Daily Bulletin

One term right after another

Such students -- ones registering for the winter term, which starts Monday, January 4 -- have until tomorrow afternoon to pay their fees. Miss the deadline of Wednesday at 4 p.m., and you'll be facing late fees that start at $50 for full-time students ($20 for part-timers) in the first week of January and go up as time goes by.

Where to register: at the cashiers' office on the first floor of Needles Hall. They'll accept cheques, Interac, OSAP and scholarship documents, and good old-fashioned cash (but not, please note, credit cards). In return, they'll give you a fee receipt and a validation sticker for your WatCard and health card.

UW is closed December 24 through January 3, so it's no good planning to drop in between Christmas and New Year's to do your paperwork. Next chance, after tomorrow, will be the day classes start in January. Registration in the first week of January will still be at the cashiers' office in NH.

However, some people will need to make the familiar trip over to the Physical Activities Complex ("upper blue activity area"). Staff will be on hand there to hand out schedules and validation stickers to students who registered by mail and didn't get their documents. Student awards staff will also be dealing with their clients in Blue North for the first few days of January.

With exams coming to an end, today is the last day the libraries will be open in the evening (until 11 p.m. at Dana Porter, midnight at the Davis Centre). Tomorrow the libraries are open until 6, with circulation and information services closing at 5, not to reopen until January 4.

Because of Christmas Day

The lectionary used by many churches worldwide emphasizes the gospel of Matthew this year, so while some churchgoers will hear of the birth of Jesus in modern language, others will get the 500-year old cadences of the King James translation:

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. . . .

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

Graphic from Clip Art Collection

The most impressive Christmas web site I've ever seen is A Holy Christmas, maintained by some United Church folks in British Columbia. It has literally hundreds of links, some religious and some secular, from crafts to liturgies -- even the text of a "Blue Christmas" service aimed at those who are having a hard time being joyful at Christmas. One of the sermons that can be found through that web page is "A Healthy Cry from the Manger", by Ralph Nelson, from which I've chosen a brief quotation to represent the traditional Christian interpretation of Christmas:

I am sure that "Away in a Manger," sometimes attributed to Martin Luther, was written before the author had children of his own. The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes, But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes. Real newborns cry. Real newborns mess their diapers. Real newborns wail at the top of their lungs. That's why God created nursing mothers.

If we are to understand what happened in Bethlehem, we must believe that when the Baby awakes he bawls -- at least that he sobs a little. Because that is what Christmas means at its very core.

You must understand that what happened in the stable in Bethlehem was not pretend. That night God took on humanness and became human. No, he didn't lose any of his divinity -- the angels' grand proclamation on the hillside sheepfields is testimony to that. So, like a parent who risks his life to protect his children, God Himself came to rescue us. No play-act, this. The divine Son of God was no hologram or apparition. He became flesh because there was no other way.

The fox from his lair in the morning

According to Gerhard Hess, general manager of the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society, the problem of rabid foxes that Ontario had not so long ago has been virtually eliminated. Since a province-wide program of dropping vaccine-spiked food pellets from aircraft was implemented, the incidence of rabies has plummeted, and the fox population has soared.

The aerial vaccine program was introduced in this part of Ontario in 1994, said Hess, and the last confirmed case of rabies in a Waterloo Region fox occurred in 1995. "Rabies is no longer a problem. It has been wiped out," he added, noting that the vaccine program is continuing. "With an increase in the population of healthy foxes, we're seeing more foxes and wildlife in suburban areas than we have in a long time. It's not uncommon to hear of sightings in the area."

Foxes, being highly intelligent, tend to keep their distance from humans and rarely get into trouble except when they venture onto high-speed roadways, become disoriented or injured and have to be rescued by the humane society, he said.

Although it is unlikely a fox would approach a person, such an incident should be reported to the humane society because an animal that did that might be sick, said Hess. The society is authorized to help a wild animal if it is sick or injured.

Local volunteers are wanted

• Have a bowl while assisting a fun-loving young man with a developmental disability! He needs a volunteer to drive him to bowling, help as necessary and then drive him home. He would like your company every other Saturday afternoon for approximately two hours. A volunteer who has a love of bowling is requested to come out and support both the Special Olympics and Parents for Community Living.
• Join the Special Olympics . . . they have many positions available. Volunteers are required to help as floor hockey manager, bowling coach and also in fundraising and promotion. Each position will take 2-4 hours per week. All positions need to be filled by organized people willing to have fun. You do not have to be particularly "sporty" to take on floor hockey or bowling, but you should be an excellent public speaker for the fundraising and promotions positions.

CAR

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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