MlT's The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Cloudy, showers, 51°F (lO°C) Tonight: Rain, 400P (4°C) ewspaper Tomorrow: Blustery, 48°F (9°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 120, umber 57 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Tuesday, November 14,2000 Bar Fight Leads to Shooting Near Donn By Rima Amaout but people are getting a little less EWSEDITOR tolerant about the fighting that goes A man was shot on Saturday out- on because of the Cambridgeport side the Cambridgeport Saloon, a Saloon," Cain said. Cambridge bar located immediately next to Random Hall. No MIT stu- Bar fights not uncommon dents were involved in the shooting. Cain said that there have been The assailant, Elvis Gonzales, several fights outside the bar in was arrested on Sunday for assault recent months, and the violence " with intent to murder. The victim, level may be escalating. "There are whose name has not been released, fights there pretty regularly around is in stable condition at Massachu- closing time. Over the last few setts General Hospital. months it seems to us that they have 'J For many students, the incident become more regular and more vio- struck too close to home. "A lot of lent," he said. us [residents] heard the shot and "Since the summer I've noticed looked from there," said Matthew S. ... a lot of rowdy behavior, harass- Cain '02, Random Hall president. ing of residents, and people urinat- "It is a little disconcerting having ing on the steps [of the dorm]," said ERIKA BROWN-THE TECH someone shot right outside your Random Hall Housemaster Nina In observance of Veterans' Day, MIT's ROTC units held a 24-hour vigil on the steps of the Strat- window." Davis-Millis. ton Student Center to honor American soldiers taken as Prisoners of War or pronounced Missing "I don't know necessarily if peo- On Sunday night, Cain, Davis- In Action. ple feel less safe because it wasn't a random shooting, it was a fight ... Shooting, Page 17 M1J3Sachusetts Charter Students Question Alcohol Policies Schools Spark Debate S~dents andAdmins . :I:' .' Discuss Issues at Forum By SanJay Basu school movement, courses in these STAFF REPORTER charter schools have tended, to be By Melissa Cain If the highly contentious educa- extremely standardized and much STAFF REPORTER tional plans proposed during this larger than their equivalent public Recent alcohol-related incidents election weren't enough to pit school classes. at MIT's fraternities and dormitories teachers' In fact, the success or inefficacy have led students to question the r;J t unions and of these schools has enormously Institute's alcohol policies in an r ea .ure "free-mar- high variability both in Massachu- attempt to reform them. ' keters" setts and across the nation. Charter Allison L. Neizmik '02, chair of against one another, recent assess- schools in some areas report record the Undergraduate Association Pub- ments of charter schools in Massa- test scores, while those in other lic Relations Committee, believes chusetts will likely fuel already fiery regions have outlandishly high fail- that "students are forced to make a debates about charter schools. ure rates. decision between the integrity of The schools, created with the their living group and the health and . intention of improving outcomes by Poor reports from some states safety oftheir friend." cutting costs and freeing teachers U.S. News reporter Warren Interfraternity Council (IFC) from local bureaucracies, are run by . Cohen recently visited charter Risk Management Chair Rory P. companies that contract to do the schools in Arizona and reported that Pheiffer '02 said that "the current work now performed by publ ic ''these companies take advantage of policy is too strict. I think people employees. the fact that Arizona requires high don't register parties because they But the schools are also given school students to attend only four don't want the IFC to show up and public tax, money without the hours of school a day." get them in trouble." accompanying oversight and regula- Cohen found that the schools Josiah D. Seale '02, the co-chair tion that public schools receive: a regularly targeted low achievers - of the UA Committee on Student fact that someteachers and citizens' particularly students with discipli- Life, believes that one of the main groups are finding hard to stomach. nary problems - and replaced their problems with the current policy is Proponents of the schools have regular classes with self-paced com- that the Campus Police act as Emer- nevertheless touted charters as dri- puter instruction a few hours a day. gency Medical Transport. vers of "competition-based" educa- Michigan charters were the sub- In the case that an emergency tional reform. Steve Wilson, CEO ject of recent litigation after a transport is made, the CPs are PEDRO L, ARRECHEA-THE TECH . of The Advantage Schools, a for- school received $14 million in state William M. Kettyle, head of MIT Medical, addresses students at an alcohol forum held last Wednesday in Walker's Morss Hall. profit charter management compa- tax money to provide education to Forum, Page 20 ny, recently cited that students in his 2,200 students. Only one-fifth of schools raised their scores on a those students, however, actually national test an average of seven continued to attend the school after Students Reflect on Presidential Elections percent. enrolling. The Michigan legislature By Vicky Hsu toral College. "The fact that the pop- Andrew M. Starr '02, Vice Pres- But what recent Massachusetts- has since outlawed enrollee-based and Jennifer Krishnan ulous can vote for one man and ident of the MIT Libertarians, based studies indicate is that while contracting, but other issues as var- STAFF REPORTERS another can win ... flies in the face of agrees that the Electoral College charter schools may be performing ied as the absence of desks or the Even at MIT, where the rigor of people's sense of justice," said David should be eliminated, but he doubts well in some cases, they aren't sure teaching of· creationism have classes and problem sets keeps most J. Strozzi G, member of the MIT that any significant changes will panaceas to America's education appeared in the state's charter students from get involved in much Greens. "The upshot of this is that a actually occur. "Initially people are problems. schools. else, the current presidential race lot of people are going to say we need going to get the idea to take another The Massachusetts State Depart- A Columbia University study of and the controversies over contested to get rid of the Electoral College." look at the Electoral College sys- ment of Education recently found charters in Michigan concluded that ballots have sparked interest in The Green Party advocates an tem," Starr said. that charter schools in the state have "when charter schools are compared issues ranging from voter fraud to automatic run-off system where vot- But in the long run, Starr scored, on average, at or below the to public schools with similar pre- America's electoral system. ers rank their preferences. "There is believes that the government will average public school on the MCAS charter characteristics, pupils in The potential discrepancy something deeply flawed with an maintain the status quo. "The two and SAT. charter schools score no higher, on between the popular vote and the electoral system that makes people major parties are going to realize According to Nancy Zollers, an electoral vote this year has led people uncomfortable to vote their con- academic expert on the charter Charter Schools, Page 7 to reconsider the status of the Elec- science," Strozzi said. Election, Page 21 SPORTS Comics A summary of the results from World & Nation 2 A review of Massachusetts ballot Questions Opinion 4 MIT's 1-8 women's soc- Features 7 cer season. Arts .. : 8 Sports 24 Page 22 Page 14 Page 19 Page 2 ovember 14, 2000 • GrisyFore ace e a e '"',,& ..........._"'8 LOS ANGELES TIMES KAPR • AUSTRIA eryC arge Forensic investigators delved onday into the grisly task of matching dental records and D A samples with the charred remains By David Lamb members of the House, or more than punched the House sergeant-at- of at least 159 people killed in a horrific ski cable car fire inside a LOS ANGELES TIMES half, had endorsed the move. arms. B GKOK, THAILAND tunnel under Kitzsteinhom mountain. Estrada's lawyers are expected Political analysts said Estrada As helicopters ferried the first 66 bodies to a morgue in nearby President Joseph Estrada of the to challenge the absence of a formal has support in the Senate and wide- Salzburg, the u.s. Army announced that eight young American from Philippines was impeached Monday vote, and Senate Assistant Majority spread backing among the Philip- military facilities in Germany had perished in the blaze. by his nation's House of Represen- Leader Gilbert Teodoro said that pines' poor and disenfranchised, Among the presumed dead were an officer from Texas, his wife tatives on charges of bribery and body might reject the complaint and may survive politically to serve and two small children; a newly engaged couple assigned to the 30th corruption. He has denied the accu- because of procedural flaws. out his term. Polls indicate the Medical Brigade and the husband and son of a civilian worker for the sations and said that a trial will Estrada will be tried by the 22- majority of Filipinos do not think Army who stayed behind while the others used the Veterans Day hol- prove his innocence. member Senate under guidelines Estrada should resign and do not iday to go skiing.