Campus & Community

Abram Bergson, an economist who pioneered the rigorous quantitative study of the Soviet economy, died April 23 at the age of 89.

The Harvard womens water polo team closed out its season with a sixth-place showing at the Collegiate Water Polo Associations Eastern Championships this past weekend at Blodgett Pool. Splitting four contests, including a tough overtime loss against Hartwick on Sunday (April 27), the Crimson squad seeded No. 6 at the start of the tourney finishes its 2003 campaign at 11-16 (2-2 Ivy). Indiana University placed first in the 12-team tournament to deny the No. 1-seeded University of Michigan its second straight title.

Conference to examine issues in global psychiatry

The intellectual firepower in the Memorial Church Friday (April 25) was formidable as the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research celebrated the centennial of the landmark work by the institutes namesake. Yet for the most part the speakers – gathered from Harvard and beyond – yielded their own research or viewpoints on Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk to Du Bois words, which rang loud.

Harvard University has lifted its moratorium on travel to Vietnam and Toronto, Canada, based on the World Health Organization (WHO) changing its travel advice. Given that there are still SARS cases in these areas, travelers to Toronto and Vietnam should observe precautions to safeguard their health. This includes avoidance of settings where SARS is most likely to be transmitted, such as health-care facilities caring for SARS patients. Anyone experiencing SARS symptoms should check in with University Health Services (UHS).

The Frese Foundation, a generous supporter of Harvard astronomy, financial aid, and athletics, is concluding an extensive series of gifts to the University by establishing a $3 million deans fund. The Arnold D. Frese Deans Discretionary Fund will provide Dean William C. Kirby with the flexibility to respond to needs in key areas of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) such as financial aid, faculty support, and the sciences.

There may be quite a number of urban planners who harbor a secret dream of designing and building their own city. One of the few who actually got the chance to bring that dream to fruition was Peter the Great of Russia. St. Petersburg, the city he designed and founded, celebrates its 300th anniversary this year.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will hold its annual board of directors retreat this week at the Harvard Business School.

They look down on us from their gilded frames, the illustrious scholars and benefactors of Harvards past, representatives from each of the four centuries of the Universitys existence, from the earliest progenitors in their powdered wigs and lace collars to 20th century figures in their business suits and ties.

Researchers at Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) have produced the first-ever magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the human lungs airways using hyperpolarized helium gas. This highly innovative imaging method, known as dynamic hyperpolarized helium MRI (HP noble gas MRI), set to be tested in a clinical trial, allows physicians to view the inner structure of the airways in exquisite detail, effectively unlocking the mysteries of lung function that have long eluded physicians. The findings will appear in the May issue of the journal Radiology.

Lesbians, gays, and bisexuals participated recently in a Kiss-In at the Science Center. Meg Scheding squeals with delight as her friends David Foster 06 (left) and L.S. Huang 02-03 kiss.

Whistle-blowers often risk reprisal from their employers, suffer great setbacks in their careers, and in many cases lack enough evidence to prove any wrongdoing in their workplace, according to a panel of experts gathered to discuss the issue at the John F. Kennedy School of Government (KSG) last Wednesday (April 23).

The Institute of Politics (IOP) has kicked off a new internship that will send Harvard undergraduates into Americas cities this summer to look for innovative programs and practices that engage youth in politics.

Renowned primatologist and environmental advocate Jane Goodall was named the 2003 Global Environmental Citizen Monday (April 28) by Harvard Medical Schools Center for Health and the Global Environment.

The University has created a Web site, www.emergency.harvard.edu, to provide information regarding the Universitys response to national security alerts, travel advisories, and similar news. The site is updated as situations warrant. This site is also where information will appear in the event of an emergency situation that affects the Harvard community.

A woman looks at photographs by Charles Fletcher Lummis at the Peabody Museum. The exhibit is called Southwestern Portraits, 1888-1896.

In Beanpot action this past Wednesday (April 23), the Harvard baseball team relied on some ninth-inning heroics against the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, to earn an 8-7 victory in the opening round of the 14th annual tournament at Fenway Park. The victory propelled the Crimson to its first tournament championship appearance in five years, where, despite another last-inning rally against Boston College on Thursday (April 24), the Crimson fell, 8-6.

Three senior Harvard football players have signed free agent contracts with NFL teams. Two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Carl Morris has reached an agreement with the Indianapolis Colts, offensive guard Jamil Soriano has signed with the Green Bay Packers, and offensive tackle Jack Fadule has inked a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The ancient Egyptians carved the revered names of pharaohs in larger-than-life-size letters across their imposing pyramids. In the Royal Tombs of Ur, the Mesopotamians etched stretches of hieroglyphic-esque characters that offer evidence of their ideologies and daily regimens. But the ancient Indus people of Harappa left less comprehensible clues about themselves and therefore remain far more mysterious to modern scholars and National Geographic junkies alike. Ancient Harappa was one of the worlds first cities. This metropolis along the Ravi River, now modern Pakistan, was flourishing as its more familiar ancient neighbors were making Bronze Age advancements.

When Lee Mingwei writes a grant application, he always hesitates before filling in the section that asks what medium he works in. Most artists are able to answer, metal, stone, oils, or mixed media. Lees medium is people.

A surprise guest stole the show at Harvards annual Springfest Sunday (April 27): Spring.

As the aggressor in a war it chose to wage, the United States is being judged by high standards in its conduct of both the war and its aftermath, School of Public Health Professor Jennifer Leaning said Tuesday (April 22).

At least one magnolia blossom is unintimidated by the winterlike temperatures recently visited on the region.

After eight months of intensive review, the Committee to Address Sexual Assault at Harvard (CASAH), chaired by Professor of International Health and Assistant Professor of Medicine Jennifer Leaning, has released its report containing recommendations to strengthen the Colleges educational and support services related to sexual violence on campus. The report will now undergo a period of public commentary and faculty review.

April 25, 1959 – At the invitation of the Law School Forum, Cuban Premier Fidel Castro speaks before a crowd of more than 7,000 at Soldiers Field. Introduced by FAS Dean McGeorge Bundy, Castro speaks in English, with periodic assistance from Public Relations Ambassador Teresa Casuso. Earlier at noon, Castro and an entourage of 50 dine at the Faculty Club.

Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department for the week ending April 19. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave, sixth floor.

Out of 37 entries, the School of Public Health (SPH) has named two winners for its 17th annual Poster and Exhibit Day. Pauline Koh-Banerjee won for her research Changes in body weight and body fat distribution as risk factors for clinical diabetes in U.S. men and Dmitri Wiederschain won for his exhibit Extreme C-terminus of ELL mediates p53 inhibition by the MLL-ELL leukemic fusion.

You pick up your cell phone, dial, and, if all goes well, you talk, say good-bye, and hang up.

The twin solar images glared from the screen in the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics auditorium, green tinged with yellow, swirls of fire erupting from the surface.

Love makes it hard for Janis Forde to do what she does. Its also what keeps her at it.