WESTGATE HIGH-RISE & LOW-RISE

2 SHORT ? HOUR POWER SHUTDOWNS

4/7/09 TUESDAY 9AM TO 9:30AM

4/9/09 THURSDAY 2PM TO 2:30PM

ALL ELECTRIC POWER WILL BE SHUT OFF! PLEASE BE SURE TO SHUT DOWN COMPUTERS
TO PREVENT A POWER SPIKE.

THIS SHUTDOWN WILL ALLOW ELECTRICIANS TO INSULATE POWER LINES LEADING INTO
THE HIGH RISE POWER SUPPLY ROOM.

THANK YOU

Michael Collins

Manager
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tang Residence Hall W84-104
Westgate Family Apartments
Housing Department
Office Tele. 617-253-5146
Office Fax 617-253-5094
Link for dorm repairs:
http://web.mit.edu/sapweb/PS1/facilities_home.shtml

I want to share with you a message just sent by Dr William Kettyle of MIT
Medical regarding a presumed Norovirus outbreak at Babson College.

Dennis

The email text that follows summarizes what MIT Medical knows, what MIT is
doing and how MIT is planning to deal with the potential for an episode of
viral gastroenteritis on our campus. Hopefully this will simply amount
to a good practice exercise.

Please circulate this message as widely as you deem appropriate and
WASH HANDS FREQUENTLY, COMPLETELY AND CAREFULLY - Consider
elbow-butting, and/or winking as surrogates for hand-shaking,
high-fiving, and hugging (at least for the near term).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------

Norovirus (presumed) at Babson College:

There is no evidence of norovirus activity on the MIT campus.
Wash hands carefully, completely and frequently.

Babson College will *close* until at least April 1, 2009 because of
an outbreak of what appears to be a viral gastroenteritis - possibly
norovirus. As is usually the case, no source has been identified. The
risk of transmission is decreased by decreasing contact among members of
the community at risk. Babson students may remain in their dorms, but
communal activities - classes, athletic events, etc - will not be held.
Using techniques similar to those deployed when similar infections have
occurred on cruise ships, a thorough cleaning of facilities is underway
at Babson.

There has been no evidence of an increase in gastrointestinal symptoms
on our campus. As student return from spring break, we will be vigilant
and our staff has been alerted to the potential for an outbreak.

The following URLs provide some current thinking about norovirus
infections.

Center for Disease Control:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htmv

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health:

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2pressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Eeohhs2&b...
ssrelease&f=090223_norovirus&csid=Eeohhs2

At Babson:

Babson was on *Spring Break* from 3/16 - 3/20 - so students were
back on campus for several days before:
The outbreak began on March 25
More than 100 students and staff have been affected
No irregularities or obvious problems with dining hall
hygiene were found by the Wellesley Board of Health.

At MIT:

We have not seen any increase in gastrointestinal complaints
We have alerted our personnel (Medical Department) to the
potential for norovirus infection
We are alerting MEDlinks and our Ambulance Service about the
potential for an outbreak - they are an important component of our early
warning system
We are informing DSL, Housing, Dining, EHS and senior
administration about our plans and are asking them to be on alert
Early identification and management of potentially
contaminated foods or surfaces will help stem the spread of the virus if
there is evidence of infestation.
Emphasizing careful hand washing and careful food handling are
key
Information will be available on our web-site shortly
We will convene our (Medical) incidence response team in the AM
- hopefully it will simply be a good practice opportunity!

WASH HANDS FREQUENTLY, COMPLETELY AND CAREFULLY - Consider
elbow-butting, and/or winking as surrogates for hand-shaking,
high-fiving, and hugging (at least for the near term).

Please let us know if you have any comments, observations or
suggestions.

William M. Kettyle, MD

William M. Kettyle, MD
Medical Director
MIT Medical Department
E23-281
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307

**Registration EXTENDED to Monday March 30th**
If you register by Monday you will be entered to win door prizes!

Please join us on for a joint brunch and egg hunt with our friends from Eastgate. The event will be held April 4th at 10:30 am with a brunch followed by an egg hunt on the Westgate Playground. The brunch will be held in the Next House dining hall (W71).

At 11:30 after a quick clean up of the dining hall we will head over to the playground so the kids can hunt for eggs. We will be joined by the Easter Bunny himself who will be on hand to take pictures with the residents.

In order to make sure we have enough food and supplies registration is recommended but not required. Those who register by Friday March 27th will be entered to win door prizes.

http://westgate.mit.edu/registration/event.php

Thanks,
Kate and Kevin

FYI

Michael

---

From: Larry Brutti
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 2:53 PM
To: Michael Collins
Subject: bus shelter

Attached is a sketch of the shelter that will be installed on the south west corner of the westgate lot, directly across from Next house. Construction will begin during spring break and should be completed in mid April.

Larry

Hello all,

The PCB project is not entirely complete and the final stages will take place in
the upcoming weeks. Representatives from the PCB Project will be on hand at the
Town Hall Meeting *tomorrow* THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2009 at 7:30pm. I apologize
for the short notice. Items left to complete are listed below:

**Random testing within apartments. The tests will only involve a wipe of the
window sill.

**Some balconies are still not at the desired level and thus must be sealed.
Testing of the balconies will only involve a wipe test, no chipping of the
balconies will be necessary.

**The soil portion of the project is complete. MIT Grounds will be reworking
the landscaping including grading of areas where the soil has sunk. Work will
begin as the weather becomes warmer.

If you have any questions or concerns, please come to the Town Hall meeting or
feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Jason

--------------------------
"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality."
~~Plutarch
--------------------------

Jason McKnight
Residential Life Associate for Graduate Students
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave., W20-549
Cambridge, MA 02139

617.201.1823 Cell
617.253.1392 Office
617.253.8391 Fax

Hi Westgate residents,

I wanted to let everyone know that Westgate's smoking policy has been
updated. The new policy is as follows:

(1) No smoking inside any of the Westgate buildings (this includes
both public spaces and private apartments)
(2) No smoking on low-rise balconies
(3) No smoking within the courtyard and playground
(4) No smoking within 15 feet of low-rise buildings
(5) No smoking within 15 feet of the high-rise building

Item (5) is the new, updated piece of the policy. We have added this
rule because residents on the first few floors of the high rise have
reported that cigarette smoke has been drifting up into their
apartments through their windows.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the
graduate coordinators (myself and Anna) at westgate-gcmit [dot] edu or
Jason McKnight at jrmacmit [dot] edu.

Thanks,
Jason

Westgate's copy of Wii sports has gone missing, again.

If you know where it is or what happened to it, please let us know
(westgate-rfrcmit [dot] edu).

Unfortunately, if games and other items continue to be stolen (which
we assume if no one tells us what happened to it), Westgate will be
unable to continue providing the Wii as a service.

Jeff&Lily
Recycling and Floor Representative Coordinators

Recyclemania is in full force and going strong!

To ensure that every family has an equal opportunity to recycle, we
are offering recycling bins to each family that did not receive one
when they first moved in. If you have never gotten a recycling bin and
would like one, please email westgate-rfromit [dot] edu with your name and
apartment number by Wed. 2/18.

Keep up the great work, and remember, a dinner prize is in store for
the winners of Recyclemania!

Jeff & Lily
Westgate Recycling & Floor Rep Coordinators

Hello all,

Due to the weather this week, there will be NO snow/ice removal for the larger
Westgate Lot on Tuesday. Thank you to those who assisted in the snow/ice
removal along Audrey and Vassar.

More spaces have been opened up in the Westgate Lot. The parking spaces will be
more accessible as the remaining snow melts; and the 'wall' and cones are moved.
Also, a 'spring cleaning' of the lot will be scheduled later in the year.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you again
to all those who assisted with the removal along Audrey and Vassar.

Have a great weekend,
Jason

--------------------------
"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality."
~~Plutarch
--------------------------

Jason McKnight
Residential Life Associate for Graduate Students
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave., W20-549
Cambridge, MA 02139

617.201.1823 Cell
617.253.1392 Office
617.253.8391 Fax

Hello all,

Parking along Audrey, Vassar, and Amherst Alley will be closed incrementally on
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2009 for snow removal. The spaces will be closed at the
following times:

Audrey St. 9:00am-12:00pm
Vassar St. 12:00pm-3:30pm
Amherst Alley 12:00pm-3:30pm

Facilities will be removing excess snow and ice as well as covering the area
with salt, etc. to eliminate remaining ice.

All low-rise residents can park in the Westgate Lot located off of Amherst Alley
across from the high-rise and building HJK. You may return to spaces after the
times listed above.

Snow and ice removal for the larger Westgate Lot is tentatively scheduled for
Tuesday, February 17, 2009. More detailed information will follow later this
week.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you
in advance for your help and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Have a great day,
Jason

--------------------------
"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality."
~~Plutarch
--------------------------

Jason McKnight
Residential Life Associate for Graduate Students
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave., W20-549
Cambridge, MA 02139

617.201.1823 Cell
617.253.1392 Office
617.253.8391 Fax