Black Panthers today

Cornell Cinema celebrates Black History Month with the premiere of an independent film written and directed by Tanya Hamilton and introduced by Cheryl Finley, assistant professor of art history. The film, "Night Catches Us," documents the lives of two former Black Panthers, members of a powerful activist group in the 1960s. It will show Feb. 25 at 7 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre. Tickets: $4 students and kids under 12; $5.50 seniors; $7 general.

Veneto-inspired dinner

Students from the Hotel School's Guest Chefs class will team up with Chef Mark Ladner of Del Posto to prepare and serve a special dinner Feb. 26, Park Atrium, Statler Hall. Reception at 6 p.m.; dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets for the event are $125 all-inclusive. Inspired by class Senior Lecturer Giuseppe Pezzotti's hometown of Verona, Ladner has crafted a menu highlighting regional Veneto specialties. Ladner is executive chef and partner at Del Posto, a fine-dining Italian restaurant in New York City that has won a four-star rating from the New York Times.

Information: e-mail lb427@cornell.edu or ekp24@cornell.edu. Registration information: http://guest.cvent.com/d/8dq5yg.

World without frogs

In "Damaged Ecosystems and the Problem of Frogs!" veterinarian and professor Val Beasley will draw on research and extrapolation to provide insight into the havoc that changes in ecosystems are wreaking with amphibians. This 2011 George C. Poppensiek Visiting Professor of Global Health lecture will be held March 1 at 6:30 p.m., Lecture Hall II, Veterinary Education Center at the Vet College. Free and open to the public.

Leaving Hialeah

Jennine Capó Crucet '03, an Arts and Sciences alumna whose debut book, "How to Leave Hialeah," was winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award and the John Gardner Book Award, will read from her work, March 2 at 3 p.m., the Cornell Store. Crucet captures the voices of the predominantly Hispanic working-class neighborhoods of Hialeah in this collection of stories. Helena Viramontes, professor of English, will introduce the reading. Information: http://www.store.cornell.edu/book/gbsigning.html.

Two comp lit books

The Cornell Store presents two faculty book discussions March 2 at 4:30 p.m. Petrus Liu, assistant professor of comparative literature, will talk about his recently published co-edited volume, "Beyond the Strai(gh)ts: Transnationalism and Queer Chinese Politics," which considers the dynamics and differences of queer theory in Taiwan and the mainland and has just been awarded a Modern Language Association Award for Best Journal Special Issue. Brett de Bary, professor of Asian studies and comparative literature and former director of the Society for the Humanities, will then discuss the latest volume, No. 5, of the series "Traces, Universities in Translation: The Mental Labor of Globalization," of which she is the editor. Refreshments will be available and copies of each title will be discounted 20 percent.

Soup and Hope

The March 3 Soup and Hope, noon-1 p.m., will feature Laura Santacrose '11, College of Human Ecology. Santacrose is a third-year resident adviser, student manager for Campus Information and Visitor Relations (the "tour guides") and research assistant for the Cornell Infant Studies Lab. Santacrose will talk about how the campus of Cornell inspires her every day.

Poverty and behavior

Sendhil Mullainathan, Harvard University, will lecture on the psychology of poverty, March 3 at 4:30 p.m., Statler Auditorium.
Why do people stay poor? Do the poor behave in ways that reinforce poverty? In addressing these questions through a review of relevant research, Mullainathan argues that people choose, behave and feel differently when they have very little. Information: http://www.socialsciences.cornell.edu/0912/events.html.

Latino conference

The Youth, Identities and Transnational Flows Conference will be held March 3-5, featuring Enrique Morones, human rights activist and founder of Border Angels; Aryahna Somers Vazquez, The Door -- Comprehensive Youth Development Agency, New York, NY; Carola Suarez-Orozco, professor of applied psychology and co-director of Immigration Studies at New York University; and the one-man show, "From Cuba to 'Cuse," by Jose Miguel Hernandez, Syracuse, NY. Other highlights: Cornell's Palante Salsa en Rueda Troupe and Sabor Latino Dance Ensemble and a dinner and dance fundraiser. Information: http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/latinamerica/academics/youthconference.asp.

Locally grown dance

The opening ceremony of the 2011 Locally Grown Dance Festival begins March 3 at 7:30 p.m., Kiplinger Theatre, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, and includes short works and choreography by faculty and students from Cornell, Ithaca College and Hobart-William Smith, as well as from members of the local community. The 10-day festival includes dance, music, film, theater and poetry, featuring performances, screenings, panels and discussions. Flexible tickets allow attendees to choose from a number of options. Open to the public. Information: http://theatrefilmdance.cornell.edu/events/lgdf.cfm; tickets: http://www.schwartztickets.com or call the Schwartz Center Box Office, 607-254-ARTS, e-mail: ctaboxoffice@cornell.edu.

Best-selling scientist to lecture

Best-selling author and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker will present the 2011 Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture, March 4 at 7:30 p.m., Alice Statler Auditorium, Statler Hall.

Pinker, a leading researcher in language and cognition, has been named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People. Pinker will explore how language is a window into human nature, using examples from everyday speech and pop culture. His lecture is based on his latest book, "The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature." A book-signing and reception follow.

Tickets are free and available to the public at 350 Caldwell Hall, the Willard Straight Hall ticket office, Ticket Center Ithaca and Buffalo Street Books. For special accommodations, call 607-255-5810.

Black gospel festival

The 34th Annual Festival of Black Gospel will be held March 4-6, featuring: An evening gospel comedy show, March 4 at 8 p.m., Robert Purcell Community Center, with Jason Earls; a mass choir workshop, March 5 at 1 p.m., St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 402 N. Aurora St.; a concert featuring Grammy-nominated and Stellar Award-winning gospel artist Byron Cage, March 5 at 7 p.m., State Theatre, 107 W. Martin Luther King Jr. St., Ithaca (doors open at 6:30 p.m., tickets $5-$10); and speaker Din Tolbert '04 and the Festival of Black Gospel Mass Choir, March 6 at 4 p.m., Calvary Baptist Church, 507 N. Albany St., Ithaca. Information: http://www.festivalblackgospel.com.

Animal legends exhibit

Cornell University Library will open its new exhibition, "Animal Legends: From the Trojan Horse to Godzilla," with a lecture by Vice Provost Laura Brown, "Love, Paradise and the Rise of the Animal in English Literature," March 4 at 5 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. A reception and viewing of the exhibit will follow at 6 p.m. in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections (Level 2B, Carl A. Kroch Library). The exhibit draws on the library's collections and explores how and why humans choose to elevate certain animals to the status of divinities, emblems, mascots, heroes and celebrities. Information: http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/AnimalLegends/.