Approaching China With Culturally-Sensitive Activism
Tuesdayâs edition of <i>The Tech</i> brought the Chinese human rights debate to MIT. Opposite of Perez-Francoâs searing cartoon criticism of Chinaâs policies towards Tibet and Sudan were the impassioned defenses of Liang and Guo, two graduate students from the PRC.
COD Should Face Tough Questions
Outrage over a threatening e-mail sent by Artem Krasnoslobodtsev (Kraus) G, in which he called members of the Sloan Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community âfucking fags,â is well deserved.
Letters to the Editor
In an age where you can learn more about a person from the internet than you can from meeting him or her face to face, leave it to me to have not âGoogledâ myself since my first semester at MIT nearly 6 years ago. I recently left Cambridge to begin graduate school, and I couldnât help but begin to wonder whether my new friends and colleagues were sneaking a curious peek at my life via Google, MySpace, Facebook, and the like. I searched for my name today and unfortunately came upon an article which, to this day, still irks me with its inaccuracies and implications as to my actions as well as those of my sisters during recruitment: âAEPhiâs Return to Jewish Identity Spurs De-pledgings, De-affiliations.â As such, I would like to take the opportunity to correct a few things.
Jessop and Bennie for UA Leadership
The role of Undergraduate Association President is rigorous, time-consuming, and often thankless. It is no insignificant challenge to provide guidance and leadership to the UA committees, supply a voice to the Senate, maintain relationships with other student governments, and develop a rapport with the âpowers that beâ on campus. An outstanding President must do all these things while constantly fighting for the interests of students. And the UA President must do so in a system that, by design, discounts studentsâ voice. Only candidates with ability, passion, and self-assuredness can accomplish lasting change. We recommend that you vote for the ticket of Noah S. Jessop â09 and Michael A. Bennie â10, which is most likely to excel.
Corrections
Because of an editing error, Fridayâs story âGSC Officers Electedâ reported that incoming Graduate Student Council president Oaz Nir is the current editor of <i>Graduate Student News</i>. He was its editor last year. The story also incorrectly reported that the officers had been elected to serve in the 2007â2008 rather than the 2008â2009 school year.
Star Simpson: Part of the MIT Family
<i>If we were President Susan Hockfield, hereâs the letter that we would write concerning Star A. Simpson â10:</i>
Letters to the Editor
The whitewashing of the cast of the movie â21,â based on Ben Mezrichâs best-seller <i>Bringing Down the House</i> is indeed wrong, and almost enough to get me from seeing it. However, unfortunately I got convinced by some friends into spending $8 to go and see it, only to realize that, much worse than the way the whitewashing treats Asians is the picture in which MIT is painted.
Corrections
A page 11 table in the April 1, 2008 issue of <i>The Tech</i> omitted one of the candidates for 2010 Class Council. Barry D. Bannon â10 is running for Class of 2010 Vice President.
Letters to the Editor
The Recording Industry Association of America continues to send âpre-litigation settlement lettersâ to college students throughout our country.
Today I Wish I Were a Harvard Man
Last night Dean for Student Life Larry G. Benedict sent the MIT community a letter warning about the dangers of copyright infringement. As I read through this and past letters to campus, I came to realize something extraordinary. Youâll have to take my word on how insane it feels to write these words, but today I wish I were a Harvard man. Why? Simply put, because unlike our own Institute, Harvard treats its students with respect.
Green Hall: No Longer Home for Female Graduate Students
The residents of Green Hall were recently informed that Green Hall, opened in 1983 in honor of Ida Flansburgh Green, a major MIT benefactor and advocate of graduate studies for women, would no longer function as a graduate womenâs dormitory. As a resident and transition coordinator of Green Hall, I would like to share the perspectives from Green Hall residents on how the MIT administration has handled this matter.
â21â Discriminatory Casting Unjustified
Several years ago, when I first heard that the best-selling book <i>Bringing Down the House</i> would be made into a Hollywood movie, I was beyond excited. However, now that â21â is out, no matter how much I try to rationalize the casting decisions behind this film, I remain outraged as an American. I will attempt to explain why Hollywoodâs discriminatory casting process behind this film is offensive, why over 600 members on a Facebook group have called for its boycott, and why several prominent newspapers and blogs have criticized this movie, with one writer even calling it âmoving Asian Americans to the back of the bus.â
Letters to the Editor
The pro-independence protests that Tibetans around the world kicked off this past week should be allowed to continue in a peaceful manner. Timed to coincide with the 49th anniversary of the Dalai Lamaâs escape from Lhasa, Tibet to Dharmasala, India, these protests stand for an impressively sustained defiance against the Chinese political machine. It is most disappointing that neighboring India has decided to detain protesters for no apparent reason. It demonstrates Indiaâs willingness to bow to Chinaâs political wishes for the sake of maintaining relations. While this may be the correct diplomatic move, no individual who cares for the well-being of other human beings should be able to genuinely accept it. It is a heinous crime. The monks have the right to non-violent protest and let them exercise it, be it in Lhasa, New Delhi, Kathmandu, or Washington, D.C. If human rights are sacrificed so easily now, what will happen in the future when the economic clout of certain countries grows? As the Olympics approach, let us all remember we are human beings and not let others be treated so trivially in the name of superficial purpose.
Letters to the Editor
<i>This letter is in response to </i>The Techâ<i>s March 4 article on the death of Robert M. Wells â08:</i>
Corrections
The March 4, 2008 article on the birthday of Random Hall incorrectly referred to the death of Elizabeth H. Shin â02 as occurring six years ago. Shin died in 2000, eight years ago.
Support Graduate Pass/D/Fail
The MIT Mission states: âThe Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the worldâs great challenges.â Many of the challenges facing the world today, ranging from curing diseases to tackling energy issues, from harnessing information technology to understanding brain and mind, require solutions that span multiple disciplines. As a result, scientists and engineers increasingly face the need to be versatile in their knowledge, and also the need to work with colleagues from different backgrounds.
Letters to the Editor
<i>This letter is in response to Kevin Wangâs March 4, 2008 column, âNot Even Fit For a Last Mealâ:</i>
Corrections
The Feb. 26, 2008 captions for the Bexxxley Roxxx Some More concert incorrectly identified a band as The Peaches. The band is actually called The Pears.
Financial Aid Leaves Out Middle Class
The article about the Senate requesting MITâs information on endowment and tuition on Friday, Feb 22, makes things sound reasonable enough, but itâs glossing over some of the ugly facts underlying MITâs financial aid policies.
Letters to the Editor
If I were to say that the NFLâs governing body is smarter than the administrations of our nationâs wealthiest universities, would you believe me? People may look in wonder at the nature of the statement, asking themselves âHow could a handful of individuals in the sports business outwit those that are responsible for educating our nationâs brightest students?â The answer is simple: they understand that their own success depends on the success of the group.