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Volume 129, Number 58 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, December 4, 2009 Kabelo Zwane ’12 Kabelo Zwane, a sophomore and his homeland, which has drawn in- MIT’s first student from Swaziland, ternational criticism for its king’s died in Bedford, Mass. on Saturday, lavish spending. But he felt that “I November 7, in an apparent suicide. will defend my culture, I will stand He was 21. for the value in it,” Mhlanga said. From a small village in a rural re- At MIT, he found new convic- gion of the landlocked country eight tions: He converted to Christianity thousand miles away, he came to a in October 2008. Reflecting on the foreign school and country. He is experience in this spring, he wrote: survived by his mother and a sister. “Since I arrived in September I have His quiet, inquisitive man- changed a great deal. I have found a ner made a big impression among faith that fills my life … I have also friends at the African Students As- gained 30 pounds, which is not too sociation, the Campus Crusade for bad.” Christ, and the Experimental Study He met with friends at the Cam- Group. Zwane was soft-spoken, pus Crusade for Christ for Bible spending his time building things studies and prayer times, and he and studying, but around close asked tough questions about modern friends and complete strangers, he faith. was eager to talk about his Christian If religion is so important, why faith and their lives and beliefs. don’t people talk about it more? he Friends remembered Zwane for asked. How could people of faith caring about others and sticking to help solve the world’s problems, like his principles. poverty and homelessness? How Eric D. Schmiedl—The Tech Hackers installed a giant band-aid on MIT’s Great Dome on the night of November 30, right after “When he found something he could faith inform modern justice? the wrapping that had been protecting the Dome during repairs was removed. The band-aid was believed in, he held on to it no mat- And he thought about a fundamental presumably intended to symbolize that the “surgery” was complete. ter what happened,” said Harvard problem of Christianity — if God freshman Dalumuzi Mhlanga at a knew we would turn against him, memorial service on Wednesday. why would he make us? a CCC-Impact Movement Monday Mhlanga met Zwane while both Did his beliefs about equal rights Night Bible Study. were at the Waterford Kamhlaba for gay people conflict with any Abiy Tasissa ’12, who met ASA Releases Results United World College of Southern Christian tenets? Why were there so Zwane at the African Students As- Africa. Zwane joined the Swaziland many different kinds of Christians, sociation, said at a memorial service Gender Awareness Project, a group and how could he convince them to that Zwane loved to talk to strang- From Space Processes; which advocates equal rights for all work together? ers, even those whom others might gay people and women, in a country With friends and strangers alike, ignore. He talked to the homeless, to where homosexuality is illegal and he talked through the hard ques- cab drivers, and to people he didn’t not socially accepted, and where one tions, asking whatever was on his know at bus stations, just as easily as 39 Clubs Will Lose Out in four adults has HIV. mind and learning about how other he talked to his friends. “What are you doing? This is people thought about the world. He frequently talked to his fresh- By John A. Hawkinson (Category Y), and 9 groups “may lose against your culture,” people asked “He wanted to see what made man advisor, ESG co-director Holly News Editor space.” him. But he stuck to it because he people tick, and connect it back to B. Sweet, about religion. “I appreci- The Association of Student Activi- Curiously, 39 groups that currently believed in it, Mhlanga said. Christianity, and share it with oth- ated that he cared about my spiritual ties released preliminary decisions in have space allocated failed to apply to At school in Swaziland, he found- er people,” said friend Clinton L. student group space allocations last retain their space, a surprisingly high ed a club celebrating the culture of Scroggins ’10, who met Zwane at Zwane, Page 13 night. The process, which happens ev- number, Meyer said. Approximately 7 ery two years, determines which student of those 39 are defunct or presumed- groups retain office space and which to-be-defunct. Some major groups that Ten Students Organize ‘Community Tour’; lose it, as well as which groups get stor- failed to apply include the Musical The- age space for equipment and supplies. atre Guild and WMBR Radio. The ASA is a 10-member board Rebecca A. Nicodemus G from MIT President Might Watch on TV—Later elected by representatives of all student WMBR said that WMBR had under- groups. The ASA is chaired by Rachel gone management changes recently, By John A. Hawkinson her executive assistant. copy in some form or fashion.” E. Meyer ’10, who has supervised this and the failure to apply was “surely a News Editor Event organizers wrote to Hockfield Archimides C. Stuk ’10, another of year’s allocation process. mistake.” WMBR will be submitting an A group of MIT students are plan- on November 25 and again on December the organizers, said they had spoken to appeal. ning an event titled the “MIT Com- 2 seeking to schedule the event “to facili- Hockfield’s staff last week and that, as of Groups with existing space Rebecca M. Bianco ’12, MTG’s munity Tour 2009,” scheduled for next tate a unique opportunity for everyone in last week, she was free on the proposed Of the 81 groups with existing President, said that MTG’s board had Thursday, December 10. Labelled the community to learn more about each date. space, 46 will retain their existing space recently transitioned, and believed it “Show Susan Hockfield Anything!”, other.” Organizers have conducted interviews (Category X), though their roommates “possible” that “the application for ASA the event starts in front of Hockfield’s Organizers circulated an e-mail to with MIT community members over the might change. 26 of the 81 will “pos- residence, Gray House, at 10:00 a.m. students yesterday asking “What do you past few weeks to determine areas to fo- sibly move or otherwise change space” ASA Space, Page 12 and will visit locations “that reflect the want to show Susan Hockfield on a cam- cus the tour on, in addition to the e-mail inner workings of MIT that often go un- pus tour to help her understand YOUR survey. noticed,” the announcement said. MIT experience?” “We expect that Susan Hockfield In Short Unfortunately, President Hockfield Informed of Hockfield’s absence, or- will appreciate this gesture as an oppor- will not be present for the tour. She will be ganizer Nicholas J. Grabenstein ’10, said tunity to step back from the tough deci- ¶¶Still waiting for the Planning author speaks today at 4 p.m. in out of town that day, said Leslie S. Price, “we plan on recording it and giving her a sions and bureaucratic meetings she is Task Force report? Us too. Robin 32-123 about her experience with forced to deal with and instead gain new C. Elices of the Vice President for endometriosis at the kickoff event perspectives from the individuals that Finance’s office says the adminis- for MIT’s Center for Gynepathol- Two Students Win makeup the community,” said organizer tration’s goal is to issue the report ogy Research. Adam B. Talsma ’10 in a statement. “before the term ends.” Marshall Scholarships Stuk said three locations that had The preliminary report, issued ¶¶MIT Women’s Rugby took the received “a lot” of suggestions were 1) in August, ran to 74 pages and Division III Championship! On Two MIT students are winners of the United Kingdom’s prestigious Lindgren Library, the now-closed Library listed 200 ideas for the Institute Nov. 22, MIT placed first in Cherry to save money. The final report is Hill, NJ in the championship run by Marshall Scholarship, which funds 35 U.S. students in graduate studies in Bldg. 54; 2) the small “fishbowl” com- expected to narrow those ideas to the National Small College Rugby in the U.K. Seniors Tanya S. Goldhaber ’10 and Vinayak Muralidhar puter work areas in Bldg. 3 that are Me- the practicably feasible and provide Association. ’10 are this year’s winners from MIT. chanical Engineering lounge spaces, and substantially more data and insight Goldhaber will study Inclusive Design at the University of Cam- 3) Pritchett, the now-closed dining hall on into the thinking of the nine work- ¶¶The Tech’s last issue of term is bridge, and also will study Experimental Consumer Research at the the second floor of Walker Memorial. ing groups that make up the task next week Tuesday. Try to make University of Wales. Tentative locations also include MIT force. sure everything newsworthy hap- Muralidhar will study Evidence-based Health Care at the Universi- Medical’s waiting room, the 2-225 Ath- The final report was originally pens before then. Check http://tech. ty of Oxford, as well as Public Health at the London School of Hygiene ena cluster, the MIT Electronics Research due in late October; the last day of mit.edu/ for late-breaking coverage and Tropical Medicine. Society in N52, and Bldg. 4’s southern classes is next Thursday, Dec. 10. as IAP approaches. Muralidhar is originally from Chandler, Ariz. and Goldhaber is roof access, Stuk said. from Boulder, Colo. A recording of the event will be ¶¶Padma Lakshmi, the “Top Send news information and tips to —John A. Hawkinson made available on MIT’s Tech TV, Stuk Chef” host and award-winning [email protected]. said (http://techtv.mit.edu/).

Comics ‘The Mikado’ Op i n i o n World & Nation ��������������������������2 Editorial: Move orientation’s Ac- Opinion ����������������������������������������4 tivities Midway back to Tuesday Comics / Fun Pages ��������������������6 Page 4 Arts ����������������������������������������������8 Get things done: Trust the govt. Sports ����������������������������������������16 Page 6 Page 9 Page 4 Page 2 The Tech December 4, 2009 Wo r l d & Na t i o n In Fight Against Tainted Beef, Trial Bernanke Defends the Fed Begins for Cattle Vaccine By William Neuman The New York Times HOLYOKE, Colo. In Confirmation Hearing Jason Timmerman coaxed a balky calf into a chute on his feedlot one recent afternoon and injected the animal with a new vaccine to make it By Edmund L. Andrews for failing to recognize the crisis until ficials adamantly oppose that idea, immune to a dangerous form of E. coli bacteria. The New York Times it was too late and then bailing out fi- arguing that the Fed has unique ex- The calf and thousands of others are part of a large-scale test to see WASHINGTON nancial giants like Citigroup and the pertise and that its ability to preserve whether animal vaccines are an answer to one of the nation’s most persis- Under fire from Democrats and American International Group. financial stability depends on having tent food-safety problems. Republicans alike, Ben S. Bernanke The hearing provided new evidence the detailed information that only a The test has been a long time coming. Bureaucratic delays in Wash- PhD ’79 on Thursday defended his of doubt among lawmakers about the regulator has about the inner workings ington stalled the arrival of the vaccines for years, even as people con- record as chairman of the Federal Federal Reserve’s role as the nation’s of major institutions. tinued to sicken and die from tainted beef. And now, even if the vaccines Reserve but conceded that the central guardian of the financial system. The debate is just beginning, and prove successful in the ambitious tests that are just getting under way, bank’s lapses contributed to the finan- “In the face of rising home prices it is unclear whether Shelby and other they face an uncertain future as farmers and feedlot owners worry about cial crisis. and risky mortgage underwriting, the Republicans even want to team up with who will pick up the extra cost. “I did not anticipate a crisis of this Fed failed to act,” said Sen. Richard Democrats on an overhaul of financial Scientists are fairly sure that vaccines will not, on their own, wipe magnitude,” Bernanke acknowledged C. Shelby of Alabama, the senior Re- regulation. Democrats on the commit- out the dangerous strain of E. coli known as O157:H7. But if they prove in an occasionally contentious hearing publican on the banking committee. tee are divided. Sen. Evan Bayh, D- effective, they could significantly reduce the amount of harmful bacte- on his nomination for a second term as “Many of the Fed’s responses, in my Ind., made it clear that he wanted the ria that cattle carry into slaughterhouses, which means that safeguards Fed chairman. view, greatly amplified the problem Fed to remain a bank regulator. already in place there would have a greater chance of eliminating the Bernanke volunteered that the Fed of moral hazard stemming from ‘too Meanwhile, Bernanke and the Fed remaining germs from the beef supply. had been “slow” in protecting consum- big to fail’ treatment of large financial came under more populist attacks ers from high-risk mortgages during institutions and activities.” from lawmakers in both parties. the housing bubble and that it should At the end of the hearing, Shelby On Tuesday, Sen. Bernard Sand- 3 Secret Service Agents Put on have forced banks to hold more capital signaled his agreement with the com- ers of Vermont declared that he would for all the risks they were taking on. mittee’s Democratic chairman, Sen. try to block Bernanke’s approval on Leave in White House Gate-Crashing “In the area where we had respon- Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the Senate floor by placing a hold on By Ginger Thompson and Janie Lorber sibility, the bank holding companies, that the Fed should give up a large his nomination. Senate leaders would The New York Times WASHINGTON we should have done more,” he told measure of its authority as a financial need 60 votes, rather than a simple Three Secret Service agents have been placed on administrative leave lawmakers. “That is a mistake we regulator. majority, to override the hold. pending the outcome of an investigation into how two uninvited guests won’t make again.” Dodd, who strongly endorsed And Sen. Jim Bunning, a Kentucky managed to crash President Barack Obama’s first state dinner last week, As he faced the Senate banking Bernanke for a second term as Fed Republican who was the only person the director of the service said Thursday. committee on Thursday morning, chairman, has proposed that the Fed’s to vote against Bernanke’s original ap- The director, Mark Sullivan, told the House Homeland Security Com- Bernanke still seemed to have enough powers as a bank regulator ought to pointment as chairman in 2006, vowed mittee that an initial investigation had shown it was “human error” that support to win approval for a second be transferred to a new consolidated on Wednesday to “do everything I can allowed two aspiring reality television contestants, Tareq and Michaele term. But he and the Fed as an insti- agency. to stop your nomination and drag this Salahi, to penetrate security around the White House. tution came under withering criticism Bernanke and other top Fed of- out as long as I can.” “I’ve asked myself these questions a thousand times over the last week,” a beleaguered Sullivan said to legislators. “And what I keep com- ing back to is that we didn’t follow procedures.” Legislators at the packed hearing expressed outrage at the potential Militants Face More Attacks risk posed by the security breach at the nation’s most important address on such an exclusive occasion. They brought up security problems that arose during Obama’s inauguration, and asked whether there were sys- By U.S. Drones temic problems at the Secret Service. By Scott Shane officials said this week, to parallel the telligence, the program has generated The New York Times president’s decision, announced Tues- public anger in Pakistan, and some Report Examines Civil Rights WASHINGTON day, to send 30,000 more troops to counterinsurgency experts wonder Two weeks ago in Pakistan, Cen- Afghanistan. whether it does more harm than good. Enforcement During Bush Years tral Intelligence Agency sharpshoot- U.S officials are talking with Paki- Assessments of the drone cam- By Charlie Savage ers killed eight people suspected of stan about the possibility of striking in paign have relied largely on sketchy The New York Times WASHINGTON being militants of the Taliban and al- Baluchistan for the first time — a con- reports in the Pakistani news media, When the Bush administration ran the Civil Rights Division at the Qaida, and wounded two others in a troversial move since it is outside the and some have estimated several Justice Department, career lawyers wanted to look into accusations that compound that was said to be used for tribal areas — because that is where hundred civilian casualties. Saying officials in one state had illegally intimidated blacks during a voter-fraud terrorist training. Afghan Taliban leaders are believed that such numbers are wrong, one investigation. Then, the job in North Waziristan to hide. government official agreed to speak But division supervisors refused to “approve further contact with state done, the CIA officers could head By increasing covert pressure on about the program on condition of authorities on this matter,” according to a new report by the Government home from the agency’s Langley, Va., al-Qaida and its allies in Pakistan, anonymity. About 80 missile attacks Accountability Office auditing the activities of the division from 2001 headquarters, facing only the hazards while ground forces push back the from drones over almost the last two to 2007. Congress is set to release that report, which did not identify the of the area’s snarled suburban traffic. Taliban’s advances in Afghanistan, years have killed “more than 400” en- state in question, on Thursday as the House of Representatives takes up It was only the latest strike by the U.S. officials hope to eliminate any emy fighters, the official said, offering its first oversight hearing of the Civil Rights Division under the Obama agency’s covert program to kill opera- haven for militants in the region. a number lower than most estimates administration. tives of al-Qaida, the Taliban and their One of Washington’s worst-kept but in the same range. His account of The 180-page report, obtained by The New York Times, is densely allies using Hellfire missiles fired secrets, the drone program is quietly collateral damage, however, was strik- packed with statistics about civil rights enforcement by the division’s sec- from Predator aircraft controlled from hailed by counterterrorism officials ingly low: “We believe the number of tions. The accountability office also examined a sampling of matters that half a world away. as a resounding success, eliminat- civilian casualties is just over 20, and were closed without further action, finding several cases in which super- The White House has authorized ing key terrorists and throwing their those were people who were either at visors rejected the recommendations of career lawyers to go forward. an expansion of the CIA’s drone pro- operations into disarray. But despite the side of major terrorists or were at gram in Pakistan’s lawless tribal area, close cooperation from Pakistani in- facilities used by terrorists.” We a t h e r From Record Warmth to Snow? Situation for Noon Eastern Standard Time, Friday, December 4, 2009

By Allison A. Wing 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 Hopefully everyone enjoyed the warm sunny day we had yesterday, be- cause this weekend brings a return to more seasonable conditions. The pre- liminary climate report from the National Weather Service indicates that yes- 1012 terdays recorded high temperature of 69°F at Logan Airport was a whopping 1012 23°F above normal. It broke the previous record for December 3, which was 35°N 65°F set back in 1932. Today we will be under the control of a weak high pressure system and the temperatures will still be slightly above normal, with mostly sunny skies and a high of 51°F (11°C). Saturday will bring cooler temperatures with a high of 1028 43°F (6°C) and cloudy skies. A low pressure system currently forming off the 30°N mid-Atlantic coast could bring us wet conditions late on Saturday night. With 1031 a low of 32°F (0°C), some of this precipitation could be in the form of sleet

or even possibly snow. Any accumulation, however, would be minimal. The 1014 precipitation should end by Sunday morning, leaving us with a partly cloudy day with temperatures around 40°F (4°C). 25°N

1035 Extended Forecast Today: High of 51°F (11°C). Mostly sunny. West winds at 5–10 mph. Tonight: Low of 35°F (2°C). Cloudy. West winds at 4–6 mph. Tomorrow: High of 43°F (6°C). Cloudy. West winds at 10–15 mph. Low of 1014 32°F (0°C). Rain/wintry mix possible late at night. Sunday: High of 40°F (4°C). Partly cloudy. Northwest winds at 10–12 mph. Weather Systems Weather Fronts Precipitation Symbols Other Symbols Monday: High of 44°F (7°C). Partly cloudy. West/southwest winds at 5–10 Snow Rain Fog High Pressure Trough mph. - - - Showers Thunderstorm

Q Q Q Q Warm Front Light Low Pressure Haze LLLLL Cold Front Moderate Compiled by MIT Hurricane Q Q Meteorology Staff L L Stationary Front Heavy and The Tech December 4, 2009 Wo r l d & Na t i o n The Tech Page 3

An Abortion Provider’s Killing At The World Cup Draw, There’s a Plot in Every Pot Sways a Colleague to Step In By Jere Longman The New York Times By Monica Davey of Carhart’s employees quit when he vide such care after Tiller’s killing, an It is anyone’s guess how the 32 teams in the 2010 World Cup will be The New York Times told them of his plans to expand the act prosecutors say was carried out by grouped by the draw Friday in South Africa, but one thing is for sure: The BELLEVUE, Neb. clinic’s work. an abortion foe. event will elicit sightings of things as far-fetched as UFO’s and the Virgin The national battle over abortion, Opponents of abortion, who had “He’s standing up, and so are some Mary’s image on a potato chip. for decades firmly planted outside the devoted decades to trying to stop Til- others,” Vicki Saporta, president of Soccer luminaries, with the help of the honorary hostess Charlize Kansas clinic of Dr. George R. Tiller, ler’s business with protests and calls the National Abortion Federation, said Theron, will pull plastic balls out of pots to determine the eight first- has erupted here in suburban Omaha, for investigations, are now turning of Carhart. round groupings of four teams each. Someone will inevitably claim that where a longtime colleague has taken their efforts to stopping Carhart. Troy A few other doctors have long per- the draw was rigged. No proof? No problem. Not since “Forrest Gump” up the cause of late-term abortions. Newman, the president of Operation formed late-term abortions, and some have table tennis balls supposedly been so vulnerable to manipulation and Since Tiller was shot to death in Rescue, an anti-abortion group, said said both the threats against them and sleight of hand. May, his colleague, Dr. LeRoy H. Car- he had traveled from the group’s head- their efforts at security had increased Television networks around the world will be on alert. They will re- hart, has hired two people who worked quarters in Wichita, Kan., to Nebraska since Tiller’s death. play the video forward and backward, in regular speed and slow motion, at Tiller’s clinic and has trained his six times in recent months, portraying Carhart, 68, knew Tiller for years, seeking evidence of plots and schemes, as if this were a sporting equiva- own staff members in the technical this suburb of fewer than 50,000 as a and would make regular trips to his lent of the Zapruder film. intricacies of performing late-term new battlefield in the abortion fight. clinic in Wichita to perform abortions At the draw for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Sophia Loren picked a abortions. “We’re trying to get criminal there, as other physicians did. Though ball that placed the United States in the host team’s group. Considering Carhart has also begun performing charges against him, to get his license Tiller’s clinic was not the only one that the Americans had not played in the World Cup in 40 years, this some abortions “past 24 weeks,” he revoked, and to get legislators there in the country performing late-term struck some as akin to putting the Yankees in the same group as the win- said in an interview, and is prepared to look at the law,” Newman said of abortions, it was a focal point for con- ner of the Little League World Series. to perform them still later if they meet Carhart. troversy. legal requirements and if he considers State law in Nebraska bans abor- Carhart, who has been performing them medically necessary. tions in cases when a fetus clearly ap- abortions since the 1970s, is no strang- Obama’s Afghan Decision Strains “There is a need, and I feel deeply pears to have reached viability, except er to the debate; he has been a litigant about it,” said Carhart, visibly weary to “preserve the life or health of the in two abortion-related cases decided Democratic Ties after a day when eight patients had ap- mother.” by the U.S. Supreme Court over a par- By Carl Hulse and Adam Nagourney pointments at his clinic here. Abortion-rights advocates say the ticular method of abortion referred to The New York Times WASHINGTON The late-term abortions, coming need exists for late-term abortions, in by critics as “partial-birth abortion.” President Barack Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghani- after the earliest point when a fetus cases of extraordinary genetic defects And immediately after Tiller’s killing, stan over the objections of fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill is straining might survive outside the womb, are and other dire health circumstances, Carhart offered to continue operating a relationship already struggling under the weight of an administration the most controversial, even among and some had worried that only a few his clinic, but the Tiller family decided agenda that some Democratic lawmakers fear is placing them in a politi- some who favor abortion rights. A few physicians would be willing to pro- to close it. cally vulnerable position. They face the prospect of enacting a health care bill that Republicans are using to paint them as fiscally irresponsible and intent on extending the government’s reach deeper into the economy and personal health decisions. Web/TV Divide is Back in Focus “They say you do the tough things early,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York. “Early 2010 is early for the White House, but it is perilously late for members of Congress. I don’t know if it’s a new ten- With NBC Sale sion, but it’s certainly something people are talking about on the Hill.” Some Democrats worry that the administration is willing to sacrifice By Brian Stelter the landmark deal, announced Thurs- on their computers, can the media some House and Senate seats in the interest of accomplishing its broader The New York Times day, that will give Comcast control of companies put the Hulu genie back in goals. And some of the issues Obama is pressing could make Democrats As she prepared her daughter for NBC Universal. In the deal, Comcast the bottle? vulnerable to attack not only by Republicans, but also by fellow Demo- college, Anne Sweeney insisted that will become a co-owner of Hulu. The scramble by TV companies crats in primaries. a television be among the dorm room Like all its broadcast rivals, NBC to preserve its ad model while giving In Pennsylvania, Sen. Arlen Specter has come out against Obama’s accessories. rushed to put its popular shows on consumers choice — what Comcast’s Afghanistan policy, setting up a clash against his Democratic primary op- “Mom, you don’t understand. I the Web years ago, hoping to secure chief executive called in interviews ponent, Rep. Joe Sestak, who backs the escalation of the war. His move don’t need it,” her 19-year-old re- a piece of the booming online adver- Thursday “anytime, anywhere me- gives Specter, who switched parties earlier this year, a chance to win some sponded, saying she could watch tising market and offset an eroding dia” — mirrors the efforts of newspa- support from the left, which has been the base of Sestak’s support. whatever she wanted on her computer, audience. pers, magazines and radio companies at no charge. The viewers came in droves, but to wring more money from digital That flustered Sweeney, who hap- the ad revenues have not materialized media. But all are facing some en- Debt Crisis Tests Dubai’s Ruler and pens to be the president of the Disney- as expected. By giving away TV epi- trenched habits. ABC Television Group. sodes online, “the industry is literally “If you disrupt the consumer ex- An Arab Vision “You’re going to have a television tossing money and premium content perience, you’re in trouble,” warns By Robert F. Worth and Heather Timmons if I have to nail it to your wall,” she away,” Barry M. Meyer, the Warner Mike Kelley, a partner at Pricewater- The New York Times DUBAI, United Arab Emirates told her daughter, according to com- Brothers Entertainment chief execu- houseCoopers. The ruler of this city-state, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Mak- ments she made at a Reuters event this tive, said in a speech in October. Stephen B. Burke, the chief operat- toum, became renowned as a developer-king, an autocratic visionary week. “You have to have one.” Comcast, the country’s largest ca- ing officer of Comcast, recently called determined to build a 21st-century Xanadu in the desert despite a legion But she does not, actually. For ble operator, has already been using its streaming “the biggest social move- of critics who said it could not be done. 60 years, TV could be watched only considerable muscle to limit how many ment I’ve ever seen.… Online video “What I have achieved for Dubai is just 10 percent of my vision,” he one way: through the television set. shows are available online, lest people consumption is off the charts.” would often tell visitors. Now, though, millions watch shows think they can cancel their costly cable NBC and the News Corp., the That vision took a beating last week after Dubai, struggling under like “Grey’s Anatomy” on demand subscriptions and watch free online. owner of Fox, jointly formed Hulu in $80 billion in debt, suddenly asked to delay interest payments for its and online on network Web sites like Now the company — which, if the 2007. Disney later became an equity flagship company, Dubai World, sending markets tumbling around the Sweeney’s ABC.com and on the In- NBC deal passes government muster, partner in Hulu. On Hulu and sites world. ternet’s most popular streaming hub, will own a piece of the biggest site that like it, TV episodes are available any Current and former advisers say they think Mohammed’s aides left Hulu.com. threatens to undercut its core business time, usually for a full month after him in the dark for several weeks or even months as Dubai’s problems How people watch TV on demand — is looking for ways to charge for they premiere; the images are crystal mounted. Hundreds of property projects have been frozen, and the West- — and whether they should pay for ubiquitous access to shows. clear, and the commercial breaks are ern financiers who once flocked here have fled in droves. the privilege — is a critical issue in With millions now watching TV short. Last week’s debt bombshell has raised questions about possible ten- sions with Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich sister emirate that many had expected to bail out Dubai. A Focus on Jobs, But No Promises Sheik Mo, as expatriates often call him, has dismissed those specula- tions, and last month he told journalists who asked about a rift with Abu Dhabi to “shut up.” He waves away predictions of Dubai’s collapse as Of a Turnaround envious carping. By Jackie Calmes next week. One of those, he indicat- and for aid to small business. House The New York Times ed when he participated in a discus- Democrats plan to pay for the plan New York Senate Turns Back Bill WASHINGTON sion group on clean energy, would by drawing from the $700 billion After months of focusing on Af- be a program of weatherization in- fund set up last year to bail out fi- On Gay Marriage ghanistan and health care, President centives for homeowners and small nancial institutions. By Jeremy W. Peters Barack Obama turned his attention businesses modeled on the popular The House also passed legisla- The New York Times ALBANY, N.Y. on Thursday to the high level of job- “cash for clunkers” program. tion on Thursday that would freeze The New York state Senate decisively rejected a bill on Wednesday lessness, but offered no promise that On Capitol Hill, Ben S. Ber- the federal tax on large estates at its that would have allowed gay couples to wed, providing a major victory he could do much to bring unem- nanke PhD ’79, the chairman of the current level. Under current law, the for those who oppose same-sex marriage and underscoring the deep ployment down quickly even as he Federal Reserve, told senators at a tax would have disappeared entirely and emotional divisions surrounding the issue. comes under pressure from his own sometimes testy hearing on his con- next year, only to reappear at much The 38-24 margin startled proponents of the bill, and signaled that party to do more. firmation for a second term, “Jobs higher levels in 2011. The vote high- political momentum, at least right now, has shifted against same-sex At a White House forum, sched- are the issue right now.” lighted the raft of fiscal issues fac- marriage, even in heavily Democratic New York. The vote followed uled for the day before the govern- “It really is the biggest challenge, ing the administration and Congress more than a year of lobbying by gay rights organizations, who have ment releases unemployment and job the most difficult problem that we and the tension between addressing poured close to $1 million into New York legislative races to boost loss figures for November, Obama face right now,” Bernanke added, budget deficits and taking poten- support for the measure. sought new ideas from business ex- citing in particular the inability of tially expensive actions to help the The defeat, which followed a stirring and at times deeply personal ecutives, labor leaders, economists many credit-worthy small business- economy. debate, all but ensures the issue is dead in New York until at least 2011, and others. Confronted with concern es to get bank loans. Obama’s jobs event captured the when a new Legislature will be installed. that his own ambitious agenda and In the House, where lawmakers political and policy vise now squeez- Since 2003, seven states, including three that border New York, le- the uncertain climate it has created are particularly sensitive to the em- ing the president and his party at the galized same-sex marriage. But in two of the seven, including Maine among employers have slowed hir- ployment issue since they all face re- end of his first year. It came on the last month, voters have reversed the decisions of lawmakers or judges ing, the president defended his poli- election next year, Democratic lead- eve of a government report that is in referendums, and effectively outlawed gay nuptials. cies. ers on Thursday were finishing work expected to show unemployment In Albany on Wednesday, proponents had believed going into the Obama said he would entertain on a jobs bill for debate this month. remaining in double digits, and two vote that they could attract as many as 35 supporters to the measure; “every demonstrably good idea” for It would extend expiring federal days after Obama emphasized as he at their most pessimistic, they said they would draw at least 26. They creating jobs, but he cautioned that unemployment benefits for people ordered 30,000 additional troops to had the support from Gov. David A. Paterson, who has publicly cham- “our resources are limited.” who have been out of jobs for long Afghanistan that he did not want the pioned the bill, along with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Assembly The president said he would an- periods, and provide up $70 billion financial burdens of the war to over- Speaker Sheldon Silver and the Senate Democratic leadership. nounce some new ideas of his own for roads and infrastructure projects whelm his domestic agenda. Page 4 The Tech December 4, 2009 Op i n i o n Making Orientation Better … for Less! The Orientation planning committee will soon be evaluating organized by a select number of student groups — has helped a Chairman options for making Orientation cheaper as MIT contends with bit to counteract this problem by giving those groups a chance Austin Chu G an Institute-wide budget crunch. Some measures have been sug- to show off for freshmen earlier in Orientation. However, the Editor in Chief gested that have potential to sig- event has served only as a stopgap measure since participating Nick Bushak ’10 nificantly detract from the fresh- student groups are still prohibited from formal recruitment. By Business Manager Editorial man Orientation experience completely replacing the Tuesday Night Event with the Activities Mark Thompson ’11 — including cutting the length of Orientation in half. We instead Midway, the problems with the student group recruiting schedule Managing Editor propose a couple of simple tweaks to the existing schedule that can be fixed simply without the need for changes to the ASA Steve Howland ’11 will both save the Institute money and improve the Orientation recruitment regulations. Groups would no longer have to awk- Executive Editor experience for students and the campus community. wardly juggle restrictions at a recruiting-event-in-all-but-name, Michael McGraw-Herdeg G Moving the Activities Midway back to Tuesday (replacing instead being freed to take full advantage of the lull between dor- News Staff the Tuesday Night Event) and moving the Greek Griller to late mitory exploration and FSILG rush. Editors: John A. Hawkinson ’98, Jeff Guo ’11, afternoon on Friday will help student groups more effectively re- To fill the vacated Friday time, the Greek Griller should be Natasha Plotkin ’11; Associate Editors: Pearle cruit, provide FSILGs with an extra half day before classes begin moved from Saturday at noon to late afternoon on Friday, provid- Lipinski ’12, Maggie Lloyd ’12, Ana Lyons to attract freshmen, and free the MIT administration from having ing yet another opportunity for MIT to further reduce its Orienta- ’12, Robert McQueen ’12; Staff: Vinayak Ranade G, Daniela Cako ’09, Elijah Jordan to fund two class-wide events. tion budget, while giving freshmen an extra half day to explore Turner ’11, Jingyun Fan ’12, Ziwei Hao ’12, The shift in the Midway date will remove a number of ob- FSILGs before classes begin. By allowing rush to begin late Fri- Camille Z. McAvoy ’12, Natasha Nath ’12, stacles to effective recruitment by student groups. These barriers day afternoon, MIT could offload the task of entertaining fresh- Sandhya Rawal ’12, Zeina Siam ’12, Margaret are more a result of historical accident than intentional design. men on Friday evening to fraternities, sororities, and independent Cunniff ’13, Joy E. Lee ’13, Meghan Nelson ’13, Jessica J. Pourian ’13, Yuliya Preger ’13, The Association of Student Activities prohibits student groups living groups which should be eager and well-equipped to fulfill Divya Srinivasan ’13; Meteorologists: Brian H. from recruiting prior to the Activities Midway, yet this restriction the task. Tang G, Allison A. Wing G, Angela Zalucha G, was drawn up back when the Midway was on Tuesday, and it was The Friday Night Event has, of late, served as simply another Elizabeth Maroon ’10, Vince Agard ’11. unintentionally preserved when the Midway moved to Friday. large class-wide party and has become one of the most expensive Production Staff This rule hamstrings student groups at their most critical task events on the Orientation schedule. Though some in the com- Associate Editors: Divya Chhabra ’13, Connor Kirschbaum ’13, Aislyn Schalck ’13; Staff: for survival — recruiting new students. The window between the munity may be reluctant to part with this event because of its Alexander W. Dehnert ’12, Joanna Kao ’13. end of dormitory exploration (REX) on Tuesday afternoon and perceived value in building class unity and in helping to keep Opinion Staff the beginning of FSILG rush on Saturday is a unique time dur- the freshmen busy on their first Friday night on campus, we have Editors: Joseph Maurer ’12, Ethan Solomon ing which student groups can attract freshmen’s attention without faith in the FSILG community’s dry rush policies and their ability ’12; Staff: Florence Gallez G, Alejandro Rogers needing to worry about competition from better-funded living to provide a quality bonding experience for the incoming class. B. G, Gary Shu G, David Weinberg G, Keith A. groups. Unfortunately, the current arrangement closes off all but We therefore call upon the ASA, the Student Activities Of- Yost G, Josh Levinger ’07, Daniel Yelin ’10, Ryan Normandin ’13. the last evening of that window, reducing the time groups have fice, the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association, the Sports Staff to recruit both new freshmen — and graduate students — before Living Group Council, and the Office of Undergraduate Advising Editor: David Zhu ’12; Staff: Aaron Sampson classes start. and Academic Programming to adopt these changes and finally ’10, Michael Gerhardt ’12, Nydia Ruleman ’12, The Tuesday Night Event — a night of games and activities iron out the kinks in MIT’s Orientation schedule. Russell Spivak ’13. Arts Staff Editor: S. Balaji Mani ’10; Associate Editors: Things That Are Political and Maggie Liu ’12, Samuel Markson ’12; Staff: Sudeep Agarwala G, Bogdan Fedeles G, Matt Fisher ’10, Joyce Kwan ’10, Joanne Y. Shih ’10, Kevin Wang ’10, Tracy Kambara ’11, Sun K. Kim ’11, Yü Linlin Huang ’13, Emily Nardoni Paradoxical ’13, Jenny Xie ’13. ahead of time that roads and sidewalks would getting the basic purpose of government. Gov- Photography Staff Craig Broady be closed and to expect delays due to security. ernments were initially formed to protect peo- Editors: David M. Templeton ’08, Andrea Robles ’10; Associate Editors: Vibin Kundukulam ’11, But beyond all that, the most powerful man ple’s rights to life, liberty, and property. People Jessica Liu ’13, Sam Range ’13; Staff: Vincent Ever since Obama visited MIT a few weeks in the world decided to visit MIT. You should essentially form a pact with the government. Auyeung G, David Da He G, Perry Hung G, ago, I’ve been feeling more politically charged. accept these minor inconveniences. Even The people say, “You protect me in exchange Sheng-Ying Aithne Pao G, Arthur Petron G, Was it because the President of the United if you don’t like him, it’s an honor. To those for some of my rights.” Melissa Renée Schumacher G, Martin Segado States came to MIT? No. Was it because he claiming Obama was hypocritical by taking Air To this end, a person gives up some rights G, Noah Spies G, John Z. Sun G, Scott Johnston delivered an address about MIT’s devotion to Force One to his speech, such an argument is by agreeing to follow the law of the govern- ’03, Martha Angela Wilcox ’08, Peter H. Rigano ’09, Eric D. Schmiedl ’09, Biyeun Buczyk ’10, clean energy? No. Was it because we had an flawed. People are not the same — we are not ment, set forth to ensure that it can ably pro- David Chen ’10, Helen Hou ’10, Monica Kahn auditorium full of political giants? No. Because all of equal importance on a world scale. Yes, tect its citizens. These laws include injunctions ’10, Corey Kubber ’10, Diane Rak ’10, Jongu MIT scrambled in less than a week to prepare Obama burned some fossil fuels, but he did so against killing and stealing, mandates to pay Shin ’10, Christian J. Ternus ’10, Michael Yu the campus for a presidential visit? Nope. It out of necessity and while giving a speech that taxes, among others, all of which are required ’10, Dhaval Adjodah ’11, Jasmine Florentine wasn’t that either. So what was it? charged scientists to rid the world of such a by the government if it seeks to successfully ’11, Dan Kubaczyk ’11, Michael Y. McCanna I was absolutely appalled by the disrespect necessity. He discussed the Recovery Act that protect your life, liberty, and property. These ’11, Michael Meyer ’11, Aaron Thom ’11, Allison M. Alwan ’12, Yuanyu Chen ’12, Rachel and disgraceful sense of self-entitlement so gave an unprecedented amount of money to taxes go to building roads, providing electricity Fong ’12, Jessica Lin ’12, Rui Luo ’12, Andrew many people showed concerning Obama’s visit. clean energy research. and water, establishing post offices, libraries, Shum ’12, Meng Heng Touch ’12, Jennifer L. I saw so many people who were endlessly com- Sure, Obama could have done a telecast. fire departments, police departments, hospitals, Wong ’12, Feng Wu ’12, Arfa Aijazi ’13, Cole plaining about the pedestrian traffic on campus But one could also argue that he should never schools, transportation systems, and the army; Houston ’13, Sunny X. Long ’13, Elijah Mena that inconvenienced their usual walking or bik- leave the White House. And that no one should setting up institutions such as healthcare, wel- ’13, Oscar A. Viquez Rojas ’13. ing routes. There were people who were point- use cars in order to reduce carbon emissions. fare, and public office; all of which the govern- Campus Life Staff ing out the hypocrisy of Obama’s use of a gas- Of course there are always things we can do to ment deems necessary to best protect you. Editor: Michael T. Lin ’11; Staff: Roberto guzzling motorcade and Air Force One to get be kinder to the environment. But until tech- If you don’t want any part of the pact, you Perez-Franco G, Christine Yu ’11; Cartoonists: to a speech about clean energy. Others simply nology comes along that utilizes clean energy, can leave the country. You cannot absolutely Michael Ciuffo ’11, Ben Peters ’11, Michael Benitez ’12. complained about the fact that MIT only got to we shouldn’t stop everything we’re doing. It’s a reject the pact and still take advantage of the distribute 200 tickets to the effectively 800 seat matter of thresholds, and different people draw government’s systems. Business Staff auditorium. Some people even went so far as the line in different places. That being said, people are dumb. Why? Ev- Advertising Manager: Greg Steinbrecher ’12; Operations Manager: Sherry Yan ’11; Staff: to rant about their inability to access video of These small acts of disrespect and wrongly- eryone thinks they know everything about ev- Wendy Cheng ’13, Moya Chin ’13, Jennifer Obama’s speech. placed self-entitlement are only the tip of the erything. It’s why a 60-something retiree from Fong ’13. You may not like Obama. You may not agree iceberg of the political issues at play. Minnesota will complain about government Technology Staff with his views. You may not like the direction I don’t believe in democracy. It is a bad sys- healthcare. Does he have a right to voice his Director: Quentin Smith ’10. in which he wants to take the country. But he is tem. Literally meaning “rule of the people” and opinion? Yes. Is his opinion valid? No. Should the President of the United States. If you dislike interpreted by Jefferson to be “mob-rule,” it is it be ignored? Yes. This hypothetical man has Editors at Large something concerning the President, whining basically a source of endless troubles. Thankful- no knowledge about healthcare. He has no idea Contributing Editors: Caroline Huang ’10, Jessica Witchley ’10, William Yee ’10, Arkajit about it is completely inappropriate. Especially ly, the United States is not a democracy. We are what the proposed system would bring about. Dey ’11, Monica Gallegos ’11, Robin L. Dahan here at MIT — our motto is “Mind and Hand,” a constitutional republic that holds democratic He knows nothing about the intricacies and ’12; Senior Editors: Brian Hemond G, Charles not “Mind and Mouth.” If you see a problem elections and votes on propositions. However, exploitations of our current health insurance Lin G, Andrew T. Lukmann G, Ramya Sankar go out and fix it; don’t gripe. And to those who there are forces at work that are bringing about system. And yet, he is still vocally opposed to G, Satwiksai Seshasai G, Shreyes Seshasai G, complain about the street closures and influx a mob-rule mentality to America. Benjamin P. Gleitzman ’09, Ricardo Ramirez of visitors during Obama’s visit: You were told A lot of these issues spawn from people for- Broady, Page 5 ’09, Nick Semenkovich ’09, Angeline Wang ’09, Praveen Rathinavelu ’10. Advisory Board be given higher priority. Once submitted, all letters become property of Paul E. Schindler, Jr. ’74, V. Michael Bove ’83, Opinion Policy Barry S. Surman ’84, Robert E. Malchman The Tech, and will not be returned. Letters, columns, and cartoons may ’85, Deborah A. Levinson ’91, Jonathan E. D. Editorials are the official opinion of The Tech. They are written also be posted on The Tech’s Web site and/or printed or published in any Richmond PhD ’91, Karen Kaplan ’93, Saul by the editorial board, which consists of Chairman Austin Chu, Edi- other format or medium now known or later that becomes known. The Blumenthal ’98, Frank Dabek ’00, Daniel Ryan tor in Chief Nick Bushak, Managing Editor Steve Howland, Execu- Tech makes no commitment to publish all the letters received. Bersak ’02, Eric J. Cholankeril ’02, Jordan tive Editor Michael McGraw-Herdeg, Opinion Editors Joseph Mau- Guest columns are opinion articles submitted by members of the Rubin ’02, Nathan Collins SM ’03, Keith J. rer and Ethan Solomon, and Senior Editor Andrew T. Lukmann. MIT or local community and have the author’s name in italics. Col- Winstein ’03, Akshay R. Patil ’04, Tiffany Dohzen ’06, Beckett W. Sterner ’06, Marissa Dissents are the opinions of signed members of the editorial umns without italics are written by Tech staff. Vogt ’06, Zachary Ozer ’07, Omari Stephens board choosing to publish their disagreement with the editorial. ’08, Marie Y. Thibault ’08, B. D. Colen. Letters to the editor, columns, and editorial cartoons are writ- Production Staff for This Issue ten by individuals and represent the opinion of the author, not neces- To Reach Us Editors: Austin Chu G, Connor Kirschbaum sarily that of the newspaper. Electronic submissions are encouraged The Tech’s telephone number is (617) 253-1541. E-mail is the eas- ’13; Associate Editors: Divya Chhabra ’13, and should be sent to [email protected]. Hard copy submissions iest way to reach any member of our staff. If you are unsure whom to Aislyn Schalck ’13. should be addressed to The Tech, P.O. Box 397029, Cambridge, contact, send mail to [email protected], and it will be directed to

The Tech (ISSN 0148-9607) is published on Tuesdays and Fridays dur- Mass. 02139-7029, or sent by interdepartmental mail to Room W20- the appropriate person. You can reach the editor in chief by e-mailing ing the academic year (except during MIT vacations), Wednesdays during January, and monthly during the summer by The Tech, Room W20-483, 84 483. All submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. two days before the date [email protected]. Please send press releases, requests for coverage, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Mass. 02139. Subscriptions are $50.00 of publication. and information about errors that call for correction to news@tech. per year (third class). Postmaster: Please send all address changes to our mailing address: The Tech, P.O. Box 397029, Cambridge, Mass. 02139- Letters, columns, and cartoons must bear the authors’ signatures, mit.edu. Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. 7029. Telephone: Editorial: (617) 253-1541. Business: (617) 258-8324. Facsimile: (617) 258-8226. Advertising, subscription, and typesetting rates addresses, and phone numbers. Unsigned letters will not be accepted. The Tech can be found on the World Wide Web at http://tech.mit. available. Entire contents © 2009 The Tech. Printed on recycled paper by The Tech reserves the right to edit or condense letters; shorter letters will edu. Mass Web Printing Company. December 4, 2009 Op i n i o n The Tech Page 5 Going Beyond Traditional Political Restraints how totalitarian socialism meets these needs. only nation in the world to be sanctioned by the means that, as he puts it, every eight years in Alexi Goranov Economically speaking in the late 1980s, the International Court of Justice for illegal use of India the number of skeletons in the closet is basic needs were met for the vast majority of force against another state, constituting interna- the same as in China’s moment of shame, the Criticism of the capitalist state does not the population. Unemployment was low (0.02 tional terrorism (the case Nicaragua vs U.S.A. famine,” writes Noam Chomsky in Propagan- equal support for totalitarian socialism. percent in Bulgaria in 1991, 2 years after the was heard in 1986). We also need to remember da and the Public Mind. Our primarily responsibility is to fix and fall of communism), homelessness was hardly that the U.S. government supported regimes (in The recognition of the shortcomings of improve the economic system in which we detectable, and literacy was virtually universal. El Salvador, for example) that executed dis- both capitalism and communism is not new. exist. From this it follows that the concern of Why were people living in Bulgaria or any of sidents en masse (Manufacturing Consent by In 1840, Joseph-Pierre Proudhon in What is U.S. residents should be with identifying prob- the other communist countries unhappy? The Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman). All that Property? took the time to warn against com- lems and issues with capitalism. Usually, when unhappiness and dissidence stem from the in- being said, we still have more liberty than the munism, while also arguing against property problems with capitalism are exposed, the tellectual restrictions people in most other rights. “… Communism, taking uniformity for counter-argument is made that socialism is full posed on people, the countries. law and leveling for equality, becomes tyran- of flaws and is an unsuitable substitute. Some clear existence of a The productive argument is not As a slight digres- nical and unjust. Property, by despotism and of the criticisms of socialism, as practiced in ruling class in a sys- sion, it is constantly encroachments, soon shows itself oppressive U.S.S.R. or China, are well deserved, but the tem that is supposed to whether this “-ism” is better argued that because the and unsociable… Each is exclusive; each dis- argument misses the point. Changing our eco- promote equality, and economy of the U.S. regards two elements of society. Communism nomic or political system to be more egalitar- more importantly from than that “-ism,” but finding was better than that rejects independence and proportionality; ian and fair for every one, not just those with the fact that people of communist Russia, property satisfies neither equality nor law.” capital, does not necessarily mean substituting were still not in charge actual problems that affect capitalism is the bet- Michael Bakunin, writing three decades it with a political/economic system that is also of their own lives. As people’s lives. ter and more efficient after Proudhon, warned against the dangers of tyrannical, albeit for a different reason. we know, in totalitar- system, which is true the Marxist doctrine, which he saw as despotic The productive argument is not whether this ian socialist countries, within a narrow sense. because it proposed a political system domi- “-ism” is better than that “-ism,” but finding ac- the state ordains everything and all the citizens From a scientific standpoint, to meaningfully nated by a class of people who thought them- tual problems that affect people’s lives and act- have to do is follow the orders. Needless to say, compare the behavior of two samples under selves better suited to run public affairs (God ing to remove, or at least alleviate, these prob- dissidence is not tolerated in totalitarian states. different conditions over time requires that and the State and The International and Karl lems. Over 40 million people without health So totalitarian communism may meet the basic the two samples be identical at the beginning Marx by Michael Bakunin). insurance constitutes a problem. We could do economic criteria but fails the liberty criteria of the experiment. I am not sure how many Even more recently, in 1938, Rudolf Rock- something about that. Unemployment is in for human needs, as is constantly pointed out. economists will argue that Russia and the U.S. er argued that “The economic dictatorship of double digits. We could do something about it The story is reversed in the U.S., where had the same economic and industrial capaci- the monopolies and the political dictatorship as well. Foreclosures continue to increase. That liberty is a right, but the cult of accumulating ties in 1917. The comparison between “apples of the totalitarian state are the outgrowth of is another solvable problem, if we are willing property destroys the chance for a decent exis- and oranges” comes to mind. As a second the same social objectives, and the directors of to go after the root causes. tence for a large part of the population. So eco- point, the failures of “large scale” collectivism both have the presumption to try to reduce all Since I think we should use the same stan- nomic needs are not met for many, but, at least could be attributed at least in part to the “top- the countless expressions of social life to the dards regardless of what “-ism” is being dis- theoretically, people are free. I say theoretically, down” organization of the political and eco- mechanical tempo of the machine and to tune cussed, I would agree that communism/totali- because we do need to remember how African- nomic structure. There are numerous examples everything organic to the lifeless rhythm of the tarian socialism does not completely satisfy American and other dissidents were treated by of workers wanting to do something but the political apparatus. Our modern social system the needs of society, but nether does capital- the FBI program COINTELPRO (Understand- Kremlin ordering something else (Anarchism has split the social organism in every country ism. Asking whether this “-ism” or that “-ism” ing Power by Noam Chomsky). We do need to by Daniel Guerin). In the cases where collec- into hostile classes internally, and externally it is better is asking the wrong question. What remember that in 1918 a U.S. presidential can- tivism worked, it is the workers who were mak- has broken the common cultural circle up into we should be asking is whether there could be didate, Eugene Debs, was arrested and impris- ing the decisions, not bureaucrats hundreds of hostile nations; and both classes and nations something better than either. oned for several years for making an anti-war miles away. The problems of famines are inher- confront one another with open antagonism Let us qualify the basic human needs. Mi- speech (A People’s History of the United States ent in a totalitarian state where there is no free and by their ceaseless warfare keep the com- chael Bakunin, a Russian anarchist, listed three by Howard Zinn). Should I mention the recent exchange of information (Propaganda and the munal social life in continual convulsions … essential needs: economic/animal needs (food, “Patriot Act”, rendition practices, and illegal Public Mind, Noam Chomsky). The interesting and the constant dread of new wars, which to- shelter), intellectual needs (to be free to think, wiretaps? It is fair to bring to light the atroci- part is that neighboring capitalist India caused day dominates all peoples, are only the logical create, explore, and satisfy their curiosity), and ties committed by communist regimes, like Sta- the deaths of many more people over the same consequences of this unendurable condition, the desire to rebel at perceived injustices, i.e. lin’s, but we should not conveniently forget our period of time. “He [Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize which will inevitably lead us to universal ca- liberty (“God and the State”). Let’s assume that own history: genocide against the native Indi- winner in economics] estimates close to four tastrophe, if social development does not take his argument is correct and let us take a look at ans, the only nation to use the atomic bomb, the million extra deaths every year in India, which a new course soon enough. The mere fact that most states are obliged today to pay from fifty to seventy percent of their annual income for Unchecked Disrespect for Government All Too Common so-called national defense and the liquidation of old war debts is proof of the untenability of Broady, from Page 4 Before the internet, before TVs were readily try is slowly being torn apart by these poorly the present status, and should make clear to accessible. People found out about the candi- formed opinions. And here we reach the para- everybody that the alleged protection which what the government is trying to do. dates by reading about them in the newspapers dox. The Internet and new media, something the state affords the individual is certainly So where does this problem come from? or hearing about them in their nightly news that could not have been created without the purchased too dearly” (Anarcho-Syndicalism Why are people so angry at the government, broadcast. There was no 24-hour news network existence of a government such as the one we Theory and Practice). with whom they have a pact to protect their covering their every move; no people blogging have, one that protects our rights to life, liberty, His words ring true even today. Bear in rights? Why do people have such a false sense endlessly about why they personally like or and property, is the very thing that is harming mind that currently the U.S. government is of self-entitlement that makes them think they dislike the candidate. Politically charged per- the government. spending between 20 percent and 54 percent on can launch complaints about issues that know sons had to work hard to get opinions — they What do we do? The best I can say is to the military, depending on whose expenditure nothing about? Why won’t people live out their weren’t just shoved in their faces. Now elec- take a breath, America. Don’t be so pompous distribution one believes, according to the War lives and let the government do its job? The tions are basically a sham. Because candidates to think you really know all the issues com- Resisters League. To summarize the argument, issues the country faces today are not much are being followed and written about 24/7, they pletely, and don’t cause a raucous simply for both capitalism and totalitarian socialism/com- different than issues of years ago, but both the must sell themselves. The candidates no longer the sake of causing an uproar. Put some trust in munism tend to oppress people, but by differ- government’s and its citizens’ responses to these truly fight about political issues — they fight the government. They’re here to help — that’s ent means, and to different degrees depending issues are not as they used to be. Previously for the best public image. They can’t waste why it was created. People should not let the on the individual country. (with some exceptions), the citizens would do time with what’s right or what’s in the people’s government do whatever it wants to do, but Is it reasonable, when thinking about how their jobs and utilize roads, electricity, schools, best interest, but instead they’re forced to ca- people should let the government do what it the world should be, to limit ourselves only to and other things the government provided. At ter to those particularly vocal individuals that should do. existing political and economic systems and as- the same time the government would not be in- think their opinions are fact. There exist checks and balances within the sume that nothing better will ever be possible? hibited in providing these services. There exist- But there’s an even worse problem. Once government. You are not part of those checks Do we just accept our reality, be obedient, and ed a mutual beneficial system. The government these candidates are elected and in office, they and balances. If you let the politicians do their simply try to fit in better, disregarding all of provided for the people and the people trusted can’t do anything. Let’s assume we elect a poli- jobs — to protect your rights — and not scru- the misery and human suffering we witness on the government to protect them. tician who genuinely wants to serve his coun- tinize their every move, they’ll have the leeway daily basis? The directors of out current society But what happened to this trust? One of the try. Even if he wants to get something done, they need to make progress. would love for us to adopt that attitude! And key factors in this degrading trust is new media. he can’t. Everyone is watching every step he It comes down to this: Do not think you while we should drop the presumption that if Twenty-four-hour news networks, readily avail- makes. Even when he goes to do the smallest know everything. The government is gener- we were to simply adopt this or that strict ideo- able access to television and radio, and espe- thing, he will face immense opposition from ally doing what’s best. I assume that it has in- logical formulation everything will fall into cially the Internet, which hosts an abundance of the most insignificant people with the most formation that I do not know (and should not place in a week, we should continue to look political videos, blogs, and news pieces — cre- barbarous, uneducated, wrongly self-entitled be allowed to know), and thus it knows more for ways to reach our vision of equality, liberty, ated by both knowledgeable amateurs and pro- opinions. about the issues than I do. As such, it can make and justice for all. As argued by Noam Chom- fessionals alike. With the death of the newspa- This problem is absolutely disgusting. In a better-informed decisions. It may not be as I sky, to reach that long-term vision we will have per, people turn to TV and the Internet for their time of crisis like now, the government is being make it out to be, but we need some trust here. to move one step at a time, setting achievable news. But there is no longer any unbiased news. flooded by unhelpful, angry, ignorant citizens It would be a good first step to progress. goals that should take us closer. In his words, News networks are selling entertainment — a that believe they can tell the government what Craig Broady is a member of the Class of “Slogans are easy, but not very helpful when distorted reality that does well in the ratings. to do. Progress cannot be made, and the coun- 2012. real choices have to be made.” Glenn Beck is on FOX to rant and cause tur- Alexi Goranov is a postdoc at the David moil. Whatever will get people to get up and get H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Re- angry is what TV news wants to be a part of. search. Then there’s the Internet. For all its utility, it’s causing massive political damage. Not only can news networks put their (biased) informa- tion on their accessible-on-demand websites, but anyone with a pulse can give their two UA Update cents. So readers are getting incredibly biased opinions and taking them as facts. And for Senate met on Monday, November some reason, people think that once they have 30 for their second special budgetary this “information” they should go out and tell session during UAS 41. The Senate dis- it to other people, shout it at politicians (who cussed the budget for the Spring 2010 are usually quite aware of the issues), and make semester, which is available at http:// a fuss because they can. But just because you ua.mit.edu/finances/. On Monday, De- read an opinion piece on the effects of gay mar- cember 7, Senate will be voting on the riage on family values or watched FOX and proposed budget. Pending legislation Friends speak about how Obama is a socialist will also be discussed and voted upon does not mean that you have any greater under- at this meeting, which is the last Senate standing of such issues than the actual politi- meeting of the fall semester. cians. So why can’t we just let the politicians —Elizabeth A. Denys, do their work? UA Secretary General Try to think back to an election years ago. December 4, 2009

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Steal My Comic by Michael Ciuffo

Help Desk by Michael Benitez December 4, 2009 The Tech Page 7

Dilbert® by Scott Adams

Crossword Puzzle Solution, page 13 4 8 1 7 Across 59 Store-brand 1 Afternoon break dill? 5 7 7 City on the Cauca 64 MC’s aid River 65 First name 11 Monastic title in architec- 7 2 14 Many a marigold ture 15 Juice letters? 66 Block Sudoku 2 1 5 9 4 16 VCR button 67 Pie chart 17 Takedown by Tinker fig. To play: Bell? 68 Inert gas Fill in the 7 3 1 9 6 grid so 19 “Little” 1960s 69 Like some that each singer foot bones column, 6 9 4 1 5 20 Former Spanish row, and 3 queen Down by 3 grid 21 “The A-Team” actor 1 Place for contains 5 2 exactly one 22 Vile smile gems of each of 24 Reaction to an 2 Words with the digits 1 9 1 amusing porcelain? uproar or through 9. 29 Sought a seat instant Solution, 30 Limoges-born 3 Massive page 13 6 1 8 5 impressionist old 31 Parsley piece computer 34 Mideast carrier 4 Baja 36 USSR successor California __: 25 La Salle of “ER” companion? 38 Symptom of poor Mexican state 26 Pizza Quick sauce 47 Ease lighting? 5 Scotland’s longest maker 48 “Never mind” 42 NASDAQ listings river 27 Scrapbooking, e.g. 49 Haunted house 43 Military station 6 “Gosford Park” 28 Recount sound 44 Western prop director 31 Army E-7: Abbr. 50 Former pen pal? SPERM DONORS Up to 45 Out in the open 7 Saguaros, e.g. 32 Like some visions 51 Court recordkeeper: $1100 a month! 48 Title for Roger Moore 8 Comics cry of 33 Bring back into Abbr. NEEDED 49 Supermarket group disgust practice 52 “Land __!” taking a coffee 9 Cholesterol initials 34 Cain’s eldest son 56 “The West Wing” Healthy MEN in college or with a college degree wanted for our break, perhaps? 10 Strands at the ski 35 Kojak and Crocker: Emmy winner sperm donor program. 53 Jersey groups resort, perhaps Abbr. 57 Achilles’ weakness Minimal time commitment 54 Super Bowl played 11 Consequences of 37 Sign of a big hit 60 Place to start a Help people fulfill their dreams of starting a family. in MMVII some soccer fouls 39 Majestic hole Receive free health and genetic screenings. 55 Expression of 12 Big-time parties 40 Nastase of tennis 61 Pizarro’s quest satisfaction 13 With it 41 “It Must Be Him” 62 The Monkees’ “__ APPLY ONLINE: 58 Sporty truck, for 18 Shirt part singer Vikki Believer” short 23 31-Down, e.g. 46 Breakfast 63 “Kiss of life,” briefly www.SPERMBANK.com Page 8 The Tech December 4, 2009 Ar t s Concert Review Sonic Youth’s Relentless Rocking Definitely Old, But Still Defining ‘Kool’ By Matt Fisher I was surprised at the discernibility of Sonic Youth’s mu- STAFF WRITER sic; I normally relegate Sonic Youth to an “earphone band” Sonic Youth — albums saved for extended bus trips necessitating the high Wilbur Theater, Boston, MA volume and headphones that enable one to decipher their in- November 22, 2009 tricately grungy tracks. This concert — probably due in part to some talented mixing on behalf of the Sonic Youth roadies ixteen albums and twenty-seven years after the re- and the Wilbur’s staff — made me rethink that distinction. lease of their first, self-titled studio album in 1982, Regardless of the cause, Kim Gordon’s smoky voice and Sonic Youth has made a career of wowing crowds all Thurston Moore’s guitar meshed as opposed to mashed, al- Sover the world in the promotion of their newest work. lowing the crowd to discern the lyrics and individual notes, Last Sunday, Sonic Youth rocked the older crowd at Boston’s particularly through the older, “classic” Sonic Youth songs strangely arranged Wilbur Theater out of its argyle socks, the band played for their two encores, including “Cross the and proved that having appeared in a tour video named 1991: Breeze” and “The Sprawl.” Having never seen 500 40-year- The Year Punk Broke does not prevent a band from contem- olds rock out that hard, the concert managed to fulfill the porary greatness. collective longing for some late-80s nostalgia without being Opening for Sonic Youth, the much-experienced Feelies slowed by the weight of the history. put on a rollicking show, exhibiting extended, unfiltered- A Sonic Youth/Feelies combination concert is condu- yet-clean guitar sound that excited the crowd far more than cive to feeling rockosophical: it is easy to write about Sonic the average opener. Formed in 1976, The Feelies influenced Youth’s beginnings in the “Do It Yourself ” punk movement, many well-known bands until they broke up in 1992 (they or about their impact on rock — both indie and mainstream reunited only last year). During one of their many prolonged — in the years following their monumental releases like Goo and enjoyable solos, I recognized suddenly how similar they and Daydream Nation, but to me, the most interesting aspect sound Yo La Tengo, only to immediately realize that, prop- of this concert is less retrospective. Unlike other big names erly, Yo La Tengo probably sounds a lot like The Feelies (the in rock, Sonic Youth continues to tour with new, solid mate- bands’ formations were separated by eight years but only 23 rial. By not resting on their laurels and merely playing their miles — the distance from Haledon to Hoboken in New Jer- greatest hits, they have shown that some rock bands can, with sey). Despite the band members’ slightly out-of-sync sound, great talent, neither burn out nor fade away. This phenom- they displayed the same rock essentials that made them one enon of aging rockstars is fascinating as it is essentially new of New York City’s favorite underground rock bands during in our generation. To view the data: The Velvet Underground their active years, prompting the crowd to demand a seldom- broke up after writing essentially 30 songs 4 different ways; seen encore from the opening band. The Rolling Stones released new music in ’97 and ’05, but Torturing the audience with an unusually long wait between neither sounded any different than their earlier work, and de- sets, Sonic Youth arrived to heavy applause, and promptly spite wild financial success, met some critical failure; The started their signature stage drunk-walk. Thrashing around as Beatles — well, let’s just not get into that. The history of pro- if surrounded by a horde of bees, the band members all man- gressive rock is littered with the bookends of talented bands, aged to maintain their balance while ripping out fifteen songs, the albums that you look back on and say to yourself, “this ten off of their new album The Eternal. A mediocre album by was the last album where they tried.” Sonic Youth standards, the album is structured in a wax-wane Sonic Youth has somehow managed to escape this fate, and sequence, starting with the three strongest songs, and ebb- following few other luminaries — the late, great Johnny Cash ing into the slower “Antenna,” “What We Know,” and “Calm- comes to mind — continues to create new albums that easily ing the Snake.” The album heats up again before finishing on compete with some of their earlier work (here, specifically, I the meandering, ten-minute epic “Massage the History.” Of am referring to Sonic Nurse, which kicked ass). As much as I S. Balaji Mani—The Tech course, mediocre by Sonic Youth still ranks this album among regret not having been able to see them in 1992, I feel positive Guitarist and vocalist Thurston Moore shreds on one of his many the best of the year. Performing professionally, Sonic Youth’s that in twenty years, the distinction between their work in the Fender Jazzmasters. Throughout the show Moore switched gui- members all appeared surprisingly engaged — an unexpected nineties and their more recent recordings will have blurred. All tars to cover all the alternate tunings required for the Sonic bonus from a band that has been touring or almost 30 years. I can hope is that we merit more other superb albums. Youth repertoire. MOVIE Review hhh½ / 4 ‘Red Cliff’ — An Epic of Chinese Philosophy An Intimate View Into China’s History By Jenny Xie point in concealing the ending: in either film, Red Cliff you learn that there is no winner or loser, but Directed by John Woo only a volatile society and uncertain peace. You Written by John Woo, Chen Han & Sheng might ask, then, what’s the point? No doubt, Heyu Red Cliff delivers the same edge-of-your-seat Starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and gutsy thrill and suspense The Dark Knight Zhang Fengyi does, but this film’s unique value comes from Rated R its insight into a lasting Chinese school of cul- Now Playing ture and philosophy. Red Cliff, drawn from the historical re- lockbusters these days run on one cords of the Three Kingdoms, enlivens one platform. There are heroes and vil- of the bloodiest periods in Chinese history. lains, honesty and deceit, escalating In 208 CE, China is split into three states un- B action and affection, and a grand der three different leaders: Cao Cao (Zhang purpose at stake. Flashback to the summer of Fengyi), Liu Bei (You Yong), and Sun Qian 2008: America’s box-office triumph The Dark (Chang Chen); one land under multiple men Knight was China’s record-breaking Red Cliff. naturally leads to agitation and a risky balance The Joker could be Cao Cao, the power-hun- between offensive and defensive action by gry chancellor war-mongering in an otherwise each kingdom. The film traces each leader’s content land. Batman and Harvey Dent could careful decision to go to war, the formation be Zhou Yu and Liu Bei, the morally righteous of alliances and strategies, and one woman’s Courtesy of Magnet Releasing leaders trying to stop Cao Cao. The characters power to keep each party vested in winning A determined and cunning Xiao Qiao (Chiling Lin) confronts her husband’s enemy, Cao trick and threaten, manipulate romance, and the battle. Cao, to make peace and stall time. the fate of Gotham City translates into the fate At the roots of the suspenseful plots con- ples grounded in ancient China. Early on, Liu stand nature, one can win a battle — literally. of the Chinese Kingdoms. There is really no cocted in Red Cliff are philosophical princi- Bei gives up a possible path of attack in or- Furthermore, when Zhu Ge Liang is seeking der to evacuate his loyal villagers. This focus alliance from Zhou Yu, he attains an answer on loyalty resurfaces as Cao Cao’s men are from a tense but passionate string instrument startled every time their outnumbered oppo- duet with the viceroy. Zhu’s ability to silently nents return to battle. In fact, one fundamental gauge another’s willingness to fight is repre- Chinese principle is that you do not necessar- sentative of the acuity honored in Chinese phi- ily need overpowering numbers to win a war losophy. In such ways, Red Cliff stimulates the — you just need cleverness. This cleverness audience with thousand-year principles that thoroughly manifests in Zhu Ge Liang (Take- remain relevant today. shi Kaneshiro) — Liu Bei’s chief strategist With so much subtle observation going on, who “reads” the sky, the earth, and the people as well as Zhu Ge Liang’s surreptitious smirks in order to devise methods to outsmart Cao left and right, suspense is overflowing. Who Cao. In a critical battle, Zhu Ge Liang wisely is telling the truth? Who is going to make a advises Zhou Yu (allied with Liu Bei) to use a mistake? Will this tactic work? How will the fire attack based on a key observation that the other side respond? You can only experience cloud formations signify a favorable change the suspense by viewing the film yourself. And in wind direction. Soon after, Zhu Ge Liang a final note: as expected from a high-budget uses nature again by predicting the onset of Chinese film, cinematography in Red Cliff is fog. In fact, Zhu Ge Liang’s seemingly perfect breathtaking — from the opening scene with control of the skies seems rather unrealistic; a thousand horses to panoramic views of the what are the chances that the wind changes tallest mountains and longest rivers, the visu- and fog shows up just when Zhu Ge Liang als successfully characterize the value of this courtesy of Magnet Releasing needs it? vast nation all the kingdoms are fighting for. Zhao Yun (Jun Hu), the dignified warrior who saves his emperor’s infant son from Such exaggerated incidents only serve to It’s a film for the enthusiast of nature and a slaughter, braves combat with a loyal legion. emphasize the basic tenet that if one can under- population. December 4, 2009 Ar t s The Tech Page 9 MOVIE Review hh½ / 4 After End of Time, Father and Son Follow ‘The Road’ Another Look Into the Post-Apocalypse By Sun Kim a happier time, with piano playing, flowing STAFF WRITER sundresses, and vibrant flower gardens. There The Road are also not so happy flashbacks that include Directed by John Hillcoat the wife’s unwillingness to bring the son to Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy term, bitter thoughts of agonized existence, and Starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit- eventually suicide. Most of the film consists of McPhee melancholy shots of desolate forests and towns Rated R (the backdrop for much of the filming was Now Playing Pennsylvania) while interspersing various plot devices to develop McCarthy’s story. The direc- crawled in spray paint, “Behold … the tor strings these shots and plot devices rather Valley of Slaughter” serves as an omi- slowly, pacing the film such that the audience’s nous warning before the director low- attention is held but not too strongly. Sers his lens into the desolation of bleak Although I had several issues with the plot, hopelessness and human depravity. The Road, I cannot take them up here (because I haven’t based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the read the novel, but I assume the film is a faithful same name written by Cormac McCarthy (No adaptation). The film is painfully slow, almost Country for Old Men), focuses on an unnamed like the dragged out debilitation of Mortensen father (played by Viggo Mortensen) and his son over the course of the movie. Much care is (played by Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they struggle taken to make sure every grimace, open wound, Macall Polay— 2929/Dimension Films for survival after a previous cataclysmic event and obvious emotional response of despair is Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee star in John Hillcoat’s The Road, based on wipes out most of the life on Earth. Those re- painstakingly detailed. Most of it is gratuitous Cormac McCarthy’s Pulizter Prize winning novel. maining must scrounge around for supplies as and pointless, which is frustrating for much of they encounter impending perils, such as dwin- the film. nomination for Mortensen as he embodies a liv- sometimes violently so. Humans are locked in dling health, the unforgiving elements, and can- As a rumored contender for various Acade- ing skeleton, in body and spirit. In his acting de- storage cellars for slaughter. Hanging corpses nibals. The father is driven to lead the pair to the my Awards, The Road is a mediocre film at best. but, Smit-McPhee provides a refreshing contrast sway with frigid gusts. The road is paved with coast, hoping there will be other “good people” The strong suit of the film is Mortensen’s acting. to the doom and gloom of The Road, proving slush and debris of a previous world. Despite like them. He provides a quiet emotional power as he leads that hope, innocence, and goodwill can exist in this desolation, a feather of hope provides Most of the scenes in the film lack bright- his son through difficult passages. His display of the absence of law and order. The father teaches enough optimism to persevere in any circum- ness and hue, and the colors are subdued, dilut- moral ambiguity is especially exciting to watch his son about the perils in their lives, reminis- stance. As an analogy for life, the film presents ed away to emphasize the drained surroundings as he interacts with his provokers with increas- cent of the film The Pursuit of Happyness, with the fears and dangers of everyday existence as the camera sees. Contrasting scenes with light ing brutality with the progressing degradation of the similar theme of the father-son journey. mounting obstacles, yet the flicker of hope we are depicted as flashbacks that show the viewer his mind and body. I can foresee a Best Actor It goes without saying that the movie is grim, find carries us forward. The MIT Gilbert And Sullivan Players Present ‘The Mikado’

The MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players present The Mikado, which will be performed this Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. They will repeat the performance on December 12 and 13.

(left) Koko (David S. Rolnick ’12) is hoping for a kiss from his unwilling bride-to-be, Yum-Yum (Julie Lauren Stevens)

(top-right) Yum-Yum, played by Julie Lauren Stevens, is joined by her sisters Pitti-Sing (Virginia K. Quaney ’10) and Peep-Bo (Sarah E. Flow- ers ’12).

(middle-right) The townspeople of Titipu gather to celebrate the love of Yum-Yum (Julie Lauren Stevens) and Nanki-Poo (Barratt Park G) at the end of Act I.

(bottom-right) Pooh-Bah (Dan Salomon), Koko (David S. Rolnick ’12), and Pish-Tush (Jonathan Nussman) (left to right) receive an alarming message from the Mikado (Johari Frasier ’13).

Photography by Elijah Mena Page 10 The Tech Ar t s December 4, 2009 Concert Review Falling Out of Love, Italian Style The MIT Chamber Chorus Performs Italian Madrigals By Sudeep Agarwala the program; poignant, moving portrayals of formances were none different, yet offered a and Huan Zheng G (Soprano), solo work by STAFF WRITER yearning jilted lovers that resolve in despair. sharp contrast in texture and mood: groups of Yelena Bagdasarova ’10 (Soprano) deserves MIT Chamber Chorus The ensemble came to the inevitable conclu- three or four performers negotiated the often- special mention — a remarkably moving in- William Cutter, Conductor sion of all things related to love, performing harrowing harmonic landscape in remarkably terpretation of Alessandro Scarlatti’s Caldo Kresge Auditorium, Cambridge, MA madrigals that could be described as nothing intimate and sensitive interpretations of the Sangue that managed to garner genuine emo- November 21, 2009 other than Bitter / Hateful: vengeful, acerbic works of the Italian school of madrigal com- tion against the harrowing technical acrobat- textures and harmo- position. ics of the music. ar more than being in love, falling out nies replaced the once- Perhaps most in- Carlo Gesualdo’s stunningly tormented of love seems to be a popular topic of blissful optimism of Saturday’s musical journey teresting of Satur- Languisco e moro (a stunning performance music. Various iterations of the break- romantic love. day’s concert was of a beautiful work, repeated as an encore) F up song have been written for nearly Saturday’s musical was particularly well-presented. the collection of solo ended Saturday evening’s descent from first two thousand years and set to music for a far journey was particu- pieces performed by love to acrimonious disillusionment. Gesu- shorter time, never more cleverly and expres- larly well-presented. Madrigals are difficult pieces to the ensemble’s mem- aldo’s extended harmonic language highlights sively than the Italian masters nearly five hun- Madrigals are difficult bers, accompanied by chromatic tensions that resolve to their unex- dred years ago. The MIT Chamber Chorus pieces to perform: perform: there’s many ways to Karen Harvey on the pected conclusions almost as erotic release. It provided a glimpse into the panoply of tech- there’s many ways to skin the cat. piano. Although not is only to the Chamber Choir’s credit that the niques and expositions of these musicians. skin the cat and many necessarily of the Re- work came as alive as it did. Gesualdo’s work The newly-enamored were certainly invit- of them seem to work, naissance period (in is tragic, to say the least, but after an evening ed, but the concert seemed especially geared although each of them lend their own subtle- addition to the sixteenth century Caccini, of bitter disappointment and loss, Gesualdo’s towards the lovelorn, both chronic and tem- ties. Full ensemble performances of works by Baroque, Classical and even bel canto com- madrigal introduced a faint glimmer of joy; porary. Saturday evening’s concert descended Phillipe de Monte, Vincenzo Bellavere Clau- posers made brief appearances throughout the playing with the Renaissance imagery of fa- from bliss to desolation in three parts. The dio Monteverdi, Luca Marenzio, Gaiches de evening), these solo works offered yet another tality as sexual climax, Gesualdo’s madrigal first, First Love / Infatuation, presented a ro- Wert, and Carlo Gesualdo were performed texture narrating the dramatic tale underlying seemed to whisper at the conclusion of Sat- mantic love at its happiest, reveling in lust with a surprisingly supple touch, the rela- Saturday’s concert. In addition to nuanced and urday evening’s concert: “Now should you be and romantic infatuation. As in life, this too tively large ensemble responding remarkably informed performances by Adrianna Tam ’11 merciful, it is sweet to die.” could not last: Saturday’s concert continued sensitively to subtle changes in time signa- (Alto), Nozomi Ando ’01 (Soprano), Jason If only all our most trying exploits ended to the Disillusioned / Confused portion of ture, dynamic and mood. Small ensemble per- Ku G (Tenor), Thomas Coffee G (Baritone), so well.

Concert Review Doomsday in THANK YOU . . . Paradise M IT Elvis Perkins in Dearland Celebrate The End By Charles Y. Lin SENIOR EDITOR Elvis Perkins in Dearland Paradise Rock Club, Boston, Mass. November 30, 2009

New York City native leading a New Orleans-inspired funeral dirge, playing from the Sacred Harp and preaching doomsday at the hipster infested Paradise Club. Discombobulating? Cir- Acuitous? Consider it just another detour on the remarkable ca- reer of Elvis Perkins and his band Dearland. For Perkins, it’s been a long journey through a formative past punc- ® tuated by tragic loss. Perkins lost his father to AIDS in 1992 and his Bose® Wave® music system mother in the 9/11 attacks. And though he rarely broaches this subject in his work or interviews, he has admitted that these events have deeply shaped his music and life. To hear an Elvis Perkins in Dearland concert is to experience not the funeral, but the resurrection. Perkins sings of doomsday, the bombs, the goodbyes, the cemeteries, and the loneliness — all that sad stuff. ThankThank you you to to Students, Students, But filtered through him and his band, it somehow sounds triumphant, more a call to celebrate than to grieve. Faculty, Staff and Playing Monday night at the Paradise Rock Club, Perkins and his Faculty, Staff and band infused their set with momentum and vibrancy, starting from the Employees of M.I.T. opening number when the entire band marched through the audience and then assembled on stage dancing like madmen. With fast moving bass lines and eerie aural injections of brass, strings, and accordion, the BoseEmployees Corporation was of M.I.T. founded and able hands of Elvis Perkins in Dearland made mourning become elec- tric, (I’ve been waiting 8 years to appropriately use this pun) and the crowd responded all evening, eventually summoning a second encore, builtBose by Corporation M.I.T. people. was Our successfounded in and despite Perkins’s ailing vocal chords. QuietComfort ® 2 Acoustic Noise If death and rebirth are Perkins’s thematic base, then New Orleans ® Cancelling Headphones built by M.I.T. people. Our success in is his stylistic muse. He draws equally from the gospel and voodoo of research and in business is a result, in the Big Easy and his songs are laced with a decadent timelessness that evokes opulence and decay. His warbling whispered singing plays a research and in business is a result, in ghostly accompaniment to the funereal marching band around him. no small part, of what M.I.T. hasdone But it’s not all black suits and veils. Elvis Perkins in Dearland never plod along. They never seem weighted down by a casket. Yes, bodies no small part, of what M.I.T. has done are being buried, and, yes, mortality hangs like a damp rag, but Per- kins never seems to get the memo, as he triumphantly proclaimed in TM for us. As one measure of our apprecia- for us. As one measure of our apprecia- his second number. “It’s the cemetery of the century, but hey it was a starry day.” With his thumb on his nose, Perkins made a poor pallbearer. “I tion,tion, we we are are extending extending special special purchase purchase don’t let doomsday bother me. Do you let it bother you?” he insisted. That resilience in the face of all the sad stuff, is the nucleus of Perkins’s joy, and why his music is so morbidly infectious. It is the singular ele- privilegesprivileges to all to students all students and employees and employees ment that turns his songs into celebrations and makes you not forget about death, but for a brief moment laugh in its face. Companion® 3 multimedia This is the band that I want playing when they lower my bones. At ® of M.I.T. for their personal use. Companion speaker3 multimedia system of M.I.T. for their personal use. least then there will be dancing. speaker system

Eating Disorder Treatment Please direct all inquiries to the “M.I.T. Purchase Program.” Treatment of Adults Suffering from Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa Bose Corporation Informed clinicians refer their clients to 1-800-444-BOSE Laurel Hill Inn. LHI provides the most effective treatment and deploys the highest staff-to-client ratio in New England. We provide extensive programming in a highly structured and supervised non-institutional ©2004 Bose Corporation. Patent rights issued and/or pending. Delivery is subject to product availability. therapeutic setting. Evening, day, and residential treatment as well as weekly support groups in West Medford and West Somerville. Call Linda at 781 396-1116 or visit www.laurelhillinn.com. December 4, 2009 Ar t s The Tech Page 11 OPERA Review Love and Loss in Arcadia A Breathtaking Version of Handel’s ‘Acis and Galatea’ By Sudeep Agarwala stage Saturday evening littered with a cham- ning’s performance. Every STAFF WRITER ber orchestra receiving music and notes from Handel opera seems to have Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Opera none other than Handel, who would later play this solitary moments of pa- Jordan Hall, Boston, MA the part of the shepherd Damon. John Gay and thos: after Polyphemus, just November 28, 2009 the disfigured Alexander Pope, later to play the finished fuming over rejected shepherd Corydon and the cyclops Polyphe- love, storms in a d minor aria f the fifteen books of Ovid’sMetamor - mus, respectively, were there too, scribbling (Cease to Beauty to be su- phoses, the story of Acis and Galatea notes throughout the entire performance. All ing), it is Corydon, composed occupies less than two hundred lines these characters were neatly framed around voice of conciliation, that en- O of a single book: the mortal Acis and the lovers James Brydges, as Acis, and Cas- ters in a subtle F major air the nymph Galatea are in love, but the cyclops sandra Willoughby, as Galatea. (Would you gain the tender Polyphemus (yes, that Polyphemus, the one In addition to the exciting cognitive dis- Creature). The movement is from the Odyssey; he, like most everything sonances presented in the setting, Saturday’s arresting in its contrast — a else, also has a back-story) is in love with performance presented other exciting features. juxtaposition of rage and rea- Galatea too. As these things go, Galatea re- The action unfolded with Douglas Williams, son, of conviction and pathos bukes him and Polyphemus, understandably as Polyphemus, attempting to seduce Teresa that makes Handel not only upset, expresses his rage in the only way he Wakim (stepping in for the billed Amanda For- the composer he is, but also knows how: he crushes Acis with a boulder. sythe) as Galatea with a ravishing recitation a supreme dramatist. It is in- Ovid completes the metamorphic tale on a of one of Pope’s own pastoral poems (Handel credibly difficult to describe light note, where Galatea, in her grief, immor- had already set parts of this poem in his opera Wilder’s achievement at this talizes her lover by turning him into a river. Semele). As Polyphemus was rebuked and the point in the opera: how easy The story, the plot all imitate dozens of others two parted ways, the ensemble cracked into to over-sing, to trample on the in the work, enough so that it seems like this a dizzying performance of the overture, bap- delicate construction Handel one was another in a series of filler material tizing an intensely exciting evening of music: consummates. And although Ovid had prepared to pad his tome. tenor Aaron Sheehan as the love-lorn James Wilder’s radiant tone was But triviality, it seems, is what great works Brydges/Acis produced a dramatic and well successful in delivering the take for their fodder and George Frederick rounded sound, an apt counterpoint to soprano aria, it was in the intellectual Handel’s 1718 setting of Ovid’s story was Teresa Wakim as the equally smitten Cassan- treatment of the moment that poised to become just that. James Brydges dra Willoughby/Galatea who graced the stage where he achieved notewor- Courtesy of David Walker (recently remarried to the wealthy Cassandra with a sparkling, flexible instrument. Doug- thy greatness: in addition Teresa Wakim as Galatea and Douglas Williams as Willoughby) spared no expense on Acis and las Williams as Alexander Pope/Polyphemus, to his considerable abilities Polyphemus perform Acis and Galatea, one of Handel’s Galatea, the last opera Handel would write although sometimes appearing destabilized as a musician, it was the at- operas, as part of the Boston Early Music Festival Cham- for private commission: the libretto was writ- while negotiating the drama of the work, was tenuated drama steeped with ber Opera Series. ten by John Gay and to a lesser extent, John regardless impeccable in his vocal technique subtle tones of nostalgia that Hughes and Alexander Pope (authors who filling the space with rich circles of deeply brought the complexities of this moment more than clever, it makes the work obtain- manage to torture high school students to this satisfying sound. home. able; that, yes, though pastorals are somewhat day); the music, was exclusively written by It was a pity not to hear more from Da- The same can be said, in general, of Sat- awkward constructions for various feats of lit- Handel who was gaining considerable celeb- mon and Corydon; tenor Jason McStoots, as urday’s performance of Acis and Galatea. erature, it’s easy to forget that the drama, the rity on the London stage. Handel/Damon, initially produced a some- Ensemble work was impeccable, stamped and action, the emotions that are portrayed there Under the stage direction of Gilbert Blin, what stilted, stiff sound that remained largely sealed by the unmistakable thumbprint of ac- are very real things that motivate thoughts and Saturday evening’s performance of Handel’s agnostic to Handel’s melismatic passages. complished musicians. But it was the minuti- actions in the modern world. Acis and Galatea by the Boston Early Music McStoots later came into the role during his ae that made the work noteworthy. Translating Saturday’s performance was preceded by a Festival Chamber Opera Series set Arcadia in second act air Consider, fond Shepard, where eighteenth century sensibilities to the modern pre-concert lecture by Ellen Harris, an informed Brydges’s parlor and featured members of this his satin tone inveighed the full brute force of era is difficult and often leads to ruin; aesthet- analysis and survey of the history of Handel’s cast of eighteenth-century celebrity as players reason against Polyphemus’s rage. ics change and ideas on performance practice work. Boston Early Music Festival continues in Handel’s setting of the work. Jordan Hall’s Tenor Zachary Wilder, as Gay/Corydon, are almost always inconstant. But framing the its season on January 30, with a performance magnificent ornamental stage hosted a player was clearly the hidden talent of Saturday eve- drama in the context of real-life characters is by the Icelandic ensemble Sequentia. CD REVIEW Digital Primitives: Playing ‘Out’ with a Compass Latest Album ‘Hum, Crackle & Pop’ a Return to Roots for Free Jazz By Samuel Markson represent a new, interesting force on the New Sermon” questioning, then affirming the peo- Cooper Moore has paid his dues with the blues, Associate Arts Editor York free jazz scene. They use a bit more space ple’s rights) carries a from-the-pulpit feel, an and as such his free playing is less pretentious, Digital Primitives than a lot of other groups, but do so without empowered, unrushed drone. Throughout the more honest than other young guys who might Hum, Crackle & Pop losing any of their drive. True to their name, album, Moore uses more than a few instru- be more “technically” brilliant (whatever that Produced by Assif Tsahar they are fresh, exact, ments, including the means). Jazz is, or should be, more than an ex- Hopscotch Records analytical, and born of diddly-bo and mouth- ercise in sonic permutation, and Cooper Moore September 22, 2009 the internet age, while bow, both traditional, reminds us of that. still tied to more pri- Jazz is, or should be, more than if rare, centerpieces That being said, a lot of Moore’s work he world of free jazz can be a harsh mal jazz/blues roots. of Appalachian blues, wouldn’t mean that much without Tsahar, place, a radical, norm-destroying battle- It’s free jazz grounded an exercise in sonic permutation, both built by Moore Moore’s frequent collaborator over the past ground, with the players, in their attempt in soul. and Cooper Moore reminds us himself (Moore is two decades. Assif Tsahar, moving to New T to create something original, spending a Their sound is in- known for constructing York City in 1990 from Israel to play on the lot of time focusing on tearing down the old. herently minimalist. of that. many of his own instru- jazz scene there, brings in a sensitive aspect to All that chopping and carving and shaping can The high level of space, ments; he is quoted in the album. His tone is moderate, constrained, turn a collaboration into a pile of dust if you compared to a lot of the Jerusalem Post as while still exploring the more bizarre tonalities aren’t careful. The solution: focus on the ba- other noise on the scene saying “I have taken expressible on a sax or clarinet. He plays out, sics. today, affords each player a lot of individual- stuff out [sic] a dumpster to make an instru- but texturally. It’s exotic, and his non-American Enter Digital Primitives. They might be a ity, and space to flaunt their own background ment which I have used at gigs”). He’s a bastion background seems to color the music in a way new strain of avant-soul; mixing the Southern and sound. Take vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/ of simple, self-sufficient bluesiness amid a jazz that American players couldn’t. gospel rootsiness of Cooper Moore, playing off quasi-frontman Cooper Moore. Raised in the scene that too easily becomes absorbed with The ensemble is rounded out by Chad Tay- the Dolphyesque wails of Assif Tsahar, all laid Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia amid the lat- displays of chops, where young virtuosos are lor on drums, a player with a funky groove, over the minimalist syncopated textures of per- ter half of the Jim Crow era, his playing (and all brought up with expensive horns, and ris- at times reminiscent of Billy Martin (from cussionist Chad Taylor, the Digital Primitives singing — he intones a jazz-sermon in “The ing stars expect their instruments to be custom. Medeski, Martin and Wood). Page 12 The Tech December 4, 2009 Requests from Groups with Space H.M.’s Brain Dissection Space Is X LSC Chorallaries By Benedict Carey slicing their field’s most famous organ. The Malaysian Students Cross Products The New York Times two-day process will produce about 2,500 (Will stay in same Association Debate Team San Diego tissue samples for analysis. space. Roommates Marching Band Energy Club Hard, ASA may be swapped) MITOC European Club Researchers at UCSD are dissecting the A computer recording each sample African Students MITSFS Folk Dance Club brain of amnesia patient H.M. and stream- will produce a searchable Google Earth- Association Mocha Moves How to GAMIT ing live video of the process online. The like map of the brain with which scientists Amnesty Dance Squad IFC process began on Wednesday and can be expect to clarify the mystery of how and Tells Tech International Model United Lab for Chocolate viewed online at http://thebrainobservatory. where memories are created — and how ASA Space, from Page 1 APO Nations Science ucsd.edu/ through today. they are retrieved. ARCTAN Movements in Time Lion Dance Group Henry Molaison, referred to as H.M., “Ah ha ha!” Annese said, as he watched Asian Baptist office space somehow got overlooked.” Oori Pagan Students’ developed amnesia in 1953 after under- a computer-guided blade scrape the first Student Persian Students Group Groups will have just under one Koinonia Association Panhel going an experimental surgery to treat shaving of gray matter from Molaison’s fro- week to submit appeals to the ASA. Assassins’ Guild Radio Society SCA (Mitgaard) epilepsy. Scientists at MIT, including MIT zen brain. “One down, 2,499 more to go.” Those appeals are due at noon on Thurs- Ballroom Dance W1MX SEDS Professor Suzanne H. Corkin, have studied “It’s just amazing that this one patient day, December 10. Club Scuba Club Shakespeare H.M. since 1966 to gain insight into how — this one person — would contribute Black Women’s Snowriders Ensemble the brain forms memories. Molaison died so much historically to the early study of Groups requesting space Alliance Societo por Student Cable last December at the age of 82. memory,” said Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, a Groups who do not have space Brain Trust Esperanto Group The man who could not remember has professor of neuroscience at the Picower Caribbean Club but requested space were divided into Stop Our Silence SWE left scientists a gift that will provide in- Institute for Learning and Memory. “And Caving Club Strategic Games Tech Squares two categories, those requesting office Concert Band Society Techiya sights for generations to come: his brain, now his brain will be available” for future space and those requesting locker space. Dance Troupe Tango Club Thai Students at now being dissected and digitally mapped study. Within those categories, groups are pri- ESP Technique Yearbook MIT in exquisite detail. Good fortune and very bad luck con- oritized as A, B, or C, with all A groups Filipino Students UA The Tech Molaison — known during his lifetime spired to make Molaison one of science’s gaining space before any B group, and Association UHF Repeater Assn. Toons only as H.M., to protect his privacy — lost most valuable resources and most pro- all B groups gaining space before any C Gilbert & Sullivan Voo Doo Magazine the ability to form new memories after a ductive collaborators. Growing up in and group. Go Club brain operation in 1953, and over the next around Hartford, Conn., he began to suf- Guild of Bellringers Z For office space, there are 3A prior- Hapa Y (May lose space) half century he became the most studied fer seizures as a boy. The seizures grew ity, 8 B priority, and 13 C priority. Hawaii Club (May move to Chess Club patient in brain science. worse after he was knocked to the ground For locker space, there are 18 A pri- Hellenic Students’ similar space) Design for Change He consented years ago to donate his by a bicycle rider, and by the time he was ority, 7 B priority, and 9 C priority. Association Anime Club Engineers Without brain for study, and last February Dr. Ja- 26 they were so severe he consented to an Hindu Students Assoc. of Taiwanese Borders copo Annese, an assistant professor of ra- experimental brain operation to relieve Space discussion Council Students MURJ diology at the University of California, San them. Meyer emphasized that the difficulty Korean Students Ballroom Dance Resonance Diego, traveled across the country and flew His doctor, the prominent brain surgeon this year, as always, is in allocating the Association Team Ridonkulous back with the brain seated next to him on William Beecher Scoville, suctioned out Lindy Hop Society Chinese Students Rune finite amount of space available to stu- Logarhythms Club Sangam Jet Blue. two slug-sized slivers of tissue, one from dent groups at MIT. There are always SEBC Just after noon on Wednesday, on the each side of the brain. The operation con- more groups who want space, but the first anniversary of Molaison’s death at 82 trolled the seizures, but it soon became amount of space stays about the same. from pulmonary complications, Annese and clear that the patient could not form new Meyer said that some small spaces fellow neuroscientists began painstakingly memories. in Walker Memorial that were previously New Office Space Requests used by the Campus Activities Complex ASA Locker MIT Quidditch Team MIT Consulting Group may become available. “It’s small but it MURJ MIT RAAS counts for something!” she said. A priority: C priority: OrigaMIT Turkish Student Association Meyer also hopes that space in N52 DormCon Africa Information Technology Space Requests Rune C priority: being vacated by the Visual Arts Pro- MIT Live Music Connection Initiative Sangam gram as they move to the Media Lab shared a cappella sound Colleges Against Cancer A priority: Traders Africa Information Technology Japanese Association Active Minds Undergraduate Biochemistry Initiative Extension might be available to student B priority: Latter-day Saint Student Applied Buddhism Association Colleges Against Cancer groups. Asian Christian Fellowship Association Asian Christian Fellowship United Christian Fellowship Japanese Association On the other hand, there has been no Camp Kesem Leadership Training Casino Rueda Group Latter-day Saint Student formal discussion of N52 with the Com- Chess Club Institute Chess Club Association mittee for Review of Space Planning ESP (additional storage) MIT Film Chinese Ensemble B priority: Leadership Training Institute (CRSP, pronounced “crisp”), nor with MITOC (additional room) Cooperative Easy Rider Arab Student Organization MIT Film Cooperative the space administrators in the Provost’s MURJ MIT STAND Global Poverty Initiative China Care MIT STAND OrigaMIT Resonance Office, Meyer said, “yet.” Habitat for Humanity Design for Change Resonance Rune SEBC Imobilare Engineers Without Borders SEBC Bike Sharing 3.0 the future of urban shared transport and mixed mobility

Monday, December 7, Featuring: Matthieu Fierling, Autolib' / Vélib' Paris 5:30 - 7:30pm robin Chase, Founder of ZipCar and GoLoco niCole FreedMan, Director of Bicycle Pro- Kirsch Auditorium, grams, City of Boston Stata Center Carlo ratti, Director, SenseableCity Lab Chris Zegras, Assistant Professor, Depart- Refreshments will follow. ment of Urban Studies and Planning ryan Chin, PhD Candidate, MIT Media Lab, A discussion of the past, present and future of Smart Cities Group shared-transport systems using Paris’ Velib as a model. The panel will feature creators of entrepre- neurial models and urban systems. See mit.edu/ misti for more information and to RSVP.

Co-sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Consulate in Boston ? December 4, 2009 The Tech Page 13 Did Not Reapply For Office Space Zwane Remembered as Kind, Thoughtful Asian American Association Zwane, from Page 1 including a poetry group he founded, mer. When he told Zwane he was ing his sister, a couple of years his Campus Crusade for Cthulhu and to volunteering, including work moving off-campus and could use younger. This summer he worked Chinese Student and Scholar Association well being,” she said. to improve his school’s recycling some help moving, Zwane put to- part-time at least three different Dance Mix Coalition But he didn’t just talk spiritual- program and work at an orphanage. gether a contraption that let them campus jobs, spent his money care- Entrepreneurs Club ity. Zwane liked to learn words from He worked hard, Mhlanga said, carry things behind a bicycle. “Ka- fully, and saved money so that he FIRST, MIT languages other people spoke, and and “never slept until he got things belo, this will never work,” he said could help out his family, Scroggins International Students Association his face would light up when he done.” Once they found him asleep, — but it worked well, and they got said. All the time, he also studied, Mars Society Musical Theatre Guild got the pronunciation right, Tasissa face buried in a physics book, where plenty of stares as they crossed the hoping to prepare himself academi- Network of Sloan Undergraduate said. he had studied through the night. Harvard Bridge. cally for the fall semester. Women Despite his academic achieve- At MIT, he was the same way — He “loved to fix anything that’s “I strongly believe in helping oth- Sloan Undergraduate Management ments, Zwane was “the most mod- “extremely hard working,” Sweet broken — give it to Kabelo, and he’ll er people. Committing one’s life to Association est person,” said Mhlanga. He was said. He spent a lot of time studying fix it in five seconds,” Tasissa said. the betterment of others has to be the South Asian American Students soft-spoken and nice, friends said. but, aside from his interest in a his- Zwane liked water; Scroggins most satisfying thing. That is what I Tiddlywinks Association, MIT Friends remembered him using tory class, friends don’t remember remembered a sailing trip. He also plan to do with my life regardless of Vietnamese Students Association the South African slang “howzit” any specific academic interests. He liked biking all over Boston, run- what field I end up in,” he wrote in Western Hemisphere Project WMBR Radio (“how’s it going?”). And he called looked forward to taking subjects in ning for miles, reading and writing his application to ESG. Women’s Initiative people older than him “sir” and mechanical engineering, his major. poetry, and drawing. At Zwane’s memorial service, “ma’am,” Scroggins said. Zwane had a “passion for build- He was proud of Swazi culture, Scroggins gave a eulogy. “I saw joy In Swaziland, Zwane dedicated ing,” his friend Tassisa said, which but Zwane didn’t talk much about in his life, explosions of praise, and Did Not Reapply himself to his studies, to his clubs, came through in a big way this sum- his home, where his mother is rais- bold declarations,” he said. For Locker or General Storage Space AID-MIT Bangladeshi Students Bhangra Club Chamak ClubMex Hippocratic Societey Iranian Studies Group La Union Chicana por Aztlan Middle East Education Through Technology MITService Muslim Students’ Association Persian Students Association Pro-Life Students for Israel

“These groups need to submit late applications as appeals or they WILL LOSE their currently allocated space.,” the ASA allo- cation says.

See http://asa.mit.edu/space for detailed breakdowns of space, as well as notes on the reasons and details of X,Y,Z cat- egorization. Henisi. Pat, cor sum nos doloreet elesseq uatuera esectem doloboreet, con heniscidunt at, quat dolobore diam, veliquisl el ut adip eraesto duis dolor sum ex exeros ea faci ea amcommo lorper adit nullaor at, commy nosto odolenim nostrud et laore feu facidunt alit lutetue modolor accum ea am, quamcon sequat wisl ullam, consequat. Iquat. Ut el iure feugait elit, quis adionsectet ex endre facip er accum zzrit lor sustis aut verit, sed modolor eraessim et dolore duis nisis ad minit in vendrem quatums andigna feuissed enim zzriusci tem nos dipsusto od magniat wismod tat, voluptat. Ut amcon volesequisl iure deliscillam quatetum dolorpe riusto del eriusto core facilit, qui tem nonsenim zzriustrud dolore conse molestrud modolore corpercilla feu faccum quisci blan volut iustrud minim ipsum ad magnibh esequatem qui bla con volor sectem zzrit eum nonum ese dolortisis amconullaore vulla feu feu feu feum duipsus tionsectem erci tet aci endreet lor si. SOURCE: Association of Student Magnim do doloreet, conulput wisi ex ex eu facincilit alit iustissed eugue vel dolore vent Activities.

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Solution to Sudoku from page 7 Join the MIT Alpine Skiing Club and compete in slalom and giant 4 8 2 5 9 1 6 7 3 slalom or just come out and have a great time racing down slopes on 3 5 6 4 8 7 9 2 1 9 1 7 2 6 3 5 4 8 some amazing mountains!!! 8 2 1 7 5 6 3 9 4 Come join us for practices every weekday at 5:10 pm in front of ABP 5 7 4 3 1 9 8 6 2 6 9 3 8 4 2 1 5 7 in the Z Center to see what we’re about and how much fun we have! 1 4 8 6 7 5 2 3 9 7 3 5 9 2 8 4 1 6 Bored over IAP? Come join The Tech! [email protected] 2 6 9 1 3 4 7 8 5 Page 14 The Tech December 4, 2009

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Boston Chamber Music Society Feng Wu—The Tech Holiday Concert: All Bach Program MIT Medical Program Manager for Sexual Health Kate McCarthy and her colleague stand outside the Coffeehouse welcoming students to the first annual Know Your Status Day, which offered free HIV testing to students on December 1. Know Your Status Day coincided with this year’s World Sunday, December 12 at 2:00pm AIDS Day. First Church in Cambridge, Congregational 11 Garden Street, Cambridge Pa i d Advertisement You deserve a factual look at . . . Three Sinfonias, arr. for Flute and Strings Partita for Solo Flute in A minor, BWV 1013 Israel: A Light unto the Nations Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, arr. for String Trio Those who demonize Israel are either misinformed or malevolent Fenwick Smith, flute Lucy Chapman, violin If that proverbial man from Mars came to visit and read the world’s newspapers, especially those in the Arab and Muslim world, he would be convinced that Israel was the most evil nation in the world and the source of all of Roger Tapping, viola the world’s strife. Natasha Brofsky, cello What are the facts? ridiculous, so preposterous, it is hard to believe that A nation to be emulated. The reality, of course, is serious people can countenance it. The exact opposite Two tickets per MIT student ID that Israel is a nation, a society, that should be is the case. Israel is the only country in its benighted Tickets available at the MIT Office of the Arts (E15-205) admired and emulated by many countries in the neighborhood in which people of all colors and world. The very fact of how the State of Israel came religions prosper and have equal rights. Israel, Monday - Friday 2:30-5:30pm into being is one of the most inspiring in history. expending substantial effort, rescued tens of Born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, it has emerged thousands of black Jews from Ethiopia. And it has as one of the most advanced, productive and given assistance and absorbed countless Christian prosperous countries in the world. expatriates from Sudan, who escaped from being The demonization of slaughtered by their Israel, assiduously “As the prophet Isaiah presaged: Israel is Muslim countrymen. cultivated by the Muslim Israel’s over one million Shen Yun world, has reached a indeed a Light unto the Nations.” Arab citizens enjoy the The show ThaT’s leaving millions in awe. crescendo following same rights and privileges Israel’s recent defensive action in Gaza. Instead of as their Jewish fellows. They are represented in the being grateful to the hated Jews for having totally Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and are members of its withdrawn, the Palestinian Gazans showed their bureaucracy, of its judiciary, and of its diplomatic gratitude by almost daily pounding Israeli towns with service. close to 10,000 rockets and bombs. After countless All over the world, Leftists, including in the United warnings, Israel ultimately decided to put an end to States and, sad to say, even in Israel itself, tirelessly this travesty. condemn and vilify Israel. Why would they do that? When Israel finally did invade Gaza it took the most First, of course, there is good old-fashioned anti- elaborate precautions not to hurt civilians. As a first Semitism. Second, many of those who hate the United in the history of warfare, Israel dropped tens of States vent their poison on Israel, which they thousands of leaflets, warning the population and consider being America's puppet in that area of the urging it to abandon areas in which military action world. But Israel should certainly get top grades in all would take place. The Israeli military made thousands areas important to the Left. In contrast to all its of phone calls urging people to leave areas that would enemies, Israel has the same democratic institutions come under attack. But fighting in a densely as the United States. All religions thrive freely in populated environment is difficult and loss of civilian Israel. Also, in contrast to all of its enemies, women life is hard to avoid. Hamas fighters wear no uniforms. have the same rights as men. The Chief Justice of It is impossible to tell them from civilians. Is a person Israel’s Supreme Court is a woman. One-sixth of the who allows a rocket launcher in his backyard a Knesset are women. Compare that to Saudi Arabia, a civilian or a fighter? And how about using schools, medieval theocracy, where women are not allowed to hospitals and mosques as munitions depots and staff drive cars, where they cannot leave the country centers? The hue and cry of Israel’s demonizers in without permission of a male relative, and where they accusing it of “disproportionate force” is totally can be and often are condemned to up to 60 lashes if absurd. The ultimate insult, comparing Israel to the the “modesty police” deems them not to be properly Nazis, is freely bandied about by Israel’s detractors. dressed in public. Gays and lesbians are totally Israel is not an “apartheid state.” Another familiar unmolested in Israel; in the surrounding Muslim tack of Israel’s vilifiers is to call it an “apartheid state,” countries they would be subjected to the death on the model of former South Africa. But that is so penalty. In spite of demonization and vilification by so much of the world, Israel is indeed a Light unto the Nations. The State of Israel is the foremost creation of the Jewish enterprise and Jewish intellect that has benefited every country in which Jews dwell, certainly our own country, the United States. Second only to the United States itself, Israel is the world’s most important factor in science and technology, way out of proportion to the small size of its population. Israeli Jews are at the forefront of the arts, the sciences, law and medicine. They have JAN 8–10 brought all these sterling qualities to bear in building their own country: Israel. By necessity, they have also become outstanding in agriculture and, most surprisingly, in the military. What a shame that the Arabs opted BOSTON OPERA HOUSE not to participate in this progress and this prosperity and chose instead the path of revenge, of Jihad and of martyrdom. As the prophet Isaiah presaged: Israel is indeed a Light unto the Nations. all-new 2010 PRogRam wiTH livE ORcHESTRA This message has been published and paid for by FLAME is a tax-exempt, non-profit educational 501 (c)(3) organization. Its purpose is the research and publication of the facts regarding 1-800-954-4606 developments in the Middle East and exposing false propaganda that might harm the interests of the United States and its allies in that area of BostonShows.org the world. Your tax-deductible contributions are welcome. They enable Facts and Logic About the Middle East us to pursue these goals and to publish these messages in national ShenYunPerformingArts.org P.O. Box 590359 ■ San Francisco, CA 94159 newspapers and magazines. We have virtually no overhead. Almost all of our revenue pays for our educational work, for these clarifying Presented by Falun Dafa Association of New England Gerardo Joffe, President messages, and for related direct mail. 119

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The Sloan Subject Bidding (SloanBid) System Bidding Dates for Spring, 2010 Courses

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Page 16 The Tech December 4, 2009 Sp o r t s Upcoming Athletics Weekend Rubino, Doyle Named Will Showcase Winter Sports CoSIDA Academic All- By Russell Spivak Bartolotta ’09, receiving their first bid ing lineup. Noel Hollingsworth ’12 Sports Staff to the NCAA Division III tournament joins the two alongside captains Wil- Americans for 2009–10 MIT will be hosting an Athletics in the program’s history. The Cardi- lard “Billy” J. Johnson ’09 and Eric Weekend this weekend to emphasize nal and Grey captured their first win S. Zuk ’11 to round out a starting five By Russell Spivak last year. Doyle anchored the defen- Tech’s winter sports. Headlining the in NCAA tournament play in school that has begun its season 5-0 and 1-0 Team Member sive secondary, providing the Cardi- event will be the men’s history by upsetting Rhode Island in NEWMAC conference play. Alex F. Rubino ’10 and Brian P. nal and Grey defense with 44 tackles, and women’s basketball College as well. The Engineers fell in Johnson attributes the initial suc- Doyle ’11 were named as ESPN The 27 solo, 1.5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, teams. The MIT bas- the next round, but the team had cre- cess to the offseason work put in af- Magazine College Sports Information and 4 interceptions. Doyle has played ketball programs have ated new expectations and raised the ter the unprecedented NCAA run. “It Directors of America all over the field, but has now found a been able to raise the bar for MIT basketball. began literally a week after the sea- (CoSIDA) Academic steady, comfortable home as a safety school spirit and unite This year, MIT brings in a very son was over last year. We knew that All-Americans. Both while still returning punts and kicks the student body, creating some much strong recruiting class of seven fresh- our success for the ’09–’10 season received All-NEFC ac- for the Engineers. needed athletic buzz across campus. men to help the seven returning up- was riding on our new players. It was colades for their perfor- When Doyle first heard he was Men’s basketball has been able to perclassmen. These freshmen have imperative that these eight newcom- mances on the field and named to the 2nd Academic All- carry last year’s momentum into the been contributing right out of the gate. ers got up to speed with our system being named to the first team All-Dis- America team, he was “Pretty shocked 2009–2010 season. Last year’s team William Tashman ’13 and Mitchell as quickly as possible, so that by the trict for their success in the classroom and honored at same time. I work hard saw unprecedented success under H. Kates ’13 highlight a freshman time the season started they weren’t last week. Rubino, a third-year starter, academically, but around here so many Head Coach Larry Anderson and now- class, as the duo provides excitement playing as newcomers, but as veter- is receiving the award for the second guys who work just as hard as I do so I graduated captain James M. “Jimmy” and points to an already strong start- ans. With almost the whole team here time, this year on the first team, while never knew I’d have the opportunity to over the summer, we trained six days Doyle finds his way onto the second be singled out at a place like this. It is a week with a conditioning/lifting team for the first time in his career. a real honor and very humbling to be schedule made specifically for us and Rubino, a captain in his final sea- singled out on a national level.” played in summer league games twice son, finished his MIT career with 43 Rubino and Doyle follow a sto- a week against great competition. It is tackles, 19 of which were solo. Ad- ried history of MIT Football players really paying off now.” ditionally, he accounted for one sack who have received the award from And with MIT’s first NCAA birth and one interception while leading the CoSIDA, who nominate a total of in the program’s history, how far does the team with 12.0 tackles for losses. 44 offensive and 44 defensive play- the expectations raise? Where does Earlier, the NEFC awarded Rubino ers across the country in each of the the team look to next? “Plain and the Hal Chalmers Award to the Senior three divisions. According to Rubino, simple,” according to Johnson: “win Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Last year, “It is certainly an honor, something the national championship.” Rubino was named to the second team that MIT community can be proud The women’s basketball team alongside Thomas J. Franklin ’09. of. We’re not a big football school, has also been able to benefit from When asked about how he felt we have no D1 accolades, but this is an increased emphasis on basketball being named to the Academic All- something we can be proud of. Going from the student body. The female American Team twice, Rubino re- for all student athletes, not only can Engineers got off to a bit of a slow sponded enthusiastically, saying it is we get through MIT but we can also start with three straight loses, but “One of the highest recognitions I can excel as athletes. As well, there is no have been able to bounce back with get as a student-athlete at MIT. The doubt many people are deserving of two decisive victories over Lasell and life of a student athlete has been very such an award, but there are only so Albertus Magnus. The Cardinal and important to my development, and many they can give to MIT.” Grey is now 2-3 before starting con- this is a great culmination of my ef- Since 2004, the football program ference play. forts while at MIT.” has produced 5 Academic All-Amer- But second-year coach Sonia Ra- Doyle provided stability in an icans aside from Rubino and Doyle, man has the team coming together, inexperienced secondary, playing including Kevin M. Yurkerwich ‘06, and just in time to start conference alongside a rookie, a converted run- Christopher W. Ruggiero ‘07, and play. Captains Sally W. Simpson ’10 ning back, and a safety who missed Franklin. and Kristen E. Whaley ’11 provide a steady balance of 15 points and 12 re- Sunny X. Long—The Tech bounds a game combined and veteran Erica N. Pino ’13 drives around a U.S. Coast Guard Academy de- leadership for a starting lineup that Up c o m i n g Ho m e Ev e n t s fender in the first half of the women’s basketball game on December sports three freshmen. Aparna A. Sud 2. The engineers were defeated 47-38. ’13 leads the team in scoring, along- Friday, December 4, 2009 side Anna L. Merrifield ’13, a strong Rifle vs. VMI, Wentworth, and Mass. Maritime 6 p.m., duPont Gym presence in the paint, and Lauren S. Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving — MIT Invitational START-UPS PT EMPLOYMENT Burton ’13, the leader in assists and 6:30 p.m., Z-Center Pool steals, to round out a youthful start- Saturday, December 5, 2009 Accountalent Seeking Grad. Student ing five that should pave the way for Squash vs. Tufts University 9:45 a.m., Z-Center Courts Management Corp. for 2-3 day paper, $500-$700. a bright future. Squash vs. Middlebury College 2:30 p.m., Z-Center Courts Some math. Req. Knowledge The men’s and women’s teams Squash vs. Northeastern University 6:30 p.m., Z-Center Courts Consultants and CPAs will play this season’s first double Women’s Baskeball vs. Springfield College 1 p.m., Rockwell Cage to over 350 start-ups of fluid dynamics and engine header at the Rockwell Cages on Sat- Men’s Basketball vs. Gordon College 3 p.m., Rockwell Cage • Business Formation theory, evaluate engine design. urday. The women will begin the day Rifle vs. VMI, Wentworth, and Mass. Maritime 6 p.m., duPont Gym and Plans at 1:00 p.m. against Springfield Col- Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving — MIT Invitational • CFO services lege, and the men will follow at 3:00 6:30 p.m., Z-Center Pool Contact [email protected] p.m. against Gordon College. • Taxesprint ad 4 x 5 for the tech.pdf 1 11/17/09All answered. 12:40 PM www.accountalent.com 978-621-0759 Tech Sport Taekwondo Team Takes MIT Museum Store 20%Second Off at Store ECTC Items Tournament Sunday By Tara Sarathi uang, took second at what was thus sparring competition began, MIT team member far the largest tournament in league confidently took on their opponents. Smile. Laugh. Ponder. On Sunday, November 22, the history. In the Women’s A-team (advanced) MIT Sport Taekwondo team traveled The day began with the poomsae division, MIT A1 (Ranbel F. Sun ’10, Gadgets and Gizmos to Princeton University to compete (forms) competition. In the red belt Hong, Erika Lee ’12) muscled their at the third Eastern division, ZheChen “Mary” Hong ’10 way through every match and won the Toys and T-shirts Collegiate Taekwondo captured silver, while in the blue belt gold for the first time this season. In Conference (ECTC) division, Hsinjung “Sophia” Li ’11 addition, the Men’s A teams sparred Books and Bags! tournament of the sea- and Christine T. Hseuh ’10 won gold ferociously, led by first-time A team son. Despite the small- and bronze respectively. In the green members Ijeoma Emeagwali ’12 and er roster compared to belt division, Angela N. Chang ’11 Ryan A. Rosario ’12. The Women’s rivals Cornell and Brown, the MIT walked away with the bronze. B-teams continued to excel in their team, coached by Master Dan Ch- As the day progressed and the division, with B2 (Shammi S. Qud- 20% Off with MIT ID dus ’10, Li, Heejung Kim ’12) taking silver, and B1 (Sun, Hong, Kristina MIT Student Sale L. Lozoya ’13, Teresa “Ty” Lin ‘12 Sc o r e b o a r d ‘12) the bronze. On the men’s side, December 7 – 11 only the B1 team (Rosario, Rafael A. Raya ’11, Emeagwali) fought through sev- Men’s Basketball eral tough matches to reach the quar- Open until 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 1, 2009 ter finals. Even in the C-team (be- Emerson College 51 ginner) division, MIT demonstrated MIT 66 their skills as the Women’s C1 team (Stephanie P. Chen ’12, Xuan Yang ’13, Mengfei Yang ’12) fought their Women’s Basketball way to second place. Wednesday, December 2, 2009 Even though MIT finished second, U.S. Coast Guard Academy 47 there are still two tournaments left in the season. The Engineers will contin- MIT 38 ue their journey to the ECTC champi- 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Building N51 onship in three months at West Point.