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Volume 132, Number 3 Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Reporter’S Notebook 2014’S Brass Rat Design Revealed Clutching Candle and Compass, Beaver Sits on Harvard Bridge

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Volume 132, Number 3 Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Reporter’S Notebook 2014’S Brass Rat Design Revealed Clutching Candle and Compass, Beaver Sits on Harvard Bridge WEATHER, p. 2 MIT’s Oldest and TUE: 46°F | 30°F Largest Newspaper Mostly cloudy WED: 48°F | 34°F Mostly cloudy tech.mit.edu THUR: 48°F | 38°F Rain showers Established 1881 Volume 132, Number 3 Tuesday, February 14, 2012 REPorter’S NoteBooK 2014’s Brass Rat design revealed Clutching candle and compass, beaver sits on Harvard bridge By Anne Cai see our unique brass rat design. NEWS EDITOR I was amused by the number of people trying to find their By 4 p.m. Friday afternoon, friends by running out of the the promise of a surprise gift line onto Kresge Oval and wav- for the first 50 people in line ing — when everyone did the for Ring Premiere had lured a same, it became hilariously crowd of sophomores to the counterproductive. doors of Kresge. Later that eve- When we were finally let ning, we discovered that the in, we shoved our way through first ones there got their purple the doors to claim our favorite tickets and went on their merry seats in the auditorium. For my way, instead of having to jostle friends and I, that meant back each other outside the door for aisle seats near the doors, an- four hours. ticipating a stampede for gift CHRISTOPHER A. MAYNOR—THE TECH Half an hour before the bags afterwards. From our van- Despite the cold, sophomores wait outside Kresge Auditorium for the Class of 2014 Ring Premiere last Friday eve- doors opened, I was in line in tage point in the back, we saw at ning. Some stood in line for hours in the hopes of getting a free gift. the windy cold with several hundred other 2014s waiting to Brass Rat, Page 4 Technology exposition or career fair? Techfair 2012 attracted companies and student projects last week By Isabella Wei tual goal, according to Managing Di- terest in the technology. STAFF REPORTER rector Susie R. Fu ’12, is to grow into A quick survey of company repre- the Consumer Electronics Show of the sentatives indicated positive responses Photography startup Lytro came to east coast. “[As MIT] we are the center to Techfair — everyone asked said that Techfair this year to show off its new of technology on the east coast and we they would love to come back. Compa- 3D camera, whose pictures can be re- should have events where we show off nies seemed to like the idea of combin- focused after the shot. They invited cool things,” she said. ing a tech expo with a career fair, ex- students for a hands-on demo of the On Monday, Feb. 6 in Rockwell Cage, plaining that it gave them a good sense unreleased product — what they didn’t 60 companies and 31 different student of MIT. Pete Hopkins, the representa- expect was the deluge of resumes. projects were on display. Bose had a tive for Twitter, said, “When I’m talk- “It was great to have students take wand that could project a pinpoint ing to students while seeing a guy go cameras out and have them excited beam of sound. Nest had its learning by with a Tesla coil on his head, I know about the technology,” Lytro’s Director thermostat, which programs itself to exactly where I am — MIT.” of Photography Eric Cheng said. But, he adjust the temperature based on the Student reactions to Techfair varied. added, “it ended up being half-recruit- user habits. Among the student projects Maksim Kolysh ’14 was dazzled by the ing because there were so many people were DDR Tetris, the Hat Coil, the Ride- technology. “Techfair is the future of in- handing [us] resumes.” able Hexapod, electric instruments, novation,” he gushed. “Come to Techfair Techfair began seven years ago as and the beginnings of an Iron Man suit. and the products will blow your mind.” a student-run trade show, but it is in Jose Cong, a Nest representative, Others, sold on the job fair aspect of the some ways a job fair too. Its website said the fair was great place to meet stu- event, were frustrated that there were has place to submit resumes and many dents they may want to keep in touch not more employment opportunities. students treat the event as a chance to with, but for them it was not a recruiting “If you’re not Course 6 or Course 2 mingle with potential employers. event. Though they did receive several don’t bother coming,” Jeffrey H. Lin ’13 This year, organizers say they tried resumes, they mostly had conversa- to focus on the technology. The even- tions with students who expressed in- Techfair, Page 5 IN Short MITx starts with 6.002x The deadline to register in the Super Tuesday Mass. Primary is Wednesday, Anybody can enroll, course offered for free Feb. 14. Don’t forget to vote! By Ethan A. Solomon mit.edu. The course will offer a cer- Wednesday is the last day to waive indi- EXECUTIVE EDITOR tificate of completion for those who vidual health coverage for the Spring se- pass it, and though MITx will charge mester, in room E23-308. 6.002 (Circuits and Electronics) for certification in the future, 6.002x’s will be the first course offered via will be free since the course is still a Active Minds and LSC are hosting a MITx, an online educational initia- prototype. screening of America the Beautiful 2: tive announced late last year that has 6.002x will consist of 5–10 min- The Thin Commandments on Friday, Feb. seen widespread praise but also faces ute video lectures, demonstrations, 24 in 10-250. There will be free food and a questions from some faculty mem- homework assignments, simulated panel discussion with the filmmaker. bers. MIT has billed MITx as a way to laboratories, and exams — all graded CHRISTOPHER A. MAYNOR—THE TECH enhance the on-campus education automatically — according to a press A date with Camille L. M. Everhart ’13 is auc- Seeing red? Donate blood in La Sala from for MIT students and simultaneously release from the MIT News Office. It is tioned off during the SAE Charity Date Auction, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. today and 1 – 6 p.m. the rest offer MIT courses, largely free, to the being taught by CSAIL Director Anant held last Saturday night in Walker Memorial. The of the week. rest of the world. Agarwal, Christopher J. Terman PhD event raised $6,600 for Camp Kesem, a summer Registration for 6.002x — which is ’83, Gerald J. Sussman ’68, and Piotr camp for children whose parents have cancer. The Send news information and tips to essentially the same course material Mitros ’04. dates included venues such as the Union Oyster [email protected]. as MIT’s 6.002 but delivered online House and activities like F1 racing. — opened yesterday at http://mitx. 6.002x, Page 8 what SHOULD DO YOU LIKE Frosh? BeinG heaLthY: SECTIONS World & Nation . .2 It’s OK. Neither do YOU DO this startinG Fresh Fun Pages . .9 recruiters. VALentine’S? How to fit fitness into Campus Life . 11 FUN, p. 5 Sports . .12 Chacha weighs in on your life. the holiday. CAMPUS LIFE, p. 11 CAMPUS LIFE, p. 11 2 The Tech Tuesday, February 14, 2012 New Jersey senate votes to D legalize same-sex marriage House Republicans yield TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey state Senate voted Mon- day to legalize same-sex marriage, a significant shift in support from two years ago, when a similar measure failed. on a payroll tax cut The legislation faces a vote Thursday in the state Assembly, but even if that chamber passes the measure, Gov. Chris Chris- By Jennifer Steinhauer But the move underscored the tinue regarding offsets, unemploy- WORL tie, who favors holding a referendum on the issue, has said he THE NEW YORK TIMES desire of many Republicans — ea- ment insurance, and the “doc fix.” will veto it. ger to blunt Democratic accusa- If Democrats continue to refuse N But advocates hailed the Senate vote as a huge advance, WASHINGTON — Congres- tions that they do not support tax to negotiate in good faith, Repub- noting that they won 10 more votes than two years ago. And sional Republicans on Monday cuts for middle-class Americans — licans may schedule this measure both supporters and opponents said they were surprised by the backed down from a demand that to put the tax cut fight behind them for House consideration later this margin: The bill needed 21 votes to succeed and passed 24-16. a payroll tax holiday be paid for in an election year. week pending a conversation with “The margin brought the notion of an override out of fan- with reductions in other programs, As the House-Senate commit- our members.” tasyland,” said Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State clearing the way for an extension of tee charged with coming up with By separating the payroll tax is- Equality, a gay rights group. “Before today, I would have said the tax cut for 160 million Ameri- a plan to extend the benefits con- sue from unemployment benefits, ATIO the chances of an override were one in a million. Now I’d say cans through 2012. tinued to negotiate, Republican Republicans have somewhat boxed it’s about 1 in 2.” After months of partisan con- leaders said they would introduce in Democrats, forcing them to de- Overriding the anticipated veto would require the approval frontation that left the tax break legislation this week to extend the cide whether to accept a stand- of two-thirds of both houses, which in the Senate translates to hanging in the balance, Republi- payroll tax cut by itself, allowing alone tax cut that touches nearly 27 votes.
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