December

8 Harvard University announces it is suing a Boston man for violating the new federal "cyber-piracy" law. Harvard alleges that Michael Rhys and Michael Douglas, thought to be aliases for the same person, registered 65 Internet names using the words "Harvard" and "Radcliffe," intending to sell them to Harvard for a profit.

10 Members of the Progressive Student Labor Movement lead about 40 students on an "anti-sweatshop tour" of the Square. The protestors target the Coop, the Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch.

13 After his Mather House room had been targeted repeatedly in acts of homophobic vandalism during the fall, K. Kyriell Muhammad announces he will resign as resident tutor at the end of the term.

15 Netting more than twice as many votes as any other candidate, Fentrice D. Driskell '01 wins the Undergraduate Council's top spot and her running mate John A. Burton '01 grabs the council's vice presidency. An election referendum also slashes the council to nearly half its current size and defeats efforts to increase student fees that go to the council.

15 Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 takes a temporary leave to undergo surgery for what appears to be an early stage of prostate cancer. Fineberg returns to his normal duties gradually over the winter.

16 College administrators announce that starting in fall 2000, students will receive late-night snacks in House dining halls as an addition to the meal plan. The new meal will be called the "Brain Break."

January

4 A University task force recommends that the troubled Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) be dissolved and its programs distributed among Harvard schools after a six-month review.