Volume 125, Number 20 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, April 15, 2005

MIT’sOldest and Largest

Newspaper

The WeatherToday: Sunny, windy, 49°F (9°C)Tonight: Clear, cold, 36°F (2°C)Tomorrow: Cloudy, 56°F (13°C)

Details, Page 2

‘Fever Pitch’An Enjoy-able Movie

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Comics

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NEWSBill proposed in Congress to payfor interest on loans for studentsentering math or sciencecareers.

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World & Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

State and Federal Taxes Due Today

By Keith J. WinsteinSENIOR EDITOR

Yuran Lu ’05 wanted to prove apoint: you can’t trust a strange com-puter.

For twenty years, MIT studentshave sat down in Athena clusters andtyped their passwords to log in.Nobody knows if their computer hasbeen tampered with. Maybe, justmaybe, the computer will steal yourpassword and send it to someonebent on wrongdoing. You mightnever know that somebody else wasreading your e-mail.

Information Services & Technol-ogy knows, as do many students, thatthis kind of tampering is possible.Most people seem to think the risk isacceptable. Instead of trying to lockdown cluster workstations, IS&Tfocuses on detecting tampering andcatching perpetrators.

That wasn’t good enough for Lu,an East Campus senior majoring inelectrical engineering and computerscience as well as mathematics. Sixweeks ago, he modified several pub-lic Athena computers to steal thepassword of everybody who usedthem. He collected about 620 pass-words in 24 hours. Then, on March1, he sent them anonymously toIS&T, The Tech, and the StudentInformation Processing Board.

“Good luck resetting 600 or so pass-words,” he wrote, calling himself the“Athena Insecurity Squad.”

For some of those listed in Lu’se-mail, the effect was like publicnakedness. Some students are proba-bly more candid in their Athenapasswords than with their bestfriends, and all manner of secretcrushes, fetishes, and embarrassingphrases was on display. Addinginjury to insult, IS&T was thenforced to lock everybody on the listout of their e-mail and Athena untilthe next day, when they could callIS&T to change their passwords overthe phone.

“Yes, I did cause a lot of inconve-nience for a lot of people, and withsome better planning and execution,this inconvenience could have beenreduced,” the Athena InsecuritySquad wrote to The Tech three dayslater. “However, I think that a benigncompromise of this scale is the onlyway the administrators of the Athenasystem can be convinced to changetheir security policy. And I feel a realneed for that policy to change, as thecurrent vulnerabilities in Athenatruly make it a dangerous system tohave deployed.”

The next day, March 5, IS&T

East Campus SeniorWas Athena Hacker

By Brian KeeganSTAFF REPORTER

The first signs of constructionon the two-year South Massachu-setts Avenue and Lafayette SquareProject appeared on campus recent-

ly despite lingering safety concernsabout the design.

The Roads Corporation, a con-struction contractor, removed 19trees along Mass. Ave. on Mondayand Tuesday in preparation for roadand sidewalk reconstruction tobegin this summer.

“No MIT trees or landscapingare scheduled to be removed duringthis period,” according to the MITFacilities Web site. The project willreplace these trees with 100 PinOak trees along Mass. Ave.between Memorial Drive andLafayette Square.

GSC expresses safety concerns

The Graduate Student Councilsent a letter last month expressingits safety concerns to City of Cam-bridge officials and MassachusettsState representatives.

Among the concerns mentionedwere a “north-bound bicycle [lane]sandwiched between parked carsand a travel lane,” the “eliminationof parking on the south-bound sideof Massachusetts Avenue” thatcould lead to increased trafficspeed, and pull-off areas one foot

GSC Questions Mass. Ave. Safety

By Beckett W. SternerNEWS EDITOR

The Committee on Curriculahas approved the first Institute Labfor the mathematics department,Project Laboratory in Mathematics(18.821).

The class is a combination ofcomputational exploration andmathematical proof, intended toreflect common methods ofresearch in math.

The class “employs the scientif-ic method,” said 18.821 ProfessorHaynes R. Miller. Students work ingroups of three and are presentedwith a very general mathematicalsituation, not necessarily a well-formulated problem, Miller said.

Typically, students will begin aproject by measuring statistics orproperties of the system on a com-puter, then use that to help them

make a conjecture subject to amathematical proof, he said.

Math majors in the past havehad to take Institute Labs in othermajors, ranging from Weather andClimate Laboratory (12.307) toManagerial Psychology Laboratory(15.301).

“The math department hassometimes tried to suggest a courseand had it rejected sort of out ofhand because of a feeling that youcan’t do a laboratory course sittingat a computer,” said Professor ofMathematics Michael Artin, whotaught 18.821 last spring.

Miller said that the course hadgone up for review by the COConce in the past, but that the classhad needed to develop a trackrecord before it could be approved.

COC Approves InstituteLab in Math Department

OMARI STEPHENS—THE TECH

Alexander H. Slocum, Jr. ’08 plays with a large magnet in the student lounge of the ExperimentalStudy Group. The magnet is used in ESG to demonstrate the force caused by eddy currentsinduced in an aluminum license plate by moving it through the magnetic field.

OMARI STEPHENS—THE TECH

Diana Sim ’07 puts up a project for Introduction to the Visual Arts (4.301) in the overpass con-necting buildings 12 and 24. The display offers a multitude of responses to the question, “Whengiven an anonymous outlet, what will you say?”

Yuran Lu, Page 10

Mass. Ave, Page 13

Math Lab, Page 11

By Gardiner HarrisTHE NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON

A federal judge in Utah onThursday struck down a ban on theherbal supplement ephedra, anadrenaline-like stimulant linked todozens of deaths.

The ruling, by U.S. DistrictJudge Tena Campbell, calls intoquestion whether the Food and DrugAdministration can enforce its banon ephedra anywhere in the UnitedStates, although its immediate effectis restricted to Utah. It also prompt-ed calls on Capitol Hill for legisla-tion to crack down on the supple-ments industry.

Campbell’s order calls for theFDA to reconsider the ban consis-tent with the ruling. Bruce Hough,

president of Nutraceutical, the com-pany that brought the suit, said in aninterview that it had no immediateplans to resume the sale of ephedra,which was pulled off the market ayear ago this week.

He said that the companybrought the suit to check the foodand drug agency’s oversight ofnutritional supplements.

“We didn’t file this lawsuitbecause of ephedra,” said Hough,whose company is based in Utah.“We filed it because the FDA estab-lished rules that could cause prob-lems to the rest of our business.”

An FDA spokeswoman said theagency was still evaluating the rul-ing. No determination has beenmade about an appeal.

Dr. Julian Bailes, chairman of

neurosurgery at West Virginia Uni-versity School of Medicine, said theruling was “a green light to abusethis substance again.”

Bailes’ research established thelink between ephedra and heat strokedeaths among young athletes.Ephedra has been linked to more than80 deaths, though the estimates varywidely. More adverse reactions werereported from the use of ephedra thanfrom the use of all other herbal sup-plements combined, Bailes said.

Campbell stated in her rulingthat the FDA had failed to provethat low doses of ephedra were dan-gerous. In fact, the agency wascaught in something of a bind. Itsuspected that all doses posed a risk,suggesting that further researchwould have been unethical.

WORLD & NATIONPage 2 THE TECH April 15, 2005

Intelligence Nominee Vows Aggressive Use of Powers

By Douglas JehlTHE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON

The Air Force general nominated to become the country’s No. 2intelligence official said Thursday that American intelligence agen-cies needed to push “right up to that line,” established under privacylaws, in using eavesdropping, surveillance and other tools to gatherinformation.

The nominee, Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, told the Senate Intelli-gence Committee that he was committed to ensuring that all Ameri-can intelligence activities fell within the bounds defined by the lawand the Constitution.

But after six years spent heading American eavesdropping effortsas director of the National Security Agency, Hayden also made thecase that American agencies needed to be aggressive in employingtheir powers.

In response to questions, he told the committee that it would bevital to ensure “that we’re not pulling punches, that we’re using all ofthe abilities that Congress has given us under the law.”

Propellant is Loaded on Shuttle In Major Test Before Launching

By Stefano S. ColedanTHE NEW YORK TIMES CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.

In a major test of its plan to return the space shuttle fleet to orbit,NASA pumped half a million gallons of propellant into the Discoveryfuel tank on Thursday and conducted a practice countdown to 31 sec-onds before liftoff.

NASA plans to launch the Discovery between May 15 and June 3.A crew of seven is to fly on a 12-day mission to deliver critical sup-plies to the International Space Station. Besides food and water, offi-cials expect the shuttle to carry a gyroscope, one of four devicesneeded to keep the station properly oriented.

A spokesman for NASA, W. Bruce Buckingham, called the exer-cise “a full-up test of the external tank and the main propulsion sys-tem.”

“We’re basically doing everything but fire the engines,” Bucking-ham said.

The fueling on Thursday was the first time in more than two yearsthat the team had fueled a shuttle with the super-cold mixture of liq-uefied oxygen and hydrogen gases.

Venezuela Tightens Grip On Private Oil Companies

By Brian EllsworthTHE NEW YORK TIMES CARACAS, VENEZUELA

In a new revenue-raising measure, Venezuela’s energy ministrysaid Thursday that private oil companies operating in the country willhave to convert to joint ventures with the government within sixmonths.

Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said at a news conference onThursday that the operating agreements would have to be swappedfor ventures that are 51 percent state-owned and pay royalties of 30percent.

The fields in question produce roughly 500,000 barrels of oil aday of Venezuela’s total production of 2.6 million barrels a day.

The energy ministry, along with the national oil company,Petroleos de Venezuela, “will begin a process of discussion with the32 operating agreements so that we can reach the objective of themigration of these contracts to the existing law,” Ramirez said.

He added that this would benefit the Venezuelan government aswell as “the companies that want to continue operating in our coun-try.”

American Trader Is ChargedIn U.N. Oil-for-Food ScandalBy Julia Preston and Judith MillerTHE NEW YORK TIMES

An American oil trader and aKorean lobbyist with a scandalouspast were charged on Thursday inconnection with illegal profits fromthe U.N. oil-for-food program dur-ing Saddam Hussein’s reign in Iraq.

In an indictment, federal authori-ties in New York said David B.Chalmers, a Houston oil business-man, and his company, Bayoil,made millions of dollars in illegalkickback payments to Saddam’sgovernment while trading oil underthe $65 billion aid program.

Separate charges were filedagainst Tongsun Park, a millionaireSouth Korean businessman, for act-ing as an unregistered lobbyist forIraq in behind-the-scenes negotia-tions in the United States to set upand shape the U.N. program. Thecriminal complaint states that Parkreceived at least $2 million in pay-ments from Saddam’s governmentfor serving as a liaison betweenIraqi and U.N. officials.

Park was at the center of a lob-bying scandal in the 1970s, when hewas accused of bribing lawmakersin Washington to secure their sup-port for loans to South Korea.

Chalmers’ company, BayoilUSA, Inc., was the first Americancompany to be indicted in thewidening criminal investigations ofthe oil-for-food program, which wasestablished by the United Nations in1995 to sell Iraqi oil for revenue tobuy humanitarian supplies forIraqis.

The U.S. authorities not onlycharged that Bayoil made illegalpayments to secure Iraqi oil, butalso that it conspired to artificiallylower the price Iraq received,depriving the Iraqi people ofresources for needed food and medi-cine. The charges also disclosednew information about alleged pay-ments to senior U.N. officials toinfluence the program.

Catherine M. Recker, a lawyerfor Chalmers, said Bayoil’s associ-ates and the company would pleadnot guilty and “vigorously dispute”the criminal charges.

According to federal authoritiesand the complaint against Park, hewas a partner in the lobbying effortwith Samir Vincent, an Iraqi-Ameri-can businessman who pleaded guiltyin January to illegal lobbying forIraq. Vincent, who is cooperatingwith federal investigators, said thatIraqi officials signed agreements in

1996 to pay him and Park $15 mil-lion for their lobbying, the com-plaint states.

One of their tasks was “to takecare of” a high-ranking U.N. offi-cial, which Vincent understood tomean bribery, the complaint says.

The U.S. authorities did notidentify or charges the U.N. official.

Park and Vincent met at leastthree times in 1993 with Saddam’sofficials and the U.N. official —twice in Manhattan and once inGeneva. They later received cashfrom Iraq for at least $2.2 million,delivered from Baghdad in diplo-matic pouches. Vincent alsoreceived grants to sell at least 9 mil-lion barrels of Iraqi oil, the com-plaint said.

David N. Kelley, the U.S. attor-ney in Manhattan, said the com-plaint alleges that Park intended tobribe the U.N. official, but does notshow that the official received anybribe.

The complaint also charges thatPark met with a second unamedsenior U.N. official, once in a restau-rant in Manhattan. After that, Parksaid he invested $1 million he waspaid by Iraq in a Canadian companybelonging to the son of the secondU.N. official, the complaint states.

Judge Ends Ban on Ephedra,Says FDA Should Rethink Rule

Bendita PrimaveraBy Roberto RondanelliSTAFF METEOROLOGIST

The season of love and allergies is finally showing upin all its splendor. It didn’t seem so on Tuesday, though,when snowflakes were observed all over the Bostonarea. However, good news is in order for the longweekend. Right now, our weather is being influenced bythe cold advection of a moving high pressure systemlocated over eastern Canada. As the high moves towardsthe southeast, the center of the anticyclone will belocated over New England (Saturday around noon), andthe cold advection will give rise to light winds and clearskies.

In the mid-troposphere chart, a large scale ridgeappears as the major player of next week. Dry and warmconditions can be expected for the first days of nextweek. Highs close to 70ºF (21ºC) can be anticipated.

Extended Forecast:

Today: Mostly Clear. High 49ºF (9ºC)Tonight: Clear. Low 36ºF (2ºC)Saturday: Clear. High 56ºF (13ºC)Sunday: Mostly Clear. Low 42ºF (6ºC). High 70ºF (21ºC)

40°N

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Precipitation Symbols

Compiled by MITMeteorology Staff

and The Tech

Other Symbols

WEATHERSituation for Noon Eastern Standard Time, Friday, April 15, 2005

April 15, 2005 WORLD & NATION THE TECH Page 3

Lilly’s Patent On Schizophrenia Drug Upheld

By Alex BerensonTHE NEW YORK TIMES

A federal district judge in Indianapolis upheld Eli Lilly’s patenton Zyprexa, a treatment for schizophrenia that was among the top-selling drugs in the United States last year, with $2.4 billion in sales.

Lilly had sued three generic drug companies to protect its patent,after the generic companies claimed that the patent was invalidbecause Zyprexa is too similar to other chemical compounds whosepatents have already expired. In a 224-page ruling, Judge Richard L.Young backed Lilly’s position, finding Zyprexa different than theother compounds and worthy of protection.

The verdict protects Lilly’s monopoly on selling Zyprexa in theUnited States until 2011, when its patent expires.

Sidney Taurel, the chairman of Lilly, applauded the verdict andsaid the company expected to win any appeal. The three generic com-panies did not announce Thursday night whether they would appeal,but analysts say an appeal is almost certain.

“We’ve been very confident that our patents were valid andenforceable,” Taurel said.

The ruling was issued after the close of regular trading on theNew York Stock Exchange. In after-hours trading following the rul-ing, Lilly shares jumped about 7 percent.

Europeans Link Lifting China Arms Ban to Human Rights

By By Richard BernsteinTHE NEW YORK TIMES BERLIN

On Thursday, Europe seemed farther away than ever from lift-ing its 16-year-old arms embargo on China, following commentsby the German foreign minister and a vote in the European Parlia-ment, both of which urged linking the embargo question to humanrights.

“We want to reach a consensus, but this requires that everyone inthe European Union votes in favor,” Joschka Fischer, the Germanforeign minister, said in a parliamentary debate on the embargo ques-tion. “For this, it is necessary for China also to move.”

Fischer called on China to “ease administrative detentions andabove all move toward a peaceful settlement of the disputes acrossthe Taiwan Strait.”

The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, voted431-85, with 31 abstentions, in favor of a resolution urging the Euro-pean Union not to lift the arms embargo.

The resolution, which is nonbinding but reflective of Europeanpublic opinion, was sharply critical of China for adopting legislationrecently that would require China to go to war in the event of signifi-cant moves by Taiwan toward independence.

The “so-called anti-secession law,” the resolution said, “aggra-vates the situation across the strait in an unjustified way.”

Oregon High Court Voids 3,000Same-Sex Marriages

By Sarah KershawTHE NEW YORK TIMES

Oregon’s highest court ruled Thursday that 3,000 same-sex mar-riages performed a year ago in one county were unlawful, saying thecounty had overstepped its authority and that the marriage licenses ithad issued were unconstitutional under Oregon law.

The Oregon Supreme Court justices focused heavily in their high-ly anticipated opinion on a vote by Oregonians in November approv-ing a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as a unionbetween one man and one woman. But they also ruled that evenbefore the ballot measure was approved by a wide margin, Oregonlaw had already rendered the marriages, conducted last March andApril in Multnomah County, illegal.

“County officials were entitled to have their doubts about the con-stitutionality of limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples,” JusticeW. Michael Gillette wrote for the court. “But, marriage and the lawsgoverning it are matters of statewide, not local, concern.”

The court ruling also said, “Today, marriage in Oregon — aninstitution once limited to opposite-sex couples only by statute —now is so limited by the state constitution as well.”

Supporters of same-sex marriage said they would not abandontheir quest for full marriage rights, but in the meantime would workto win passage of legislation that would allow civil unions for gaycouples. Vermont is the only state that sanctions civil unions,although legislatures in Oregon and Connecticut are debating theoption.

More Than 10,000 Are Arrested in Dragnet

By Eric LichtblauTHE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON

The Justice Department Thursday announced the arrests of morethan 10,000 fugitives, many of them suspects in violent crimes likemurder, rape, kidnapping and armed robbery, as part of a weeklongroundup around the country that concluded this week.

The operation netted more suspects than any other initiative of itskind in American law enforcement, officials said. The coordinatedeffort produced a rate of fugitive arrests more than fives times the ratein a typical week last year.

From dawn on April 4 to midnight last Sunday, some 3,100 lawenforcement officers from 959 federal, state and local agenciesfanned out in search of fugitives wanted on outstanding arrest war-rants. Squads of law enforcement officials at all levels of governmentroutinely conduct such searches on a near-daily basis, but officialssaid this was the first time a roundup had been tried on a coordinated,nationwide level.

Texas led the way with 902 arrests, followed by Tennessee with785, Florida with 685, Ohio with 631, Oklahoma with 565, Californiawith 507, Illinois with 401, Pennsylvania with 368, Louisiana with349 and New York with 345.

Overhaul in Bankruptcy LawsPasses House With Big MarginBy Stephen LabatonTHE NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON

The House of Representativesoverwhelmingly approved a majoroverhaul of the nation’s bankruptcylaws on Thursday, completing con-gressional action on the measureand sending it to President Bush forhis signature.

The 302-126 vote adopted thefirst significant revision of the bank-ruptcy laws in 27 years and is theculmination of years of intensivelobbying by the nation’s largestbanks, credit card companies andretailers, who have complainedabout what they say is a rising tideof abusive bankruptcy filings.

It is a major victory for Bush,who supported the measure, and asharp setback for civil rights organi-zations and labor and consumergroups. They say the new law willbe a huge giveaway to special inter-ests at the expense of many middle-and lower-income families.

Those groups say that abuses ofthe bankruptcy system are episodic,

not systemic, and that the increasein filings over the last 30 years is asymptom of other societal problems,like the growing number of unin-sured families facing high medicalbills. They also link the increase tothe sharp rise in promotion by creditcard companies, banks and retailersof easy credit often accompanied byhidden and high fees.

Supporters of the legislation beatback a variety of attempts to forcelenders to cut fees, expand disclo-sure and curtail what critics havecalled the abusive marketing tacticsof banks and credit card companies.The supporters also beat back aseries of amendments that wouldhave curtailed what the critics saidwere the abusive bankruptcy prac-tices of corporations like Enron andWorldCom.

Bush hailed the House vote.The Senate passed the same bill

last month by a vote of 74-25.When it takes effect six months

after it is signed by the president,the new law will disqualify manyfamilies from taking advantage of

the more generous provisions of thecurrent bankruptcy code, whichsince 1898 had permitted bankrupt-cy filers to extinguish their debt fora “fresh start.”

In its place, the bill wouldimpose a means test that wouldprompt many people to file forbankruptcy protection under Chap-ter 13, which requires a repaymentplan. The means test would not beapplied to debtors who earn lessthan the median income in theirstate. Those who earn more thanthat, and can pay at least $6,000over five years, would have to seekprotection under Chapter 13, ratherthan the more generous provisionsof Chapter 7.

The median income for a familyof four in 2003 was $65,093, rang-ing from $45,867 in New Mexico to$82,561 in Massachusetts, accord-ing to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The bill would also impose sig-nificant new costs on those seekingbankruptcy protection and givelenders and businesses new legaltools for recovering debts.

By Jonathan FuerbringerTHE NEW YORK TIMES

The major stock-market gaugesfell Thursday to their lowest levelsthis year, as investors worried aboutslower economic growth.

The Dow Jones industrial aver-age dropped 1.2 percent, the Stan-dard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1 per-cent, and the technology-heavyNasdaq composite index closeddown 1.4 percent, despite a strongearnings report from Apple Com-puter.

After the market closed, IBMsaid that its first-quarter earnings fellshort of estimates. Shares of IBMfell 4 percent in after-hours trading.

The Nasdaq, now down 10.5percent for the year, has given up allthe gains from last year’s post-elec-tion rally that turned a previouslypoor 2004 into a pretty good yearfor stocks. The Dow, off 4.7 percenton the year, and S&P 500, down 4.1percent in 2005, have given up mostof their post-election gains.

“Almost overnight we have gonefrom worrying about inflation to wor-rying about economic growth,” saidEdward Yardeni, chief investmentstrategist at Oak Associates, a moneymanager based in Akron, Ohio.

Stocks that are sensitive to signsof economic growth led the market

lower Thursday. Caterpillar, Gener-al Motors, 3M, DuPont, Honeywell,United Technologies, Wal-Mart,Citigroup and Alcoa, all in this cate-gory, accounted for about 91 pointsof the Dow’s 125-point decline.Shares of General Motors fell nearly6 percent, to $26.66 — its lowestsince January 1993.

The Morgan Stanley cyclicalindex of 30 stocks fell 2.7 percentThursday, after dropping 1.9 percentWednesday.

After a report Wednesday of aweak 0.3 percent rise in retail saleslast month, and a report Tuesday ofan unexpected surge in the nation’strade deficit in February, some econ-omists have marked down their fore-casts for growth in the first quarter.

These signs of a possible slow-down are making them wonder howmuch more high oil and gasolineprices will slow consumer spendingand whether American exports willcontinue to be weaker than forecast.

The new data and some cautiouscomments from executives that havereported first-quarter earnings haveraised questions about whether theeconomy is headed for a soft patch,Yardeni said.

“But I think the market is react-ing like it is more than a soft patch,”he said.

The hints of softness, combinedwith crude oil prices stubbornlyabove $50 a barrel and worries byFederal Reserve officials aboutinflationary pressures, mean thateven positive corporate news is notenough for investors.

For example, Apple Computerreported spectacular earnings for thethree months ending in March afterthe market closed on Wednesdayand said that the earnings and profitswould be better in the next threemonths. But investors wanted more.Apple’s stock, which led both theS&P 500 and the Nasdaq lowerThursday, plunged $3.78, or 9.2percent, to $37.26. It had dropped3.8 percent on Wednesday beforethe market closed.

Oil prices, which had been slip-ping earlier this week, did not helpThursday. After coming tantalizing-ly close to falling below $50 a bar-rel on Wednesday, crude oil forMay delivery on the New YorkMercantile Exchange rose 91 cents,or 1.8 percent, to $51.13.

Not everyone is convinced thatthe economy is slowing. In a note toclients Thursday, economists atUBS said, “We would argue againstextrapolating this weakening asmuch more than a temporary pat-tern.”

Bush Says World Bank President WillHelp Israel Manage Gaza WithdrawalSteven Weisman

THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON

The Bush administrationannounced Thursday that JamesWolfensohn, the outgoing presidentof the World Bank, would become aspecial coordinator to help Israelcarry out its handover of Gaza to thePalestinians.

Israel announced in December2003 that it would withdraw unilat-erally from Gaza and portions of theWest Bank. It plans to begin theprocess by this summer. But Israeli,Palestinian, European and Americanofficials have expressed growingconcern in the last few weeks aboutthe lack of coordination with thePalestinians and of planning for theperiod after Israel withdraws.

In particular, concern has beenexpressed about the possibledestruction of facilities left behindby Israel that could be used by thePalestinians for economic develop-ment.

The appointment of Wolfensohn,

who has mobilized financial aid andworked with Israeli and Palestinianleaders for 10 years at the WorldBank, was made with the support ofthe European Union, the UnitedNations and Russia, the so-called“quartet” of partners backing theMiddle East peace plan known asthe “road map.”

“I would expect to be over therein the next couple weeks to do pre-liminary work and to listen,”Wolfensohn said in an interviewafter Secretary of State Condoleez-za Rice announced his appoint-ment. “My first job is to listen tothe Israelis and the Palestinians andtry to assess the situation and seewhat the gaps are and how we canhelp.”

Rice said that Wolfensohn wouldfocus on coordinating “non-militaryaspects” of the withdrawal, includ-ing economic reconstruction and thetransfer of housing, businesses, pub-lic buildings, greenhouses and otherassets to Palestinian control.

“The responsibility for peace

ultimately rests with the two parties,and Wolfensohn can only help themachieve what they are willing toachieve together,” Rice said.

Last week, former Prime Minis-ter Shimon Peres warned at anAspen Institute conference inWashington that without furtherpreparations, efforts to salvagebadly needed economic facilities inGaza — such as the many green-houses that could employ thousandsof Palestinians — could lead totheir being destroyed in the pulloutprocess.

Western diplomats say they havebeen especially dismayed over divi-sions within the Palestinian govern-ment of President Mahmoud Abbas,with Abbas favoring coordinationwith the Israelis but an increasinglypowerful faction led by Prime Min-ister Ahmed Qurei opposing suchcoordination as legitimizing theIsraeli occupation.

Peres said he favored theappointment of a respected econom-ic coordinator for Gaza.

Indicators for Stock Market DropTo Recent Low Amid New Worries

OPINIONPage 4 THE TECH April 15, 2005

Opinion PolicyEditorials are the official opinion of The Tech. They are written

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Letters, columns, and cartoons must bear the authors’ signatures,addresses, and phone numbers. Unsigned letters will not be accepted.

The Tech reserves the right to edit or condense letters; shorter letterswill be given higher priority. Once submitted, all letters becomeproperty of The Tech, and will not be returned. The Tech makes nocommitment to publish all the letters received.

Guest columns are opinion articles submited by members of theMIT or local community and have the author’s name in italics.Columns without italics are written by Tech staff.

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ChairmanJina Kim ’06

Editor in ChiefKathy Lin ’06

Business ManagerLucy Li ’06

Managing EditorTiffany Dohzen ’06

NEWS STAFF

News Editors: Beckett W. Sterner ’06, KelleyRivoire ’06, Marissa Vogt ’06, Jenny Zhang ’06;Associate Editors: Kathy Dobson G; Staff:Michael E. Rolish G, Waseem S. Daher ’07, RayC. He ’07, Tongyan Lin ’07, Tiffany Chen ’08,Michael Snella ’08, Marie Y. Thibault ’08, JiaoWang ’08; Meteorologists: Cegeon Chan G,David Flagg G, Robert Lindsay Korty G, JonMoskaitis G, Nikki Privé G, Michael J. Ring G,Roberto Rondanelli G, Brian Tang G.

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By Nikhil Nadkarni

Starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew BarrymoreWritten by Nick Hornby and Lowell GanzDirected by Bobby Farrelly and Peter FarrellyRated PG-13

T here is a particular sense of endear-ing love we Red Sox fans have forour team. We spend our entire livesas Sox fans, never missing a game,

beaming pride at every Boston run, cursingevery loss, and — yes — vowing to give upthe obsession after each heartbreaker season.

In late September, if not throughout theseason, we watch absolutely every inning,because to stop watching — in that ridicu-lously superstitious mentality — would beabandoning the team in their crucial hour.We worship Teddy, Tony C., Johnny Pesky,and contemporaries in a park that is some-times referred to as The Chapel.

All of this — all that is Red Sox fandom— is captured in the Farrelly brothers’ new

movie, “Fever Pitch.” Jimmy Fallon playsBen, a Bostonian obsessed with the Sox. Heattends every home game and flies down toevery spring training. His morning routineends, as we see, with him rubbing the leg-endary Tony Conigliaro cover of SportsIllustrated for good luck.

The problem arises when he meets Lind-sey Meeks (Drew Barrymore). They startdating and then seeing each other seriously,and he makes sure to disclose that he is aRed Sox fan. When baseball season starts,they are confident that they can continue tobe together despite Ben’s obsession with theSox. But more and more conflicts arise, andthat is when, for Lindsey, the scale of “thisRed Sox thing” sets in. Working a relation-ship around the Red Sox can be tough, and itremains for both Ben and Lindsey to makebig decisions about being together.

The movie, in following the developmentof their relationship, doesn’t forget to earnthe second half of the label “romantic come-dy.” The Farrelly brothers bring their mix of

slapstick humor and clever irony to the filmwith jokes that remind you of their earlierhits “Dumb and Dumber” and “Me, Myself& Irene.” There are definitely more jokes tothis movie than “see how crazy a Sox fancan be,” as the trailers might have youbelieve. For example, watch for the hilariousfirst date fiasco.

The Farrelly brand of humor combinesnicely with Jimmy Fallon’s style — one ofunabashed goofiness and straight-facedpunchlines. Fallon does a good acting job.He plays “a romantic,” as Lindsey calls him,looking at both the Sox and his girlfriendwith deep admiration, and he plays this rolewith energy. Every SNL fan knows his ener-getic acting from watching “WeekendUpdate.” I also had the chance to see this inperson; at the Fenway red carpet premiere,he talked/yelled to the crowd with the sameinsane enthusiasm.

Barrymore plays the role of an open-minded sweetheart and plays it very con-vincingly. She’s a newcomer to Red Sox

nation, and she’s willing — forthe most part — to work aroundher boyfriend’s love of the RedSox simply because she reallylikes him.

Despite good performances byeach actor, their on-screen rela-tionship lacks chemistry. Watch-ing them interact, I began towonder whether I could actually“see them together” had theyboth been friends of mine,because their personalities seemto be too far apart from eachother.

“Fever Pitch” also has a fewother annoyances. The energy ofthe movie falls off significantlyin the second half. The film alsotakes a more serious tone in itslatter half, and as a result, thejokes are few after the halfwaymark.

But all these issues can go outthe window for any Sox fan,because “Fever Pitch” capturesthat thrill of Red Sox fandom. Ifwe can ignore the obnoxiousintrusion the movie’s crews made

onto the field after the Sox won the WorldSeries, “Fever Pitch” pays homage to theRed Sox fan like no other movie. For exam-ple, some of Ben’s Sox-crazed lines hithome: he says he can’t go on a trip withLindsey because it’s a time of the seasonwhen “the Sox need [him],” reflecting thesuperstitious attachment fans feel. There’salso Lindsey saying how “it’s just a game,”something we hear all too often from non-fans. In short, if you’re a member of the RedSox Nation, “Fever Pitch” captures the deepemotional attachment you hold, and you canrelate as a result.

To be sure, the movie is about the Sox; itis steeped in glorious red. Many of thescenes feature actual clips from the game,and even though they knew that it was in thepast, people in the theater audience becamethrilled to see the clip of that Ramirez linedrive or that Bellhorn-Millar double play. Infact, the audience started excitedly clappingafter the clip of the Sox win over the Yan-kees. Commentary from WEEI, dubbed oversome of the clips, made it all the more real.The soundtrack is rounded out with the Fen-way favorites “Tessie” and “Dirty Water,”and I spied audience members, corny as itmay be, tapping their feet and singing along,simply because it felt that thrilling.

There’s also the Boston scenery for thenon-fan Bostonians. For example, Lindseyis shown living on Marlborough Street inthe shadow of the Prudential. But make nomistake, “Fever Pitch” is specifically aboutRed Sox cultcha.

It is for this reason that I would recom-mend that Sox fans see it. Everyone elsewill still have a decent time seeing it, evenif the romantic comedy part could be better.

I was reminded of “Good Will Hunting”when I was in the theater, specifically ofRobin Williams’ character of Sean Maguire.Remember the scene in which Sean vividlydescribes Game Six of the 1976 WorldSeries, and then says he gave up game tick-ets to see a girl? For some Sox fans outthere, the question of ‘Red Sox or the girl’is all too real. Sean Maguire answered itwith ‘the girl,’ and Jimmy Fallon’s charac-ter answers it in his own way. See “FeverPitch” to see his decision; you’ll have agood time.

By Kapil Amarnath

Starring Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, MickeyO’Rourke, Jamie King, Clive Owen, RosarioDawson, Brittany Murphy, Elijah WoodBased on the graphic novels by Frank MillerDirected by Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller,and Quentin TarantinoRated R

Imagine a world where the basic rules ofsociety are broken, and justice is nonexis-tent. A world ruled by hot babes withbadass superheroes battling perverse vil-

lains. That world is “Sin City.”In such anarchy, the characters of “Sin

City” thrive on the thrills of sin, whether it beprostitution or murder. As a result, acts of self-lessness are magnified, even when coated withblood. The film’s philosophical core more thanmakes up for the relentless violence, resultingin what is one of the year’s best films to date.

Director Robert Rodriguez filmed three ofFrank Miller’s graphic novels (“The HardGoodbye,” “The Big Fat Kill,” and “That Yel-low Bastard”) separately and cobbled themtogether. In one story, John Hartigan (BruceWillis) is a detective trying to find a teenagerapist (Nick Stahl) to save young Nancy Calla-han (Mackenzie Vega), who then develops intoa real stunner (Jessica Alba). In another, Marv(Mickey Rourke) plays a man who’s “killinghis way to the truth” behind the death of Goldie(Jamie King), who’s given him the night of hislife. Finally, a wanted character with a newface, Dwight (Clive Owen), single-handedlystarts a city war between the women and thepolice. A hit man’s (Josh Hartnett) exploitsbookend the movie.

Rodriguez, who jumpstarted his career withthe filmed-for-$7,000 “El Mariachi,” has creat-

ed the feeling of readinga comic book brought tolife. The result is a visu-ally-stunning black andwhite movie that allowsthe audience to beimmersed in “SinCity”’s film noir.

Rodriguez had toshow Miller footage ofwhat would be the open-ing sequence beforehe’d agree to the movie.Miller (who in the early80’s revived the Batmanand Daredevil series)had poor results with thefilm industry earlier inhis career, and onlyRodriguez’s approach,which essentially repli-cated the comic on thescreen in proportion andcolor, would appeasehim.

Quentin Tarantino islisted as a “Guest Direc-tor.” Tarantino offeredto film a scene for $1after Rodriguez helped with the soundtrack for“Kill Bill.” Tarantino’s involvement is notreadily apparent and also caused the film todraw unwarranted comparisons to “Pulp Fic-tion.”

The cast is huge, and each character blendsinto the story while maintaining individuality.Mickey O’Rourke’s performance as a brutewho consistently questions his sanity, a la TonySoprano, stood out. Even smaller charactersplayed by the likes of Michael Madsen, whosecareer was recently revived by Tarantino,

enhanced the movie.Marv, Dwight, and Hartigan serve as the

heroes of the film. Like conventional heroes,they draw sustenance from protecting thosewho they think are weak. Further, they’re theonly ones who have moral qualms and possesssuperhuman qualities. Despite their similarities,the three men are distinctly different in theirmotives, whether for justice or for revenge. Thefemale characters aren’t well-developed, buttheir characters seem to be the only ones thatever contain color, perhaps indicating their

weakness or guilt in glowing blue and red.The events transpire at night and often in

rain or snow. This setting serves a similar pur-pose as the rain- and mud-soaked battle scenesfrom “The Seven Samurai” by de-romanticiz-ing the constant killing and torture and theenjoyment that people get from it, especiallytowards the end of Dwight’s story.

Ultimately, the authenticity of “Sin City”allows the focus to be directed the rich visualdetails which are entertaining and thought-pro-voking.

ARTSApril 15, 2005 THE TECH Page 5

FILM REVIEW ★★★ 1/2

‘Sin City’ Film Noir on SteroidsComic Book Movie Closest Adaptation Yet

MIRAMAX

Dwight (Clive Owen) threatens Jackie Boy (Benicio del Toro) in “Sin City.”

FILM REVIEW ★★★

‘Fever Pitch’ Almost a Home RunDecent Romantic Comedy Combines With Thrill of Red Sox

20TH CENTURY FOX

Ben (Jimmy Fallon) and Lindsey (Drew Barrymore) watch a game at Fenway Park in “FeverPitch.”

By Nivair H. GabrielSTAFF WRITER

CompanyMusic and Lyrics by Stephen SondheimBook by George FurthProduced by Mark RousculpDirected by Jamez Kirtley ’94Matt Ciborowski ’08, Cinda Anne Rousculp,Kristin Hughes, Eleanor “Nori” Pritchard ’06Kresge Little TheaterApril 14, 15, 16 at 8 p.m.$6 MIT/WC students; $8 MIT faculty and staff;$10 general public

D o you enjoy beating relationships todeath by analyzing every breathyour Significant Other takes and dri-ving everyone around you so com-

pletely insane with your drivel that they'drather shoot themselves in the face than lis-ten to you say one more word?

Then you'll love “Company,” created byStephen Sondheim and George Furth andcurrently featuring the members of theMusical Theater Guild. The show exploresthe now-tired and tedious theme of unmar-ried 30-something angst. Unfortunately, thetheme is all there is. There’s no plot or evenany sort of message, and I left feeling just asempty as I was before the show began.

It’s not that I didn’t care about Bobby(Matt Ciborowski ’08) or his ten marriedfriends Joanne and Larry, Paul and Amy,Peter and Susan, Sarah and Harry, andDavid and Jenny. On the contrary, the cast

was enthusiastic and talented. The problemwas the script: it was utterly stereotypicaland absolutely boring.

Men, it seemed to say, are “always sorry”that they got married; this is Harry’s (AaronMoronez ’04) singing response to Bobby’squestioning the institution of marriage.Three husbands croon that though they’regrateful to possess a family, they miss thedays of freedom. Meanwhile, the wives lookon disapprovingly, never having wantedanything more than a chance to keep houseand warrant a careful allowance from theworking man’s salary. The women laterhave a song entitled “Poor Baby” about theirpity for the sad, lonely, and unchainedBobby — who is at that moment, ironically,fulfilling every man’s apparent dream andhaving meaningless sex with someone hebarely knows (Eleanor “Nori” Pritchard’06). See what I mean about shooting your-self in the face?

It’s no secret that “Company” hails froma less enlightened and politically correct era—it’s still shocking that Amy (Dana OzikG) can without protest recite a monologueabout the joy of finding “[her] very ownJew!” She deems ridiculous the prospect ofactually loving a spouse, as she casts outPaul (Matt Stern ’08, her very own Jew), theonly sensitive character, on the morning ofhis wedding for being too adoring. Herfriend Harry is so insensitive and insecureabout his manliness that he insists on throw-ing his wife (Heather Doering ’05) to the

floor to prove that her karate class is a wasteof time. Very sweet.

There are amusing moments, even if theyonly involve laughing at dysfunctional rela-tionships, and Sondheim displays severalinteresting characters. As soon as the showtouches something deep, however, it pullsaway again. Easy laughs and worship ofNew York City form the meat of the perfor-mance.

Maybe the content is awful, but the set isamazing. The apartment is just as “darling”as Pritchard describes it (several times), withall the furnishings of a clean, normal place.The stage comes with a balcony, a fullkitchen, slightly racy and uninterestingpaintings, random hobby-related equipmentthat’s never touched, and every kind of alco-hol. It’s perfect.

The other nice surprise comes with themusic: it is cheery, catchy, and well-pro-duced. With the exception of Tim Abraham-sen ’06 and Cinda Anne Rousculp, everyvoice is audible over the music; even better,the background melodies complement theirsounds. “You Could Drive A Person Crazy”and “The Ladies Who Lunch” shine, whichis not surprising considering that outstand-ing vocal talents and scene-stealers Pritchardand Kristin Hughes carried both. No mouthsmove faster than Rousculp’s or Ozik’s dur-ing “Another Hundred People” and “GettingMarried Today,” in which they maintainrhythm and match the music for a grandvariety of tongue-twisters. If nothing else,

the audience can leave singing.For her first time as an MTG choreogra-

pher, Janet Lieberman ’07 outdoes herself;she uses the stage to its fullest extent andeven brings out top hats. What a shame thatnone of the actors can synchronize (or evenhigh-kick), and it is painfully apparent thatthey haven’t had enough time to practicetheir moves. Watch, therefore, for whatcould have been.

Watch what there is as far as acting goes,because the cast works in wonderful ways.Everyone will of course enjoy Allison Link-er (Wellesley ’05) and Abrahamsen’s exag-gerated fake highs and the careful dance thatMoronez and Doering perform to get aroundeach other’s bans on fatty foods and alcohol.Hughes, who plays wealthy man-userJoanne, starts out as endearingly evil andself-centered and becomes dangerous, theunfaithful part of an inexplicable marriage.What was a gap in the script, she develops,until it’s almost understandable; showingwhat should have been written was the realchallenge for these actors.

“Company” pretends to tout marriage,but all it does is substitute plot and characterdevelopment for uninspired and lacklusterobservations. The MTG makes a mostvaliant effort, but it’s hard to make a heart-stopper out of such a flop. I’ll sum up thecutting analysis of male-female relationshipsin the ’70s with these lines from the show:

WIFE: I love you so much.HUSBAND: Food?

By Jacqueline O’ConnorSTAFF WRITER

Emerson String QuartetBank of America Celebrity SeriesJordan HallApril 8, 2005, 8 p.m.

T he last time I wrote about the Emer-son String Quartet, it was about thefirst part of their performance of thecomplete cycle of Mendelssohn’s

String Quartets. That concert was inconsistentand at times confusing. Despite the few mem-orable moments, I was quite disappointedwith their performance. I’ve idolized thisquartet for years and did not know it was pos-sible for them to play anything but a perfectconcert.

This second half of the cycle made up forthe first concert’s inconsistencies and showedthe true prowess of this amazing quartet. Theconcert featured not only their trademark tech-nical excellence and impeccable ensembleplaying but also a sense of feeling and expres-sion that topped their usual performance level.

The concert began with what I consideredto be the highlight of the evening, the Opus44, No. 2 quartet in E minor. Not only is it myfavorite of Mendelssohn’s quartets, but theEmerson’s performance was truly outstand-ing. The piece features many concerto-likesolos in the first violin part, which were allbeautifully executed by Philip Setzer, the firstviolinist for most of the concert. This wasespecially true in the first movement, wherethe entire group, but especially Setzer, playedwith deep feeling and subtlety. Their ensem-ble was fantastic to the point where the group

sounded like one instrument and the voicingwas very natural. The second movementshowcased the Emerson’s unbeatable techni-cal talent, as they effortlessly played a move-ment filled with fast, ricochét-like passages.Despite the obvious difficulty of the piece, thequartet still retained expressiveness in theirplaying. The third movement featured themost gorgeous playing of the entire concert.The movement, marked Andante, features asinging melody in the first violin and cello,expertly played by both Setzer and cellistDavid Finckel. The entire group played as onecoherent expressive unit and brought out thebeauty of Mendelssohn’s writing. The pieceended with a challenging final Presto agitato.The Emerson played with intensity and amaz-ing character, finishing the piece with greatexcitement and inciting great enthusiasm fromthe audience.

The rest of the concert lived up to the highstandard set by the performance of the firstpiece. The Emerson displayed elements of agreat quartet during the rest of the concert.Their trademark technical excellence wasespecially noticeable in the final movement ofthe Opus 80, Nos. 1&2 quartet in F minor.This movement, a restless Allegro molto, fea-tured a good balance between the subtletremolos behind an agitated and difficultmelody that was flawlessly passed among allfour members of the quartet. Their expressionthroughout the concert was also very impres-sive. Besides the third movement of the Opus44, No. 2 quartet in E minor, another exampleof their emotional playing was their verymoving performance of the third movement ofthe Opus 80 quartet in F minor. This move-

ment, featuring solos by the first violin andcello as in the Opus 44, No. 2, was playedperfectly. The success of the performance wasverified by the expressions on the faces of themembers of the group; they seemed to beenjoying the performance and could certainlytell that the movement was “clicking.” Final-ly, and probably most importantly, the Emer-son Quartet displayed amazing ensemblethroughout the entire concert. A poignantexample of this group synchronicity was theopening movement of the Opus 44, No. 3quartet in E-flat major. The sound was full

with a bold character that the group felt as awhole and projected wonderfully. All themusicians played with their very best soundyet retained a sense of being a part of the larg-er “instrument” that is the quartet.

I was very happy with the conclusion tothe two-part cycle. Mendelssohn’s writing isso wonderful that my fears that a concertentirely comprised of Mendelssohn would beboring were easily assuaged. I hope the Bankof American Celebrity Series continues theirtradition of inviting the Emerson String Quar-tet to Jordan Hall for years to come.

By Yao-Chung King

Taste of the NationHynes Convention CenterApril 7, 2005

O n April 7, “Taste of the Nation”came to Boston’s Hynes ConventionCenter with an impressive roster ofaward-winning restaurants, wineries,

and breweries in tow. Run nationwide in sev-eral major cities, Taste of the Nation inviteslocal restaurants in each city to show offparts of their menus to the event’s hundredsof attendees. Some attendees arrive hoping tomeet their favorite chefs, who are normallyinaccessibly busy in restaurant kitchens butbecome accessible in the open-air boothsetup of Taste of the Nation. Other attendeescome to learn about more good restaurantsaround Boston, while still others buy into theall-you-can-eat nature of the event and gorgeon the unending supply of wine, bread,cheese, meats, and exotic samplings avail-able at the restaurant booths.

How fitting (or ironic?) that all of thisepicurean hedonism goes to benefit Shareour Strength, a non-profit organization thatworks to fight hunger in the United States. Infact, all of the restaurant participants donatetheir staff and materials to the cause, andother event costs are defrayed by sponsorshipand by good-hearted, good-stomached volun-teers, ensuring that 100 percent of the ticketcosts go directly to charity.

This year, Taste brought in such impres-sive names as Anthony Dawodu of 33Restaurant, Andy Husbands of Tremont 647,and Gordon Hamersley of Harmesley’s

Bistro. Other familiar favorites (both fineand casual dining) included Bob the Chef’s,the Blue Room, Finale, Fleming’s PrimeSteak House, Icarus, Redbones, Rialto, Sor-riso Tratoria, and The Elephant Walk. Masamade a showing of its Ahi Tuna Cevichefrom its tapas menu, and an array of threeside-by-side chefs preparing a Roasted Gar-lic Shrimp with Mango Tango Salsa turnedout, surprisingly, to be Aramark catering.

The event this year attracted many youngprofessionals, middle-aged couples, andolder aficionado types, but yielded few col-lege-aged food lovers, probably because ofthe prohibitive $75 ticket price. Music fromBoston’s Babaloo Band created an energeticatmosphere at the Hynes, and the smalldance floor in front of the stage enticed flir-tatious twirls during particularly powerfulpieces. The band, singing in seven differentlanguages and incorporating beats fromaround the world into its tracks, fittinglyaccompanied the eclectic food area, whichserved a gamut from Bob the Chef’s FriedCatfish and Whole Food Market’s PulledPork Sandwiches to Brasserie Jo’s ChickenLiver Mousse and Bistro 5’s RabbitParpadelli.

On the whole, Taste of the Nationbrought together food lovers and the chefswho love to cook for them for a great cause.Perhaps intimidating for someone just start-ing to develop their love for food, Taste ofthe Nation provides great exposure to thevariety of food options in Boston. And whileexpensive for a college budget, consider it aninvestment in good food and treat yourselfnext year. After all, you’re filling more thanjust your stomach.

Page 6 THE TECH ARTS April 15, 2005

FOOD REVIEW

Area Restaurants Donateto ‘Taste of the Nation’Attendees Eat to End Hunger

CLASSICAL REVIEW

Emerson Quartet Rises to Mendelssohn ChallengeString Ensemble Completes Part II of Quartet Cycle

THEATER REVIEW

Discovering the Joys of SolitudeDespite Best Efforts, MTG’s ‘Company’ Won’t Be Invited Back

Up, down, charm, strange, top, bottom.

Work it any way you want in Quark.

join@tt.mit.eduW20-483, 617-253-1541

ACROSS1 Wag5 Practical jokes9 Throw out

forcefully14 On the quiet side15 Sea eagle16 Pentateuch17 Author Morrison18 Approach19 Make amends20 Start of Will Smith

quote

23 Comprehend24 Very dull

performance25 Capone's undoer27 Red fish30 Like it or __ it!34 Mighty long time37 Inter __ (among

others)38 Jots39 Part 2 of quote43 V-formation flock44 Famous apple-

splitter45 Stolen or popular46 Michael or

Susannah47 Director Noyce50 Slide sideways52 Plants with

aromatic seeds56 Vanity59 End of quote62 "Star Wars"

weapon64 Bread spread

65 Concludingpassage

66 Spring bloom67 Attain68 At any time69 Symbol of

slowness70 Plod along71 Withered

DOWN1 Spiteful2 Island farewell

3 Begin again4 Condescends5 Army leaders6 District7 Teensy tormentor8 Tranquil9 French states

10 Iota11 Aphrodite's child12 Sugar source13 Address for a

Friend21 Designate anew22 Sun. homily26 Gradual28 Entertainer

Zadora29 Book div.31 Provo's place32 Irish county33 Attention getter34 Tense

35 Two-tone treat36 __-do-well38 Big Ten team40 Invites41 Underwater

shocker42 From the start47 Play on words48 Protagonists49 Zodiac's twelfth

sign

51 Staggering motion53 Potbelly, e.g.54 Duck down55 Kind of crow?56 Building additions57 Runner Devers58 Norway's largest

city60 Israeli airline61 Dynamic leader?63 Chow down

Page7

April 15, 2005

Trio by Emezie Okorafor

by Brian Loux

Splatform by James BiggsKRT CrosswordSolution, page 13

Page 8 The Tech April 15, 2005

Dilbert® by Scott Adams

BizToons by Jennifer López

Bon

us X

wor

dSol

utio

n, p

age

11

ACROSS1 Struck, old-style6 Speaker of

Cooperstown10 Avian abode14 Intrusive online ad15 Talk wildly16 Chorus voice17 Quantum theorist's

fantasy?20 Slangy refusal21 Dotted cubes22 Formal agreement23 Lady's guy24 Performer's

engagements25 Collude28 Window section29 Serving of corn32 Neighbor of Cuba33 Washed-out34 On the sheltered side

35 M.C. Escher's fantasy?38 Jogging pace39 Prohibits40 Give a ring41 Amoral deed42 Medical suffix43 Pestilent fly44 Oodles45 Amazes46 Of primitive groups49 Spy Mata50 Lindstrom or Zadora53 Genie's fantasy?56 Christiania, today57 Dorothy's pup58 Literary class59 Clairvoyant60 Industrial show,

casually61 Gorged

DOWN1 Whirl around2 NYC cultural attraction3 Colorful fish4 Harbor boat5 Contagious outbreak6 Pamphlet7 Unlikely8 Climbing vine9 One standing guard

10 Designates11 Isle near Corsica12 Editorial order13 British Conservative18 Cloud number19 Strong inclination23 Ya dig?24 Causes rancor25 Gunfire26 Calf-length pants27 Attempt a pickup28 Great care and effort

29 "The Waste Land" poet30 Ages and ages31 Zellweger of "Jerry

Maguire"33 Braid of hair34 Grate collection36 Unequivocal37 Positive trends42 Norwegian king43 Singer Amos44 Detest45 Exuberant cry46 Pairs47 Increase48 Wight or Man49 URL starter50 Beer quantity51 As to52 Mature54 Bagel topper55 New Zealand parrot

April 15, 2005 THE TECH Page 9

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caught him. (They will not sayhow.) He admitted to IS&T that hewas responsible, and has beenreferred to the Committee on Disci-pline. In the meantime, IS&T mayimprove its ability to detect tam-pering with cluster workstations,but has announced no plans to fol-low Lu’s advice and lock themdown.

Lu’s identity as the admitted

Athena Insecurity Squad was con-firmed to The Tech last week byseveral individuals familiar withthe matter. (It is not known for cer-tain that Lu acted alone.) The Techsubsequently offered Lu the oppor-tunity to write an opinion columnin place of this article. He declined,and also declined to comment for anews article. Jerrold M. Grochow’68, the vice president for informa-tion services and technology,declined to comment.

Lu Known for Academics, MischiefYuran Lu ’05 has a distinguished academic record even by MIT

standards. In high school, he attended the ultra-exclusive MathematicalOlympiad Summer Program, won a bronze medal at the BalkanOlympiad in Informatics, and three times placed among the top 15 in theUSA Computing Olympiad. He was a Presidential Scholar and a LucentGlobal Science Scholar.

At MIT, he has won the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Design Contest, theBeaverdash Engineering Design Contest, and the Imagine Cup SoftwareEngineering contest. As a freshman, he placed in the top 25 in thePutnam Mathematical Competition.

Lu also has an uncommon record of Athena pranks that have angeredand annoyed their victims, including his publication of 620 people’spasswords last month.

Some of Lu’s previous mischief:

In late 2003 or early 2004, Lu took advantage of a mistake by theDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering to add himself to thedepartment’s e-mail list for faculty. The department discovered him inSeptember 2004 and discussed referring Lu to the Committee onDiscipline.

“[I]’d been on the dmse list for about a year now… they reallyshould’ve noticed sooner,” Lu wrote at the time in a Zephyr conversationwith IS&T employees. “[B]ut I have a semi-valid argument for theDMSE affair… I hadn’t actually read any of their mail, nor did I intendto, and I just wanted to see how long it would be before someonenoticed,” he wrote.

•In March 2004, Lu took advantage of the Chinese Students Club’s

mistakenly generous permissions to replace the group’s Web site with a“Hacked by Chinese” version and then would not relinquish control,according to John T. Wu ’06, the group’s webmaster. The dispute wasresolved by IS&T.

•In June 2004, the Department of Urban Studies and Planning realized

that Lu had taken advantage of a mistake and put himself on thedepartment’s e-mail list for faculty, according to Laura E. Baldwin ’89of IS&T.

•In September 2004, Lu took advantage of a mistake by the

Undergraduate Association to take over all of the UA’s mailing lists andits Athena locker. “It was five in the morning and I was trying to pleadwith him to get our lists back,” said Harel M. Williams ’05, the UApresident. Lu refused to return them and said he would keep the lists andlocker for three more days.

Lu then sent out an e-mail announcing a contest for the besthumorous Web site — the winner would get to temporarily replace theUA’s own Web site. In the Sept. 14 e-mail to two dormitory lists, Luwrote:

“So a while ago, I noticed that the UA had made the mistake ofleaving one of their officer lists public and self-owned, so I added myselfto that list, with the intention of eventually creating a humorousreplacement for the sucky UA website, and replacing the UA websitetemporarily with that. After discussing this with a few dozen peoplelooking for ideas, one person freaked out, and felt that it was hisresponsibility, as an undergrad, to inform the UA officers about thisexploit. Thus, I was forced to take control of all the UA admin listsearlier this evening, and retain only the membership ACL bits to the realUA officers, and take control of the UA locker, and retain only the non-administrator priveledges to the real UA, in order to buy some time. […]

“After trying to placate the very distressed UA President at [4:30]am unsuccessfully with the promise that ‘you’ll have all your lists backby the end of the week, but I’m not going to tell you what I’m going todo with my bits [permissions] until then, except that I won’t do anythingmalicious or damage any of the data in the UA locker.’, he got out ofme that I was going to put up a humorous replacement website for awhile, and leave it there for a while until I gave him his bits back. I toldhim that I was going to give him all of their bits back by Friday atnoontime, and he wanted them all back by today at 9:00am. Eventually,he expressed to me his concerns that any modification to the websitewould be his responsibility, and that he was unable to sleep or doanything else because of the worry that this has caused him. I told himto stop worrying, and go to sleep. […]”

Williams complained to IS&T, who returned the lists and locker tothe UA later that morning. Lu called off his contest for the best parody.

•Also in September 2004, IS&T discovered that Lu had taken

advantage of overly generous permissions to add himself to the“chours” e-mail list, a list for Athena consultants. IS&T removed Lufrom the list.

•As a result of Lu’s actions, in September 2004 IS&T scoured Athena

for “public self-owned lists” — e-mail lists whose control is essentiallyshared by the entire MIT community — and converted them all into“private self-owned lists.”

Yuran Lu, from Page 1

IS&T May ImproveIts Ability to DetectFuture Tamperings

April 15, 2005 THE TECH Page 11

Our Brains and Us:Neuroethics, Responsibility,and the Self

April 17–19, 2005

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• What is Neuroscience? What is Neuroethics?

• What implications do the neurosciences have for understanding

human freedom, moral agency, and legal responsibility?

• What insights do the neurosciences provide into the concepts

of the self?

• What opportunities do the neurosciences provide for therapy,

for neurological enhancement, or for the exercise of social,

economic, and political influence?

This conference brings together scientists, philosophers,members of diverse religious communities, and the public for a multifaceted, interdisciplinary and multi-traditional dialogueabout the neurosciences and questions like those above.

It provides an opportunity to explore a range of emerging ethical,religious and philosophical issues associated with neuroscienceresearch and its present and foreseeable applications.

For additional information about the conference,

accommodations, and online registration visit:

www.aaas.org/spp/dser/

The conference has been organized through

a primary collaboration among

Join us in April for this insightful conference:

Solution to Bonus Xwordfrom page 8

Artin said attitudes towards theproject lab’s content have changedrecently. Computation “is becom-ing a larger part of research inmath,” he said, although the class’smain merit lies in how it challengesstudents with open-ended projectsthat they must define for them-selves.

The class will “certainly beopen to other majors, but since it’sthe only laboratory course in math-ematics, we’ll be oversubscribed,”Miller said.

He said a lottery to get in waslikely, and possible math majorswould have preference. There are20 students taking the class thisterm, and Miller said the totalwould be capped at 30.

“It’s a fun class,” said YasinOzcan ’06. “You choose your ownproject, and you get to work withyour own friends, and there’s nolecture.”

He said he would recommend itto other students “as long as theylike math.”

Exploring theory with computersThe project lab is not of the

same nature as the very hands-on“Junior Lab” in physics (8.13,8.14) or biology’s Introduction toExperimental Biology (7.02).There are few physical experimentsyou can do in mathematics, so test-ing out theories must take onanother form. The “ultimate arbiterin experimental science is theexperiment,” Miller said, but “inmathematics, the ultimate arbiter isthe proof.”

“The computer is a wonderfulexperimental tool in mathematics;that’s the way one should think ofit in this class,” Artin said. Thecomputer will “suggest answers foryou but it doesn’t substitute forthinking at all,” Artin said.

The project lab provides stu-dents with the opportunity to

explore mathematics beyond thenormal confines of the classroom.“To be faced with a problem that'sill-posed and you don’t where youare going and [whether you] aregoing to find anything, these arethings that aren’t part of the regularcurriculum,” Artin said.

As an example problem consid-ered in the class, “take a primenumber [p], write down 1/p, andexpand it in its decimal expan-sion,” Miller said. “So it’s periodic,being a rational number … and ithas some period, some length ofdigits before the repeats.” Thenumber of digits in a repeat can beat most p-1, so the question arises,how frequently does that maximalperiod occur?

A student would proceed bycollecting data on specific primesp, checking, for example, that thefrequency of the maximum repeatconverged over primes of differentsizes. With that data and knowl-edge in hand, the student wouldthen try to pose a conjecture that heor she could prove rigorously.

Explaining why the results arewhat they are is “where the mathe-matics comes in,” Miller said.

The process used in the class“reflects my experience as a mathe-matician,” Miller said, and hencebuilds useful experience for futureresearch.

Not all of the projects werehome grown at MIT, Miller said.“It takes quite a lot of effort to cre-ate a syllabus like this,” and theclass relies in part on projects cre-ated within the Computer AidedTeaching of All Mathematics pro-gram in the Cambridge-MIT Insti-tute.

“We made an agreement withthem whereby we could mine thatlibrary and adapt their ideas to thiscourse,” Miller said. The class alsoreceived a development grant fromthe CMI program. “In exchange,we’ve provided them with a bunchof projects,” Miller said.

The Tech

Desperately needs

ONE REPORTER IN EACH DORMITORY

If you’re not satisfied with coverage of issues in your

dormitory, lab, center, department, student group, etc.

LET US KNOW!

join@tt.mit.eduW20-483, 617-253-1541

Word.

Math Lab, from Page 1

Just-Approved MathLab Uses ComputersTo Investigate Theory

E-mail join@the-tech.mit.edu

Page 12 THE TECH April 15, 2005

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thinner than the buses using them. Rebecca Fuentes, community

relations manager for the Cam-bridge Public Works Department,said that the city had addressed oneof the GSC’s concerns by decidingnot to narrow the 77 Mass. Ave.cross-walk by 15 feet and keepingit at its current 60-feet width.

GSC President Barun Singh Gsaid that a meeting with DeputyCity Manager Richard Rossi onWednesday was “a good sign thatthe state and city have been respon-sive to student concerns.”

The city was, however, unwill-ing to consider the GSC proposalfor a raised crosswalk to slow downtraffic. In the past, city officialshave said that raised cross-walksare not allowed on major arterialroadways such as Mass. Ave.

Singh said that city representa-tives suggested the crosswalk infront of 77 Mass. Ave. wouldreceive “special attention.” Thiscould possibly include better paint,more lighting, strictly enforcedspeed limits, and educational pro-grams for cyclists.

The proposal for improved bikelanes was also rejected by the city.Owen O’Riordan, assistant com-missioner for engineering, said that“we don’t believe bike pathsbetween the curb and sidewalk isfeasible given the number of sidestreets, parking, and traffic flows.”Regarding a possible increase inspeeding, O’Riordan said he is con-fident that light signaling is aneffective means to control trafficspeed.

However, Singh and O’Riordanboth confirmed that analysis isunderway by the city to possiblyreduce the total number of trafficlanes along the section of Mass.Ave. from 4 to 3.

Singh said he believes thiswould address a number of issuesraised in the memo concerning traf-fic speed as well as parking spacefor MBTA buses and SafeRide.“We can’t get a total redesign atthis stage, but I feel that the thingswe discussed in the meeting havethe potential to help improve the

safety over the original design,”Singh said.

Commencement is unaffectedRuth Davis, communications

manager for the MIT Department ofFacilities, said MIT has been work-ing closely with the City of Cam-bridge and the Roads Corporationto ensure that construction willhave no impact on final exams orcommencement.

Rebecca Fuentes, communityrelations manager for CDPW, saidthat construction in the vicinity of77 Mass. Ave. will begin after June6 and end in mid August.

Reconstruction work on thesidewalk will begin as early as this

fall. “We are sensitive to finalexams and commencement andhave worked with MIT to ensurethat construction will not interruptthese activities,” she said. Fuentessaid that work will be limited tobetween the hours of 7 a.m. and 5p.m.

Work will progress in approxi-mately 100 foot sections and willcut traffic down to one lane in eachdirection. The construction will notalter the recently-completed Memo-rial Drive underpass.

The project includes plans toimprove and coordinate the signal-ing between the Memorial Driveintersection and other signals alongMass. Ave., Fuentes said.

April 15, 2005 THE TECH Page 13

Positions Available Graduate Housing Opportunity

Positions Available for live-in Resident Advisors for MIT's Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups. Applications are due by April 29, 2005, and are available online at: http://web.mit.edu/slp/fsilgs/ra-application.html Description: A Resident Advisor is expected to serve as a mentor, guide, and resource for students and to serve as a liaison between the chapter and the Dean's Office. The RA is expected to know and educate FSILG students about MIT policies, applicable Chapter and/or Fraternity/Sorority headquarters policies, and common sense safety practices. Training is provided. Remuneration: All Resident Assistants receive free room and board. In addition, some organizations may include a small stipend. Each Resident Advisor is furnished with a single room in the chapter facility. Qualifications: A BA or BS and/or graduate enrollment at an accredited institution are required.

Ask a MedLink

Dear MedLink: I drink a lot of coffee. What’s

considered an unhealthy amount?

—Caffeine Fiend

Dear Fiend: It’s great you asked this ques-

tion, because so many of us depend on that

caffeine to get us through those late-night

p-sets.

According to MIT Medical nutritionist Anna

Jasonides, 200 to 300 mg. of caffeine per

day would be considered a moderate

amount. Since an eight-ounce cup of coffee

usually has 65 to 120 mg. of caffeine, you

probably want to limit yourself to two or

three cups a day. Jasonides notes that coffee

consumption doesn’t seem to pose any

significant long-term health risks, but in the

short term, excessive consumption can lead

to anxiety, insomnia, and increased urina-

tion, which, combined with other factors,

may contribute to dehydration. However,

Jasonides emphasizes, individuals react

differently to caffeine. Regular coffee

drinkers tend to build up a tolerance to its

effects, while someone who doesn’t normally

drink coffee might react strongly after a sin-

gle cup.

And it’s that individual reaction that mat-

ters, say both Jasonides and psychologist

Xiaolu Hsi, Ph.D., of MIT Medical’s Mental

Health Service. “If, during or shortly after

drinking coffee, you experience such physio-

logical reactions as palpitation, pounding

heart, an accelerated heart rate, or hand

tremor, restlessness, and/or nervousness

that can’t be explained by other reasons,

you may have had too much caffeine,” says

Hsi, who also cautions that the same con-

cerns apply to caffeine pills and caffeinated

beverages other than coffee.

If you seem to be experiencing any of these

symptoms, you probably need to cut back

on the coffee. MIT Medical’s Center for

Health Promotion & Wellness suggests other

strategies to try when you’re tired but still

have work to do. Going outside for some

fresh air, taking a shower or splashing some

water on your face, or taking an exercise

break (especially late in the day), are all

good ways to wake up without caffeine.

Hope this helps! —Anu ’07

How much coffee can I drink?

Do you have a question?

Submit questions by:

email: askamedlink@mit.edu

anonymous online form:

http://web.mit.edu/medlinks/www

campus mail: Ask A MedLink, E23-493

We can't respond individually, but we'll answer as many

questions as we can in this space. And you can always

talk with a MedLink in person; see

web.mit.edu/medlinks/www/ to find the MedLink(s) in

your living group.

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Freemasonry is the world’s oldest fraternity.

Richard C. Maclaurin LodgeANCIENT FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS

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7:00pm-8:30pmCambridge Masonic Temple

1950 Mass AveCambridge, Mass.

More information:rcm-info@mit.edu ormasonrypage.org/rcm

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Solution toKRT Crossword

from page 7

Some GSC Concerns AddressedMass. Ave, from Page 1

Page 14 THE TECH April 15, 2005

Academic IntegrityStudent Forum

with Dean Redwine

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5 - 7 pm

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Congress May Pay Interest on LoansOf Students Entering Math, Science

Congress introduced the Math and ScienceIncentive Act of 2005 on Tuesday, according toan article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.The bill is designed to reimburse students whogot jobs in math and science, including teaching,for the cost of interest on their educational loansfor up to five years.

Representative Frank R. Wolf said in the article that the new billwould save each student an average of $6,500 in interest. Accordingto the article, college graduates have an average debt of $17,500 andtake 10 years to pay it.

Although more borrowers may be eligible for assistance underthis bill than under existing federal programs, each would receiveless money because the bill only pays interest costs, not any of theoriginal loan amount, according to the article.

Wolf and other speakers told the Chronicle that the United Statesneeds to have more students in math, science, and engineeringbecause national security and the economy are dependent on it. Theprogram is estimated to cost $66 million annually if approved.

—Jenny Zhang

NewsBrief

April 15, 2005 THE TECH Page 15

SPORTSPage 16 THE TECH April 15, 2005

By Lori EichTEAM MEMBER

Last weekend, the MIT Women’sultimate frisbee team (sMITe)brought home the Yale Cup tourna-

ment championshipfor the fourth year in arow. The team went6–1 for the weekend,increasing its overallseason record to 8–5

and its nationwide ranking to sev-enth.

The first game on Saturday pittedsMITe against the University ofPennsylvania. sMITe started offstrong with intense defense forcingUPenn all the way back into its ownend zone. A gust of wind caused amisthrow by UPenn, and Lori A.Eich G caught the disc for the firstpoint of the game. sMITe went on towin 13–4.

Next, sMITe faced Amherst Col-lege, as well as stronger and gustierwinds. sMITe took advantage of thewindy conditions by playing a zonedefense. As Amherst repeatedlyattempted long downwind throws,Yelena Gorlin ’06 stepped up ondefense, contributing a whoppingeight blocks as the downfield defend-er in the zone. The upfield defensewas also an unstoppable force andincluded a sequence during whichco-captain Angela Tong ’05 leapedto block a huck while standing 15feet from the thrower. Two pointslater, Daphne L. Wang ’08 blockedan attempted throw, and as NancySun G picked up the disc, Wangdashed into the end zone to catch agoal. sMITe defeated Amherst 11–6.

In the final game of pool play,sMITe took on Yale, which quicklyjumped out to a 4–1 lead. But sMITeresponded with two goals to close

the gap. The MIT women continuedto battle through Yale’s aggressiveplay, with a particularly strong per-formance from from Meryl R. delRosario ’05, who had three blocksand caught three goals, all thrown byShuang You ’05. Laura B. Shimmin’05 was a defensive powerhouse,highlighted by a layout block againstYale’s best thrower. However,Yale’s offensive consistency domi-nated the game, leading to a 11–9loss for sMITe. Despite losing thisclose game to Yale, sMITe took firstplace in the pool based on point dif-ferential.

The pool play victory put sMITein the pre-quarterfinals againstNortheastern. MIT prevailed 13–6.Cathy Chu ’06 had an amazinggame, with a key block along withthree solid hucks into the end zonecaught by Eich, Sun, and Erika M.Swanson ’07. Swanson continued tooutsmart and outrun her defendersfor a total of four goals caught. Thegame-winning point began with athrow by Sun to Alison M. Cohen G,who turned and saw Sharon B.Cohen G cutting wide open in theend zone for an easy pass and an endto Saturday’s games.

Quarterfinals on Sunday morningmatched sMITe against Rutgers. Youimmediately got the offense goingwith two hucks to Eich for two goals.A huck by del Rosario to Gorlinended the first half with sMITeahead. Rutgers attempted to slowthings down by playing a zonedefense, but they weren’t ready forsMITe’s secret weapon — the ham-mer throw. Co-captain Darlene E.Ferranti ’06 and Sun had no troublethrowing over the defense to workthe disc up the field. Seeing Gorlinpositioned as the deep receiver in the

zone, Ferranti confidently threw heran easy hammer for a goal.

Rutgers changed the zone defenseslightly to adjust for sMITe’sstrengths, but sMITe poweredthrough with goals thrown by Shim-min to Gorlin and Ferranti. Thegame ended on a Ferranti point-sav-ing block that turned into a Swanson-Wang connection. sMITe won 13–6.

sMITe then faced Cornell in thesemifinals. The team’s offense wasled by A. Cohen, who threw fourconsecutive goals, with two to Tay-lor F. Schildgen G and one each todel Rosario and Sun. A. Cohen threwa total of six goals and caught onemore, while Schildgen caught a totalof five. Gorlin and Eich connectedfor three goals, and Tong led thedefense with three impressive blocks.MIT won to advance.

The finals, a rematch againstYale, gave sMITe the chance toprove its regional dominance. Sunled the offense in both goals andassists, with four goals caught, sixmore thrown, and a spectacularstretch of seven consecutive points inwhich she either threw or caught thegoal.

The team came out a little slowlydefensively, but after a quick peptalk by coach Sarah Cook, who said,“You’re tired … you’re not runningas fast as you think you are,” theteam revved up its intensity. Chuimmediately stepped in and tookdown a total of three blocks to sup-plement her two goals thrown. Tonggrabbed two interceptions, threw twogoals, and caught one more. Thegame was very close and well-playedall around, but sMITe emerged victo-rious with a 15–13 win, taking homethe championship title for the fourthconsecutive year.

By Sharon Lawrence TEAM MEMBER

MIT Taekwondo fielded a teamof approximately 30 competitors atits fourth tournament of the year.

Held at Yale Universi-ty on April 3, this tour-nament proved to be apivotal moment in theteam’s battle to top theIvy-Northeast Colle-

giate Taekwondo League. At the endof the day, MIT finished with 612points to Cornell’s 224, earning theteam first place for the tournament.The margin of victory also propelledMIT from second place to first placein the league for the year.

MIT’s team started the day with astrong performance in forms compe-tition. Forms are choreographedsequences of kicks, stances, and handtechniques designed to display thecompetitor’s strength, grace, andpower. The team’s strong perfor-mance during this portion of thecompetition staked MIT to a morethan 150-point lead over Cornell, itsstrongest competitor.

In the extensive black-belt divi-sion, Wendy M.G. Pierce ’05 andErica Y. Chan ’07 placed second andthird, respectively, in the women’sdivision, while in the men’s division,Richard Sinn ’06 and Conor F.Madigan G placed first and third,respectively. Ryan B. Huang ’06took third in the men’s red belt divi-sion, while in the women’s red beltdivision, Stephanie K. Lee ’06 tooksecond place and Alicia Y. Zhou ’06took third. Rene R. Chen ’07 earnedfirst place in the women’s blue beltdivision, while Ziyan Chu ’07 tooksecond. In the women’s green beltdivision, JoHanna N. Przybylowski’05 earned second place.

C-team (beginner level) sparringfollowed the forms competition. Thewomen’s C1 team (Frances Choi ’08,Przybylowski, Victoria S. Harris ’07,Sarah P. Kama ’08) trounced theYale C1 team on its way to the finals,where it matched up with NYU.There, Przybylowski won her thirdmatch of the day, but both Choi andHarris lost their matches, leaving theteam with second place.

In the men’s division, both MITC1 (Darren M. Chun ’07, Tri M. Ngo’06, Vladimir V. Barzov ’06) and C2(Asa S. Rubin ’08, JaroslawLabaziewicz G, Evaristo Rodriguez’08) won their first two matches,leading them to meet in the semi-final round. Following customarypractice in the club, the C2 teambowed out to C1, settling for thirdplace and allowing MIT C1 toadvance to the finals against Cort-land. With a 4–1 win by Ngo, and aforfeit by the Cortland heavyweight,

the team nabbed first place.A-team (advanced level) sparring

came next. The MIT men’s A1 team(Bobby B. Ren ’05, Nathan F.Hanagami G, Andrew D. Selbst G,Madigan) demolished its first oppo-nent, Cornell A3, then sparred aclose match with Buffalo A1, with a7–0 win by Selbst helping the teamadvance. After defeating CortlandA1, the team fell to West Point A1 inthe final round, resulting in a secondplace finish.

The women’s A1 team (Chan,Sandra M. Yu ’06, Pierce, RadhikaJagannathan ’05, Zhou) also gavestrong performances and earned MITa fourth-place medal. A critical winby Pierce helped the team defeatBuffalo A1 to advance to a semifinalencounter with NYU A1. Despitegreat sparring by Chan and Yu (theother members of the team did notspar in this match), NYU won.

The day ended with B-team(intermediate) sparring. In thewomen’s division, MIT B3 (Chen,Jennifer L. Caplin ’07, Przybylows-ki) defeated NYU B1 before cus-tomarily bowing out to MIT B1(Jagannathan, Sharon A. Lawrence’07, Yu) in the semifinals. Mean-while, MIT B2 (Zhou, Chu, GraceKim G) pounded Cornell B2 andadvanced to a semifinal match withCornell B1. After a win by Zhou anda loss by Chu, the team was relyingon a win by Kim, which wouldclinch all three women’s B-teammedals for MIT. Unaware of theexpectation placed on her shoulders,Kim defeated her opponent in atense match by a score of 3–2. Thiswin advanced the B2 team to thefinals, where it bowed out to MITB1. At the end of the day, the teamsswapped trophies, with B1 givingthe first place trophy to B2 and tak-ing the third place trophy for them-selves.

The men’s B1 team (Huang, JohnHo G, Barzov, Ngo) also gave a stel-lar performance, ending the day infirst place. In their first match, againstCornell B4, the men each defeatedtheir opponents by significant mar-gins. The team then advanced to thesemifinals, where it faced CortlandB1. Ho beat his opponent 7–2, whileBarzov won by knockout, sending theteam to the final round to face Cor-nell B1. Huang fought a close matchand won 4–3, while Ho fought aneven closer match, winning 7–6 in asudden death round.

The next tournament the team willattend is to be held at Columbia Uni-versity on April 23, where MIT willhave the opportunity to defend itscurrent title as INCTL Championsand to return home with the LeagueCup.

By Paul DillTEAM COACH

MIT Men’s Volleyball finishedoff the 2005 season with its first tripto a conference tournament since

1993. After finishingsecond in the 10-teamNew England Divisionof the North EasternCollegiate VolleyballAssociation, MIT

earned its first ever berth in theNECVA Championship Tournament.

In what turned out to be a veryhard-fought match, during which theEngineers played some of their bestvolleyball of the season, MIT fell to

Eastern Mennonite University,30–28, 31–29, 33–31.

Robert M. McAndrew ’05 pacedTech’s attack with 20 kills and added13 digs. Praveen Pamidimukkala ’08totaled 16 kills, three aces, and a pairof assisted blocks. Ryan G. Dean ’08tallied a team-high 18 digs and twosolo blocks, while Jordan X. Wan’06 dished out 40 assists. Robert G.Aspell ’06 contributed one solo andtwo assisted blocks.

The team finished with an overallrecord of 23–7 and a conferencemark of 15–3. The overall recordranks as the best in the program’shistory and coincides with the first

winning season in 12 years and thefirst 20-win season since 1987.

The Engineers also reached theirhighest Division III national ranking(ninth) in program history. The teamwon two regular season tournamentsand earned several individualawards, including Pamidimukkala’sselection as the NECVA New Eng-land Rookie of the Year and McAn-drew’s award of NECVA New Eng-land Co-Player of the Year.

After rewriting the programrecord book in 2005, MIT Men’sVolleyball looks to continue its newwinning ways next season and longinto the future.

Men’s Volleyball Season EndsAt First NECVA Championship

MIT Taekwondo WinsTournament, RankedFirst in Their League

Women’s Ultimate Wins TournamentFor Fourth Consecutive Year, Now 8-6

Friday, April 15Varsity Softball vs. Wellesley College (doubleheader)

Briggs Field, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 16Men’s Lightweight Crew Biglin Bowl Charles River, 8 a.m.Varsity Sailing Boston University Trophy Charles River, 9:30 a.m.Women’s Rugby vs. Tufts Briggs Field, 10 a.m.Varsity Softball vs. Harvard JV (doubleheader) Briggs Field, 12 p.m.Varsity Men’s Tennis vs. U.S. Coast Guard Academy

duPont Tennis Courts, 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 17Varsity Sailing Oberg Trophy Charles River, 9:30 a.m.Varsity Men’s Tennis vs. Williams College

duPont Tennis Courts, 1 p.m.

UPCOMING HOME EVENTS

KENNY YAN—THE TECH

Eric Berren ’08 returns a ball in a match against Clark University on Wednesday, April 13.Berren and Thomas Dohlman ’07 won the match 8–3 in the number one spot, while MITdefeated Clark 7–0.