[1440] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: A new ballgame at MIT
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Wally)
Mon Sep 15 14:38:45 2003
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2003 14:15:13 -0400
From: Wally <wally@SUB-ZERO.MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <200309141602.h8EG2dX05945@oas.boston.com>
> What the hell? Who made the decision that MIT needs to go after the top
> student-athletes?
Presumably the athletic dept. It's not as if there isn't already
'recruiting' at MIT - there's even an admissions officer charged with
going after 'academic superstars' (e.g. Westinghouse winners). It's just
that no special preference is given to these people in the admissions
process. Why, out of curiosity, should it be any different for athletes?
If a person is good at rowing boats but can't hack it at MIT, they won't
be let in. It already works that way.
On the other hand, athletics will always be near-irrelevant as a source of
school spirit at MIT. And everyone knows it. Big deal.
> What is with the obsession with the "well-roundedness" of the undergrad
> population??!!
The admissions dept. doesn't go after the 'well-rounded', they go after
the interesting students. It's easier to be interesting if you're
socialized. It's easier to be socialized if you've done something in high
school other than jack off and tinker in your basement laboratory. That's
just the way it is, man. I wouldn't worry too much about the changing
demographics of MIT: I get the sense they're largely a consequence of
changing high schoolers. The educational mission of MIT hasn't actually
changed, has it? 2.007 still draws hundreds of spectators, Steer Roast
still features hundreds of drunk and high punks/geeks in faux bondage
gear, Baker is still an incestuous hotbed of giggly cliques and lame
music, pikans still build cool shit, Zeta Psi still does that silly car
smashing thing, Rhett's a grad student in course 22, the UA still doesn't
really matter, 6.001 still has the best textbook at MIT, 6.111 is still
murderous, Unified is still like a million units, the football team is
still gamely trying but mostly invisible. Same shit as always, man.
Woo (Wu?) hoo,
wgh
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