Volume 128, Number 11 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Fin

The Weather Today: Sunny, High 43°F (6°C) MIT’s Tonight: Becoming cloudy, Low 34°F (1°C) Oldest and Largest Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy and Newspaper breezy with a sprinkle possible, High 47°F (8°C) Details, Page 2

Volume 128, Number 11 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Fin. Aid Boosted; No Tuition For Families Earning Under $75K By Natasha Plotkin income students and to substantially Associate News Editor increase financial aid for students in MIT announced on Friday that the middle-income segment. students whose families earn less In December, Harvard Universi- than $75,000 per year — approxi- ty, whose lowest-income students al- mately 30 percent of the student ready attend tuition-free, announced body — will no longer pay tuition. that families with incomes between To cover these and other new poli- $60,000 and $120,000 would pay cies, MIT’s financial aid budget will between zero and 10 percent of their rise to $74 million, a $7 million in- income to tuition, and families with crease over last year’s budget. incomes between $120,000 and MIT also increased its tuition by $180,000 would pay 10 percent. In 4 percent, to $36,390. January, Yale University eliminated Students whose families earn less tuition for families earning less Gregory I. Telian than $75,000 a year will also have than $60,000 a year, limited tuition President Susan Hockfield, MIT Corporation Life Member David H. Koch, Mayor of Cambridge De- lower self-help expectations than costs for families making $60,000 nise Simmons, and other notables break ground for the new David H. Koch Institute of Integrative last year: $2,850, down from $5,250 to $200,000 a year to an average of Cancer Research on Friday. last year. The new figure will allow 10% of their income, and decreased students to avoid taking out loans to all student self-help contributions pay for tuition, by working on an Un- to $2,500. Stanford University an- dergraduate Research Opportunities nounced in February that it would Program or other on-campus job for eliminate tuition for families with MIT Names MacVicar Fellows For two semesters. Students whose fami- incomes under $100,000 a year and lies earn more than $75,000 a year eliminate all educational expenses, will now have an expected self-help including room and board, for fami- Excellence in Undergrad Teaching contribution of $4,750. lies with incomes under $60,000 a Home equity will no longer be year. By Ramya Sankar neering Professor Craig W. Carter, three, and I still want more.” considered in determining financial Stanford and Yale continue to Staff Reporter Mechanical Engineering Associate All of the recipients expressed aid packages for students whose factor home equity into financial Five MIT faculty members were Professor Sanjay E. Sarma, Litera- gratitude for the honor. Many said families earn less than $100,000 a aid assessments, while Harvard and named MacVicar Fellows for their ture Professor Stephen J. Tapscott, that the MacVicar Award is on a year. Families in this income range Princeton do not. excellence in undergraduate teach- and Physics Professor Barton Zwie- different level than any of the other who rent their homes will have com- Kolenbrander said that “our dis- ing last Friday during this year’s bach. awards they have received in the past parable increases in their financial cussion about financial aid has been MacVicar Day, a celebration which As each award recipient was pre- because it is based on input from aid. This measure will increase the influenced by the recent announce- recognizes contributions to under- sented with a framed certificate, Reif colleagues and, most importantly, value of these families’ financial aid ments of other universities.” While graduate education at MIT. The read a few words from their nomina- their students. Referring to his love packages by an average of $1,600. no part of MIT’s new financial aid program began in 32-123 with a lec- tors. The most compelling comments for teaching, Carter explained that, Vice President for Institute Af- policies specifically addresses fami- ture on science education by Nobel were from students, who described unlike his previous awards and hon- fairs and Secretary of the Corpora- lies in the $100,000 to $200,000 in- Laureate in Physics Carl E. Wieman each fellow’s dedication and passion ors, the MacVicar Award was like an tion Kirk D. Kolenbrander said that come range, Kolenbrander remarked ’73. The lecture was followed by for teaching undergraduates. “award for eating ice cream.” funding for the financial aid budget on other schools’ changes, saying an MIT faculty reception hosted by “Learning from Professor Baker The fellows praised MIT students, increase will come from both en- “This is the road we’re on … MIT President Susan Hockfield at Gray and learning from someone average especially the students’ uniqueness dowed and un-endowed funds in the is already serving the upper middle House, where the five fellows were is like the difference between a 5 star and inquisitive nature. Baker said general Institute budget. class, but we do feel a particular push announced. and 2 star restaurant service,” wrote that she loves the fresh perspective to help families of greater need.” At the faculty reception, the a student about Baker. About Sarma, that undergraduates bring to her External and internal pressure MIT’s new plans also follow a awards were presented by Provost another wrote, “Sanjay is the man.” class. Barton said that the best part The announcement follows a recent increase in political pressure L. Rafael Reif to the 2008 MacVicar One student said of Zwiebach, “I en- of his job was “the looks in the eyes string of decisions by peer universi- Fellows — Biology Professor Tania courage every physics major at MIT ties to eliminate tuition for lowest- Financial Aid, Page 12 Baker, Materials Science and Engi- to take a class from him; I have taken MacVicar, Page 17 Decrease in High School Graduates Will Increase College Admission Rates By Alan Finder “For the high school graduate, The New York Times this becomes a buyers’ market,” said High school seniors nationwide Daniel M. Fogel, president of the are anxiously awaiting the verdicts University of Vermont. from the colleges of their choice That won’t help Charlie Cotton, later this month. But though it may a senior at Madison High School in not be of much solace to them, in just New Jersey. He has the grades and a few years the admissions frenzy is scores to aim for the nation’s elite likely to ease. It’s simply a matter of universities, yet in the hyper-com- demographics. petitive world of college admissions, Projections show that by next his chances of winning a spot at his year or the year after, the annual top picks — like Middlebury, Dart- number of high school graduates in mouth and Oberlin — are highly un- the United States will peak at about certain. When his sister, Emma, who 2.9 million after a 15-year climb. The is in eighth grade, applies to college, number is then expected to decline she is expected to face a less frantic until about 2015. Most universities landscape with fewer rivals. Arka P. Dhar expect this to translate into fewer ap- The demographic changes in- Karena K. Tyan ’08 sings during the Chorallaries annual Bad Taste concert, held this past Saturday plications and less selectivity, with clude sharp geographic, social and evening in 26-100. See page 10 for more photographs. most students probably finding it easier to get into college. Admissions, Page 14 In Short Comics World & Nation ��2 ¶¶The 2008–2009 ASA Executive at-large, Gillian M. Grogan ’10 and Board was elected at the General Rachel E. Meyer ’10 undergradu- Opinion ��4 Body Meeting last night. Student ate members-at-large, and Kevin Campus Life ��5 groups in the Association of Stu- A. Riggle ’08 student member-at- dent Activities elected Keone D. large. All positions were uncon- Comics & Fun Pages ��8 Hon ’11 president, Shan Wu G tested. Sports ��20 treasurer, Rishi V. Gupta ’10 sec- Pages 8-9 retary, Nan Gu G and Roberto J. Send news information and tips to Perez-Franco G graduate members- [email protected]. Page 2 The Tech March 11, 2008 Wo r l d & Na t i o n A Space Robot With Arms To Spitzer Hired High-Priced Make R2D2 Jealous By Warren E. Leary The New York Times Prostitutes, Apologizes The International Space Station is finally getting its robot. Anyone who has followed science fiction knows that a good long- By Danny Hakim his family and decide what was best the governor made his statement. duration spacecraft has to have a robot. The space shuttle Endeavour and William K. Rashbaum for the state, but declined to take ques- The news was met with disbelief takes off for the space station on Tuesday with a large, Canadian-made The New York Times tions, leaving after barely a minute. and shock in Albany, a capital accus- robot named Dextre in its cargo bay. Endeavour’s seven-member crew ALBANY, N.Y. “I have acted in a way that vio- tomed to scandal. Some legislative will assemble the robot during three of the mission’s five scheduled Gov. Eliot Spitzer was a client of a lates my obligations to my fam- staffers said they were too stunned spacewalks. high-end prostitution ring broken up ily and violates my or any sense of to speak, and lawmakers gathered Dextre — pronounced “Dexter” and formally dubbed the Special last week by federal authorities, ac- right or wrong,” the governor said. “I around television sets in hushed of- Purpose Dexterous Manipulator — is to roam the outside of the space cording to law enforcement officials, apologize first and most importantly fices, trying to make sense of what station when commanded by its crew or controllers on the ground, do- a development that threatened to end to my family. I apologize to the pub- had happened. ing odd jobs that previously required a spacewalk. the governor’s career and turned the lic to whom I promised better. “We’re at a total standstill,” said “It’s an operational robot that’s pushing the limits of what we can state’s political world upside down. “I have disappointed and failed Keith L.T. Wright, a Democratic as- do in space today with robotics,” said Daniel Ray, technical manager Spitzer’s involvement with the to live up to the standard I expected semblyman from Harlem. “Every- of the Dextre project for the Canadian Space Agency. prostitution operation was detailed of myself. I must now dedicate some body is stunned. Everybody is abso- Assembled, Dextre resembles a human form with hips, torso, in court papers filed last week, the time to regain the trust of my family.” lutely stunned.” shoulders, upper body and two long, seemingly ape-like arms. The officials said, as federal prosecutors The governor, a first-term Demo- Spitzer has not been charged with 3,400-pound robot stands 12 feet tall, and each of its multijointed arms brought charges against four people crat, then returned to his Fifth Av- a crime. But one law enforcement can extend 11 feet. who had been running the service, enue apartment, and remained there official who has been briefed on the Emperor’s Club VIP. Spitzer was on Monday night, receiving counsel case said Spitzer’s lawyers would caught on a federal wiretap discuss- from his advisers and considering his probably meet soon with federal China Will Keep One-Child Policy ing payments and arranging to meet resignation, an aide said. prosecutors to discuss any possible By Jim Yardley a prostitute in a Washington ho- The New York Times began in- legal exposure. The official said the The New York Times BEIJING tel room last month. The affidavit, vestigating Spitzer’s possible in- discussions are likely to focus not on China’s top population official said the country’s one-child-per- which did not identify Spitzer by volvement with the prostitution ring prostitution, but how it was paid for: couple family planning policy would not change for at least another name, indicated that he had used the on Friday, the day after prosecutors Whether the payments from Spitzer decade. The announcement refutes speculation that officials were prostitution service before, although arrested the four people on charges to the service were made in a way contemplating adjustments to compensate for mounting demographic it was not clear how many times. of helping run the Emperors Club. to conceal their purpose and source. pressures. Spitzer appeared briefly with his After inquiries from The Times over That could amount to a crime called The official, Zhang Weiqing, minister of the National Population wife at his Manhattan office on Mon- the weekend and on Monday, the structuring, which carries a penalty and Family Planning Commission, said China would not make any ma- day afternoon to apologize, though governor canceled his public sched- of up to five years in prison. jor changes to the overall family planning policy until roughly a decade he did not specifically address any ule. An hour after The Times pub- Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman from now, when an anticipated surge in births is expected to end. involvement with the ring. He said he lished a story on its Web site saying for the U.S. attorney’s office in Man- “The current family planning policy, formed as a result of gradual needed to repair his relationship with Spitzer had been linked to the ring, hattan, declined to comment. changes in the past two decades, has proved compatible with national conditions,” Zhang said in a front-page interview published Monday in China Daily, the country’s official English-language newspaper. “So it has to be kept unchanged at this time to ensure stable and Talks, But No Truce, Accompany balanced population growth.” Zhang said that 200 million people would enter childbearing age during the next decade and that prematurely abandoning the one-child Lull in Gaza Violence policy could add unwanted volatility to the birthrate. By Isabel Kershner tion about an emerging understand- Hundreds of rockets and mortar The New York Times ing, saying he believed that Israel and shells were fired at Israel during a Southern Baptists Back A Shift JERUSALEM Hamas, the Islamic militant group surge in hostilities in late February A senior Israeli official and lead- that controls Gaza, were “agreed in and early March, and more than 120 On Climate Change ers of Gaza militant groups have principle” on terms for a truce. Palestinians, many of them civilians, By Neela Banerjee held talks with Egyptian officials in Hamas “wants to protect its lead- were killed in an Israeli air and land The New York Times recent days, but Prime Minister Ehud ers and those of Islamic Jihad from campaign against the rocket launch- Signaling a significant departure from the Southern Baptist Conven- Olmert of Israel denied on Monday the Israelis, and I think Israel agrees ing squads. Four Israeli soldiers and tion’s official stance on global warming, 44 Southern Baptist leaders that Israel was engaged in talks to on that or has already agreed,” Abbas an Israeli civilian were killed by Pal- have decided to back a declaration calling for more action on climate broker a truce, despite several days was quoted by the official Palestin- estinian fire. change, saying its previous position on the issue was “too timid.” of relative quiet near the Gaza bor- ian news agency, WAFA, as saying Ahmed Yousef, an adviser to the The largest denomination in the United States after the Roman der. on Monday after talks in Jordan with Hamas leadership in Gaza, said on Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, with more than 16 Olmert said, however, that if the King Abdullah II. Monday that all the militant groups million members, is politically and theologically conservative. Yet its militant groups halted their rocket The comments came after a three- there were abiding by a temporary current president, the Rev. Frank Page, signed the initiative, “A South- fire and the smuggling of weapons day lull in hostilities in and around lull to give Egyptian officials a ern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change.” Two into Gaza, “Israel will have no rea- Gaza. No rockets were launched chance to “reach a comprehensive past presidents of the convention, the Rev. Jack Graham and the Rev. son to fight the terrorists there.” against Israel from Gaza on Monday, agreement that will deal with all James Merritt, also signed, as did presidents of seminaries and Baptist Representatives of the groups in and only a few were fired over the the issues.” Those issues, he said, colleges, editors of Baptist newspapers and pastors of churches, many Gaza said they were trying to create weekend, all toward open, unpopu- include the possibility of a prisoner of them in the younger generation of Baptist leaders. a calm atmosphere to give Egypt a lated areas, an Israeli army spokes- exchange between Israel and Hamas, “We believe our current denominational engagement with these is- chance to broker a more comprehen- woman said. The last military strike the opening of the passages on Ga- sues has often been too timid, failing to produce a unified moral voice,” sive deal between the warring sides. in Gaza, against a group of armed za’s borders with Egypt and Israel, the church leaders wrote in their new declaration. The Palestinian president, Mah- men, occurred late Friday night, she which have largely been closed, and moud Abbas, added to the specula- said. a longer-term lull in violence. We a t h e r Trust Me, I’m a Meteorologist Situation for Noon Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, March 11, 2008

By Brian H. Tang 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 Staff Meteorologist 40°N Given all the sources of weather forecasts online and in the media these days, you might wonder, who should you trust: The Weather Channel, your favorite weather character on TV, or your friendly neighborhood staff meteorologist at The Tech? This is actually a much harder question to answer than 1005 by simply pointing a finger at myself and humbly saying, “I’m the best!” 35°N Perhaps a better question to ask is: how far out can you trust any weather

forecast? 1019 Take, for instance, the three most common variables the average person wants to know: the high temperature, the low temperature, and precipitation. The fact is that when it comes to 1-3 day forecasts of these three variables, 1027 30°N all major weather forecast sources do a decent job and have a fairly equal probability of being within some error tolerance. Beyond this time frame, the numerical weather prediction models that form the backbone of weather forecasting lose their accuracy rapidly as initial errors grow and contaminate the numerical projection of the atmosphere’s state. Be wary of any forecast 25°N 1028 portending a near miss or direct hit by a big storm 5-7 days out. Beyond a week, there is essentially no skill compared to taking the average weather history for the date, so don’t fall in to the trap of using that 7–14 day forecast to plan your spring break getaway.

Extended Forecast Today: Sunny. High 43°F (6°C). Weather Systems Weather Fronts Precipitation Symbols Other Symbols Tonight: Becoming cloudy. Low 34°F (1°C). Snow Rain Fog High Pressure Trough Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy and breezy with a sprinkle possible. High 47°F - - - Showers Thunderstorm

(8°C). Q Q Q Q Warm Front Light Low Pressure Haze Tomorrow night: Clear. Low 28°F (-2°C). LLLLL Cold Front Moderate Compiled by MIT Thursday: Sunny, then increasing clouds late. High 45°F (7°C). Hurricane Q Q Meteorology Staff L L Stationary Front Heavy and The Tech March 11, 2008 Wo r l d & Na t i o n The Tech Page 3

Powered by Ocean Waves, Boat Buyout Industry Staggers Under Weight of Debt To Sail From Hawaii to Japan By Michael J. De La Merced The New York Times NEW YORK By John Geoghegan He has been doing so for more configuration. Celebrated buyout firms like the Blackstone Group and Kohlberg The New York Times than 20 years. According to an English patent Kravis Roberts & Co., hailed only a year ago for their dealmaking On Sunday, a boat will sail from The Mermaid propulsion mecha- application, wave-powered boats prowess, are seeing their profits collapse as the credit crisis spreads Honolulu on a planned voyage of nism is mounted under the bow and have been in development since at through the financial markets. 3,780 nautical miles, powered just not the stern, and it is designed to least 1895. In 1935, Popular Science Investors fear that some of the companies that these firms bought on by the wave action of the sea. pull the boat, rather than push it for- reported that an 18-inch model of credit could, like millions of American homeowners, begin to buckle The craft, the Suntory Mermaid ward, regardless of weather, wave a wave-powered boat traveled five under their heavy debts now that a recession seems almost certain. The II, is promoted as the first oceango- height or direction. miles per hour in a test off Long buyout lords themselves suddenly confront multibillion-dollar losses ing, wave-powered boat. If it com- The mechanism consists of two Beach, Calif. on their investments. pletes its maiden voyage from the side-by-side horizontal fins that Until now, tests of wave-powered On a day in which the stock market tumbled to its lowest point in Hawaii Yacht Club to the Kii Chan- move up and down with the motion boats have been small scale or in two years and rumors flew that a major Wall Street firm might be in nel off the east coast of Japan, it of the waves to create a dolphinlike simulated conditions. This is the first trouble, Blackstone said Monday that its profit had plunged. The firm will show that an environmentally tail kick that propels the boat. time a three-ton wave-powered boat said earnings tumbled 89 percent in the final three months of 2007 and friendly wave-powered boat not “A wave-powered boat can trans- has been tested over thousands of warned that the deep freeze in the credit markets — and, by extension, only works in the laboratory, but form wave energy into a propulsive miles. in the private equity industry — was unlikely to thaw soon. can also navigate in real-world con- power that moves the craft forward,” “I am not aware of any attempts “They see the handwriting on the wall,” said Martin S. Fridson, a ditions. Terao said. by a wave-powered boat over such a leading expert on junk bonds, said of buyout firms. “They’re staring And the journey would set a re- He conducted his first large-scale distance,” said R.W. Yeung, a profes- into the jaws of hell.” cord for the longest trip by a wave- test of a “wave devouring boat” in sor of naval architecture and ocean It is a major turn of events for Blackstone and its chief executive, powered vessel. partnership with Dr. Hiroshi Isshiki engineering at the University of Stephen A. Schwarzman, who took the firm public last year at the Dr. Yutaka Terao of the depart- of the Hitachi Zosen Corp. in 1988. California, Berkeley. “They could height of the buyout binge. On paper, Schwarzman has personally lost ment of naval architecture and ocean The test was on Suruga Bay, near be successful, but it’s a risky under- $3.9 billion as the price of Blackstone’s stock sank. engineering at the Tokai University Mount Fuji, and used a single 12 1/2 taking. It depends a lot on weather Even so, Schwarzman is still worth billions, more than rich enough School of Marine Science and Tech- -foot fin mounted on the bow of the conditions.” to pledge $100 million to the New York Public Library, as he plans to nology is responsible for engineering Tokai University teaching vessel. The Guinness Book of World do Tuesday. the propulsion system for the Mer- The test was considered a success Records lists the captain of the Mer- maid. when three-foot waves propelled the maid, Ken-ichi Horie, 69, as holding “Fossil fuel will run out one day,” 20-ton boat at 2 knots. two records for piloting environmen- Kissing the Earth Goodbye, In Terao said. “So I have studied wave The test did not bring interest tally sensitive boats. In 1993, Horie propulsion as a promising way to from shipbuilders. To improve effi- set a 4,660-nautical-mile record in a About 7.59 Billion Years save energy.” ciency, Terao arrived at the two-fin human-powered pedal boat. By Dennis Overbye The New York Times In the end, there will not even be fragments. If nature is left to its own devices, about 7.59 billion years from Bomber Kills 5 U.S. Soldiers On now, Earth will be dragged from its orbit by an engorged red sun and spiral to a rapid vaporous death. That is according to new calcula- tions by two astronomers: Klaus-Peter Schroeder of the University of Patrol in Iraq’s Capital Guanajuato in Mexico and Robert Connon Smith of the University of Sussex in England. By Erica Goode maniyah, killing two people and he said, he climbed up a ladder to a Their report, to be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal The New York Times wounding 30 in the first significant storeroom to retrieve his lunch and Astronomical Society, is the latest and gloomiest installment in a long- BAGHDAD attack in that normally placid city in then heard a large explosion. He running debate about the fate of our planet. Only last year, the discov- A man walked up to a group of several years. scrambled back down, he said, to ery of a giant planet orbiting the faint burned-out cinder of a star in American soldiers on foot patrol in The two attacks underscored how find the bodies of two of the soldiers Pegasus had suggested that Earth could survive the sun’s death. an upscale shopping district in cen- fragile security in Iraq remains de- he had just been chatting with lying Smith called the new forecast “a touch depressing” in a series of tral Baghdad on Monday and blew spite a recent drop in violence, and across the doorway of the store. e-mail messages. But “looked at another way,” he added, “it is an in- up the explosives-filled vest he was statements by American military of- Mohammed, a hamburger vendor centive to do something about finding ways to leave our planet and wearing, killing four of the soldiers ficials that Sunni insurgents are on whose stand is about 175 feet from colonize other areas in the galaxy.” and wounding three others and an the run. the site of the bombing, said that the Earth’s basic problem is that the sun will gradually become larger Iraqi interpreter who accompanied In Baghdad, the suicide bombing, same group of eight or nine Ameri- and more luminous, according to widely held theories of stellar evolu- them. A fifth soldier died later of his in the Mansour neighborhood, shat- can soldiers had been coming to the tion. In its first 4.5 billion years, according to the models, the sun has wounds. tered a perfect spring afternoon, with street for the last three days, getting already grown about 40 percent brighter. It was the deadliest single attack shoppers out sampling hamburgers out of their Humvees and walking on American soldiers in Baghdad and sausage from street vendors and around the shopping area, called the since the height of the troop surge browsing through boutiques for the Al-Rawad intersection after a popu- Across the Country, High Courts in the capital last summer. Nine latest fashions. lar ice cream parlor there. Iraqi civilians were also injured in The owner of a clothing store on “Usually, we see the Americans Follow California’s Lead the blast, according to officials at Mansour Street said that five soldiers come in Humvees and they don’t By Adam Liptak Yarmuk Hospital, where the victims and an interpreter entered his shop stop, they just keep driving,” said The New York Times were taken. about 3 p.m. the vendor, who was afraid to give The California Supreme Court is the most influential state court in Reports from Iraqi witnesses sug- “The soldiers were asking about his last name. On Monday, he said, the nation. gest that soldiers may have let down the security situation and also mak- a soldier carrying a notebook walked That’s not just talk. The numbers back it up. their guard because of the relative ing jokes and laughing,” said the into a currency exchange called The A new study counted up the number of times the decisions of state quiet of the last few months, leav- store owner, who refused to give his Ship. The other soldiers gathered in high courts were followed in other states — in other words, how often ing the safety of their Humvees and real name for fear of reprisals from a small group. one state’s decision played a direct role in shaping a decision else- chatting with local people and shop- local militias. “Some of them said, “When the explosion happened where. That sort of citation analysis is a common measure of influence, keepers. ‘Be sure that we’ll come back again we panicked and started running, and there is a cottage industry of rankings for judges, law professors, Hours later, a car bomb exploded in order to buy clothes from you be- and the gunner on one of the Hum- law reviews, law faculties and the like. outside the most important hotel in fore we leave on vacation.’” vees started shooting,” Mohammed According to the study, published in December in the University the northern Kurdish city of Sulay- After the soldiers left the store, said. of California, Davis, Law Review, the California Supreme Court won by a landslide. In the 65 years ending in 2005, more than 24,000 state high court House Democrats Steer Their Own cases have been followed at least once. California leads with 1,260 decisions. Washington is next, with 942, and Colorado is third, with 848. New York comes in 10th and is only about half as influential as California, with 627 followed cases. Path on Warrantless Wiretaps The Kentucky Supreme Court is the least influential high court in By Eric Lichtblau tional security. The Senate gave him to threaten the financial solvency of the nation, with 177 cases. The median was 453. The New York Times what he wanted in a vote last month the phone companies. California also leads nationally if only cases followed three or WASHINGTON that also broadened the government’s The Bush administration has more times are counted. The same goes for cases followed five or more In continued defiance of the eavesdropping powers. shown no sign of backing down, with times. In each category, California beats New York handily, by 160-39 White House, House Democratic But House Democratic leaders Kenneth L. Wainstein, the assistant at- for three or more followed cases and by 45-6 for five or more. The race leaders are readying a proposal that have balked at the idea. torney general for national security at has tightened a little, though, in the last 20 years. would reject giving legal protection When the White House would not the Justice Department, laying out its to the phone companies that helped agree to allow more time for negotia- position most recently in an interview in the National Security Agency’s tions, House leaders last month let a broadcast on Sunday on C-SPAN’s South Korea Announces Woman warrantless wiretapping program temporary six-month surveillance “Newsmakers” program. Wainstein after the Sept. 11 attacks, congres- measure expire. The White House says said the phone companies had “re- As First Astronaut sional officials said Monday. the Democrats’ inaction has imperiled ceived assurances from the govern- The New York Times SEOUL, South Korea Instead of blanket immunity, the national security. Democrats have ac- ment, the highest levels, that this was a South Korea announced Monday that a female bioengineering stu- tentative proposal would give the cused Bush of fear-mongering. lawful program and that it was autho- dent will become its first astronaut when she blasts off on board Rus- federal courts special authorization The flash point in the debate has rized by the president and was neces- sia’s Soyuz rocket April 8 on a trip to the International Space Station to hear classified evidence and de- been the question of whether to pro- sary for our national security.” that will be watched on television by millions of South Koreans. cide whether the phone companies tect AT&T and other major phone But House Democratic lead- The astronaut, Yi So-yeon, 29, was selected after the Russian space should be held liable. House Demo- companies from some 40 lawsuits ers appear ready to give the White authorities accused the man who was initially chosen for the mission crats have been working out the de- pending in federal courts, which House a fight on national security, an of breaking training rules. tails of their proposal in the last few charge that the companies’ partici- issue over which they once largely While many South Koreans appeared disturbed by the last-minute days, officials said, and they expect pation in the eavesdropping program conceded the field to Bush. switch, which saw their preferred candidate for the Russian mission re- to bring it to the House floor for a violated federal privacy laws and their The tentative proposal would im- jected, women’s groups said Yi’s participation was likely to boost the rising vote on Thursday. responsibilities to their customers. pose tougher restrictions on NSA status of women in South Korea’s traditionally male-dominated society. The Democrats’ proposal would Bush says the companies acted eavesdropping than the Senate ver- The male astronaut she replaced, Ko San, a 30-year-old computer fall far short of what the White out of patriotism in responding sion does by requiring court approval engineer, was initially selected in August for the mission after beating House has been seeking. to what they believed was a law- in advance of the agency’s wiretap- 36,000 contestants in a nationwide government competition in which President Bush has been insisting ful presidential order. He said that ping procedures, instead of approval almost any South Korean could apply. Yi, who came second in the for months that Congress give retro- the lawsuits were being pursued by after the fact. It would also reject competition, has been training with Ko in Russia as his backup since active immunity to the phone com- money-driven class-action lawyers retroactive immunity for the phone last year. panies, calling it a vital matter of na- and that they should not be allowed carriers. Page 4 The Tech March 11, 2008 Op i n i o n

The March 4, 2008 article on the birthday of Random Hall incorrectly referred to the death of Elizabeth H. Shin ’02 as occurring six years ago. Shin died in 2000, eight years ago. Chairman Corrections The right hand photo on page 8 of the March 7, 2008 issue incorrectly identified the indi- Benjamin P. Gleitzman ’09 vidual on the floor as Benjamin M. Park ’10. He is actually David A. Brescia ’10. Editor in Chief Nick Semenkovich ’09 Business Manager Support Graduate Pass/D/Fail Austin Chu ’08 from a concerted effort to learn the material. many students eventually stop attending class Managing Editor However, it is not uncommon for students to when other activities push listener subjects to Jessica Witchley ’10 By Emily Fox, Stephen Hou, receive C grades in undergraduate subjects, the back burner. Moreover, even if a student Executive Editor and graduate students who embark on this does register as a listener, the teaching staff Michael McGraw-Herdeg ’08 and Cheston Tan venture may jeopardize their fellowship status has no obligation to grade problems sets and as a result. While graduate subjects carry less exams nor to devote time for listeners in office News Staff The MIT Mission states: “The Institute is risk in terms of grading, they assume a greater hours, which can be a valuable educational re- Editor: Nick Bushak ’10; Associate Editors: committed to generating, disseminating, and amount of background knowledge, meaning source. Furthermore, since taking a subject as JiHye Kim ’10, Arkajit Dey ’11, Jeff Guo ’11, preserving knowledge, and to working with that simply keeping up with the material may a registered listener does not appear on a stu- Ryan Ko ’11, Natasha Plotkin ’11, Emily Prentice others to bring this knowledge to bear on the require onerous levels of time and effort. A dent’s official MIT transcript, many students ’11; Staff: Waseem S. Daher G, Curt Fischer world’s great challenges.” Many of the chal- P/D/F option would lower the barrier to this do not bother to register and instead simply G, Ray C. He G, John A. Hawkinson ’98, Jiao lenges facing the world today, ranging from type of exploration to gain fundamentals in attend the lectures. Transcript records may be Wang ’08, Daniela Cako ’09, Mei-Hsin Cheng curing diseases to tackling energy issues, from other fields that may benefit graduate research. important for some students when they apply ’09, Diana Jue ’09, Ji Qi ’09, Kirtana Raja ’09, harnessing information technology to under- Furthermore, P/D/F would promote more for jobs, an issue especially emphasized by Yiwei Zhang ’09, Yi Zhou ’09, Yuri Hanada ’10, Joyce Kwan ’10, Manisha Padi ’10, Joanne Y. standing brain and mind, require solutions that effective learning in the classroom. Students students seeking international employment. In Shih ’10, Yan Huang ’11, Elijah Jordan Turner span multiple disciplines. As a result, scientists could focus on distilling the core concepts of contrast, P/D/F subjects would appear on the ’11, Lulu Wang ’11; Meteorologists: Cegeon and engineers increasingly face the need to be a subject rather than on grades. Students would transcript and thus boost a student’s desire to Chan G, Jon Moskaitis G, Michael J. Ring G, versatile in their knowledge, and also the need be less prone to dropping non-required subjects, register. Roberto Rondanelli G, Scott Stransky G, Brian to work with colleagues from different back- which inevitably happens as the semester goes Departmental officers and administrators H. Tang G, John K. Williams G, Angela Zalucha grounds. on. Since subjects are designed assuming that have provided valuable insights on how gradu- G, Garrett P. Marino ’08, Mike Yee ’08. On February 20th, the MIT faculty con- students will complete the course, dropping out ate P/D/F might affect their students and fac- Production Staff sidered a motion to allow graduate students to halfway can result in learning much less than ulty. One reservation that some departments take subjects beyond their degree requirements half of the material. A P/D/F option would re- expressed was a concern that additional course- Editor: Steve Howland ’11; Staff: K. Nichole Treadway ’10, Yue Li ’11, Mark Thompson ’11, on a Pass/D/Fail (P/D/F) basis, similar to the sult in more accurate and consistent teaching work would take time away from research. The Mark Yen ’11. option currently available to undergraduate ju- resource allocations for students, including as- other reservation was that popular subjects niors and seniors. Having this option would not signing the correct number of TAs and graders. would become over-subscribed. We emphasize Opinion Staff only enhance interdisciplinary research in the The most common remark given by stu- that graduate officers and advisors are the gate- Editor: Aditya Kohli ’09; Staff: Josh Levinger various departments and labs around the Insti- dents and faculty alike is that P/D/F is unnec- keepers the use of P/D/F and that instructors ’07, Ali S. Wyne ’08, Krishna Gupta ’09. tute but would also improve graduate student essary because students can already take op- can control enrollment in their subjects, as is education and professional development. We tional subjects at their own leisure on listener always the case. The proposed policy leaves a Sports Staff urge the faculty to support this proposal. status, where they can attend class without the considerable amount of discretion in the hands Editor: Shreyes Seshasai ’08; Staff: James As fields are becoming increasingly inter- pressure of doing homework, taking exams, or of departments and instructors. For example, a Zorich ’08, Albert Ni ’09. disciplinary, there has been a rise in demand on grades. Although the listener option addresses department may choose to allow doctoral stu- Arts Staff students to have a breadth of knowledge. Stu- some of these issues, it does not cover all con- dents to exercise the P/D/F option only after Editors: Sarah Dupuis ’10, Praveen Rathinavelu dents interested in exploring other fields may cerns for a student seeking further enrichment they have taken all the required coursework ’10; Staff: Bogdan Fedeles G, Andrew Lee ’07, not have all the background needed to do well nor does it provide sufficient motivation. Hu- and passed the qualifying exams. Alice Macdonald ’08, Tyson C. McNulty ’08, S. in a subject that would seem rather foreign to man nature being as it is, motivation in listener According to data from the Registrar’s Of- Balaji Mani ’10, Tina Ro ’10, Kevin Wang ’10. them, but they would still benefit immensely courses wanes as the semester progresses, and fice from the past two years, more than 15% of graduate students take at least one subject Photography Staff on listener status in any given term (not count- Editors: Perry Hung ’08, David M. Templeton ing unregistered listeners). Of these subjects, ’08, Ricardo Ramirez ’09, Andrea Robles ’10; Staff: Alex H. Chan G, David Da He G, Dmitry more than 40% are outside the students’ home Kashlev G, Andrew T. Lukmann G, Ramya departments. This conservative estimate sug- Sankar G, Martin Segado G, Scott Johnston gests substantial interest by graduate students ’03, Christina Kang ’08, Arthur Petron ’08, in additional coursework for their own intel- David Reshef ’08, Martha Angela Wilcox ’08, lectual development. Finally, many of our peer Ana Malagon ’09, Peter H. Rigano ’09, Eric D. institutions, including Stanford University, Schmiedl ’09, Jerzy Szablowski ’09, Diana Ye UC Berkeley, Caltech and Harvard University, ’09, Daniel P. Beauboeuf ’10, Mindy Eng ’10, have options that are similar to P/D/F for their Helen Hou ’10, Monica Kahn ’10, Samuel E. Kronick ’10, Diane Rak ’10, Aaron Sampson graduate students. ’10, Jongu Shin ’10, William Yee ’10, Kari The proposal for creating a graduate P/D/F Williams ’11, Sherry Yan ’11. option has been presented on separate occa- sions to the Graduate Student Council, the Campus Life Staff Committee on Graduate Programs, and the Editor: Charles Lin G; Staff: David Shirokoff Faculty Policy Committee. They have all unan- G, Bruce Wu G, Kailas Narendran ’01, Elizabeth imously voted to endorse the proposal. These Zakszewski ’06, James Scott Berdahl ’08, Sarah bodies, encompassing students, faculty and C. Proehl ’09, Michael T. Lin ’11; Cartoonists: Scott Burdick G, Daniel Klein-Marcuschamer administrators, have deliberated the proposal G, Roberto Perez-Franco G, Emezie Okorafor and concluded that it would benefit both the ’03, Nancy Hua ’07, Jia Lou ’07, Ash Turza ’08, students and the Institute as a whole. When Danbee Kim ’09, Roxana G. Safipour ’09. the faculty discuss the proposal at their March meeting, we know that they will carefully Business Staff consider the benefits, drawbacks, and ways to Operations Manager: Michael Kuo ’10; Staff: mitigate the drawbacks that we have presented Jeffrey Chang ’08, Cokie Hu ’08, Tai Ho Kang here. We hope that they will likewise conclude ’08, Neeharika Bhartiya ’10, Jennifer Chu ’10, in favor of the proposal and vote in support of Ritu Tandon ’10, Heymian Wong ’10. a graduate P/D/F option. Technology Staff For more information about the graduate Staff: Quentin Smith ’10. Pass/D/Fail proposal, visit: http://gsc.mit.edu/ sgco/ Editors at Large Emily Fox and Stephen Hou are graduate Contributing Editors: Rosa Cao G, Brian students in the Department of Electrical Engi- Hemond G, Valery K. Brobbey ’08, Angeline neering and Computer Science. Cheston Tan is Wang ’09, Caroline Huang ’10; Senior Editors: a graduate student in the Department of Brain Satwiksai Seshasai G, Jillian A. Berry ’08, and Cognitive Sciences. Omari Stephens ’08.

Advisory Board Paul E. Schindler, Jr. ’74, V. Michael Bove ’83, Barry S. Surman ’84, Robert E. Malchman property of The Tech, and will not be returned. Letters, columns, and ’85, Deborah A. Levinson ’91, Jonathan E. D. Opinion Policy cartoons may also be posted on The Tech’s Web site and/or printed Richmond PhD ’91, Karen Kaplan ’93, Saul Editorials are the official opinion of The Tech. They are written by or published in any other format or medium now known or later that Blumenthal ’98, Frank Dabek ’00, Daniel Ryan the editorial board, which consists of Chairman Benjamin P. Gleitzman, becomes known. The Tech makes no commitment to publish all the Bersak ’02, Eric J. Cholankeril ’02, Jordan Editor in Chief Nick Semenkovich, Managing Editor Jessica Witchley, letters received. Rubin ’02, Nathan Collins SM ’03, Keith J. Winstein ’03, Akshay R. Patil ’04, Tiffany Opinion Editor Aditya Kohli, and Contributing Editor Rosa Cao. Guest columns are opinion articles submitted by members of the Dohzen ’06, Beckett W. Sterner ’06, Marissa Dissents are the opinions of signed members of the editorial MIT or local community and have the author’s name in italics. Col- Vogt ’06, Zachary Ozer ’07, B. D. Colen. board choosing to publish their disagreement with the editorial. umns without italics are written by Tech staff. Letters to the editor, columns, and editorial cartoons are writ- Production Staff for This Issue ten by individuals and represent the opinion of the author, not neces- Editors: Jessica Witchley ’10, Steve Howland sarily that of the newspaper. Electronic submissions are encouraged To Reach Us ’11; Staff: Ricardo Ramirez ’09, Mark and should be sent to [email protected]. Hard copy submis- The Tech’s telephone number is (617) 253-1541. E-mail is the eas- Thompson ’11. sions should be addressed to The Tech, P.O. Box 397029, Cambridge, iest way to reach any member of our staff. If you are unsure whom

The Tech (ISSN 0148-9607) is published on Tuesdays and Fridays during Mass. 02139-7029, or sent by interdepartmental mail to Room W20- to contact, send mail to [email protected], and it will be di- the academic year (except during MIT vacations), Wednesdays during Janu- 483. All submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. two days before the date rected to the appropriate person. You can reach the editor in chief by ary, and monthly during the summer by The Tech, Room W20-483, 84 Mas- sachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Mass. 02139. Subscriptions are $45.00 per of publication. e-mailing [email protected]. Please send press releases, requests year (third class) and $105.00 (first class).P ostmaster: Please send all Letters, columns, and cartoons must bear the authors’ signatures, for coverage, and information about errors that call for correction to address changes to our mailing address: The Tech, P.O. Box 397029, Cam- addresses, and phone numbers. Unsigned letters will not be accepted. [email protected]. Letters to the editor should be sent to let- bridge, Mass. 02139-7029. Telephone: Editorial: (617) 253-1541. Busi- ness: (617) 258-8324. Facsimile: (617) 258-8226. Advertising, subscription, The Tech reserves the right to edit or condense letters; shorter let- [email protected]. The Tech can be found on the World Wide and typesetting rates available. Entire contents © 2008 The Tech. Printed on ters will be given higher priority. Once submitted, all letters become Web at http://www-tech.mit.edu. recycled paper by Charles River Publishing. March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 5 Ca m p u s Li f e It’s a Big, Big World Is it Easy Being Green? By Diana Jue purchase, but in elementary school I learned which globally projects overabundant Ameri- Of course this is not easy. Sure, sometimes Staff Columnist to reduce, reuse, and recycle to rescue the en- can lifestyles and extravagant consumption I put my Nalgene to good use, opt for silver- Every morning in Bangalore, my host fa- vironment. This strategy actually equates to patterns. Instead of influencing the interna- ware over plasticware, refrain from having my ther, Prabhakara, awoke at 6 a.m. to select having less. tional middle-class living standard, maybe we groceries bagged, and turn off the lights in an fruits and vegetables from a freshly stocked My homestay families in India and China Americans should aim to imitate lifestyles of empty dorm lounge. But I don’t budge when sidewalk stand on the main road of Thyagara- practiced sustainability without energy-saving our international cohorts in order to truly go it comes to my stuff. After traveling around janagar, his residential neighborhood. After- light bulbs and other eco-friendly products. green. If everyone lives and buys like Ameri- the world with two small bags, I was shocked ward he stopped by a local restaurant to pick The only trashcan in my Bangalore house cans do, sustainability is dead (if you haven’t by how much junk I had in dorm storage and up warm idli (a white rice cake) or masala was a 2.5 gallon kitchen canister. Most of our yet seen it, watch The Story of Stuff at http:// even more shocked by how many items I was dosas that were neatly packaged in one sheet waste could be fed to the outdoor compost www.storyofstuff.com/). But if Americans were unwilling to part with. of thin wax paper, newspaper, and string. bin because it was organic. Ceiling fans and to live and buy like my homestay families in A real commitment to sustainability re- After his morning exercises and prayers, he floor to ceiling windows provided adequate India and China, the goals of sustainability quires a change in lifestyle. Is it a commitment prepared breakfast: sliced apples and carrot ventilation without central cooling. With one might have a chance. that we’re willing to make? sticks, idli and chutney (think Indian salsa), bucket of water I could homemade roti (flat bread) and curry, or shampoo and rinse. We my favorite — scrambled eggs packed with hung our clothes to dry on chopped vegetables and spices. Each morn- the porch. In Beijing, I vis- ing I was greeted with a cup of chai tea and a ited a classmate who lived food-filled circular metal plate with a vertical in her host family’s hutong, rim that I used to wipe away excess food from a type of communal-style my eating hand. housing with shared pub- There were two amazing things about these lic bathrooms. One three- mornings: the food (obviously) and the eco- person family lived in two logically friendly process by which the food small rooms with a total was purchased, prepared, and served. Contrast floor area less than that of the Bangalore experience to one that is typical my freshman year double in Boston. If I weren’t a student, I’d drive my at Next House. The hutong car to Shaw’s and buy a week’s worth of (not was cozy and comfortable. so fresh) imported produce and packaged, pre- Beijing families were lucky served foods that have a shelf life of months. to own one car, but almost I’d purchase restaurant food packaged in non- everyone had a bicycle. biodegradable Styrofoam cartons instead of In both cities, my fami- materials that leave minimal waste. Prabha- lies had enough and were kara’s aversion to waste prevented him from proud of what they had. buying more food than necessary. However, Yet interestingly, a wave of I’m prone to overbuying fruit and other foods. consumption is bubbling up A week after their purchase, I toss out rotten from within these modest oranges without too much concern. households as the younger This breakfast story is one example that generation enters a high- contrasts two lifestyles that have different er-paid workforce. When environmental impacts. “Sustainability,” “en- my Bangalore host sister, vironmentalism,” going “green” — these are Swetha, wanted new home buzzwords that are unsparingly sprinkled in appliances, I accompanied academia, retail, and the media. The latest her to Shopper’s Stop, “In- Diana Jue—The Tech Nobel Peace Prize went to people who alerted dia’s No. 1 Fashion and Hutongs are streets in Beijing that are packed with communal-style housing developments. Though the the public about man-made climate change. At Lifestyle store for the fami- space is limited, families usually have enough. Here, two hutong residents demonstrate exercises with MIT, we’re faced with the challenge of creat- ly.” We drove across the city Chinese yo-yos in their courtyard. ing technologies to address present and near- to a shiny new, multi-story, future energy and environmental needs. Then lit up Sears/Macy’s depart- there is the rise of the “green consumer,” the ment store mash-up. While do-gooder who buys organic or a hybrid ve- Swetha was deciding on a hicle or solar panels in the name of a “green juice extractor, I perused the Guest Speaker revolution.” selection of good, bad, and What does sustainability mean, anyway? It ugly items in the home fur- is generally agreed to be good, but a complete nishings, footwear, and fra- Commencement Exercises 2009 definition eludes me. I’ve heard a few attempts grances. For similar prices at to give the word substance: a process that the Cambridgeside Galleria, The Commencement Committee invites suggestions makes ecological systems indefinitely produc- I could have bought many of tive, making sure that future generations are the items that young Indians for the guest speaker at MIT’s Commencement Exercises as well off as the current generation, and sav- were clamoring to own. on Friday, June 5 from all members of the community. ing the Earth from doomsday because “it’s the Middle-class aspirations only one we got.” And what does practicing transcend national borders. I The Commencement speaker should be one who will sustainability look like? I feel like I’m wait- have a professor who blames be able to address topics of relevance to MIT. ing for sustainable technologies and items to this on satellite television, Suggestions may be submitted to:

Phi Ho President of the Class of 2008 [email protected]

Martin Holmes President of the Undergraduate Association [email protected]

Leeland Ekstrom President of the Graduate Student Council [email protected]

Vivian Tang President of the Class of 2009 [email protected]

Gayle Gallagher Executive Ofﬁcer for Commencement [email protected]

Please submit suggestions by Wednesday, March 19. Diana Jue—The Tech In Bangalore, vegetable stands line commercial streets and provide easy access to fresh produce. Page 6 The Tech Campus Life March 11, 2008 Brouhaha Rhythms Martha Stewart Weeps By Michael T. Lin tility doesn’t help my mood any. I could always ping this switch.” Nothing says “nerd” and “safe- channel your inner muralist. Of course, painting Staff ColumniSt just use more duct tape, but somehow, that solu- ty hazard” at the same time better than a Jacob’s does not lend itself to spur-of-the-moment deci- Decorating my dorm room poses a peculiar tion seems to lack a certain elegance that MIT ladder sizzling and buzzing in the corner (from sions to slap something on the wall — sticks of problem. On the one hand, I don’t trust myself to problem solving should embody. Martha Stewart’s Mad Scientist collection). My dynamite in paint cans, though doubtlessly en- nail anything to the wall that won’t bleed. On the One option for dorm room decoration is to roommate, to his credit, prefers low-power, low- tertaining, probably would be frowned upon by other, the surfaces in my dorm, for some cos- decorate through light- heat LEDs that pulsate neighbors and administrators alike. If a person mic reason, are incompatible with duct tape and ing modifications. Aside blue and green in our wants to paint their room, they make a day of render it completely unsticky — which, if what from being highly func- foyer, legitimizing the it — invite friends, bring food, charge money you’re trying to hang is a) above your head, and tional, on the off-chance Nothing says “nerd” and radiation symbol on to let them paint the number “7” around your b) heavy, is bad. that your room’s shape “safety hazard” at the same our door’s dry-erase room, all that stuff. For someone who procras- So, as I stare blankly at the walls staring isn’t conducive to full- board. tinates as much as I do, I don’t know if I’d be blankly back at me, what are you to do if you coverage ceiling light- time better than a Jacob’s Another option, for able to plan well enough to give my room a new want to ensure that any faces you see in the walls ing (like mine), it also the artistically-inclined paint job. are not stress-related hallucinations? I’ve still got provides an excellent ladder sizzling and among you, would be Now that I think about it, maybe I should that framed New Yorker cover with the Mobius opportunity to make a buzzing in the corner. to use paint as opposed just stick to what I know — the art of alterna- strip hanging by my desk, but when I’ve been statement. Such state- to wall-hangings. Infi- tive adhesive. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some attempting instantaneous-forehead-informa- ments include “I have nite, cylindrical-shaped redecorating to do. the tech recently got rid of tion-osmosis (also known as “headbashing the no regard for the maximum recommended safe rooms excepted, painting the interior of a room a “Good Will Hunting” poster, and I don’t have pset”), watching little stick figures walk around wattage for a household outlet,” and “fire alarms is generally fairly straightforward, whether enough duct tape to laminate it. Now where’d and around in an infinite journey of symbolic fu- will be going off within 30 seconds of me flip- you’re seeking a flat color change or hoping to that chewing gum get to? Rants & Raves More Than Numbers By Mimi Zhang “I don’t know.” to take a number of language, humanities, and a humanities class. Do we not care about non- When I first arrived at MIT, I went to a few “Did you do engineering in undergrad?” social science classes in addition to quanti- quantitative disciplines because we dislike graduate student orientation events to meet “No, I did geology.” tative courses. Of course we all complained writing papers, or do we really just not care my new schoolmates and find out more about “Oh, course 12!” about it — the humanities students wondered about the subject matter? There seems to be what other students at MIT were up to. While These conversations made marginally why they had to take math and the science a lot of competition and downright hostility many were already too inebriated to speak or more sense to me after I sat down and tried students didn’t see the point of learning phi- between those who have identified themselves understand anything coherently, I did talk to to memorize all of the course numbers and losophy, but I appreciated the point of those with an academic field. The engineers at my quite a few new faces. The conversations went their associated meanings. I still find it odd requirements. If you really want your work college called the college of arts and science mostly like this. to identify my academic affiliation by a num- to be useful and socially relevant, you have the college of arts and crafts. While they “Hi, I’m in Sloan/Course X, what are ber rather than a discipline’s name, but that to understand the context and at least have an slaved away doing problem sets, I suppose you?” doesn’t really bother me anymore. idea of what else is out there. they pictured everyone else finger painting. “I am studying environmental policy” What does bother me is the lack of com- I know that MIT has an undergraduate Though I must confess that some finger “… oh. That’s not engineering, is it? Is it munication and collaboration between the humanities requirement, but I also know that painting may have occurred, I find it alarm- Course 1?” many outstanding disciplines that MIT ex- many students take economics to satisfy this ing that the world of academics has shifted so “No, I’m actually in the planning depart- cels at, and they go far beyond the realm of requirement. Economics, though extremely much towards only rewarding work that pro- ment.” engineering. I went to a college that valued important, does not exactly cover any of the duces quantitative and potentially profitable “What number is that?” interdisciplinary education. We were required topics and issues that you generally get from results. I know that institutions need to bring in money and I applaud the desire The for academic institutions to provide ™ practical and usable solutions rather than just churn out esoteric work. Drexel InterView But it is still important for a well bal- INTERESTING PEOPLE. INTERESTING TALK. anced and well educated individual to Cambridge Community Television, channel 10 at least acknowledge the importance Up to of the types of things that humanists SPERM DONORS March 12 and 14 at 7 p.m. (Part 2) March 19 and 21 at 7 p.m. study. NEEDED $1100 a month! After Hurricane Katrina hit, I went Dana Gioia Ellen Goodman to a speech by a prominent English Chairman of the National Pulitzer Prize-winning professor who spoke of his frustra- Healthy MEN in college or with a college degree wanted for our tion at not being able to use his ex- sperm donor program. Endowment for the Arts, poet, syndicated columnist pertise to help the victims. Unlike Minimal time commitment anthologist, translator, critic many of his colleagues, he was not Help people fulfill their dreams of starting a family. able to conduct research on how mold The Drexel InterView™ features a broad cross-section of influen- from flooded homes was affecting Receive free health and genetic screenings. tial artists, innovators and public figures. Produced by Drexel homeowners trying to salvage these University and hosted by Paula Marantz Cohen, cultural critic, buildings or work on a ways to ef- APPLY ONLINE: novelist and Distinguished Professor of English at Drexel. fectively drain floodwater out of the Drexel University www.drexel.edu Live it.™ city. However, he emphasized that www.SPERMBANK.com such situations did not mean that humanities were not important. It is 7169 MIT Tech 4”x3” runs 3/11/08 imperative that continue to study and analyze the past so we do not forget what has happened in our history. It is important that we continue reading and writing literature that exam- ines the human condition. Humanists study the intangible aspects that make us human. Understanding our moti- vations, emotions, and beliefs is not a goal to dismiss or look down upon. The importance of this understanding MIT’s new emergency notification system has been highlighted in looking at environmental issues and conflicts. Why do so many seemingly wonderful policies not work out? For one, it is – Sends timely emergency messages to impossible to understand and address every aspect of an issue to generate community your desired outcome without creating any problems, but it is also just as impossible to predict the actions and • For life safety and public health emergencies only behavior of people. To better understand the potential impacts of climate change, we can run climate models to try to determine climate conditions in • Will not be used for any other purpose the future, but such a program could never predict the actual outcome of climate change. – All are strongly encouraged to sign up How will people choose to deal with such a change? How can we mo- tivate individuals to prepare for such a • http://web.mit.edu/mitalert change? What historical precedent do we have for such movements? Engi- neering solutions can go a long way • Please provide cell, non-MIT email towards solving global problems, but many other types of expertise are also crucial. • Information is secure and confidential I know MIT is known for its science and engineering work, but there is also amazing work being done here in other fields. Would it really kill us – Any questions, email: [email protected] to recognize the importance of disciplines that we aren’t familiar with? March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 7 Coop Student Board of Directors Election Update The following student Coop members have been nominated by the Stockholders as candidates for the Board of Directors for the 2008-2009 academic year.

M.I.T. Undergraduate Students: Karlen Ruleman 2009 Christopher Whitfield 2009

M.I.T. Graduate Students: Loreena Lee-Houghton 2011 Tanguy Chau 2010 Alex Chan 2011

Harvard Undergraduate Students: Patrick Brennan 2011 Tami Kim 2011 George Thampy 2010

Harvard Graduate Students: Aaron Chadbourne 2011 Ari Bloom 2009 Luke Fuszard 2009

Any student Coop member may Petition to be a candidate on the ballot. A Petition application is available online at www.thecoop.com. The Petition period is March 07, 2008 to March 21, 2008. For complete rules on the Petitions consult the information posted in the election section on the Coop website at www.thecoop.com

HTTP://www.thecoop.com March 11, 2008

Page 8

Steal My Comic by Michael Ciuffo

Blobbles by Jason Chan The Daily Blunderbuss by Ben Peters

Remember, this is how Blobbles works: you send me a caption, and I make a drawing out of it. [email protected] Instructions: Fill in the grid so that each Crossword Puzzle column, row, Solution, page 14 and 3 by 3 grid contains exactly one of each of the digits 1 through 9. Solution on page 17.

at http://www.sudoku.com Solution, tips, and computer program

cuckoo 2 Broad-minded 13 Infant garment 36 Mottled cats 47 Production plans 3 Catch 14 Those avoiding 38 Exhibiting further- 49 Sci-Fi Doctor 4 Former name of straight answers out opinions ACROSS 22 Ryan of 31 Plural of Mr. 50 Device for doing Tokyo 21 Dutch capital 39 Reversion of 1 Stay abed “Sleepless in 32 Decorative vines work 5 Chums 24 Away from the property to the 8 Huddle together Seattle” 34 Pops a top off 52 Roller-coaster 6 Terminus of the wind state 15 Agricultural 23 Spoken 37 Bullpen pitcher comparative Caledonian Canal 26 Garment inserts 40 Incisive replies pesticide 25 Covers with frost 41 Approaches 54 Stars in Bordeaux 7 Most indigent 28 Passes over 42 Check 16 Unpleasant sight 26 Open-mouthed 42 Publicize in search 55 Importune 8 Sonnet ending 29 Broadcast again 44 Foolish blunder 17 Pronounce free stare of buyers 56 Tart or torte 9 Floral clusters 31 Significant event 47 Dossier from guilt 27 Extremely 43 Related 57 Gobi and Namib 10 Oboe or bassoon marker 48 Excessive boozers 18 Vilified confused situation 44 Highland hillsides 11 Dos Passos 33 Made known 51 Towel word 19 Author Deighton 29 Sovereign 45 Religion spin-off DOWN trilogy 34 Wild 53 Nuptial or natal 20 Tranquilized 30 Most satiny 46 Tropical black 1 Ski courses 12 Control groups 35 Newborn child lead-in March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 9

Dilbert® by Scott Adams

ACROSS 43 Mary Kay 2 Rajah’s spouse Erik 1 Satellite circuit competitor 3 Writer Harte 32 Perry of fashion 6 Pond organism 44 K2’s continent 4 Poker player’s 33 West African river 10 Coin from Chiapas 45 Finest of the finest “check” 34 Ford failure 14 Madcap Marx 46 More promising 5 Diminutive hero of 36 Literary 15 Energy food, for 48 McGregor of folklore compendiums short “Trainspotting” 6 Plot of land 38 “Pygmalion” 16 Somewhat circular 50 Pitcher Maglie 7 Not of the cloth dramatist 17 Wee hr. 51 Wholesale quantity 8 “Peer Gynt” 41 Pierced places 18 Social reformer 53 Educational org. composer 42 Deflated Jacob 55 Transmission type 9 Anise-flavored 47 Belg. location 19 Give temporarily 62 Labs and boxers liqueur 49 Simian 20 Goes ballistic 63 Unadorned 10 Type of party 52 Scoundrel 23 Beatles hit, “__ 64 Under-the-bar dance 11 All tied up 54 Wanted poster

Solution, page 17 Loves You” 65 Bar in a car 12 Caroled option 24 Puny pest 66 At any point 13 Timeworn 55 Sly 25 Egg cells 67 Be of use 21 Skirt border 56 Goggle at 28 Pitch callers 68 Recolors 22 __-di-dah 57 Family diagram 31 Swipe 69 Ranked player 25 Grouchy Muppet 58 Gnu group 35 Sinful city 70 Hardly verbose 26 Swedish automaker 59 General Bradley Bonus Puzzle 37 Jumble 27 Farewell, Maria 60 Kimono sashes 39 Stumblebum DOWN 29 Advanced degs. 61 Part to play 40 Evidenced anxiety 1 Anticipatory cry 30 French composer 62 June celebrant Page 10 The Tech March 11, 2008 Chorallaries Perform Annual Concert in Bad Taste The MIT Chorallaries held their annual Concert in Bad Taste a cap- pella and humor event this year in 26-100, since their usual venue, 10-250, is undergoing renovations.

Photography by Mark Thompson (clockwise from right)

Paper — both printer and toilet — flies through the air at the start of the concert at 11:59:59 p.m. on Saturday.

Joshua C. Hester ’11 expresses his frustration and constipation in one of the Chorallaries’ original compositions.

The Chorallaries’ alumni join the current members on the stage for the Engineers’ Drinking song to wrap up a night filled with humor that ran well into the early morning.

The line outside 26-100 weaves through the halls as hundreds of students wait for the Chorallaries’ annual Concert in Bad Taste. March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 11 Donald Byron Leads Jazz Ensemble The Festival Jazz Ensemble presented “Don Byron’s Musical Worlds Part 1” this past Friday, March 7 in Kresge Auditorium. Donald Byron, an MLK Visiting Professor as well as a Grammy-nominated composer and clarinetist, played the saxophone and the clarinet while directing part of the concert.

(right) Donald Byron looks on as Daniel E. Bickerstaff ’10 plays a gui- tar solo during Byron’s own “Joe Btfsplk.” (below) Matthew J. Rosario ’10 concentrates as he plays the piano during the world premiere of “That Meaningful Look,” a composition by Ensemble guitarist Geoffrey Sheil ’09. Photography by Omari Stephens

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Page 12 The Tech March 11, 2008 Financial Aid Policies Were Finalized Last Friday Financial Aid, from Page 1 he thought MIT changed its finan- the other peers, except when it’s Har- increase its generosity toward middle CUAFA, said that reducing self-help cial aid policy because of political vard versus MIT. We don’t want to class students. and student contributions were also from the Senate for universities to pressure from the Senate and the be in a position where that dynamic UA Vice President Ali S. Wyne ideas that CUAFA had discussed. pay out higher percentages of their competitive pressure from peer insti- changes.” ’08 said that he believes that these She said that the committee had de- endowments to increase financial tutions. “MIT is not acting entirely A stream of internal pressure submissions and the months-long veloped recommendations with op- aid. Over the past two months, Sen- out of generosity — it is also acting from current students and their fami- pressure from the student body con- tions that depended on the decided ate Finance Committee chairman because of political pressure,” said lies complemented external pres- tributed significantly to the revised budget increase for the year, and that Sen. Max S. Baucus (D) and ranking Holmes. “MIT must stay on the good sures. aid policy. “The responses of the the final plan was “in many ways, member Sen. Charles E. Grassley side of the U.S. government and it Holmes e-mailed the undergradu- student body gradually developed more than we expected.” (R) conducted an investigation into must be seen as a friendly school ate student body on Feb. 24 asking into a groundswell of criticism of Holmes said that his first reac- the endowment spending and finan- in the eyes of families and students for student opinions on a number of financial aid policies,” said Wyne. tion to the financial aid announce- cial aid policies of the 136 richest applying to college. MIT can’t have current Institute issues, hoping to “This decision is a statement to what ment was “shock … and then joy universities in the country to inform financial aid limit the quality of stu- discuss them with the administra- grassroots effort from students can [because] … I had heard talks and their discussion about how univer- dents it attracts,” said Holmes. tion. Holmes said he received dozens do,” he said. gotten the picture that MIT was not sities ought to be handling their fi- In a meeting discussing the an- of responses concerning financial aid going to make as drastic a move as it nances. nouncement, Chancellor Phillip L. and tuition — many several pages Change stronger than expected actually did.” He said, “It’s very clear Undergraduate Association Presi- Clay PhD ’75 said Monday that “his- long and detailing personal experi- Discussion about financial aid that there were changes made late in dent Martin F. Holmes ’08 said that torically we’ve always won against ences — that urged the Institute to begins each year in the Committee the game because of competitive and on Undergraduate Admissions and Congressional pressure,” said Holm- Financial Aid, a faculty committee es. “They had to look at finances and led by Professor Stephen L. Graves figure out where more money could that also includes four students. They come from,” Holmes said. make recommendations to the En- rollment Management Group, led by MIT takes significant step Dean for Undergraduate Education Kolenbrander said that announce- Daniel E. Hastings PhD ’80, that ment does not represent a change in passes on their recommendations MIT’s approach to financial aid but to the Academic Council and MIT rather “a continuation of a long- Corporation Executive Committee, standing commitment to make MIT’s both chaired by President Susan doors open to students of all finan- Hockfield. The decisions of the MIT cial backgrounds, regardless of their Corporation Executive Committee need.” are not finalized until the MIT Cor- It might not be a change in philos- poration votes to approve the plans, ophy, but students and faculty agree as it did this Friday. that MIT has taken an important step The approved plan turned out to to remain a competitive institution. represent a much greater increase Holmes said that although MIT’s in financial aid than was originally previous financial aid budgets had recommended by CUAFA in Decem- already been generous, the latest an- ber and even, according to Holmes, nouncement will help to make people the plan that was in place just a few aware of that generosity. “Part of this weeks ago. is a public relations campaign,” Hol- Clay said during the Monday mes said. “MIT must have a visible meeting that the final financial aid public image that it’s doing some- plans “went beyond” CUAFA’s rec- thing. MIT finally got the public re- ommendations. Although CUAFA lations down.” He added, “This is a did recommend relief based on home victory for students. It keeps MIT as equity, the overall recommendations competitive as it was before.” made by CUAFA were “insignifi- Wyne agreed: “While MIT might Eric D. Schmiedl—The Tech cant” compared to the recent changes not be increasing its financial aid The indie synthpop/new wave band Freezepop performed at the Middle East Downstairs in Cam- made at peer universities, according budget substantially more than in bridge, Mass. on Friday. to Clay. previous years, this has a powerful Monica Simo ’08, a member of symbolic impact.”

The E. M. Baker Foundation INSTITUTE AWARD for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

The ONLY Institute-wide Nominations due Friday, March 14th! student-nominated, student-selected Teaching award!

Submit nominations online at: http://web.mit.edu/baker-foundation/www Also…check out the NEW award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising! web.mit.edu/awards March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 13 DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEFNightline TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEFWe’re TUV hereTUV OPER to listen. OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPER OPER DEF TUV TUV OPERThis OPERspace 3-8800donated DEF by The TUV Tech TUV OPER OPER

Perry Hung—THe TecH Carl E. Wieman ’73 delivers a talk entitled “Science Education in the 21st Century: Using the Tools of Science to Teach Science” for the 2008 MacVicar Day lecture, held Friday in 32-123.

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You could be suffering from Mental Health Service 617.253.2916 Depression It’s smart to reach out. Page 14 The Tech March 11, 2008 Colleges Will Need to Attract Lower-Income Students Admissions, from Page 1 nancial-aid offerings to low-income cent of us are going to see declines,” early 1990s, in which the most tal- where the increases are going to students with academic potential. said Robert J. Massa, vice president ented students might have an easier come are in states where the college- economic variations. Experts an- Still, some admissions deans for enrollment at Dickinson College. time,” he said. going rate is lower and where those ticipate, for example, a decline in and independent consultants say the But other admissions officials While many admissions deans who do go to college primarily stay affluent high school graduates, and struggle to win entry to the most have a different view. Lee A. Coffin, expect to look nostalgically on what in the state.” an increase in poor and working- prestigious universities is likely to dean of undergraduate admissions at has become, for them at least, a gold- Colby College and a number of class ones. In response, colleges and continue. Tufts University, thinks top students en era in college admissions, some others in the North have also begun universities are already increasing “The ones that have the strongest might well find less competition. say that a letup in the admissions to offer airplane tickets for low- their recruitment of students in high- brand identification are still going to “We could see something resembling craze might not be so bad. income high school students and growth states and expanding their fi- be awash in applications, but 99 per- the admissions environment of the “I actually think it’s kind of good,” their parents from Sun Belt states to said Monica C. Inzer, dean of admis- visit their campuses. Last summer, sion and financial aid at Hamilton Middlebury and Williams flew in 27 College. “We need a shakeup. I think college counselors from states where the anxiety families are feeling right the colleges are not well known. now is not the way we planned it.” “It was nice for me to see the Feeling down The extent to which admissions campuses and say to our kids, This become less selective may depend, is what they are like,” said Shar- many admissions deans say, on mon Goodman, director of college whether they can successfully alter counseling at One Voice, a nonprofit their recruiting — by reaching out to group in the Los Angeles area that a broader range of students, with a identifies and prepares low-income more national and even international students with the academic potential approach. for elite colleges. about the US “I think that those institutions Many colleges anticipate having that decide to run the model as it’s to dig deeper to attract more low- been so successfully run over the income students. This is among the last decade and a half will see their prime reasons why many of the most admission rates go up,” said Kurt M. selective institutions have been in Thiede, vice president for enrollment a race to significantly expand their management at Bucknell. financial aid to poor and working- Economy? Nationally, the population de- class students. cline is projected to be relatively When Harvard recently increased gentle, with the number of high financial aid packages, it wanted “to school graduates expected to fall in send a really clear message out there the Northeast and Midwest, while to people who would not ordinarily continuing to increase in the South apply to college, much less apply to and Southwest. a school like this,” said William R. The number of white high school Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions graduates will go down nationally, and financial aid at Harvard College. “How to Make Money at and the number of African-Ameri- “Our theory is if we’re really go- can graduates will remain relatively ing to succeed, and not just Harvard, steady. But the number of Hispanic at increasing the college-going rates and Asian-American graduates will of people in the bottom quarter and Gambling without Counting increase sharply, according to pro- bottom half of the economic ladder, jections by the Western Interstate then you’re going to have to be really Commission for Higher Education, aggressive in your outreach,” Mr. whose demographic estimates are Fitzsimmons said. Cards” highly regarded by admissions of- The new recruiting strategies take ficials. many forms. Bucknell, Cornell, Am- And so admissions officials are herst and the University of Michi- scrambling to attract Hispanic and gan are among eight colleges and low-income students, who have been universities to receive grants from MAR 17 :: 12-1PM :: E51-345 underrepresented at the most presti- the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to gious private and public universities. create partnerships with community Colleges in the Northeast and Mid- colleges; the goal is for some of the west have particularly intensified most promising graduates of two- their efforts to strengthen alumni year schools to transfer to the elite networks and make themselves bet- universities for their last two years Gary Loveman ter known at high schools in fast- of college. growing states like Texas, Arizona, Concern about the coming demo- Nevada, Florida and Colorado. Cor- graphic shifts is also partly behind nell sent an admissions officer to live a surge in recruiting international CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment & Casinos full-time in Los Angeles. students. At Colby College, for ex- “It’s kind of a demographic per- ample, more than 20 percent of the fect storm in some ways,” said Rob- 4,800 applicants this year were from ert S. Clagett, dean of admissions outside the United States. MIT Undergraduate Economics Association & Dept of Economics at Middlebury College. “Because Back in New Jersey, Mr. Cotton, 17, checks the mailbox every day to see which colleges will offer him admission. “There’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “Even if you’re quali- %JEZPVLOPXUIBUUIF fied, you’re not always going to get a chance to get into these schools, which is the scary part.” .VTFVNPG4DJFODF Mr. Cotton, who has applied to 10 colleges, said he was pleased to hosts rehearsal dinners, learn that the competitive frenzy is expected to calm down. “It’s good for my sister,” he said. “Definitely weddings, post-wedding I’m a little jealous.” Solution to Crossword brunches, and more? from page 8

8JUIFOEMFTTFOUFSUBJONFOUPQUJPOT TQFDUBDVMBS WJFXTPGUIF#PTUPOTLZMJOF BOEUIFVOQBSBMMFMFE DVJTJOFBOEJNQFDDBCMFTFSWJDFPG8PMGHBOH1VDL $BUFSJOH UIF.VTFVNPG4DJFODFJTBEFMJHIUGVMMZ VOJRVFTFUUJOHBCMFUPBDDPNNPEBUFUIFGSFTI BOEUIFVOVTVBM

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[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] W20-483, 617-253-1541 W20-483, 617-253-1541 W20-483, 617-253-1541 March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 15

 

  



     

  Page 16 The Tech March 11, 2008

Eric D. Schmiedl—The Tech Hackers hung objects and symbols from the Nintendo game series Super Smash Bros. in Lobby 7 on Sunday to celebrate the release Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the third game in the Smash Bros. series. [email protected]

This space donated by The Tech March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 17 Wieman Discusses Research Based Teaching MacVicar, from Page 1 of the students getting the material.” The reception was preceded by Wieman’s talk, titled “Science Edu- cation in the 21st Century: Using the Tools of Science to Teach Science.” Wieman is currently aiming to improve undergraduate education as the director of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia, according to the MacVicar Day Web site. Speaking in front of a packed audience in Stata’s Kirsch Auditorium, Wieman stressed the need to look towards brain and cognitive research to improve teaching methods. Wieman began by recalling his memory of the late Margaret L. Mark Thompson—The Tech MacVicar ’64, the former Dean of A four foot Tesla coil demonstration in Lobby 13 fittingly concludes the day-long Spark event held by the Educational Studies Program Undergraduate Education and Pro- MITon BeforeSaturday. CEO Spark Ad invites 9/21/07 Boston 12:30 area studentsPM Page to 1take Ken classes Bickel from Brown a wide Disk range 74.5: of topics HH664ME/Army taught by MITROTC students Ads:MIT and Before faculty. CEO Ad: fessor of Physics in whose memory the MacVicar Faculty Fellows Pro- gram is named. He recalled having a conversation with her when she was trying to find funding to support undergraduate research in MIT labo- ratories. The subject of that conversation became the now-ubiquitous Under- graduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). “I don’t think they realized this when they invited me to speak, but I think I was the very first UROP student,” he said. “[MacVicar] was a very friendly, caring, thoughtful, attractive woman physicist.” Wieman discussed improving science education in the rest of his talk. He explained the difficulties associated with engaging students during lecture, citing evidence from cognitive science research that individuals have a poor ability to retain large amounts of concentrated information. In studies that he conducted, he found that students become more disinterested in physics after taking introductory physics classes. Wieman suggested involving students in lecture with group discussions and technology such as “click- ers,” remote control devices used to gauge students’ understanding. However, he warned that technology in the classroom needs to be utilized properly to be effective. Solution to Sudoku from page 8 Solution to Bonus from page 9

We Want You in Our Sheets [email protected] Page 18 The Tech March 11, 2008 Student Triumphs Despite Socioeconomic Pressures By Joseph Berger from New York State including one things work on a molecular level,” His mother still cannot quite take card or getting caught stealing. He The New York Times from Byram Hills High School in said Mr. Dawson, who sometimes in how much a child of hers has ac- discovered that a parent’s decision to Bayonne, N.J. Armonk in Westchester (Connecticut wears a tie with a picture of Einstein complished, and her voice broke as reward more often uses neurocircuits Eric Delgado is what those in re- had none this year and New Jersey and his E=MC2 formula. she recalled her struggles. “I always associated with emotion while deci- search call an outlier — an anomaly, had just Mr. Delgado) will join Mr. His school’s star science student said nothing’s impossible and what- sions to punish require more cogni- a deviation from the typical. Delgado at the Intel dinner on Tues- was interested in science as a little ever you want to do you can — just tion and calculation. Mr. Delgado, 18, one of the 40 day in Washington, where scholar- boy, asking for a chemistry set for put your all into it,” she said. Mr. Rosengarten’s project in as- finalists in the Intel Science Talent ships of $40,000 to $100,000 will be Christmas while other children were Winning an Intel prize is nothing trophysics, “Rotation Curves in Five Search, the nation’s most prestigious awarded. asking for Game Boys. Mr. Delgado new at Great Neck North, which has Dimensions,” investigated the motion high school science laurel, won his Here’s a look at how finalists remembers taking apart a comput- produced 8 finalists and 39 semifi- of stars within galaxies and the influ- prize in a way that defied the for- from two schools — Bayonne High er at age 11 to see how it worked nalists. ence of matter not visible to the eye mula. That formula may not be as School and John L. Miller-Great “and my mom getting mad because Freshmen enroll in a 14-year-old — so-called dark matter. Mr. Rosen- unforgiving as E=MC2, but it goes Neck North High School on Long the pieces were all over the living program where they learn how to garten, 17, the son of an accountant something like this: Island — went about their projects room.” search databases, apply statistics, or- and an elementary schoolteacher, A) Attend a top-flight school with and the teachers and programs that His Intel project had its genesis ganize scientific papers and produce was doing long division in first grade, high-octane students. helped them. in his eighth-grade study of how compelling oral reports, then prac- algebra by sixth grade and Advanced B) Join a freshman program that At Bayonne, Maria Aloia, a phys- proximity to power plants dimin- tice their skills with simple social Placement calculus and physics by teaches you how to do research and ical science teacher who runs the sci- ished the diversity of tardigrades, science experiments. Around 25 stu- ninth grade. He developed his proj- then perform ever more challenging ence seminar, helped Mr. Delgado tiny segmented organisms that live dents take the class, and those who ect in a conversation with a professor experiments into the senior year. secure bacteria cultures and plant ex- off the lichen found on trees. He and stay into the sophomore and junior of theoretical physics at Stony Brook C) Pair with scientists and adapt tracts and arranged telephone and e- his mother drove around a good part years perform a series of indepen- University, Martin Rocek. an unresolved sliver of their re- mail consultations with scientists in of Hudson County using tweezers to dent experiments that they submit to Like so many Intel finalists, both search. California, Colorado and Arkansas. take lichen samples. science fairs. students do many things well. Mr. A + B + C = Intel. But that’s But he never met those mentors face In the summer after his sopho- Toward the end of the student’s Mueller, a sturdy 6-footer, is captain not the path Mr. Delgado followed to face. He did the research on his more year he had an internship at the junior year, teachers help those in- of the basketball and soccer teams. while investigating the mechanism own, working out of a storage closet Jersey City Medical Center conduct- terested in the Intel contest find pro- Mr. Rosengarten is captain of the that bacteria use to resist antibiotics. at the back of a science classroom ing statistical studies of cases where fessional mentors. Such research op- chess and math teams and plays cello He did not attend Stuyvesant High where his equipment was not much bacteria resisted antibiotics and came portunities everywhere offer a way in the orchestra. School in Manhattan or any of the more sophisticated than a centrifuge across a paper on herbal antibiotics to cultivate scientists at young ages Their full-blown induction in Long Island public schools that pop and an incubator. that inhibit bacterial resistance. in the same fashion that Olympic science began as freshmen in the out Intel winners like clockwork. Yet Mr. Delgado, a broad-shoul- He asked Ms. Aloia to find him skaters are molded at a young age by school’s research program. The other Rather he is a senior at Bayonne dered youth whose twin, Nelson, is some experts, and she put Mr. Del- expert coaches. Six Intel/Westing- day, a freshman, Alex Schifter, 14, High School, a three-block-long for- the captain of the football team, be- gado on a call with a scientist at a house finalists have gone on to win was testing his hypothesis that up- tress in a blue-collar city of 62,000 came the first finalist Bayonne ever company in Hamilton, N.J., working Nobel prizes. tempo music gets people to work where oil refinery tanks loom over had in the 67-year-old Intel contest on bacterial resistance. Mr. Delgado “Getting kids to play the game of harder while a more indolent beat a landscape of one- and two-fam- (originally known as the Westing- peppered him with questions about science with the scientists is likely slows them down. He has cajoled ily clapboard houses. The median house). He showed that Intel scholars lab techniques. “I loved that conver- to get them interested in science 25 classmates to put on a sensor household income is $41,566. Only can blossom in any soil if a student is sation with your student,” the scien- professionally,” said Alan Schorn, a that measures force while music like half the 3,000 high school students ardent about investigative science. tist told Ms. Aloia. physics teacher and the impresario of the theme from the film “Rocky” is go on to four-year colleges. “The talent is here, but in a subur- Another scientist sent Mr. Del- Great Neck’s research program. “It’s played. In another project, Maria An- “We have a history of kids who go ban school it’s more obvious that it’s gado strains of genetically modified like the classic guild system. A shoe- gelidis, 14, was testing 46 students to Ivy League schools and kids who catered to,” said Ms. Aloia, a former E. coli bacteria that could be safely maker takes on an apprentice.” to show that there are differences be- try to stay out of prison,” was how chemical engineer in her fifth year of taken to school. A third scientist in The community they live in is the tween boys and girls in the associa- Robert Dawson, the Bayonne School teaching. “Still, we perform miracles. Colorado sent him a plant extract famously Gatsbyesque peninsula of tions they make to color. District’s director of science, tartly Eric did his research in a closet!” that inhibited a pumplike system in 40,000 on the North Shore of Long “Boys might associate red with described the spectrum of students. Mr. Delgado’s achievement was the bacteria membrane that expelled Island with gently rolling acres of anger and girls might associate it Bayonne’s research program is helped by two forces of nature — antibiotics. Tudors and colonials and a median with love,” she said. catch-as-catch-can, a three-year-old Ms. Aloia, 53, who sensed immedi- “As long as the professor knows household income of $76,645. At Of course, Intels are a hopeful “science seminar” where currently ately that Mr. Delgado had the right that I’m legitimately interested in Great Neck North High School, 93 marker of how well science is taught only five students beguiled by sci- stuff, and his mother, Virginia Da- what I’m doing, they’re more than percent of the 960 students earn in American schools. By contrast, ence fair projects meet before school vila, 49, the daughter of Puerto Ri- ready to help,” Mr. Delgado said. Regents diplomas, and many are ac- frequent studies bemoan the state with their adviser. Any research can migrants who raised her sons as “They want to contribute to the next cepted to elite colleges. Graduates of science instruction, mostly by training they receive is on an as- a single office-working mother but generation of scientists.” include the film director Francis Ford contrasting American students with needed basis. had the determination to make sure Mr. Delgado zeroed in on a hy- Coppola, the Olympic ice skater those in European and Asian coun- But a growing number of schools they optimized their talents. pothesis that the plant extract could Sarah Hughes and David Baltimore, tries. But experts say the issue is across the region, including schools It was not entirely predictable be engineered to inhibit resistance winner of the 1975 Nobel prize in complicated. European schools often in less affluent communities, have that Bayonne would have spawned in bacteria like E. coli that are more medicine. funnel their weakest students into vo- been putting extra resources into an Intel winner. It is the kind of common in humans. Starting last This year, the school’s finalists cational tracks. At the highest levels developing research programs that school where, according to teachers, August, he put in 20 to 30 hours a were Benjamin Mueller and Da- and for the most affluent or striving, challenge their academic stars and, in some students reject evolution for re- week on his project and demonstrat- vid Rosengarten. Mr. Mueller, 18, many experts say, American schools some cases, lead to science prizes for ligious reasons while others opt out ed when the extract could or could worked at an M.R.I. lab at Columbia do well, explaining why the nation both students and school districts. of dissections because they consider not be effective. University Medical Center under the clings to its stature as the world’s In Westchester County, Ossining them cruel. Such focus explains why he can guidance of Dr. Joy Hirsch, professor great science research powerhouse. High School, which also has an eco- Yet Mr. Dawson and Ms. Aloia also be captain of the mock-trial and of functional neuroradiology, taking “More and more there’s a separa- nomically and academically diverse found methods of immersing talented debating teams and work 10 hours a the Long Island Rail Road and the tion between the well-educated and student body and started an intensive students in research in ways that don’t week as a veterinarian’s helper. (The subway every day during the summer the not well-educated,” said Alan research program in 1998, has pro- cost a lot of money. Bayonne is one only TV he watches is when he is to perform brain scans on five adult I. Leshner, chief executive of the duced 22 Intel semifinalists, includ- of 19 New Jersey high schools whose running on the treadmill.) Not sur- subjects, including his father, a mu- American Association for the Ad- ing 6 this year. students shuttle to the Waksman In- prisingly he is heading for Princeton sician, and his mother, a book editor. vancement of Science. On Long Island, schools in Dix stitute of Microbiology at Rutgers next fall on a full scholarship. In a project partly titled, “The Neural Too many schools — particularly Hills, East Setauket, Kings Park, University to learn how to break up “He’s got a Type B exterior and Basis of the Decision to Reward or in poor or rustic areas — give short Smithtown, Port Washington, Roslyn DNA and identify individual genes, Type A interior,” Ms. Aloia said. Punish in Parenting,” he tried seeing shrift to science instruction, result- and Great Neck turned out 9 of the using organisms like brine shrimp. “He’ll look real cool on the outside what regions of the brain were fired ing in widespread ignorance of ba- nation’s 40 Intel finalists this year. “Biology is changing from dis- and on the inside he’s got a zillion up by rewards or punishments for sic principles, he and other experts They as well as six other finalists section to biochemistry and how things going on.” deeds like scoring a straight-A report said. Jo Ellen Roseman, director of an American Association for the Advancement of Science project to improve science literacy, said fewer ARE YOU TERRIFIED OF ILLNESS? Contra, Israeli, and than 25 percent of middle-school students recognize that a burning marshmallow is a chemical reaction. International Folk Dancing Some critics hold responsible Do I have a Brain Tumor? what they see as the current empha- for PE credit sis on “critical thinking” at the ex- A.L.S.? pense of basic scientific knowledge; Alzheimer’s? others blame innovations like the No Live folk music at contra dances! Child Left Behind law that focus on Could I have reading and math to the detriment of subjects like science. Heart Disease? Attend 5 dances, 8:00 – 9:30 pm: Locally, New Jersey and Con- Sunday April 6 Int’l Folk Dance in the Sala necticut finished roughly 21st and Multiple Sclerosis? 23rd among the 44 states that took Tuesday April 8 Contra Dance in Lobdell the National Assessment of Educa- Wednesday April 9 Israeli Dance in W20-491 tional Progress science test in 2005. Do I have Cancer? Only 29 percent of eighth graders in Tuesday April 15 Contra Dance in W20-407 both states scored in the proficient Tuesday April 29 Contra Dance in W20-407 ranks and 4 percent in the advanced ranks. (New York State, with the ex- Sunday May 4 Int’l Folk Dance in Lobdell ception of the five boroughs, did not x You may be eligible for a research study at Brigham and Tuesday May 13 Contra Dance in W20-407 participate.) Women’s Hospital Whether it is in Great Neck or x 24-week treatment for health anxiety and hypochondriasis Bayonne, front-page news about In- No partner or experience necessary. at no cost tel winners serves a useful purpose in All are welcome, whether taking the class or not. x Receive $550 for 6 research visits both places: it draws new acolytes. “It’s making science popular,” Ms. Aloia said. “The school is so CALL: ( 6 1 7 ) 7 3 2 - 5 9 6 9 FREE for MIT students. big a lot of students never realized E-MAIL: [email protected] there was a cool science program Register in the PE lottery, or at the dance. they could join. Now a lot of kids VISIT: www.TheHealthStudy.com are asking me, ‘Can I try a science MIT Folk Dance Club http://mit.edu/fdc project?’” March 11, 2008 The Tech Page 19 Made possible by the Council for the Arts at MIT FREE tickets for MIT students!

BOSTON SECESSION Handel in the Strand Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. First Church in Cambridge, Congregational 11 Garden Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge Closest T-Stop: Harvard Square, Red Line

In the Baroque period, J.S. Bach beetled away in Germany as the introverted, provincial genius while George Frideric Handel took London by storm, becoming the era’s extroverted, cosmopolitan superstar. A German who wrote in the Italian style in England, Handel was wildly popular in his day—and it is his musical style that has left an indelible mark on nearly all the greatest composers after his death in 1759. This concert traces the musical inheritance of Handel’s heirs—from the 18th century to today.

http://www.bostonsecession.org

BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT Double Entendre: Premieres from inspired collaborations Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 8:00pm Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston Gil Rose, conductor

Lisa Bielawa: Double Violin Concerto World Premiere Colin Jacobsen, violin Carla Kihlstedt, violin

Vincent Carl Auyeung Robin C. Friedman G and Wellesley College sophomore Brittany Ken Ueno: On a Sufﬁcient Condition for the Existence of Most Speciﬁc Hypothesis World Premiere Low compete at the 17th annual Harvard Invitational Ballroom Ken Ueno, throat singer Dance Competition on Saturday. Alejandro Rutty: The Conscious Sleepwalker Loops World Premiere

Derek Hurst: Clades World Premiere Firebird Ensemble

Tickets available at the MIT Office of the Arts (E15-205) Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm in person, first-come, first-served only. 2 tickets per MIT student ID

http://web.mit.edu/arts/see/freetickets/index.html This space donated by The Tech

WANT TO per clinic IMPROVE $20per person

must be an MIT Affiliate YOUR with gym membershipday pass or HOCKEY GAME? COED ICE HOCKEY CLINIC AT THE JOHNSON ICE RINK, MIT MARCH 16, 1-3 PM MARCH 20, 9-11 PM HOSTED BY MIT WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY CLUB Open to all members of the MIT Community! Each clinic will provide a unique opportunity for hockey players of all levels to develop individual fundamental skills (skating, puck control, passing and shooting), including application to your game.

Taught by head coach Reggie Hebert, On-Ice, with Director your name, for Pro-Ambitions afﬁliation, approximate Hockey Inc., skill and the coaching staff of the MIT Women’s Club Hockey team. To register, email Co- Captain Taylor Barton at [email protected] level (A-D), and whether you need to borrow gear. You must sign a waiver to participate. Page 20 The Tech March 11, 2008 Sp o r t s Up c o m i n g Ho m e Ev e n t s Institute Records Fall as Track Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Men’s Lacrosse vs. Salve Regina University 4 p.m., Jack Berry Field And Field Competes at ECACs Thursday, March 13, 2008 By DAPER Staff Emily Hwang ’09 tied for third in the triple jump at 44’11.5”. Mattias Women’s Lacrosse vs. Williams College 6 p.m., Jack Berry Field The women’s track and field team place in the pole vault after clearing S. Flander ’11 finished fifteenth over- Men’s Volleyball vs. Johnson & Wales University recorded its best finish ever at the 11’0.75”. Karin E. Fisher ’11 scaled all with a jump of 44’6.75”. 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage Eastern College Athletic Conference a personal best 10’6.75” and tied for The freshman 4x800-meter relay Division III Champi- 12th. team of Richard J. Prevost, Paul D. onships this weekend, The indoor season ends with the Welle, Shawn S. Conrad, and Kevin finishing second over- NCAA Championships next weekend, G. Kleinguetl wanted to go for the all out of 51 scoring with only Magnuson a guaranteed en- MIT freshman record of 8:05.13 set Sc o r e b o a r d teams. Moravian Col- try at this point, as provisional quali- back in 1992. Prevost, primarily a dis- lege topped the stand- fiers will have to wait for the selection tance runner, led off with a fine 1:59.2 ings with 56 points, followed by MIT process. and handed the baton to Welle in third Women’s Gymnastics with 42.5, and Bates College came in place. Welle got out well, took the Friday, March 7, 2008 third with 42. Morton, Stephens Lead Men lead halfway through and held on to University of Rhode Island (8-4-1) 189.000 MIT led the competition after 16 The men’s track and field team fin- first place by running an outstanding Yale University (8-4) 185.775 events, behind a number of school re- ished eighth at the ECAC Division III 1:57.6. cords. The team boasted a record num- Championships this weekend, despite Conrad held onto the lead for a Southern Connecticut State University (16-5) 182.575 ber of qualifiers for the ECAC Cham- resting many of their athletes for the while but could not stay with the top MIT (6-15) 177.225 pionships this year, which helped gain upcoming outdoor season. two runners in the final 200 meters be- the points necessary to finish close to Stephen A. Morton ’10 was sensa- fore handing off to Kleinguetl in a dis- Men’s Lacrosse the top of the final rankings. tional in the triple jump, despite finish- tant third. Kleinguetl could not close Capping her season in the thrower’s ing second. His jump of 47’11” was the gap despite a split of 57.4 seconds Saturday, March 8, 2008 circle, Aline Thomas ’08 achieved two the fifth-best jump in the NCAA this in the first 400 meters, but he finished MIT (0-1) 10 personal bests and NCAA provisional season, topping a 25 year old school with a 1:58.8 to enable the Engineers UMass-Dartmouth (1-0) 14 qualifying finishes over the weekend, record of 47’7.25” set by Martin Tay- to set a new freshman record with the placing fourth in weight throw. Her lor ’83. time of 7:57.23. spin of 50’7.25” added nearly two Omari S. Stephens ’08 cleared Next week Stephens and Morton Women’s Lacrosse feet to her best and makes her only 16’0.75” to win the pole vault with will travel to Ohio Northern Univer- Saturday, March 8, 2008 the second Engineer to best 50’ in the an NCAA provisional mark that was sity in Ada, Ohio, to compete in the MIT (0-1) 16 event. In the shot put, Thomas tossed nearly one foot ahead of his previous NCAA Division III Championship. A Endicott College (2-0) 18 a personal-best 42’2”. season-best. Stephens attempted the live webcast will available at: http:// Amy R. Magnuson ’10 delivered meet record of 16’3.75”, but was un- www.onusports.com/NCAATrack08/ new records in both the hurdles and able to clear the height despite a few If Morton qualifies in the long Sailing long jump. After leading the qualifiers solid attempts. jump, he will compete at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, 2008 from the prelims behind an Institute- Greg D. Tao ’10 (14’5.25”) and Friday afternoon and 10 a.m. Saturday Wood Trophy record 8.15 seconds in the 55-me- Patrick R. Barragan ’08 (13’5.25”) morning in the triple jump. Stephens ter hurdles, Magnuson shattered the also competed in the pole vault, while will compete in the pole vault at 5 MIT 11 of 18 school and meet record during finals Anthony D. Teixeira ’08 placed tenth p.m. on Friday. with a clip of 8.04. Unfortunately, Men’s Tennis Magnuson still finished in second, as Saturday, March 8, 2008 Sumer Rohrs of Frostburg State finished with a time of 7.98 seconds, the Endicott College (0-1) 0 fastest in the nation this season. MIT (5-1) 9 Magnuson spanned 17’6” en route to fourth place in the long jump, Men’s Track and Field eclipsing the four year old Institute re- Saturday, March 8, 2008 cord of 17’3.75. On Friday, Magnuson finished 20th in the triple jump, reach- 1 ECAC Championship ing 34’3”. MIT 8th of 58 Andrea E. Bradshaw ’09 pulled the Institute 800-meter mark down Women’s Track and Field another tick for the fourth time this season, finishing a strong third-place Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 2:16.89. ECAC Championship Bradshaw was part of another MIT 2nd of 51 record-setting performance in the distance medley relay, as her split in the 800-meter set-up the anchor mile leg Men’s Volleyball run by Jacqui M. Wentz ’10. Adrienne �� Saturday, March 8, 2008 M. Bolger ’09 and Leanne M. Veld- ��MIT (17-8) �!"#$"%##& 3 huis ’08 ignited the Engineers’ NCAA SUNY New Paltz (8-16) 1 provisional run as MIT finished third in 12:17.06. MIT (18-8) 3 Vincent Auyeung '(�)��*�� +��Wentz picked up two �� important Amy R. Magnuson ’10 flies 17’6” through the air to secure fourth Medaille College (10-9) 0 points with a seventh-place finish �� ,�-�.��/0�0��/��12&2342&5%6�place and the MIT long jump record at the Eastern Collegiate Ath- Sunday, March 9, 2008 in the mile (5:12.26) and Veldhuis letic Conference championships this weekend at Harvard University. 1��!4#34#&6MIT (18-9) 0 placed twelfth in the 600-meter run at Magnuson also broke the Institute record in the 55-meter hurdles, 1:20.15. Nazareth College (22-4) 3 leading the women’s track and field team to a second place finish. MIT (18-10) �� 0 Ramapo College (13-5) 3 Pier Places Fifth in Giant Slalom at Nationals '(�)��*�� Henisi. Pat, cor sum nos doloreet elesseq uatuera esectem doloboreet, con heniscidunt at, quat dolobore diam, veliquisl el ut adip eraesto duis dolor sum ex exeros ea faci ea amcommo lorper adit nullaor at, commy nosto odolenim nostrud et laore feu facidunt alit lutetue modolor accum ea am, quamcon sequat wisl ullam, consequat. Iquat. Ut el iure feugait elit, quis adionsectet ex endre facip er accum zzrit lor sustis aut verit, sed modolor eraessim et dolore duis nisis ad minit in vendrem quatums andigna feuissed enim zzriusci tem nos dipsusto od magniat wismod tat, voluptat. Ut amcon volesequisl iure deliscillam quatetum dolorpe riusto del eriusto core facilit, qui tem nonsenim zzriustrud dolore conse molestrud modolore corpercilla feu faccum quisci blan volut iustrud minim ipsum ad magnibh esequatem qui bla con volor sectem zzrit eum nonum ese dolortisis amconullaore vulla feu feu feu feum duipsus tionsectem erci tet aci endreet lor si. ��+��1 �� Eastern College Athletic Conference By Shreyes Seshasai ��,��-�� Sports Editor Magnim do doloreet, conulput wisi ex ex eu facincilit alit iustissed eugue vel dolore vent �� After leading the alpine skiing team to one of its best seasons in recent memory, Timothy F. Pier ’08 performed well last weekend, this time as an individual. Pier placed fifth overall in the giant slalom at the U.S. Col- LEGAL COUNSEL legiate Ski and Snowboard Association National Championship, held at Sunday River, Maine. '7��)��++��MIT students, family, employers and Competing against the top skiers in the country, Pier found himself in tenth place after start-ups seeking U.S. legal counsel, the first run with a time of 1:09.68. An impressive second run of 1:08.89 outdid all but two �� 8�� ,�9�:( ��0�4.��/�12&$$425%26�campus or oﬃce consultation. Call: Sports of his competitors to bring his combined time to 2:18.57, good enough for fifth place. 1��!4224#&6 James Dennis Leary, Esq. In the slalom, Pier placed 26th overall with a combined time of 1:49.26. A strong first Shorts run put Pier temporarily in eleventh, but he couldn’t hold on after a tough second run. 321-544-0012 The competition ends Pier’s collegiate skiing career on a high note. Skiing to the cheers of his teammates, who �� made the trip up to Maine to support him, Pier delivered on a national stage uncommon for most MIT skiers. '7��)��++�� Pier was just the second skier in MIT history to qualify for the National Championship, following the tracks of Jason W. Christopher ’05. �� 8�� Pier qualified for nationals after finishing eleventh overall in the giant slalom at the USCSA Eastern Regional �� ,��9�� Championship on Feb. 24. His overall time of 2:01.60 made him the top performer on a non-qualifying team, �� allowing him to represent MIT at nationals.

'��+��)��+��Royal Bengal The Tech’s Athlete of the Week: Amy R. Magnuson ’10 �� 4��,�9�.��/0�0��/��12&2342&5%6��1��!42$4#&6Boston’s only authentic BengaliCuisine restaurant 31 3Mass .A ve ., Cambr idge Amy R. Magnuson ’10 added yet another record breaking performance to her impressive season at the Eastern Open Daily Except Monday (617) 491-1988 Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, re-setting the Institute record in the 55-meter hurdles with a time 11:30 am– 11:30 pm �� T: Red Lin e, Bus# 1– Ce ntra lSquar e of 8.04 seconds. '��+��Lunch Buffet $7.95 UniqueBengali fish dishes include Her time was well under her personal best of 8.15 seconds, set in the preliminaries, and is the second fastest time in the country this season, bested only by Sumer Rohrs against whom she competed on Saturday. Reasonably��)��+�� Pr iced Dinners Paabda maachher jhol,Rui maachher kalia,Mochar ghanto, Shorshe Ilish Magnuson also set an Institute record in the long jump with a distance of 17’6”. ��4��,��9�� Coming off her great showing, Magnuson is set to compete in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Take-out, platters, and catering��available.Deliverywithminimum order. Championships this weekend at Ohio Northern University. 10%Discounton $15 (or more) order with MIT ID. —Shreyes Seshasai, Sports Editor http://www.royalbengalrestaurant.com ';��4��+�� +��+��+�� <��)�� ,�9�:( ��0�4.��/�12&$$425%26��1��!4 2&4#&6

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