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Superstorm Sandy caused no major damage or injuries at Yale, although many university employees were affected by flooding and power outages. The October storm did prompt the university to cancel classes—for the first time in 34 years.

Melissa Bailey/New Haven Independent

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The storm also uncovered some New Haven history: a large oak tree on the Green was uprooted by Sandy (left), exposing in its roots at least two human skeletons. The remains were from the seventeenth century, when the Green was a burial ground.

Without explanation, the university chaplain’s office abruptly ended its relationship with the Buddhist organization Indigo Blue and its leader, Bruce Blair ’81, in October. The university also dismantled a shrine that the group had kept in Harkness Tower. The chaplain’s office engaged another Buddhist teacher to lead meditation sessions while a committee considers future plans for Buddhist practice.

Avoid take-home finals, Yale College Dean Mary Miller ’81PhD told faculty in a November e-mail. Miller told the Yale Daily News she was reiterating Yale’s position because of allegations of widespread cheating on a take-home exam at Harvard last year.