Good Luck on Finals! MIT’s The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Hot, partly cloudy, 89°F (32°C) Tonight: Partly cloudy, 55°F (13°C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Partly sunny, 68°F (20°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 124, Number 26 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Grad Student Bhuwan Singh Found Dead Graduate By Beckett W. Sterner incredible generosity and support that Bhuwan was fundamental to the memorial. EDITOR IN CHIEF that Bhuwan gave to everyone he the happiness and sense of com- “He was probably a better Admission Graduate student Bhuwan met. munity of the dormitory. brother than I could ever have Singh was found dead on Friday He was involved with both the Bhuwan “would do anything asked for,” and “you would want afternoon, said MIT Police Chief GSC and the dormitory govern- for anybody else,” to make their everyone remembering him being John DiFava. ment at Ashdown, where he lived. lives better, no matter what the happy… cheering people up” as he Rate Falls Singh’s body was found in a Housemaster Terry P. Orlando said sacrifice to himself, Barun said at always did, Barun said. storage room near his lab and International Student office in Building 13 said Seth Horowitz, press officer for the Admit Rate Also Drops Middlesex District Attorney’s office. He died from asphyxiation, By Kathy Dobson Horowitz said. STAFF REPORTER “We don't believe that there The admission rate for the MIT was foul play,” and “we’re not graduate program dropped by about operating under the circumstances” 16 percent this year, as fewer inter- that the death was suspicious, he national students were accepted and said. some departments attempted to “There isn't any indication of reduce their size. violence or foul play,” DiFava Of the 14,191 students that said. applied to MIT’s graduate programs The DA does not typically this year, 2,430 were admitted and as release the full medical examiner’s of May 6, and 1,212 had accepted report on the death when there are their offers for a yield rate of 50 per- no signs of crime, such as death by cent, said Associate Director of natural causes, accident, or sui- Admissions Elizabeth S. Johnson. cide. Last year, 2,905 students were admitted out of 15,742 applicants Academics, friends key to Singh and 1,567 of the admitted students Chandra Singh, Bhuwan’s accepted their offers, which repre- father, said at the memorial service sents a yield of 43 percent. yesterday that Bhuwan admired The deadline for accepting Mother Theresa the most, even admission varies by department, and more than Albert Einstein. some departments may still be mak- However, both Bhuwan and his ing admissions offers, Johnson said. younger brother Barun Singh G, DANIEL BERSAK—THE TECH These numbers include the Sloan current Graduate Student Council A memorial commemorating the death of Bhuwan Singh G sits in the lobby of Ashdown House Monday president, excelled in academics. night. Grad Admits, Page 20 Bhuwan enrolled in Auburn Uni- versity after finishing 10th grade and entered the PhD program at Thirsty May Close If No Dept. Accepts Account MIT at age 21, according to the biography given at his memorial. By Marissa Vogt that they would not be willing to the MIT administration. agreement that will end on June 1. Barun followed a similar path. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR have either of their offices take on The pub, which is located in the Gregory S. Pollock G, volunteer “I never imagined that there The Thirsty Ear Pub will close the responsibility of the pub. basement of Ashdown House, has manager of the Thirsty Ear, said an would be a day I would doubt that on June 1 unless it can find an office Because the Thirsty Ear is on been under the control of the gradu- agreement was reached in February I didn’t understand something very within the MIT administration that MIT property, it is required to have ate student office for the past six basic” about my son, Bhuwan’s is willing to host the pub’s accounts, its accounts held by an office within months as part of a temporary Thirsty, Page 17 father said at the memorial service. said John P. Lock G, the representa- It was not clear that Bhuwan tive from the Graduate Student wanted “to continue to be the best Council on the Pub Oversight Com- at something that didn’t give him mittee. happiness,” he said, referring to Dean for Student Life Larry G. academics. Benedict and Dean for Graduate Each person who spoke at the Students Isaac M. Colbert told the memorial service stressed the Pub Oversight Committee last week Nicholas J. Grant Professor Emeritus of Metallurgy Nicholas J. Grant ScD ’44 died on May 1, 2004 at the age of 88, after a battle with Alzheimer’s dis- ease. After graduating from MIT in 1944, Grant became an instructor here. He became a full professor in 1956, and then served as the director of the Center for Materials Science and Engineering from 1968 to 1977. Grant “was an early researcher in the development of alloys,” including high temperature and metallic alloys, said Samuel M. Allen PhD ’75, professor of physical metallurgy and current depart- ment head. Grant published over 500 papers and held over 130 patents, Allen said. In addition, he worked with many government committees and Grant, Page 18 DANIEL BERSAK—THE TECH Bartender Kristen E. Landino G pours a pint at the Thirsty Ear Monday night. This is the last issue of The Tech Comics NEWS this term. We will publish during 66 percent of prefrosh select MIT World & Nation . 2 the summer on June 4, June 11, Page 21 Opinion . 4 July 7, and Aug. 4. Arts . 9 Results from fraternity initiation Sports . .24 Have a great summer! Page 14 Page 16 Page 2 THE TECH May 11, 2004 WORLD & NATION Massachusetts Town Defies Bush Firmly Backs Rumsfeld Governor’s Gay Marriage Directive THE NEW YORK TIMES BOSTON Erasing Resignation Rumors One week before same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachu- setts, the Cape Cod town of Provincetown voted Monday to issue By Richard W. Stevenson sought to create a tableau of a people shown in the images, some marriage licenses to out-of-state same-sex couples even if they have THE NEW YORK TIMES national security team that, however of which, government officials said, no intention of moving to Massachusetts. The move contradicts a WASHINGTON fractured it has been over Iraq, was show American soldiers having sex directive by Gov. Mitt Romney, who has said that no same-sex cou- President Bush made a robust now united in its determination to with one another. ples residing out of state will be allowed to get married here. show of support on Monday for deal with the repercussions of the Separately, the Pentagon and Romney, who opposes same-sex marriage, has invoked a 1913 Defense Secretary Donald Rums- abuse cases, quell the insurgency in Congressional leaders continued to law that says that the state will not marry couples if their marriage feld, as the White House, the Penta- Iraq and transfer governance to the negotiate over ways to allow law- would be “void” in their home state. The governor has interpreted gon and Congress grappled with Iraqi people. makers to view the images in the that to mean that since no other state performs same-sex marriages, whether and how to release more Bush later went to Rumsfeld’s absence of a public release. only Massachusetts same-sex couples are eligible to be married here. pictures of Iraqi prisoners being office, where he was shown more The Senate, by a vote of 92-0, Couples applying for marriage licenses in Massachusetts are abused by U.S. soldiers. than a dozen images of the abuse, adopted a resolution condemning required to fill out a form asking where they reside and where they After meeting at the Pentagon most of which have not been publi- the prisoner abuse. The resolution intend to reside, and to sign the form under penalty of perjury. Town with his war council, Bush emerged cized, White House and Pentagon also included language sought by and city clerks have been instructed by the governor’s office to issue to face reporters and television cam- officials said. Bush’s spokesman, Democrats that called for the Senate licenses to out-of-state couples if they intend to move to the state, but eras, flanked by Vice President Dick Scott McClellan, characterized the to “conduct a full investigation of not to those who plan to return to their home states. Cheney on his right and Rumsfeld president’s reaction as “one of deep the abuses alleged to have occurred on his left, and delivered an unqual- disgust and disbelief that anyone at Abu Ghraib” and hold those ified endorsement of his defense who wears our uniform would responsible accountable. Al-Sadr’s Baghdad Headquarters secretary. engage in such shameful and Bush’s Democratic rival in the “You are courageously leading appalling acts.” presidential race, Sen. John Kerry of Demolished by U.S. Military our nation in the war against terror,” Administration officials debated Massachusetts, continued to criti- THE NEW YORK TIMES he said to Rumsfeld. “You are doing whether to release publicly all the cize the administration’s handling of BAGHDAD, IRAQ a superb job. You are a strong secre- pictures in the government’s posses- the abuse cases. Suggesting that he The American military said on Monday that it killed as many as 18 tary of defense, and our nation owes sion, with many of the president’s did not want to see punishment lim- supporters of the rebel Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, as it you a debt of gratitude.” political and communications advis- ited to courts-martial of those demolished his Baghdad headquarters during a heavy nighttime firefight.