This Week In

Education:

Boston University set a personal record with 1,505 early decision applicants for the fall of 2013 semester, more than a 40 percent increase from when BU received 1,069 early admission applications for the fall of 2012 semester, according to The Daily Free Press. This is resounding success in comparison to the 40 percent of private colleges that experienced a decrease in applicants last year, according to BostInno.com. This may be attributed to BU’s exceptional command of social media, with a 30 percent increase in Facebook “Likes” and a 47 percent increase in Twitter followers. BU has only 3,800 spots to fill for the Class of 2017, 100 fewer spots than they had the year before. BostInno.com also reported that Zinch, an online college resource, polled 7,000 high school students, two thirds of whom confirmed that social media research plays a role in their college choices.

Pop Culture:

Mark Wahlberg has suggested plans to produce a new reality TV series regarding college students, specifically those of the nerdy variety, reported BostInno.com. Wahlberg already produces two reality TV series, including Teamsters, a series that follows the Teamsters Union in Boston. Now, though, Wahlberg hopes to capitalize on the success of nerdy powerhouses like CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus George Zaidan, who hosts the video blog “Pocket Science,” helped inspire the concept for a TV series following nerdy college students. The series could narrow its focus on students anywhere from Harvard to MIT, following students as they engage in their nerdy escapades. Wahlberg’s brother, Donnie, has also tried his hand in the reality TV industry, producing Boston’s Finest, a docudrama following Boston police officers.

News:

Aaron Swartz, who assisted in the creation of social news and entertainment website Reddit, committed suicide on Jan. 11. He was 26. Swartz was considered an Internet activist by many, due in part to his stances on open web access, according to BostInno.com. Swartz was entangled in legal proceedings since 2010, when he crashed some of JSTOR’s servers in an effort to download documents through MIT’s online network. After he was removed from the network, Swartz plugged his computer directly into a restricted part of the network, resulting in his arrest and charge with 13 counts of felony.  If convicted, Swartz could have served up to 35 years in prison. The charges were dropped following his suicide. A petition from the MIT Society for Open Sciences has demanded the university publicly apologize for its role in “the unjust federal prosecution” of Swartz.

Cuisine:

Enso Sushi, located in Boston’s Chinatown, is the first restaurant to serve kaiten sushi in Boston, reported BostInno.com. Kaiten sushi is better known as conveyor-belt sushi. The process of enjoying a meal at Enso Sushi is simple. Patrons of the restaurant sit around a conveyor belt and are welcomed to select the dishes of their choice as they pass on the conveyor belt. After patrons are done eating, they leave the plates at the end of their table, where an employee calculates a check. While the conveyor belt can be fun, it is not the only way to eat at Enso Sushi. There are also options that patrons can order directly from a server. Kaiten sushi has gained popularity since its invention by Yoshiaki Shiraishi in 1958, when he opened Mawaru Genroku Sushi in Osaka, Japan. 

Stating the Obvious:

Possessors of marijuana received a gentle reminder from MBTA Transit Police this week that federal and state laws, in fact, do not cease on the platform of the T or within a public transportation vehicle. MBTA posted answers to the questions that they commonly receive after arresting or fining perpetrators, reported BostInno.com. The questions included “Is it okay to smoke a ‘joint’ while waiting on the platform for my train?” and “I met my friend at Downtown Crossing and sold him a ‘bag of weed’ while on the platform. The weight was much less than an ounce. Why did I get arrested?” The answer to the second question explained that, while Massachusetts decriminalized the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in 2008, its distribution still warrants arrest.