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VTHE H E T E C H Volume 113, Number 1 Section 2 Friday, January 29, 1993 sid Harassment Suit Raises Policy Issues While both Professor Gabriel R. Bitran and MIT were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, the sexual harassment suit brought against them by Marina R. Erulkar SM '92 raised serious questions about the Institute's policy on handling sexual harassment allegations. Story, Page 6 Clinton Win Means Good News for MIT With its former graduate students appointed to key economic posts within the Clinton administration, MIT stands to gain strong influence in Washington. Moreover, many of the issues Clinton has promised to address may bring significant change to MIT, especially in research funding allocation and the ban on homosexuals in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Story, Page 8 thr i0 Rastn lude, bsi L "'UP " 1 - = gl Incrase afey Cocerna is also not patrolled by Campus Police. -two on each of the Boston and Cambridge Eva Moy dered, By Memorial Drive "traditionally has had its problems routes - in late December, in response intense uring the past year, crimes against nmem- after dark," Glavin said at a Baker House meeting student pressure following Raustein's murder. The 'I ,7tfs bers of the MIT community were a con- after Raustein's death. "You could walk down two new vans are fully accessible to the handi- stant reminder that MIT is an urban eam- there 10 times and never have a problem, but the capped, as required by the Americans with Dis- Funding Refusal pus, subject to the problems of the city eleventh time you might.... The bottom line is abilities Act of 1992. that surrounds it. that this tragic incident points out very graphically Growing demand also hastened the expansion. Draws MIT into The murder of Yngve K. Raustein '94 galva- the risks of criminalization in an urban area." In its first year of operation, A Safe Ride provided into discussion and imple- about 25,000 rides. Glavin estimated that total rid- nized the community Murder acted as catalyst Art Controversy mentation of improvements in security and raised ership for 1992 would exceed 50,000. The combination of Raustein's murder and the "It's been a big success, but the present Safe MIT was dragged into a national the level of safety awareness on campus. controversy about the federal "It's unfbrtrlate that it takes a tragedy like this wave of crimes which followed helped speed Ride system is a victim of its own success," action on many proposals, which had been dis- Glavin said. government's role in funding art to get people to talk about the concerns they might when the National Endowment for to themselves," said Nancy J. cussed for some time but not carried out. Before the expansion, students complained that have otherwise kept refused to fund the Schondorf '93. The community's response to the murder did not come often enough or stop long enough. the Arts And although these solutions brought the Insti- addressed a broad range of safety concems, from Glavin predicted that the average wait should now "Corporal Politics" exhibit at the tute a step closer to a safe community, many on the expansion of the Safe Ride shuttle to increased be about 15 minutes, although she speculated that List Visual Arts Center. The exhibit popularity campus continued to feel impeded- not by a lack student participation in promoting crime aware- it could increase as the service's was saved, however, when the concern, but by lines of police juris- ness. Community members are taking a more increases. Boston-based rock band Aerosmith of funding or working with Campus drawn to exclude certain sidewalks, streets, active role in promoting their own security - The GSC is currently donated $10,000 for the project. diction to try to develop a set time schedule, living groups. from participating in Project Awareness and Grad- Police The exhibit, which has received and to a bus schedule," Glavin said The Harvard Bridge, a daily part of many stu- uate Student Council safety efforts to improving "something similar rave reviews, will remain on After that, the GSC may look into dents' lives, "is not an area that' we patrol, because their personal safety through self-defense classes. in December. display at the List Center until other issues, including the addition of more stops, it's a little far-flung from our legal jurisdiction," A Safe Ride doubles efforts Feb. 14. chief of Campus Police. said Anne P. Glavin, Safety, Page 4 Story, Page 7 Memorial Drive, where Raustein was mur- The Safe Ride program expanded to four vans Januar.y 6 t Defoge Contract Audit m Agency, as part of its investiga- -..MNMNF- tion into the indirect cost billing practices of several univei- ties, rtcmmends that Mt with* draw $22 million of requests for nation's woes. Fiascoes like the House of Rcprc- ing. Neither party admits any guilt or lends any reimbursement of research- By Jeremy Hylton sentatives banking scandal increased public dis- merit to the other's claims. Many members of the relate expenses. have a friend who once described himself as a gust with politicians. literature faculty were accused of harassment and "pessimistic idealist." This oxymoron may In 1992, the people of this nation were faced now have no opportunity to clear their names. The january 13 sound a little too much like some kind of with a government which didn't seem to listen to information blackout has simply aggravated the sophomoric angst, but the idea strikes at the them or care about their concerns. The students of situation. The -New Hampshire Fire Mare heart of my reactions to the past year. I want to MIT faced a similar situation. A student was In similar fashion, the House Dining Commit- shai rules that the cause of a maintain a faith that the world is changing for the robbed at gunpoint crossing the Harvard Bridge. tee kept students in the dark about the future of fire which desroyed an MIT Out-. better, but events force me to realize that as often Despite its status as a major thoroughfare for MIT dormitory dining halls. In April the committee as students, the bridge isn't patrolled by Campus announced a plan that would charge residents of iog lub cabin is unrleefrained. not, the world is changing for the worse. 1992 was a year that injected a profound sense Police - not simply because they don't have the four dormitories $1,300 in addition to the cost of of pessimism into the idealized sense of MIT I manpower to do an adequate job (though that may food to eat in their dining halls. Strong student January 17 have tried to preserve. MIT may be one of the pre- be a problem), but because - as Chief of Police criticism of that proposal eventually forced the miere research institutions in the world -- this Anne P. Glavin explained -- "it's a little far-flung committee to maintain the status quo. Despite Te De temporarily halts its year MIT biologists mapped the Y chromosome from our legal jurisdiction." these events, the Academic Council later approved audit because of what it calls and the Department of Electrical Engineering and On occasion, events elsewhere overshadowed a plan without soliciting any direct student input. these kinds of campus events. Clinton's election "'hanging Circumstances, Computer Science created a new five-year degree Though students grappled with many adminis- program that may prove to be a model for other brought hope that the ban on homosexuals in the which include a $778,261 pay- - trative policy problems, faculty and students universities - but the murder of a classmate military and in MIT's Reserve Officers' Training seemed to develop a better relationship. The facul- mert by MIT to the fedeat gow brings a heady dose of reality: this institution lies Corps would be reversed and that the National ty listened to student calls for minor programs in emment. in a city that faces the same urban crime problems Endowment for the Arts would stop denying every department and unanimously approved that plague every other metropolitan area. grants on political grounds, as was apparently the . *-~~~~~ .. ~~~~~~~~~~. them. The physics department created a new ver- Certainly events around the world encouraged case when it refused to fund the List Visual Arts sion of Physics I (8.01L), aimed at helping stu- that same pessimism. The beating of black Center's "Corporal Politics" exhibit. dents without strong calculus backgrounds do well motorist Rodney King reminded me once again Members of this community can do little to that racism, attacked so vociferously within acade- affect problems like discrimination in ROTC or mia, remains a powerful force in the real world. the politicization of arts funding, but on-campus Perhaps students were partly to blame for being The Los Angeles riots that resulted when King's events are a different matter. Lawsuits filed against left out of the administration's decision-making assailants were acquitted call into question the MIT and its staff by Marina R. Erulkar SM '92 process. When the Undergraduate Association apparent stability of our basic social structures. and literature Professor Cynthia G. Wolff generat- held a referendum that could have given students The election of Bill Clinton as president of the ed criticism of the Institute's handling of harass- greater control over funding for activities, only United States encouraged hope among many ment - criticism both that guidelines for the 626 students voted. Voter turnout for the UA pres- Americans - or at least among Americans fed up accusers are unclear and that the accused are inad- idential elections was also pitifully low.

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