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WEATHER, p. 2 TUE: 53˚F | 38˚F MIT’s Clouds and rain Oldest and Largest WED: 51˚F | 36˚F Newspaper Clouds and wind THU: 60˚F | 40˚F Mostly sunny Volume 130, Number 22 tech.mit.edu Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Super mashup success! Union strike hits Shaw’s Shoppers asked to boycott chain as 300 continue to strike By Margaret Cunniff STAFF REPORTER For the past two months, over 300 Shaw’s workers have been on strike at Shaw’s warehouse 30 miles away in Methuen. This weekend, the protest came to the MIT Shaw’s on Sid- ney Street. Picketers in Cambridge handed out flyers in front of the store and asked patrons to boycott Shaw’s until the strike is resolved. Warehouse workers at the Methuen Distri- bution Center have been on strike since March GREG STEINBRECHER!THE TECH 8, after workers rejected a new contract that Allin D. Resposo ’11 hangs out with Super Mash Bros after winning the Spring Weekend Mashup Competition. Students sub- would have significantly increased their health mitted mashups for student voting, and Super Mash Bros. selected a winner from the top three to play during their concert. care costs. They voted 228-8 to go on strike. On April 1, Shaw’s cut off health care coverage for the 300 striking workers. According to Judy Chong, a representative for Shaw’s, The MIT Shaw’s will not be affected Confronting the ‘elephant in the room’ in the near future despite the strike. “We want our customers to know that it is our every inten- !is week, students to raise awareness of sexual assault on campus tion to serve them and provide them with fresh goods,” Chong said. By Jingyun Fan “It’s odd right? Why won’t you MIT Chorallaries performed a two dozen students gathered in In order to maintain normal functions, ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR talk about it?” McKnight said. few songs, ending with “Defy- Shaw’s has begun hiring permanent replace- The event schedule this year ing Gravity.” Afterward, around Awareness, Page 11 ment workers. Chong says the decision to hire Sexual Assault Awareness has been pared back somewhat. new workers was difficult but necessary. Week started yesterday in Stata, “We wanted to focus on doing The Methuen Distribution Center serves 176 when around two dozen stu- it well,” said Liz Jensen ’13, one Shaw’s stores across New England, including the dents gathered to share private of the main organizers. Today, stores in the Cambridge and Boston area. Work- stories about sexual violence. they will conduct a screening ers and sympathizers started picketing outside The event, called Take Back the of The Line, a documentary the distribution center at the beginning of the Night, began a week of activities about what constitutes consent. strike, but they have since expanded and are intended to bring talk of sexual On Wednesday, there will be a now picketing at 19 Shaw’s stores, both union- assault into the open, as the first lunch for assault survivors in ized and non-unionized. Many of the picketers step toward ending it. an undisclosed location. And are from local Shaw’s unions. “We are trying to start a con- all week, the MIT community is The major sticking point in the new contract versation, talking about the... asked to make a pledge to end was a disagreement over how to distribute a 13 elephant in the room, starting derogatory language. percent increase in health care costs. Under the to work toward an end to it...” The Week is a joint effort by original contract, a large part of the increase said Jason McKnight, a residen- the Program for Medical Vio- would fall on employees, significantly increas- tial life associate for graduate lence Prevention Response, the ing costs of premiums for workers. The union students and one of the primary Program in Women’s and Gen- felt this increase was an unreasonable burden organizers of the Week’s events. der Studies, Residential Life, the on workers, especially those who support fami- Accordingly, the mascot for the Student Activities Office, and JINGYUN FAN!THE TECH lies. Week is an elephant, represent- MIT Medical’s Center for Health The Chorallaries sang “Defying Gravity” at Take Back the Night Two contracts have been voted down by the ing the heavy silence surround- Promotion and Wellness. in Stata on Monday. The event kicked off Sexual Assault Awareness ing the topic of sexual violence. At Take Back the Night, the Week, which continues with a screening of The Line today. Shaws, Page 13 This Thursday, ARCTAN IN SHORT Webby People’s Voice Award, whose Twitter (25 percent), Hulu (24 per- will be holding a bone mar- MIT News O!ce winners are determined popular cent), Pandora (17 percent), Jim Car- Surprised to see so many row donor registration drive online vote; and the Webby Award, rey’s official website (17 percent), students in business casual in the Coffeehouse from 9 may win Webby whose winners are determined by and the FAIL Blog (17 percent). today? That’s because it’s a.m. to 7 p.m. The MIT News Office is winning a members of the Academy. To participate in the voting, visit Badge Day for Greek Week! close race for its first Webby People’s Voting this year began on April 13 the People’s Voice Webby Awards The Residential Life Pro- Voice Award. As of Monday April 26, and will continue until April 29. The website (http://webby.aol.com/). Eat a balanced breakfast! grams office will be moving the News Office leads the pack in winner will be announced on May 4. The five websites nominated for The UA is serving up free today from the Student Center the category for best school/univer- Winners of the competition re- the School/University category are: breakfast on the Student Cen- (W20-549) to the Heinz Build- sity website, topping Wheaton Col- ceive a small Webby Award statu- r MIT News Office — http://web. ter steps, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., ing (W59-200), located next to lege (30 percent), The University of ette, a framed award certificate, and mit.edu/newsoffice/ for Wellness Week. Volunteers Simmons Hall. An open house Puget Sound (15 percent), Bucknell an Webby badge that may be placed r Wheaton College 150th Anniver- will also be passing out $2 cou- will be held at the new office University (14 percent), and Point on their website. sary — http://150.wheaton.edu/ pons for the produce market at soon after the opening. Park University (8 percent). The judging criteria differ for r University of Puget Sound Web- East Campus. The annual Webby Awards, each category. Websites are evalu- site — http://www.pugetsound. Run, swim, bike. Put your fit- sponsored International Academy of ated based on content, structure/ edu/ Acknowledge the elephant ness to the test in the IronNerd Digital Arts and Sciences, honor the navigation, visual design, function- r Point Park University Generic U in the room. Sexual Assault Triathlon on Sunday May 2. best of the internet. There over 100 ality, interactivity, and overall expe- Campaign Web — http://www.ge- Awareness Week began yes- The race starts at 4 p.m. categories covering websites, inter- rience. nericu.com/ terday. To find the schedule active advertising, online film and So far, over 580,000 votes have r Bucknell University Virtual Tour of events, visit http://elephant. Send news information and video, and the mobile web. In each been cast since April 13. Across all — http://community.bucknell.edu/ mit.edu/. tips to [email protected]. category, two prizes are given: The categories, the top vote getters are — Robert McQueen IMMIGRANTS ARE BROUHAHA RHYTHM STEAL MY COMIC SEEING GREEN SECTIONS GOOD FOR US Sure, 3-D enhances realism, but some- Overpopulation will World & Nation . .2 Opinion . .4 Open borders not times that’s a bad thing. CL, p. 6 A history lesson. FUN, p. 8 be the problem that Campus Life . .6 only make economic spawns many more VARIOUS STATES OF UNDRESS problems if we don’t Fun Pages . .8 sense, but are a moral Sports . .15 imperative. (Arizona is In which M. voyages into the not-so-bad keep ourselves in insane.) OPN, p. 5 world of online dating. CL, p. 6 check. OPN, p. 4 ! T!" T"#! T$"%&'(, A)*+, -., -/0/ Globe, newspapers across D US see circulation fall O! Wall Street, companies The Globe’s daily circulation fell 23.2 percent to 232,432 in the six-month period that ended in March, compared to worry about "nancial bill the same period a year ago, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The Globe’s Sunday circulation dropped 18.8 percent to 378,949. Weekday circulation at the Herald fell By Eric Lichtblau other Wall Street financial business- ing to determine what impacts these WORL 12 percent to 132,551, while Sunday declined 4.6 percent to and Ron Nixon es that have become the main targets proposals will have on business, in- 91,040. THE NEW YORK TIMES of the legislation, and the lobbying tentionally or unintentionally.” The Globe’s publisher, Christopher M. Mayer, said in a push by other industries shows just While the legislation’s supporters N memo to the paper’s staff that the lower circulation numbers WASHINGTON – Mars, the maker how broadly the legislation could af- in Congress insist that most nonfi- were expected after the company raised prices last summer in of M&M’s and Snickers, wants to make fect American businesses.

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