Volume 133, Number 28
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Established 1881 WEATHER, p. 2 MIT’s Oldest and FRI: 67°F | 53°F Largest Newspaper Rain SAT: 80°F | 57°F Sunny tech.mit.edu SUN: 82°F | 61°F Partly cloudy Established 1881 Volume 133, Number 28 Friday, June 14, 2013 Bexley Hall vandalized on night before move-out date Facing a 3-year closure for renovation, residents elect representatives, contraryEstablished to dorm 1881 tradition By Laura E. Forte damage, although several resi- the vandalism, no extensions or and Anthony Yu dents replied to Nolan’s email to exceptions would be granted to StAFF REPORTERS express their dismay at the events. the senior move-out deadline at “It is unfortunate that it occurred,” noon on June 8, the same day he This past Saturday morning, wrote Bexley GRT Matthew Getz sent out the email announcing the Bexley Hall House Manager Jon G in an email to The Tech, “and I vandalism. There are now no stu- Nolan notified Bexley residents of hope it doesn’t affect the way the dents still residing in Bexley. GRTs vandalism done to the dorm’s 50 administration treats the Bexley and housemasters were instruct- entry the night of Friday, June 7. community in the future.” ed to move out as soon as possible According to the email, the dam- Over the past several weeks, following the final exam period. age was significant, including bro- Bexley has been at the center of Getz wrote that the GRTs ken glass strewn across the floor, much discussion due to its clo- have signed contracts with MIT fixtures torn from the walls and sure, announced on May 7. The that guarantee them housing in a ceiling, and a hole in the wall that building was reported to have graduate dorm for the next year, Nolan described as “the size of a significant water damage and to but like the undergraduates, they human being.” be structurally unsound, and is were not guaranteed their resi- As a result of the vandalism, scheduled toEstablished be closed for up to dence 1881 hall of choice. JOSEPH MAURER—THE TECH “50 entry is unsafe and needs to three years while these issues are Following the announcement A hole in the wall of Bexley Hall’s entry 50 was part of vandalism that happened be cleared out,” he wrote. addressed. overnight in the now-closed dorm. Bexley will be undergoing extensive renovations It is unclear who caused the Nolan said that because of Bexley, Page 6 for up to the next three years. Dennis Freeman is next DormCon overspends on already controversial DUE, succeeds Hastings overnight retreat At a May 16 meeting of MIT’s Dormitory treat, according to former DormCon President Council (DormCon), members were informed Edward A. Mugica ’13, was the “clarification of Course 6 professor takes office July 1 that the their annual retreat cost more than an- our goals and intentions” as an organization, ticipated, by an amount not mentioned in the as well as the facilitation of communication be- By Anne Cai nouncement that he would be stepping DormCon meeting minutes. The original budget- tween members. EDITOR IN CHIEF down,Established a search committee was 1881formed ed cost for the retreat was $4000 — a figure that When asked about the unanticipated costs of with Graham C. Walker as the chair. had already caused discontent among some un- the retreat, Mugica stated that a miscommunica- Dennis Freeman PhD ’86, Profes- The committee consisted of eight other dergraduates who felt the money would be better tion between members of DormCon occurred, sor of Electrical Engineering and the faculty members, three students, and spent on events that directly benefit residents of as well as “charges that we didn’t realize would Course 6 undergraduate officer, has senior associated dean Elizabeth Reed. each dormitory. come into play.” The combination of these caused been appointed MIT’s next Dean for The committee was charged with rec- The overnight retreat was hosted at Endicott the retreat’s total cost to far exceed the budgeted Undergraduate Education (DUE), ommending three to five candidates to House, a meeting facility that has been the site amount. Those making the decision, Mugica said, Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 Grimson, who made the final choice. of many student and faculty meetings and re- were unaware that the group would be charged for wrote in an email to the MIT commu- “Denny will begin his time as Dean treats in the past, including last year’s DormCon rooms that they did not end up using. As a result, nity last Thursday. Freeman will step at a significant moment in shaping the retreat. The 12 executive members of DormCon the reservation was made for 35 people, only 19 into the position on July 1, succeeding future of MIT’s model of residential ed- and the 11 dorm presidents were invited to at- of whom attended, according to Mugica. He said, Daniel E. Hastings PhD ’80, Professor ucation,” wrote Grimson. Freeman will tend, and each could bring one guest. These “We were aware that there was a slight risk” of be- of Aeronautics and Astronautics and work with the Task Force on the Future of guests were dormitory vice presidents and ing charged, but that it was important that there Engineering Systems, who has served MIT Education to evaluate MIT’s educa- underclassmen who wished to become more as DUE since 2006. involved in DormCon. The purpose of the re- DormCon, Page 6 Following Hastings’ Jan. 8 an- DUE, Page 14 Commencement 2013 Record yield of 73 percent pg. 8 for admitted Class of 2017 1,125 out of 1,548 take Institute’s offer of admission By Anthony Yu may elect to take gap years or choose StAFF REPORTER to attend other schools. Regardless, the yield is a record, The yield for the incoming Class of which Schmill attributed to an excel- 2017 is MIT’s highest ever. According lent, though slightly rainy, CPW, and to Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill ’86, the overall culture of MIT. “Students 1,125 took up MIT’s offer of admission, are really excited about the learning representing 73 percent of the pool of environment at MIT and the oppor- and August 7, before regular Fall Bust a move at the City of Cam- 1,548 accepted students, who them- tunities that they will have to explore IN Short issues start on August 23. bridge’s Dance Party in Central selves made up only 8.2 percent of the their interests and grow as individu- The Summer 2013 UROP dead- 18,989 applicants. The yield is up from als,” he said. With the increasing im- Square on June 28! lines for supervisor/sponsored 2012 and 2011, when 70 percent and 65 portance of science and technology in Keep an eye out for the Supreme research funding and Summer percent of accepted students chose to our daily lives, “there really has never credit and volunteer is Thursday, Court’s opinion on Fisher v. Uni- Don’t forget about Father’s Day enroll at MIT, respectively. been a better time to be a student at June 20. versity of Texas, which should be this Sunday! The tentative incoming class is M I T.” release sometime in June. The de- slightly smaller than the Class of 2016, Many of MIT’s peer institutions We publish two more Summer cision will affect the consideration Send news information and with five fewer students. However, the also saw increased yields. Harvard issues! Look for them on July 3 of race in college admission. tips to [email protected]. 2017 class size is likely to decrease with the “summer melt” as some students Yield, Page 6 new conference faMILiar suPerMan reBoot A rainBow for ME & ED snowDEN: SECTIONS World & Nation . .2 Fantastic cast and effects, but Man of for Men’S VBALL A rainBow for You hero or QuiXote? Opinion . .4 plays it safe. ARTS, p. 7 Men’s Volleyball to Steel A fleeting, bright double Differing views on Arts . .7 compete in United want to worK at GOOGLE? rainbow makes an Snowden’s motive, Fun Pages . .12 Volleyball Conference. appearance over Boston. story, and revelations. Sports . .16 SPORTS, p. 16 The Intern offers some good laughs, and NEWS, p. 15 OPINION, p. 4 great product placement. ARTS, p. 10 2 The Tech Friday, June 14, 2013 Hague court declines inquiry D into church abuse cover-up NSA chief to release details The International Criminal Court in The Hague has decided not to investigate or prosecute the former pope and other lead- ers of the Roman Catholic Church on allegations of covering up on surveillance program the sexual abuse of children by priests. Victims of sexual abuse filed a complaint in 2011 asking By Jeremy W. Peters Alexander did not elaborate on ery domestic phone call made by WORL the court to prosecute Benedict XVI, then the pope, and three THE NEW YORK TIMES what kinds of information the NSA Americans, and the collection of in- other Vatican officials for what they called an international and would disclose, beyond saying that formation from American Internet N systemic cover-up of sexual abuse that amounted to “crimes WASHINGTON - The director it would involve statistics about the companies like Google without in- against humanity.” of the National Security Agency programs in question. dividual court orders if the request The court responded in a letter dated May 31 that after ana- said Thursday that he would re- “And I think when the Ameri- is targeted at noncitizens abroad. lyzing the complaint, it determined that the matters “do not ap- lease more information about the can people hear that,” he added, “The more we know, the more pear to fall within the jurisdiction of the Court.” The letter said top secret programs that sweep up “they’re going to stop and say: dangerous this situation becomes,” that “some of the allegations” fell outside the court’s jurisdic- vast quantities of communications ‘Wait.