MIT’s The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Partly cloudy, 43°F (6°C) Tonight: Cloudy, cold, 25°F (-4°C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Cloudy, warmer 47°F (8°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 124, Number 4 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, February 13, 2004 Bush Appoints Vest To New Commission By Kathy Lin said, “This assignment is a call to NEWS EDITOR major national service and I will MIT President Charles M. Vest work to the best of my abilities has been appointed by U.S. Presi- together with my fellow members to dent George W. Bush to a commis- accomplish the goals of this inde- sion that will review the nation’s pendent Commission. The issues to intelligence capabilities and be addressed are of profound impor- processes with regard to weapons of tance.” mass destruction. Vest is one of three academic The Commission on the Intelli- figures to serve on the committee. gence Capabilities of the United He will serve alongside Henry S. States Regarding Weapons of Mass Rowen, Professor of Public Policy Destruction, created via Executive and Management at Stanford Grad- Order on Feb. 6, will report its find- uate School of Business, and ings and recommendations to the Richard Levin, President of Yale President by the end of March 2005. In an MIT press release, Vest Vest, Page 15 MIT Begins Conducting PETER R. RUSSO—THE TECH The site of the future Media Lab expansion on the corner of Ames and Amherst Streets, as seen from the Green Building. Since the project stalled, the former location of building E10 has remained an Student Billing Online empty lot. By Mike Rolish Chauncey said. STAFF REPORTER “This is a customer service ini- MIT is phasing out paper stu- tiative,” said Cynthia Stanton, com- dent bills this spring as it transitions munications officer for Student Lack of Funds Slows Construction to MITPAY, a new electronic Financial Services. billing system that will go online on In addition, the Institute expects By Kathy Dobson Among these projects are a new at the corner of Albany Street and will go online on Feb. 19. to save money by switching over to STAFF REPORTER arts building, an east campus pro- Massachusetts Avenue in front of According to Sandra Chauncey, the new system. Chauncey cited Several construction projects on ject, a new physics building, and an the MIT nuclear reactor, where a director of student accounts for Stu- envelope, paper, printing, banking, and around the MIT campus have extension to the Media Lab. parking lot is currently located. The dent Financial Services, only one and labor costs that would not be been slowed down or put on hold location will serve as a “window for copy of a student’s bill will be sent because of budget cuts and difficul- Arts Center in design the city into art at MIT,” said John from February to June. The bill MITPAY, Page 14 ties in raising funds. A Music and Theater Arts R. Curry, executive vice president will be sent to students only; dupli- Teaching Laboratory is in the initial of the Institute. cate bills have been discontinued. stages of design and will be “con- The purpose of the new facility Starting in July, paper bills will sidered for further design work is to provide classroom, studio and be discontinued entirely, and all pending progress on fundraising,” rehearsal space to the growing per- billing information will be present- according to the most recent Town forming arts activities around MIT, ed online through MITPAY. Gown Report presented to the Cam- said Alan Brody, associate provost “Instead of getting a paper bill bridge Planning Board by MIT. for the arts. The construction of delivered to them at their residence, The Teaching Laboratory is space solely dedicated to perform- students will get an e-mail alerting expected to be approximately them their bill is ready,” Chauncey 36,000 square feet and to be located Towngown, Page 18 said. Students to control billing Students will have to specify a different billing address on WebSIS Russell G. Clisbee if they want the bill to go some- Russell G. Clisbee, a custodian at MIT, passed away on Monday, where other than their term address, Feb. 9. According to an e-mail written by Rod Garcia, director of including a parent’s residence. The admissions for the Sloan School of Management, Clisbee was an next bill will be sent to that address employee of MIT for 23 years. on Feb. 13. The MIT Police received a call around 8 a.m. on Monday from Students will access MITPAY someone who said that the door to a men’s bathroom on the first floor through WebSIS, Chauncey said. of E51 would only open a few inches and that he could see someone They will have the option of speci- lying on the floor inside, said John Di Fava, director of security and fying up to six additional people to campus police services. access their financial records Lt. Albert F. Pierce Jr., one of the officers who responded to the through the SFS web site. Current- scene several minutes after the call, said that there was no indication ly, parents do not have access to of foul play. student financial records via Web- The MIT police checked the body for vital signs and contacted the SIS. Cambridge Fire Advanced Life Support. Clisbee was later pro- “The students are in control,” nounced dead. Following standard procedure, the investigation was Chauncey said. handed over to the District Attorney’s office, Di Fava said. MITPAY also will enable elec- The investigation “is not being treated as suspicious,” said Seth tronic payments via the Automated Horwitz, a spokesman for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Clearing House (ACH) Network, Office. He said that it appears that Clisbee died of natural causes. an electronic money transfer sys- Clisbee was in his late 50’s, Di Fava said. tem, Chauncey said. “Currently, Clisbee is survived by two members of the MIT community: his the only way we can take payments wife, Elizabeth A. Mulcahy, an administrative assistant in the admis- from students and their families is sions office, and his brother, Paul F. Clisbee, a maintenance mechanic check, money order, or cash,” she in the department of facilities. said. According to an obituary in the Globe, Clisbee also has a daughter, Kimberly, and another brother, Calvin. A wake was held yesterday System to save on cost, hassle BRIAN HEMOND—THE TECH evening, and a funeral followed by a mass will be held today. “We looked at best practices at The lights of Building 10 reflect off a sheet of ice coating Kil- “Known to always sport a smile and a slanted cap, Russell was a other universities. With electronic lian Court. Temperatures will drop to well below freezing valued member of the Sloan community who will be missed,” wrote billing, service to students and their towards the end of the weekend. Garcia. families increases dramatically,” Women’s bas- Comics NEWS World & Nation . 2 ketball wins A revamped Harvard-MIT Opinion . 4 with a buzzer Matchup brings new hope to the Features . .7 beater. lonely this Valentine’s Day. Arts . 10 Events Calendar . .13 Page 19 Page 13 Page 17 Sports . .20 Page 2 THE TECH February 13, 2004 WORLD & NATION ‘Vagina Monologues’ Premiere Sept. 11 Panel Requests Info In China Halted By Censors THE NEW YORK TIMES BEIJING From Bush, Cheney, Clinton Eve Ensler once said she named her one-woman play “The Vagi- na Monologues” because the word vagina makes people feel anxious By Philip Shenon potentially embarrassing questions in Washington that he was willing and awkward. “I say it because I’m not supposed to say it,” she said. THE NEW YORK TIMES about intelligence and law-enforce- to answer questions from the panel, The challenge to social norms made the play a sensation in the WASHINGTON ment in the months before the Sept. although it was not clear if he was United States. But in China, where the word vagina carries even The independent commission 11 attacks, or refusing to testify, willing to testify in public: “The greater shock value and is rarely spoken in public, “The Vagina investigating the Sept. 11 terror providing Democrats with election- commission has invited me to meet Monologues” roiled the wrong people — the country’s censors. attacks said Thursday it would seek year rhetorical ammunition to argue with them in private, and I look for- This week, propaganda officials ordered the indefinite postpone- public testimony from President that the White House is ward to being of assistance.” ment of the play’s China premiere in Shanghai, nominally the coun- Bush and Vice President Dick stonewalling the inquiry. Hamilton would not predict what try’s most Westernized city. In the capital, Beijing, authorities Cheney about intelligence agency Bush could be expected to be the commission would do if Bush, stopped an avant-garde art gallery from staging an informal, nonprofit warnings that they might have questioned closely about an Oval Cheney and their immediate prede- rendition of “The Vagina Monologues” that had been scheduled for received before the attacks, a move Office intelligence briefing that he cessors refused to answer questions Valentine’s Day. that could provoke a new show- received in August 2001 that sug- from the panel — specifically, Though Ensler’s play addresses some still-sensitive women’s down between the panel and the gested that al-Qaida might be plan- whether the commission would con- rights issues and violence against women, the content does not appear White House. ning terrorist strikes using commer- sider subpoenas to try to compel tes- to have set off official censure.