A cloud of black smoke towered above the former Alpha Tau Omega fraternity on Wednesday morning after a fire broke out at around 8:15 a.m. in a construction trench, according to the MIT News Office.

Leland Cheung G has secured a position on Cambridge’s City Council in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial results released Thursday evening. Tabulation of votes was complicated by the high number of auxiliary, or write-in, ballots, of which there were 3,590.

It seemed to be a meeting like any other: brownies and fresh apple cider for refreshments, professionals engaged in conversations, and a frenetic sense of purpose filled in the air. That is, until Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt walked through the doors to the room.

Last Thursday, MIT alum Dr. Stewart D Nozette PhD ’83 appeared before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and plead not guilty to committing espionage against the United States government. He will be returning to court on November 10 to face a sentence that could put him in prison for life.

On Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 9–10, the MIT Corporation’s Visiting Committee for the Division of Student Life will visit MIT. The Undergraduate Association hastily passed a bill requesting the committee hold a forum open to all students; the bill was passed on Monday, Nov. 2, well after the committee’s schedule at MIT has been set.

Unnoticed to thousands of students, faculty, and tourists passing through Lobby 7 every day, MIT’s iconic William Bosworth-designed entrance has sat unfinished since its construction in 1939. Now, the Class of 1954 is preparing a student design contest to fill the four bare pedestals in the corners of the lobby.

The IFC’s newly elected executive board will be take office on Wednesday November 11, led by President T. Ryan Schoen ’11. The board has modified its positions, combining the former programming and recruitment chairs into one position and creating a new publicity chair.

The bicycle rack under Building 9 was hastily removed on Wednesday, Oct. 21 in preparation for President Obama’s visit the following Friday. About twenty bicycles were cut off the rack and their broken locks were left lying in a pile on the pavement.

MIThenge is a twice-annual moment when the stars align — or at least the sun does — with the Infinite Corridor.