WEATHER, p. 2 FRI: 47°F | 37°F MIT’s Cloudy Oldest and Largest SAT: 49°F | 37°F Newspaper Cloudy, late rain SUN: 48°F | 37°F Rainy and windy Volume 130, Number 12 tech.mit.edu Friday, March 12, 2010 Miliband’s Afghanistan plan Confession linked British foreign secretary delivers Compton lecture TEP to Na injuries By Jingyun Fan STAFF REPORTER Brother threw sodium in Charles A line of motorcycles, black SUVs, By Divya Srinivasan cal burns to legs, forearms, and and police cars arrived at Kresge STAFF REPORTER facial areas as a result of the ex- Auditorium on Wednesday to escort plosion, according to a doctor’s British foreign secretary David W. The sodium that exploded account referenced in the detec- Miliband SM ’90, who became the in 2007 and injured volunteers tive’s report. youngest speaker to ever deliver the from a Charles River clean up As detectives began to inves- Compton lecture at MIT. In his lec- crew was thrown into the river tigate the incident, they shifted ture, “The War in Afghanistan: How by Bhaskar Mookerji G, a Tau their attention from MIT’s an- to End it,” Miliband stressed that mil- Epsilon Phi brother, according nual sodium drop to a smaller itary operations were not enough to to public court documents. event conducted by Tau Epsilon end the war; the Afghans must build Mookerji confessed that Phi, an MIT fraternity. their own political system. he threw the sodium into the Through conversations with “Afghanistan will never achieve a Charles on or around Sept. 4, Matthew Gordon ’08 and Timo- sustainable peace unless many more 2007. On Sept. 6, river clean-up thy M. Rades ’09, who are TEP Afghans are inside the political sys- volunteers were injured when brothers, police discovered that tem, and neighbors are onside with they found the metal. Mookerji the sodium that caused injury the political settlement,” Miliband is a current Course VI graduate had come from TEP’s sodium said. student and is a member of the drop, that the sodium had come Miliband believes that former Class of 2009. from the house, and that Mook- Afghan insurgents must also be in- Mookerji’s confession, dated erji, along with then-TEP Chan- volved with the political process and April 30, 2008, is part of the file cellor Matthew T. Peddie ’09, that there needs to be a program of for Commonwealth of Massa- Michael T. Snella G, and Thomas reintegration for them. Miliband said chusetts v. Bhaskar Mookerji, a C. Guerra ’10 had visited then- that the new Afghan government now-closed criminal case. The Dean for Student Life Larry G. needs to first address the grievances case file also includes a Suffolk Benedict to inform him of the that fueled insurgency in the first County (Boston) Police Detec- incident, the detective’s report place. In order to have a sustainable tive’s report on the incident. said. government, it will be important to The Tech recently became Police visited various MIT ensure that all tribal, ethnic, and aware of the criminal case from labs that handle sodium on other excluded groups be given a a reference in an ongoing civil Sept. 10. The TEP brothers’ visit real stake in the political process of case, Thomas Soisson and Kath- to Dean Benedict occurred at 8 Afghanistan. The new government ARFA AIJAZI—THE TECH erine Nardin v. Bhaskar Mook- a.m. on Sept. 14, the report said. David W. Miliband SM ’90, British Secretary of State for Foreign and needs to have accountability and erji, AMRCO LLC, Brian Neltner, Detectives and MIT police joint- Commonwealth Affairs, delivered the 2010 Compton Lecture in Kresge transparency, he said. Tau Epsilon Phi National Frater- ly visited TEP and interviewed Auditorium on Wednesday� In an interview, Miliband said nity, Tau Epsilon Phi XI Chapter, Rades on Sept. 14. that he believes increased Afghan system rather than outside it. neighboring power struggles; and and Matthew Peddie. Boston police found out capacity in security and governance While the people of Afghanistan other countries need be aware that On September 6, 2007, while that Brian Neltner, a Course II at the provincial and district levels play a crucial role inside of the po- instability as a result of the Taliban volunteering for the Charles graduate student, had ordered will be key in making sure the newly litical settlement process, its neigh- will spill outside Afghan borders. River Clean-Up Boat, Katherine a shipment of various chemical secured Afghan district of Marjah boring countries will need to sup- At the end of the lecture, Mili- (Kate) Narden, Thomas Sois- substances from the chemical remains safe from Taliban attacks. port it in order for Afghanistan to band was presented with a brass rat son, Patrick Hodgins, and Matt supplier Alfa Aesar under the The empowerment of provincial be successful. Miliband noted the by Graduate Student Council presi- McCord were injured by an ex- name of “Evil Corp,” the report and district governors is crucial in importance of Pakistan, which holds dent, Alex H. Chan G. ploding piece of sodium metal said. encouraging people to settle their great influence inside Afghanistan. they had picked up. Soisson and grievances from within the political Afghanistan cannot be the site of Miliband, Page 14 Narden suffered severe chemi- Sodium, Page 14 IN SHORT Media Lab extension is glass, steel, open air Undergraduate tuition will in- crease by 3.8 percent next year $90 million Maki building gives research groups a clean, transparent space up to $39,212. Financial aid will By Sam Range increase by 6.7 percent up to $87 STAFF REPORTER million. The changes were an- nounced at the MIT Corporation Three months after research- meeting on March 5. ers started moving in, academia, industry, architects, and the press Still want to host a pre-frosh this gathered to celebrate the official CPW? The deadline is today. Sign opening of the Media Lab exten- up at web.mit.edu/admissions/ sion (building E14). The Fumihiko mitcpw/. Maki-designed extension to the Wiesner Building on Ames Street It’s almost Spring Break! The houses the Media Lab, the Pro- MIT Parking and Transportation gram in Art, Culture, and Technol- Office will be running a shuttle ogy, and individual offices from service for students to Logan Air- the School of Architecture and port for a $10 fee on Friday, March Planning. 19 and Saturday, March 20. Res- On March 5, speakers at the ervations are required and can be opening ceremony took care to SAM RANge—THE TECH made at web.mit.edu/facilities/ acknowledge the smaller depart- Professor Hiroshi Ishii, Associate Director of the Media Lab and head of the Tangible Media Group, re- transportation/shuttles/airport. ments that have offices in the new turns a volley in a game of table tennis during opening-day tours of the Media Lab extension� The table html. 6-story building — but the $90 is equipped with object tracking and a projector, which projects fish onto the table that swarm to million structure can truly only where the ball lands. Spring forward. Daylight savings be described as a triumph for the architect Fumihiko Maki sought to and communication between lab ing. Over the last weeks, the Me- happens this Sunday. Set your 25-year-old Media Lab. capture the idea of transparency spaces fluid and effortless. dia Lab has been hosting research clocks one hour ahead. The building was conceived in tangible form, creating a build- The new Media Lab is much presentations from faculty candi- and designed as the ideal home ing with stunning displays of glass, larger than the Wiesner Building, dates. The Media Lab is “looking Send news information and tips for the unique collaborative and white, and open air. The double- and according to director Frank to expand the scope and diversity” to [email protected]. interdisciplinary culture of the height labs of E14 are staggered Moss, the number of faculty will Media Lab. Pritzker Prize-winning by one story, making movement be growing along with the build- Media Lab, Page 13 ON CAMPUS THE SECRET OF PATTINSON THE NOT-VAMPIRE? CENTRAL BOTTLE SECTIONS Want to solve the INTERNET DATING The Twilight actor is brooding but doesn’t IS SMALL, CHIC World & Nation � � �2 energy crisis? 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Corn seed prices rose 32 percent; soy- bean seeds were up 24 percent. By Anthony Shadid “It is a very close race,” said a that he could lead. At the very least, WORL Such price increases for seeds — the most important pur- and Tim Arango Western official, who viewed the the showing could weaken his care- chase a farmer makes each year — are part of an unprecedent- THE NEW YORK TImes early results but spoke on condition taker government during the months ed climb that began more than a decade ago, stemming from of anonymity since Iraqi officials of negotiations that will follow the fi- N the advent of genetically engineered crops and the rapid con- BAGHDAD — Iraq’s major coali- were designated to release them.