? faculty member could talk to a reporter with- In fact, Mark S. Wrighton is a likely can- findable by sports readers. That left the page I last talked about fact-checking of opinion out an official minder from the Public Affairs didate. He was MIT’s provost from 1990 29 story “Harvard/MIT Matchup Services and letter pieces back in May, and I focussed office present. It reminds one of Saddam Hus- through 1995 after chairing Chemistry from Will Keep Contacts Anonymous” buried with on insufficient fact-checking. It didn’t really sein’s Iraq, or Brezhnev’s Soviet Union. See 1987-1990, and then left for WU’s top job. no front-page (or back-page) references. occur to me to consider some of the down- http://www.physics.wustl.edu/~katz/press.html Back on Dec. 6, I personally heard a rumor “MIT Lays Off 100 Staff Members” could sides of too much fact-checking, or of editori- for details. Do you want this for MIT? that he was a likely candidate. have used a sense of scale for the 100; how al policies that are potentially too risk-averse. The opinion editor (Vivek Rao) and editor- If the letters page for The Tech were to be While fact-checking is important, declining to in-chief (Brian Loux) ultimately declined to plastered with pros and cons of likely presi- Ombudsman, Page 6 Page 6 THE TECH OPINION February 6, 2004 Thoughts A new year, a new term. On Past Issues Ombudsman, from Page 5 Isn’t it time you tried many people total does MIT employ? (I think it’s around 10,000). After the arti- cle jumps to page 23, it has four para- graphs under “Layoffs will affect ser- vice” — but they don’t actually explain how services will be affected. What something new? positions are going to be vacant? “UA Completes Under Half of Fall Projects” summarized where the UA stands on its projects, but I found myself wondering where to look for further information on the listed projects. Where Join The Tech! can readers look for more information? (http://web.mit.edu/ua/www/projects/ goals.html seems to be an answer.) Apparently a production error resulted in the omission of an entire RTZ BIZ FEA FTO NUZ OPN PROD page’s worth of content (page 11). See the errata (page 4) for details. It’s dis- appointing, but I guess these things happen. The center spread of the issue was a SPO TECHNO photo spread for 6.270; unfortunately, there were eight captions for nine pho- tos, and the “clockwise from top left” ordering of the captions didn’t make sense. Photography editor Peter R. Open House on Russo suggested that in the future photo spreads, The Tech might print a thumb- nail layout/index of photos so they are Sunday, February 8th. more identifiable. I agree; anything would be better. Last week Wednesday News Meeting: 5 p.m. Looking back to Wednesday Jan. 28, a front-page story announced the demise of Prometheus. It’s really too bad for Dinner: 6 p.m. The Tech to lose that competition. While the campus journalism field is hardly empty, Counterpoint, The Thistle, and Voo Doo don’t really provide the kind of Photo Meeting: 6:10 p.m. news journalism that competes with The Tech. I had hoped Prometheus would be a good influence, fostering competition with The Tech. Alas, it’s evidently not to be. (I was pleased with the Tech article, though. It seemed to cover all the bases.) In case you’re wondering, that issue Student Center Room 483, x3-1541 was supposed to have a color front and back (as dictated by the presence of a color ad on page 13), but the relevant departments were not informed. [email protected] The Tech’s Ombudsman welcomes your feedback, to ombudsman@the- tech.mit.edu. His opinions are his own. February 6, 2004 THE TECH Page 7 FEATURES Deep Conversations Dr. Sadoway — Every Girl’s Crazy ‘bout a Sharp Dressed Man

By Zachary A. Ozer leagues, people in airports and on elevators. can wear many times. TT: Is it electrified? TT: Is there a reason that faculty members, TT: What about just a normal, everyday Sadoway: No, but if I win the lottery or a This week, The Tech tracked down Profes- such as yourself with a Fresca, seem to drink outfit? patent goes through, I’ll electrify the car. Did sor Donald R. Sadoway in his office and asked Coke products? Is there some sort of subsidy Sadoway: A suit for example? If your per- you ever see Gattica? him all sorts of deeply personal questions they provide? sonal hygiene is first rate [chuckles] and TT: A while a go. about incredibly fascinating topics. Then we Sadoway: There is no Coke conspiracy. At you’re not a slob at the table, [continues Sadoway: You remember the car of the got around to it and did an interview. least not that I know about. I like the taste and laughing] many times. If you have bad future? It was a ’63 Avanti. On the soundtrack The Tech: What would be a better title for I try not to have caffeine all day long. I have a hygiene and play dropsy, you’re going to be they overlaid the engine with the sound of an 3.091 than 3.09 fun? couple of cups of coffee first thing. But Fres- good friends with your dry cleaner. electric motor. Professor Donald R. Sadoway: You want a ca, it’s just right there. But to answer your TT: So how often do you do laundry? TT: What about hybrids? running title or like a course number? question, I’m not on the board of Coke, I Sadoway: As soon as the stock is depleted. Sadoway: They’re boring. The layout of all TT: Your choice. don’t own stock in Coke, and I’m not with the TT: The stock of what? new cars is very poor. There’s a poor interface Sadoway: Materials, the stuff of technolo- grapefruit owners. Trust me, I’m not profiting Sadoway: Well, to keep it clean… usually and layout to the controls. The experience of gy and the substance of civilization. from drinking Fresca. It certainly doesn’t when I’m out of socks. driving them is empty. Also, I like refueling TT: That ought to work. Speaking of 3.091, enlarge my wealth. TT: What is the worst experience you’ve because I get hungry and I enjoy dining. You honestly, if you were a student at MIT, how TT: Now I realize that this sounds a bit ever had at a restaurant? know why taste is important? It helps to rec- well would you do on your exams? strange, but which member of the rat pack do Sadoway: Let’s see. When I was first hired ognize toxins. To go back to a previous point, Sadoway: I’d ace them. Totally stuff ’em. you consider yourself to resemble most close- onto the faculty, I went to a rather upscale taste is important, but it’s the dining experi- TT: I like the absoluteness. ly? restaurant in Boston. I was in my late twen- ence which is critical. In cars however, the dri- Sadoway: I have my moments of vacilla- Sadoway: Well, uh, that’s a tough question. ties. We went out for dinner for a birthday or ving experience has gone downhill. tion, but not on this. It’s a cross between Dean Martin and Joey wedding anniversary and were seated at a TT: What about trucks? Have you driven a TT: Professor, we all know how you feel Bishop. Dean Martin for the way he carries table for two. The wait staff was buzzing pickup? about cellular telephones going off in class, himself and Joey Bishop because he was the around us, but we were ignored for a long Sadoway: Freshman year in college, I but tell me, if you were a cell phone, how best educated. time. Eventually the food came and there was worked for a company that installed swim- often would you be turned on? TT: Could he have been a material scien- a bug in my salad. Ugh. I discreetly told one ming pools in Toronto. We were all 18, 19, Sadoway: Depends on the cell phone tist? of the wait staff that I didn’t want to mix meat and 20. We piled all of the equipment up in owner. I’d be on whenever I was forced to do Sadoway: He could have been a metallur- and salad. After another long while they re- the back. The clutch was very unforgiving. We so. gist, but not a ceramist. emerged with a salad. They may have just would get stuck in rush hour traffic in that TT: What about in class? TT: A ceramist? taken the bug out. I brought it to the attention truck and you could very easily pop the clutch Sadoway: NEVER IN CLASS. But for Sadoway: Someone who works with of the maitre d’, but there was no compensa- and stall. You had to be really good because it Sadoway as a cell phone it’s involuntary. If ceramics. tion, nothing. To this day I shy away from the was so unforgiving. Also, it didn’t have air- I’m in the hands of someone so uncivilized TT: Oh. Alright. Another similarity that’s restaurant when people suggest it. The dining conditioning and Toronto, in the summer, it that I might be on in class, it would be embar- been pointed out between you and the Rat experience is important. There is a need for gets pretty warm. rassing, but involuntary for me to go off. Pack is your spiffy dress wear. I mean, I’m so attention to detail. TT: Finally, what’s your favorite piece of TT: Now, we know that students at MIT impressed that I came in a Brooks Brothers TT: Do you eat out often? lab equipment and why? don’t drink if they’re underage and that mem- suit today. Sadoway: I tend not to eat out here. New Sadoway: Obviously, it’s electrochemical. I bers of the faculty and staff practice modera- Sadoway: Oh, the Brooks Brothers, Brooks York is better for eating out. Some places in like the frequency spectroanalyzer. tion in their consumption, but from a material and Brooks. You know, there’s a third one. Boston charge the same amount, but the level TT: Frequency spectro… scientist’s point of view, what is the best cure TT: Really? of service is much higher in New York. Sadoway: Frequency Spectroanalyzer. It for a hangover? Sadoway: Yes. He’s colorblind. Also, never TT: Do you go to New York often? allows you to measure AC and the complex Sadoway: Try to avoid it. Practice modera- confuse the Brooks Brothers for the Smith Sadoway: Sometimes. I go to see the opera impedance of an electrochemical system, such tion. However, in the unlikely even that con- Brothers. and I do some shopping. as a battery. It’s important because one can use sumption exceeds capacity, drink lots of water TT: Alright. I’ll keep that in mind. What I TT: Do you take the Chinatown bus? it to understand the limitations of the system before you retire. Continue to hydrate. Eat really want to know, though, is how often can Sadoway: No, I hop in my car and drive and understand what needs to be optimized. something first thing in the morning — some- you wear clothes again without washing down. Also, it’s a powerful diagnostic tool. thing fatty and with protein. Obviously, I have them? TT: The Studebaker? TT: I think that about wraps up the inter- no experience with this, but that’s what I’ve Sadoway: Well, what do you mean? Sadoway: An Avanti. I recently traded in view. Thank you so much professor. read in medical journals, heard from col- Because a top coat and hat, for example, you my old one. Sadoway: I was happy to oblige. Gourmet Geek:

Lactolicious I’ll qualify I won’t I won’t

By Rose Grabowski calories of the whole liquid. The proteins down the lactose disaccharide into glucose I’ll qualify

include curd (or casein) proteins and whey (or and galactose, usually peaks in concentration I’ll qualify Milk and cookies have long been a staple lactoglobulin) proteins. Yes, think Little Miss in the human stomach shortly after birth and of most children's existence. It was an after- Muffet. reaches a steady minimum when a child is I won’t school snack when we were younger, and as These proteins are the most nutritional and between one and a half and three and a half we grew into college-aged “adults,” it has critical parts of milk. The fats provide some of years old. become a midnight nibble n’ swig to prepare the texture and lactose provides much of the Evolutionarily, this makes perfect sense, for a long night of p-sets and labs. flavor, and together they provide most of the because most mammals would not come I’ll qualify But what was once a luscious grouping of calories. However, fats and lactose are not upon milk after this stage of life. Producing whole milk and friendly fresh chocolate chip essential to milk. an enzyme to handle it would be a waste of cookies has more often evolved into skim We generally accept the 1 percent and resources. When lactose is ingested without I won’t milk and brittle, low-fat off-the-shelf biscuits skim versions as the real deal, and the flavor the presence of lactase, bacteria in the diges- I won’t I’ll qualify in this health conscious and I-will-lose-that- provided by lactose can reasonably be approx- tive tract still metabolize it. However, instead freshman-fifteen-damnit environment. imated by other sugars. Lactose is not even of making the sugar useable, they ferment So when a friend of mine returned from the exclusive to milk — it can be found in for- the lactose, producing carbon dioxide and a store and pulled out his Lactaid and Chips sythia flowers and a small number of tropical decidedly unpleasant feeling in the mam- Ahoy, a few of us were quite shocked. Our shrubs. The proteins are what enable the mal’s body (read: flatulation). So this is what sacred duo had been adulterated to the point derivation from milk of other dairy products happens to most adult humans when they that milk was no longer even a component. and distinguish the liquid so essentially from ingest too much lactose and the bacteria get a Don’t guess whether Another friend accused him of drinking chemi- any other. boon to their food supply. The rest of us keep you qualify for the EITC. cals, not milk. She claimed Lactaid had no So, since Lactaid is just milk minus the producing the lactase and digest lactose just place calling itself milk (the carton does lactose, it may indeed claim the title of milk. like any other regularly digested item. Know. indeed say “real milk!”) because the whole Although I’m guessing it doesn’t go as well However, despite the label that so many concept behind Lactaid is that lactose, the milk with Oreos as the alternative. The question people assume, most lactose intolerant people There’s a lot to know about qualifying for the Earned sugar, has been removed, and how can milk be then becomes why would people drink Lactaid are actually able to consume substantial Income Tax Credit (EITC). You need to work and earn milk without milk sugar? And thus com- at all? Obviously it has something to do with amounts of dairy products without effect. Most less than $34,692. If you have children, they must menced a 40 minute argument about the nature lactose intolerance, but there are a few intrica- can drink up to a pint of milk a day, and since of milk. We never came to a consensus. How- cies to that label that are worth exploring. cheese and yogurt are virtually free of lactose meet three qualifying tests. And that’s just to name ever, being the food nerd I am, I decided a Humans are the only animal that have the because the culturing process (once again, fer- a few. But the most important thing to know is you complex and decisive analysis was in order to ability to drink milk after mentation) uses lactose for fuel, those cultured can get help figuring it all out. Visit us on the web, dispel any myths about Lactaid and milk. infancy. However, dairy products are fairly easy to digest. call 1-800-TAX-1040 or ask your tax preparer. When It turns out that milk is the vast majority So maybe my friend wanted to consume it comes to getting help claiming everything you not just lactose and of humans more than a pint, and that’s why he chose Lac- honestly deserve, consider it done. water — those are don’t even taid. Perhaps he is on the less tolerant end of actually some of have this the spectrum and really can’t consume much 1.800.TAX.1040 the least impor- ability (or, dairy at all. Maybe he just likes Lactaid better tant elements. really, than regular milk… but, in any case, at least Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov/eitc Milk also don’t there’s a real-milk option for the huge portion includes vita- have of the population that needs to avoid lactose mins, minerals, this — I mean, how else would they down their fats, and complex abnor- Oreos? proteins. The fats mality.) If you have questions or areas of food sci- This space donated by The Tech include fatty acids and lipid- Lactase, the ence that you would like to see explored, you soluble vitamins and provide about half the enzyme that breaks can contact me at [email protected]. Page 8 THE TECH FEATURES February 6, 2004 Positive Sinking: MMIII@T By Akshay Patil er design depicting the severed head of a rush- AmIHotOrNot.com FEATURES EDITOR chair and a man hanging from a tree signify- and Friendster.com. Every year people far wittier than me write ing nothing at all, really, just added to look The 2004 Presi- insightful and humorous articles summarizing wicked awesome in the new “ultra-metal- dent is then accused the events of a year. Naturally this leads one to black” ring finish option… with spikes. of plagiarizing his ask the question, “Why not me?” For most of apology-for-platform- us, however, the process ends there, since lack March plagiarism. Seriously, of time and/or access to a public forum hin- Due to content provider bankruptcy, MIT you just can’t make ders our attempts to reveal our probable Cable is no longer able to show popular chan- this stuff up. inability at performing the task any better than nels such as MTV, ESPN, Playboy, and CNN. the aforementioned writers. Sadly, I suffer Left with a largely international selection of June from neither deficiency (or boon, as the case television channels, domestic students come Cambridge may be) and so I give you MMIII@T: exceedingly close to actually watching soccer, decides to ban bar/ but decide to turn off the television instead. restaurant smoking. January United States invades Iraq, causing several There is no immedi- Despite a face-lift and the introduction of hundred students to walk out of their classes ate campus reaction extremely comfy chairs, the Student Center and mill about in Kresge Oval. Unfortunately, to this news since Coffeehouse continues to be unprofitable, their walk-out coincides exactly with a signifi- nobody reads The causing MIT to shut it down. Students cry, cantly larger walk-out protesting TEAL. Cam- Tech during June petitions are signed, and the inflatable tennis pus activism reaches an all-time high. except for the Seniors bubble bursts. Deciding that no student body should be and they’re all leav- In California, Richard Hovan ’03 makes without the news during a time of war, the ing anyways. Tech proud by winning a dinette set and a Housing Office decides to bay for basic chan- vacation package on The Price Is Right show- nels on MIT Cable. In addition to fair and bal- July ing that the four years at the Insitute teaches anced programming such as FOX News, the MIT Police and you valuable lessons which will come in new line-up features Cartoon Network and Department of Facili- handy when it comes time to furnish your TNT but conspicuously lacks anything relat- ties confiscate a raft bedroom with a tasteful selection of furniture ing to sports or music. It does, however, con- built by EC for view- complete with an attractive woman in a one- tinue to carry the Weather Channel and the ing the Fourth of July piece. NASA channel, which feature elevator music fireworks on the In related news, only 16 teams meet quali- and, on occasion, use subliminal nudity during Charles. The adminis- fication for the 6.270 competition causing sweeps season. tration cites the ques- many competitors to complain about the diffi- tionable safety of any culties of scoring at all that year. The competi- April sea-faring vessel cre- tion was then definitively won by Rhett Fed up with the international press’s obses- ated entirely out of Creighton ’03 and Victor Brar ’04 who pro- sion with his research rather than his hair, used computer parts ceeded to smash their robot into the ground, Steven Pinker leaves MIT for Harvard. The picked up off of reuse. TECH FILE PHOTO strip off their jumpsuit, and make out with a MIT administration freaks out and renegoti- This raft incident RHETT AND WILD - Rhett Creighton G “Brars all” after the 2003 female member of the audience. Seriously… ates its contract with Noam Chomsky, promis- reminds MIT of its 6.270 autonomous robot competition. you can’t even make this stuff up. ing him “booze, babes, drugs… whatever you long-standing policy that MIT students are for being a hell of a lot smarter that pretty want, just as long as you stay.” ATO holds a curious but dimwitted creatures whose nature much anyone. Erik reveals that he will use the February wild and crazy party as incentive for Chomsky warrants extended study, prompting the card grant to “visit colleagues and do collaborative MIT adds SpamAssassin filtering to e- to stay, but things go terribly wrong and office to begin implanting RFID chips in MIT work in Hawaii.” Although his comments dur- mail. Most notably, the phrase “roaring pen- Chomsky is spotted the next day naked in J.P. cards for tracking. Preliminary data reveals a ing his Tech interview were modest in nature, guin” is added to every e-mail, which doesn’t Licks lecturing the worker behind the counter number of key insights into student life such it is reported that he was prone to use the really mean anything to anyone except me about how Ethiopia’s child molestation laws as the large dependency of mate locality in phrase “bling bling” when speaking “off the because I’m weird like that. The number of are worsening the plight of the spotted owl in student breeding patterns. Jonathan A. Goler riz-ecord.” A bunch of students in EC send out freshmen declaring course VI as their primary the Northwest. MIT levies 2-year sanctions on is asked to remove the large Israeli Flag from an e-mail advertising an event referred to the major drops dramatically, signaling to many ATO despite Chomsky’s defense that the party his window, sparking the not-so-infamous “Ghetto Party,” sparking administrative back- critics that there might be hope for the human was “wicked awesome.” “Flag controversy.” People get really excited lash over the language used in the e-mail. MIT race after all. In other news, the beta testing of the about flags and have meetings, but in the end releases an official press release condemning Proving that e-mail is the preferred Insti- Microsoft sponsored ShuttleTrack service is everyone agrees that it’s not as interesting as the e-mail and making it explicitly clear that tute language-of-love, a disturbingly large finished, allowing me to miss both the Tech the upcoming “Ghetto Party controversy” so free speech will not be tolerated if it has to do number of MIT students sign up for a Valen- Shuttle and SafeRide by a narrower margin of they save all of their jokes until then. with race. Frankly, that makes everyone in the tine’s online dating service for Harvard, MIT, time. In order to receive funding, the group is administration pee in their collective pants. and Wellesley students. I get set up with Jew- required to have the website crash if users August Stuck without a particular frat to blame and ish women in their mid-twenties. None of leave their browser open for more than 30 The Man (RIAA) sues The Man (MIT) over tired of picking on ATO all the time, MIT them are interested, which is just fine because minutes. the identity of a musical pirate who is believed decides to kick DKE out of its house for a year. just then nature drops a ridiculous amount of to live in TDC. MIT says “Ah yeah? You and snow on the city of Cambridge breaking the May what army?” and blows a big raspberry at the November snowfall record dating back to 1893. The In what is now reverently referred to as the RIAA. The RIAA goes off to find an army. The Not pleased with the testimony offered by Institute is closed for the first time in 74 years, “outage of ’03”, e-mail server po11 goes down MIT Emergency Medical Service gets a new the monkey and the lack of files found on the people make snowmen, and the inflatable ten- for 27 hours. Desolate students turn to MIT ambulance. This isn’t really newsworthy except typewriter, the RIAA swears its revenge on the nis bubble bursts. Medical in record numbers and are promptly that every emergency medical technician just student body. After a little laundry work it is The class of 2005 premiere’s its brass rat diagnosed as suffering from a fractured tibia. will not shut up about how absolutely wonder- discovered that MIT’s free love and music pro- which features, and I’m not making this up, a Ha ha, just kidding — actually they all got ful their new ambulance is. Seriously. It’s like gram, LAMP, is actually using music bought drowning man on the bezel and a tombstone referred to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear an elliptical machine, bread maker, and iPod all off a homeless guy in Seattle who swore he on the side. “At least it’s not masturbating” Infirmary. Anyways, there’s are major clashes wrapped up in one for these people, and still had the legal clearance to sell the music for one student was quoted as saying. between e-mail haves and have-nots and digi- they continue to leave it parked outside of New broadcasting. Naturally this lead to much pant What students didn’t realize is that the tally insensitive signs such as “po14 sucks House with the engine running. pissing and LAMP is forced to be taken off design was only narrowly selected over anoth- smtp” appear in the Infinite corridor. Just as The 2004 Class Secretary and Social Chairs the, uhm, cable, and students are forced to the campus is at the both resign, leaving the class of 2004 with seri- stick it to the man the way they were doing point of breakage I/S ous abandonment issues. One decides to run before — by eating babies without ketchup. fixes the problem and for Class President while the other moves back The bastards. ends the “longest mail to California just in time to run in the Guberna- Sloan decides to offer an undergraduate server outage ever.” tional election there. Arnold Schwarzenegger minor so that people can take management In a scandal that quickly takes the lead in both races. degrees with subjecting themselves to the nor- rocks inboxes all mal load of public ridicule that Sloan majors across campus, the September are accustomed to. The administration cites 2004 class President The RIAA finally rounds up an army and the move as a push to improve Sloan’s image and Vice President so MIT reveals that the alleged pirate is, in not so much through fine-tuning of curriculum resign after admitting fact, a monkey with a typewriter. “Typewriters but increasing the quality of students. that their campaign don’t even have sound cards,” the MIT press platform was plagia- office giggles. The RIAA sends in their chief December rized. Upon review, it agent, the Dalai Lama, to campus on a fact The Massachusetts Bay Transportation turned out the plat- finding mission but he ends up in Kresge Authority jacks up fares. Not only do subway form in question was Auditorium with Richard Gere and a huge pic- tickets get bumped up to $1.25, but bus fares really just the phrase ture of what looks like a poorly drawn duck. are raised to 91.4 cents. “If the British can “All work and no play ATO is blamed despite His Holiness’s have half-pennies we can damn well have two- make Jack a dull boy” assurance that “the party was hoppin’ and the fifths of a cent” the MBTA head was quoted as repeated over and over ladies were all over my fly orange toga.” The saying. The new price raises were attributed to again. An internal duck is never found. In a radical political Boston’s obsessive need to dig the biggest and review into the situa- upset, the class of 2004 fails to elect a man most expensive hole on the face of the planet tion revealed that this whose platform hinges on the fact that he has in the middle of a congested traffic area. egregious lapse in not masturbated since sophomore year. Amidst wild and crazy celebrations on the ethics was not detect- Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, is elected Eastern side of campus, Charles “Chucky” ed due to the fact that Governor of California. Soon after this round Vest announces his retirement as President of not a single soul had of class elections, the newly-elected class MIT. MIT reveals plans to replace the outgo- read the platform prior Vice President flees the country, forever scar- ing Vest with a technologically advanced to the resignation. A ring the senior class and leaving them emo- machine from the future, which is our only further study into the tionally unable to commit to anyone for hope for surviving a forthcoming and election process another 23 years. inevitable attack by the machines… as soon as revealed that the he’s done serving his term in California. mechanics behind the October Well now, looks like another term, better GOODWIN CHEN UA online voting sys- Erik Demaine — who is a nice guy, an warm up them typing fingers and send a high- Goodwin Chen ’04 demonstrates that you can’t beat a good tem are based primari- assistant professor, and about eight months ly amusing e-mail to [email protected], now campaign ad. ly on code used by older than me — wins half a million dollars shouldn’t I? February 6, 2004 FEATURES THE TECH Page 9 How to Eat Ask Nutty B By Nutty B and it’s like a big ocean where different streams of water bodies FEATURES COLUMNIST merge together. Everyone is bound to be different from everyone Like an Nutty B has returned to the building! After stuffing himself with else. For a half glass of water, some people would say it’s half-full, loads of candies and drowning himself with Molson Canadian beer but some would call it half-empty. during the holidays, he has again returned! You know the drill! For the same gesture in some culture it’s consider polite, but in Nutty B is currently a graduate student at MIT. Please e-mail him some it’s offensive. Maybe when you think she is hurting her read- with whatever question you would like someone to listen to and help ers’ feelings, the original readers who sent her the questions thought Asian him have an excuse to procrastinate at 3 a.m. Please send all ques- she has answered their questions and won their hearts. After all, if tions to [email protected]. she has people who keep coming to ask her questions, she shouldn’t By Mark Liao be that evil, should she? Dear Witty B, My advice for you is to try to think positively. You will face So I was sitting back home in California I need some advice. I find in the latest Tech, a busy graduate stu- many problems everyday, and if you turn everything against your- having dinner with a close friend and my dent who devotes a few hours a week to writing a very funny column self, the only person getting hurt will be yourself. Now, go out and mother. For those of you who’ve been to a that provides advice on problems plaguing the MIT student. I appre- smile to yourself and instead of thinking yourself as “Hurt@MIT,” I Sam Woo, you know exactly what I’m talking ciate and commend her efforts to introduce intentional humor to the want you to see yourself as “Blessed@MIT!” about when I say there’s nothing in Boston Tech. that even comes close. In any case, we get our However, it appears that some students have misconstrued her Hi Nutty B, appetizer, we order some fried noodles and column as a source for advice on problems of a more serious nature, Why is the Charles River green when it's frozen? It's really freak- whatnot, and then I start noticing something such as depression and low self-esteem. ing me out! strange about my friend. The columnist’s response, in accordance with her lighthearted — Steve Josh is a pretty average guy, 6’1”, lanky, and self-deprecating character, unfortunately reads as curt and Dear Steve, girls say he’s cute, but I guess what I’d never insensitive. How can I ask her to, when necessary, save her readers' For some reason, quite a few people I know asked me the same noticed about him before was that, well, he’s feelings now and her jokes for later? question before the holidays. I did wonder if the environmental white. — Hurt@MIT groups at MIT have tracked me down and started to stalk me! At any And that’s when it hit me. All of my life Dear Hurt@MIT, rate, being a dedicated advice columnist, between my holiday Cana- I’ve been the white-washed twinkie who’s pee- First of all, thanks for calling me “Witty B!” I guess I just found dian bacon eating and igloo cleaning, I decided to perform some colored Volvo was a stark contrast against the another good quality of mine I hadn’t discovered! experiments and consult a few friends of mine to see if I could come black Civics. My cell phone never played “Big How can you ask her? Simple, you go to Nutty B and let Nutty B up with an answer for you. Pimpin’,” nor did it have dangling penguins help you solve your puzzle and ease your pain. Son, only the truth To see why the Charles turned green I tried to determine what’s hanging from its antennae. The only time I will set you free! in the river first. One of Nutty B’s best friends Miss Slowdah, who is had bleached tips was when I played too much This columnist you mentioned in your question really does seem an avid rower on the Charles and brilliant biologist, came to the res- water polo in the sun. However, the most fun- like a good one. I mean, with all the humors and compliments you cue and told me with confidence that the Charles is full of sewage, damental part of my body stayed true to form, have paid her, she does seem to know what she is doing. You men- garbage, and sometimes bodies of … well, different animals. my taste buds. tioned you think some students have misconstrued her column as a Therefore, I mixed some water with leftover food, some As the meal continued, the more and more source for advice, but darling, if she writes an advice column, I am unknown solids I picked up from a random garbage can on campus, I noticed how inherently different I was from sure she means to give out advice! I haven’t met any political colum- and some raw meat from the supermarket (for the animal corpse) in the white boy sitting across the table. He nists who only write about musicals and arts! a big test beaker (of course without my advisor’s knowledge) and shirked at the thought of fried squid tentacles, Moreover, you said this columnist was “lighthearted” and “self- let it sit there for a week. To imitate the actual environment, I varied was shocked that you had to peel your own deprecating”, but she appeared to be insensitive. However, if the the temperature around the beaker, too. After a week I froze the shrimp (and the fact that they had heads with only person she is “deprecating” is her “self ” and she doesn’t “thing”, and guess what? Voila! A stinky frozen green-yellowish eyes and everything still attached), and took mind, how does she become insensitive? Perhaps you are con- solid! all the meat in the kung pao chicken leaving cerned about her well-being? Or … perhaps you simply misunder- Nevertheless, there is no need to panic, my dear Steve! As long nothing but a few peanuts and dried chilies stand her. as you don’t plan on drinking from the river directly or go in for a (which I later was able to convince him were You see, it’s quite important to keep an open mind and try to look swim, you will be fine! Hope you have recovered from your traumat- fine to eat). at the positive side of everything. MIT is a very diverse community ic Charles incident! Everything else about us was pretty much the same. We both watched Ed on NBC reli- giously. We love a double-double from In-N- Out animal style with no tomatoes or dill What’s Next? pickles. Hell we even bought the same $3.99 polka dot boxers from the Gap (independently By Ian J. Ybarra starting a college preparatory summer pro- do. Besides, we’ll always receive that advice, of one another). But now I felt as if I was sit- gram at his high school in La Marque, TX, to whether we ask for it or not. I can hear it now: ting at dinner with some hitchhiker I picked We are at one of the most prestigious acad- provide kids in his hometown with opportuni- “Susie, you should be more like your sis- up from Shreveport, Louisiana. emic institutions in the world. We walk the ties he didn’t have. ter. She got a $2,000 raise for working every And that’s when I came to the conclusions same halls and sit in the same classrooms as How about Danny A. Nunez ’06? A gifted weekend last year.” that something had to be done. It’s pretty our predecessors — women and men who mechanical engineer, he will soon be listed as “Johnny, I don’t care if you like drawing. obvious that there are a lot of Asians at MIT. went on to invent technologies, found organi- one of the few people on a Ford Motor Com- You should get your Master’s in chemistry.” But even though we have a student population zations, discover and explain complex phe- pany patent for an engine oil-efficiency device To find our own answers that will make us comprised roughly of 30 percent Asians, it’s nomena, lead teams, author powerful books, that might be installed in Ford’s entire fleet. happy and proud, we must begin questions quite shocking that we have a shortage of and counsel chiefs of the most powerful states Along with the honor of carrying the torch with “Do I want to …” We must do this for people who are knowledgeable about Asian in the world. (None have actually become in the next leg of the relay, we accept a new both the standard (e.g. Do I want to get an food. President of the United States, but U.N. Secre- challenge. For the first time in our lives, we internship or do research this summer? And Just yesterday I was sitting with a fresh- tary-General isn't too shabby.) We study the have to face the full force of the question: when I graduate, do I want to attend grad man who asked me if I liked eating “sa-shoe- work of Nobel Laureates while sitting a few “What’s Next?” school or go to work?) and the offbeat (e.g. mee.” After staring blankly at her for three feet from Nobel Laureates. Since we took our first baby steps about Do I want to sell all of my possessions, go live minutes I realized what she meant to say was So MIT alumni, faculty, and affiliates have two decades ago, our paths have been dictated with Buddhist monks for two years, and write sashimi (sa-she-mee). I have another half- done great things. But who’s next? by the education system we were born into. In a book about my experiences?). Taiwanese half-Chinese friend who doesn’t We are. We were invited to MIT from all the United States, it goes something like this: Before this academic term ends we have like to eat porridge. And if you’ve read this over the globe because we demonstrated kindergarten at age five (plus or minus one three and one-half months to enjoy the simple far in this article and have no clue why that’s excellence in classrooms and laboratories and year), junior high, high school for grades nine pleasure of not needing to have every little such a big deal, you’re also part of the prob- on stages and fields. In this intellectual com- through twelve, and then college. Sure, we thing under control. As a senior, I understand lem. munity, we sow seeds with much potential to enjoyed some freedom in selecting a universi- the temptation to just attend classes, turn in a I guess what I’m picturing with this article sprout future success. And already, there are ty, but in the big picture, four years at Har- few pages of chicken scratch that pass for is a series of informative exposés diving into signs of a great harvest ahead. vard, Stanford, or MIT are really the same diet problem set solutions, and rest assured that if the depths of gourmet Pan-Asian cuisine com- Take, for example, Kristin B. Domike ’03. of lectures, homework, exams, and grades. we do nothing else, there will still be many plete with ingredient synopsizes, word ori- As an undergraduate in Professor Christine While deciding what’s next for ourselves, people who will think we’re amazing simply gins, and complete a complete chef genealogy. Ortiz’s research group, she began designing a we must remember there are no “right” or because we go to MIT. Or, you can expect the basics like, what’s new endotracheal tube that could help prevent “wrong” answers. However, there are “wrong” Let’s not settle for that. Let’s take time to really good, what to look for, how much to millions of injuries to people who require questions. They begin, “Should I …” Wrong. decide what’s next for ourselves — something pay, and whatnot. However, I would be lying if breathing assistance during medical proce- The only thing you should do is not ask that that makes us happy and proud and, perhaps, I said I didn’t dream of one day publishing dures. kind of question. There are too many people remarkable enough for other MIT students to these articles in a book and selling it at Urban Or consider John A. Reyes ’06, who is who are too eager to tell us what we should talk about in the future. Outfitters for $16.95 tucked between “Every- body Poops” and “Boys are Stupid … Throw Rocks at Them.” I’m not trying to claim that I have the same level of authority as Ming Tsai (you know … the guy from “East Meets West” … yes I am a Food Network whore) or that guy on “Yan Can Cook” (with the annoying infomercials … grrrr being alone on Saturday nights in high school). I am certainly not as knowledge- able as your Nai Nai or Po Po. Some of the things I say may be completely wrong or quite frankly, might offend many people. But that’s not the point of these articles. I’m writing these for that Asian kid, who, like me, was born outside of the United States (FOB mark and all) but can’t order like their parents and instead is stuck eating beef with broccoli for the umph-teenth time. I’m writing these for that white dude who’s going out with an Asian girl and has to eat dinner with her parents and doesn’t want to appear like a din- gus. And yes, I’m writing for all the ABCs out there, who worry that someday, their kids will think they can handle hardcore Asian cuisine because they can order hot-and-sour soup and know not to put soy sauce on white rice. Good This space donated by The Tech people I give you … my column. February 6, 2004

Page 10

ACROSS 40 Long, narrow cut DOWN 31 Part of GTE 1 Richmond’s river 41 All out 1 Big payoff 34 Buffet tray warmer 6 St. Louis 45 Masonic 2 Deductive 36 Singer Redding landmark doorkeeper 3 Restaurant 38 Ah, I see! 10 Local yokel 49 Saturn model employee 39 Unruly crowd 14 In pieces 50 Hale and hearty 4 Ms. Bombeck 41 Purchased hair 15 Gilpin of “Frasier” 53 Tractor-trailer 5 Secretarial skill 42 Friend of Hamlet 16 Grandson of Eve 54 New to the game 6 Cochise or 43 Penny’s worth 17 Illegal act 56 Image of a god Geronimo 44 Clapton’s axes 18 Indigo dye 58 Bridge action 7 French auto 46 Former Chrysler 19 “Back in Black” 59 All-inclusive maker model rockers 63 “Nana” star 8 Baby’s bed 47 Abu Dhabi or 20 The whole thing? 64 Translucent gem 9 Hawaiian city Fujairah 23 __ favor, senor 65 Atoll foundation 10 Enjoys a novel 48 Conundrums 24 Honolulu’s island 66 “__ kleine 11 Fuzzy 51 Lug laboriously 25 Exploiters Nachtmusik” 12 “10” star 52 Shoe’s tip 27 Underground 67 Subdivision 13 PC key 55 Sea eagles Solution, page 14 assets division 21 Beaver project 57 “Law & Order” 29 Legendary Giant 68 Govt. bond 22 Surpass in network 32 Two-time loser to 69 Barracks beds cunning 60 Skyrocket DDE 70 Husky sound 26 Air-leak sound 61 Shelter for strays 33 Ocean motions 71 Wind indicators 28 Tight closure 62 One of the 35 Everything 30 Expressions of Chaplins 37 Small particle surprise 63 Part of a min. Crossword Puzzle Crossword February 6, 2004 The Tech Page 11

Dilbert ® by Scott Adams

Events Calendar appears in each issue of The Tech and features events for members of the MIT community. The Tech makes no guarantees as to the accuracy of this information, and The Tech shall not be held liable for any loss- es, including, but not limited to, damages resulting from attendance of an event. Events Calendar Contact information for all events is available from the Events Calendar web page.

Visit and add events to Events Calendar online at http://events.mit.edu Friday, February 6 All are welcome!. Free. Room: McCormick Brown Living Room. 8:00 p.m. – Company of Angels. February 5-7, February 12-14 IAP Sponsor: Asian Christian Fellowship. production. Play by Associate Provost for the Arts Alan Brody; 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. – Writers Group. New writers are invited 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. – Bible Study. Is there more to life than directed by Senior Lecturer Michael Ouellette. $8, $6 students to join our weekly Writers Group (sponsored by the Writing and grad school? We believe the answer is “YES!.” Come study the $8, $6 students, available in Lobby 10 the week of performances Communication Center). Share a piece of your writing with other word of God with us. There will be dinner provided and games or at the door. Room: Kresge Little Theater. Sponsor: Dramashop. supportive writers. Open to all MIT students, staff, faculty, and afterward. Free. Room: 1-150. Sponsor: Asian Baptist Student 8:00 p.m. – Bat Boy. MIT Musical Theatre Guild IAP production of spouses. Free. Room: 14N-417. Sponsor: Writing and Communi- Koinonia Graduate Division, GSC Funding Board. the comic horror masterpiece by Laurence O’Keefe (music and cation Center. 8:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. – Sangam Movies. Screening of popular lyrics) and Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming (book), about a half- 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. – ACDL Seminar. Development of a High- movies. Please subscribe to [email protected]. Free. boy, half-bat and the girl who loves him. $10; $8 MIT faculty, er-Order DG Multigrid Solver for Aerodynamic Applications. Free. Sponsor: Sangam, GSC Funding Board. staff, seniors and student; $6 MIT/Wellesley students. Room: Room: 33-206. Sponsor: AeroAstro. 8:00 p.m. – Bat Boy. MIT Musical Theatre Guild IAP production of Sala de Puerto Rico. Sponsor: Musical Theatre Guild, MIT. 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. – FileMaker User Group. Meeting of the the comic horror masterpiece by Laurence O’Keefe (music and MIT FileMaker User Group. Free. Room: N42 Demo Center. Spon- lyrics) and Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming (book), about a half- sor: Information Systems, MIT User Groups. boy, half-bat and the girl who loves him. $10; $8 MIT faculty, Sunday, February 8 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. – Asymptotic Analysis of Flow in Reactive staff, seniors and student; $6 MIT/Wellesley students. Room: Porous Media and Motion of a Sphere Close to a Boundary. Spe- 11:00 a.m. – Asha General Meeting. General meeting of Asha- Sala de Puerto Rico. Sponsor: Musical Theatre Guild, MIT. MIT, the MIT chapter of “Asha for Education”, a voluntary student cial Physical Mathematics Seminar. Free. Room: 2-338. Sponsor: 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. – Portuguese Student Association Spring Physical Mathematics Seminar. organization which aims to catalyze socioeconomic change in Dinner. Please join us for an evening of Portuguese cuisine. To India through education of underprivileged children. Free. Room: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. – SSL Seminar (Dave Miller/Ray Sed- register, please send an email to [email protected]. This wick). SSL Movie Day — Dave Miller to welcome students for the 4-253. Sponsor: ASHA-MIT. event is sponsored by the GSC funding board. All graduate stu- 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. – International Folk Dancing (participato- Spring 2004 semester. Free. Room: 37-212. Sponsor: AeroAstro. dents are welcome. $3. Room: TBA. Sponsor: Portuguese Student 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. – Eloranta Awards Presentation. The 2003 ry). International folk dancing. Teaching and beginners’ dances Association. GSC Funding Board. from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. A mixture of all skill levels from 9:00 to Eloranta Fellowship Award Recipients will give presentations on the 8:00 p.m. – Company of Angels. February 5-7, February 12-14 IAP final results of their projects. Question and Answer sessions will 11:00. Our repertoire includes dances from Eastern Europe (Bul- production. Play by Associate Provost for the Arts Alan Brody; garia, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, and others) as well as follow. Free. Room: 4-270. Sponsor: Office of Academic Services. directed by Senior Lecturer Michael Ouellette. $8, $6 students 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. – ‘Tute lbGt Ice cream Friday (TGIF). This other parts of the world. Free for MIT/Wellesley students. Sug- tickets available in Lobby 10 the week of performances or at the gested donation of $1 from others. Room: Lobby 13. Sponsor: spring-term tradition is an opportunity for LBGT and friendly folks door. Room: Kresge Little Theater. Sponsor: Dramashop. from all over campus to meet, socialize, network, and, most Folk Dance Club. importantly, have ice cream and cookies. Come now before the Saturday, February 7 term work piles up!. Free. Room: Rainbow Louge (50-306). Spon- Monday, February 9 sor: lbgt@mit. 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. – Graduate Christian Fellowship Bible 4:00 p.m. – BCS Colloquium - Daeyeol Lee, Ph.D. Talk Title: Study. Currently studying the gospel of Luke. Free. Room: Edger- 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. – Dreamweaver Quick Start. “Game Theory, Decision Making, and Prefrontal Cortex.” Free. ton Apt. 221. Sponsor: Graduate Christian Fellowship. Dreamweaver is a powerful tool for creating and managing com- Room: E25-117. Sponsor: Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Hosted 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. – Isshinryu Karate Workout. Traditional plex web sites. This session introduces users to the by Sebastian Seung. Okinawan Karate in a Small Club Environment. Free. Room: Dreamweaver interface and gives a brief overview of web publish- 4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. – Completely Positive Matrices, Graphs DuPont Exercise Room. Sponsor: Isshinryu Karate-do at MIT. ing practices at MIT. Free. Room: N42 Demo Center. Sponsor: with No Long Odd Cycles and Graphs with No Short Odd Cycles. 1:00 p.m. – Varsity Men’s Basketball vs. Coast Guard. Free. Information Systems. Refreshments at 3:30 PM in Room 2-349. Free. Room: Room 2- Room: Rockwell Cage. 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. – Nuclear & Particle Theory Seminar. Glue- 338. Sponsor: Combinatorics Seminar. Department of Mathemat- 3:00 p.m. – Varsity Women’s Basketball vs. Clark. Free. Room: ball Regge Trajectories. Free. Room: Center for Theoretical ics. Rockwell Cage. Physics. 6:00 p.m. – Shabbat Services & Dinner. Celebrate Shabbat. MIT 5:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. – Tech Model Railroad Club Meeting. An 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. – Preparing for the Internship Search. Hillel’s three religious communities hold Shabbat services at 6:00 informal meeting where we design and build the layout and run Learn general information about internships such as: what is an p.m. (Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform). A community Shabbat trains. Visitors welcome. Students welcome to join the club. (Club internship, application deadlines, how do you find internships, dinner follows at 7:00 p.m. Cost for dinner only. Room: Religious members go to dinner between 6:30 and 7:30, room may be when and where to look for internships, compensation and Activities Center (W11). Sponsor: Hillel, MIT. empty at this time.). Free. Room: N52-118. Sponsor: Tech Model resources. All workshops require pre-registration. Register for 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. – Vassilopita. The Hellenic Students Asso- Railroad Club (TMRC). workshops at http://web.mit.edu/career/www/services/work- ciation is cutting the traditionalVasilopita (New Years Pie). We will 7:00 p.m. – Varsity Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Connecticut College. shops.html, select Calendar of Workshops. Free. Room: 56-114. watch the Greek movie “Ayth h Nyxta Menei”(“This night Free. Room: Johnson Ice Rink. Sponsor: Career Services Office. remains”, PG-13). Refreshments will be served. Free. Room: 4- 7:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. – Lantern Festival Performance and 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. – Choice of Major Fair. A great way for you 237. Sponsor: Hellenic Students’ Association, GSC Funding Dance Party. Wonderful performance by your fellow students from to find out first hand information about MIT majors from fellow Board. MIT (Xiao Pin and Xiang Sheng), also students from Harvard and students that have taken the classes and looked for the UROP’s. 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. – GCF Large Group Fellowship Meeting. University of Massachusetts, Lowell, plus guest performers. Information will focus on what classes to take, what UROP’s to Come for worship, a stimulating talk, fellowship, and snacks. Dance party will follow immediately after the performance and get, and what you can do with careers in each of the majors. Staff Free. Room: Student Center Twenty Chimneys (W20-306). Spon- water will be provided. Free for MIT students and their families. from the HASS office will be available to answer questions about sor: Graduate Christian Fellowship, GSC Funding Board. Free. Room: W20-208. Sponsor: Chinese Student and Scholar the humanities requirements and concentrations. Free. Room: 7:00 p.m. - 11:59 p.m. – MIT Anime Club Weekly Showing. The Association. Sala de Puerto Rico. Sponsor: Academic Resource Center. MIT Anime Club shows the best of both recent and classic Japan- 8:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. – Sangam Movie Special. Movie Screen- 4:00 p.m. – Spring Biological Chemistry Seminar Series: Prof. ese animation. Showings are open to the public. Free. Room: 6- ings. Emails are typically sent out if you subscribe to sangam- Jon Clardy, Harvard. DNA-based approaches to small molecule 120. Sponsor: Anime Club, MIT, UA Finance Board. [email protected]. Free. Room: 2-105. Sponsor: Sangam, GSC discovery. Free. Room: 6-120. Sponsor: MIT Department of Chem- 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. – Board Buys Shabbat Dinner. Join the new Funding Board. istry. Hillel student board for a free kosher Shabbat Dinner. Free. 8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. – Patrol. Travel to strange new class- 7:00 p.m. – Varsity Men’s Volleyball vs. Newbury. Free. Room: Room: W11 Main Dining Room. Sponsor: Hillel, MIT, UA Finance rooms. Meet interesting, unusual people, and kill them! Patrol is DuPont Gymnasium. Board. a high-action game of live combat with rubber-dart guns. Shoot 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. – Graduate Christian Fellowship Bible 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. – ACF Large Group meeting - topic TBA. your friends, then watch out as they try to take their revenge. Study. Studying 1 John. Free. Room: Ashdown Lobby. Sponsor: Worship, teaching, discussion, food, fun! Prayer meeting at 6pm. Free. Room: 36-115. Sponsor: Assassins’ Guild, MIT. Graduate Christian Fellowship. Page 12 THE TECH February 6, 2004 Fees Fund Classes, HFC Says Center, from Page 1 advanced kickboxing, I would be “Like most sport and fitness cen- willing to pay a fee,” she said. ters on college and university cam- My concern is that we are not get- Ko’s husband, David M. Sachs puses, Zesiger Center revenues are ting advanced ones” through the tra- G, who participated in the postering, generated through the sale of mem- ditional PE lottery system. said that, “I noticed that the signs berships and passes, student activity Cheng, however, said that she were being taken down almost fees, locker and facility rentals, spe- would accept a fee for the right rea- instantaneously. I suspect that I was cial events, and other program sons. “If it’s reasonable, I would be being followed.” fees,” Moore said. willing to pay for a class. For Sachs said that he e-mailed Can- Moore added that the HFC instance, if we need equipment for dace L. Royer, director of athletics, “developed incentive programs to about the incident on Tuesday, and cater to the needs of competitive, said he has not yet received a goal-oriented individuals at MIT.” response. He listed as examples the Swim Across Cape Cod Day, the Zesiger HFC explains role at Z center Indoor Triathlon, and the upcoming On its web site, HFC, which has Cardio Conquest incentive pro- recently acquired a management grams. contract with Duke University's ath- In addition to developing new letics center, reports that it “consis- fitness and aquatics programs, tently scores in the 98th percentile Moore said that the HFC also offers for client satisfaction and meets or student employment opportunities. exceeds overall member satisfac- There are currently 40 active stu- tion.” dent workers and the Z Center is The Department of Athletics, looking to hire more, particularly Physical Education, and Recreation for a new position — group exercise website lists over 125 for-credit monitors. These students workers class offerings. Of the classes listed, will receive hourly wages as well as well over 75 percent are available to a free $70 bonus pass. registered students and Z center “We routinely get input from our members for free. Some classes, members and that informs every- like Scuba or Lifeguard Training, thing that we do,” Moore said. have always carried equipment fees. In addition, specialty classes and Cost controversy not new some group exercises now carry Disputes over athletic fees are fees of $30 or more. not something new to the Z Center. Moore said that traditional PE In the early stages of develop- group exercise classes do not carry a ment, controversy arose with the fee and that the free PE classes establishment of a $200 student life offered before HFC came to MIT fee, which goes toward supporting will continue to be a mainstay of the cost of the athletic facility as DAPER programming. Fee-based well as supporting other student life classes were developed “to expand programs. the recreational opportunities MIT staff members also saw offered to students” and other their annual athletics center mem- patrons, he said. bership costs rise to $375 from Moore said HFC negotiated with $150. A faculty member who DAPER to ensure that students who wished to remain anonymous said wanted to take the newly developed that she hoped the higher fees group exercise or specialty classes would not eliminate staff participa- would be able to receive PE credit. tion in athletic activities and that “I think HFC is seen as a corpo- she would be upset if the classes rate entity and that’s simply not that she liked were cancelled accurate. My entire career has been because staff could no longer afford in collegiate recreation and although to participate. there is a limited budget to provide Despite general opposition, the new classes, HFC’s goal has always compulsory student life fees and been to develop activities at the staff athletics center membership most affordable cost for students cost increases were instituted by and other Zesiger Center members,” MIT as of September 2002 and have he said. remained ever since. February 6, 2004 THE TECH Page 13 Shorter Panhel Rush Yields 122 Bids, 114 Pledges

By Tongyan Lin girls registered for recruitment. Last ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR year was the first year Panhel recruit- Sorority Pledge Numbers Bids were offered to 122 girls at ment occurred during IAP instead of the conclusion of MIT’s sorority rush at the beginning of the school year. Sorority Pledges on Monday night, said Panhellenic Lee said that one reason the num- Association vice president of recruit- ber of bids accepted increased was Alpha Chi Omega 26 ment Susie Lee ’05. About 200 girls that rush this year was half as long as Sigma Kappa 28 registered to participate in recruit- last year’s, so that fewer girls had ment. Of the 122 bids, 114 were dropped out at the end of rush than Alpha Phi 29 accepted. last year. In addition, the second Kappa Alpha Theta 27 Lee confirmed that there were 26 weekend of rush last year occurred new members for Alpha Chi Omega, after classes began. Alpha Epsilon Phi 4 28 new members for Sigma Kappa, Lee also said that another poten- 29 new members for Alpha Phi, 27 tial reason that the number of bids Total 114 new members for Kappa Alpha was higher was because the members Theta, and four new members for who coordinated recruitment made Alpha Epsilon Phi. Each girl who and effort to have more personal All numbers were confirmed by Panhel participated received a bid from only contact with the girls. They “called Vice President of Recruitment Susie Lee `05 one sorority. all the girls who didn’t show up,” she said. SOURCE: PANHELLENIC ASSOCIATION Sorority pledges up a quarter Jessica B. So ’05, recruitment About 25 percent more girls chair for the Kappa Alpha Theta the shorter recruitment period helped successful, but hoped that Panhel five sororities on Thursday and Fri- pledged this year than did last year, sorority, said she thought recruitment keep the energy and enthusiasm of will be able to repeat the perfor- day night of recruitment. “The basic when 91 girls pledged, said Lee, went very well. “We got a diverse the week high. mance of this year over last year, idea is to make it as fair as possible,” although about the same number of class of girls,” she said. She thought Lee thought that recruitment was mentioning that this year had Lee said. increased advertising and “more On Saturday and Sunday, the meaningful programming and public girls visited fewer houses, and on relations” than last year. Sunday night, they ranked their top A more informal recruitment two choices. Bids were then extend- occurs for upperclassmen each fall, ed from sororities to girls who said Lee. ranked them in their top two. Girls that only put one sorority down in Recruitment weekend packed their ranks chose to “suicide” and get The girls who participated in Pan- put on the waiting list for bids, said hel Recruitment had mixed feelings Dong. about the length of recruitment. Huawei Dong ’07, who pledged New members happy with bids Sigma Kappa, said the short schedule Graham said she was happy with meant that she didn’t really have the her bid and accepted it immediately. opportunity to know each of the She said she did not originally intend sororities very well. to join a sorority when she came to Christine L. Graham ’07, who MIT, but participated in recruitment pledged to Alpha Phi, said she because her friends were participat- “thought it was really compressed in ing. “When I met the girls of [Alphi time,” and she had a short time peri- Phi], I really felt like I got along with od in which to make the decision. them” and had “a lot in common,” On the other hand, Lara L. Hersh- with them, Graham said. covitch ’07, who pledged Alpha Ph, Adrienne E. Hunacek ’07, who said she thought there was “plenty of pledged to Alpha Epsilon Phi, said time,” and she “got to know each she was “really happy” with her bid, [sorority] really well.” “had a lot of fun, and met a lot of Each girl was required to visit all new people.”

STEPHANIE LEE—THE TECH David Lin ’06 speaks with a representative from Raytheon at the MIT Tau Beta Pi Career Fair in Rockwell Cage on Thursday. The fair was sponsored by Guidant, Deutshe Bank and Microsoft. Page 14 THE TECH February 6, 2004 Health Costs Above Stanford’s

Health, from Page 1

to protest the decreasing ability of graduate students to afford studying at Cambridge. It is more than a health insurance issue, “it’s a cost of living issue,” he said. The petition compares the costs of health plans at MIT, Harvard, Stanford and Princeton, and also shows the trend in cost of living for the past four years. It can be accessed at http://petition.mit.edu. Based on a lower estimate for 3. expenses from the Practical Plan- ning Guide for Graduate Students $2,600 of debt. in 2002 to subsidize 50 percent of available at http://web.mit.edu/ The actual contribution of health the premium for graduate students gso/Planguide.pdf, over the past insurance to this rise in costs, how- earning more than $2,000. four years, the disposable income ever, is small compared to housing Thus while the unsubsidized pre- for graduate students had already and food: the insurance premium mium costs $1,728, most Stanford been dropped significantly going rose by $600 to this year, but a 15 students pay only $860. into last year. percent increase on housing and Ann George, assistant dean for MIT’s guideline for stipend lev- food this year would equal a $2,300 research and graduate policy at els for science research assistants increase. Stanford, said that Stanford funded has increased by $6,360 from the the subsidy in part by increasing the 1999-2000 year to this year, howev- Other institutions subsidize plan cost of its students to research er the cost of living increased by While the true cost of actually grants and fellowships and also $6,145 last year alone. providing health care coverage is using some funds provided by the Extrapolating from the fact that roughly equal for Harvard, MIT and Provost of the university. the cost of living has increased by Stanford, the fraction that is directly The 50 percent subsidy, howev- approximately 15 percent over the paid by the student varies signifi- er, will not effectively keep costs past two years, another 15 percent cantly. down for much longer because the increase this year would put the In the face of rapidly rising premium increased by 17 percent average research assistant into about costs, for example, Stanford chose this year. According to the petition, Har- vard in some cases pays the entire fee for their graduate students. Abo- Shaeer said that this claim is based on talks with graduate students in the sciences at Harvard. However, University Health Services Director David Rosenthal said that the subsidy varies across different schools within Harvard and that there is no overall Harvard policy. Type of possible subsidy unclear Offner said that the costs for next year would be discussed by a committee of students, including the Graduate Student Council, administrators, and physicians, and that it would weigh the trade-offs between expense and decreased coverage. “We want to make it possible for students to be here comfort- ably,” Colbert said. There is “not a whole lot of spare change going around.” WAN YUSOF WAN MORSHIDI—THE TECH Bat Boy (David C. Poland '04) begins to yield to his hunger for Colbert said that there was cur- blood despite his desire to be civilized, during the Musical rently no preferred method for sub- Theatre Guild’s production of Batboy. sidizing the health premium at MIT. There are several possible ways that MIT might reduce the amount a student pays, such as including the premium in research grant costs, paying the costs out of endowment income, or increasing the graduate student stipend. He said that MIT typically increased the student stipend instead of subsidizing the expense internally. However, because grad- uate student income is taxed by the government, this method has become increasingly inefficient as costs have risen. During the current budget crunch, however, MIT has decreased its internal subsidy for graduate student tuition by 15 per- cent, making each student signifi- cantly more expensive to fund in a research grant. Provost Robert A. Brown has said that MIT’s graduate school is already among the most expensive in the nation.

Solution to Crossword from page 10 February 6, 2004 THE TECH Page 15 Hedge Funds, Gifts, Weak Real Estate Lessen Endowment Endowment, from Page 1 through market volatility, but all of us are very long-term investors, Bufferd said. and we do come through these In a Jan. 25 Boston Globe story, patches,” Curry told the Globe. Executive Vice President John R. The Institute’s budget crunch Curry said that venture capital prompted officials to close the funds were the main cause of the school over winter break, freeze slip in MIT’s endowment funds. faculty and staff salaries, and to Bufferd said that while venture layoff approximately 250 MIT capital loss “was clearly a factor in employees in an effort to save $35 2001 and 2002,” the decline has million. According to Provost “bottomed out,” and did not effect Robert A. Brown, MIT expected to the 2003 report in any major way. save $10 million by freezing BEN GALLUP—THE TECH Currently, venture capital funds salaries. The amount of money Stephen Notley, creator of Bob the Angry Flower, draws his webcomic’s titular character during represent less than 10 percent of saved by the holiday closures and Thursday's LSC “The New Funnies” webcomic panel — the first in a series of four. MIT’s total investments, he said. layoffs is not yet available. Instead, Bufferd cited changes in types of gifts to the Institute, limited exposure to hedge funds, and the weak real estate market in Cambridge as possible causes for the 2003 decline. Also, while MIT has seen a positive return on investments in 2003, investment results were not as strong as those at peer institutions, he said. Hedge funds typically earn income by investing against a pre- dicted change in the value of a stock. That is, if you anticipate a stock to fall tomorrow, you can sell the stock today and buy it back when it becomes cheaper, yielding a profit. This can be practiced when the market is falling, or can be done on an international level, taking advantage of rising and falling currency rates. While MIT received roughly the same amount in gifts in ’02 and ’03 ($236 million in ’02 and $237 mil- lion in ’03), the amounts designat- ed for specific projects outside the endowment changed. Bufferd said that gifts received for the endow- ment were “significantly less” as compared to those in 2002 and “decreased by about $50 million.” Gifts can be either designated for a specific purpose, such as a building project, scholarship funds, or research, or they can be con- tributed to the endowment, in the hopes that investment returns will fund a project. “We’re in the midst of a fairly major capital campaign which by many measures has been enor- mously successful,” Bufferd said. In addition to the changes in the nature of gifts, Bufferd said that MIT’s limited exposure to hedge funds may have affected the 2003 Eloranta Awards Friday, February 6th 3:00 PM endowment. Final Presentations: Room 4-270 Bufferd said that the managers of MIT’s endowment are using hedge funds, but less frequently The 2003 Award Winners are: than other universities. In addition, the weak real estate climate in Cambridge has brought Bob Yin, ‘04 Biology down income from MIT’s land Growing Up in the Shadows of the Cultural Revolution: Anna Bershteyn, ‘06 Materials Science And Eng and holdings, as both income from ten- Short Fiction Inspired By Personal Histories Kaia Dekker, ‘06 Physics ants and the appraisal value of real estate has slipped. Traditional Life and Technological Change: Learning Maia Mahoney, ‘05 Electrical Eng. & Computer Science from Dine Voices Across Generations Officials hope to attain stability A Biological Register: The Application of Site-Specific Provost Robert A. Brown told Recombination for the Construction of Biological Monami Chakrabarti, ‘03 Sloan School of Management The Tech in November that this should be the last year the endow- Memory Getting the Boss to Behave: A Comparative Study of ment shows a downward slope, Trade Unions and Corporate Governance Reform in the and that he expects it to grow in Debora Lui, ‘03 Architecture & Management US and UK the next fiscal year. “We made judgments that Examining the Cycle of Influence Between Architucture served us extremely well in the & Performance in the Twentieth Century Theater Rabi Upadhyay, ‘03 Mathematics late 90’s, but lately they haven’t Redefining Medicine: Modern Healthcare in the Third served us as well” as the stock market has suffered, said Alexan- Noramay J. Cadena, ‘03 Mechanical Engineering World der V. D’Arbeloff ’49, former “Through their Eyes Only: Unveiling the Person behind chair of the MIT corporation and the Stigma” member of MIT’s Investment Committee. Bufferd said that the endow- ment was “up significantly” by All are welcome to attend. roughly a few hundred million in December compared to last June. The market has been on an upward Refreshments will be served following the presentations. trend since March of last year, and MIT has mirrored that growth, he Deadline for the 2004 Eloranta Fellowships award is February 27th 2004 said. There are still five months to go in the 2004 fiscal year, and much For more information please visit: http://web.mit.edu/eloranta/ can transpire in that time, he said. “It's always tough going Page 16 THE TECH February 6, 2004 The Production Department’s Word of the Day Anil:The indigo plant or the blue dye obtained from it. Housing Office Says [email protected] Demand Has Risen Lottery, from Page 1 says Vincent Wu ’06, “but it's the best they can do.” Wu moved from during the IAP talk. “Also among Burton-Conner to East Campus in the problems is the demand for first the fall. choice assignments versus the lim- “I moved from Burton-Conner ited capacity and the continued for a change of social atmos- efforts of MIT Housing to derive phere,” he said. “Burton-Conner the lottery system with the fewest didn’t fit my personality. I was students being unhappy with where moving to a place not everybody they were put.” wanted to move to, but it had a Students who applied to the lot- shorter waiting list, and there were tery had mixed reactions to the a lot of rumors that it had better system. “It's not the best system,” social atmosphere.” Dormitory Lottery Results*

Dormitory # Moved Out # Moved In Baker 1 12 Bexley 0 3 Burton-Conner 17 6 East Campus 2 9 MacGregor 4 7 McCormick 3 3 New House 4 5 Next House 18 2 Senior 2 2 Simmons 9 11 Total 60 60 *7 people who entered the lottery could not move; they put down only one or two choices SOURCE: TONY GRAY

Find your nearest link at

We’re looking for proposals for events, activities, and educational programs to enhance racial and cultural relations at MIT. All members of the MIT community — students, faculty, and staff — are welcome to apply.

Proposals are reviewed on a monthly basis. Applications are to be received by the first school day of any month from October to May. Applicants will be notified of a decision by the middle of the month. For more information or an application, contact the Committee on Campus Race Relations at 3-1706, or [email protected]. WATCH DAWG: “ BEST POWERFUL! BRITISH FILM Nomination Articulate, intense and daring!” BAFTA 2004 Lisa Schwarzbaum, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Person who claims they were among the first OFFICIAL SELECTION TELLURIDE “NOT TO BE MISSED!” TORONTO Karen Durbin, ELLE to start downloading movies. Film Festivals 2003

“AN ASTONISHING JOURNEY... ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!" Jeffrey Lyons, NBC THE NEWEST WAY TO GET HIT MOVIES: DOWNLOAD THEM. STUDENTS GET 25% OFF* ALL MOVIES AT COLLEGE.MOVIELINK.COM A TRUE STORY BASED ON THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A KEVIN MACDONALD FILM

WWW.IFCFILMS.COM/TOUCHINGTHEVOID EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT *Terms and conditions apply. See website for details. NOW PLAYING! February 6, 2004 PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY THE TECH Page 17 Are We Ready for a Minority President? to the top” with hard work, I find it very have seen Al Sharpton and Carol Moseley don’t have an address to register with. improbable that a man can rise from the dregs Braun. Braun, a former US Senator, recently There are probably many other intangible Natasha N. Rushing of society to one of the most reputable positions dropped out of the race. Sharpton recently constructs of our society that are working in the world in the time span of only 36 years. received zero percent voter support in the Iowa against the election of a black president. Is the United States ready for a minority Secondly, the number of blacks in Con- Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary. Being a black woman, I would love to think president? gress is pathetically low. White males repre- Democratic sources say Braun felt it was time that this country has reached a point of equali- It is very easy for people to immediately sent approximately 40 percent of the US pop- to quit because her campaign failed to catch ty for all, but then I would only be fooling reply “yes” in response to this question. Yet, ulation, yet comprise 77 percent of the House fire. Solely based on the trends of black presi- myself. I do believe that one day this country if our country is ready, then why has a minori- of Representatives and 87 percent of the Sen- dential candidates, things aren’t looking too will have a black president, and apparently I ty candidate yet to survive the cuts of the ate, a total of 79 percent of Congress. African- good for the possibility of a black president. am not the only one. The television drama 24 party caucuses and primaries to receive the americans (both male and female) represent Finally, the number of minority voters in and the movie blockbuster Deep Impact both nomination? I venture to say that we are in approximately 13 percent of the U.S. popula- the country is disproportionate due to voting have black presidents, so others are definitely denial of political inequalities, and the realiza- tion, 9 percent of the House, zero percent of restrictions. With the exceptions of Maine, open to the idea. But as usual, reality is far tion of a minority president is nowhere in the the Senate, a total of 7 percent of Congress. Vermont, and Massachusetts, the remaining behind the imagination of Hollywood. near future. There are many things in this How can we expect the American people to 47 states and the District of Columbia prohibit The question of whether our country is country that we overlook that may be holding elect a black president when they cannot keep a inmates serving felony convictions from vot- ready for a minority president is one we should back our electoral process from reaching its black Senator in office? Perhaps there just ing in any public elections. While a majority all contemplate. The true answer to this ques- full potential envisioned by our forefathers of aren’t that many blacks aspiring to public office. of states restore voting rights to convicted tion now and in the future will be revealed at representing all citizens of this country. Let us Even still, that cannot possibly account for the felons after they complete their prison terms the ballot boxes. In closing, I would like to look at the primary example of African-ameri- fact that there are currently no black senators. or probation periods, at least ten states, urge all fellow students to vote. Based on the cans in national public offices. Next, we can look at the trends for the including Virginia, Delaware and New Mexi- most recent census, only 63.9 percent of the First, the time elapsed since the end of bla- blacks who have braved to run for the Presi- co permanently prohibit former felons from voting population is registered and only 54.7 tant racial discrimination in this country is dential office. Jesse Jackson ran for the nomi- voting. Due to the war on crime and racial percent of the voting population actually votes. equivalent to an eye blink in the span of history. nation of the Democratic Party in 1984 and profiling, there is a disproportionate amount There is a problem with that, especially Slavery in America, which ended approximate- 1988. Both times, he was unable to win the of blacks convicted of felonies. Thus, more since active participation in government is one ly 140 years ago in 1865, was in place for over nomination. Colin Powell was speculated to blacks are losing their rights to vote. This is of the principles that this country was founded 250 years. If you consider the assassination of become a candidate in the Presidency in 1996, not to say that these felons would vote for a upon. Please make an effort to learn about this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the end of the but did not enter the race. In 2000, Alan Keyes black presidential candidate or even at all, but year’s presidential candidates and vote. The civil rights movement, then there have only ran for the Republican Presidential nomination, it is something to think about. Also, there are first step to change is action. been 36 years between then and now. Despite but eventually stepped down from the race. In thousands of homeless people who are unable Natasha N. Rushing is a member of the the american ideal that any person can “make it this year’s Democratic Candidacy Race, we to exercise their right simply because they class of 2005. Diversity GIR Will Benefit Race By the Numbers MIT Community Terrence R. Strader come and speak to the classes. Dr. Clarence Williams’ book, “Technology and the Dream,” would be a great place to start searching for From building and remodeling roads and alumni dedicated to addressing diversity issues buildings to evaluating and articulating the on campus. These alumni could come and reflect goals, content, and structure of the MIT com- on their experiences here at MIT, and inform the mon undergraduate educational experience, MIT students how much has changed or stayed the is in the process of a complete “makeover.” same since they were here. We must continue to One aspect of this makeover that has come break down barriers and progress forward. Actu- out in the open this past semester is the idea of al testaments would be great exposure to what is MIT adopting a diversity General Institute going on or has gone on in our society, instead of Requirement. The lack of education in the areas simply reading articles or watching videos. of race, ethnicity, and culture is a major prob- A diversity class would not only improve the lem in our society today. Racism, discrimina- first year educational experience, but also the tion, and segregation are severe effects caused lifetime educational experience. Because most by this problem, which currently plague com- first year students come from high schools that munities across the world. Using education as a presented students with homogeneous racial set- tool to inform others in our society about the tings, they would greatly benefit from a college many diverse people in this world would help where there is so much diversity and the oppor- —U.S. CENSUS BUREAU to eliminate the discrimination and prejudice tunity to discuss and explore the different people that cripples our society on a daily basis. around them. Taking this class will allow stu- A diversity requirement is not new for most dents to learn more about everyone around them colleges and universities. According to and feel more so a part of the crowd. When the www.diversityweb.org, 63 percent of colleges and class ends and the students begin the transition universities either have in place a diversity into their sophomore year, they could begin tak- requirement or are in the process of developing ing full advantage of the environment MIT pro- one. Some notable schools with diversity require- vides and develop into better leaders. ments in place include Boston College, Brown Advocates for Awareness (AFA) held a University, Penn State, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and forum this past November to get the opinion of Wellesley College. Most of these schools require the MIT community regarding the adoption of a their students to select from a list of designated diversity GIR. The audience consisted of about classes to complete the diversity requirement. 60 students, faculty, and administrators who Many colleges and universities are beginning generally supported the idea of having a diver- to recognize that they can play a pivotal role in sity GIR. The structure of the class was the addressing the enduring problems of race rela- main area of debate. One of MIT’s current tions. For example, the University of Virginia courses, 11.023, “Bridging Racial and Cultural experienced a highly publicized racially charged Differences,” was suggested as a model for the incident on their campus just last year, when class. At the end of the forum, a committee was Daisy Lundy, a candidate for a hotly contested formed to continue to investigate the idea of Student Council election who is of African- MIT adopting a diversity GIR. American and Korean heritage, was attacked by This past semester, Tobie Weiner’s class an assailant who allegedly used a racial slur dur- Solving Problems in Race and Education ing the attack. After this incident, the University (17.907) took on the project of assessing the —NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS of Virginia realized that they could play a role in feasibility of implementing a diversity GIR as preventing future racially charged incidents and its final project. established a committee to explore a diversity The class found that many professors who requirement for their school. Will it take some- already teach subjects focused on diversity sup- thing like this to occur at MIT in order for the ported the idea and expressed interest in teach- institute to realize that they play a pivotal role in ing a diversity GIR class. Professor of Writing addressing these enduring racial problems? Kenneth Manning said that he thought it was For years, MIT has tried to use different “scandalous that we don’t already have a diver- approaches to promote awareness and under- sity GIR.” standing on the issues of diversity and race by The class will continue to investigate the offering a number of racial programs, extracur- possibility of a diversity GIR this upcoming ricular activities, workshops, and discussions. semester. Members of the committee created Many students and even faculty members of our after the AFA forum will also work towards the campus have overlooked these opportunities. goal of helping to implement a diversity GIR. Now it is time to take a bigger step and increase We are currently moving towards the light our efforts. in seeing a diversity GIR at MIT. A number of This necessary expansion of diversity students who support the idea have applied to awareness would come from a required diversi- join the task force on the educational commons ty class here at MIT. This class would be one of and the student advisory group for selecting the the eight required HASS classes; it could satisfy next MIT President in order to provide a voice Phase I (if necessary), and could be listed as a for the adoption of a diversity GIR. If you are Communications Intensive class. Consider the interested in learning more about the idea of following benefits: MIT adopting a diversity GIR, e-mail Advo- Alumni are very important people here at cates for Awareness at [email protected]. MIT. They are motivators and mentors for many —MIT REFERENCE PUBLICATIONS OFFICE students. Alumni could continue to play this role, Terrence R. Strader ’04 is a member of the but on a more active basis. If we have a manda- Committee on Campus Race Relations and the tory class on diversity, we could have alumni founder of Advocates for Awareness. Page 18 THE TECH February 6, 2004 The GSC Column GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL This article marks the first install- graduate student body, the GSC has May/June — Successfully worked GSC has won awards in eight over the vice between the graduate residence ment of a bi-weekly piece sponsored compiled a mid-year review of its with the administrators to reduce the last five years. halls in the northwest area and main by the Graduate Student Council major accomplishments since May net impact of a 60 percent increase in October — The GSC Grad Rat campus. (GSC) called the GSC Column, 2003. As the timeline below only lists health insurance premiums to 20 per- premiered, representing the first cus- January — In conjunction with the named after our logo. Its purpose will the highlights of our activities, we cent for most graduate students. A tomized ring for graduate students. Undergraduate Association, the GSC be to keep the student body up-to-date invite you to visit our website for process for monthly billing for health With individual designs available for organized the first ever student advi- on the GSC’s activities and programs. more information about the Council insurance premiums was also devel- every graduate department and pro- sory group to the corporation commit- The GSC is the representative student or to find out how you can get oped and implemented. gram, the new ring reflects the diver- tee on the Presidency. This group will government for all graduate students involved at http://web.mit.edu/gsc. July — Helped to found the stu- sity of graduate culture and embodies collect input from the student body and is composed of nearly a dozen If there are any issues that you dent health advisory committee the collective experience at MIT. concerning qualities and experiences boards and committees, and over 250 would like to see addressed in future (SHAC), which will address issues More detailed information is available they wish to see in MIT’s next Presi- volunteers. It organizes more than 100 installments of the GSC Column, related to health care at MIT, such as at http://web.mit.edu/gsc/www/initia- dent. It will submit a report to the programs, initiatives, and events each please visit our website and submit women’s health, electronic services, tives/ring. MIT Corporation outlining these traits year. them via the online form. Remember, and health insurance. November — In conjunction with and providing recommendations for As part of its commitment to we’re here to work for you! July — Was part of a group that the Black Graduate Students Associa- possible candidates. We welcome transparency and accountability to the successfully worked with administra- tion, received funding from the Grad- input from the student body at tors to get Z-Center hours extended to uate Students Office for the proposal http://web.mit.edu/gsc/www/initia- better serve student members. to support activities aimed at increas- tives/president/. July — Hosted “Acoustic BBQ” ing the recruitment of underrepresent- January — Hosted its annual ski series, featuring live music and tasty ed minorities in the graduate school. trip to Smuggler’s Notch in Vermont. dishes, and served over a thousand In January, the Office of the Provost This year’s much-anticipated trip saw students who came to hang out and also joined in sponsoring the initia- nearly 400 participants and sold out in MIT enjoy the Boston summer. tive. a record two days. Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar August/September — Hosted the November — The GSC general Currently — Working via GSC most successful graduate orientation body drafted and adopted a statement COLAB to help ensure that graduate Presents in MIT’s history, with a total atten- calling on the U.S. government to students’ cost of living is addressed. dance of over 4500 students for the implement student visa reforms that Nominations for GSC Committee Professor Naomi Chazan nearly 30 separate activities. will make it less difficult for interna- chair positions are also open this September — Co-sponsored tional students to study in the U.S. month. If you’re interested in getting Robert Wilhelm Fellow, MIT CIS MIT’s largest Career Fair with the December — Worked with the involved in the GSC, please visit Professor of Political Science and African Studies Class of 2004 and the Society of MIT department of transportation and http://web.mit.edu/gsc/www/about/get Women Engineers. the Dean for Graduate Students to involved/ — there’s something for The Hebrew University September — Completed the start the first ever daytime shuttle ser- everyone! Former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset planning process for the GSC cost of living advisory board (GSC COLAB). GSC COLAB is a group that investi- gates graduate student income vs. expenses while formalizing student “ISRAELI PEACE OPTIONS: input into the decision-making related THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX” to on-campus housing rents, health insurance rates and stipends. The aim is to help ensure that graduate student expenses do not exceed their income. October — Celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the GSC with a three- Tuesday, February 10, 2004 day festival that included an alumni 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. reunion, cherry tree dedication cere- mony, banquet, Oktoberfest, and E51-095 birthday party. Supported by Dean for 70 Memorial Drive Graduate Students Ike Colbert and Dean for Student Life Larry Benedict, Cambridge BEN GALLUP—THE TECH GSC alumni spanning 47 years A few of the Super Bowl champion Patriots celebrate with attended the events. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC their cheering fans during Tuesday's homecoming parade. October — The GSC Pictured are (left to right) New England Patriots Mike Vrabel, Website/ShuttleTrack won the Best Willie McGinest, Christian Fauria (top center), Richard Sey- Sponsored by the Center for International Studies Electronic Services Program award, mour (bottom center), Larry Izzo, and Damon Huard. Boston given by the National Association of Police estimate a total crowd of 1.5 million gathered to cele- Graduate Professional Students. Of brate. the ten program categories, the MIT

Retail Half.com

Average Average price price $ /$50 $ /$22 76 used* 43 new* new* used*

You do the math. For a limited time, first-time buyers Save an additional $5 How smart is this: All the textbooks you on purchases of $50 or more.† need for up to 50% off retail prices. New or Simply use this code: used, all you have to do is go to half.com GOMIT and type in the book titles, or ISBN numbers. Same textbooks. Gotta love that new math. Smarter prices.

Copyright 2003-2004 Half.com. Half.com, the Half.com logo, eBay and the eBay logo are trademarks of eBay Inc. All rights reserved. *Average Retail Price of a New Textbook based on data from Follett Corp (as reported by The Associated Press in January 2003). Average Retail Price of a Used Textbook based on data from Monument Information Resources. Average Half.com Price for New and Used Textbooks based on an August/September 2003 analysis of over 500,000 books sold on Half.com. Quantities, pricing and availability are not guaranteed and will vary due to supply and demand. Coupon is for first-time buyers only. Limited time offer; excludes shipping and handling; offer subject to change or termination without prior notice. February 6, 2004 SPORTS THE TECH Page 19 Volleyball Starts New Era at 2-2 MIT Swimming Team By Paul Dill coached the year before) in a hard tributed, getting everyone on the TEAM COACH fought battle. Although the Engi- team their fair share of kills. Hao Having coached the women’s neers played hard and showed Hu ’04 stood out defensively with Takes Second in Final program at MIT for eight seasons moments of brilliance, a rash of ser- ten digs for the match while also helping them to a few national vice errors and tight play allowed adding six service aces. rankings and three Emmanuel to come away with the The win inspired confidence in Meet of Winter Season trips to the NCAA win 3-1. Robert M. McAndrew ’05 their next match, as the Engineers tournament, Head led the offense with 18 kills while would be taken all the way to the By Victoria Anderson take third. In the 100 free, Duffy Coach Paul Dill took fellow middle hitter Robert G. wire against Lasell College. After TEAM MEMBER also took second with her time of over the men’s pro- Aspell ’06, contributed seven kills taking a two games to one lead, The Women’s Swimming and 53.72. The second round of stroke gram in hopes of of his own to the effort. The grow- MIT dropped the fourth game forc- Diving Team closed out its dual races saw Zoller and Dere take third building it to the same prestige. ing pains continued against Mount ing a deciding fifth game. It was meet season with a 176-113 loss at in the 200 back (2:21.36) and 200 The Engineers started the rebuild- Ida College as again the team was then that outside hitter Michelan- Amherst College Jan. breast (2:33.55), respectively. ing process by joining the New plagued by service and receiving gelo A. Raimondi ’06 took control 31, leaving them with Thornton and Hilb posted second England Division of North Eastern errors. Though MIT kept each game of the match, scoring several kills a final record of 6-3 and third place in the 500 free with Collegiate Volleyball Association very close, they could not find the to lead the team to victory 3-2. Jor- for the season (4-1 in times of 5:20.47 and 5:23.00, (NECVA), and after a slow start, winning formula and succumbed to dan X. Wan ’06 dished out 56 NEWMAC). Erin M. respectively. The final individual have managed to even out their an 0-3 defeat. assists in the marathon match, Zoller ’05, Melissa E. event of the meet, the 200 IM, gave record at 2-2. Against Elms College, the Engi- while McAndrew and Javad Golji Dere ’06, Katherine C. Thornton the team second and third place fin- The season saw MIT first face neers started to play more as a team ’06 contributed 22 and 16 kills, ’07, and Kathryn M. Duffy ’04 fin- ishes from Jennifer A. La’O ’05 Emmanuel College (the team Dill as the offense was more evenly dis- respectively. ished behind two Amherst teams in (2:16.60) and Zoller (2:23.89), the 200-yard medley relay, taking respectively. The Beavers wrapped third with a time of 1:56.57. Imme- up the meet with a second-place fin- diately after the relay, Thornton was ish in the 400 free relay, as the team Women’s Track Snatches Second back in the water to take first in the of Hilb, Stephanie A. Sidelko ’07, 1000 free with her 10:46.40 effort. Mabel Y. Feng ’06, and Jennifer J. Though finishing second in the DeBoer ’05 finished in a time of 200 free, Duffy’s time of 1:56.41 3:51.42. Place at TechTrack Classic Meet was a new institute record and a Also contributing to the Beavers’ provisional national qualifying point total were divers Maithilee By Meredith Silberstein fifth place in the 55 meter high of 35’3.5” and took fifth in the long time. Georgene M. Hilb ’04 Kunda ’06 and Jaryn E. Finch ’04. TEAM MEMBER hurdles with a New England Divi- jump. Meredith N. Silberstein ’05 touched in at 1:59.85 to take third. In the one meter event, Kunda took MIT’s Women’s Track team sion III qualifying time of 9.41 rounded out the long jump, taking In the first round of stroke races, second with a total of 127.58, and took second place to Division I team seconds. fourth place and giving MIT four of Dere took second in the 100 breast Finch was third with a total of Holy Cross in a competitive field of MIT dominated the jumping the six scoring positions. with a time of 1:12.10 while Thron- 126.53. In the three meter event, six teams this past events, winning three of the four MIT’s pair of throwers, Adri- ton finished the 200 fly in 2:18.56 Finch was second with a total of Saturday at the Tech- events and filling in many of the enne M. Irmer ’04 and Kelly M. to take third. 139.20, and Kunda was third with a Track Classic. MIT’s other scoring places. Co-captain Johnson ’05, made a strong show- Duffy took another second place total of 125.40. 84.40 points just Catherine A. Tweedie ’04 contin- ing in both the weight throw and in the 50 free with a time of 24.94, edged out third place ued her phenomenal season win- shot put. Irmer just missed the New while Zoller finished in 26.38 to finisher Mount ning the pole vault with a new per- England Division III qualifying Holyoke’s 78.50 and fourth place sonal and facility record of 11’9” standard, taking fourth in the shot NYU’s 74.50. and placing sixth in the long jump. put. Irmer also took second in the Co-Captain Martha W. Buckley Elizabeth H. Au ’07 and Fanchiang weight throw with an All New ’04 was the star of the meet, set- took fifth and sixth in the pole vault England qualifying toss of ting varsity records in the mile and with New England Division III 46’0.50”, followed in third by 1000 in 5:10.23 and 3:05.05, qualifying vaults of 9’7” and 9’1”, Johnson with a personal record of respectively. Andrea Staid ’07 fol- respectively. Nalini Gupta ’05 39’11.25”. Search 24 stores lowed Buckley in the 1000 to take returned from a few weeks off to Both the men’s and women’s with 1 click! fifth place in the New England win the long jump with a college track teams will be competing in Save up to 70% Division III qualifying time of personal record of 16’9” and took the Greater Boston Championships 3:12.90. Christine Fanchiang ’07 second in the triple jump. Nyenke this coming Saturday at Harvard at www.bookhq.com and Chinwe P. Nyenke ’04 tied for won the triple jump with a distance 1 p.m. A new year, a new term. Isn’t it time you tried something new? Join The Tech!

• Established 1881 •

Open House on Sunday, February 8th. News Meeting: 5 p.m. Dinner: 6 p.m. Photo Meeting: 6:10 p.m.

Student Center Room 483, x3-1541 [email protected] Page 20 THE TECH February 6, 2004 SPORTS Super Bowl Blunders MIT Men’s Gymnastics Asymptotic By Yong-yi Zhu In fact, immediately afterwards, SPORTS COLUMNIST there were postings online every- Climb towards the Championship Wasn’t the Super Bowl great? where of the “greatest peep show on Not only did you have another close Earth” with pictures and video By Zachery Eisenstat and bring an energy that is nothing Engen ’03 proved that one can game decided by a last-second play, footage. MTV apologized saying TEAM MEMBER short of refreshing and entertaining never rid themselves of gymnastics, not only that this was not planned and not Winning is not everything. This to an already intriguing and innova- though gymnastics can rid itself of did you intentional. Janet Jackson said that motto is often preached to those tive sport. them. In what could be titled an Column have the there was a wardrobe failure. But seeking a safety net to lessen the Remove the pressure of winning amusing show, this once MIT great longest play in Super Bowl history, none of that seems to be plausible to pain of a fall from and all that is left is room to suc- competed with the team throwing an not only did you have the two me. first. MIT’s men’s ceed. The team’s two gymnasts who impressive tusk layout on vault (a opposing quarterbacks play their Why did she have jewelry on her gymnastics team bares arrived with previous experience round-off back tuck while keeping hearts out, but you even got a brief nipple? Why did only half of her the burden of no such showed an impressive performance, the body straight) coupled with a glance at Janet Jackson’s right shirt rip off? Why did Justin Tim- worry; they have no highlighted by Bradley J. Sutton ’07 few less impressive skills on other breast. Wow, the Super Bowl is a berlake pull her shirt off in the first need for this protec- in his first meet as a Beaver with an events. real treat. place? It seems that the higher qual- tion. exquisite routine on the pommel A successful start to their season, I used to think that people ity the football, the more horrible As the band of acrobatically horse, receiving the highest score of MIT men’s gymnastics proves that watched the Super Bowl to see a the quality the rest of the entertain- inclined brothers proved two Fri- the meet. Another incredible winning is not everything, but that good game, laugh at witty commer- ment. In the last seven years, the days ago at MIT in their season moment for the Engineers was again succeeding at learning and execut- cials, and just plain have fun. It’s no Super Bowl has been decided by a opening meet against Southern Con- a first time exhibition, this time by ing incredible skills just might be. longer the case with football any- touchdown or less four times. In the necticut State University, winning, Luis R. Perez ’06, showing nothing While they are not the best team, the more. At the beginning of the sea- seven years before that, it’s been indeed, is not everything. SCSU short of Herculean strength on the level at which they compete is far son, I commented on how Pepsi and decided by a touchdown or less took the meet scoring 184.2 to rings holding his back lever (body ahead of their years of experience, Britney Spears dominated opening once: the Scott Norwood disaster. In MIT’s 141.7. And while the presea- perpendicular under the rings) with many having only been training for night of the NFL; now at the end of fact, most Super Bowls are son shows incredible improvement, what seemed to be ease. two years in a sport that often takes the season, not only has the market- blowouts, although we only remem- victory does not sit on the team’s This season opener was high- over ten to become competent. It ing not improved, but it’s taken a ber the close ones. immediate horizon, though it is lighted with the return of an MIT seems unquestionable that this team horrific turn for the worse. Before, the commercials were becoming increasingly more imag- gymnastics alum. Former captain is on a track of progress with no This time, instead of overwhelm- the things that kept the audience inable. These gymnasts show a love and four time MVP winner Damian foreseeable end. ing the audience with a pop idol and tuning in and keeping the ratings a soft drink, it was animal violence high. Around the time of the Ten- and nudity. When you think about nessee and St. Louis Super Bowl, NCAA: ACC to Overwhelm Tournament the Super Bowl, you used to think people began tuning in for the of those funny frogs that “Bud,” game, instead of just the commer- By Brian Chase announcers rolled out this statistic: est, and others, the ACC has had “Weis,” and “Er”ed their way into cials. The Kevin Dyson one-yard SPORTS EDITOR “the Jayhawks are 13-0 when scor- more teams rated in the top ten of our hearts. You remembered the reach captivated everyone watching Now that the football season is ing 70 points or more, and 0-3 when both polls than any other confer- Super Bowl when the beer bottles that day despite the lack of quality over, attention in the sports world they don’t.” Well, DUH! When a ence. There was a time earlier this played throughout the course of the in commercials. The Adam can turn to other things, like the team doesn’t score that many points, season when three of the top five real game. You also remembered Vinatieri field goal capped off NCAA they do tend to lose. That statistic teams in the country as rated by the the “Wazzup!!” that made us all another great game that kept us in Division I doesn’t even imply the Jayhawks Coaches’ poll were ACC teams. laugh; well, it at least made half of our seats all the way until the post- Column basketball lose low-scoring games because it And in what may be the most us laugh while the other half went game. season now fully underway. Plus, could just be that the other team important factor, the Ratings Per- “Huh?” Perhaps it’s the fear that people now that the season is roughly half plays better defense and scores a ton centage Index, and rating of basket- I must agree that the Mastercard won’t be tuning in to the big game over, some trends in this year’s of points. These kinds of comments ball teams by calculated statistics commercial was quite clever. Not that forces the networks to show the teams are being revealed. The by ESPN and other college broad- somewhat like the BCS in college only did it feature Homer Simpson crap that they do. They pull all the biggest and most substantiated trend casters bug me. football, has eight of the nine ACC doing Homer Simpson-like things, stops in order to make as much of this year is that the Atlantic Coast College b-ball pundits such as teams in the top 40. That may not but it also amused us without being money as they possibly could. Not Conference is having a great year, SI.com’s Stewart Mandel report that sound impressive, but the RPI has a offensive to anyone. The new Bud only is the Super Bowl important, while several other conferences are a similar change of fortunes to the huge influence on who goes to the commercial on the other hand, fea- but CBS wanted to keep the audi- much worse than they were last Big XII is happening in other con- tournament, and there are only 65 tured a dog biting a man’s crotch in ence for the “Survivor All Star” year. This combination could lead to ferences like the Big Ten and Pacif- tournament bids. These eight teams order for the man to relinquish his episode. an all-time record for tournament ic Ten. There was a series earlier also have at least six more wins than alcohol. Another commercial was But if that’s all that CBS cares bids for one conference. this year where Big Ten teams losses. If the latter part of the season highlighted by a horse discharging about, they can continue showing Before this season, the most played ACC teams, and the ACC continues as the first part has, all gas into the face of a woman in pornography to children at 8:30 p.m. powerful basketball conference won nearly all of those contests. eight of these teams will get into the order to burn her face. On top of at night. Maybe they didn’t realize seemed to be the Big XII, since it The Pac-10 conference has only two tournament, a record number for the that, there is the halftime show that that it’s possible to turn the TV off, had gotten two teams into the Final teams, Stanford and Arizona, that ACC. At the same time, the Big Ten people won’t be forgetting, or be and that’s just what people will do if Four of the NCAA basketball tour- have ever been ranked in the top 25 and Pac-10 could qualify a record forgetting to download, for a while. things become too offensive. nament each of the last two years. on either the Associated Press or low number of teams. But now, none of the three teams College Coaches poll. That is not to The worst part of the ACC domi- that were a part of that trend — say that, like the Pac-10, there aren’t nance trend this year is that it kills, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma — good teams in these conferences, at least for now, my assertion a few UPCOMING HOME EVENTS are in the top ten; they all have at just that there are fewer of them, or weeks ago of parity in college b- least one conference loss, and unher- that the best teams in these confer- ball. But, I look forward to knowing Saturday, Feb. 7 alded Texas Tech and Oklahoma ences aren’t as good as the best that next year, the fates of the col- State are playing better ball. All this teams in these conferences last year. lege conferences will probably 1 p.m., Varsity Men’s Basketball, Coast Guard means that the Big XII heavy hitters And some of the smaller confer- change as much as they did this year 3 p.m., Varsity Women’s Basketball, Clark are not going to dominate this year; ences, which usually contribute a and put a new conference on top of 7 p.m., Varsity Men’s Ice Hockey, Connecticut the conference will not get as many team or two to the tourney, are also things. In addition, for all its regular College tournament bids as in previous struggling to produce a team quali- season dominance, the chance for years, and all the teams that do get in fied for a bid. Across the board, any one ACC team to win the tour- Monday, Feb. 9 will probably be out by the Sweet 16 most college basketball conferences nament is more or less the same as a 7 p.m., Varsity Men’s Volleyball, Newbury or the Elite Eight at the very latest. are weaker this season. good team from any other confer- A digression: I was watching the Except for the ACC, that is. ence. So in that sense at least, Div. I ESPN highlight reel of KU’s loss to Home to Duke, North Carolina, College Basketball is still anybody’s Iowa State last Saturday and the Georgia Tech, NC State, Wake For- game. The Cynical Fan: Why We Assume the Worst About Our Sports Superstars By Yong-yi Zhu summer. He was invited to perform fans must now pose every time a knew that was a lie. So where was Dave Bliss, the head coach of the SPORTS COLUMNIST in the Home Run Derby and batter hits a home run. I can no Clarett getting all the money? Baylor basketball team, covered up Dear LeBron James, promptly declined the invitation. I longer feel like the innocent kid that Well, obviously, not everything many improper financial supports I know that the semester is just think that you can see the resem- goes to a baseball game to see the was kosher with him and the team and several drug tests that showed beginning, and I didn’t want to start blance between the two events, at deep ball; instead, I’m forced to be suspended him for an entire year positive results; Bliss left the pro- on a bad least up to this point. But soon, the adult that wonders if anyone or because of it. It’s sad that the ama- gram afterwards. note. So, I Bonds proceeded to be the jerk he is everyone is cheating. I know the teurs of today must be reminded of Not only did this mishap involve Column would like traditionally known to be. When he cynicism is horrible, but I just can’t their status. The students are too sports, but the life of a college stu- to apologize for the negative com- was asked about why he chose not help it. money-hungry for their own good, dent was at stake as well. It forced ments I almost made about you this to go, Bonds childishly stated that This doesn’t even stop at the pro and often times are not telling the me to think twice about how much week. I had read a blurb that you he did not have to do anything level. Even college programs lie truth about where their money the coaches around the country care would not be participating in the which he did not want to do. about their situations. Take the fias- comes from. LeBron, granted I had about the well-being of themselves NBA All Star game’s dunking com- To think, a superstar denying the co with Maurice Clarett as another the same doubts about you when versus their players. petition despite receiving an invite. chance for his fans to see him in example. Clarett, the ex-running you bought that Hummer, but I I guess those things at least have Immediately, I came to the conclu- action seems rather selfish. What back for the Ohio State Buckeyes, guess everything checked out. Still, made me into more of a skeptic. But sion that you thought you are above were Bonds’ motives for playing the reported that he had various expen- I have to think twice now and be you can see where I’m coming such a silly little contest. Only when game of baseball? This caused me sive equipment that was stolen from skeptical about everything that hap- from, right? I know that most ath- I read the entire article did I remem- to be rather cynical about sports his car. Now, Clarett is just a col- pens in the college realm in terms of letes are still there to play hard and ber your ankle injury and how this players in general. lege student, even though he may be financial aid and signing contracts. entertain the fans, but it’s those few competition would actually be detri- Of course, actions of Barry a potential star. He hasn’t yet signed Another memorable, but horrible that don’t who make us wonder. I mental to your health. Let me Bonds, the man many love to hate, with any companies in order to example happened last year with the know that you yourself have been a explain why I so suddenly jumped do not surprise me. However, those make money, so where was this death of Patrick Dennehy. After his model citizen in Cleveland, and I to conclusions about your situation. of Sammy Sosa, the man everyone expensive equipment coming from? death, the Baylor basketball pro- hope your team does well in the sec- I must stress that this cynicism is loves to love, did. I don’t think any- With that sudden realization, Clarett gram did not come out with all the ond half of the season. not entirely my fault. one was ready to see his corked bat, changed his story and reported that facts so that the investigation could The initial cause that came to and with that shattering bat came a the car was his friend’s and that he be made easier and the truth could Your fan, mind was Barry Bonds from last million questions that the sports was just borrowing it; everyone be found more quickly. Instead, Yong-yi Zhu