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Daily Bulletin

Wednesday, November 12, 1997

University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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Preparing for a postal strike

A national strike against Canada Post could begin as early as midnight tonight, although the legal strike date is next Tuesday, and the people who handle UW's mail are preparing as best they can.

[Canada Post logo] "All outgoing mail to the USA and overseas will still go through," says Carmen Jaray of central stores, who's been arranging to have out-of-Canada mail handled by a firm in the United States. "Incoming mail from the USA and overseas can still come through via the post office box which I opened in September." To refresh memories, the address for incoming mail looks something like this:

Mailfast
Attn: (name, department)
YYZ-YYZ-700295
PO Box 9018
Jericho, New York 11753-8918
And that's right, "University of Waterloo" doesn't appear in the address.

But what about mail that needs to move within Canada? Well, that's harder. "The courier companies will only take 10 per cent above our normal volume," says Jaray, "because their systems cannot handle any more than that. If Canada Post has a rotating strike, then Canadian mail will still move -- slowly, but it will move. If the strike is not rotating, the Canadian mail will sit in our mailroom until the strike is over."

She notes that mail to many institutions can be carried by the Inter-University Transit Service -- Ontario universities, but also universities and libraries in Québec, thanks to an interface at the National Library in Ottawa, where both provinces' university transit services make a stop.

More questions? Jaray can be reached at ext. 3935, e-mail cjaray@mc1adm.

Off-campus students will, with a little bit of luck, get their winter term schedules and fee statements in the mail before the mail stops moving. "We marshalled all available staff in the registrar's office with some help from FSO yesterday," registrar Ken Lavigne said last night, "and mailed all schedules for off campus students by the end of the day [Monday]. Central stores were very cooperative and added an extra mail pick up yesterday to help us out. Hopefully, schedules and fee statements will get to students before a strike occurs."

Folders explain sexual harassment

"Each year first-year students (both undergrad and grad) are provided with campus-related information regarding sexual harassment," says Catherine Fry of UW's office of ethical behaviour and human rights. That's happening right now, she says. "This year's sexual harassment file folders are in the process of being distributed through co-operative education coordinators, department graduate secretaries, Village dons and Colts, and the PODS program."

The file folder is a summary of information about sexual harassment and what to do about it. The text is also available through the office's web site on UWinfo. Some excerpts:

Sexual harassment is any unwanted attention (physical, verbal or non-verbal) of a sexual or gender-related nature, or sexual advance that detrimentally affects a person's work, study or well-being. It is not limited to demands for sexual favours, does not require a specific target, and is a subtle or overt abuse of power that may be intentional. . . .

The following are illustrations of what may constitute sexual harassment:

What Should I Do If I am Being Sexually Harassed? Don't blame yourself -- you cannot control the actions of others. Acknowledge the problem -- ignoring the situation will not make it go away. Document the incident. Include dates, times, locations, witnesses and details of all harassment. If you are comfortable in doing so, speak directly to the harasser. Make it clear that his/her actions are unwelcome. You may want to have someone else present when this occurs. Write a letter to the harasser expressing your disapproval of the behaviour. Be sure to specify the actions that concern you. Tell someone -- a friend, co-worker, professor or one of the campus resources listed below.
The file folder goes on to list resources that range from the ethical behaviour office itself (phone ext. 3765) to faculty, staff and student associations. It also outlines how someone with a serious problem can file a formal complaint.

Says Fry: "Any first-year student that has not received their file folder within the next two weeks is welcome to contact me and I will provide them with one. If anyone has any questions regarding the information provided in the sexual harassment file folder they are also welcome to contact me." She's at ext. 5671.

"Although sexual harassment file folders are not being distributed to staff or faculty at this time, anyone wanting a folder just needs to let me know that they would like one."

Today's events and announcements

The Village cafeterias are serving a special Chinese dinner today, and there are plenty of other things going on too:

Coffee comes only in a mug today -- no disposable cups -- at the coffee-and-doughnut stands in engineering, math and science. And they're offering a special deal, arranged by the Student WatGreen Committee: free lug-a-mugs. "The mugs are intended to reduce the use of styrofoam and paper waste on campus," says Patti Cook, UW's waste management coordinator. "The mugs are free, and using them will allow you to get great campus discounts any time. The mugs will only be available on Wednesday while supplies last, but the discounts are available throughout the year."

The toy fair in support of the Hildegard Marsden Day Nursery continues all day (and tomorrow too) in the Davis Centre lounge.

A wine and cheese reception will be held starting at 4:30 at the University Club for Dean's Honours List students and scholarship and award winners in undergraduate programs in the faculty of environmental studies. Other invited guests are faculty and staff contributors to the Senate Scholarship Fund, says Barbara Yeaman in the dean's office. The reception is hosted by the dean of ES.

A new book by Geoff Hayes of UW's history department will be launched with a reception this afternoon in downtown Kitchener The book is Waterloo County: An Illustrated History, and the launch starts at 4:30 at the Region of Waterloo administration building on Frederick Street. (I noticed a sizeable piece about the book in last night's Kitchener-Waterloo Record.)

Novelist Sandra Birdsell comes to campus today as part of the Mennonite Authors Reading Series at Conrad Grebel College. Birdsell, currently nominated for a Governor-General's Award for The Two-Headed Calf, will read at 7 p.m. at the college.

The human resources department says a few spaces are available for staff members interested in taking the Phoenix Seminar November 25 and 28 and December 3. Anyone interested should call Tricia Loveday at ext. 2078.

The staff association is looking for a staff representative on the dean of graduate studies nominating committee. Anyone who might like to serve on the committee should get in touch with Mark Walker, chair of the staff association nominating committee, mwalker@sciborg.

Training in WHMIS, the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, is available in the form of an hour-long session -- "a video and brief quiz" -- several times this week. "All university employees, volunteers, part-time employees and graduate students who have not previously attended a University of Waterloo WHMIS session are required to attend," says Angelo Graham of the safety office, and I think he has laboratory users particularly in mind. WHMIS sessions will be held in Davis Centre room 1304 tomorrow at 10 a.m., Tuesday (November 18) at 2 p.m., and November 20 at 2 p.m.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY
November 12, 1964: The board of governors approves a 1965-66 salary minimum of $7,600 for assistant professors.

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca -- (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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