• MlT's The Weather Oldest and Largest Today: Chilly, clear, 27°F (-3°C) Tonight: Clear, cold, 4°F (-60C) Newspaper Tomorrow: Sunny, cold, 26°F (-3°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 123, umber 7 Cambridge, Ma Tuesday, February 25,2003 u~ VP Candidates Set for Wed. Debate By Basler Azlz unity. "I really want for everyone in the The race is on, and not surpris- community to get involved," said ingly the race for Undergraduate Gottlieb, who is running with vice Association ~esident has a lot to do presidential candidate Karen Keller with rush. '04. 'Everyone in dorms, everyone Candidates, however, are in the F ILG community ... all thinking about a number of other 4,000 of us should submit a propos- issues, from the Coffeehouse to aL" SafeRide, and began the process Deora, the current UA vice pres- of distinguishing themselves this ident, expressed similar sentiments. week. "There's a problem within their own Presidential candidates Parul cultures ... we need a campus coali- Deora '04, David B. Gottlieb '04, tion, a group focused on integrating and Pius A. Uzamere II '04 will culture but maintaining unity," said elaborate on their plans at the annu- Deora, who is running with VP can- , al VA Debate tomorrow at 8 p.m. in didate Harel H. Williams 'OS, chair the Student Center Lobby. of the UA Committee of Student Life. Housing dominates list of issues Uzamere, who is running with Rush and housing are pivotal Jacob W. Faber '04, said that dorm issues in this year's election, and the rush needs to be saved. AARON D. MIHAUK-THE TECH candidates all said that the solution Jackie Harris and Colin Mochrle eye the crowd, "Charlie's Angels".style, In Sunday'S perfonnance to the surfacing problems is campus Elections, Page 12 In Kresge Auditorium. Story and photos, page 8. Class of 2005 Brass Rat Features New Guidelines Outline Rush Tombstone, Traditional Seal Response to Jisa De1JJys By Beckett W. Sterner longer periods. By Jay Cameron ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR "Faculty are very generous on Anticipating the potential conse- the whole with their students," Col- Laughter and applause greeted quences of.a mor stringent govem- bert said, and "this policy gives the 2005 Brass Rat as more than ment visa policy for international them the maximum flexibility to use 700 members of the class of 2005 students, a group of deans at MIT their resources" to help students gathered in Walker Memorial last has completed a set of guidelines for unable to return to c1asswork on Saturday for their Ring Premiere. how faculty should deal with inter- time. The latest Rat featured tradition- national graduate students stuck out- He said that of the 2,800 interna- al features, traditional humor, and side the country due to delayed tiona I graduate and undergraduate some new ideas. visas. students at MIT, only about 100 The class shank features the The guidelines attempt to work have seen delays so far because of prominent Great Dome, below within the current procedures at slow visa approval. "We want which sits a cracked tombstone MIT for short-term absences, Dean departments to have guidelines in reading "Rush." for Graduate Students Isaac M. Col- advance" of a problem, he said, and Below the school initials on the bert said, but they leave the final the intent is to "anticipate prob- seal shank lies the original two-man decision to a case by case analysis. lems." MIT Seal. Below this seal are an Long delays could mean a student Erlenmeyer flask and a hip flask; the loses a teaching assistantship or has Rea on for vi a delays un pecified 2005 Brass Rat pamphlet says that matriculation postponed until the Currently, the specific reasons the Erlenmeyer flask represents following year. a visa approval could be held up chemistry-related work and reads The guidelines distinguish are unclear. "A visa delay of days "tool," while the hip flask represents between students delayed less than alcohol-related play and reads "punt." 60 days and those delayed for Delays, Page 18 During the presentation, a few members of the audience booed as a dove, representing peace around the world, was revealed below "punt" First Encounter with MlT's and "tooL" The "Rush" tombstone on this year's ring generated an emotional Culture Proves Rewarding round of applause throughout the By Allison Naaktgeboren true. Well, MIT didn't turn out to be audience. The tombstone represents what it's cracked up to be; it's a the old rush system, which ended Massachusetts Institute of Tech- great deal more than that. after the Class of 2005's rush and nology: the dream school of every My first introduction to MIT orientation. techie, tinkerer, and nerd from New proper was Lobby 7, or rather the The tombstone was inspired by York City people in Lobby 7. ew York City the "rush" tombstone hack during to San claims to be the place where one the Class of 2005 Killian Kickoff, Prejrosh Francisco can see every and any type of peo- said Ring Committee chair Rohit and then ple, but I saw more variety in dress Gupta 'OS, adding that he felt this CLASS OF 2005 RING COMMITTEE Notebook some. Its and ethnicity in twenty minutes in part of the Brass Rat was especially The 2005 Brass Rat design. Pictured are the ring bezel (top), the reputation Lobby 7 than I ever have in ew relevant to the class of 2005. class shank (left), and the seal shank (right). is formidable and the prospect of York City. Speaking of the ring in general, being a lowly prefrosh at such a There also seemed to be a Nao Gamo '05 said, "It's really per- mascot, now a more muscular debated the gender balance of the school is just a tad bit intimidating greater diversity of nationality. sonalized for our class." beaver on the ring's bezel, represent- seal shank on one side of the Brass - yet we come anyway. Before ten hours had elapsed, I had Other features of the ring include ing a campus health consciousness. Rat, which this year features the MIT's fame in academia is eaten dinner with a French student the Boston and Cambridge skylines, official MIT seal. This year the renown, and has spawned rumors and watched Friends with an Eng- a map of MIT engraved on the Little controversy on MIT eat and myths. Prefrosh are no doubt inside of the ring, and QIe Institute In recent years, students have Ring, Page 14 curious to see if any of them are Notebook, Page 18 The Vagina Comics NEWS World & Nation .............. 2 r Morwlogues ~ I I I\\ The Cambridge City Council is "1f.Sl.~ ~ Opinion .................... 4 deliver a considering a new payroll tax \ ~ 1* os:t\ Arts ....................... 6 powerful S\..'OSl1 that could affect MIT. Events Calendar ........... .11 message. ~ ~ S"~1+ Sports ..................... 20 Page 7 Page 9 Page 14 Page2 THETE February 25, 2003 ATIO ajority Believes U.S. Sho d Gain -ted States, Britain, Spain U. Support Before Starting War THE WASHINGTO POST WASHlNGTO Iraq A majority of Americans believe the United tate should work to Present New Resolution gain the support of the U. ecurity Council even if it means delay- By Colum Lynch at least through the middle of the threat to stability." ing war with Iraq, according to a Washington Post-ABC ews poll. THE WASHINGTON POST summer. Ru sian President Bush said the United States The survey found that 56 percent of the public i willing to wait in UNITED ATIO s Vladimir Putin endorsed the pro- would work closely with the coun- order to win U. endorsement o(U .. -Ied military trikes against The United tate, Britain and posal cil's members 'in the days ahead" Iraq. Another 39 percent said the United tates hould ''move quick- pain introduced a new draft ecu- Turkey's cabinet, meanwhile, to ensure that the United Nations' ly," even without the Security Council's backing. rity Council resolution Monday agreed to host tens of thousands of demands that Iraq end its weapons Overall support for taking military action against Iraq stands at 63 declaring that Iraq has squandered American troops who probably programs are enforced. He said the percent, down slightly from 66 percent in a Po t-ABC poll conducted its "final opportunity" to voluntarily would lead a ground invasion council's reaction would be a test ~, two weeks ago. Half the country continues to believe the United disarm and laying the political and through northern Iraq. of whether the international body States should move against Hussein even over the objections of the legal groundwork for a U.S.-led White House spokesman Ari will remain "relevant as the world United ations, unchanged from earlier this month. A majority - 57 military invasion. Fleischer welcomed the decision but confronts the threats to the 21 st percent - would favor taking action without the approval of the The introduction of the resolu- said, "There are stin some 'i' s to be century. United ations if this country had the support of key allies such as tion, which recalls that the 15-nation dotted and 't's to be crossed" before ''We certainly hope that it does," Britain, Australia and Italy. council warned Iraq in ovember the deal is finalized and endorsed by Bush said. "But one way or the President Bush's overall job approval rating, which rose after his that it would face "serious conse- the Turkish parliament. other, Saddam Hussein, for the sake State of the Union address last month, has returned to its pre-speech quences" if it did not scrap its President Bush expressed grow- of peace and for the security of the level.