Daily Bulletin

Rollerblade rule still under review

Exams are near: the fall term final exam schedule is now available on the web.

Reconsideration of the ban was recommended by the health and safety committee last April, after members noted that design improvements in recent years had improved the skates' braking performance. But when the traffic and parking committee finally examined the issue this month, members voted three to one against lifting the prohibition.

Now the health and safety committee has two options, says UW safety director Kevin Stewart. It could decide to support the decision of the traffic and parking committee and shelve the issue, or it could suggest the restriction be reexamined by the senior administration. Ultimately, health and safety is an advisory body, said Stewart, and can only offer recommendations to others.

Despite the ban, pedestrians sometimes catch glimpses of skaters engaged in acts of civil disobedience on the walkways, and the campus recorded its first skating injury last spring. A student on skates tripped and fell in front of the Physical Activities Complex, "requiring some patching up at Health Services," reported Stewart. The student suffered multiple abrasions and needed stitches.

Judy Wubnig of the philosophy department, a member of the traffic and parking committee, reported that she herself had been knocked down by a skater inside a university building. An incident this year at the University of Guelph proved even more serious when a student on skates crashed through a glass door inside a building. "The University of Guelph has tightened up their policy on inline skates," Stewart said.

Parking manager Elaine Koolstra, in her conversations with representatives from other universities at parking conferences, has found that "everyone tends to ignore them and hopes they'll go away." Few campuses have developed policies to deal with the skates, she said.

It's official: best in Canada again

In the sub-categories of "most innovative" and "leaders of tomorrow" UW also hung onto last year's first-place score. In the other sub-category, "highest quality", Queen's fell from first place last year to second this year, and McGill from second to fourth; Toronto came first this year and Waterloo third.

"Whatever one thinks of the validity of the Maclean's statistical rankings, it is useful to a university to know what higher-educational opinion leaders think of it," said a statement from UW president James Downey.

"For the seventh year in a row, the informed people whose opinion is surveyed have said that the University of Waterloo is the best overall university in Canada. This judgment is based primarily upon the quality of the students we attract and the performance of the graduates we send out into every sector of our nation's life. To be deemed the best is a wonderful compliment that brings with it an immense challenge -- to continue to provide the institutional culture in which creativity flourishes and leaders of tomorrow are prepared."

The reputational rankings, which included 48 universities, were partly based on alumni donations, which Maclean's says are a way to measure "a school's reputation with its own graduates". In addition, the magazine's editors collected opinions from 4,697 high-school guidance counsellors, university academics and chief executive officers across Canada.

Something new this year in the "universities issue" of the magazine is a "value-added" ranking, assessing the difference between entering students' marks and the awards won by graduating students, as well as the dropout rate. In that chart the big names are mostly missing, and first place goes to the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Check the details on your pay stub

The back side of the printed bulletin shows what the new payroll slip will look like. There's also this request: "Compare your pay advice/stub of November 20th or November 27th with your previous bi-weekly or monthly pay stub. You may notice differences in your net pay as calculated on the PeopleSoft system as compared to that on the old VM system. This is due to the process used by PeopleSoft for rounding off and for withholding income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance premiums. The process is in compliance with Revenue Canada Guidelines and fully meets our obligations to follow current legislative rules.

"Given the size and complexities of the new PeopleSoft system, and the number of individuals paid by it, it is possible that there may be some errors. We have taken precautions, as far as possible, to make sure that this will not happen. However, if you don't understand the reason for a significant change in your gross pay, or if you believe an error has occurred, please contact one of the two PeopleSoft helplines we have arranged in Human Resources. Linda Bluhm at extension 2046 (e-mail llbluhm@mc1adm) or Rosanne Atwater-Hallatt at extension 6120 (e-mail atwater@mc1adm) will be pleased to respond to your concern/question."

There's also a note for people responsible for submitting payroll information: "Cutoff dates for payrolls have been changed and you should refer to the HR website or to the October 1998 Human Resources News Bulletin for the list of new casual and monthly cutoff dates."

Shooting and heritage and more

Blood wanted A blood donor clinic runs today, tomorrow and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Student Life Centre. You can save time by making an appointment in advance, at the SLC turnkey desk. More information: (888) 871-7201 ext. 4241.

Bowes, who graduated with a BA in recreation and leisure studies in 1990, will also discuss both her motivation and preparation for the forthcoming PanAm Games and the next Olympics to held in Sydney, Australia, in the year 2000. Her talk begins at 3:30 p.m. in Matthews Hall room 1621 (the Mutual Group Auditorium).

The winner of two gold and two silver medals in this year's Commonwealth Games, Bowes is Canada's national record holder for the Ladies Air Rifle, Ladies Standard Rifle and Open Air Rifle competitions. As well, she is a two-time recipient of the Sports Canada Athletic Award and is ranked in the top two in Canada. Over the last 16 years, Bowes has won more than 20 national titles and has represented Canada at many international competitions, including nine World championships, three Pan-Am Games, three Commonwealth Games and three Olympic Games.

A few hours later, the different ways of viewing heritage by the East and the West will be explored by planning and architecture professor Anu Banerji in a talk on "Heritage as the Shape of Time". Also an artist and architect, Banerji will include slides in his presentation to show examples of the two diverging cultures. The event, sponsored by UW's Heritage Resources Centre as part of a series that's been running this fall, starts 7:30 p.m. in the Davis Centre library, DC room 1304.

"In the East and West, two different ideologies emerge when we look at ideas of time, nature and heritage," Banerji says. "There is a fundamental collision of ideals, values and meaning as they are manifested in two opposing cultures and in their built environments." He said romanticism, myth and other forces are implicit in the appreciation of heritage. "This collision may be seen as esthetics. Below the surface, the implications of the conflicting ideologies are reflected in ways which transcend the principles of design and concepts of beauty."

Banerji teaches design and urban design studios, art, architecture and the cities of the east (India, China and Japan), as well as courses on environmental design. He has exhibited his work, taught and lectured internationally. There is no charge for admission to the talk, but people interested in attending should call the Heritage Resources Centre in advance at ext. 2072.

Also happening today:

The pension and benefits committee holds a morning-long meeting (Needles Hall room 3004) to talk about the flexible pension plan option, other technicalities of the pension system, and health plan coverage for Viagra.

Staff of the department of co-operative education and career services will hold their "3rd Annual Chili Chow Down" starting at 1:30 on the first floor of Needles Hall.

The department of statistics and actuarial science presents a talk today by David Johnson of Loughborough University in England -- no, not the education minister, and not UW's soon-to-be president (who spells it "Johnston" anyway), but another chap of the same name. Topic: "Triangular Approximations for Continuous Random Variables in Risk Analysis". Location: Math and Computer room 5136. Time: 2:30.

"Free software, a 1-hour presentation on hot new Sybase technology, and free food" are promised at 4:00 today at "Sybase Campus TechWave". "See cool product demos, learn how Sybase technology was used to power the 1998 World Cup, and find out how some of the biggest names in business are using Sybase technology to their advantage." The event, which includes a software giveaway ("free eval CD's"), takes place in Davis Centre room 1350.

Down the street at Wilfrid Laurier University, retired peacekeeper Major-General Lewis Mackenzie will speak at 8 p.m. (Maureen Forrester Recital Hall) on "Canada, The World's Reluctant Hero".

If the sky clears, it should be a good night for seeing the Leonid meteor showers, and the UW Outers' Club "will be travelling to a local park and doing some late-night star gazing". The outing starts at 10 p.m.

The health services clinic will have reduced services tomorrow because of staff training: no allergy injections, no immunizations, no birth control pill dispensing. Back to normal on Thursday.

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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Copyright © 1998 University of Waterloo