Today in Ivy League math event news: Harvard has canceled its annual digit-reciting extravaganza "Pi Day." Despite last year's "pretty crazy" pi blowout:

Organizers were not available to chaperone the event this week (on 3/14 get it?), so they unconscionably had to make due with a smaller celebration:

Despite the lack of festivities, the Math Department honored the day at its weekly forum held at Mather dining hall on Tuesday. Guest speaker Luke Anderson, a financial analyst for Harvard and the founder of TeachPi.org, discussed the historical fascination and what he called "modern pi fixation."

Anderson also made sure to perform his pi rap based on Eminem's "Lose Yourself"

Perhaps the afterglow of Pi Day 2008 will still linger through until next year:

Francois W. Greer '11, who came in third place at last year's pi-reciting contest, said he had not realized that the celebrations would be missing. He said that even if the festivities were taking place this year, he probably would not participate as he no longer recalls all 228 figures he recited last year.

"It was pretty crazy," he said of watching James Nile-Joyal reach 3,141 digits.

This Saturday, just take a moment to remember 3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 and everything it's done for us.

[Harvard Crimson via Ivygate]