Briefs

Night at the Court: The 15th annual Employee/Family Night at the Court is Jan. 26. The event will start with a lasagna dinner served in the Ramin Room of Bartels Hall from 4:30-6:30 p.m. A special feature for children during the community dinner is a visit by Crossroad the clown, who will be offering face painting and balloon sculpting. Then participants can watch the Cornell men's and women's basketball teams take on Columbia. The women tip-off at 5 p.m., and the men follow at 7 in the Bartels Hall gymnasium. People wearing Cornell's colors (red and white) to the event are eligible to win door prizes at special drawings held at the dinner and at both games. The $5 ticket includes dinner and admission to both basketball games (or you may purchase tickets to just the dinner or the just the games for $3). A drawing will be held at the men's basketball game for a chance to win two U.S. Airways round-trip tickets, two tickets to the final Cornell men's ice hockey game and participation in an ice hockey shootout. A drawing entry form can be submitted with every ticket purchased. In addition, there will be alternative activities Jan. 26, including reduced admission to Cornell Cinema's children's showing of "The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T" at 2 p.m. ($2 adults, $1.50 children, 12 and under), free swimming at Helen Newman pool (adults only for laps, 2-4 p.m., and family swim, 4:15-5:15 p.m.), and discounted bowling at Helen Newman Lanes ($1 per game and $1 shoe rental), noon-7 p.m. Tickets for Night at the Court are on sale through Friday, Jan. 18, at the following locations: the Athletic Ticket Office, 305 Helen Newman Hall, the Cornell Store Munch Market and the Cornell Recreation Connection office, 130 Day Hall. Tickets will not be sold after Jan. 18.

ESL for academicians: A noncredit course will be offered at Cornell for visiting academicians who seek improvement in any basic English-language skills, particularly speaking and listening comprehension. All language-learning activities will be oriented toward what will be most useful to the scholars during their stay here. Practice in speaking and pronunciation will include formal presentations and individual help with pronunciation problems. In addition to the weekly classes, field trips are regularly scheduled to provide opportunities for discussion with native English speakers and insight into American culture and history. Classes will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday evenings, beginning Jan. 21 and ending May 6. The program fee is $450. For further information contact: Donna Colunio, School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, B20 Day Hall; 255-7259; e-mail: cusp@cornell.edu ; web site: www.sce.cornell.edu/exec.

Flu shots available: It's not too late to reduce your risk of coming down with the flu this winter. Influenza vaccinations are still available on a walk-in basis at Gannett Health Center. Flu shots are being provided this year at no cost to faculty and staff (with Cornell ID) courtesy of Cornell Human Resources. The student fee is $10, payable by cash, check or bursar. For more information, call Gannett at 255-5155 or check the web site www.gannett.cornell.edu.