Some will catch the Big Red Bear — Cornell’s beloved mascot — ice-skating at Lynah Rink between periods at hockey games. Others may notice him dancing on the field at Schoellkopf between halves at football games. Still others will see him dancing up and down Ho Plaza, riling up students on their morning walks to class.

Although the tradition of the Big Red Bear is currently upheld through the efforts of a dedicated team of students, the origins of the mascot dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when a real live bear frequented Big Red sporting events. Getting pumped: The Big Red Bear pumps up the crowd at a hockey game with his dance moves.

Forty years ago at Cornell, the program known today as Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies was in a much different state –– in fact it was non-existent.

Non-existent is also a suitable term to describe the availability of courses relating to women in general on the campus of any major American university at that time.

A conference held at Cornell in the winter of 1969 brought to light this exclusion of women in traditional academic disciplines in front of more than 2,000 attendees. The result of the conference was the creation of one of the first women-focused courses ever offered by a major university.

In an effort to bring awareness to a variety of environmental issues, the Sustainable Earth, Energy and Environmental Systems speaker series highlights issues involving climate change and natural resources. The “Water — Impacts of Climate Change and Solutions” lecture was presented yesterday by Prof. Rebecca Schneider, natural resources.

The discussion focused on the growing problem of freshwater scarcity. A 1997 report by Population Action International estimated that “by 2050, about 4.4 billion people of the world’s projected 10 billion people will suffer from chronic water shortages.”

Under the light of a full moon, students gathered outside Clara Dickson Hall last night for a candle light vigil to remember Boon Jim Lim ’13, who was found dead in his dorm room on Oct. 19. A stereo played soft music in the background as Lim, an Arts and Sciences student from Malaysia, was remembered for his quick smile and inquisitive nature.

“With our prayers and with our intentions, may the soul of Boon Jim Lim rest in peace” Rev. Janet Shortall, associate director of Cornell United Religious Work, said during the vigil.

Lucas Wooster, a 32-year-old Ph.D. candidate in horticulture at Cornell, died unexpectedly early Sunday morning in the town of Ithaca, according to the University.

Amidst rough economic times, New York State’s deficit will grow to $44 billion over the next five years, according to Gov. David Paterson’s budget office’s mid-year report released Friday. The state recession will not end until the second half of 2010, according to budget officials.

The streets of Ithaca were crowded with vampires, balloon boys and Lady Gagas on Halloween Night, but just hours before that, the same students ventured into the streets to participate in Cornell’s 18th annual day of service.

In an increasingly multilateral world, Brazil will soon rise as Latin America’s first superpower, said visiting professor Leslie Armijo ’78 in a lecture titled “Brazil as an Emerging World Power?” last Friday.

Throughout the lecture at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Armijo, a political science professor at Portland State University, examined the international repercussions of Brazil’s current political and economic strengths.

According to Armijo, Brazil’s current rise in the international panorama should be analyzed by studying its developments not only as international actor, but also as a middle and regional power.

Beginning with two trial classes next semester, the undergraduate biology major will undergo a significant transformation that affects multiple majors in three of Cornell’s colleges. After two years of planning, approval of the change was granted Oct. 22, according to Prof. Cole Gilbert, Entomology.

Ninety-Eight percent of Ithaca’s 6,000 4th Ward residents are Cornellians, so it may come as no surprise that the Common Council seat representing the district has a budding tradition of student representatives.

After the resignation of Dave Gelinas ’07 two years ago, the 4th Ward — which represents West Campus, Cascadilla Park and most of Collegetown — has been represented by Mayoral appointee Nancy Schuler, a permanent resident who lives in the neighborhood.