MIT's The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Partly sunny, 90°F (32°C) Tonight: cattered storms, 70°F (2t°C) ewspaper Tomorrow: Partly sunny, 90°F (32°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 120, umber 30 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Wednesday, August 9, 2000 MIT Plans To Build Pet Policy Grad Donn in 2002 To Pilot By NaveenSunkavally same time, there is a pressing need and Jon Sheffl to do something for graduate stu- This Fall STAFF REPORTERS dents," said Dean for Graduate Stu- After years of delays and set- dents Isaac M. Colbert. By Karen E. Robinson backs, MIT has finally announced Soulaymane Kachani G, presi- STAFF REPORTER the construction of a new graduate dent of the Graduate Student Coun- For the first time in recent mem- dormitory, cil, said the objective in designing ory, cats will be officially allowed The dorm, located on the comer this new dorm was not to create a in some dorms next term on a trial of Sidney and Pacific streets in Cen- «masterpiece," like the undergradu- basis. tral Square, is expected to be com- ate dorm, but to quickly provide The policy's main goal is to pleted by August 2002 and will housing without compromising eliminate hidden cats while prevent- house 600-750 students. quality. ing them from being completely Combined with efforts to reno- The chosen architectural :firm is banished from undergraduate vate NW30 by August 2001, which Steffian Bradley Associates, Inc., dorms, said former Dormitory will create 125 additional housing which has worked on other projects Council President Jennifer A. Frank spaces, the new dorm will bring in Cambridge such as the Cam- '00. She hopes that this policy will MIT's graduate student ,housing bridge Park Place and Neville help to promote responsible pet capacity to about 2,300, or 40 per- .Manor projects. ownership among students. cent of graduate student population. The preliminary design of the A pilot program will exist this dorm uses a simple modular layout year in which only cats that lived in Pragmatism of dorm's design for the rooms. The dorm will con- the dorm during the 1999-2000 aca- Compared to the new Vassar St. tain 400 units, rising six stories tall demic year will be granted registra- undergraduate dormitory, the new along Sidney Street and nine stories tion. Furthermore, this program will grad dorm will be somewhat more tall along Pacific Street. FRANK DABEK-THE TECH be restricted to "the dorms where conventional in both structure and This layout will enable many Summer renovations to Rrst West (shown above) and the rest undergraduates felt strongest about planning: different configurations, said Project of East Campus are expected to be complete by next week. pets being part of their culture, said «There isn't enough money to do' See story back page. Karen A. Nilsson, associate director everything we need to do, but at the Donn, Page 17 for operations. The dorms that will be permitted to house pets are Bex- ley, East Campus, Random Hall, and Senior House. eLC Denies Amended Donnitory Lodging Licenses Nilsson and Frank have been the By Mike Hall Group, which had received approval sion is] not going to kick anyone that MIT uses the MacGregor main authors and chief proponents ASSOCiATE NEWSEDlTOR two nights earlier to increase its out," Scali said. Additionally, the lounges as doubles to house stu- of this new "cat policy." The policy In a surprise decision, the Cam- maximum number of lodgers from ruling does not affect MIT's current dents. Sheffi said that the Commis- will be extended for another year to bridge License Commission denied 37 to 52. lodging house licenses, which sion expressed concern about MIT's include new cats if all goes smooth- five Institute applications for At the Commission's general expire in May 200 l. incorrect numbers and the fire safety ly, and a final policy will be written amended lodging house licenses hearing yesterday evening, Zeta Psi, of crowded lounges in dormitories. if both pilot policies run smoothly, after discovering that the housing Delta Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Delta Tech staffer uncovers discrepancy According to Sheffi, Commis- Nilsson said. office had misstated the number of Phi, and pika had their respective The Commission's denials sion chairman Benjamin C. Barnes MIT has no intention to add residents and rooms in·MIT dormi- applications for occupancy increas- resulted from MacGregor House's said, "I don't like it when people other dorms or to include other ani- tories. es taken under advisement. Deci- application, which listed MacGregor come in here half-baked." mals to the policy, Nilsson said. On July 27, the. Commission sions on these increases will not be ,as having all singles and no lounge Karen A. Nilsson, associate denied applications to change occu- ruled on until the August 17 deci- doubles. After Tech reporter director of operations for housing, Owners must register pets pancy figures at Ashdown House, sion hearing. Jonathan Sheffi '03 called Scali to authored the MacGregor application Under the pilot program, each cat Bexley Hall, Edgerton House, Mac- Residents will not be evicted ask about MIT's omission of lounge as well as the applications for the owner agrees to accept responsibility Gregor House, and Senior House. from the five dormitories Whose doubles in its application, Scali other dormitories. After the Com- for any damage the cat causes to MIT The Commission also withdrew applications were denied, according raised his concerns at the July 27 mission questioned Nilsson's origi- or other students' property, to keep its approval for an application by to Commission Executive Officer decision hearing. At the hearing, 'the Women's Independent Living Richard V. Scali. "[The Commis- Sheffi disclosed to the Commission CLC, Page 18 Cats, Page 18 Six Dorms To House KS, ATO Over Rush By Laura McGrath Moulton brothers between Bexley and New funds or some other perk to offset NEWS EDITOR House, but it was altered at the this situation was vague, indirect Members of the Kappa Sigma request of New House. "We had and therefore unacceptable. We and Alpha Tau Omega fraternities originally thought the housemaster could not figure out what was being will now be housed in six donnito- of New House was comfortable offered and by whom," they said. ries during rush, rather than the four with the situation, but he wasn't," The Essigmanns are more com- originally announced. said Cain. fortable with the new plan for hous- MacGregor, New House, and In an e-mail to The Tech, New ing the fraternity members. Howev- Next House will each house six House Housemasters John M. and er, they said they would have ATO brothers, and Bexley will Ellen Essigmann said, "[We] were preferred to see MIT's other frater- house the remaining seventeen put in a difficult and awkward posi- nities house the brothers, in order to brothers. Kappa Sig will split its tion because we had to put the minimize "culture clash" between members between Baker House and brakes on a process that was not, in fraternities and dorms. Burton-Conner, according to our view, in the best interest of our Cain indicated that Bexley resi- Matthew S. Cain '02, vice president living group." dents had not requested a similar of Dormitory Council. "The original plan we saw had reduction of their share of ATO The decision to house the frater- the fraternity men concentrated in a brothers. He said that no brothers SAMUDRA VlJAY-THE TECH nity members in dorms came after few residence halls ... A large cadre would be housed in either Senior Music for Peace: Mirza Nassar 8egb, an activist from Pak- alcohol violations led the Cam- of fraternity brothers would not con- House or East Campus "because of Istan and a staunch supporter of peace In the Indian sub-con- bridge Licensing Commission to tribute to a good rush" for dorms, logistical reasons," including the tlnent, perfonned a rare style of Khaayal gayakl In Uttle Kres- exile Kappa Sig and ATO from their said Essigmann. The Essigmanns distance between those dorms and ge. He was accompanied by Jerry Leak on Tabala and houses during rush. They will, how- also felt that consequences for vio- the West Campus dormitories. Meenakshl on Tanpura. The event was sponsored by CORSA, ever, still be allowed to to rush lation of this living agreement by "This configuration is final," the Committee on Rights In South Asia. ,Mirzaae~ halls from incoming freshmen. fraternities had not been well articu- Cain said. "Nobody on either side the famous Deihl Gharana. lated. wants for this to happen, but people New House's burden lightened In addition, "the offer mentioned The original plan divided ATO in the last Tech article to provide Rush, Page 17 THE ARTS Comics MIT's athletic facilities are A DoU's receiving substantial improve- World & Nation 2 House ments over the summer months. Opinion 4 Arts 6 On The Screen 10 Page 6 Page 12 Page 19 On The Town '.. .. .. 11 Page2 T August 9, 2000 se e erman LOS ANGELES TIMES MOSCOW ..... ..,...".y oins Gore TIcket In Moscow, a bomb exploded during the evening rush hour Tues- day in a pedestrian underpass at one of the city's busiest commuter By Jonathan Weisman gion front and center, praising Gore their support for months. hubs, killing eight people and injuring 53 in a blast authorities THE BALTIMORE SUN for the "chutzpah" - a Yiddish Lieberman and Gore laughed blamed on Chechen terrorists. ASHVILLE word for audacity - that he showed together on the podium, hugged and In the minutes after the explosion at Pushkin Square, thick black Vice President AI Gore Tuesday by breaking down an historic barri- even exchanged high-fives after the smoke streamed from one entrance of the underpass as bleeding peo- formally named Joseph I.