Bush Eyes Vest for Institute U.S. Science Advisor Replaces by Nancy L
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MIT's The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Partly sunny, 37°F (30C) Tonight: Clear, cold, 20°F (-7°C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Cloudy, 34°F (l0C) Details, Page 2 Volume 120, Number 66 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Wednesday, January 17, 2001 Bush Eyes Vest for Institute U.S. Science Advisor Replaces By Nancy L. Keuss programs. Many MIT faculty mem- STAFF REPORTER bers have been known to oppose the Athletic» President Charles M. Vest is so-called "Star Wars" missile- believed to be a primary candidate defense shield first promoted under for the position of White House sci- Reagan. Director ence adviser in the Bush administra- Vest spends time in Washington tion, according to news reports pub- on a monthly basis and serves on By Rubl RaJbanshl lished last week. the President's Committee of Advi- Although it is unknown whether sors on Science and Technology Amidst controversy over cuts in a formal invitation has been extend- (pCAST). junior varsity sports and excitement ed to Vest, an offer would mark the Although Vest has already over the new Zesiger Athletic Cen- second time he has been asked to worked with Vice President Gore ter, Candace L. Royer has been hold the post. A top choice of Presi- while serving on the PCAST com- named the new Head of the Athlet- dent Clinton's in 1998, Vest mittee, the Bush administration's ics Department. declined the position that eventually views on science and technology Royer, the former associate head went to physicist and former research could be very different. of the Athletics Department and a National Science Foundation direc- "The real question is whether staff member for over twenty years, tor Neal Lane. [Vest] can do more good for science said she was "stunned" by her new MIT spokesman Bob Sales and technology research in his role appointment. maintains that there has been "no now, as a leading lobbyist, or from "This is a rare and professional direct communication between Vest working within the administration," opportunity for me in this period of and the Bush transition team."; said Undergraduate Association great growth," Royer said. Such an offer would reflect President Peter A. Shulman '01. "She is a friend of the students Vest's ambassadorship in science and received broad approval and and technology during the past ten Would Vest leave MIT? support from the student body," said years of his term as MIT president. The post, which would also Peter A. Shulman '01, Undergradu- It is not yet clear whether V est is involve serving as director of the ate Association President. interested in the post. White House Office of Science and Royer believes that all of the It is also uncertain whether Technology Policy, is regarded as a recent fmancial attention placed on the Athletics Department is support- JACQUELINE YEN-THE TECH V est's goals are in line with the high-profile position in the science Reed Anderson skillfully handles the onions and skillet at research priorities of Bush, particu- community, yet many question ed by both the student body and the Courses's gourmet cooking tutorial. larly the President-elect's focus on a administration. missile defense shield and weapons Vest, Page 12 "We have strong advocates" in the administration, she said. She hopes to learn how the Ath- inCambridge's Technology Square letics Department is funded, espe- cially with regards to the recent con- By Amanda Stockton the valuable property for housing or Curry said, "MIT recognizes its spe- square feet of the purchase. Four troversy over payment for athletic STAFF REPORTER classrooms; it will instead use the cial role in Cambridge. We are com- new buildings, totaling 617,000 cards that would grant access to MIT has signed a contract to space as a business venture. nutted to continuing our work with square feet, are still under construe- facilities. purchase over one million square "We think this is a very promis- the city government and Cambridge tion. "Our issue is access," Royer feet of buildings in Cambridge's ing place to invest in real estate, residents as a responsible member Beacon Capitol Partners agreed said. "We simply don't want stu- Technology Square, the Institute given what has been going on in of the community." to complete the construction. The dents turned away because they announced last Friday. bio-technology and high tech," said The closing for the property, first building, containing approxi- could not afford to pay for the Although the exact terms of the MIT Real Estate Director Steven C. purchased from Beacon Capitol mately 175,000 square feet, is card." agreement are not yet being dis- Marsh to The Herald. "It is an Partners, is expected to take place in expected to be completed by early According to Royer, the fiscal cussed, The Boston Herald has esti- investment play, and we are looking early February, according to an MIT spring. activities of the Athletics Depart- mated that the purchase price to rent every square foot we can." press release. The deal gives MIT control of a ment will affect students in "context exceeded $300 million. In a recent MIT press release, Of the buildings bought, three The Institute has no plans to use MIT Executive Vice President John . existing buildings make up 541,000 Tech Square, Page 23 Royer, Page 11 Team Finds Witch's Stone To Wm 2001 Mystery Hunt By Ashley M. Ramsey Agatha Winchester, on January 15, Twenty-two years after graduate 1701 and her claim to seek revenge student Bradley E. Shaefer PhD ' 83 three hundred years later. All that organized the first MIT Mystery was left of the witch was a deep Hunt, the green stone rumored to be the source of her powers. The stone was Feature ~~~Pp:~~ lost and the teams participating in zle compe- the mystery hunt were sent to regain tition has become a fixture in the possession of the stone. lAP catalog. For four years, Shaefer This year, 16 teams ranging in wrote complex puzzles to challenge size from four to over fifty people and entertain students during one participated in the competition. The weekend in lAP. After Shaefer teams of not only students but also obtained his PhD and left the Insti- puzzle-solvers from all over the tute, he designated the running of world who participated via phone, the next year's competition as an e-mail, and fax. One team, which award to the hunt's winners. had participants scattered all over At noon last Friday, teams gath- the United States, didn't have a sin- ered in Lobby 7 to hear the legend gle representative on campus. of Agatha Winchester and begin the After 38 hours and 16 minutes of ERiKA BROWN-THE TECH 2001 Mystery Hunt: The Hunt of searching, a team named Setec Experimental Study Group Lecturer Craig B. Watkins demonstrates the fundamentals of slide rule Horror. The participants were told multiplication to an lAP group at the MIT Museum. of the burning of a convicted witch, Mystery Hunt, Page 7 FEATURES Comics OPINION World & Nation 2 The new Dean Ken Nesmith outlines some of Opinion 4 of Science _the scientific studies that warn lAP Guide .16 discusses that the danger of global warm- Arts 17 his goals. ing is real. On the Screen 19 Page 8 Page 14 Page 6 On the Town 20 Page 2 THE TECH January 17,2001 & ATIO Doctors Remove Skin Cancer ~ .....coft aintains e Can Lesion from President Clinto LOS ANGELES TIMES e arate Beliefs from Law A suspicious lesion removed from President Clinton's back during a routine physical last week was a common and generally nonlife- By Craig Gordon and Tom Brune issue boils down to the this: When American life - and Ashcroft's stri- threatening form of skin cancer, the White House announced Tues- NEWSDAY you have been such a zealous and dent opposition to many of the posi- day. WASHlNGTO impassioned advocate, how do you tions that are the law of the land. The growth, a basal cell carcinoma, is the most common form of Attorney General-designate John just turn it off? This may be an Ashcroft's foes, a coalition of liberal skin cancer and usually is caused by overexposure to sunlight. "The Ashcroft Tuesday defended his abil- impossible task." interest groups, have sought to keep pathology results that were read this morning confirm that the lesion ity to separate personal beliefs from Democrats also charged the for- the focus on those views in challeng- was a superficial basal cell skin cancer," White House spokesman the duties of the office, saying his mer Missouri senator with imposing ing his fitness for the post. Jake Siewert said during his daily briefing. quarter-century in public life an "Ashcroft standard" to derail feder- While Ashcroft pointed to his "Pathologists noted that the margin of the lesion appeared clean, demonstrates that he can uphold al nominees, accusing him of voting record in Missouri state office as which indicated that the lesion had been totally removed" during the laws that conflict with his opinions . against qualified nominees because he showing he is qualified for the job, minor surgical procedure, he said. "So while the president, I guess it and religious faith. disagreed with their political views. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., tore could be said, had skin cancer, that has been removed and he no At the opening day of his confir- They cited the case of Bill Lann into Ashcroft's record on opposing longer has it. So that is that." mation hearing as President-elect Lee, whose nomination to head the school desegregation in the 1980s Unlike melanoma - the most virulent and deadly form of skin George W.