"----- .........~=;;....;.;;;,===.====.:..~~-"'-""---'-'-'---_.- -------- -- MlT's The Weather Oldest aneJ Largest Today: Cloudy, Fog, 54°F (12°C) Tonight: Showers, 48°F (9°C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Cloudy, 60°F (16°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 115, Number 25 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, May 12, 1995 est Will DiscUss Dean candidates By Daniel C. Stevenson speculate on what they might do as and S ng-Un Chuang dean, but offered their opinions on STAFF REPORTERS undergraduate life, teaching, and The dean search committee will freshman year programs. meet next week with President Charles M. Vest to discuss plans to Concemed with freshman year I replace outgoing Dean for Under- "I've always taken a very per- J. craduate Education and Student sonal interest in my students," said Affairs Arthur C. Smith. Vandiver, who confirmed he was on Vest wi)) make the final decision a short list of candidates. Vandiver on the new dean and the structure 0 was a former teaching assistant for the Dean's Office, according to the the late Institute Professor Harold E. committee's chair Professor Linn "Doc" Edgerton ScD '27 and in W. Hobbs. The office could be 1992 created the Edgerton Center, a divided into separate sections for hands-on education center with spe- und~rgraduate education and stu- cial programs for freshmen. dent affairs. The center's programs allow stu- -.- Smith announced last year that dents "to engage in real things deal- he win step down this summer .. ing with their profession" as earl¥ as RICH FLETCHER-THE TECH "Naturally, froin the outside, the their freshman year, said Vandiver, The MIT Dance Troupe performs a number from their progJWn Rhythm In MotIod, being held the two jobs look really independent, a. self-proclaimed advocate of active next two nights In the Student center'. La 58Ia de Puerto Rico ._'but oftentimes, the structure of an edUcation . office wi)) change depending on the Vandiver served as director of temperament of the officer," said- the Experimental Studies Group Harriet Ritvo, associate dean of the from 1984 to 1989. His experience in July . chool of Humanities, Arts, and with ESG gave him an "unusual Lab Supplies Will. Close Social Sciences' and member of the opportunity to see how creative stu- search committee. ' dents can be about their own educa- Re-engineering finds that lab supplies caused 25%price increase The committee, established by tion," he said. Provost Mark S. Wrighton, collect- One of his guiding educational By Nicole A. Sherry It is "a very fine operation," he said. wiJI save the Institute approximately ed student 'input through a series of philosophies is "the recognition that STAFF REPORTER Lab supplies operates on a sys- $1.8 million every year, Dickson forums in living groups and also students as individuals have many In an effort to save money, the tem that cannot compete with the said. terviewed several people who different preferred learning styles," Re-engineering Steering Committee prices offered by large outside ven- The warehouse space used by work closely with the Dean's Vandiver said. "Any school has to wiH close the Office of Lab Sup- dors, Dickson said. Currently, MlT lab supplies will also be available Office, Hobbs said. be able to dispense education in.a plies, r.eplacing its services with buys supplies from several vendors for other purposes, Dickson said. ...J Professor of Physics Robert L. diverse set of ways SO students with those of outside vendors, according . to meet the Institute's very varied The committee has established a ,.. Jaffe, Professor of Ocean Engineer- different .styles of learning c.iln to Senior Vice President William R. needs. In order to break even, the plan to make a seamless change to ing J. Kim Vandiver PhD '75, and excel." Dickson '56. Institute must increase the price of using the outside vendors, Dickson Associate Dean of the School of Dean for Undergraduate Acade- Lab supplies, which has 30 goods by as much as 25 percent, said. "There should be absolutely no Engineering John B. Vander Sande mic Affairs Travis R. Merritt, who employees, will close on July 1. Dickson said. detriment to the laboratories," he are rumored to be candidates for a also intetviewed for the dean posi- The decision to close lab sup- Starting July 1, MIT will buy said. "If there is, we have failed. dean for undergraduate education , tion, echoed concerns about the plies was based purely on an eco- supplies from a few large vendors Nothing should change as far as ser- position. nomic foundation and not on the 'who carry a wide variety of goods Potential candidates declined to Dean, Page 12 office's performance, Dickson said. from different manufacturers. This Supplies, Page 13 Senior Week Activities Give 'Chance to Relax' Events include boat cruise, pub night, day trip the identification, arrest, and conviction of the per- By sarah Y. Kelghtley ball and volleyball, Viswanathan son or persons responsible. NEWS EDITOR said. MIT Nobel laureate ProfessOr Phillip A Sharp, Although Campus Police declined to comment A free party at JiJlians pool hall, Capalbo hopes that interest in head of the Department of Biology, is a potential tar- about the recent events, they have recommended that comedians in Lobdell Court, a boat this particular activity will pick up. get of the Unabomber, the letter-bomber who has the community be cautious when examining incom- cruise in the Boston Harbor - these "A lot of people think it's just a sent 16 mail bombs over the last 17 years. ingm8l1. activities and many more wiJI give sports day," but it is also a day trip The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that the "A bomb can be enclosed in either a parcel or an seniors a chance to enjoy their last .to Marina Bay, he said. Marina Bay Un.bomber sent letters to Sharp and Richard J. envelope, and its outward appearance is limited only few weeks at MIT. is beautiful and it will be like an Roberts of New England Biolabs loc,. who shared by. the imagination of the sender," according to the This year's Senior'Week will get' "aJJ-day party," he said. the 1993 Nobel Prize in medicine. bulletin distributed by the Campus Police. underway on May 30 and ruri The disclosure that the Unabomber sent Sharp a If a mailing appears suspicious, Campus Police through Commencement. Pool hall, pub night threatening letter has unsettled many researchers recommend isolating the article in an open space and These activities give the Class of Thursday night there is a gather- aftj)iated with the Institute. None of the researchers notifying police immediately. Under no circum- 1995 a "chance to relax and enjoy ing at Jillians pool hall, and Friday that were contac:ted would comment OIl the potential stances ~Id the article, be opened the fact that Boston is a really nice threat that the bomber posed. place," according to Michael R. Senior Week, Page I I MIT spqkesman Kenneth A. Camp.bell also Wanilll"" Capalbo '95, a Senior Week com- declined comment on the recent events. Sharp vias The bulletin provides the following letter and mittee co-ehair. unavailable for comment. parcel bomb recognition guidelines: Seniors also get a chance to hang AcaHding to the Federal Bureau oflnvestigation. • Mail bombs may bear restricted endorsements out with their friends and meet other INSIDE the serial bomber has delivered explosive devices such as "Personal" or "Private." This factor is impor- people in their class. "With all of disguised as parcels to targets 8SIOCiated with c0m- tant when the addressee does not usually receive per- the emphasis on schoolwork, it's puter. aira'aft. and airline industries and universities. sonal mail at the office. easy to forget what a great student • Metal detectors will To date, the perpetrator been raponsible for • Addressee's nameltitle may be inacCurate. body we have," Capalbo said. go into use in August for tine deaths and 23 injuries. • Return address may be fictitious. An of.the events are free except • Mail bombs may reflect di torted handwriting the boat cruise and the day trip to certain large parties. neatly or the name and address may be prepared with Marina Bay, said Chitra The most recent victim of the Unabomber wu homemade labels or cut-and-paste lettering. Viswanathan '95, a Senior Week Pagell Gilbert B. Murray. a timber industry lobbyist, who • Cancellation or postmark may show a different organizer. To attend these events, killed two aao by bomb in a pKbJe location than the return address. seniors need to pick up tickets by • Kline, Ryan are witty delivered to b. Caljf. office, • Mail bombs may feel rigid, or appear uneven or today from the Senior Week table in In 1993, well-known Califomja genetic. and lopsided. the Student Center. and enchanting in Y e Uni ity computer .enti ere erely • Parcel bombs may be unprof4 ionaIly wrapped Senior Week's first event is FnmchK~. PO{Je6 by 'tit Icombinations of pe used to secure the "Games and Karaoke Night" on FBI ellCountael may be "Fragile - Handle May 30 in the Student Center, • On the Spreen Page 6 information Viswanathan said. The next day ' ............. 1' Page 13 there is a "Sports Day Outing" at Marina Bay. There will be a DJ, a • On The 1bwn Page 8-9 meal, and sports, including basket- Page2 THE TECH May 12, ~ WORLD & NATION Senate Told Most Internet Talk Protected as Free Speech ue ear Non-Proliferation LOS ANGELES nMES WASHINGTON The unrestricted nature of the Internet worldwide computer net- Pact Indefinitely Extended work allows the spread of materials like hate speech and instructions on bomb-making, but most of it is protected by the First Amendment, By Julia Preston oping nations that have no atomic "among States party to the Treaty several witnesses told members of a Senate panel Thursday.