Becca H. '12
Jun 6 2012
The Remnants of Four Years
Posted in: Miscellaneous
So one of the unfortunate parts of graduating is that you actually have to pack up your life from the past four years. No more of this, "I'll deal with it later and just throw everything in a box". Graduating means getting serious and deciding what to keep. It also means unearthing things that you have accumulated over the past four years and may have forgotten about. Free t-shirts seem to be for everything at MIT; classes, departments, career fairs, sports, living groups and everything in between.
As a member of the rowing team, I have had the same locker at the Pierce Boathouse for the past four years. And this means that clothes just piled up. I tended to wear three different sets of rowing clothes, throw them on a laundry loop and get them back and continue the cycle. So when I had to finally empty out my locker for the first time in four years, it was like looking back through history, in t-shirts. I've decided to give a preview of my four years at MIT in the... read the post »
May 4 2012
Bridge Building: In Progress
Posted in: Academics & Research, Life & Culture, Majors & Minors
In order to graduate from Course 1, you have to take a class called 1.013 (Senior Civil and Environmental Engineering Design, for those not yet versed in MIT speak). There are a LOT of components to this class, but one of the most fun is building, well, a bridge. It is pretty much what it sounds like. We are given a general prompt and sent on our way:
Savannah climates have streams that are dry or have low flow most of the year and can be easily crossed by foot during these periods. However, during the flood stages, such streams represent impassable obstacles. A footbridge that can be quickly assembled from easily available materials will be designed, detailed, fabricated, built and tested by the student teams.
There are a few requirements, such as failure criteria, and that the bridge has to be 10 ft long, with a 2 ft wide deck and 2-3 ft clearance above the water level, but other than that, it is really up to our imaginations (and engineering skills). Oh, and it is supposed to... read the post »
Feb 18 2012
And the End Closes In
Posted in: Miscellaneous, Academics & Research
I’m finally in my last semester as an MIT undergraduate, and the majority of my time since classes have started has been spent doing something related to photography. I’ve taken plenty of HASS classes in my day, but this is the first that doesn’t seem like work. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy my other classes (I’ve been known to offer to take on other people’s HASS requirements), but there is just something about taking pictures, editing pictures, looking at pictures, reading about pictures that is just, well, FUN. After spending the semester learning how to use my camera (and learning other things as well, I suppose), it was exciting to sit down and see what ended up documented.
The photography class I am taking is 21W.749, or Documentary Photography and Photo Journalism: Still Images of a World in Motion. Although admittedly it is a writing class (which I would generally avoid with a 10 foot stick), it is more focused on photography and then writing some... read the post »
Feb 1 2012
MIT Crew Florida Takeover
Posted in: Miscellaneous, Life & Culture
So usually in the beginning of January, Boston is under a solid layer of snow and the crew team is stuck inside the boathouse while our beloved river is frozen over. While this year that isn’t exactly the case (global warming must be playing its part), we still trekked down to Florida this year to take advantage of their always warm weather, and most importantly, the chance to play with dolphins.
For me, Florida was a bit of shock, mostly because the past few months have been filled mostly with running and lunges, with the occasional game of Gaelic football or ultimate Frisbee thrown in. But basically, a little different than the two-a-day, six hours of practice with a 5 mile run thrown in, and an hour and a half of video review. But what better way to come back than on beautiful water, with beautiful weather, and my amazing team?
Photo: Colleen Irby
What, you thought rowing involved sitting? No, no, no.
Photo: Colleen Irby
Photo: Grace L. '12
Jellyfish!
... read the post »
Jan 24 2012
In the Darkness of the Night
Posted in: Miscellaneous
Imagine a field where by day children play soccer among smoldering fire pits, grazing water buffalo and men hauling logs. Occasionally, a group of American college students come along and play ultimate Frisbee, running among the children, the buffalo, the haulers. This field was just the start of one of the most curious experiences I have probably ever had.
In lieu of a proper picture, I have made a diagram to try and explain the configuration. Bear with me, but my Paint skills are not superb.
To start, I’ve definitely never played ultimate while avoiding small children kicking a soccer ball or sitting in a circle. While in Brazil, we had horses stampede across our ultimate field, but Vietnam brought water buffalo and smoldering fire pits.
This field is in Mai Chau, Vietnam, a small, kind of touristy village about 80 miles south of Vietnam where we stayed in stilt houses characteristic of the Black Thai, an ethnic minority in Vietnam. It is beautiful, and there is... read the post »