Last Tuesday, Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo announced that Bexley Hall would be closed for up to three years for renovations, displacing all residents at the end of this semester. On Friday, the Bexley community collectively voiced their concerns and wishes in a letter addressed to Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 and Dean Colombo, signed by over 70 students and GRTs. Grimson and Colombo responded to the letter yesterday afternoon. In the meantime, Bexley residents were given the option of entering a housing lottery, which closed yesterday at 5 p.m., if they wanted to remain in on-campus housing next year.

In their letter, the Bexley residents emphasized their desire to remain together next year and to preserve Bexley culture. To this end, they requested that Grimson and Colombo look into various housing options large enough to accommodate 40 to 60 students. The residents mentioned the dorm block system, in which groups of Bexley students would live together at other MIT dorms, as their least popular choice.

“We not only believe that Bexley’s culture should be prized and saved, but similarly, that all the dorms have a unique personality, without which MIT would be a different place,” said the Bexley letter. “We do not feel that MIT should have to lose or displace any other communities.”

Instead, Bexley students indicated a strong preference for on-campus temporary housing or off-campus ILG-like (Independent Living Group) housing. The letter listed several possible locations for these, such as an already-residential portion of 100 Memorial Drive, or the Westgate Parking Lot at the west end of Briggs Field. The residents pointed out that other colleges have housed their students in temporary housing in similar situations in the past.

In addition, the residents asked for access to the engineering reports which first deemed Bexley uninhabitable. The letter asked MIT to form a council comprised of faculty, administrators, students, and engineers to oversee the new dormitory design. In order to keep their culture alive, Bexley students requested an on-campus space for resident use to maintain the visibility of Bexley to freshmen.

In their response to the Bexley letter, Grimson and Colombo stated that they were currently looking at the feasibility of a temporary housing option for a large group of Bexley residents, and that a Bexley Advisory Group comprised of Bexley residents, the housemasters, and campus leaders would be formed soon.

Grimson wrote that they have “tentatively identified the Pritchett Dining Room in Walker Memorial as a community space for displaced Bexley residents.” However, he was less clear about whether the Bexley students would eventually be given access to the engineering reports.

“We will give your request for access to the reports our careful consideration once the administration and other facilities stakeholders have reviewed and understand the report’s contents,” wrote Grimson.

“We hope we can continue to offer its unique culture to future students,” the residents wrote. “Many of us cannot imagine MIT without Bexley; the friendship, support, and acceptance we have found here has been integral to our MIT experience and we would be devastated to see this community torn apart.”

To facilitate communication in these deliberations, Bexley has — counter to its history and culture — elected seven representatives for the dorm.

Since many MIT dorms had already selected rooms for residents next year, the announcement of Bexley’s closing forced dorms to have to re-evaluate what they had originally planned for in the fall. By Friday, each dorm had sent MIT Housing a list of rooms that Bexley residents could move into.

Several dorm housing chairs said that they tried to reserve as many blocks of rooms as possible for the incoming Bexley students, so that they would be more comfortable living together. According to Grimson’s followup letter yesterday, displaced Bexley residents would continue to pay the same amount for housing in other dorms as they would have in Bexley, although they would still have to purchase a dining plan should they move into a dining dorm.

“We offered Bexlians 16 spots on Burton 5, 10 on Burton 2, and 7 each on Conner 3 and Conner 4,” said Tom Roberts ’13, Burton-Conner’s rooming chair. “We are not sure if all of these spots will be needed, but we chose floors that had more openings than the others and, in some cases, had openings that were already geographically convenient. Some people on B2 and B5 were also kind enough to give their rooms up to make larger continuous blocs, which was really awesome.”

According to Tegan A. Hunter ’15, the housing chair for Next House, the dorm is offering Bexley students a block of rooms in the east wing of the second floor.

“We looked at the results of our housing lottery for the Fall, and determined that we had a grouping of 12 beds that we could offer to housing and didn’t need to move our residents around,” explained Hunter. “We also located other smaller groupings of rooms throughout Next House that could potentially be given to Bexley residents. I really wanted to try and find a group of rooms that we could offer, as it is important to try and keep as many groups of friends together as possible.”

Like several other MIT dorms, Next House had already been slated to increase its capacity next year by turning some doubles into triples. Hunter said that Next House could “easily” add 23 students, with another 13 possible if MIT Housing asked upperclassmen to move to generate more space.

While New House also offered a block for Bexley students, the housing chair explained that the unique admissions process of the cultural houses complicated the process.

“We offered 1 room for each house, accommodating 10 Bexley residents in total throughout the entire building,” said Melody G. Liu ’16, the New House housing chair. “We also offered up a block of 10 rooms in Desmond (House 5) and a few rooms in some of the cultural houses, but we emphasized that we would take 10 rooms total throughout all of New House. If Bexley students would like to move into a cultural house, they would need to agree to the conditions of living in a cultural house.”

Senior House co-housing chair Laura Y. Zhang ’15 said that she sent Housing a list of around 22 rooms, or half of the second floor, that were available for current Bexley residents. “A lot of seniors were moving out anyway; it was going to be pretty empty in the fall,” she said. “I just hope for a surprising and wonderful outcome out of this mess of a situation.”

Some residents from other dorms have expressed sympathy toward the plight of Bexley students and plan to welcome them into their dorm’s culture next year.

“I have absolutely no concerns about Bexley residents moving into Next House,” said Hunter. “In discussions I’ve had with fellow Next House residents, all sympathize with the Bexley residents, and would welcome any additions to the Next House community with open arms.”

Other residents are less sure about the effect that an influx of Bexley students could have on their dorm culture.

“Speaking personally and not in my capacity as RAC (Rooming Assignment Chair), I side with many of the residents in wishing that more effort was being put into finding a solution that would keep everyone together, rather than this process that’s disruptive for everyone,” said Roberts. “On the other hand, I think it will have a positive impact on BC’s culture. Some people are hesitant about what it means for floor cultures to have that large of a group moving in at once, as well as having fewer freshmen next year, but most people are really supportive and understanding about the fact that, you know, people are losing their home and their community.”

According to a timeline provided to the housemasters of each dorm, lottery results will come out May 15 for Bexley students.

“I have been incredibly impressed in the manner that the MIT dorm community has come together to support Bexley during this challenging time,” said Hunter.

See related content for this article at tech.mit.edu/V133/N26/bexley.html for the letters between Bexley residents and members of the administration.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton ordered yesterday that some confidentiality restrictions be removed from evidence MIT had produced for the case against Aaron Swartz, which was dropped after his suicide in January. This is the first order since Swartz’s lawyers’ motion on March 15, which would have made information collected for the trial public. The judge agreed with MIT’s and JSTOR’s March 29 responses, asking that information including the names of employees be redacted.

Prior to the order, Swartz’s lawyers, JSTOR, MIT, and the federal government all agreed that some information contained in the court documents could be made public, which Gordon upheld. Elliot R. Peters, Swartz’s laywer, also asked for identifying and network information to be disclosed, but that request was denied. The order also says that Swartz’s estate must allow MIT and JSTOR to review and redact all documents before making them public. Also, all parties must submit a joint proposed order — essentially an agreement between themselves — consistent with yesterday’s opinion by May 27.

There has been much public and media interest in the case since Swartz’s death. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform also began an investigation into the case in late January and has requested certain documents from the case.

The order says that since MIT and JSTOR are “cooperating with the Congressional inquiry into Mr. Swartz’s prosecution suggests that, to the extent such redactions interfere with the comprehension of any documents, each can address those problems with the House Committee on a case-by-case basis.”

Swartz’s lawyers filed a motion on March 15 requesting that evidence used in Swartz’s trial be made publicly accessible, including many MIT documents. The motion requested in particular that the court not redact the names and official titles of all law enforcement personnel and employees of MIT and JSTOR who appear in the evidence.

But in a letter to the MIT community on March 20, President L. Rafael Reif disagreed with the extent of information Swartz’s lawyers wanted to release. MIT, JSTOR, and Swartz’s lawyers reached agreement on some terms of lifting the protective order, such as redacting social security numbers and birthdates, but not on the details of redactions. The government, JSTOR and Reif all sought to redact all names and identifying information of law enforcement and MIT and JSTOR personnel since “revealing the names of any of these individuals, even to Congress, might lead to some form of retaliation.” Reif’s letter also said that details about MIT’s network vulnerabilities would also be redacted.

Yesterday’s order noted incidents that supported MIT’s request to redact certain names, citing the MIT gunman hoax on February 23, evidence of “incidents of harassment and retaliation” from MIT and JSTOR, and “threatening communication” received by a relative of a prosecuting attorney.

According to Reif’s letter in March, MIT planned to release MIT-related documents at the same time as releasing Hal Abelson PhD ’73’s report. It is possible that Swartz’s lawyers or JSTOR will release those documents before the Abelson report is ready — yesterday’s order did not say whether MIT would be the first to release the documents.

After Swartz’s death, Abelson was tasked to analyze MIT’s involvement in the case. In a letter to the community on January 22, Abelson wrote that he hoped the report could be ready “in a few weeks.” In a letter to The Tech in this issue, Abelson wrote “Given the visibility of the Aaron Swartz case and the controversies surrounding it, it’s important to get the report right and to take the necessary time and effort to do that. My plan is to give my report to President Reif this summer.”

Last Wednesday, international students received an email from Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook, director and associate dean of the International Students Office, warning them to be prepared for a new and potentially time-consuming border inspection process when re-entering the U.S. Guichard-Ashbrook stated that the new inspection process is a “direct response” to the Boston Marathon bombings.

On May 2, a senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection circulated a memo ordering border agents to verify that all international students entering the United States are traveling on a valid student visa. The order comes in response to the discovery that a Kazakh student accused of hiding evidence on behalf of the younger Boston bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, entered the U.S. on an invalid student visa in January.

At present, international students’ comings and goings are monitored by the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security. Previously, student visas were only verified by SEVIS if a student entering the country was selected for a second inspection by border agents. According to Guichard-Ashbrook’s email, going forward secondary inspections will be required for all foreign students entering the U.S. It is unclear how this additional inspection may affect wait times at the border but the ISO has warned students to expect delays.

Emily Eros, a Canadian and first year Master’s student in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (Course 11), reacted to the news. “The news struck me as an unsurprising and ineffective reaction to the Boston bombings. The actions seem intended to show that the US is stepping up to prevent future attacks, but in reality, I doubt these measures will have any effect beyond making additional work for border agents and additional hassle for international students. We already have our documents examined, our retinas scanned, and our fingerprints taken each and every time we enter the country. Is an automatic secondary inspection really necessary? Will showing a self-printed course registration really step up security?”

In her email, Guichard-Ashbrook suggested international students travel with copies of their Spring 2013 and Fall 2013 class registrations to present to border agents as additional evidence of their student status.

Other students stated that they felt the change in the visa inspection process was a superfluous reaction to the bombings given that the Tsarnaev brothers, the primary suspects behind the Boston bombings, were not in the U.S. on student visas. Younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was a naturalized U.S. citizen. His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died in a police shoot out several days after the bombings, held a green card and was therefore considered a permanent resident of the U.S.

Guichard-Ashbrook’s email concludes with an apology to the international student body, “On behalf of the entire ISO staff, I want to let you know that we are so very sorry that you have to contend with these new, very strict requirements. International students in the U.S. are overwhelming compliant and law-abiding visitors to the U.S. through out their academic programs and beyond. These are challenging times for the U.S. as government wrestles with how to make our borders more secure, while at the same time making all of you feel welcomed and valued in the U.S.”

Following Normandy Real Estate Partners and Twining Properties’ purchase of properties formally owned by Kathy Fennell and the Fennell Property Trust in January, plans for the area at the intersection of Mass Ave. and Main St. will have a general focus on mixed-use development but remain unspecific. A joint venture between Normandy Real Estate Partners and Twining Properties bought the parcels, including several parking lots and the former Quest Diagnostics building, for a reported $32.4 million. According to Cambridge City Councilor Kenneth Reeves, the Fennel properties constitute “the largest number of parcels to be sold in Central Square in a long time.”

By phone, Alex Twining, CEO of Twining Properties, commented that his objective is to transform the parcels into a mixed-use development including “residential, retail, hotel, and office spaces.” “We want to make this a really exciting new part of Central Square,” Twining said. “Right now Central Square gets pretty dead around the intersection between Main Street and Mass Ave.,” where the properties are located.

Before proceeding with any development plans, Twining stated that he and his partners are monitoring the city’s ongoing discussion of new zoning regulations, which would likely impact the area surrounding the former Fennell properties.

Twining Properties has played a significant role in the development of Kendall Square as the developer of the Watermark apartments and Broad Point Canal. Twining is also responsible for starting a retail-leasing group, CityRetail, headed by Jesse Bearkan, which attracted some of the first retailers and restaurants to Kendall Square including Evoo and Za.

After facing the challenge of attracting retailers to Kendall Square, Twining stated, “Central Square has a lot more to start with [than Kendall Square]. For us it’s exciting to do a project in an area where there is already a lot to work with.”

—Sara Hess

BOSTON — The mystery surrounding the burial of the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev has come to an end. The Boston Marathon bombing suspect was buried this week at a small Muslim cemetery in Doswell, Va.

According to his death certificate, which was released Friday, Tsarnaev was buried Thursday at Al-Barzakh Cemetery, about half an hour north of Richmond. Officials in Massachusetts had said the body was moved to a burial site out of state. But they had refused to disclose where.

Tsarnaev was shot by the police and run over by his younger brother, Dzhokhar, as the two tried to elude the authorities during a chase that began April 18. They are believed to have carried out the bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 260 on April 15.

His body was claimed by an uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, about two weeks later, but it remained at a funeral home in Worcester, Mass., for six days, because no cemetery or host community could be found that would accept it.

Martha Mullen followed the story from her home in Richmond, and asked local religious leaders if they could think of anywhere Tsarnaev could be laid to rest.

“Jesus tells us, ‘Love your enemies,’ not to hate them after they’re dead,” said Mullen, according to a statement provided by the Islamic Society of Greater Richmond.

She received an offer from the Islamic Funeral Services of Virginia, a small organization that runs a cemetery with several dozen plots in Doswell, an unincorporated village with less than 2,000 people that is best-known as the home of the King’s Dominion theme park. The organization worked with the Worcester police, the Worcester funeral director, Peter A. Stefan, and Tsarni to make arrangements.

“We strongly disagree with his violent actions, but that does not release us from our obligation to return his body to the earth,” said an unnamed official with the group who was quoted in the statement.

Tsarnaev’s body was moved late Wednesday, an official at the funeral home said.

The burial came as a surprise to Doswell area officials.

“Caroline County was not consulted or given any input into the decision-making process for determining a burial site for this individual,” Charles M. Culley Jr., the administrator for the county where the cemetery is, said in a statement. “We had no advance notice of the decision and unfortunately learned of the selection of a burial site through the media.”

KIZLYAR, Russia — It’s not every day that a well-dressed American shows up in this town, where shaggy cows meander over deeply rutted roads, so people remember Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Among the things that made the young visitor stand out, two acquaintances recalled Thursday, was his avid interest in waging jihad.

“He already had jihad views when he came. I think because he was Chechen, he was rooting for his homeland,” Zaur M. Zakaryayev, 29, a member of a Salafi advocacy organization, the Union of the Just, said Thursday. “When he got here he was surprised at the conditions. I think he expected to find a full-fledged war, that one people was fighting with another.”

These new accounts out of Kizlyar, where Tsarnaev spent time with a cousin who is a prominent Salafi Islamist leader, have begun to flesh out a picture of what he did during his six months in Russia last year.

On Sunday agents from the Federal Security Service, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, interrogated Tsarnaev’s cousin, who is in police custody, asking whether he had impressed the young man with “extremist” views, his lawyer said.

The cousin, Magomed Kartashov, told them it was the other way around. In interviews, several young men here agreed, saying that Kartashov had spent hours trying to stop Tsarnaev from “going to the forest,” or joining one of the militant cells scattered throughout the volatile region, locked in low-level guerrilla warfare with the police.

“Magomed explained to him at length that violent methods are not right,” Zakaryayev said.

Tsarnaev’s friends in Kizlyar may be responsible for a crucial change in his thinking. When he left, he was no longer focused on the local grievances that fueled the fighting against the police — but instead broader issues in the Islamic world, including the effect of U.S. and Russian policy in the Middle East.

Rasim B. Ibadamov, 30, said by last summer Tsarnaev was taking steps that suggested that he had let go of the idea of joining the underground — for instance, applying to renew his Russian passport. “What I can say is there was the impression that Tamerlan listened to Magomed and to some extent, he changed,” Ibadamov said. “His behavior changed. He started to read more, and to read different books. In general, as far as I understand, he changed his views.”

Tsarnaev’s body was interred Thursday in an undisclosed location, the police in Worcester, Mass. said in a statement. The announcement represented an end to a grim effort to find a place to bury the bombing suspect, who was shot by the police and run over by his brother, Dzhokhar, after the two tried to elude the authorities during a chase that began April 18.

A long list of cemeteries had refused to accept the body.

“A courageous and compassionate individual came forward to provide the assistance needed to properly bury the deceased,” read a statement published on the police department’s website.

Tsarnaev’s relationship with Kartashov, which was first reported by Time magazine on Wednesday, may help explain his mentality as he returned to the United States. Kizlyar is one of the most dangerous spots in Dagestan’s insurgency, in which militants kill scores of policemen every year and counterterrorism raids can leave neighborhoods in ruins. Kartashov once served as a police inspector there, but he left the force around 10 years ago and has since become a charismatic Salafi leader.

His group protests police counterterrorism tactics in the region, which are often brutal, and burned U.S. and French flags after the release of the anti-Islam YouTube film “Innocence of Muslims.” The authorities in Dagestan — who monitor legal Salafi organizations for links to militants — have viewed Kartashov’s activity with mounting suspicion. He was arrested two weeks ago, after police stopped a wedding convoy that was flying black flags with Arabic phrases.

“To all our questions there was only one answer: ‚“We only have two flags — the flag of the Russian Federation, and the flag of the republic of Dagestan. Do not raise any other flag,” Ibadamov said. Kartashov now faces a possible 10-year sentence for resisting police.

Ibadamov said that Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s parents had first turned to Kartashov for counseling during earlier trips to Russia, and that when Tsarnaev came to Russia last year they wanted him to follow suit.

“I understand that they had a kind of Islamic vacuum,” he said. “They turned to Magomed as a knowledgeable person. Magomed was happy about this; he explained what Islam was, what his views were. And the father was complaining that Tamerlan was sort of a tough kid, a boxer.”

Bexley Hall, home to 116 undergraduates, will be closed for renovations for up to three years beginning this summer, Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo announced at a meeting with residents on Tuesday.

“Safety is so crucial here. If there are worrisome signs of additional deterioration, we need to act on that,” Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 said.

The decision to close Bexley was prompted by structural problems with the building uncovered during inspections conducted last month by Facilities and outside consultants, according to Colombo. The inspections and repairs to Bexley are part of a larger capital renewal program to chew down a backlog of deferred maintenance, which is in part focused on building façades and envelopes.

Responding to criticism of the timing of the announcement, Grimson told The Tech that the administration had only received the engineering report on April 29. “We did get it out as quickly as we can.”

Despite the increased load, Grimson said that there would be space in the other dorms for any Bexley student who wants to continue to live on campus. “We knew this was going to be a temporary measure,” said Colombo, “and how much of a temporary measure [it is] needs to be a conversation within the faculty committee on enrollment and so on.”

Residential Life has asked housemasters in each dorm to work with room assignment chairs to find clusters of rooms, preferably singles and doubles, for Bexley residents. Most dorms can accommodate groups of eight to ten residents, but Maseeh could be able to accommodate the group of 40 Bexley residents who said they wanted to live together.

According to Colombo, housemasters were told to have these lists of available rooms ready by 4 p.m. today. He added that they’re still trying to “find a mechanism of how to distribute these rooms in a fair manner to all Bexley students.”

Some doubles in Maseeh Hall are being turned into quads, but MIT has “planned to do that all along,” Colombo said, explaining that those rooms were designed for three or four beds. “There’s no difference in our capacity for Maseeh.” (Triples are generally avoided, Grimson said, because of the possibility of unwanted “two-on-one” situations.)

However, in a late-night meeting with the Maseeh legislature yesterday, Maseeh RLAD Rebecca Kjaerbye told residents that Maseeh would be increasing its capacity by another 15 students, making its total capacity 505, whether or not Bexley students move in. Maseeh residents on each floor voted last night on whether or not residents wanted to give the entire ground floor to Bexley residents, which would mean that many fewer freshmen for Maseeh. According to Kjaerbye, “a lot of buildings … will be expanded,” as other dorms accommodate groups of Bexley residents.

The extent of the repairs to Bexley will be determined in a “programming, planning, and designing” phase, which will take “no less than a year,” said Dick Amster, Director of Facilities, Campus Planning, Engineering, and Construction.

Until that phase is over, the fate of the murals in Bexley, part of a culture some feel is now at stake, is unknown.

After the planning, construction will take “probably a year and a half,” Amster said.

At the very least, the renovated building will have to include a new elevator for accessibility to meet today’s ADA guidelines, Amster said.

The building suffers from “water damage inside the building’s exterior walls,” according to an MIT announcement. As of press time, Amster has not responded to a request for the engineering report, though he did speak with The Tech.

Before spring break, workers also discovered loose bricks on Random Hall’s façade during inspections planned as part of the capital renewal efforts. Though work was done over spring break, Random will be closed during the summer for further interior and exterior work.

The buildings next door to Random on the 300 Mass. Ave. block are being demolished to make way for a new pharmaceutical building, a project of Forest City developers. The demolitions are scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer. Construction is scheduled to be completed by 2015.

Despite the impending demolition next door and the need for exterior repairs, Senior Associate Dean for Residential Life and Dining Henry Humphreys confirmed that Random Hall will be open next Fall.

“You will be able to move back in after the summer. You have my word on that,” Humphreys told Random residents at a meeting Wednesday night.

Humphreys said that MIT has started thinking about contingency plans in case Random students are not able to immediately move in at the start of the Fall, but that there are no such plans yet.

MIT will cover summer storage costs for both Bexley and Random students, who are being asked to move all of their belongings. MIT will also cover moving costs for Bexley residents who choose to join an independent living group or live off campus.

Grimson said he was happy to see the Division of Student Life, housemasters, and student leadership “all coming together to fix this” as a community. “That’s what we do when we have a crisis.”

Michelle Szucs contributed reporting.

On Wednesday, Salman A. Khan ’98, founder of Khan Academy, was brought to MIT by StartLabs to speak about starting Khan Academy and what he’s doing now. He fielded questions from MIT President Rafael Reif, who interviewed him on the stage of Kresge Auditorium.

Reif’s first question asked Khan to reflect on how his years at MIT influenced his current career path. “You come here and some of the stereotypes are true. I mean, the people here are incredibly smart, incredibly hardworking—,” started Khan.

“The professors, particularly,” Reif interjected, drawing laughs from the audience.

“Yes, the professors, of course,” Khan answered. “But I think some of the stereotypes don’t hold true. I found that this is one of the most warm places ever. I really felt like I was coming into a community.”

According to Khan, within a week of arriving on campus, MIT opened up his mind to the possibility of tackling problems on a large scale. He took an active role while here, making sure to explore both inside and outside the classroom. He participated in LeaderShape ­­— an Independent Activities Period (IAP) leadership retreat — and was president of his senior class.

“I love this place to death, but it’s an intense environment,” admitted Khan. “Some of my most memorable and deepest learning experiences at MIT were during IAP,” said Khan, adding that he has no regrets about his undergraduate experience. “I met my wife here, there are no regrets about that,” laughed Khan. “We’re 10 years in, it’s all good.”

But the heart of the talk was about Khan’s vision for education. Like many educators, he doesn’t think that lectures are the main way students should learn.

“The most important part of the learning process is problem-solving, peer tutoring, working on things with your hands,” stated Khan.

Khan came across as an engaging, humble speaker. He was initially hesitant to pinpoint a “secret of success” for Khan Academy. When pressed by Reif, he offered that the casual atmosphere of his online tutoring videos is what most likely draws students to his site. Khan, who made his first video to tutor a family member, explained that his videos would probably have been very different if he knew that Bill Gates would be watching his videos instead of his seventh-grade cousin.

In addition, Khan drew several parallels between Khan Academy and MIT and Harvard’s joint edX venture.

“I think they’re doing a lot of good,” said Khan, praising edX and the other MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) for their mission to provide a high-quality education to anyone who wants one.

Khan expects that other universities will follow suit if they see MIT and Harvard start to change their educational models. He made the analogy that “everyone wants to wear the jeans that Jennifer Lopez wears,” another comment that drew laughter from the audience.

Although Khan is adamant that his organization will always be free, he admits that at one point, he considered making it a for-profit organization. After the first few meetings with companies, however, he realized that he wasn’t comfortable with commercializing the website. “I could be dressed a little bit better,” Khan joked.

Now, the site is run on donations by large supporters such as Google and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

After the interview, StartLabs hosted a private reception with Khan at the R&D Pub in Stata, in which a panel of Khan Academy employees answered questions from the audience. The Khan Academy staff, like Khan himself, all struck me as surprisingly young and motivated. Each of them seemed excited about their work, and weren’t afraid to drop hints every now and then about recruiting.

“You get to work with, in my mind, the best team in industry,” said Khan, namedropping Craig Silverstein — the first employee at Google and one of the original builders of the search engine itself — as one of the nonprofit’s employees. “It really is a superstar team where you’ll get better mentorship than frankly anywhere else.”

There was a never a shortage of questions at the reception as people crowded into the pub. Some of the students at the reception were clearly huge fans of Khan Academy. “Be scrappy, bottoms-up, and get something going,” encouraged Khan in response to a student on how to bring Khan Academy to his old high school.

In the future, said Khan, he hopes to continue to reach out to the underprivileged community, and eventually be able to educate children from all over the world.

When Jenny Shen ’13 studied abroad in Paris, she engaged in impromptu debates for hours on a lawn in front of the Louvre. “We watched the sun set over the Champs Elysees over a bottle of wine,” she said.

Discussion topics ranged from current issues in politics to the significance of the Enlightenment, just footsteps away from cafés and venues where historical thinkers hosted their debates. “I used to walk by the café where Sartre frequented,” Shen recalls.

Shen studied at the Sciences Po in Paris through one of many MIT-affiliated partnership during the 2012 spring semester. “What was so exceptional about the conversations I had was that all of the us (the students) came from countries around the world and had vastly different viewpoints and backgrounds,” said Shen, “and our discussions were against a backdrop of amazing scenery, in a city that has always been a center of thought.”

MIT offers several tailored study abroad programs through partnerships with foreign universities. The year-long Cambridge-MIT Exchange (CME) — which 13 of MIT’s departments participate in — is MIT’s most established study abroad program. Since its inception in 2000, more than 600 students have participated in CME. The close linkage of CME with individual course departments helps ensure that students receive transfer credit that does not put them behind on their academic schedule.

Meghan E. Kenny ’13, a Course 10 (Chemical Engineering) student who participated in CME, said she considered the program because it was the first program she knew about. “Many of the other programs offered are geared more towards HASS classes, and CME fits better with my major requirements,” she added.

“CME was definitely my first choice — my priority was getting expertise in my field, and not so much learning a new language,” Kenny said.

Cody A. Coleman ’13, a Course 6 major, also participated in CME. He said that study abroad gave him a great opportunity to travel, which he was not able to do much of before coming to MIT. “I did MISTI Mexico before going to Cambridge, and that confirmed that I wanted to have abroad experiences,” he said.

Similar but different to many study abroad programs, The MIT International Science and Technology Initiative (MISTI) connects MIT students with all-expenses-paid internships and research abroad. Of the seventeen programs and four initiatives, four of the programs offer study abroad options, according to the MISTI website.

About 50 percent of MIT students who study abroad enroll directly in a foreign university, or apply to a study abroad program through another U.S. university or an outside provider program. Global Education (12-189, studyabroad@mit.edu) helps students identify and prepare for study abroad experiences that are not managed by MIT.

Other exchanges offered through MIT are department-based, including a semester the University of Oxford in the UK (Course 3), an exchange with Delft University in the Netherlands or Hong Kong University (Course 4), University of Pretoria in South Africa (Course 16), and Sciences Po in Paris (Course 17), which Shen participated in.

Students may also attend one of MIT’s programs in Madrid over either IAP or the spring semester. The spring semester program allows students to study at top universities in Madrid: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid for engineering and Universidad Complutense de Madrid for humanities, science, management, and social science. This option requires the completion of Spanish IV or faculty evaluation. The IAP option requires only Spanish I, and gives students the option to take Spanish II in Madrid while living with a host family.

Caroline J. Enloe ’13, who studies economics and Spanish, chose the MIT Madrid program because she wanted to get Spanish exposure. She spent the spring semester of her junior year at the Universidad Complutense. “Margery Resnick, one of my professors, recommended the program,” she said. “It’s a well-established program that would give me language immersion opportunities.” Enloe thought it would be difficult to achieve near-fluency in Spanish before going abroad. “But after I went to Madrid, I realized I could become very proficient with just an extra push.”

Shen wanted to study abroad for the opportunity to travel and experience a new culture. “I grew up around Boston, so MIT is not really a move for me,” she explained. “Paris is a wonderful city and I studied French in high school — I chose Sciences Po because it complements my major.”

Unlike Kenny, Coleman, Enloe, and Shen, Saul K. Wilson ’13 did not go through an MIT-linked study abroad program. Instead, he opted to enroll in multiple Chinese language programs not directly affiliated with MIT. He studied in the Beijing CET Chinese Language program over summer 2012 for two months. Over the most recent IAP, he spent a month learning Chinese at the New Century School in Tianjin. This summer, he is heading to Kunming in southern China to continue his Chinese studies.

Wilson, who studies mathematics and Asian studies, says he has a strong interest in Chinese and would like to do field work in China. “I saw study abroad as the perfect opportunity to improve my Chinese skills and travel to places I otherwise would not be able to see,” he said. “Being in China gave me a much better sense of the ‘real’ China than just taking classes, and I value this authenticity.”

Students who went abroad agreed that the different academic system in their abroad program gave them new insight into learning.

“The Cambridge academic system is different,” Kenny explains. “There, the learning method is independent, rather than collaborative as is the case in MIT. You get less constant evaluation, but rather you are responsible for preparing for a couple large assignments and exams.” Kenny learned to adapt to the vastly different academic approach, which she says provided a different perspective on learning and gave new insight on her studies when she returned to MIT.

For Coleman, being abroad allowed him to reflect on his learning at MIT and open up his point-of-view to other ways of learning and doing. “I gained an amazing global network of students,” he said. “Cambridge has a large international population — many of them also exchange students. I met many students who were studying majors other than engineering — such as medicine, classics, or music,” he said.

Academic assignments at Universidad Complutense are not as regular as at MIT, so students generally seem more relaxed about their studies Enloe explains about the MIT Madrid Program,. “It’s normal for a class to give just two or three major assignments for the entire semester,” she said. “While it isn’t as hard on you in daily work, it trains your ability to learn and work independently. My classes were more reading-based than at MIT.”

“But it’s very visible that the students there care about their education,” Enloe added. “They’re politically informed, and many even participated in a strike against education cuts while I was there. The economy wasn’t great. But they visibly care about the quality and accessibility of their education.”

Enloe took a class on Spanish literature and said it was fascinating that she is learning about the literature from a purely local point-of-view, by a professor who has been teaching the material for many years. “When analyzing, the Spanish professors seem to have different points-of-view from my professors at MIT,” she said.

An economics major, Shen said it was also helpful to study economics at Sciences Po from a more reading — and discussion-based approach, which complements her more quantitative economics classes at MIT. She noted the international perspective she gained was important for her personal growth, and that it challenged her to be in the Sciences Po environment, which has trained many of France’s top political leaders.

“The Bin Laden assassination occurred during my semester abroad,” Shen said, “and the French and international students in my class all had different perspectives on the significance of the assassination. Many French students thought it was inappropriate of Americans to look at Bin Laden’s death positively. I can see how this discussion connected to other discussions I had in my abroad classes — on how revolutions are represented in literature, and relating to that the Arab Spring and Western intervention.”

Many students studying abroad get the opportunity to improve their language skills. Enloe took her classes in Spanish while in Madrid. “In MIT, I had Spanish class twice a week,” she said, “while I was constantly communicating with fluent speakers while in Madrid. I took all my classes in Spanish, ate dinner with my host mom, bought stamps and metro tickets, and went to the local grocery store. These individual experiences all gave me opportunities to practice on a daily basis.”

Jenny Shen took her classes in English, though she was given the option of classes in English and French. “I’m very glad I went abroad, because otherwise it’s easy to get stuck in the U.S. model and think of our way of life as a model for the world,” she said. “I learned from students all of the world — the Middle East, China, South America, and of course local students from around France.”

Regarding social life, Kenny said that studying abroad has been a terrific learning experience. “I was shy when I entered college,” she noted. “Of course going to MIT changed that somewhat, but a year abroad made an even bigger difference. Being in a foreign country forces you to express yourself and think about how you want to communicate, and regularly meeting students from a different culture provides insight on how to do so.”

“CME was especially amazing because it lasted an entire year,” Coleman said. “I only really got to understand British culture and customs thoroughly halfway through the year, so I realized it takes a long time to really get acclimated to a new place.” She added that other European countries were highly accessible, and he was easily able to travel during his weeks off from school. While he did not travel as much before study abroad, going abroad gave him a great opportunity to finally do a lot of travel at once.

Coleman looked at study abroad as “a second college experience”. “You get to ‘start’ college all over again and do things differently,” he said. “It makes it very easy to try new things.” While in Cambridge, he got more involved with sports than before, participating in rowing, rugby, running, and badminton. “You’re free from your responsibilities at MIT for a year and can try brand-new experiences.”

“You gain a global perspective,” Coleman said. “After being in the UK for a year, I noticed a number of things in Europe that could also work in America and be implemented terrifically.” He said that looking at the diversity of opinions and customs gave him more inspiration.

Enloe notes that her abroad experience made her much more independent. “When you’re abroad, you aren’t familiar with the local system so you must actively seek opportunities yourself,” she said. “I enjoyed that opportunity. The MIT program gave us a lot of freedom in allowing us to plan our own weekend excursions and create our own plans.”

Enloe notes that traveling in a foreign environment can be frustrating, and mishaps will happen. “Navigating the bus system is confusing,” she said,” and once I got on the wrong bus. You need to assess the situation yourself and learn not to panic.”

During Enloe’s abroad term, Spain was suffering economically. “It was a tumultuous time,” she said. “But many of the Spanish students were well-informed about politics and actively took a role in trying to contribute.” Enloe got to meet many students from other parts of Europe in her travel. She noted it was interesting to compare stereotypes between cultures. “This contributed to a lot of deep thinking along the way,” she said.

Students abroad often use their time as an opportunity to travel extensively. “Traveling Europe can be inexpensive and convenient if you plan ahead of time,” Kenny says. “Cambridge goes in eight-week sessions with six weeks of break in between each section. That gives you a lot of time to travel, and I got to go to so many places during this time.”

She noted that traveling was a learning experience as well. “You learn to be resourceful and patient,” she says. “Sometimes mishaps happen when you travel no matter how carefully you plan.” While in Venice, Kenny got lost in the canal streets while trying to find her hostel. “I couldn’t use my phone because minutes were too expensive when I was traveling. Being in occasional situations like these train your ability to think on the spot,” she says. “And things will always be fine in the end.”

“I remember flying to Urumqi, China in the middle of winter when it’s below 0°F,” Wilson laughs. “It wasn’t the best time to visit, but I did get to see Urumqi.”

According to the 2012 Graduate Student Survey, 59.2 percent of students reported academic concerns as a reason for opting out of an international program while in college. 40.0 percent of students felt the study abroad duration was too long, 38.2 percent considered extracurricular commitments a concern, and 34.8 percent listed expense as a concern. In addition, 38.5 percent of students reported that they simply had no interest in participating in an international program.

Josh Nupp, Assistant Dean for Global Education, notes that some students do not consider studying abroad because they feel so tied into their life at MIT — academics, living groups, research, extracurricular activities, and friends.

“MIT students are very pragmatic,” observes Josh Nupp. “When they consider an available opportunity such as study abroad, many are interested in how they can leverage the experience in regards to their career or academic goals.”

Nupp explained that an international experience should not be viewed as detracting from the MIT experience. “On the contrary, I think studying abroad adds value to an MIT degree,” he says. “Employers and graduate schools look favorably on the skills developed during a study abroad experience. It certainly is not the easier road — you are forced to adjust to a different teaching and learning style in an unfamiliar university and cultural setting, and this flexibility and adaptability are seen as assets.”

Tami Bolk, Career Assistant in Global Education and leader of the Study Abroad Peer Mentors Program, aims to engage students after reentry from their abroad programs to help them both leverage their experience abroad as well as help promote international opportunities to other MIT students. “I work with students on developing their reflection and articulation skills, in order for them to further recognize how their abroad experience can impact their future academic and career goals,” she says. “I want to demonstrate that study abroad can be an asset in all forms.”

According to the annual Open Doors report, which is conducted by the U.S. Institute of International Education, STEM majors are less likely to participate in study abroad programs. During the 2010-11 school year, only 3.5 percent of U.S. students who went abroad were studying engineering and only 1.8 percent were math or computer science students. This is in comparison to the 22.9 percent of students who were social science majors, 20.5 percent business and management students, and 11.3 percent humanities majors.

“Although STEM students may face barriers because there are less study abroad programs oriented towards those subjects and STEM students tend to have more structured four-year plans, it is certainly doable with adequate planning in advance” said Bolk.

“The MIT-organized abroad programs have been around awhile, and almost everyone graduates on time,” says Kenny about her CME experience. “If you plan accordingly, you should not have a problem.”

Shen recalls she was looking at the MIT course catalog before going abroad, and thinking about all the interesting classes she would have to miss. “I was on a phone call with my advisor the day before my flight to Paris, because I was having second thoughts,” she laughs. “But I have no regrets — the academic experience I got was one-of-a-kind.”

“So-called ‘soft skills’, such as cross-cultural communication, dealing with ambiguity, and working on an international team, are very important in the modern workplace,” Nupp says. “In reality, most technically-oriented companies are extremely diverse and thus highly value employees with such skills. Students who can intelligently speak about how their international experience developed their skill set and global competencies are at a distinct advantage over their counterparts without such an experience.”

Nupp adds that the science and engineering field has always been global and is becoming increasingly so, and adaptation and independence are important qualities to possess after graduation. A study abroad program is a perfect way to add such a dimension to studies. “Many universities already stream international tracks and foreign languages into their STEM curriculums,” he notes. “This makes it easy to gain language proficiency, and abroad experiences early on.”

“When abroad, students will much more likely meet students studying other fields, such as history and literature,” Bolk says. “This diversity in disciplines is not as common at MIT, and can add insight into your studies.”

Kenny also discussed concerns from students who were worried about being away for a year and being out of touch with their MIT friends. “You’re in a foreign country, meeting tons of new people, and creating your own unique memories,” she says. “If you are second-thinking the abroad opportunity, think about the experiences you would miss if you opted out.”

Coleman agrees that you’ll make new friends while abroad but your old friends will still be here.

“It’s very easy to get back into the swing of MIT upon return,” added Enloe. “In fact, your friends will be extra happy to see you!”

Regarding expenses, Nupp notes that many abroad programs are very affordable. “The cost-of-living will be lower in many cases, financial aid applies to any semester programs, and you can always apply for MIT and external scholarships during IAP and summer,” he added.

“I don’t see why people think it’s a bad idea to go abroad,” says Coleman. “You’re in a college where there are programs supporting your time abroad. You don’t have to worry about losing a job, your family, or your friends.”

“Even if you haven’t thought about going abroad, you should at least look into it,” explains Enloe. “It may not be for everyone, but it can easily be a personal growth experience or give you a new perspective, as it did for me. I encourage everyone to see what it’s about.”

“It can be very easy to convince others to join you,” adds Wilson.

The departments at MIT which offer unique international opportunities — MISTI, the Public Service Center (PSC), Global Education and Career Development (GECD) and International Research Opportunities Program (IROP) — strategically work together to encourage more international experiences on an institutional level.

“Most students don’t realize that if they don’t see an MIT-sponsored program in a specific location being promoted, they won’t be able to participate in such an experience. However, with four of the MIT global offices, students really have the flexibility to design their own program or participate on outside programs wherever they wish to go,” Bolk said.

The MIT Go Global Fair in September, info sessions for individual MIT abroad programs, class visits and the study abroad blog (http://gecd.mit.edu/go_abroad/bloggers/all) provide further information on study abroad opportunities.

With over 70 percent of MIT’s yearly research funding coming from the federal government, the federal budget sequester will have a significant impact on research at the Institute.

The sequester, a set of across-the-board cuts on certain defense and non-defense spending categories, was meant as an unwanted consequence to encourage Congress to make a budget deal to prevent it. Since Congress failed to make a deal, the cuts began March 1.

Yesterday, Stand With Science and Global Education and Career Development hosted a panel to discuss the effect of the federal budget sequestration on science research at MIT. The panelists included Maria T. Zuber, MIT’s Vice President for Research, William B. Bonvillian, Director of the MIT Washington Office, and Samuel O. Brinton G, MIT student and Executive Director of Stand With Science, who helped moderate the discussion.

According to Bonvillian, Barack Obama’s FY14 budget proposal, made in April, would end the sequester, but he said it is unlikely to be approved.

Zuber said that Defense R&D will be cut by 7.3 percent, while non-defense R&D will be cut by 5.1 percent, though the National Science Foundation will only experience a 2.1 percent cut.

She said that agencies are still deciding an implementation strategy since many did not plan for how to deal with the cuts, expecting the sequester to not take place. “The lack of guidance from agencies is causing frustration among some faculty,” said Zuber.

Zuber predicted “a decrease in the research volume on campus of about 3 to 4 percent” due to the sequester. The federal government provided $473 million in funds for research on MIT’s campus in FY12.

Harder hit, Zuber said, would be MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, which received $844 million in federal support last year and focuses on research for defense applications.

MIT administrators are exploring ways to keep research at MIT thriving even as the cuts threaten more grant applications.

“The typical length of time for a [National Science Foundation] proposal is three years. If you are in year 1 or year 2, there is a high chance that your funding this year could be reduced,” Zuber said. But the “unlucky people who are in the third year” face the additional possibility that their funding won’t be renewed at all. “The provost and I and the deans are trying to think of ways to invest funds in order for the PIs to keep their proposals as competitive as possible.”

She said she hadn’t met a “smart graduate student who is now on the street” just yet, but that very serious effects of the sequester may be seen in the future.

“The effects of this erosion might not be seen a week or even a year from now, but ten years from now they will be greatly seen,” Zuber said.

Zuber feels optimistic that MIT can deal with the cuts better than other institutions. “We’re doing more to help our researchers than any of the other plans I’ve seen for the other universities. There’s going to be a smaller pie, and we’re going to need a larger share of the pie.”

“We have been out in front in going to the private sector [for funding]. I think we’re way ahead of our peers,” Zuber said.

Still, Zuber and Bonvillian emphasized the importance of reaching out to lawmakers. “If we were to ignore the situation in Washington, it would be devastating.”

One of the most prominent projects to face the loss of federal funding is the Alcator C-Mod experiment at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, which will announce layoffs of around a third of its 70-person staff today, according to director Earl Marmar. The experiment itself, one of only a handful of U.S. plasma facilities, has been slated for shutdown by the Department of Energy’s budget proposal for FY 2014, although this has yet to be approved by Congress.

Most of the 25 students working at Alcator C-Mod already have enough data to finish their theses, according to PSFC director Miklos Porkolab. These students are mostly fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-year PhD students, Marmar said, since the group stopped taking in new students more than a year ago.

According to Porkolab, MIT is working hard to make sure to make sure that graduate students working on the project can finish their degrees, possibly with help from similar research facilities.

Zuber said there are efforts to work with the Department of Energy to consider ways to continue to fund C-Mod, but the discussions are limited since some of the relevant officials have not yet been confirmed to their positions.

Leon Lin contributed reporting.

Handing in math problem sets may now require more exercise. In late June or early July, the entire Department of Mathematics will be moving to E17 and E18 as their current space in Building 2 undergoes a significant renovation. Undergraduate math majors have already experienced the effects of the construction, with their undergraduate lounge moved to the Compton Room, opposite 26-100, this past January. For the duration of the construction, the lounge will remain in the Compton Room. As for the rest of the department, all faculty, staff, and graduate student offices will be moved to the new “swing space” in E17 and E18, which will be shared with the Department of Economics, whose space in E52 is also being renovated.

Consequently, some recitations and professor office hours will be farther away from main campus. “I guess [the move] is inevitable. I guess I can just take the Tech Shuttle to Ames Street and walk there now. Being able to stop for food truck food is a plus” said Jennifer J. Wu ’16, an undergraduate mathematics student.

One benefit of the new location is the close proximity to restaurants in Kendall Square, where students may choose to congregate instead. “There might be a cultural shift in the department for the next couple years,” said Department Head Michael Sisper. Graduate students will experience the greatest improvement in office space after the renovation, temporarily trading tight office spaces for cubicles.

The 10 classrooms currently used for recitations on the first floor of Building 2 will be replaced by six similarly-sized classrooms in E17. In addition, there will be a space specifically dedicated to handling problem set submissions, replacing the usual pset boxes.

Since being built in 1916, Building 2 has yet to see a significant overhaul. The Department of Mathematics has been actively including everyone affected in renovation decisions. According to Barbara Peskin, Course 18 academic administrator, “we’re trying to gather input from all of those who are affected: undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff. We want to do this right.”

According to MIT Capital Projects, the main themes of the renovation will be “renovation and renewal” and “enhancement of life and learning,” with sustainability playing a central role. Once the Building 2 project is finished, “From the (math) graduate student’s perspective, [the renovation] will be quite stunning,” described Sipser. Currently, the graduate student offices are dispersed throughout Building 2 with some offices in the basement. According to the MIT School of Science, the renovation will ensure that there will be more collaborative spaces with graduate student and faculty offices opening out to meeting areas after the renovation.

In the new building, use of space will be more efficient. With the digitalization of journals and books, less space is needed for offices. “The target faculty office size will around 240 square feet. Some of our faculty have spaces over 300 square feet right now.” Undergraduates can expect to return to an updated lounge area.

Vital to the interior space is bringing the building up to modern standards. There will be a new elevator as well as wider staircase to replace the steep and narrow stairs by 2-190. Regardless of the eventual interior design, half of the renovation budget will dedicated to the exterior, according to Peskin. The century old building will receive new windows, masonry, and be significantly restored. Final designs were scheduled to be set last summer. However, it is now expected that the design plans will be finalized later this summer.

The renovation of the Department of Mathematics may become a pilot project for the renovation approach to all the main group buildings, which are approaching their hundred year anniversary in 2016, according to MIT Capital Projects. As the Main group is renovated over the coming years, the swing space will serve as temporary office and classroom space for displaced departments like Mathematics and Economics as their space is updated.

Results from the Student Quality of Life Survey are now available online. In early March 2013, Chancellor Eric Grimson PhD ’80 invited all students enrolled at MIT to participate. Over 54 percent of the graduate and undergraduate population responded to at least part of the survey before it closed on April 3, 2013.

90 percent of respondents reported being somewhat or very satisfied with being a student at MIT, and almost 82 percent said they would choose to come to MIT if they could decide all over again.

Students were also asked to describe the atmosphere at MIT across 13 dimensions. For each dimension, the survey provided a pair of words and students ranked MIT’s climate on a six point scale. For most word pairings, students were more likely to select positive words over negative words, such as “Exhilarating” over “Boring,” and “Friendly” over “Hostile.” However students were also much more likely to select “Stressful” over “Calm” — 87 percent of students chose 1, 2, or 3, on a scale of Stressful(1) to Calm(6).

When asked how many of the past seven days students got enough sleep, 34 percent of graduate students and 42 percent of undergraduates reported that they felt well-rested fewer than three days per week. Nearly 50 percent of all respondents said they felt exhausted (not as a result of physical activity) four days or more over the past week.

Visit http://web.mit.edu/ir/surveys/sql.html to find more survey highlights or a complete summary of the survey results.

—Stephanie Holden