Write For the Tech.

Write For the Tech.

If you are a friend, an enemy, or even a vague acquaintance of mine, you have likely heard me tell you to write for the Tech. And yet my research has shown the vast majority of you have never written for the tech! What utter disgrace, frankly I’m disappointed. So in an effort to convince more of you to write for the tech I have written a very comprehensive guide about how to write for the tech.
Caltech orange needs a hint of green

Caltech orange needs a hint of green

Arriving at this institution from Denmark many tropes of the American, and indeed the Californian life seemed confirmed. Breakfasts of waffles, sweltering temperatures and affable attitudes. However, there’s one aspect that has struck me more than any other - the complete disregard for environmental concerns.
Caltech's Course on 'The Biomechanics of Organismal Design': Where Engineering Meets Biology

Caltech's Course on 'The Biomechanics of Organismal Design': Where Engineering Meets Biology

At Caltech, a distinctive biology course introduces a new way students approach the life sciences. “The Biomechanics of Organismal Design,” taught by Professor Michael H. Dickinson, merges the concrete principles of physics with the dynamic patterns of biology. This integration offers a new perspective to students, particularly appealing to those with interests in mechanical engineering. The course tackles intriguing questions like how penguins swim, why maple seeds spin to the ground, and the comparative strength of spider silk versus steel. While the course focuses on the organismal level, it also incorporates molecular, cellular, and tissue-level scales, painting a comprehensive picture of biological mechanics.
Caltech’s Meditation Mob Begins Its 10th Year

Caltech’s Meditation Mob Begins Its 10th Year

Way back in October of 2014, I rolled the dice and decided to see if there was any interest on campus in practicing mindfulness meditation in a group setting. Within a few weeks, we had a steady crowd coming to the Winnett Student Center, and I was delighted that the gamble had paid off. We dubbed ourselves the Meditation Mob, and last month we began our 10th consecutive year. This year is especially exciting because we’re finally returning to in-person meetings – and now that we’re back in person, I wanted to kickstart our membership again. I’m grateful to the Tech for the opportunity to tell you about what we do, and to invite you to come join us.
Housing painting over murals

Housing painting over murals

In the North and South House undergraduate residences, the walls are filled with colors and murals. The murals have been put up continuously over the years and represent a history of student life. In order to put up a mural, the design has to be approved by both the members of the house and by housing. Caltech Housing’s website states that their mural policy is in place to “support self-expression and also help foster an enjoyable and safe living environment for all house members.”
The Warped Side of Our Universe

The Warped Side of Our Universe

Out in the depths of space lie phenomena beyond our understanding. They lie in the realm of quantum gravity, the insides of black holes, wormholes, and gravitational waves. Kip Thorne (BS 62’, Blacker) and Lia Halloran explore these topics through the mediums of verse and art in their new book, The Warped Side of Our Universe.
Caltech Unionization Effort

Caltech Unionization Effort

A group of graduate students and postdocs at Caltech have begun the process of unionizing. They have collected over 450 union cards, a supermajority of the grad students. While union cards are not a guarantee of a vote in a union election, they are a good predictor. The next step in the process is filing for a union election, where the graduate student body and the postdocs will vote on whether they want to unionize.
CGPU Op-Ed

CGPU Op-Ed

Following the C/GPU majority support rally at Caltech Hall, discussions about grad and postdoc unionization have become increasingly urgent. We are writing to endorse the movement to form a labor union for graduate students and postdocs at Caltech. Our research is diverse, spanning microbiology, environmental science, systems biology, quantum optics, and gravitational physics. Forming a union would empower us to negotiate better working conditions, which in turn will improve our ability to produce world-class research and teach world-class students. We can learn from our colleagues at institutions like University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, and MIT to build a strong union that supports all grads and postdocs—both by making concrete gains at the bargaining table and building a stronger community.
Diving Deep into a Caltech Athlete's Life: Featuring Sam Small

Diving Deep into a Caltech Athlete's Life: Featuring Sam Small

Caltech is known for its rigorous academic environment, but beneath the surface lies a community of student-athletes who defy the odds daily, balancing their passion for their sport with the demands of academic life. One such athlete is Sam Small, a junior BioE major, minoring in Chemistry. His journey provides an enlightening perspective on what it’s like to be a student-athlete at Caltech.
Interhouse Sports in Full Swing with the Conclusion of Interhouse Dodgeball

Interhouse Sports in Full Swing with the Conclusion of Interhouse Dodgeball

This past week marked the conclusion of one of Caltech’s many traditions: interhouse dodgeball. Interhouse sports have been a Caltech tradition for as long as records can show, dating back to at least the 1950s, if not earlier. And, as the first interhouse sport of the year, interhouse dodgeball is an excellent opportunity to integrate the freshly rotated first year students into this long standing interhouse and intrahouse culture, all of which is accomplished by pitting them against each other on the tennis courts.
Local Happenings in Pasadena

Local Happenings in Pasadena

This past Sunday, thousands in and around the Pasadena area left their cars at home and dusted off their rollerblades, skateboards, and bikes to take the (hopefully not) once in a lifetime chance to traverse the closed Arroyo Seco Parkway. The six lanes and six miles of the winding freeway were closed to cars from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m on Sunday.
Quail Halloween

Quail Halloween

Q Help! The triangle man is after me! What do i do? -Pythagoras A Did you eat those mystery berries again? Have you considered that the triangle man is not real and it may just be the mystery berries, you moron??? Ugh, but I guess its too late for that. Here’s what you can do now since you can’t stop eating these berries:
Are Privacy and the Honor Code Compatible?

Are Privacy and the Honor Code Compatible?

On October 1st, the day of move-in, an email was sent out by Emily Sanger, the Bechtel RLC (resident life coordinator). The email contained 63 temporary room codes, opening every frosh’s private room in Bechtel. These temporary room codes, while allegedly only lasting a few days, gave access to many student’s personal belongings. It’s unknown how many students these codes were sent to.
Housing in Pasadena: A Zero-Sum Game?

Housing in Pasadena: A Zero-Sum Game?

While Caltech is able to house all undergraduate students who wish to live on campus, this is not the case for graduate students. Only G1’s are guaranteed housing from the Housing Office; thereafter, graduates must enter an extremely competitive lottery to live in Caltech-owned apartments.
HSS Course Offerings: An Analysis of the Past Five Years

HSS Course Offerings: An Analysis of the Past Five Years

A common concern heard among the undergraduates on registration day these past few terms is “there aren’t enough hums!”. Broadly referring to all Humanities and Social Science (HSS) courses offered in a given term by the word ‘hum’, what specifically does the statement mean? That there aren’t enough advanced humanities courses being offered in any given term (i.e. not enough_ total HSS courses)? That there isn’t enough breadth of courses to satisfy their interests (i.e. not enough “interesting”_ HSS courses for any given student)? That there aren’t enough courses that fit into their schedule (i.e. not enough HSS courses at a given time)? The Academics and Research Committee (ARC) has compiled the following data to understand the source of the concern.