CDS Responds to Reddit Post Alleging Issues at Browne Dining Hall
On May 19, an anonymous Reddit user posted in r/Caltech, a Reddit forum for Caltech-related posts, alleging food safety, sanitation, and workplace issues at Browne Dining Hall. The post appeared under the username “No-Environment-3923” and was titled “PSA from a former cook: Be very careful eating at Caltech Dining Halls (Browne).” The Tech messaged the user through Reddit, who accepted the message request but did not reply before the account was deleted.
2026 San Gabriel Valley Food Passport: Fourth Round of Reviews
Hello Tech readers! Time for another round of reviews where I explore the San Gabriel Valley food scene with the 2025 MySGV Food Passport. There remains only a few places in Pasadena still to explore: Birria Master, Edwin Mills, O’Seyo Shabu Shabu, All India Café, and Star Leaf.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Ramo: Shakespeare with Heart and Laughter
On May 1, 2, and 3, Caltech EXPLiCIT brought another Shakespeare classic to the Ramo Auditorium stage: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s always a pleasure to watch this play, no matter how many versions you’ve already seen.
AI, Ethics, and the Art of Culpability: An Evening with Bruce Holsinger at Caltech
On a warm California evening this past Monday, May 11th, the Dabney Lounge at Caltech became an unlikely intersection of medieval scholarship, literary fiction, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence ethics. In a campus that feels so arid and scientifically focused, escaping for one hour in literature and fancy words was extremely beneficial!
All 22 National Science Board Members Removed
All 22 members of the National Science Board (NSB), which oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF), were removed on April 24 without explanation. Members were notified by email that their positions were “terminated, effective immediately.” They included Aaron Dominguez (BS ’92), the board’s vice chair and provost of the Catholic University of America, and board member Matthew Malkan (PhD ’83), a UCLA professor.
Blacker Raises the Neon Pyramid
On the night of May 19, Blacker Hovse summoned students to quite the chimerical Interhovse: Ancient Egypt by way of glowstick fever dream. The invitation arrived less as an announcement than an incantation — “The pharaoh’s curse beckons you” — calling partygoers to “flood the courtyard at 10pm sharp” for what it promised would be a “body thumping blood pumping rave inside the neon pyramid.”
Caltech Alumnus Accused in Washington Correspondents’ Dinner Attack
Federal authorities have identified Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old Torrance man, as the suspect in the April 25 shooting incident at the Washington Correspondents’ Dinner, where President Trump and senior administration officials were in attendance. Allen has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempting to assassinate the president, after prosecutors alleged that he traveled from California to Washington, D.C., checked into the Washington Hilton, and tried to breach security near the ballroom while armed.
Caltech Students in Boulder, CO: Apartment Hunting
Many know that two CCE research groups are moving from Caltech to CU Boulder. This column will be a way that I keep the Caltech students (myself included) a part of the Caltech community as we finish our PhDs in Colorado.
Canvas Breach Prompts Caution, Limited-Use Guidance at Caltech
A recent cybersecurity incident involving Canvas, the learning-management system operated by Instructure and used throughout Caltech, disrupted universities during exams week and raised concerns about the possible exposure of user data. Instructure claims it detected unauthorized activity on April 29 and additional related activity on May 7, when some users saw altered Canvas pages; the company temporarily placed Canvas in maintenance mode and later tied the access path to its Free-For-Teacher account system.