Barnhart, Nelson to Reassess Internal Housing Processes Administrators Have Started to Meet with Residence Hall Leadership
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WEATHER, p. 2 MIT’s Oldest and THU: 57°F | 53°F Largest Newspaper Showers FRI: 65°F | 59°F Rain thetech.com SAT: 65°F | 42°F Showers Established 1881 Volume 138, Number 26 ursday, November 1, 2018 Barnhart, Nelson to reassess internal housing processes Administrators have started to meet with residence hall leadership By Patrick Wahl hart and Nelson began conducting EXECUTIVE EDITOR meetings with residence hall presi- dents Oct. , and will attend the Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart DormCon meeting tonight to dis- PhD ’ and Vice President and cuss their ndings. Dean for Student Life Suzy Nelson In an email sent to house presi- have initiated a year-long process dents Oct. , Nelson pointed to to assess and possibly amend the “negative aspects” of current hous- move-in and housing lottery sys- ing lotteries such as “rejection for tems of living groups across campus. some due to house ‘rush’” and asked e process will involve gather- the presidents to consider how the ing input from stakeholders includ- housing selection process can be ing the Undergraduate Association, used to “a rm MIT’s values on di- Dormitory Council, house presi- versity.” She wrote that over the dents, and heads of house, Matt course of the fall, “houses will think NYSSA MILLER Bauer, director of communications creatively about ways to redesign Students attend the vigil organized at the steps of the Student Center yesterday in the wake of the for the Division of Student Life, mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa. wrote in an email to e T e c h . Barn- Housing, Page 2 SFFA v. Harvard admissions trial Trimble appointed in progress, set to end by mid-Nov. as new OEL director Unlike Harvard, MIT does not favor legacy students Trimble emphasizes experiential By Soomin Chun been working its way up the judicial traits such as likeability, courage, system, but it has gained traction as and kindness. learning’s real-world applications Harvard is defending its admis- previously top-secret admissions According to e New York sions practices in a trial that alleges data was released to the public this Times, admissions data showed that By Joanne Yuan bocharge experiential learning … it discriminates against Asian-Amer- summer. although Asian-Americans gener- [and] to move some experiential ican applicants. e trial started Oct. e admissions documents re- ally scored higher than other racial Kate Trimble, the current As- learning opportunities from be- and is set to end by mid-Novem- vealed that out of the many factors groups on academic measures of sociate Dean for the Priscilla King ing a bolt-on activity for students ber, according to e Crimson, Har- such as standardized test scores and excellence, they were consistently Gray Public Service Center, will into something that’s much clos- vard’s student newspaper. extracurriculars that Harvard con- marked down for their “personal become the new Director of the Of- er to the core of what an MIT edu- is four-year-old lawsuit by the siders in its admissions, it also has ratings,” such as for attributes like ce of Experiential Learning Dec. cation is,” she said in an interview anti-a rmative action group Stu- a more subjective “personal ratings” . Professor Kim Vandiver PhD ’, with e T e c h . dents for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has component that judges character Harvard, Page 2 former director of the OEL, will step Experiential learning is down to focus his attention on the “messy, complicated, and often- Edgerton Center. times frustrating because it's not e OEL was recently reorga- happening in a controlled labora- nized to consist of ve units: D- tory environment, but it mirrors Lab, UROP, the Edgerton Center, the way that people tackle prob- the Global Education program, lems after they've gotten out of and the PKG Center, according to school and graduated,” Trimble previous coverage in e T e c h . said. Yet, because of its real world e hope of the reorganiza- consequences, experiential learn- tion, Vandiver explained in an in- ing “complicates learning in a way terview with e T e c h , is that “the that accelerates it.” contributions that those groups One challenge Trimble ex- can make [as a whole] is greater pects to face is how decentralized than the sum of their parts.” Trimble hopes to “really tur- Trimble, Page 2 IN SHORT your state’s requirements and Sophomores and juniors can deadline as soon as possible; if begin submitting applications you’ve already received your ab- (due Nov. ) to become sentee ballot, don’t forget to mail Burchard Scholars , a program it back in time. for students with strong interests in the humanities, arts, or social Spring housing forms are due sciences. Nov. and are available at my- housing.mit.edu. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. Check your polling place at vote. org/polling-place-locator. For Interested in joining e T e c h ? many who live on campus, Stop by for dinner Sunday at your polling place is at Kresge p.m. or email [email protected] . KEVIN LYTHE TECH Auditorium. A student sports a piece of pumpkin as a crown following the annual Pumpkin Drop event, which took Send news and tips to news@ place Sunday at the Green Building. If you are voting absentee , check tech.mit.edu . VOTE YES ON 3 FROM TABLETOP TO VIDEO GAME EASY COME, EASY GO REIF’S RESPONSE SECTIONS Campus Life . .3 Freddie Mercury flies to Ballot question 3 could Join Edward Pierce in a murder mystery. TO SAUDI ARABIA Opinion . .4 the big screen. ARTS, p. 9 shape the battle for ARTS, p. 11 President Reif re- Science . .7 trans rights nationwide. sponds to criticisms Arts . .9 OPINION, p. 4 A SHAKESPEARE PROBLEM PLAY of MIT’s relations with Fun Pages . .13 Waltz into the theater and be transfixed. Saudi Arabia. ARTS, p. 10 OPINION, p. 4 T T T , N , WEATHER 130°W 125°W 120°W 115°W 110°W 105°W 100°W 95°W 90°W 85°W 80°W 75°W 70°W 65°W 60°W More humidity, clouds, 40°N and rain 1016 By Jordan Benjamin into the mid s °F tomorrow and STAFF METEOROLOGIST Saturday before the low pressure 1006 35°N nally drags its cold front through After a pause early in the week, the region on Sunday, bringing clouds and rain are back on the back cool, dry, and sunny weather. menu. Currently, a low pressure During the warmth and humidity, system is quickly surging east af- expect several occasionally heavy ter sparking heavy rain and severe rounds of rain today through Sat- 30°N weather in the Lower Mississippi urday, and perhaps brisk winds 999 River Valley yesterday. e storm Saturday morning as a weak 1030 system is pushing a warm front nor’easter races up the east coast northwards through New England along the cold front. After the today, evicting the recent cool, front, next week will begin pleas- 25°N dry air mass and replacing it with antly under high pressure before much warmer, more humid air. unsettled weather again quickly High temperatures could surge replaces it. Extended Forecast Today: Slight chance showers, otherwise mostly cloudy. High around 57 °F (14 °C). Light and variable winds. Situation for Noon Eastern Time, Thursday, November 1, 2018 Tonight: A chance of showers, otherwise cloudy. Low around 53 Weather Systems Weather Fronts Precipitation Symbols Other Symbols °F (12 °C). E winds at 5–10 mph. Snow Rain Fog Tomorrow: Rain likely. High around 65 °F (18 °C). Low around 59 High Pressure Trough Showers Thunderstorm °F (15 °C). Winds S at 10–15 mph. Warm Front Light Saturday: Showers early. High around 65 °F (18 °C). Low around Low Pressure Haze Cold Front 42 °F (6 °C). Moderate Compiled by MIT Hurricane Meteorology Staff Stationary Front Heavy Sunday: Sunny. High around 53 °F (12 °C). and The Tech ‘We reject rejection,’ guidelines say Housing, from Page 1 A number of students and alum- ni have spoken out against the rede- their housing lottery,” and that the sign, which comes less than a year process will continue with a work- after Caltech’s administration con- shop taking place during IAP. troversiallyended the involvement Additionally, Nelson sent a draft of upperclassmen in freshman of the “guiding principles” to be house selection. used in focusing discussions. ese “Judgement and rejection are a included granting agency in the natural part of social interaction,” selection process to both rst-year Tesla Wells ’, president of East students and upper-level students Campus, wrote in a public Face- transferring between dorms, as well book comment. “I am hopeful that as the slogan “we reject rejection,” a solution can be devised that miti- referring to the in-house rush peri- gates negative aspects of ‘hall rush’ ods in which certain living groups, without compromising communi- NYSSA MILLER such as those in East Campus and ties, sub-optimally placing people, Costumed students skate to music in Johnson Rink at SaveTFP’s annual Spooky Skate last Friday. New House, choose who will live in or making the experience Less En- their communities. joyable for freshman [ sic ].” MIT supports ‘narrowly tailored Trimble formerly PKG use of race in admissions’ Center Associate Dean Harvard, from Page 1 according to Kimberly Allen, dep- a higher standard, I feel that this Trimble, from Page 1 at the same time maintaining and uty director of MIT News, in an law case is just coming from the celebrating the uniqueness of each “humor” or “grit.” email to e T e c h .