Established 1881 WEATHER, p. 2 MIT’s Oldest and TUE: 72°F | 71°F Largest Newspaper Cloudy with showers WED: 72°F | 53°F Mostly cloudy tech.mit.edu THU: 67°F | 52°F Partly sunny Established 1881 Volume 132, Number 38 Tuesday, September 18, 2012 Work has been going on in Killian Court for the past several days in preparation for President Reif’s inauguration ceremony. There are special events this entire week culminating in the presi- dential inauguration on Friday. Established 1881 ARTHUR PETRON—THE TECH Peer2Peer Sorority women prohibited at frat rush National Panhel Conference forbids affiliated women to be ‘rush girls’ hopes to start EstablishedBy Jiaming 1881 Zeng ing “Rush girls,” friends of the sorority sisters are close friends tended to protect sororities’ and Tushar Kamath house that help out with events to the fraternity. He added that single-sex status. The UA X for- during Rush. preventing the sisters from par- bids the participation of Pan- next semester The National Panhellenic Some fraternities’ members ticipating in Rush events “pres- hellenic women “in auxiliary Conference (NPC) recently believed the policy changed ents an incorrect view of [the] groups to men’s fraternities” 24 hour email-based passed a regulation restrict- the atmosphere of Rush com- house for potential members.” and especially participation ing sorority women from par- pared to previous years. Nathan The NPC took a hard stance in men’s formal Rush events. ticipating in fraternity Rush M. Robert ’13, a brother of Phi against Robert’s complaint, cit- The UA X exists to divide men’s support program will events. This especially restricts Sigma Kappa, appealed to the ing the Unanimous Agreement cater to MIT students sorority members from be- NPC, stating that many of the X (UA X), a new restriction in- Rush girls, Page 8 By Janelle Mansfield ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Sororities give out 173 bids Two years ago, MIT’s long-running Nightline phone service shut down, leaving the campus Panhel condenses period of ‘active’ Recruitment, without an organized peer-to-peer support system. Established 1881 However, an anonymous email-based program, says process & changes well-received by all parties Peer2Peer, is tentatively expected to start operating next semester. By Kath Xu Like Nightline, Peer2Peer will be staffed by MIT STAFF REPORTER students and is intended to be a “safety net” where SORORITY RECRUITMENT 2012 students can turn when they feel overwhelmed, MIT’s Panhellenic Association offered 173 and a potential “gateway to other student support bids this year, the same number as last year. ELIJAH MENA—THE TECH services,” as Peer2Peer student coordinators Tzi- Alpha Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta gave out 173 BIDS Anne E. C. McCants and William pora R. Wagner ’12 and Isabella S. Lubin ’13 put it. the most bids, with 37 each. Recruitment saw D. McCants will serve as the new Lubin said that when students feel stressed or a slight increase in the number of registrants housemasters of Burton-Conner overwhelmed, “a lot of them don’t feel comfort- this year, with 350 students registered for the 37 this year. able reaching out to Mental or Medical for the first day. Students who registered and stayed ΑΦ first step,” or that they might have a concern that throughout Recruitment went through a five is best addressed by a fellow student. This is where day process, with three days dedicated to mu- Peer2Peer comes into play. It will be an outlet for tual selection and ranking sororities at the end BC gets new Institute-induced stress — a “safeguard against of the day. ΚΑΘ 37 feeling alone,” said Evan Waldheter, one of the doc- The Tech has contacted the MIT Interfrater- tors from MIT Mental Health who works on the nity Council (IFC) for bid numbers, but as of housemasters program. the deadline for this article, they have not re- The McCants family Although Peer2Peer is similar to the previous sponded with statistics on the results of Rush. ΣΚ 36 Nightline service with respect to its volunteer staff returns to dorm row and peer-based support services, the similarities Reactions from students end there. “We are not trying to reopen Nightline. “My favorite part was getting to meet so By Rachel Agyemang This is a service that has been built from the ground many cool people and seeing what the sorori- 33 up,” said Wagner. ties were really about,” said Christina K. Bray ΑΧΩ Burton-Conner #111, the housemas- Peer2Peer hopes to increase student usage ’16, who participated in Recruitment. “It’s a lot ters’ apartment, has new residents. On from that of Nightline using what Wagner calls the easier to learn about them by talking to people Aug. 31, the new housemasters, history “low barrier” email platform. Rheinila Fernandes, 30 Professor Anne E. C. McCants and her also from MIT Mental Health, notes some students Sorority recruitment, Page 13 ΠΒΦ husband, William D. “Bill” McCants, a may feel more comfortable communicating online senior attorney with the Office for Civil rather than via phone call. “The main objective is Rights in the U.S. Department of Educa- just to increase accessibility to students who may tion, moved into their new home. They not otherwise feel comfortable reaching out,” said follow Professor Merrit Roe Smith and Waldheter. Items go up for grabs 11 a.m. at http://career-fair.mit.edu to Bronwyn M. Mellquist, who stepped Peer2Peer will also operate 24/7 thanks to the IN Short — 1 p.m. prepare for the Career Fair! down after eight years. Minor completion forms online model. According to Wagner, Peer2Peer The McCants are no strangers to are due this Friday for final- student volunteers will spend “two to three hours Representatives from Bal- Head to List Visual Arts dorm row. They served for 10 years as term seniors. Turn them in, or a week answering emails” at any time of the day, four will be on campus this Center Friday for a second the housemasters for Green Hall starting face a $50 late fee! and students who write to Peer2Peer can expect Thursday and Friday to han- chance to borrow art. First in 1992 when it was a graduate women’s an answer within a few hours. Students interested dle servicing issues with your come, first serve! dorm. In 2002, when Simmons Hall first Choose to reuse! Drop off in volunteering can email [email protected] for Brass Rats. opened, the McCants were expected to your old things at Stata be- more information. Send news information and assume the role of housemasters there, ginning 8 a.m this Thursday. Drop your resume online tips to [email protected]. Peer2Peer, Page 6 BC housemasters, Page 14 RLAD Process POLLinG the nation haVinG A BALL SPorts shorts! SECTIONS World & Nation . .2 Yost’s update on the State of the Race. Highlights from the MIT Check out a quick not A FaiLUre Opinion . .4 OPINION, p. 4 Ballroom Dance Concert. recap of some MIT A rebuttal to The Tech ’s Campus Life . .10 PHOTO, p. 9 events this week. August 31 editorial. serVice anD coMMUnitY Fun Pages . 11 OPINION, p. 4 SPORTS, p. 16 Sports . .16 How sorority life led me to Oak Ridge, TN. CAMPUS LIFE, p. 10 2 The Tech Tuesday, September 18, 2012 Bomb threat against Louisiana D campus spurs evacuation UN reports sharp jump in Thousands of people were evacuated from the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on Monday after a telephoned bomb threat, the fourth such evacuation on a col- attacks on Syrian civilians lege campus in four days. The threat to LSU was called in to the 911 dispatcher for East By Hwaida Saad against those responsible. police station there in June, they WORL Baton Rouge Parish at 10:32 a.m., and the campus was evacu- and Nick Cumming-Bruce The report, completed last killed two snipers on the roof. The ated within an hour, said Herb Vincent, a spokesman for the THE NEW YORK TIMES month, said that both anti- and fighters, referring to an opposition N university. pro-government forces had com- group of army defectors known as “No specifics given, but we deemed it necessary to evacu- BEIRUT — With the Syrian con- mitted war crimes and crimes the Free Syrian Army, explained ate,” he said, adding that although the school has 29,000 flict reported to be spilling into the against humanity. Pinheiro said that “everyone saw that they had students enrolled, it was difficult to say how many were on Lebanese border area on Monday, that the evidence, including names been shooting at us and killing FSA campus. U.N. investigators said civilians of people and units, could support fighters, so there was no need for a The authorities were still searching buildings late Monday were bearing the brunt of indis- action by national or international trial.” but were allowing people into residential buildings and dining criminate air and ground assaults courts. Underscoring the reach of the ATIO facilities, which had been cleared. in the fighting over the future of A report released on Monday conflict and its regional perils, On Friday, bomb threats were called in to three other col- President Bashar Assad. by Human Rights Watch, based in Lebanon’s Ministry of Informa- leges around the country, including the University of Texas at The report was presented to New York, raised further concerns tion said that the Syrian Air Force Austin. In all three cases, campus wide evacuations were or- the U.N. Human Rights Council in about rights abuses by anti-gov- raided an area near the Syrian- dered, police officers conducted sweeps, and students, faculty Geneva by Paulo Pinheiro, the Bra- ernment fighters.