Daily Bulletin

A teaching award . . . for students

One sports score Warriors 3, Windsor 1, in last night's hockey game. I haven't yet seen a score for the Friday night game at Western, or for other sports events on the weekend. The cheerleaders placed 8th out of 10 teams at the national championships on Friday -- but "our second run was amazing," Andrew Cashman writes, "and regardless of the rankings, our team is very satisfied with our performance."

"We're anxious to make it a university award modelled on the Distinguished Teacher Award," says Pat Rowe, the dean of graduate studies, who will chair the selection committee for the new award. Most of the students eligible for it will be grad students, she said, although there are also some undergraduates who work as tutors, lab demonstrators and teaching assistants.

Four awards will "normally" be given each year, according to the guidelines for the Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Registered Student, approved by UW's senate earlier this year. The call has now gone out for nominations, which must be received by the last Friday in February.

The award consists of a $500 cheque, a certificate, and some form of public recognition -- the details of the recognition are still being worked out, Rowe said. But best of all, from the viewpoint of most recipients, will be the way a teaching award looks on a resumé or academic curriculum vitae.

It was a student who first had the idea for the award, she said: economics student Veronica Chau, who served last year on the nominating committee for the existing DTA and "felt really badly that there were clearly some very good people" among teaching assistants who had been nominated, "but they couldn't compete with full-time faculty and staff" who had been teaching for many years.

"She came to me with this idea," Rowe said, "and I was just delighted."

The criteria for the award say any student who has "a formal teaching role" at UW or the church colleges is eligible. "The awards are given in recognition of excellence in teaching of all kinds. . . . The Selection Committee will look for intellectual vigour and communication skills in the interpretation and presentation of subject matter. Concern for and sensitivity to the academic need of the students is an important criterion."

More information, including details of the nomination procedure, is available from the teaching resource office at ext. 3132.

Villagers support street kids

Performers at a recent Village coffee house helped raise funds for ROOF, the downtown agency for street youth, that have already reached more than $7,000. "It was really impressive to see many talented Villagers sing, dance, drum, even do interpretive dance, to help out the campaign," says Adam Evans, one of the organizers.

VCOC represents students in Ron Eydt Village, Village I and the Columbia Lake Townhouses who have been working hard since September to raise money for R.O.O.F. (Reaching Our Outdoor Friends), a Kitchener-based agency to help street youth. "This vital organization," says Maw, "serves the Region of Waterloo and beyond by providing meals, clothing, prescription subsidies, laundry and shower facilities, counseling, and life skills training to homeless youth aged 12 and up."

Students have been participating all term in events organized by VCOC, "an excellent way for all residents to give something back to this community that so warmly welcomes us". Events so far this year -- a car wash, 30-hour famine, Oktoberfest celebrations, a bottle drive, and two coffee houses -- have raised approximately $7,000.

Things are gearing up in the Villages and townhouses as the high-profile event of the year, the VCOC raffle, is about to begin. "The prizes are particularly alluring," says Nikki Lee of Village I, "creating quite the stir among the Villagers." One of the prizes is free tuition for a term, sponsored by Xerox. Also right at the top of the list: a trip for two to Puerto Vallarta, donated by Coca-Cola Bottling and Travel CUTS. Raffle winners will be drawn during the annual Village Charity Ball on Friday at the Four Points Hotel in Kitchener. Anyone interested in buying tickets for the raffle or wanting more information on the campaign can contact Marla Holstein at 725-9791.

Rose buttons to oppose violence

Alyson Woloshyn, Sarah Palubeski and Jeff Malcolm, all fourth-year recreation students, are coordinating the campaign for Waterloo region, selling rose buttons for a dollar each to be worn during the last week of November and the first week of December, leading up to the anniversary of the Montréal Massacre.

On December 4, at 4:30 p.m., at Siegfried Hall at St. Jerome's University, a memorial service will be held in memory of the victims of the December 6, 1989, murder of 14 female engineering students at Ecole Polytechnique in Montréal. Refreshments and discussion groups will follow. A ceremony will also be held at the Kitchener City Hall rotunda on December 6 at 2:30 p.m.

Rose buttons will be available for purchase on campus in the engineering society office in Carl Pollock Hall, or from turnkeys in the Student Life Centre.

Employers meet, and other events

Books for kids Barb Russwurm in the UW bookstore writes to say that the store will be involved in the Books for Kids campaign again this year. "The intention of this program is primarily to provide books for the thousands of children whose families receive support at Christmas time from the Christmas Bureau which provides food and toys for families in need. At the same time, the book drive promotes the importance of encouraging children to read. The books should be suitable for children from newborn to 12 years of age, new and unwrapped. The greatest need would be for books suitable for children 9-12 years of age. There will be dropoff boxes at each cash station in the Bookstore and the UW Shop. We will offer 15% discount on children's books that are being purchased and donated. Last day for donations will be December 21."

Linda Duffield, deputy high commissioner of the United Kingdom in Canada, will be on campus this afternoon, invited by the history and political science departments. She'll speak (4 p.m., Humanities room 373) on "Britain, Europe and Canada".

Representatives of the 3M Company will give a presentation on innovation, running from 5 to 8 p.m. in Davis Centre room 1302. "Food provided," says Ruth Allen of the Midnight Sun solar car team, which is organizing the event -- 3M is one of the car's big sponsors.

The Waterloo Advisory Council will hold its fall meeting tonight and all day tomorrow. WAC is a body that represents employers of co-op students and UW graduates; the members get together twice a year to hear about what's happening at UW and give advice on curriculum, the co-op process and university-industry links. Tonight, WAC will have dinner at the Ground Zero restaurant in the Student Life Centre and hear a talk by Ian Clark, president of the Council of Ontario Universities. Meetings tomorrow will be held in Needles Hall and in other buildings close to the action in the various faculties.

Tony Clarke, the Stanley Knowles visiting professor in Canadian studies, is giving another talk tonight, this one down at Wilfrid Laurier University. He'll speak on "Corporate Influence and Health Promotion: A Betrayal of the Public Interest". Says an announcement: "He will address how NAFTA regulations prevented the banning of MMt, the gas additive, even though government scientists documented that it is a health hazard." The event starts at 7 p.m. in the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall.

And . . . remind me again what year it is, would you? Beth Alemany in the bookstore announces that starting today, 1999 calendars are for sale at 50 per cent off.

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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