Established 1881 WEATHER, p. 2 MIT’s Oldest and Fri: 48°F | 33°F Largest Newspaper Partly cloudy sat: 49°F | 34°F Sunny tech.mit.edu SUN: 50°F | 39°F Sunny Established 1881 Volume 132, Number 54 Friday, November 16, 2012 W20 to get card readers soon Le Meridien workers Student center will be card access only starting Tuesday continue campaign Labor dispute with HEI ongoing By Sara Hess would remain neutral in the dispute between Le Meridien workers and Established 1881 Yesterday evening, between 4 - 6 management. p.m. a picket line with approximately “It seems disingenuous for MIT to 30 participants including Le Meridien claim a neutral stance on this debate hotel workers, union organizers, and when they own the property and list MIT students gathered in front of the the hotel as a preferred vendor. As a hotel located at 20 Sidney Street. Pick- member of the MIT community I feel eters called for hotel guests to sup- that I could and should do something port a worker-led boycott by check- about this”, Neugebauer said last night ing out of the hotel. The picket line at the protest. was planned for last night in order to Neugebauer is not alone. 14 MIT attract the attention of hotel guests faculty members have signed a docu- who are participating in the Eastern ment stating their support of the boy- Division of the Community College cott. Union organizers are also making Humanities Association conference, efforts to reach out to MIT student which is scheduled to take place at Le organizations such as the Students of Meridien from November 15th-17th. Color Committee, which scheduled a A labor dispute has been brew- meeting to speak with hotel workers Established 1881 ing at Le Meridien since March 2012 following yesterday’s protest. when 70 percent of the workers signed Cambridge public officials have a document requesting that the ho- also requested that the Institute lend tel management maintain a neutral its support to the workers. In late stance as workers debated whether or October, Cambridge City Councilor not to join Local 26, the Massachusetts Marjorie Decker, Vice Mayor Denise hospitality workers union. According Simmons and State Representative to Brian Lang, president of Local 26, Timothy Toomey sent letters to MIT the hotel management locked their president Rafael Reif, strongly advo- doors and refused to accept the re- cating for MIT’s support of the boycott. ELIJAH MENA—THE TECH Card readers have been installed outside of the student center. Starting Tuesday, card access will be quest, which was later mailed to them. In her letter, Councilor Decker required between 1 to 6 a.m. Hotel management has yet to agree to states “MIT is one of the hotel’s biggest a written neutrality agreement. customers. We urge MIT to stop doing Heather Nichols, a front desk agent business with this hotel until they treat By Kath Xu with the mandatory ending time of placed, the Student Center’s front at the hotel who participated in the workers with respect and dignity.” STAFF REPOrtER all events at MIT. The CAC recently doors were nearly 25 years old. picket line while on break, informed Representative Toomey writes “the installed the card readers due to Lauren A. Merriman ’14 esti- The Tech that guests arriving at the ho- workers of this hotel are taking a dra- Going for a late night Verdes rising safetyEstablished concerns in relation 1881mates that she visits the Student tel were curious to know more about matic step in calling for a boycott of run? Better grab your MIT ID. to the overnight presence of non- Center at least once a week be- the protest. “They’ve been asking their own place of employment, and Starting Tuesday, the doors to W20 MIT people in the student center. tween 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. what’s going on. Some guests are con- I feel that we must respect that as a will require card access every night The last trespass warning issued to “I think the card readers should cerned that they will be woken up at community.” between the hours of 1 a.m. and 6 a homeless person in the student be pretty effective, and I feel like night. One guest came in and shouted Vice Mayor Simmons indicates a.m.. During those hours, visitors center was on Oct. 18 at 5:13 a.m., that’ll make the Student Center at the management ‘What have you to President Reif that the City Coun- will only be able to enter through according to the MIT police logs a safer place,” said Merriman. “A guys done?’” she said. cil passed a resolution in support of two doors: the front entrance near (online at http://web.mit.edu/cp/ lot of times, I come into the Stu- Adam Neugebauer, a second year the boycott and that “the entire city LaVerde’s and the back entrance www/crimlog.htm). dent Center and see people in the grad student in the Department of council, barring one absent colleague, by the ATMs. MIT Facilities and the Secu- lounges who obviously aren’t af- Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), voted in favor of this resolution.” According to the Campus Ac- rity and Emergency Management filiated with MIT, and I don’t want was among the picketers. Neugebauer At the time of writing, none of the tivities Complex (CAC) Event Office (SEMO) installed the new to work there because they’re sit- wrote a letter to The Tech in response public officials who wrote letters to Planning Guide website, the 1 a.m. doors and card access system for to Nate Nickerson, MIT’s director of start time is meant to coincide the CAC. Before the doors were re- W20 doors, Page 9 communications’ statement that MIT Le Meridien, Page 11 News AnaLYsis IN Short W20 will be closed for Thanksgiving break from 11 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 21 K2C2 almost done until 7 a.m. on Saturday Nov. 24. Recommendations almost finalized CAC event space reservations open By John A. Hawkinson The $350,000 study began Monday Nov. 26 at 9 a.m. For more in- STAFF REPOrtER in April 2011 and was divided formation visit http://studentlife.mit. into two pieces, focusing on edu/cac. The City’s yearlong,Kendall Square first, followed $350,000 analysis of the fu- by Central Square. Each sec- The Red Line will be closed between ture of Kendall and Central tion had its own advisory Alewife and Harvard on weekends Squares is drawing to a close, committee filled by members until Dec. 9. Shuttle bus service will be but what does it have to show of the public including local provided. Plan travel accordingly. for it? residents, developers, and The Central Square com- property owners. Half of the Eat pie! Central Square Street Food Sat- mittee met for the penultimate study’s cost came from a one- urday is tomorrow from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. time last night; its final pair time $175,000 payment in- Sample a variety of pies for $1 each. of meetings will be on Nov. 27 lieu of taxes from MIT; the and 28, when it will finalize its other from Boston Properties, The Mad Money Grant deadline has recommendations. the real estate developer and extended to December 15! Apply now After that, the city’s Com- owner of the Cambridge Cen- through the Student Activities Office. munity Development De- ter properties. DAVID DA He—THE TECH partment and the K2C2 con- The Great Dome was lit blue early Tuesday morning, presum- Tau Beta Phi applications for Winter sultants, Goody Clancy & Central Square ably as advertisement for the Erg-A-Thon fundraiser taking place Fellowships are due November 21! Associates, will work to pro- The Central Square com- this Friday in Lobby 10. The Erg-A-Thon is a competition where Apply at http://web.mit.edu/tbp/www/ duce zoning language that can mittee has met 21 times from teams exercise on rowing machines to raise money for Amphibi- fellowships.shtml. be adopted by the planning ous Achievement. board and the city council. K2C2, Page 12 XCOM RETURNS TO I HAVE trULY FOUND PURPOSE DANCE REVIEW: I AM MIT BASKETBALL SECTIONS World & Nation . .2 Why we should seek personal value ITS ROOTS YOU AS YOU’RE ME NO. 1 IN DIV III Opinion . .4 outside academics. LETTERS, p. 4 Reboot of turn-based Faye Driscoll’s latest piece A team in transition, Arts . .7 tactics game Enemy GOVERNMENT UNINTELLIGENCE brings the art of dance the Engineers start the Fun Pages . .14 Unknown surpasses the back to its primal origins at new season ranked at Sports . .16 original. ARTS, p. 7 Petraeus affair highlights incompetence ICA Boston. ARTS, p. 8 No. 1. SPORTS, p. 16 of the administration. OPINION, p. 5 2 The Tech Friday, November 16, 2012 Postal Service reports D $15.9 billion loss Wal-mart expands foreign WASHINGTON — The Postal Service on Thursday report- ed a record $15.9 billion net loss for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, bringing the financially troubled agency another bribery investigation step closer to insolvency. The widely expected loss, more than triple the service’s By Stephanie Clifford The New York Times reported partment have opened investiga- WORL loss last year, included accounting expenses of $11.1 billion THE NEW YORK TIMES in April that seven years ago, Wal- tions into the Mexico matter, and related to two payments that the agency was supposed to Mart had found credible evidence Wal-Mart said it is cooperating N make into its future retiree health benefits fund.