December events to get on your calendar

The 17th annual gingerbread construction contest, hosted by Northeastern Dining, is among the events to catch this month on campus. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

December brings cold weather but plenty of ways to get fired up. From discussions on resilience to gingerbread masonry, here are some of the events you won’t want to miss this month.

Topics in resilience

Join Northeastern professor Stephen Flynn, founding director of the Global Resilience Institute, and Rob Knake, senior research scientist in cybersecurity and resilience at GRI, for the latest in a speaker series dedicated to examining contemporary issues in security and resilience studies. The event, “The resilience imperative: Managing mayhem in an age of global turbulence,” will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 4:30 p.m. in Renaissance Park.

The final installment of this semester’s Myra Kraft Open Classroom series takes place this month, with a discussion focused on racial disparities, resilience, and opportunity. The event is on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. in West Village F, room 20.

Global, experiential learning

Take advantage of three opportunities to hear more about learning outside the classroom. A study abroad information session will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. in Ryder Hall; a service-learning expo will be held on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. in the Curry Student Center Ballroom; and a Dialogue of Civilizations information session will be held on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. in Richards Hall.

Human rights

The Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy will host its 12th annual Human Rights Institute on Thursday, Dec. 7 and Friday, Dec. 8. This year’s theme, “Securing land rights in the era of land grabbing: The role of a land tenure security index,” will be punctuated by a keynote address on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Dockser Hall. Registration for the institute is required.

Ready, set, bake!

How good are you at cookie construction? Find out at the 17th annual gingerbread construction contest, hosted by Northeastern Dining. Sign up by Tuesday, Dec. 5 for a chance to participate in the contest, held on Thursday, Dec. 7 from 3 to 8 p.m. in Stetson West Eatery.

The edible abodes will be on display on Friday, Dec. 8 in Xhibition Kitchen. As in past years, after the houses have been judged, they’ll be donated to Rosie’s Place, a local women’s shelter, to provide some holiday cheer.

Holiday cheer(ing)

With hockey and basketball in full swing, there are plenty of opportunities to cheer on the Red and Black this month. Here are some of December’s home events.

The men’s basketball team will take on Bucknell on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., during which the Northeastern community will also come together in “Paws for Puerto Rico.” Join former basketball player JJ Barea in raising money for hurricane relief efforts for the island.

The team will also challenge Vermont on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 4 p.m.

The women’s basketball team will challenge Harvard on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at noon and close out the calendar year against James Madison on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.

Men’s hockey will take to the ice to challenge AIC on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.