-- - -- - Lslslllllll_ ---0·I __ U In U CIUAFA to review MN IT admissions process By Irene Kuo that quantifiable changes have The Committee on Undergrad- come about with a time scale uate Admission and Financial close to ten years," said Stolzen- Aid will undertake an intensive bach. "We have received many year-long review of MIT's admis- expressions of delight and satis- sions procedures, according to faction with the students in cur- Chairman Keith Stolzenbach '66. rent classes," he asserted. The review comes in response to CUAFA has already begun to unease among some faculty meet with department undergrad- members about the performance uate officers, core subject in- and attitude of undergraduates, structors, and others involved he said at Wednesday's faculty with undergraduates to consider meeting. possible changes in admissions CUAFA will examine the evo- criteria. Stolzenbach expected lution of admissions procedures some of these changes to be im- and its effect, if any, on the inter- plemented into this year's admis- ests and performance of under- sions process. graduates, Stolzenbach said. It Provost John M. Deutch '56 will also study the data used in reiterated the importance of fac- deciding admissions and in evalu- ulty input into CUAFA's review. ating the undergraduate experi- "The decisions made by the ad- ence. Last, the committee will missions office reflect the views consider how faculty can be more of the administration and facul- Paula Maute/The Dan Glenn G (left), Susan Glenn, Francie Gurney G, and Paul Ries G will have theirTech involved in the admissions ty," he said. "The administration essay "Long Live Tepito," published in Open House International. See story page 16. process. and faculty should not complain II=m I Stolzenbach asserted that the if they can directly affect these Admissions Office has always decisions." aimed to attract the "most prom- UA limits Finance Board's autonony ising students with strong back- MacVicar discusses CUP w grounds in math By Prabhat Mehta Floor Leader Luisa Contreiras and science, in- Dean for Undergraduate Edu- cator of funds," Hendricks stat- cluding those with extraordinary The UA Council Executive '90. Contreiras, while comple- cation Margaret L. A. MacVicar Board's mandate that Finance ed. He believes that a system of potential for scholarship and re- '65 presented an update on the menting Finboard's performance checks Board allocations be approved by and balances already ex- search," but he conceded that activities of the Committee on over the years, noted that there ists, in which the UA Council was the focus of student activities some faculty members have a the Undergraduate Program. The needed to be "a system of checks unhappy with their last night's UA Council meeting allocations "sincere and recurrent sense of committee will continue to focus and balances." are able at the Student Center. to appeal to Finboard. unease about the performance on the needs for rebalancing and After the mandate had been The issue of debate was wheth- Execboard's argument for vot- and motivation of undergradu- integration in the undergraduate upheld, UA President Jonathan er or not the UA Council had the ing power over Finboard alloca- ates and about the criteria for ac- program, she said. Katz '90, a chief responsibility to voice student tions was based on their belief proponent of ademic quality used in the admis- Faculty and administrators will that the mandate, said, "This opinion ove. :Finboard alo.ca- since the money distributed is a step sions process." receive reports from the Science/ tions, which -by- Finboard ultimately comes---.. in--the right-direction,. We are try-:.. .*Concerned "about .possible mis- go to groups in the ing to develop Engineering :Working Group the from the students, students accountability. interpretations of CUAFA's ac- Committee on the First Year Pro- UA and Association of Student to open up things." tion, Stolzenbach emphasized Activities. should have a voice, through the gram, and the Student Commit- UA Council, to affect Finboard Since the mandate cleared the that current undergraduates tee on Educational Policy this A motion was forwarded by policy. Finboard motion, a vote was tak- should not feel that their accep- winter. MacVicar said the reports Finboard members to appeal the en to approve the second trimes- tance to MIT was an "abrupt and may be controversial. Execboard's decision to vote on Former UA President Manuel ter's allocations by Finboard. The questionable experiment." The Science/Engineering Finboard's allocations. Finboard Rodriguez '89, in defense of Ex- allocations were passed after little "It is clear from every piece of Working Group's report will ad- Vice-Chairman Howard J. Eisen ecboard's mandate, argued that debate by a 21 for-5 against vote. information we have looked at (Please turn to page 17) '89 voiced Finboard's appeal for one of the reasons why last year's autonomy by rejecting the notion referendum on the student activi- that the UA Council could over- ties fee failed was because the Panel discusses "How to Be Good" turn Finboard decisions. student body viewed Finboard as By Seth Gordon ence. "Act in such a way as to get est. Widnall suggested Eisen also criticized the UA an obscure group which could that the How can students deal with into the issue," he exhorted MIT Placement office have a file Council for what he described as not be given the responsibility to ethical issues in their studies and students. of various corporations' policies an attempt to monitor the activi- allocate "$150,000 dollars or so." their careers? At Tuesday's collo- "towards individuals who raise iies of the UA general commit- Finboard Chairman Darian Widnall: honesty and politics quium on "How To Be Good," ethical concerns." tees. The motion was defeated by Hendricks '89 disagreed with the Institute Professor Emeritus Phil- Widnall, a professor in the De- "Engineers," she stated, a 5-24 vote with 4 abstentions af- view that the UA Council should "often ip Morrison, physicist and au- partment of Aeronautics and As- put great importance ter intense debate on the floor. be able to overturn Finboard de- on public thor, Professor Sheila Widnall tronautics, lamented corruption understanding of technology, Defense for the Execboard's cisions. "The idea of Finance as- '60, former president of the in the aerospace industry - ma- suming that if the public only un- mandate was presented by UA Board is to be an unbiased allo- American Association for the nipulating cost and performance derstood us they would agree Forum discuss;es Advancement of Science, and In- estimates to get government with us ... In some instances, taxation stitute Professor Noam Chomsky, funds. She warned against put- the public does understand us, renowned linguist and controver- ting group loyalty before honesty and they are opposed to what we of graduate stludent funds sial political essayist, addressed and integrity, and urged that sci- want to do." By Sanjay Manandhar and linguistics and philosophy), these questions. entists not manipulate the politi- Chomsky: think for "We have come perilously close there are no teaching requirement Morrison stressed empathy and cal process. yourself to taxing the fellowships and tu- so teaching assistanceships were a concern for the consequences She added that now, many cor- Chomsky told students that ition of graduate students" at always taxed, Perkins said. one's actions. He recalled his porations and professionals see they should contemplate their In which point "we cannot sustain 1986, the tax laws were re- work as a nuclear physicist in the ethics as in their long-term inter- (Please turn to page 17) graduate education as we know it worded so that RA, and TA sti- 1940s and compared his decision today," said Dean of the Gradu- pends became taxable income; to help design the atomic bomb ate School Frank E. Perkins. Per- furthermore, the Technical Cor- with his refusal to join the kins was speaking at a Graduate rection Act (TCA) of 1988 voided RAND corporation. Morrison Student Council forum on tax- the exemptions on graduate stu- considered the Manhattan Pro- ation of graduate students dent tuition and employer-funded ject a morally dubious accom- Wednesday night. education assistance, Perkins plishment in a clearly good Perkins gave a brief history of said. cause, while he had no qualms the tax laws as applied to gradu- The words "fair and reason- about refusing to join RAND, ate students and pointed out the able" exemption in another part whose secret charter, he said, was important amendments of federal of the tax law were the only rea- to study "the waging of intercon- laws in 1986 and 1988, and state son why the MIT did not have to tinental warfare by any and all laws in July 1988. For the 20 apply the meaning of the 1988 means." One intercontinental years before 1986, for lack of ex- TCA. Perkins noted that in nine war, he opined, was enough, and plicit tax laws for graduate stu- states the TCA of 1988 was en- he did not see a similar sentiment dents, MIT followed two specific forced and the IRS tracked down among RAND's directors. guidelines from the Internal Rev- graduate students. Morrison argued that students enue Service. Many states, including Massa- should adopt "a physicist's mo- The guidelines said that the chusetts, link their tax codes to rality, a morality of conse- taxpayer had to be working to- the federal tax laws, said David quences," as opposed to one of wards a degree and that all ser- Wagger G. As of July 7 Massa- intentions. In addition, he re- vices required by the degree were chusetts not only changed its minded them "that your actions tax-free.