-Welcome, Parents

tl

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

The WeatherToday: Mostly sunny, 74°F (23°C)Tonight: Mostly clear, 59°F (15°C)Tomorrow: Pleasant, 76°F (24°C)

.Details, Page 2

-Friday, August 30, 1996

DormitOries See DepartureFrom Previous Years' Trends

Convenience and safety importantThe ATMs were originally avail-

able only during the day because or'previous safety concerns, butstepped-up security in the area hasmade increased availability anoption,

AJMs, Page 13

• .Scam artist strikes atMfr. Page 13

• Banks offer credit cardoptions. Page 11

PWJe 11

• ponncon rush changeswere fair. Page 4

• On The Screen. Page 8

"That ATM ate my card," saidSohail N. Husain '98. "So I hate itand will never use it again."

"I don't really find it convenientnow," said Amy Kang '99. Kangsaid she uses the Baybank ATM inthe Student Center and that changewould have seemed more conve-nient if she were with Fleet becauseone of Fleet's few ATMs at MIT isin Lobby 10.

ARIFUR RAHMAN-THE TECH

David Dunmeyer '00 makes his way with his luggage to hispermanent residence In New House.

Fleet Bank machine.A spokeswoman from Baybank

said she was happy with thechange. "It's a great thing since stu-dents now have access to this con-venient feature" of 24-hour bank-ing, she said "That adds value, eventhough to my knowledge Baybankdidn't make a request for thechange."

Some students are also happywith the change. "I'm ~sually up at3 a.m.,'.' said Jason James '00: "It'sconvenient for me to go get somemore money when I have a latenight binge." . .

Others are not so' pleased.

City Days, Page 14

The ATMs in the 'InfiniteCorridor have been made available24 hours a day. The three ATMs,located next to Lobby 10, were pre-viously available 'only from 8 a.m.to 10 p.m. ,

"Originally, we had a limitedwindow on when the ATMs could beused," said Chief of Campus PoliceAnne P. Glavin. "We received com-ments from students, and since thearea is relatively saf~, we have madeit open 24 hours a day."

The three ATMs consist of twoBaybank cash,'machines and one

INDRANATH NEOGY-THE TECH

The three ATMs near Lobby,10 In the Infinite Corridor are now open24 hours a day.

Bridges that will hold the greatestpossible weight, Purinton said.There are also more pure fun activi-ties, like a water balloon toss and 'ano-hands-allowed jello-eating race,she said.

At the opening of the event,President Charles M. Vest andCambridge' Vice-Mayor Kathleen L.

By Victoria Chen

Lottery, Page 15

"Baker does not look like a reallynice dorm compared to SeniorHouse" after its renovations, Lee said.

East Campus, usually one of theleast popular dormitories, was sec-ond most undersubscribed, withonly 49 first-place rankings com-pared with 100 spots. For bothBaker and East Campus, a signifi-cant number of freshmen, 28 in eachcase, were placed there who rankedit third or lower.

Popular choices unchangedAs usual, MacGregor House,

McCormick Hall, 'and Burton-

ATMs Open 24 Hours in Lobby 10

fewer than the 19 spots available.Of the 19 freshmen placed there, 14ranked it first. This compares favor-ably with the results from last year,when only 11 of the 33 freshmenplaced in Bexley ranked it first.

Some dormitories less popularBaker House, usually one of the

more popular choices, was the' mostundersubscribed dorm this year.Only 51 freshmen ranked Bakerfir&,t,compared with 118 spots open.

"I think we had a quiet rush thisyear," said George R. Lee '98, arush worker who worked desk atBaker during the week. "That mighthave contributed to it."

Events focus on education and funThe events this year focus both

on education and enjoyment,Purinton said. "We try to set upactivities that teach them skills theycan apply later on."

In the traditional egg-drop activi-ty, children will design packages foreggs, aiming to keep them frombreaking, after being dropped,Purinton said.

In other activities, students willconstruct primitive helicopters,make pinho.le cameras, and build

City Days had increased."It's become more and more of

an expected event during", Residence and Orientation Week,

she said. "Many fraternities andindependent living groups are nowmaking it a required activity fortheir pledges." .

Parents, Page 14

The weekend is "a chance forparents to 'ask questions and getanswers and a sense 'of 'where theirsons and daughters ar~' going,"

, Bates said. ., 'In the past, up to 400 .parents

have attended the weekend, saidEsther Y. Lee '98, a member of theCommittee on Parents' Weekend.Lee said that she is "prepp,ed for400, but mbre would be wonderful."

Lee called the weekend a kind of."mini parents RIO" and said that the16 events scheduled for this yearwill be the most ever done. Parentswill be able to attend a open houseon religIOn, a tour of food servicesat MIT, a freshman-parent dinnerfor underrepresented minorities, an

. athletic open house, and a presenta-tion on the history and tradition ofMIT by the MIT museum.

Saturday morning will begin forparents with a continental breakfastat Walker Memorial followed by ameeting with President Charles M.Vest.

By Stacey E. BlauEDITOR IN CHIEF

Canibridge Students Converge onInstitute for City Days Festivities

Wednesday's residence hall lot-tery results indicated a number ofdepartures from p,rior classes' pref-erences.

Senior House, consistently oneof the most undersubscribed dormi-,tories, was the third most oversub-scribed dormitory in this year's lot-tery, with 34 freshmen placing it astheir first choice, exceeding the 26spots available. As a result, onlyfreshmen who ranked Senior Housefirst were placed there.

Bexley Hall, another perenniallyundersubscribed dorm, had 17freshmen rank it fir t, only two

Today in Kresge Oval, about 470students from grades three through'six from all 15 of Cambridge's pub-lic elementary schools will assemblefor the fifth annual City DaysFestival.

About 600 MIT students -roughly 75 percent of them fresh-men - from 35 living groups willassist with the event, leading ele-mentary student groups aroundcampus and organizing activities,said Tracy F. Purinton, senioroffice assistant in the ,PublicService Ce'nter and the event'scoordinator.

This marks the first year thatthird graders were included'i,n theevent, Purinton said. She said thatth~y were' added because the num-ber of MIT 'students participating in

By Brett AltschulSTAFF REPORTER

Today is The. Tech's lastdaily issue .. Starting nextFriday, Sept. 6, The Tech willresume its normal Tuesdayl

J Friday 'publication.~Iso starting Sept. 6, The

Tech's normal distributionroute, covering the .entirelnstitute, will resume. Copiesof The Tech will no longer bedelivered to independent liv-

, ing groups.

By Frank Dabek

After acclimating freshmen,tolife' at MlT, Re~i"dence' andOrientation Week will wind downwith a' set of activities during thelast few days of this' week focused .on new MIT parents.

The events for p'aren'ts are a"series of open houses:1> saId Deanfor Student Life Margaret R. Bates.Activities will begin this 'afternoonwith a welcome ceremony at theStud~nt Center. .

AsWO ,Ends, Orientation'For FrosltPareIlts Begins

Augu t 30, 1996

Fresh alarms in Israel's securityestablishment followed the reportedillness Thursday evening of SheikAhmed Yassin, the imprisoned spir-itual leader of the lslamicResistance Movement, or Hamas. 'Y sin, 6 I, a quadriplegic who wasgiven a life sentence by Israel in1989 on charges of ordering thedeaths of alleged cotlaborators, iswidely revered even by Palestinianswho do not approve of Hamas.Isra~iis and Palestinians alikebelieve his death in prison couldeasily prompt ri.oting and terrorist,attacks.

Yassin, whose health has beenfailing for -months, was taken fromhis prison cell for unspecified testsat Assaf Harofeh Hospital. ByThursday night, authorities said hiscondition had improved and he hadreturned to the RamIe Prison's med-ical center.

Most shops were closed andshuttered from 8 to 12 this morningin the West Bank, Gaza Strip andEast Jerusalem,' prodded where nec-essary by strong-arm youths and .members of Arafat's security forces.But plenty of merchants kept onesteel panel open a crack and willing-ly did business out of sight, if asked. .

"I'm considered closed, but ifone of my clients comes here I can'ttell him to go home," said IbrahimJoulani, completing the sale of apolo shirt at the Saddle; his stylishwestern-wear boutique on EastJerusalem's Saladin Street. "I don't,agree with the strike. It destroys thePalestinian economy."

young people and adults get the were. s.tunned by the revelations,education and training they need, to which seemed to crystallize themake citizens feel safer on our ambivalence many feel aboutstreets, to help Americans succeed Clinton, a brilliant candidate but anat home and at work, to break' the exasperating man who, as even hiscycle of poverty and dependence, to friends and aides say, can at onceprotect our environment for genera- give voice to humanity's noblesttions to come and to maintain our sentiments and keep company withworld leadership in the face of new its lowest impulses.threats and new opportunities," "This could not have come at ,aClinton said. worse time," said CalifQrnia Sen.

And, in a reminder of his veto of Dianne Feinstein.the Republican budget plan which While many delegates, anticipat-marked the begin'ning of his politi- ing victory in November, had over-cal resurrection last winter, Clinton come their doubts about Clinton'svowed to block any effort to radical- newly conservative social and fiscally scale back popular government policies, Clinton has not fuIIy stilledprograms.' their uneasiness about his character,

"As long as I am president, I will his steadiness - or his choice ofnever allow cuts that devastate edu- friends. _cation for our children, pollute our Morris had few friends in theenvironment, end the guarantee of White House, where most aideshealth care under Medicaid or vio- considered him untrustworthy, inlate our duty to our parents under ,part because of his past work forMedicare," Clinton said. • conservative Republican candi-

The until-now smooth-running dates. He feuded openly withWhite House political operation, Deputy Chief of Staff Harold M.which seemed at midweek to be Ickes over such policy decisions ascoasting toward an easy re-election Clinton's signing of the welfarevictory, was thrown into disarray'by reform bill earlier this month,the Morri~ episode. which Morris supported and Ickes

. Officials declined to confirm opposed.the report of Morris' activities, White House aides said thatwhich was carried in the Star Clinton revised his speech Thursdaytabloid. But the Star's .story, based afternoon in the wake of the Morrison an account by the woman her- affair in rec~gnit.jon' that conven-self, was accompanied by pho- tioneers had been ambushed by thetographs of the tW0 together at a news.Washington hotel in their Press secretary Mike McCurrybathrobes as well as by a photo- said that Clinton knew that the mat-graph of a canceJed check that ter had been a "diversion" from theMorris had signed over to h,er., / previously. successful convention

White Hous~,.a~d~s s'ought to and in~lud~a language in the fiqaldownplay the damage Clinton 'draft to' "lift up 'the spirits" Qflhewould suffer, insisting that'.lt was' delegat~J.;.' : ~, ':. ) -' , ',' ,Clirttotl, aria not'h'is widely-resented ~ WhIle ~tlintoh' d-el'ivere'd th~political gUru, who' was running for expected'recitation of the achieve-president - . ".' ments of his first four yeats' 'in

How much lasting damage the office, his focus was chiefly on hisaffair might cause remains uncer- intentions' and his hopes for a sec-tain. Many convention delegates ond term. /

SImilar plans for 1,800 apartments,together. with the pre-dawn demoli-tion of an unlicensed EastJerusalem community center,prompted an angry speech byArafat in which he said Israel was"declaring a state of war againstthe Palestinian people."

A half-day general strike, intend-ed as a pointed reminder of theintifada, the six-year uprisingagainst Israeli occupation of territo-ry -captured from the Arabs, closedmost Palestinian businessesThursday but proceeded withoutviolence or great passion. Israelitroops, who once used to force openshuttered businesses durin.g theintifada, patrolled quietly in EastJerusalem 'and Hebron but made noeffort to interfere.

Israeli officials continued toworry about a mass prayer rally'called for Friday at Jerusalem's AlACJ.~aMosque. That holy site on theTemple Mount, adjacent toJudaism's Western Wall, has seenseriou's violence in years past.Police said they were mobilizing toprevent Palesti~ians from c'rossingillegally from the West Bank, whichremains under a broad Israeli clo-sure, to pray at the mosque.

The U.S. Consulate inJerusalem, citing an increased riskof "demonstrations and distur-bances" this weekend, faxed anadvisory to news organizationsThursday night asking Americancitizens to "avoid unnecessary travelto the Old City of Jerusalem and theWest Bank."

ATION

By John M. BroderLOS ANGELES TIMES

CHICAGO

President CI\nton on Thursdayaccepted the renomination of hisparty with an appeal aimed squarelyat the middle of the American elec-torate and a soaring vision of thenation's future - and his own placein history.

"Hope is back in America," thepresident proclaimed.

But Clinton's moment of tri-umph was sullied by the overnightresignation of his closest politicaladviser, Dick Morris, who abruptlyleft Chicago following reports thathe had consorted with a high-pricedWashington prostitute as recently aslast week and had shared with hersensitive conversations with thepresident.

The Morris revelations tarnisheda Democratic convention that hadbeen meticulously scripted to pre-sent the party as the tribune of theAmerican family and the strugglingmiddle class.

Thus began the final campaignof a politician whose career has seenmore heights and depths than anyAmerican public figure since formerPresident Nixon.

In his speech, Clinton reprisedthe "bridge to the future" theme thatVice President AI Gore had intro-duced in his address Wednesdaynight. The language was designed inpart to remind listeners that BobDole, the 73-year-old Republicannominee, had' promised to serve as"a bridge" to return America to thevalues of its past. ' ,

"Tonight, let us resolve to buildthat bridge to the 21 st century', (0'

meet our challenges, protect ourbasic values and prepare our peoplefor the future," Clinton said in theprepared text of his address.

"Let us build a bridge to helpparents raise their children, to help

Israeli Government SeeksTo Stop Palestinian Strike

Clinto Aims.to Draw CenterWith Speech at Convention

By Barton GellmanTHE WASHINGTON POST

JERUSALEM

Israel's new Likud Party govern-ment sought to dispel a crisis atmos-phere Thursday with a flurry ofhigh-level emissaries to PalestinianAuthority leader Yasser Arafat asPalestinians shuttered shop fronts intheir first general strike since thesigning of the peace accord threeyears ago.

Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu, who had frozen peacetalks since taking office on June 18,gave hasty permissjon for Israel'schief negotiator to introduce himselfthis afternoon to his Palestiniancounterpart. The two men, formerIsraeli military chief of staff DanShomron and Palestinian cabinetminister Saeb Erekat, spent an hourat a Jerusalem hotel and said sub-stantive talks will commence nextweek.

Netanyahu also dispatched a pri-vate emissary, lawyer YitzhakMolcho, to deliver a message toArafat in the West Bank town ofRamallah, according to a source.The premier's senior foreign policyadviser, Dore Gold, was scheduledto meet Thursday night withArafat's ranking deputy, MahmoudAbbas.

But even as it opened ne~ linesof communication, the governmentapproved construction of another2,000 apartments for Jewish set-tlers in the Israeli-occupied WestBank, according to Israel Radio.The announcement Tuesday of

ORLD&

WEATHERAll Eyes on Edouard

By Gerard RoeSTAFF METEOROLOGIST

LOS ANGELES TIMES

ValuJet Could Be Back in SkyBy extWeek

WASHI GTO

ValuJet Airlines, grounded since June, has improved its mainte-nance operations and will be permitted to resume some flights, per-haps as early as next week, federal regulators said Thur day.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it has reviewed the dis-count airline's revised maintenance and operations programs and willpennit ValuJet to resume fljghts with nine to 15 aircraft in sevenday, unle s serious objections are raised from "interested parties."

The Atlanta-based airline had 51 planes in the air until it agreed tosuspend all flights on June 18 following the crash of a DC-9 in theFlorida Everglades on May II. All I 10 persons aboard were killed.

The Department of Transportation, the FAA's parent, also issueda tentative finding Thursday that ValuJet was economically soundand that its present top executives were qualified to continue runningthe company.

Transportation officials said they had found no reason to accede toa demand by Susan Clayton, president of the Atlanta chapter of theAssociation of Flight Attendants, that Lewis Jordan be removed ascompany president.

If credible objections to ValuJet's new maintenance proceduresare raised within the next week, FAA officials said they could delaythe resumption of flights while the complaints were reviewed.

Seeking to assure the public that ValuJet is airworthy, the FAAsaid the airline has passed an "intensive review" of its improvedmaintenance system and will be subjected to special oversight byadditional federal inspectors.

Bill White, FAA deputy director of flight standards services, saidthe agency returned ValuJet's operating certificate because the com-pany "addressed and completed all the items outlined in the consentorder" that grounded planes in June.

"They are in compliance with the safety regulations," White said."It's up to ValuJet to maintain the safe operation of the aircraft."

UNfVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

There is currently a solid high-pressure anticyclone buildingacross the eastern half of the country. In the short tenn, this producesclear, sunny skies and dry air. However, we may come to rue its pres-ence by the end of the Labor Day weekend. Typically, hurricaneshead off from Africa in a west-northwest direction. Nonnally, whenthe hurricane then begins to work its way out of the tropics, it comesunder the influence of the westerly jet stream which turns it awayfrom the coast and causes it to recurve out towards mid-ocean.

Because hurricanes rely on warmer waters to supply them withlatent heat energy, this recurving toward the colder northern waterscauses a gradual diminution of their their intensity. However, theanticyclonic clockwise circulation around a high-pressure ridge lyingto the northwest of the hurricane will tend to halt its northwardprogress and steer it closer to the coast.

As of Thursday night, the official National Hurricane Center fore-cast has the track leaving the storm 500 miles (800 km) due south ofus on Sunday lunchtime, with peak winds of 120 mph (192 kmh) andmoving on a northward course at about 10 mph (16 kmh). Becausethe twists and turns of hurricane tracks are notoriously hard to pre-dict, this very powerful storm bears close watching over the holidayweekend - all in all, a potentially grim outlook. It is not even as .though the danger ends with Edouard; some forecast models haveHurricane Fran slamming into the east coast (the Carolinas) byMonday night.

Friday: Mostly sunny skies. Moderate winds from the north ornorthwest, keeping temperatures down to a high of 74°F (23°C).Very pleasant.

Friday night: Mostly clear, meaning strong radiational cooling,causing some patchy fog. Low 59°F (15°C).

Saturday: Again pleasant, with clear blue skies expected, windslight and easterly. A good qay to be out. However, 12 foot (3.5meter) coastal swells from Edouard's churning of the Atlantic meanany and all ocean sports should be considered extremely hazardous.High 76°F (24°C). Low 62°F (17°C).

Sunday: Getting trickier due to possible influence of Edouard.Barring major coastal catastrophes, some clouds coming in off theocean, bringing with them a chance for rain. Southeasterly windspushing temperatures up toward 80°F (27°C). Low 64°F (l8°C).

Outlook: It would be a foolish man who tried to predict detailbeyond Sunday, but there is the potential for high winds, strong rain,and flooding.

Page 2. TH . CD

Hurricane Edouard.

Russian Leadership Crisis LOOmsAs Ye tsin's Chechen War Goes On

• Augu t 30, 1996 WORLD & ATION

Bad Weather May HaltFlight 800 Salvage Operations

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Democrats React with Dismay•.To.Morris Affair with Prostitute

Second-Quarter Surge SurprisesEconomists, Renews Inflation Fears

By Richard BoudreauxLOS ANGELES TiMES

WASHINGTON

0.1. Simpson, an outcast from the rich, mostly white celebrityworld he long inhabited, was given a thunderous, adoring welcomelast night on a gritty block in Washington's Shaw neighborhood,where he told a church audience of more than 2,000 that he hasalways been attuned to black America's struggle.

"I don't think to an extent, I'm late to this game," Simpson told astanding-room-only crowd in Scripture Cathedral. "And I keep hear-ing everybody say, "He's back.' Well, maybe there's a point there toan extent."

The fonner football star, sports commentator and commercialpitchman, acquitted of double-murder charges last October, wassmothered in the church with the sort of adoration he no longerreceives in packed stadiums and corporate boardrooms.

With more than 30 television cameras lining the side aisles andthe church's balcony railing, the program began about 7:20 p.m. andfeatured an array of speakers before Simpson, most of whom con-demned what they described as news media distortion of the truthabout Simpson.

Outside, about 20 protesters stood silently behind yellow policetape, but they did not disrupt the appearance.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Church Opens Arms to Simpson

, THE WASHINGTON POST

Gore Defends InconsistencyOn Tobacco Issue

SMITHTOWN. N,Y.

Already frustrated with the slow pace of recovery efforts, officialssearching for clues to the crash of TW A Flight 800 may have to shutdown their salvage operation over the holiday weekend because ofbad weather.

Three storms that could develop into hurricanes off the Floridacoast are expected to move up the Eastern Seaboard, potentially pro-ducing waves as high as 10 feet and endangering scuba divers.

Rear Adm. Ed Kristensen, director of the Navy salvage and scuba-diving efforts, said that heavy winds and storms this weekend couldshut down the recovery operation.

"We're watching it and we've made contingency plans to bring allour small boats off the water," Kristensen said. "And we'll have toknock off the scuba diving if the water is too rough."

He added that the storm could sweep unrecovered material andbodies further out to sea. "The potential is there to disrupt the debrisfield," he said. "We'll have to come back out after the storm and seewhat we have."

Officials have warned local police departments and the CoastGuard to be on the lookout for aircraft pieces that might wash ashorefrom New York as far south as the Washington area.

, "With the Labor Day weekend coming, I would ask all of thebathers and beachgoers and lifeguards and all of the people on thebeach to please take this very, very seriously," said FBI assistantdirector James Kallstrom.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

u.S. 1roops Detain Serb PoliceAfter Attack on Muslims

CHICAGO

Vice President Gore said it was "emotional numbness" thatcaused him to defend tobacco for years after his sister's death fromlung cancer and said the need to break through that same "numbness"in society about the dangers of smoking caused him to tell the storyof her illness in his speech at the Democratic National ConventionWednesday night.

Gore denied there was any political motivation behind the Clintonadministration's new war against teenage smoking, just as he saidthere was no political calculation behind his defense of tobacco grow-ers at a time he was campaigning in southern, tobacco states duringhis 1988 presidential campaign.

On Wednesday, Gore said that his sister's death and statistics show-ing that 3,000 teenagers a day take up the habit had caused him to vowthat, "Until I draw my last breath, I will pour my heart and soul into thecause of protecting our children from the dangers of smoking."

But in 1988, four years after his sister, Nancy Gore Hunger, diedin "nearly unbearable pain," Gore said at a campaign rally in NorthCarolina, "Throughout most of my life, I raised tobacco. I want youto know that with my own hands, all of my life, I put it in the plantbeds and transferred it. I've hoed it. I've chopped it. I've shredded it,spiked it, put it in the barn and stripped it and sold it."

A futile attempt by Muslims to go home escalated Thursday into atit-for-tat clash that ended only after U.S. troops detained and dis-anned Bosnian Serb police while an angry Serb mob seized U.N.hostages .

In one of the most volatile confrontations since the Dayton, Ohio,peace accord halted Bosnia's war nine months ago, U.S. troops

. detained 25 Serb police who allegedly opened fire on a group ofMuslim refugees who had tried to return to their war-destroyed villageof Mahala. Ten Muslims were badly beaten, NATO officials said.

Mahala is in Bosnian Serb territory. But the Muslims had hoped torebuild their homes and move in, a right guaranteed but rarelyenforced in the peace treaty.

The episode revived the specter of wartime hostage-taking just 17days before national elections are meant to mark another step inBosnia's peacetime recovery. .

With one contingent of Bosnian Serb police detained in Mahala,reinforcements arrived but were also taken into custody by theAmericans, who confiscated assault rifles, pistols and grenades beforereleasing the men late Thursday .

.Bosnian Serb radio meanwhile broadcast a call to the defense ofits "police under siege"; within hours, more than 600 hostile Serbssurrounded the U.N. police station in nearby Zvornik, trashed U.N.vehicles and stoned U.N. personnel.

As is often the case, though, theupbeat reports that worried WallStreet will be viewed was goodnews by many Americans and theWhite House. The upward revisionof the growth rate "strengthens ourview that the U.S. economy isachieving the kind of strong eco-nomic growth that can raiseAmerica's living standards," saidClinton administration economistJoseph E. Stiglitz.

And the figures may make itharder for the Dole campaign toargue that the nation needs the stim-ulus of the Republican presidentialcandidate's proposed 15 percentreduction in personal income taxrates.

"These data do little to changeour view that the second half will beslower," analysts at Stone &McCarthy, a financial marketsresearch finn, told clients Thursday.They expect growth this quarter tobe in the range of 2 percent to 2.5percent - exactly in line with whatFed officials say they would like tosee.

incapable of such a task. His onlypublic appearance since his re-elec-tion last month, aside from filmclips on television, was a slurring,stiff-legged performance at his Aug.9 inauguration. Hospitalized ~wicelast year, for heart ailments, he isrumored to need bypass surgery.

Kremlin watchers say Yeltsinmay be distancing himself fromLebed. Yeltsin's style is to playoffunderlings against each other.Lebed suspects he got the Chechenmission because "someone verymuch wants me to break my neck."

But the 46-year-old Lebed, whomakes no secret of his ambition tosucceed Yeltsin, has stubbornly puthis case on television to a war-weary public and brought theChechen issue to a head. Much likeYeltsin in the dying days of theSoviet Union, the brash formerparatroop general has barreled hisway into a vacuum.

"He is forcing Yeltsin to make adecision that Yeltsin wouldn't haveto make otherwise," the Westerndiplomat said.

Alexander I. Lebed since assigninghim Aug. 10 to resolve the Chechenconflict and has moved in otherways to undercut his security aide'svaguely defined authority. Evenafter Lebed returned from his fourthtrip to the war zone Sunday with adraft peace treaty to discuss,Yeltsin's office told him, in effect,to mail it in.

Late Wednesday, a spokesmansaid the vacationing president hadreceived and studied the draft andissued unspecified instructions"designed to consolidate the peaceprocess." The terse statement gaveno clue of the president's ownvision or sense of urgency.

"This is very much the presi-dent's war," said retired army Gen.Dmitri Trenin, a Moscow defenseanalyst. "I don't see how these divi-sions can be reconciled without avery energetic and potent leader atthe helm of state. Unfortunately, wedo not have such at leader at themoment."

It is unclear whether Yeltsin issimply indecisive or physically

Builders here.But some analysts cautioned that

the Federal Reserve may pay littleattention to the latest upward revi-sion in second-quarter growth. Theynoted that Fed officials alreadyknew that the economy had bouncedback in the spring following a win-ter weak spell.

Fed officials, who left ratesunchanged at a recent policy-mak-ing session, have predicted growth'.would slow in the second half or'the :.year and, despite the housing sales:numbers Thursday, some signs stillpoint to a slowdown. Consumer'spending, for instance, was subdued'in both June and July. .

The new reports caused a declinein the Dow Jones industrial averag~Thursday: It finished the day at5647.65, down nearly 65 points.Bond prices also sagged, though notas sharply as stocks. As bond pricesfell, the yield on 30-year Treasurybonds increased to 7.03 percentfrom 6.98. Bond prices move in theopposite direction from expectedchanges in interest rates.

public more concerned about bread- was Jesse L. Jackson, who wasand-butter issues. That- the Morris quoted in USA Today this morningdevelopment detracted from the most as calling Morris "amoral." But heimportant speech of the convention, was quick to clarify Thursday after-some said, was painful and troubling. noon that he was referring to the

"You take the final day of the consultant's "indifference to theconvention," said Democratic poll- poor," not his personal life.ster Peter Hart, "and instead of hav- "While I disagree with him polit-

, ing a single s.tory you have two. ically," Jackson said, "I regret heAnd th~i hurts. It doesn't. help the fell on a sword' this way. To havecampaign, a,nd it 'doesri'fheip' the this embarrassment to bis family. Toconyepti,ol1.:'. ~r.'. " ',~:" " . "'" "fage'hum~liation: Thi~ is,qlQst unfor- ,

"Obv.iQusl}'; it's a ,propfeJ)l," saiq . tunate." ."' r

R~p". 'a,ill R'ichard;on, 'of IN,~\y"' .6t~ers \¥,e'renot' so kind.Mexico, "but I believ~ it ~i11. oJow' -"If those all.egatioRs are accu-over.:' . rate, I think he. shouldn't .have been

"Hart sai(l the episqde will Jikely. given a chanc~ to resign," said Dale .cause 'wayward Democratic profes- Vernon, a Minnesota delegate. "Hesionals .-:- previ'ously up'set 'by should have been fired."Morris's influence with Clinton - The allegations, raised by theto come to the White House's res- tabloid publication the Star and pub-cue. "The one thing I know about lished in Thursday's editions of theDemocratic consultants," he said, New York Post, say that Morris had"is everybody will end up pitching a yearlong relationship with a pros-in. Even those who may have felt titute with whom he shared informa-left out will end up putting their oar tion about the president and thoseback in the water." around Clinton.

Ironically, there was a blend of "I never buy the Star," saidmuted compassion and outright con- Sylvia Schmidt, another Minnesotatempt for Morris, whom some delegate. "But I guess they're goingdescribed Thursday as political to sell a lot of copies now. It's justgenius and others derided as an evil too bad because we're trying to doRepublican infiltrator. family values and it's not going to

Among the most compassionate go over too well, right?"

By Albert B. Crenshawand John M. BerryTHE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON

The nation's economy grewmore rapidly this spring than econo-mists had realized, the governmentsaid Thursday - stoking fears ofrenewed inflation and rising interestrates, and sending the stock marketsharply downward. '

Reinforcing the market's worriesthat the economy is overheating wasa second report showing that 'salesof new homes during July reachedthe highest level in five months'.

The Federal Reserve and manyprivate economists ~ave beenexpecting the economy to slow dur-ing the second half of the year,relieving pressure on the centralbank to raise interest rates.However, the new data caused sev-eral economists to wonder whetherthe slowdown would com~ soonenough.

"This was a real shocker," saidDave Seiders, chief economist ofthe National Association of Home

By Kevin MeridaTHE WASHINGTON POST

CHICAGO

First there was disbelief. Thenanger. Then denial. Then spin.

It wasn't long before word ofDick Morris's demise reached thehotel lobbies and meeting roomsand Democratic NationalConvention floor afthe UnitedCenter. And it wasn't long Deforesom'~ Democrats ~e~e s'ugge~ti"~'g,,'deep,. dark ~epublican ~onspi~acieshad been" hatched to slow President,Clinton's momentum. .', '

"Do.es .~nybody in .Am'ericabeliev'e this is happenstance tim~.ing?" asked a visibly peiturbed Rep.

, Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland. "Thatthe story broke on this day is a coin-cidence? Give me a break."

It was all Democrats could do toexplain away such a bizarre occur-rence: On the very night thatClinton was to tell the nation whyhe deserves another four years inoffice, the convention was abuzzwith the tabloid news of a sex-for-hire scandal concerning the presi-dent's chief strategist.

That Morris quickly resigned wasgratifying to the assemble'dDemocrats, many of whom said thestory would soon be forgotten by a

•

MOSCOW

This month, since an ailing Boris. Yeltsin began a new tenn, two

• changes are testing his leadership:Separatist rebels have recapturedmuch of the breakaway region ofChechnyi from Yeltsin's dispiritedanny, and his ambitious new securi-ty aide has seized the moment to suefor peace.

One hopeful result is that a 20-month-old conflict that has costRussia more than 30,000 lives, bil-lions of dollars and much of itsinternational prestige is closer thanever to a negotiated settlement - anoutcome Yeltsin promised at everystop of his re-election campaign .

But it remains doubtful whetherYeltsin, the man who started thiswar, is capable of the decisiveaction that only he can take to endit. As in many other criticalmoments of his presidency, he hasdropped from public view and goneon vacation.

He has refused to meet with

•

FEA 1lJRES STAFF

EDITORS A T LARGE

•

ugu 30, 1996 •

back to living in our rooms. As for the roofitself, the fire was very mU'ch localized.Out ide of the four-by-four foot section thatburned, the roof deck is perfectly fine. As wewrite this, professional contractors and clean-ing crews are working on our house, andthings hould be back to the way they were in •a matter of day .

Our house was completely renovated threeyears ago, and the brotherhood takes greatpride in the physical condition of the house.Although the house is currently in a livablecondition, we will not rest until it is returnedto its original state. With the community'shelp and our detennination, we are confidentthat this will happen in no time.

The Brothers and Pledges of Pi Lambda Phi

Altschul OverlyProtective

I'd like to thank Brett Altschul '99 for histimely advice in this past issue of The Tech["Recitations for Class Should Not BeIgnored," Aug. 29]. I'd like to add that fresh-men should also keep their rooms neat andlook both ways before crossing the road.

Victor Tsou '97

Barron, Page 5

to freshmen at all. When we infonned the IFC~-'and RCA that Dormcon was abandoning the .Clearinghouse system and that we would bemuch stricter about trespassing, we said thatthese policies also meant that FSILG memberswould not be able to deliver messages forfreshmen at donn desks.

We put forth proposals for alternative mes-saging systems in the spring and also duringthe summer. We initially proposed a morecentralized system which would largely elimi-nate dorm desk involvement and minimizetrespassing and loitering. ReA declined thepropo,~a1.. The LFC never gQt back to us.Realizing that this s~ould have been a majorJ 41concern to tbe IfC, we repeated!y .tr~ed :tocontact the IFC rush chair over the summer todis<;us~ a messaging system. Again, we never,got a reply.

Kelman, Page 6

prised the second cashier had even thoughtabout it (which is why Iremember this story).

Surely, those setting Clinton's tobacco pol-icy must know to an extent that the situation is •usually as I have described it. Thus, I thinkthat heavy strengthening of the enforcementof minimum-age statutes is vital to reducingteenage smoking. I reiterate that regulationson cigarette vending machines alone may dosome good but not nearly enough.

Another part of the new tobacco regula-tions states that any kind of tobacco advertis-ing will be eliminated within a 1000-footradius around schools. This sounds to me tobe a lot like the "drug-free school zones" thatwere set up near the beginning of this decade.The gist of these drug-free zones was thatfines and other penalties were stiffer inside the •1000-foot radius for infractions dealing withillegal drugs.

Basically, the 'government said "don'tmake or deal drugs anywhere, but now we

after Monday night's fire at our house.Everyone involved has done a great job ofmaking an otherwise difficult situation at leasta little easier. We would like everyone toknow that their effort have not gone unno-ticed and that we truly are in their debt.

We would also like to clear up a fewdetails and make a few corrections to TheTech's Wednesday article ["Fire DestroysRoof At Pi Lamda Phi," Aug. 28] on the fire.Thankfully, the condition of the house is notas bad as it may have initially seemed.Electricity was restored to the entire house onTuesday afternoon, and only on Monday nightdid Pi Lam's pledges and a few brothers sleepin Ashdown House. The rest of the brother-hood volunteered to spend all night at thehouse doing an initial cleanup job, whichmostly involved removing debris, water, and afew damaged pieces of furniture.

The fire occurred on the section of theroof directly overhead our fourth-floorlounge, and only that room was significantlyaffected. Fortunately, the fire never actuallymoved below the roof, and the only damagewas done by the firefighters' water and theirneed to axe a few holes in the ceiling andwalls for precautionary measures. Not a sin-gle personal room was affected aside from asoggy carpet or two, and we are all glad to be

all Donncon members, the IFC, and the Officeof Residence and Campus Activities.

In addition, the final copy of Donncon' srush rules for 1996 was sent to the previouslymentioned parties before the end of the springtenn. The Donncon officers even attended thelast regular IFC rush meeting of the springterm to explain these changes. I rememberexplaining our rules - and specificallyanswering questions about - our policiesregarding trespassing on dOT:Q1property. I alsoexplained our policies op not providing infor-mation about freshmen.and.not Jaking mes-sages for them at donn desks. . . .

One change that we did implement at thtt;last minute was the messaging ~YSt~R1.T~ischange was made because the WC .w~.>Uldnotagree on or take actiol)' on a message systemall summer. If Dormcon didn't pu~ togetherthe message system at the last minute, FSILGswouldn't have had any way to send messages

area to buy cigarettes. None of the people atthese gas stations cared who they sold theirpacks to.

In fact, just last week I was getting somethings at an area food store (which shall

Regulations on cigarettevending machines alone

may do some good but notnearly enough.

remain unnamed) when two girls ahead of me,who Iwould judge to be about 14 or 15, eachbought a pack of cigarettes. As they left,another cashier asked the one ringing up myitems if she had asked the girls for identifica-tion. She nonchalantly replied that she had notand that she did not care. Frankly, I was sur-

Other RushAlternatives Exist

I would like to add one more to your list of"no-rush alternatives" ["Alternative ProvideRush-Free Atmosphere," Aug. 25]. TheChri tian Fellow hip Lounge, centrally locat-ed in the basement of the Religious ActivitiesCenter on Massachusetts Ave., is a place forChristians and interested non-Christians torelax, socialize, peruse our library, and, ifdesired, pray together in a mellow environ-ment. The CFL is organized by UnitedChristian Residence and Orientation, a collec-tion of sixteen different MIT Christian groupswhose members represent denominationsfrom Catholic to Evangelical and is the loca-tion of several of our joint activities. The CFLis open every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.except during required freshmen activities.

Adam C. Powell IV G

Support of Pi LamdbaPhi Appreciated

We, the brothers and pledges of Pi LambdaPhi, are writing this letter to thank the MITcommunity for their sympathy and support

Guest column by Christopher H. Barron

My name is Christopher H. Barron '97,and I'm the Donnitory Council president for] 996. In Wednesday's issue of The Tech, thearticle "Fraternity Rush Goes Slowly; ResultsDecline This Year," gave a rather one-sidedinterpretation of fraternity, sorority, and inde-pendent living group rush results. TheDonncon officers and I hope this column willclarify some misconceptions about rush thisyear.

First, Donncon didn't change any of itsrush rules right before rush began. If our rulesseemed new to FSlLGs, they should be awarethat we went out of our way to communicatenew rules to the Interfraternity Council. It.wastheir responsibility to infonn their members- not ours. Donncon released a memo lastspring which listed its major rule changessince last rush. This memo was circulated to

Dormcon Rush Rules Changes Were Fair

By now, most people are probably awarethat President Clinton declared nicotine anaddictive substance last week. Accompanyingthis announcement was a list of new regula-tions on tobacco products. The goal of theseregulations is to reduce or eliminate teenagesmoking. I applaud this announcement as astep in the right direction, but Iam also skep-tical as to how effective the president's newregulations may be.

One of the new rules involves the elimina-tion of cigarette vending machines from anyplace that minors may be, like restaurants orconvenience stores. This regulation is a goodstart, but the fact of the matter is that manyminors do not need to resort to sneaking packsof cigarettes out of vending machines whenno one is looking. Unfortunately, buying ciga-rettes over the counter is all too easy forminors today. When I was in high school,people in my class who smoked needed onlyto go to several of the many gas stations in the

Column by David KelmanCOLUMNIST

Clinton's Policy on Cigarettes Lacks Teeth

Darren Castro G, David Berl '97, JeremyCohen '97, Jason Weintraub '97, FarhanZaidi '98.

ARTS STAFF

Editor: David V. Rodriguez '97; Staff:Thomas Chen G, Teresa Esser '95, BrianHoffman '97, Kamal Swami doss '97, RobWagner '97, Hur Koser '98, DanielRamirez '99, Stephen Brophy.

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Page 4

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V. Michael Bove '83, Robert E. Malch-man '85, Thomas T. Huang '86,Reuven M. Lerner '92, Jeremy Hylton '94,Garlen C. Leung '95.

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."/~h".#\"'-4.l."A1r\..ji'J",l II • , . (J ., J. J. J,. t ,.. ,J, t_" • J,J .. ' ..Jt~'. J ~

Augu t 30, 1996 OPINIO THE TECH Page 5

Students Should Not Allow Cliques to Restrict Them

Compliance, Not Complaints,Needed for Airport Safety

Dormcon Tried to NegotiateWith IFC on Message System

IfFSILGs think we'rebeing unreasanable

for rwt takingmessages at dorm

desks, our reasons arestraightforward.

suffered, not just a few.Also, it's unfortunate that FSILGs felt the

message system was deficient. We providedthe system when the IFC had no other contin-gency plan. Still, we had FSILGs tell us thatwe were being malicious and that they haddecided the system was inadequate becausenot all freshmen were returning their mes-sages. Even in the old system, dorm desks gota lot of harassing phone calls from FSILGmembers who accused them of not deliveringmessages and sometimes berated them pro-fanely. It's important to point out that becausefreshmen are busy, tired, and sometimes fed-up with people rushing them, they simply donot return all messages. We could staple mes-sages to their foreheads and they stillwouldn't return all messages. Blaming thepeople who are voluntarily providing the mes-sage service is quite ungrateful.

Dormcon has no grudge against the IFC orFSILGs. On the contrary, we tried our hardestto help FSILG rush within the boundaries ofour own policies. If FSILGs do not supportthe pQlicies set forth by Dormcon last spring,they should contact their IFC representativesand encourage them to work closer with

Dormcon in the future. IfFSILGs think we are beingunreasonable for enforcingtrespassing rules, talk tome sometime and I'll giveyou accounts of FSILGmembers threatening toassault dorm residents,abusing dorm property,outright lying to dormdesks, and sometimes justbeing plain-old jerks.

If FSILGs think we'rebeing unreasonable for nottaking messages at dormdesks, our reasons are

straightforward. Dorm desks are staffed bystudent employees of the Department ofHousing and Food Services. They are not dor-mitory rush workers. Their primary job is tomaintain dorm security and check residents inand out of their rooms. In the past, dorm deskswere overrun by FSILG members trying toleave messages, both in person and over thephone, and hence could not fulfill their prima-ry functions as desk workers. Dorm desks alsohave only one phone, and the constant barrageof calls posed a security concern since emer-gency calls could have difficulty gettingthrough. In general, Dormcon received com-plaints from dorm desks that they were ver-bally abused by FSILG members in the pastand that they were no longer willing toaccommodate such an enormous workload.

I am completely aware that these actswere committed by a few "bad apples." I amhappy to say that the vast majority of FSILGmembers have been really cooperative andgenerally easy-going toward dorm rush work-ers. However, we can not ignore the grossabuses that have happened. It may not seemfair to some that we implement policiesaffecting all FSILGs instead of those specifi-cally we have had problems with, but wedon't exist to police FSILGs - that's theIFC'sjob.

Ideally, though, IFC and Dormcon havedifferent views on rush. We should be able tonegotiate competitively and agree upon fairpolicies that we will both respect. If this can-not take place, we will continue to take a con-servative stance during rush to protect dorminterests - that's our job. FSILG memberswho want to take issue with this past rushshould do so with their IFC representativeand should urge them to open negotiationswith Dormcon far in advance for next year'srush.

to get the best possible education. Learning ishard here, but if we all have a little more fun,we would all be much happier.

For those that joined a ILG, don't feellike you have to only socialize with people inthe group. If you have decided to stay in adorm, like me, don't feel like everyone in anILG is a certain type of person. Every fresh-man comes into MIT wondering about lifeand worrying about fitting in. I've found thatif I am honest with myself, I am much happi-er.

I hope that everyone realizes what MIT isreally all about and why they chose to comehere. Those that look sad and confused arethose that need support the most. Don't hesi-tate to give someone a smile. It can bringabout a lot of happiness.

Finally, at Dormcon's last regular rushmeeting, the Wednesday before rush, weinvited the IFC officers. At that meeting, theIFC rush chair informed us that he had neverheard before that meeting that we would notallow FSILGs to deliver messages at dormdesks and that this would hurt FSILGs duringrush. Later that evening, RCA's advisor toFSILGs called me to say that he wasn't awareof that change either. All summer, wecouldn't understand why the IFC would notremedy a problem that would affect their rushso directly. This is not a shot at the IFC; welater found out that many of the partiesinvolved were simply hard to contact over thesummer.

We also acknowledge that all parties wereoperating in good faith, and we, of course,share any fault for miscommunications. Thisaccount is simply meant to show what point ofview we operated from during rush.

Dormcon doesn't have a grudge againstthe IFC or FSILGs. In fact, we value a goodrush for FSILGs. greatly -'- if FSILGs don'tfill up, w.e get crowded ,dorms. After ,thatWednesday rush meeting,we, the Dormcon officers,spent the next two -dayswith hardly any sleep aswe tried to formulate amessage system to helpFSILG rush.

At about 1 a.m. onThUrsday morning, we for-mulated a system whichwould centralize messagecollection, deliver mes-sages to dorm desks, andstill uphold Dormcon'srush policies. By 2 a.m.,we had informed the IFCrush chair and IFC Judicial Committee chairand received their approval. The systemrequired less effort by FSILGs to send mes-sages to freshmen than before - they couldsimply send e-mail from their house or make asingle stop in the Student Center to drop offall their messages.

Prior to this, we had asked the IFC to workwith us to come up with a solution. However,the IFC was reluctant to adopt a last-minutesolution. Even after we convinced them toaccept our proposed system, we had to pro-vide all the manpower (the IFC rush chairinformed us that FSILGs wouldn't be able tospare any human resources at the last minute,which is understandable), and I personallyassured them that Dormcon would get all thedorms to cooperate - even Bexley Hall,which doesn't participate in Dormcon.

We committed to running the message sys-tem 13 hours a day from Saturday to Monday,attempting to deliver messages at hourly inter-vals. Our Dormcon officers staffed the systemall three days from open to close. We hadeven initially offered to personally deliver awritten copy of the instructions for the system ,to every FSILG before Killian Kick-Off, butthe RCA advisor to FSILGs offered to contactthe FSILGs instead. All in all, some FSILGsused the message center a lot more than oth-ers. But if some FSILGs weren't aware of thesystem, they should verify with their rushchair that they were contacted by RCA.

It's unfortunate that FSILGs feel a need toblame Dormcon for a rush that did not meetall their expectations. The numbers printed inThe Tech show that 11 out of the 20 FSILGswhich supplied a target number had actuallymet or exceeded their target. Dormcon imple-mented policies affecting all FSILGs equally,so if we really bad set out to hurt FSILGs, assome would claim, then they all would have

Barron, from Page 4

ing your lifestyle at the risk of emotional andmental tress.

For those of you who believe that I hateILGs, I must say that I am not against them.They are a great way for some to meet peopleand learn social skills. But some peoplepledge ILGs without even considering dormsas an option. I was walking down the side-walk from the Academic Expo, and I said "hi"to one of my friends from high school. Hedidn't say anything to me; he just gave me achuckle as if'l were now a loser.

If we are to do well here, I think thateveryone needs to be themselves. We muststop looking at people's course numbers ortheir interests as reasons to dismiss someone;we must use them to help us decide who wewant to be. We share one common purpose -

would like nothing better than to keep an eyeon the bags of someone whO'hasn't checked inas a. passenger?' In 'any case, 'Altschul h6uldhave followed the 'old frequent-flyer maxim:Confirm your reservation before snowing upat .th& aif{5ort.',And .he-prdbably :Should .havehad; sorrfe6ne on 'hand' to' help' him' with his'"quite large and- bulky" -possessions if it wasall he could dd to feebly drag them throughthe tennimil. '

One of his carry-on items was thoroughlysearched: "The woman emptied out the entirebag." Again, a logical precaution, as there arerules about carrying certain compressed gases,kniv'es, and other materials in the passengercabin. Although Altschul "can't imagine whatsort of suspicious object they saw on the X-ray scanner," he probably can't imagine how abomb, a biade, or a can of industrial-strengthinsect repellent might show up on the scanner,either, and therefore he has no basis for com-plaint.

In this case, too, airport personnel havenever been anything but courteous to me.Never once has anyone made "sarcastic com-ments" about my carry-on items or their con-tents. In fact, there is always a business-likeatmosphere around the conveyor belt when Itravel, a sense of professionalism that helps toput me at ease. Realize that the conveyor belt,along with the other security measures, makesit virtually impossible for all but the mostdetermined and clever to sneak a bomb aboarda plane.

Altschul also notes that since Rhine-Meinairport in Germany introduced "machine-gun-toting guards" into the corridors, there haven'tbeen any "significant" security breaches. Isay, and Paulos might agree, that there isprobably no correlation between the machineguns and the lack of problems. Most majorU.S. airports, though lacking in heavyweaponry, do not experience "significant"security breaches sufficiently often to considerletting an army of guards "patrol the corri-dors." I would wager that -Altschul believes,also, that the threat of capital punishmentdeters would-be criminals --:- a'theory that hasbeen consistently disproved in death-penaltystates.

Although Altschul con~ludes by labelingthe FAA's security procedures as "largelyworthless," his own story demonstrates theirefficacy. Airport officials made certain, beforehe boarded his flight, that he had no bomb,large knife, or hazardous materials in his pos-session. Additionally, the "innumerate" fearexperienced by the flying populace, who aresuspicious of terrorism, is offset in large partby the presence of the FAA's measures.

Though Altschul can't deign to cope withthese common-sense precautions, most travel-ers are relieved and grateful when they takenote of upgraded airport security.

and I visited dorm . It wa sad seeing dormmangers so eager to issue a ru h violation. Itwas sad seeing freshmen herded aroundBoston and Cambridge like they were objectsand not real people. Why can't we just be our-selves?

Ten of us are here from my high chool,but all of us are different people. I've seensome of them go off to fraternities and sorori-ties and other independent living groups,never even looking at dorms. I've seen peoplethat have had a bad ru h experience and havedecided not to associate with ILGs. Everyone,including me, wants to feel accepted. MlT is abig place, and there are many different typesof people, so I can understand why some peo-ple want to feel accepted right away. Butbeing accepted is not worth the cost of chang-

I came from a science and technologymagnet school. The education was great, butthere were too many cliques. I felt uncomfort-able in high school having to be defined bymy clothes or by how I spoke. I felt uncom-fortable about having to fit a particular pre-conceived image. When I got into MIT, I wasthrilled; I would finally be at a place whereeveryone wanted to learn. After a week ofrush, I am tired and sad that cliques seem tohave taken over MIT and that so many peopleseem to be uneager to learn. A lot of freshmenhave started to treat people as part of a group,instead of as real people.

I've been walking all around campus try-ing to get to know people. I visited fraternities

Guest column by Jul-Chen Chang

Guest column by Eric J. Plosky

, Although apparently weil'-int~nfioned:Brett Altschul '99/comes off as bitter,. intoler-ant, and unIlecessarily impattent in .his -cri!:tlq.ue', ' of'; -the :.: 'Federal ~( ;A.via'ti,O'r1'Administration's new airfine safety precau':')tioris ["Airline' Safety' Prec'autions Seem -More',Pain than Gain," Aug. 25}. 'His pompous "I'have no time for this nonsense" altitude'is'distinctly in the minority on this issue. Recentsurveys have shown that a large majority 'Ofthe flying public supports the FAA's securityoverhauls, even if more time is required at theairport for identification checks and luggagesearches, and even if, indeed, "these securityprecautions are just a pain for travelers," asAltschul claims.

Altschul's mention of mathematician JohnAllen Paulos, intended to' imply that airlinesecurity upgrades are not worth the trouble("more people are killed driving to the air-port," he says), is misplaced. The issue is notthe statistical significance of deaths andinjuries brought on by plane crashes. It is thatrelatively minor tweaks of airport securitycould help to end airline terrorism. SurelyPaulos (and Altschul, as well) would agreethat the elimination of airline terrorism is notwholly a matter of statistics.

The story of Altschul's recent airport expe-rience, as told by him, perfectly illustrates thebeneficial common-sense approach the FAAis taking. In fact, it makes clear that his rtega-tive attitude toward the whole process, and nottoward the security ,procedures themselves,resulted in his having an exceptionally diffi-cult time at the airport. His one experienceshould not be the benchmark by which theprocedures are judged.

Altschul had to show photo identificationbefore boarding his flight. This step isdesigned to make sure that the person board-ing the plane is the person to whom the ticketwas is~ued. Altschul's defiant, "of course, Icould have just lied and said I was [a minor],since minors don't need to show any identifi-cation," is exactly the kind of inexplicableuncooperativeness that needlessly irritates air-line personnel and the people waiting in linebehind him.

Additionally, I refuse to believe that theairline clerk "demanded" to see identification,and a driver's license at that. I am a frequenttraveler, and airline personnel have been noth-ing but courteous in asking for photo identifi-cation, be it a driver's license, a passport, or- and Altschul should have had no troublewith this - a student identification card.

Altschul was admonished not to leave hisbags unattended, an entirely sensible measurefrom even the most elementary viewpoint.Forget bombs, what about theft? And doesAltschul really think that the airline desk

August 30, 1996

.... - ~L~,..~

teenage drug use during the Clinton adminis-tration.

I cannot resi t questioning whetherClinton's announcement is really intended todo anything or if it is meant just to soundgood and diffuse the potentially ruinous druguse report. I would like to hope that theanswer is the former. The list of causes thatClinton has championed at one time and then

later allegedly abandonedis not easy to ignore.Supporters of gay rightsand welfare come to mindas groups where orne haverecently cried betrayal.

In general, I supportClinton's new policiesregarding tobacco, but Iurge him (and Bob Dole -perhaps our next presi-dent), to take even moreaction to stop the plague of

nicotine among our teenagers. I grant that theI ,ODD-foot no-billboard zone is more easilyenforceable than the drug-free zone is, but thatcredibility is lost through a partial, area-basedban on advertisements. I assert that vendingmachine regulations do not get to the root ofthe problem regarding the purchase of tobaccoby minors. I have seen friends of mine fromhigh school destroy much of their lives, begin-ning with tobacco use. America owes it to theyouth of today and those of the 21st centurynot to stop halfway regarding tobacco control.

o C.ga etteso .t.ea ove

Iassert that vendingmachine regulations

do not get to the root ofthe problem.

Kelman, from Page 4

C to PaA Timely

Page 6 THE ECH

really, really mean it inside our nifty soundingdrug-free zone." In my view, all this zone didwas lower the overall credibility of theenforcement of illegal drug laws in our com-munities. Why shouldn't selling crack behindthe local McDonald's - where kids will sure-ly be - be as bad as drug dealing three foot-ball-field lengths from aschool? Along the samelines today, why should abillboard for cigarettes beany less of a terrible thingnear the local mall -where kids will surely be- than near a school?How much did teen druguse rise in the period of1992 to 1995, at the sametime these drug-free zoneshave been in effect? Aresounding 105 percent. Again, this new regu-lation is a start, but let us not kid ourselvesinto thinking that any kind of partial zone-based stance is enough.

Finally, I can not deal with this issue with-out commenting on it on a more politicizedlevel. The tobacco regulation announcementappeared a part of Clinton's recent flurry ofpolicy announcements before the Democratic

ational Convention in Chicago. This particu-lar announcement is especially convenient; itcame on the heels of a report on the rise in

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Augu t 30, 1996 COMICS THE TECH Page 7

•

•

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HE.Y NEWToN, TO"bM'\~-rttE LAST oAY (Eo ft\>SH ...WE'l> ~t=t'TER TAKE IN./ttLL ,4te Fe$.' real>

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,The Baker Foundati~n's Guidelines for Upperclass AdvislDi:

Advisors should ...• Offer academic advice and counseling. This could include assistance in' choosing classes, fulfilling degree

requirements, deciding on research interests, finding faculty/staff for UROPs, theses, etc., and pointing studentsin the right direction to find out about administrative procedures.

• 'Get to know students and their record well..enough so that they can provide infornled assistance in case ofacademic difficulties (e.g., when students are discussed at CAP, when they art~not performing well in classes,etc.) and give them "friendly support .

• Offer assistance or direct students to the right place to determine post-MIT plans (e.g., choosing graduate schools- and advice on jobs) .

• Inform advisees of office hours, and encourage them to drop by at that time or to schedule an appointment tomeet at a later time. Let advisees know the best way and time to reach them.Take the initiative to meet with their advisees, particularly during their sophomore year, because often time~students who need the most help are afraid to ask for it.Maintain the confidentiality of advisees' records.

• Create an environment in which students feel comfortable talking to them.• Respect their advisees' decisions and support their goals, while challenging them to think through their plans.• Be concerned with their advisees as people.• Communicate their expectations of their advisees to their advisees .

Advisees should •••• Expect their advisors to be available at least by appointment during the regular academic term. Students should

not necessarily expect to be able to drop into their advisors' offices to meet with them.• Not expect their advisors to be close, personal friends~• Expect their advisors to act as mentors and not just as paperwork signers.• Take the initiative to meet with their advisors more than just on Registration Day.• Be sure to meet with their advisors if they are having academic difficulties.• Expect to assume a gradual increase in responsibility for maintaining their relationships with their advisors, as

they progress through MIT.• DeJieve that they are worthy -of their advisors' time.• Feel comfortable talking about non-academic issues.• Take the initiative in developing good relationships with their advisors so that they will have someone to talk to

about their problems and concerns and so that they will have someone to write a letter of recommendation forthem when it comes time to applying for graduate/professional school.

• Know that they have the right to change their advisors if they feel that they are not getting adequate advice.• Communicate their expectations of their advisors to their advisors .

Departments should •••• Make every effort to match interests (e.g., research, personality) of advisors and students.• Make it clear to students that they have the right to change their advisors if they. feel that they are not receiving

good advice or they have trouble talking to their advisors.• Inform advisors and students of all the resources available within the department and in the Im;titute (perhaps in

the form of a guidebook). , ,0, -, -• Have some type of orientation for inco~ing majors (towards the end of freshman year) and new advisors to

familiarize them with the department and its procedures. .• Monitor students' fulfilling of degree requirements.• Provide an effective support system to advisors' and advisees in the form of an undergraduate office that is

knowledgeable and helpful.

The Baker Foundation is a student group committed to improving undergraduate life at MIT, and is best known for giving out theannual teaching award. For the past two years, the Foundation has worked on the issue of upperclass advising. These guidelinesare based on conversations with department administrators and faculty members, and the results of a student survey.

Page 8 THE TECH •August 30, 1996

THE ARTS

•

•

•

•

students:

$10a person

Bach to Haydn, Mozartto Brahms, played on

authentic historical

the two of them head off to Vegas. Kingpinwas made by the two who made Dumb andDumber, but it is far better - the jokes are fun-nier, and there is a storyline strong enough to .•stand on its own. It's likely the best comedy ofthe year. -DVR. Sony Copley.

**** TrainspottingTrainspotting tells the story of a group of

Scottish heroin users. Already released inEngland, it has become the third-largest gross-ing British-made film and has received a largeamount of criticism for not condemning hero-in use. The story is told from the view ofheroin user, without judgemept, which makesthe story feel completely genuine and totallyfascinating. -DVR. Sony Nickelodeon.

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Eddie (Steve Buscemi, right) awaits the outcome of a standoff. between Snake(Kurt Russell) and ruthless gang boss Hershe (Pam Grier).

captive by a plastic surgeon who wants to cut.him up and use him for his. parts .. The film'sweakest point-is the lack of an interestingmain character: Snake is unnecessarily raspyand does everything he can to look like acomic book character. ~DVR. Sony Cheri.

*** t/2 Kingpin _Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) is a

promising young bowler, but he mak~s themistake of teaming up with Bill Murray, whosescam results in his losing his hand. Twentyyears later, he's left l.>itter,perpetually drunk,and wearing the world's worst plastic hand.Dreaming of a comeback (and a large cashprize), he persuades. a promising Amish bowler(Randy Quaid) that he needs a manager, and

the film is Morgan Freeman, who easilysteals the movie. -David V. Rodriguez.Sony Copley.

*1/2 E cape From L.Part action movie, part comedy, part some-

thing el e that can't be identified. Escape fromL.A. tries to be all of the e and succeeds atnone of them. The tory is about Snake (KurtRussell), a man who has committed majorcrimes in the new hyper-ethical future and isbanished to the island of Los Angeles, nowthe holding area for all criminals (people whouse profanity and have premarital sex). Snakeis given an offer - a full pardon if he canretrieve from L.A. a dangerou high-techdevice stolen from the president and now inthe hands of a L.A. gang leader. Much of thehumor is about L.A., as when Snake is taken

- BY THE TECH ARTS STAFF -

Registration: 8:30 am-9:00 amFoyer, Tang Center

Program: 9:00 am-2:30 pm

Sponsored by:The MIT Provost's Office

The MIT'Graduate Education Office

RSVP MANDATORYContact: Jackie Sciacca, Workshop Coordinator,Graduate Education Office, Room 3-136A, MIT.

e-Inait: jsciacca@mit.edu

Luncheon Guest Spea~er:Ms. Carol Symes

Derek Bok Center for Teaching-and LearningHarvard University

Wong Auditorium (E51-115).Jack C. Tang Center for Management Education

70 Memorial Driv~(entrance at Wadsworth and Amherst Streets)

****:Excellent***:Good**: verage*:Poor

** Chain ReactionKeanu Reeve is a tudent machini t in a

lab perfecting a clean and fimitless energysource. Once it is completed, someonebreaks into the lab, kills the inventor, andblows up the invention (taking everal cityblock with it). Keanu is framed for thecrime and is forced into hiding until he canprove his innocence. Chain Reaction wasdirected by the same person who directedThe Fugitive, which may explain the similarstory line. But Chain Reaction pales in com-parison - the story isn't as good, and Keanuis no Harrison Ford. The one high point of

Massachusetts' Institute of TechnoloORIENTATION WORKSHOP FORNEW GRADUATE TEACHING STAFFSATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7,1996

Claudia (Vanessa Angel) and Roy (Woody Harrelson) watch' as Ishmael (Randy Quaid)practices in Kingpin.

e M.I.r. 1981, 1995

~August 30, 1996 THE TECH Page 9

New House?. Senior House?

MacGregor House?

.Burton-Conner House?Baker House?

· . Next House?

Whether _ornot you got in~oyour first choice... • • I

· dorm, or got the bid from the living group youl .

". wanted, you're welcome to come to. . .~ .

The Tech's Fall 0 e 0 see. .. . .

Sunday, September ',8, 2:00 p.m.Room 483., Student Center ..

• •

Come meet. the staff at MIT's, oldest. .

. and largest newspaper, .and get a tour.•. I

.of o-ur offices. We'll also be giving out-free Tosci's. ice cream!

Page 10 THE TECH

Technique 1997: Yearbook of theMa achu ett Institute of TechnologyIn the nlaze of twisty passages beneath the hallowed hallsof the Institute, led by a band of renegade hackers, youexplore. Dense steam billows from cracked pipes, and theheat is almost overpowering. You seek escape; a ladder toa rooftop obliges. Now above the concrete jungle ofcolumns and classrooms, the cool evening fills your lungsand moonlight washe over your face. So begins your firstsleepless night.

Welcome to MIT.

Here. in the international capital of technology, you willwalk the same hallways where pioneering entrepreneursand acadenlicians tread. Following in their footsteps, youinherit their legacy of scientific discovery and engineeringexcellence. You will breathe the same air as NobelLaureates, sit in their classrooms, work in their labs ...

The gun fires. Therace is on. D

Welcome to Hell.

Prepare to join ranks with the world's best and brightest.

Are you ready?

In a stark and sterile clean room, surrounded by flashing instrument panelsand droning fumehoods, you worksilently with aconcentrateddetermination. Aconnection Inade, aninsight revealed, andyou've uncoveredthe crucial gene thatwill unlock the cure for AIDS.

Ho hum. Just another day in the lab.

Donald C. Lee, Technique

In the stairwell outside the exam room, books and binders balanced inyour arms, you desperately struggle to absorb a tepn's worth of material'in the few seconds remaining. The doors open, the crowd surges, andyou're herded into a field of desks and partitions.

Here, in the heart ofdarkness. anddespair, you wil1 bebeaten down andpushed to the far

.Iimits of your ambition and of your ability. You will fall to your knees .and crawl when you can no longer stand. But, crawl if you must. ~.and.never stop. For there is, if you can believe it, a light at the end of thistunnel. .. ' ,,' ,,~ .

Capture the reality of MIT behind the columns: Technique 1997.

T,!chnique is this Institute's yearbook, chronicling the year in photos andreflections.

Technique captures the spirit, the joys, the frustrations, and the tormentsof the undergraduate experience.

From the chaos and confusion of RIO to the celebration and satisfactionof graduation day, Te~hnique has it an-the sweet taste of victory ... andthe bitter sting of defeat.

For better or worse, these are four years y~u will never forget. LetTechnique help you to re~emb~r. Reserve your copy now.

Do not abandon all hope, all ye who enter here.

And see you in Hell.

Through Seplember 3 (Registration Day), freshmen can save $15 off lhe regular $55 price of T~cI",ique1997. Upperclassmen can order Technique for $45.

Bring ca.~~ or check lo our lable in-Johnson Athletic Cenler on Registration Day to reserve your copy, oruse lhe form below. .

~------------------------Io Yes, I would like lo purchase _ copies of Tec1mique 1997 al a $10 discounl off lhe regular priceof $55. Enclosed is a check for __ made payable lo Technique ($45/book). Orders must bereceived by Oclober II, 1996.

CJ Yes, I would Ii~ to become a Technique 1997 patton. Enclosed is a check for _' __ ($75 forPalron, $100 for Silver Palron •.$200 for Gold Patron) made payable lo Technique. Please prinl myname as indicaled below, and send my yearbook lo the following address.

Name: -:-- _

Addres : _

Phone: Email: _

Please send check and lhis coupon via US mail lo Technique, P.O. Box 397005. Cambridge. MA

~!.::.:v~n~dep~~ ~i~ ~o~~ __ ~ _ ~ .J

I}

•')

Augu t 30, 1996 THE TECH Page 11

POLICE LOG

It's not too late to join The Tech!Don't miss our Open House on Sunday, September 8,'from 2 to 6 p.m. in the Student Center, Room 483.

No ~xperience is necessary. For more info, call 253-: 1541.

... you've already pre-registered for classes ...

...but ...

RIO is over ...

.. you've moved intoyour new room ...

The following incidents were reported to the Campus Police between August 21 and 28:Aug. 21: Bldg. E23, dietary supplement stolen, $25; Bldg. 20, suspicious activity; Bldg. E39, suspicious

activity; Endicott St., Honda broken into, electric base, sunglasses, and CD player stolen, $700; Phi BetaEpsilon, Honda broken into and CD player and cash stolen, $200; Student Center, food stolen, $25; Kirk L.Rooks, of Westgate #5A, arrested for assault and battery between persons know to each other.

Aug. 22: Ames St. near Bldg. 66, MIT student scammed by con artist for a large sum of money.Aug. 23: Bldg. 3, aluminum chassis stolen, $287; Rockwell Cage, wallet stolen while person played bas-

ketball, $60; Tang Residence Hall, bicycle stolen, $100; LaVerde's Market, David Williams, of 11 NelsonSt., Dorchester, arrested for larceny.

Aug 24: Bldg. 7, Timothy Donehey, of the Pine Street Inn, Boston, arrested for trespassing and on an out-standing warrant; Westgate lot, Honda broken into and CD player and CD stolen, $900; Student Center, cashstolen, $28; Windsor lot, Mercury broken into and briefcase and CD player stolen, $350; MacGregor House,vandalism to a car; Westgate lot, Toyota broken into and car stereo stolen, $240.

Aug. 25: Next House, annoying phone calls; Bexley Hall, doll stolen.Aug. 26: Bldg. E51, suspicious activity; Bldg. 37, annoying mail; Bldg. N52, wallet stolen, $50; Bldg.

E40, bicycle stolen, $50; Albany Street Garage, Ford broken into and radio stolen, $500; Bldg. 3, suspiciousactivity; LaVerde's, John Hose, of 12 Rand Circle, Danvers, arrested for shoplifting.

Aug. 27: Westgate, domestic dispute; Bldg. 66, juvenile arrested for attempted larceny; Bldg. 3, suspi-cious activity.

Bank of Boston offers a graceperiod is of 25 days, provided theprevious balance was paid in full.

Bank of Boston offers bothMastercard and Visa credit cards.

Bank of Boston

The Bank of Boston's studentcard offers an APR currently at 6.4percent (obtained by subtracting1.85 from the prime) and has noannual fee. Credit line is determinedduring the approval process, andvaries with income.

The Discover Card

Cambridge Trust Company

Cambridge Trust Company hasan annual fee of $21 and a fixedAPR of 16.45 percent. Credit limitsnormally range from $500 to$1,000, but it is relatively easy toget it increased.

The grace period for payments is28 days. Only Mastercard is avail-able.

tions on first-year purchases isavailable.

There is a 250-day grace periodson purchases. Credit limits varywith income, but normally start ataround $500.

Discover does not charge anannual fee and has an APR of 19.8percent a 25-day grace period.

A special anniversary offerallows cardholders to get back 2.5percent of the first $1,000 spent dur-ing this year and 0.5 percent for thesecond $1,000, and 1 percent forany $1,000 after that.

By Crlstlan A. GonzalezTECHNOWGY DIRECTOR

Credit cards are becoming thepayment method of choice amongthe population at large, and choos-ing a credit card to use is often amatter of concern for incoming stu-dents.

Credit cards, however, must beused with care. National CreditCounseling Services, an organiza-tion that tracks consumer spending,reports that college students onaverage have a student loan bal-ance of $10,146 after four years,leaving little room for credit carddebts.

Most financial firms require thatapplicants be at least 18 years old toobtain a credit card. Credit cardscan be obtained from local banks or,in other cases, dit:ectly from creditcard companies.

•

Local Banks OffeCredit Card OptionsTo College Students

Citibank• Citibank's Visa card features a

photograph, of the owner for identi-fication purposes and charges noannual fee. Their APR is currently18.15 percent (9.4 percent added tothe prime).

Their grace period before billsmust be paid is 20 to 25 days.Citibank will charge a fee of $15 onpast-due purchases and cashadvances.

Fleet BankFleet Bank offers several

, options, including a Visa creditcard with an APR equal to 3 per-,cent plus the prime, as well as a.Caldor Visa with a 9.9 percent APRon balances transferred from anyother credit card for one year. TheCaldor card also gives a 1 percentrebate for' purchases made at Caldorstores.

Fleet has no annual fees on anyof its credit cards. A Mastercardwith 3.4 percent APRs on transac-

GABOR CSANYI-THE TECH

The Ballroom Dance Club holds Its first gathering of the yearat the Athletics Gateway Wednesday evening.

BaybankBaybank offers a classic Visa

card with a $21 annual fee, a $1,000. credit line, and an annual percentage• - rate of the prime (currently 8.25

percent, though as a prime, the num-ber varies) plus 8.4 percent, usuallytotalling somewhere over 16 percentin interest per year. Baybank has agrace period of 30 before interest ischarged on purchases.

Student value packages are alsoavailable for those who wish to geta checking and savings account atBaybank. Some include credit American Express Optimacards with no annual fees and' debitcards. ' " • American Express' offers the'

..Qptima student card as an option forcollege students. Unlike AmericanExpress's other cards, the Optimahas no annual fee, and currently hasa 18.15 percent APR for purchases.It also has a 30-day grace period for I

purchases.

The Optima card allows dis-counts in Continental Airlines air-fares, Continental frequent fliermiles, and 30 minutes per month oflong distance calls on MC} for ayear.

Augu t 30, 1996

We've pumped up the volume ...if our electronics and sound.system selection. 1ll!Zein to thisAiwa CD Boom Box (Model# CA-D20S).

Jazz up your donn room orapartment From extra-longsheets to pillows and kitchengoods, we have everythingyouneed to callyour place Ilhome."

C011Jfortabie andcasual our collegiateclothing & Levis willhelp you dressforsuccess.

•

You won't hefar Jrom homewith our SouthWestemBel1FreedomPhone~ (FC2S40).

want.you

o stu_.....,

Changeyour scenery with ourvast selection if posters and prints.(FramedJrom $2499 up, andulJlramedJrom $3 and up).

you neeEve

Wekeepyousupplied

forclass,lab orqffice work.

Take a spinthrough our newlYexpanded musicdepartment

We stock over 500 educationallYpnced* siftware packages tohelp you work or procrastinate .•Soflware packages are available onlY to students,

Jaculty, and stqjf members if an accreditededucational institution. Valid identjfication must bepresented at the time if purchase. OnlY one copy if aparticular title mqy be purchased by each individual.

What you need. ~ ---..MIT COOP: In Kendall Square, 3 cambridge Center, cambridge, MA • ~17.499.3200 • Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm

ugu t 30, 1996 Page 13

Campus Police Educate Against New Scam Artist

act?

ment. Two physical education cred-its will be given for successful com-pletion of the course.

RAD classes are limited towomen, but special classes thatinclude men or are designed for aspecific group on campus can beconducted upon request, Glavinsaid.

"We'll make it worth theirwhile," Vossmer said.,

"If you know what types of situ-ations to avoid, there is a very goodchance of not having to encounter asituation like that," she said.

The fee to cover materials for theclass is $20, payable to MlT withinthree days of registration for theclass. Subsequent classes are free,Vossmer said.

Attendance is limited to the fir t16 women who register with pay-

INDIUNATH NEOGY-THE TECH

Workmen In Lobdell Food Court change the sign at the D'Angelo's counter Into the new DellComer.

Come Teach With Us!On November 23rd and 24th, the MIT Educational Studies Program will bring'&ver600 7th-12th grade ,students onto the MIT. campus to enjoy Splash, a,;program of lectures, seminars, and workshops. Splash courses are designedby our v~lunteer instructors, and in the past have included everything from.Chess, The Calculator In Your Head, Technology Risks, and BeginningKnitting, to African Literature, Philosophy Lounge, and Build Your OwnRobot. If you have an idea for a course you'd like to present, please call253-4882 and request teacher information. A:ll ar~ welcome. Applicationdeadline is.September 13th. .

MITEducational Studies Program~MITStudent Center ./ ~ L~

77 Mass. Ave., Room W20-467 j ~,b' Z r pCambridge, MA 02139 ~ '" r;----J-.- .,-

(617) 253-4882 '-~~~~)\.

pecial skills. RAD also offerswomen the opportunity to test theirnewly-learned skills on a real per-son during a simulated attack.

A sailants attack people wholook vulnerable and are, for exam-ple, walking around with head-phone on and their head in a book,Glavin aid. "We want people toavoid those encounters to startwith," he said.

sing? paint?

We can help......!he Council for the Arts at MIT G'rants Program

Next deadline: September 20

The Council ~orthe Arts at MIT Grants Program was Greated to give members of the MIT communityt.he opport.Unlty to crea~e, learn about and participate in the arts. The Grants Guidelines are now online, at: http://web.mit.edu/arts/www/grantguide.html

Application forms are available at the MIT Office of the Arts E15-205 or by interdepartmental mail.Contact Susan Cohen, Director of the Council for the Arts at MIT at 253-4005 orcohen@media.mit.edu for more information.

Are you a frustrated artist? Do you want to:

hours and sometimes do their bank-ing at midnight or I a.m., I wouldsee if I could bank at some othertimes," she added.

"I don't feel insecure aboutusing the ATMs over there," Jamessaid. "Robbers tend to be in openareas, and since I'm in an enclosedarea, if I scream, the entire corridorwill hear it."

New CP Web page availableA new CP homepage on the

World Wide Web can be found athttp://web.mit.edu/cp/wwwl. Thefirst 450 people who visit the sitewill receive a free gift.

"The Safety, Security, and CrimePrevention Handbook for MIT" dis-tributed by the CPs is available onthe page. Crime statistics andSaferide shuttle information canalso be found there.

Other services available on theCP's site include a new bicycle reg-istration form and a campus lost-ana-found section. Anonymouscrime tips can also be sent online.

Vo smer of the Crime Preventionand Sensitive Crimes Unit.

"Our main focus i to be invitedto ... many F ILGs to give vitalinformation," Vossmer said. "Wewant students to survive MIT assafely as possible without being vic-tims of crime."

Vossmer stressed the importanceof the educational seminars. Thereare simple steps that students cantake to avoid being victim ofcrime. Any items students do notkeep locked up, for example, will"more than likely grow legs andwalk away," Vo smer said.

Chief of Police Anne P. Glavin,Sergeant Paul J. Baratta, andVossmer will speak at PresidentCharles M. Vest's reception thisSaturday morning as part of ParentsOrientation.

They will speak to graduate stu-dents on Tuesday on urban crimeand learning to be streetwise.

AlMs, from Page I

Education can prevent criD)eIn an effort to -reduce the occur-

rence of this scam and other crimes,CPs are trying to educate the MITcommunity about the issuesinvolved in living in an urban cam-pus area. To this end, CPs are offer-ing a number of crime-preventionseminars.

The seminars are slated to cover Course helps women fight rapeurban crime, acquaintance rape, and Rape Aggression Defense class-personal safetY. CPs are willing to es will also be offered again thisgive presentations to any fraterni- year. "We focus heavily on rapeties, sororities, independ,ent living. because that's what women feargroups, or dormitories or any other most," Glavin said.group who makes a request for one, The course teaches practicalsaid Sergeant Cheryl delong defense techniques that require no

By Eric SitSTAFF REPORTER

"We haven't had any problems"at the ATM, Glavin said. "Therewas one attempted theft by studentsa few years back. But in regard tosafety, that has never been an issuewith that ATM."

Glavin cautioned that people.should still remain vigilant. "Tryand use a well-traveled ATM,"Glavin said. "Remember what timeof day it is and the fewer peoplearound the more isolate you'regoing to be and the further awayyou're going to be from help."

Glavin said that there have beenrobberies at ATMs in' Kendall~quare, on Massachusetts Ave., andat the intersection betweenMassachusetts Ave. and, Vassar St.in recent years.

"Don't flash cash, since thatadvertises to the area that you areflush with money," she said.

"Since students keep all sorts of

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All first time loan borrowers' ofPerkins or Federal Direct loans arerequired to have entrance coun-selling.Call 258-5664 to obtain datesand times. All borrowers withTechnology loans must schedule indi-vidual interviews. Call Lynn Aury 258-5663 (A-G),Sarah Hernandez 253-5006 (H-O),or Gerry Purdy253-5630(P-Z)toschedule an appointment.

• Information

Studen1SShould StillI

.Be Vigilant at ATMs

Campus Police have released a"scam alert" warning the MIT com-munity that a con artist ha beenapproaching individuals in the area.

Two people affiliated with MIT,in addition to several Cambridgeresidents and Harvard University

t affiliates, have been victims of thescam.

According to the CPs, victimsare approached by the scam artistand are told a sob story about a bro-ken-down car or a sick child and anurgent need to get money.

The scam artist wfl) give thevictim a check and ask in returnthat the person obtain cash from anATM. The check which is given tothe victim is usually a stolencheck. The suspect will usuallyinsist that the victim get into a cabor a car driven by a female accom-plice and is taken to locations asfar away as Quincy to go to anATM machine.

The most recent description ofthe suspect is a black male, approxi-mately 5'11", 170 pounds, in hisearly 30s, with close-cropped hairand a mustache. His accomplice isdescribed as a black female, 5'3"and "chunky."

August 30, 1996

City .Days to PromoteCommunity RelatioM

ousetatio

11

'I

11

into the public schools on a weeklybasis," she said. "It helps build upfamiliarity for both the elementaryschool student and the MIT peo-ple."

It has also helped relations f I

between groups within MIT,Purinton said. Groups that havetraditionally had disagreementshave scheduled events together tohelp smooth over past enmity, shesaid.

Born MArch '77 will address partic-ipants.

Purinton said that City Days isan event important to the building ofgood relations between MIT and thelocal community. "It helps incom-ing MIT students to realize they'repart of a larger community thanMIT," she said.

"It kicks off the PSC's Linksprogram, where we send students

City Days, from Page 1Theresa J. Lee, program manag-er for alumni/alumnae activities,said that this weekend is intendedfor "freshmen's parents while fami-ly weekend is for all parents."

In addition, she said that sinceFamily Weekend occurs when MITis in session, parents have thechance to see a different aspect ofthe school than they will this week-end. Any similarities are "not any-thing that would prevent parentsfrom coming again."

INDJUNATH NEOGY-THE TECH

Professor of Physics John W. Belcher talks to Grace H. Wang '00 at the Freshmen Meet the Professors event yester~ay afternoon Inthe Bush Room (10-105).

tunity to meet housemasters andtour dormitories. .

A new event this year is theBoston brunch and cruise onSunday for which over 30 parentshave already registered.

Family weekend in OctoberThis weekend's events for par-

ents is a precur or to a broaderFamily Weekend in October. Batessaid that the programs do not totallyoverlap.

Parents, from Page 1

You

Martha R. Jennings, manager ofpresident's house, expected between1000 and 1200 guests, both parentsand freshmen. The breakfast, whichincludes a receiving line, is "achance [for administrators] to intro-duce themselves" to parents,Jennings said.

The Chorallaries will also regaleparents as they wait to meet Vest.

Presentations to inform parentSaturday continues with an panel

discussion called "Cutting theApron Strings." Lee said that theevent, which will be as informal aspossible, is designed "to assure par-ent that their freshmen will betaken care of academically, socially,and in all aspects of campus life."

The program will also "let themknow about the facilities at MIT,"Lee said. MIT is not an easy place,but parents" hould pretty muchlea ve [their] students alone.Students will do well here and ifnot, we have the resources in termsof tutoring, counseling, and supportoffices to help them," she said.

This panel will be made up ofAssociate Dean for Residence andCampus Activities Andrew M.Eisenmann '75, Bexley HallHousemaster Carol Orme-Johnson,Associate Dean of Counseling andSupport Services Arnold R.Henderson Jr., and three students.

"Greek 101," a presentation byAdviser to Fraternities, Sororitiesand Independent Living Groups

eal H. Dorow, assistant dean forRCA, will answer parents' ques-tions concerning Greek life.

For parents of students residingin dormitories the "Mi Casa Es SuCasa" event will provide an oppor-

THE TECH Page IS"

'welcomebackl

GABOR CSANYI-THE TECH

The List Visual Arts Center gives a preview on Wednesdayafternoon of works of art 'available for students to borrOw fortheir rooms during the school year.

East Campus will be crowded intodoubles and doubles in Burton-Conner, McCormick, and ewHou e will be crowded into triples.

Based on patterns from the pastfew years, it will not be necessary toconvert the lounges in theMacGregor tower into doubles. Inaddition, quadruples in BakerHouses will not be crowded intoquints.

Both these situations were con-sidered particularly serious situa-tions in past years, and the Institutehas attempted to avoid them, in partby housing approximately 50 mem-bers of the Sigma Kappa sorority inthe basement of Ashdown House, agraduate dormitory, until a so~orityhouse is obtained for them.

This improvement, however, didnot come from a better computer

. algorithm, according to Re idenceand Campus Activities StaffAssociate for Residence ProgramsPhilip M. Bernard. Rather, theimprovements likely are due to thesmaller class size, approximately 20fewer than last year.

Moderate crowding expectedWednesday, Bernard stated that

there would be a maximum of about146 crowds, with the precise num- "ber to be dete'rmined as pledgingcontinues.

This level of crowding is slightlybetter than last year, when approxi-mately 155 crowds were required. Atthis number, most freshman rooms in

Interest,ed in ....• Jav~ coding• CGI programming• Web server redesign• Unix server maintenance. .

• AppleShare server .upkeep

_ _ ARIFUR RAHMAN-THE TECH

With the help of an upperclassman,Jeffr8J...-Sheldon.~OQ...movesJnto-Next. H~use."yesterday- after-noon.

Lottery, from Page 1

Join,The Tech's Technology Staff!

Conner. House were significantlyoversubscribed.

Out of 665 freshmen whontered the lottery (excluding the

language houses, Chocolate City,and freshmen who later pledged toindependent living groups), 368, or55 percent, chqse one of these threedormitories.

In general, the results" of thehousing lottery were far better thisyear. Seventy-six percent of fresh-men received their first choice ofdormitory, compared wi1h 67 per-qent last year..

Ninety-two percent receivedeither their first or second choice,compared with 80 percent last year.

Housing Lottery Results Better;Donn Crowding .DownThis Year

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Page 16 THE TECH THE DAILY Co Augu 30, 1996

The Tech reprints The Daily Confusion as provided to us by the Re idence and Orientation Week Committee.Any questions or compl ints about The Daily Confusion hould be directed to the RIO Center at x3-2500

Activities

6:00p: Hillel. Shabbat Services at Hillel:Join us for either Egalitarian or Orthodoxservices. Both take place at 6:00pm atHillel..

6:00p: Asian Baptist Student Koinonia.Join Asian Baptist Student Koinoniafor a kimbap dinner followed by Bible

Study on campus. t on theStudent center Steps .•

7:00p: Hillel. Shabbat Dinner at Hillel:Location- Hillel, Main Dining Room.Cost- $8.95. Please reserve byWednesday, 8/28 .•

7:00p: Logarithms. Hey freshman! Like tosing? Like to make other people laugh?Then audition for the Logarhythms, MITsoldest and best a cappena group. Come

with a prepared sOrlQ and a joke (not. necessarily original). Also, expect to do. a little sight-singing. Come to 4-148

between7:00 an<f9:30, even if youhaven't signed up for a time slof. We'relooking for all vOIce ranges. See youthere!

7:3<>p-:Chinese Student's Club. MOVIENIGHT Watch Casablana on theExplanade Meet at 7:30 Student CenterSteps.

In case -of emergency, dial 100 from anyMIT phone. Other Important numbers:Campus Police: 253~1212Med Center Emergency: 253.1311RIO Center: 253-2500UAA: 253-6772Nightline: 253-8800Delta Psi or St. Anthony Hall: please seeNO.6

The Daily ConfusionEditors: Kelly K Chan, Angela Chou, JasonDavis

NOTE: A single asterisk C.) followi~ alisting indicates a coed or female liVInggroup. A double asterisk C •• ) indicates anactivity to which women are cordiallyinvited.

vec s. I

PUZZLE SOLUTIONSFROM LAST ISSUE

@ Edward Jul ius Collegiate CW8807

ACROSS1 Partner for Rogers8 House styles

(2 wds.)15 Former Yankee

manager16 Campus building17 Del ighted18 Cereal garnish19 Prefix: straight20 Gridder Dickerson22 College basketball

tourney23 Bear: Sp.24 Goes backwards27 Clamor29 Bookstore category31 Annoy33 Wen34 - share38 l.A. suburb40 Gossip dose41 Quebec peninsula42 Baseball hall-of-

farner Aparic io45 - consequence46 Sweet pepper49 Chicago time

(abbr .-)50 Ready for use53 --tse

55 - de plume56 Alpine goat57 Peach or cherry60-AddresS part

(2 wds.)63 River in Hades65 Finished (2 wds.)66 "- d'Amour,"

1958 song67 W. Indies islands68 Pauper's wear

DOWN

1 Concerning (2 wds.)2 Mix up3 Science of con-

struction4 Egyptian emblems5 Arctic dwellings6 Dakotas Indi an7 Ag~d8 O.K.9 Sma 1 horse-drawn

carri age10 Baseball statistic11 t1_ longa, vita

brevis12 Water pipes13 Ford or Banks14 Methods (abbr.)21 Sports officials

25 Noted jazz vocalist26 First name of

former VP27 Piece of sediment28 New Rochelle col-

lege30 Galbraith's field,

for short32 Fra Fi 1ippo --35 Astray (2 wds.)36 Sisters37 Scheduled time

pos iti on39 Playwright Simon40 Boston time (abbr.)42 Social reformers

43 River to theUba ngi

44 Est imated-47 -- voyage48 Passe (2 wds.)50 Soldier from Mel-

bourne51 French interjection52 With plenty to

spare54 Verbal contraction58 Impecunious59 River to. the Danube61 Part of NCO (abbr.)"62 Eggs64 Half a Latin dance

SOLUTIONS IN THE NEXT EDITION OF THE TECH