Frankly Speaking is important. It is extremely valuable to communication within the Olin community as a forum for people to bring issues to discussion. I’m worried, because as important as the paper is, Frankly Speaking doesn’t seem sustainable.

Most of Olin’s written communication takes place over email. Important issues are brought up and discussed on ThinkTank, Radical Notion, even Therapy and Sexuality. But there are two major problems with these email lists as public forums: they are self-selecting, and they are not fully developed as pieces of writing.

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February 2011 shook the world with the popular uprising known as “the Arab Spring.” The Arab Spring began with a Tunisian street vendor who lit himself on fire in protest of government corruption.

The Tunisian regime peacefully gave over power, but the spirit of revolution spread into Tahrir Square in Cairo, and then to the rest of the Arab world. Mubarak of Egypt was forced give over power because the military refused to break up protests. Bahrain’s revolution failed because the government had a strong hold over the military and media. In Libya and Syria, some military members defected to the protestors’ side in light of violent responses to protests.

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At Olin, we are encouraged to “do-learn”. Through our courses, we demonstrate our understanding in a concrete manner, through grades, demo-days, papers, etc. Another area where we are encouraged to “do-learn” is teamwork. Teamwork is one of the most practical aspects of the Olin education; understanding teamwork is very important in the real world. However, Olin does not provide explicit feedback methods for teamwork.

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I picked Asia as my study abroad destination because I was looking for a completely different perspective on what it means to live. I imagined that living in such a foreign country would culture shock me into this shift in perspective, but instead, it’s come mostly from the other exchange students I’ve met.

I actually don’t think I’ve experienced any significant culture shock. But I’m not disappointed; my experience has so far surpassed all my expectations. When I first decided to study abroad, the opportunity to meet other exchange students was an afterthought. Now that I’m here, I’ve found that it’s these exchange students, not the new culture, that have changed my outlook.

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The SCOPE administration team has put out a call for applicants to a highly secretive new project for the 2012-2013 school year. Among those present for the announcement were Professor Stephen S. Holt and former Olin parent Dr. Daniel Barry.

Although the project’s sponsor has not been officially disclosed, inside sources indicate involvement in administering exploration of and experimentation in the atmosphere and beyond on a national level.

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Community is a sense of being a part of something larger than you, being surrounded by individuals with passion for change. I participate in Relay for Life for the sense of community that grows in such a short period of time. We become linked by our connections to cancer as we join to fight against it.

On March 10th, 45 Olin students participated in the Wellesley-MIT Relay for Life, and the strong sense of community was most definitely present.

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My girlfriend, a Peace and Justice major at Wellesley, knows the basics of coding and piloting an aircraft, though her course of study does not teach the procedural skills for either.

Not only did she pick up coding and flying quickly, she was captivated by them. This was thanks to the great First Run Experiences of Codecademy.com and Microsoft Flight, which both serve the purpose of teaching regular people very technical skills.

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