MIT's administrative offices will be closed on Friday, Dec. 31, 1999 and will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000 at 9am. December 31 and January 3 are Institute holidays.
MIT recommends that all students, faculty and staff turn off their computers and refrain from non-emergency telephone use from 6pm on December 31 until at least 1:30am on January 1. MIT also recommends that members of the Institute community make only minimal and essential use of computer-based systems (Internet, e-mail, Athena, etc.) until after 9am on Tuesday, January 4. (Please note however, that these systems should be available for users with essential tasks -- see below.)
Specific information about on-campus facilities follows:
Campus Police -- Campus Police will as always, be operating on a 24-hour basis. For police, medical or public safety emergencies, call x3-1212 at any time.
Facilities, including the cogeneration power plant (supplies electrical power to most campus buildings) -- Open and operating. For on-campus power, heat, hot water or mechanical systems failures, call FIXIT from any MIT telephone (x3-4948).
Telephone and telecommunications service (including voice mail) -- Fully operational on an automated, weekend basis. Extra personnel will be on duty to monitor the Y2K transition and respond to any problems. Please note: all phone customers are urged not to place calls unless absolutely necessary, and by no means to put extra stress on the telephone system by checking for dial tone during the period of 11pm-2am on the night of December 31-January 1.
Information Systems -- E-mail, Kerberos, basic web, Athena/AFS, mainframe, Tether, Casetracker, Campus Police and Facilities radios and the MIT on-line directory will all be operating continuously throughout the four-day holiday weekend.
Computing Help Desk -- Staff from the Computing Help Desk and other areas of IS Support will be joining the efforts of the Y2K team and providing Y2K-related support to the MIT community from 10am-4pm on Januaary 1-3. Computer Help and all IS support staffers during the weekend will give first priority to to Y2K-related problems. To reach Computer Help staff during these special weekend hours, call x3-2000.
MIT Medical -- Throughout the long holiday weekend, urgent medical care for members of the MIT community is available 24 hours a day at MIT Medical, just as it is every other day of the year. Members of the physician and nursing staffs are always on site, with other providers on call at all times. MIT Medical's urgent care line is x3-1311 (voice/TTY). The non-emergency medical number is x3-4481. MIT Medical's 24-hour entrance is at 25 Carleton St.
Parking -- Starting at 6pm on New Year's Eve, the Parking and Transportation Office will respond to potential First Night and Y2K issues by staffing the following lots and garages from 6pm-2am: Sloan Lot, Hayward Lot, CRA Lot, East Garage, Main Lot and Kresge Lot. These lots will accept any current MIT parking sticker regardless of assigned location during this shift only.
The following lots are usually staffed during business days but will not be staffed for this night: 139 Massachusetts Ave., West Garage Annex and the N10 Lot. All gated lots that are unattended during normal business hours will remain in operation and remain unattended from December 31 to January 3.
SafeRide -- SafeRide will be operating on its regular Sunday-Wednesday and Thursday-Saturday schedules. Refer to SafeRide's web site for details.
Libraries -- All libraries will be closed from Friday, Dec. 31 through Sunday, Jan. 2. On Monday, Jan. 3, the Humanities and Science libraries will be open from 7am-midnight. All other libraries will be closed on that day and will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
Student Center -- The Student Center will close on Friday, Dec. 31 at 5pm and will reopen at 7am on Sunday, Jan. 2.
Food service -- On Friday, Dec. 31, the Networks caf� in the Student Center will be open from 8:30am-4pm. To accommodate the special needs of the MIT community during the Y2K transition weekend, Morse Hall in Walker Memorial will be providing food service from 6pm-2am on Friday, Dec. 31 and from 9am-2pm on Saturday, Jan. 1. The Lobdell food court will be closed on December 31 and January 1. Lobdell hours on January 2 will run from 8:30am-7pm. On January 3, Lobdell will be open from 7:30am-7pm.
The McGregor Convenience Store will be open from 5pm-2am on January 3. Most campus dining locations will reopen with normal hours on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
MIT Museum -- The Museum will be closed all day December 31, January 1 and Januaary 3 but will be open on Sunday, Jan 2 from noon-5pm.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on December 15, 1999.
