.; I~~u,*pprrsrr~~~~~~~,--Dn---.7. 77'.·.''i '''-j*;_2;-ma ^i I- **'i-S cI. zrrI -7711-7 .-- I -, ", I ,t ,', ;-', , ., - - - -I aAe I d * h |MIT .:- . 0 cambridge, ' Massachusetts Tuesday, Septeber ,'1-7, 1991 .. .~~~~~~~~~~ '. 'd . ..,_.. not be offered Professors am too busy this year By Eric Richard ment last October when Mark S. After two years of successful Wrighton, the previous depart- operation, the freshman science ment chair, became provost. option of Chemistry, Maeriais Because the biogy dPart- Science and Biology (SP01 and ment was busy developing new SP02) has been cancelled, and courses for its requirement, and will soon be replaced by two sim- the professors in the chemistry ilar courses, according to Profes- and material science and engi- sor of Chemistry Robert J. Silbey neering departments were all re- 1i '42. ',sponsible for other courses, no !) For the last two years, fresh- faculty members were available men could satisfy their chemistry to replace the course's original Vipul Shshan/The Tect h requirement with either Princi- teaching staff. Silbey also attrib- (above} performed last Thursday in the Sala de Puelrto pies in Chemistry (5.11), Intro- uted this to a "lack of enthusi- Rat concert of the.semester, sponsored by the Studenlt duction to Solid State Chemistry asm" in each of the departments. (3.091) or the SP01/SP02 combi- Efforts underway ,eIt~-n ... h:h r mA nsAtl hp +twn Eft nation, wmcn conolleal:u tIu[ two to replace class chemistry courses with Introduc- tion to Biology (previously Despite this, efforts are al- known as 7.01, now 7.012 and ready underway to create similar HASS-Ds are oversubscribed 7.013). classes that will be offered in the The SPO1/SP02 program was future. By Sabrina Kwon caveat. Last September, he was existing three this year, thus mak- cancelled when scheduling con- Silbey said, "There is no ques- Despite the increased number bumped from Introduction to ing the course open to 125 stu- flicts between two of the pro- tion that chem and material sci- of 'Humanities, Arts and Social Fiction (21.003), which was listed dents, 31 students were ultimately gram's three professors occurred. ence will put something together. Sciences Distribution (HASS-D) with such a tag. "bumped off" because 156 peo- Vernon M. Ingram, professor of They have already agreed to that, subjects offered this semester, He explained, "As we left the ple had signed up for the class. biology, went on sabbatical at the and simply need to work out a many of them continue to be first lecture, -the professor an- In sharp contrast, only eight stu- end of last year. Silbey took over syllabus. I also wouldn't doubt oversubscribed, according to nounced, -'Oh yeah; we're going as head of the chemistry depart- (Please turn to page 2) many students. to have a lottery ... and I plan All HASS-D classes limit en- to take-only 18 students' That ro.!!me.netto 25,.sudents per-reci- really [upset me] because it didn't tation section. When a section is even say-'lottery-to be held' on Reading room use growing o:,ersubscrlbm. a- lottery is used my schedule card. Even worse is to determine Which 25 stu/eitS itat:sotitefy7 ignyt/Qntilr'the ues- wD'Egha- Sse:,htla Room is often a more popular budget. Other periodicals are do- will be able'to stay in each traY, so I'm-in HASS-D limbo un- After six :.months, the fifth- studying area for the-:students at nated-by foreign,' embassies. section. til then." . .em fl-o0r Juliusi-: . 'Sfratton '23 Stu- the West end of campus, while Thee reading room is particular- Gall D)enesvich '95,:who' failed dent Center Reading Room con- the students at the other end of ly busy during mid-terms and "Uneven~Ien~rollmentB~" in campus go to Hayden Library in- to-get into Introduction toPsy- HASS-DsUeen cittedenrollment" as problem in tinues to be a popular studying finals periods. There was also chology (9.-00), complained that - ied d p... m area-fo s r tudents. stead. "The reading room is some concern that students "it is an inconvenience now that I - HASS Office Coordinator According to Ted E. Johnson, more convenient for students on would not have a place to study have to find a HASS-DL) that is BetteK. Davis felt the problem is program coordinator for the the [west] end of campus," said during Residence/Orientation both interesting and fits into my- not so much oversubscription as Campus Activities Complex, the Director of Libraries Jay K. Week, when the reading room schedule." it-is "chronically uneven enroll- reading room is "a needed study Lucker. was closed to make room for the As a freshman, Denesvich had ment" for the 52 HASS-Ds being area-in the student center." Open Reading room hours will have Elsewhere Lounge. lowest priority in the lottery, offered this term, five of which 24 hours a day, the room is set up no effect on the hours for Hay- Students seem to be especially for pleased with the quiet atmo- which cut her chances for enroll- are level III and IV foreign lan- both for private study and den, which will continue to be ment- considerably. However, up- guage classes. "There are quite a group studying. Moreover, cur- open for 24 hours, Lucker said. sphere and the accessibility of the perclassmen also' seem angered few small enrollment classes rent domestic and international "It's perfectly appropriate to reading room. Chris Blanc '93 by the system. A junior, who which are -excellent,' which are newspapers and international have two 24-hour study areas." said, "It's like a library, but it's wished to remain anonymous, well reviewed in the Course Eval- magazines are available in the He also pointed out that Hayden closer [to where I live]." Another pre-registered for Playwriting uation Guide, that somehow lounge area. serves a different function than student, Donald M. Williams (21.702J), in part because the don't gel more than a handful of Since it is monitored, there is the reading room, as it is a li- '94, liked the fact that it is not as MIT Student's Guide to the Hu- students," Davis said. not much of a problem of stu- brary and not just a study area. formal as a library and does not nanities, Arts and Social Sci- - Citing 21.003 as an example, dents "living" there, Johnson have as many restrictions. Luis ences did not tag the class with Davis explained that even though said. The only connection between A. Lopez '91 found the room the "enrollment may be limited" two sections were added to the The Stratton Center Reading the libraries and the reading "very quiet - it's perfect for the English-language I·l-a -ss I I ---· r I=--, --· "1------- room is that studying." But he did mention newspapers for the reading room that certain areas of the room are paid for out of the library could use more lighting. GSC pushes a-gain for ABD status _ /l_ l By Lakshmasa Rao The tuition paid by doctoral students while they are working on their dissertations is not likely to be reduced in the near future, Faculty Chair J. Kim Vandiver told the Graduate Stu- dent Council at last Thursday's meeting. ,.Vandiver, who is a professor of ocean engi- neering, said that the Institute would consider lowering the tuition for ' doctoral students with All But Dissertation (ABD) status if it could af- ford to. T1·: Currently, all graduate' students-havieikto.pay fullauitioneven w 'hilethye arewr theyeir doc- toral dissertations and not taking any courses or using any Institute facilities. The GSC has been .asking that tuition be-reduced for these students on ABD status. ., MIT is one of four universities in the country Vipul Bhushan/The Tech which funds graduate students' tuition out of the Chairman of the Faculty J. Kim Vandiver Employee Benefit (EB) pool, which is normally Vandiver said that professors who hire graduate used to pay faculty and'staff .members. To do students would have to pay their $20,000-a-year this, the"institute charges-fsederally-sponsonred re-- tltion-instead. "If this happens, the cost of hir- searchprojects an additional 40.5 cents -for every ring a graduate student by a faculty member dollar spent on salaries. In addition, all research could go up from $30,000 to $50,000 per an- funding sources.must payindirect costs of 57.5 num. The faculty will then be-under pressure to cents on every dolHar to 'coverthe Institute's op- reduce the number of graduate: students hired by erationalbudget: . ;,:' one third," he said. Vandiver said thiat the Office of Management Vandiver was relieved that "currently, -the and Budget (OMB)reeently suggested that grad- burner is off-the tuition part of the total employ- uate student tuition be funded.from a source ee benefits charged on salaries," but he was con- Vipul Bhushan/The Tech other than the EB pool. If that happens, Rahul T. Rao '94 studies in the reading room on the fifth (Pieceturn to page 13) floor of the Julius A. Stratton '23 Student Center yesterday. L ~~~~IIj I I I . .I . ,, .. , . ,,,; . .. ,,, . , . ... ..... I PAGE 2 The Tech TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER. 17, 1991 .. I- . ... --- ~ -,. I im~~ ~ ~~ ~. m , ,. I MIT water is generally safe to drink YOM KIP I p scale between O and 14, where numbers less than 7 A -,:7:: Dl'-b are acids and those greater than 7 are bases. Water, -bD9-71D . .. Feature considered neutral, has a pH of 7.