Volume 129, Number 63
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MIT’s The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Mostly sunny, 41°F (5°C) Tonight: Mostly clear, 28°F (-2°C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, chance of rain or snow, 38°F (3°C) Details, Page 2 http://tech.mit.edu/ Volume 129, Number 63 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Wednesday, January 27, 2010 DSL To Reassess MIT Dining, Reduce Large Annual Deficits By Robert McQueen This past week, Colombo met Colombo said that DSL is looking ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR with some of the high-level UA for new ways to assist this com- Facing an average annual deficit of members to explore new ways to munity including maintenance of $500,000 from the MIT Dining Pro- approach dining. Participants at the dorm kitchens and giving advice on gram, the Division for Student Life meeting divided the MIT community healthy food options. will be working with MIT commu- into three separate groups: cook for For example, this past semester, nity leaders this spring in an effort to yourself, self-sustaining organiza- DSL Senior Administrative Assistant improve the current dining program. tions, and house dining. Colombo Victoria Davenport offered culinary While there is no strict timeline for plans to improve dining by tailoring classes in one of the East Campus making changes to dining, Dean for to each community and meeting with kitchens to teach students how to Student Life Chris Colombo hopes housemasters, executive dining com- prepare meals on their own. to prepare a plan by the end the aca- mittees, and dining chairs. Self-sustaining communities demic year that will reduce financial The “cook for yourself ” com- include fraternities, sororities, and loss while preserving student choice. munity includes those students who independent living groups that of- As of now, no changes to the dining feed themselves and do not partici- fer a room and board plan to their program are being made. pate in the house dining program. members. Colombo made it clear that students in self-sustaining and ‘cook for yourself’ communities will MIT Community Joins not be forced to participate in house dining plans. Several recommendations have JASMINE FLORENTINe—THE TECH been made by the Blue Ribbon Din- Much to the delight of East Campus residents, the promise of In Haiti Relief Efforts; ing Committee and Institute-Wide a horse riding event during last weekend’s Bad Ideas Compe- Planning Task Force to improve tition was not, in fact, a joke. Dominika Nawrot is seen here house dining. The final reports of riding a horse in McDermott Court on Saturday. Bad Ideas is a Students Raise Funds both called for the replacement of series of quirky IAP events that encourage their organizers to forgo “requirements and ‘good engineering practice.’” By Ziwei Hao ty projects that benefit Haitian people Dining Update, Page 15 STAFF REPORTER who were affected by the earthquake. After the magnitude 7 earthquake Sally Susnowitz, Director of the struck Haiti on Tuesday, January 12, MIT Public Service Center, said, “Peo- the MIT community has responded ple in Haiti will need help over a long Domeview, Projection Systems quickly by raising funds and initiat- period of time: some work might need ∞ ing relief projects. to be done from here; some might in- The Council for the Advance- volve travel to Haiti when it is safe and ment of Black Students — composed productive for students to go. Likewise, Merging, Now ‘Infinite Display’ of the executive chairs and members some of the public service work might of the Black Student Union, the Ca- involve student-initiated projects, and By John A. Hawkinson fice, and continuing now that he is a finite Display team said at kick-off ribbean Club, African Student As- some might come from the needs that NEWS EDITOR project manager for the Division of session yesterday. Infinite Display sociation, Chocolate City, and Black non-governmental organization and Domeview, the digital display Student Life. also adds a flat panel display in Lob- Women’s Alliance — was the first to community organizations articulate.” advertising system in the Student The Infinite Corridor projectors by 10. initiate relief efforts on campus. Members of the Media Lab are Center and the Stata Center’s Stu- have been managed by MIT Audio Like Domeview, Infinite Display The council ran a donation booth also working on projects to help dent Street is merging with the pro- Visual, and have primarily catered continues to offer three days of free in the Student Center between Janu- with rebuilding Haiti. Dale Joachim, jected advertising displays in the to Institute departments. Domeview, advertising per term to recognized ary 18 and 22 in an effort to raise a visiting scientist, led a “Haiti IAP Infinite Corridor to form a new sys- on the other hand, has primarily ca- student groups, though not in the funds. Those who donated were giv- Workshop” to discuss the current tem called “Infinite Display,” http:// tered to student groups, though both Infinite Corridor, only in the Student en the choice to support six differ- state of affairs in Haiti and to brain- infinitedisplay.mit.edu/. systems have broadened their client and Stata Center. Infinite Display is a ent organizations already working in storm innovations to benefit relief Domeview was originally a 2004 base. bit less flexible: it requires such free Haiti: Partners In Health, Red Cross, efforts. Joachim discussed using a iCampus project that was conceived The new Infinite Display takes ads to run for three consecutive days Doctors Without Borders, Catholic network of XO laptops from One by former UA President Harel M. features from both existing systems. on the three displays in W20 and the Relief Services, UNICEF, and the Laptop Per Child to relay video and Williams ’05 and former UA Treasur- Infinite Display uses Domeview’s two displays in Stata. Under Dom- UN World Food Programme. Each voice messages from Haiti. er John Velasco ’05, and it launched model of 20-second static displays, eview, groups had the discretion to organization is serving different Around 40 laptops are being tak- in 2006. In recent years, it has been rather than MIT A/V’s model of two- allot their free ads as they saw fit. needs in Haiti, such as food, first aid, en right now to be used for the relay maintained by Joshua Velasquez ’08, minute Powerpoint presentations. Infinite Display charges student or shelter. As of yesterday morning, of information, he said last week. An initially while Velasquez worked The 20-second model better fits the the booth had raised $2,941.45. eWeek Europe article posted on the for the Student Life Programs Of- attention span of passers-by, the In- Infinite Display, Page 15 In addition to their fundraising, OLPC website said 14,000 XO lap- the council is organizing a Haiti Re- tops had been sent to Haiti prior to lief Benefit Showcase this Friday, at the quake, and OLPC has pledged to 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, from send more faster. which they hope to raise $10,000. The “In order for us to help recraft Sex Changes Just Got Easier! show, entitled “L’Union Fait La Force,” Haiti’s society, it’s important to un- or “Strength Through Unity,” requests derstand the citizens’ needs and The Registrar’s Office has modified its require- requirement. Many possible options were discussed, a minimum donation of $5 per person. perspectives. The technology we are ments for students to officially change their recorded and the Registrar’s Office finally decided to model Kamil S. Gedeon ’11, the Vice Presi- using is a quick way to surface the gender. Since last week, instead of requiring evi- its gender change policy after that of Massachusetts’s dent of the Caribbean Club, and Dy- voices of the people,” said Joachim. dence of sex-change surgery, students now may pro- Registry of Motor Vehicles. lon R. Rockwell ’11, the Vice Chair- He also said that Haiti’s recon- vide documentation from a licensed health care pro- After approximately two months of discussion be- man of the National Society of Black struction would benefit from MIT fessional to verify their gender with the Registrar. tween the Registrar’s Office and MIT’s Office of Gen- Engineers, are heading the event. projects involving energy efficiency. The former requirement for surgery was a “very eral Counsel to confirm the legality of the change, the “One big thing people need to “In an academic environment such high bar,” said Abigail M. Francis, program coordi- new policy was finalized. know is that the earthquake is going to as MIT, people should use Haiti as nator for LBGT services, resources, and outreach While there is no general policy among univer- have long-term effects,” said Gedeon, a case study for how to rebuild the at MIT. While many transgendered students may be sities regarding gender change, MIT’s new policy is whose family members living in Haiti society in energy-efficient way.” confident in their gender identity, they may not neces- among the most accepting, Francis said. were affected by the earthquake. Yasmine R. Doleyres ’12, who sarily wish to undergo a full sex-change because of Francis and the Trans Issues Group will monitor “While short-term monetary do- e-mailed out last week for donations financial or personal reasons. how the change affects transgendered students, work- nations are beneficial and will help and support, thanked the community “The world has moved on a bit since we devel- ing with groups such as MIT Housing and Medical out, we need to also focus on long- for its efforts. “To the campus, I’d oped [the old] policy,” said Assistant Registrar Peter and Mental Health to ensure a smooth implementa- term projects that will help the coun- like to say thank you for your sup- R.