Harvard Today: December 2, 2014

Good morning, Harvard! The skies may be a little grayer on this final Tuesday of classes than they were yesterday, but hey, you just have to get through today and tomorrow, and then it’s reading period! (Hopefully you don’t have too many “optional” lectures or sections on Thursday).  For those of you still reminiscing about Thanksgiving break or counting down the days till finals are over: we’re almost there! For now, enjoy(?) the last few days while there is still a degree of social pressure to shower and put on cleanish clothes every day. Trust us, you'll miss this when you're in Lamont a week  from now surrounded by people who have been there for far too long...

By Daniel N. Yue

IN THE ATMOSPHERE
Time to break out the coats again. Today will see a high of 37 and a low of 34. Lucky for you this should only last for a day, because yesterday’s spring-like weather is expected to return tomorrow.

IN THE D-HALLS
Lunch
Popcorn Chicken
Sausage Pizza
Coconut Tofu Soup

Dinner
Normandy Style Pork Loin
Swai With Honey Ginger Glaze
Mashed Potatoes

ON FLYBY
Harvard Banishes CS 50 TF to New Haven: Godspeed, Jason C. Hirschorn '15. We'll miss knowing ya.

IN THE NEWS
1) Protesters Blockade Mass. Ave. in Response to Ferguson Decision: Hundreds of Harvard affiliates and Cambridge residents marched on Mass. Ave. and blockaded streets at the heart of Harvard Square early Monday afternoon in protest of a grand jury’s recent decision not to indict a white police officer who shot and killed a black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., this summer.

2) Vigil Marks World AIDS Day: Leaders of the Global Health and AIDS Coalition shared stories about HIV/AIDS at their annual vigil on the Memorial Church steps on Monday night in honor of World AIDS Day, aiming to raise awareness about federal funding cuts for treatment.

3) Harvard Stadium Could Serve as Olympic Venue if Boston Lands Games: Harvard Stadium may serve as the home turf for Olympic field hockey if the summer games come to Boston in 2024, according to an Associated Press story published last week.

4) Blood Mutations May Indicate Higher Cancer Likelihood, Researchers Find: Two independent teams of researchers spanning the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the Medical School, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute have identified a precancerous state in blood that indicates a higher likelihood that an individual will develop blood cancers, according to their findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week.

EVENTS
Don’t see enough of Paul Farmer in SW 25? Head over to Harvard Medical School’s Joseph B. Martin Conference Center (77 Avenue Louis Pasteur) at 1 p.m., to hear him discuss global health and the Ebola outbreak.

If you’re looking for a chance to see someone famous (maybe even get a selfie - time for a prof pic change?) The Harvard Foundation is presenting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with its 2014 Humanitarian of the Year Award at 5:00 p.m. in Memorial Church. Seating is first come, first served, so get there early for a prime seat!

Comedian Seth Rogen will be talking politics at the IOP tonight at 6 p.m. Unfortunately, the lottery for tickets closed on Sunday, but there’s always hope that one of your friends with tickets suddenly has a conflict…Or you could just watch it live here.

PHOTO OF THE DAY
Vegas L. Longlois ’16 writes words of support on the solidarity banner on display in the Science Center Plaza on Monday in preparation for the panel on solidarity in both the Asian American and larger Harvard community on Wednesday evening in Fong Auditorium.  The banner was first presented shortly after the email threats targeting the Asian American population on campus in October.