Daily Bulletin

Work starts at the main entrance

The project is a scaled-down version of designs by Steven Teeple Architect which were chosen in a competition for the commission. The architect proposed to sink the stair into the building, create a vertical entrance atrium and introduce a plaza, a fountain and a small garden area off the ring road.

Construction was originally slated for last summer, but tenders were higher than expected and plans were redone to get closer to the budget price. With elimination of the elevator, wheelchair access will continue to be provided on the east side of the building. Future phases of the project may be considered "if ever funds become available", said university architect Dan Parent.

Also at South Campus Hall, work is continuing on construction of a new space for the Double U's coffee shop in the southwest corner of the bookstore. Techworx, the computer supplies outlet formerly located in the bookstore, has moved into the old Double U's space. The new coffee shop is scheduled to open May 3, according to food services director Mark Murdoch. In the meantime, coffee is being sold in the SCH foyer from 8 to 11 a.m. weekdays, and the bookstore is apologizing for the inconvenience caused by construction.

(Yesterday's Bulletin, reporting on the construction in South Campus Hall, said that Double U's was "defunct". It is not dead, but it sleepeth, says Murdoch: "It will rise again from the ashes (or construction dust) in early May and operate under the same name, serving Starbucks coffee, our own pastries baked freshly daily on campus 'at a secret location called the Meadows', hot and cold beverages, sandwiches, soups, and a deli bar. Finishing touches and final decor will continue over the summer for a fall grand opening.")

War in Kosovo is topic tonight

Map from US Department of Defense

The conflict, which has seen Canadian forces take part in the bombing of military and civilian targets in Serbia, dominates the world's news this month and showed signs yesterday of turning into a ground war.

"We hope," says Sandra Elgersma of the Peace Society, "to present and explore different perspectives and welcome all those who want to learn more about the conflict, the region, as well as international and personal responses." On the panel tonight will be John Jaworsky of the political science department, Daren Puscas, an intern at Project Ploughshares, Daniela Seskar-Hencic, an immigrant to Canada from what was once the multi-ethnic land of Yugoslavia, and Lowell Ewert, director of peace and conflict studies.

Elgersma tells more about the event and the society that's sponsoring it:

The composition of this UW club changes every year or even every term. In general, it is made up of a group of students who feel motivated to explore issues of peace broadly understood (i.e. last term we had events under the umbrella of "food issues"). Typically we operate on the premise that events are not inevitable and there are several choices available to citizens and governments alike. There are diverse viewpoints represented within the group and the focus is typically on awareness and how individuals can involve themselves at the local level.

In this particular instance, the group was motivated by a lack of understanding of the situation on our part. We also felt that there was a need in the K-W community to explore the issues around the Kosovo situation. In light of this, we plan to discuss the background to the situation, the current developments, and explore possible options for the international community. We will supplement this discussion with the presentation of someone who left Yugoslavia ten years ago. We anticipate hearing from a wide range of views and look forward to a good discussion.

Canadian celebration in England

The celebration, hosted by U of T chancellor Hal Jackman and Canadian high commissioner Roy MacLaren, will highlight the publication of the Dictionary of Old English (DOE) and of the 18th volume of the Records of Early English Drama (REED).

Ted McGee, associate professor of English at St. Jerome's University, is one of the four co-editors of this volume, which gathers together all the evidence of public performances in Cornwall and Dorset up to 1642, when the Puritans closed England's theatres.

REED is described as "an innovative project of international scope and the first to establish the broad context from which the great drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries grew. By rediscovering and examining historical documents, an international team of scholars is meticulously reconstructing an entire period, the details of which have been buried for centuries in little-used manuscripts.

"REED is uncovering how vital drama, ceremony and music were in the life of early modern England. This project is not just about early theatre; it is about a whole society in transition," says Alexandra Johnston, REED's director. The Cornish Record Office will also hold a special exhibition of manuscripts and a reception this Friday in Truro, chief city of Cornwall.

Co-editors of the REED: Dorset and Cornwall, along with McGee, are Rosalind Hays (Dominican University, Oak Park, Illinois), Sally Joyce (Miami University, Ohio), and Evelyn Newlyn (State University of New York at Brockport).

The news in the cruellest month

It'll be poetry reading night in the Graduate House, though I don't seem to have any word on who's reading this evening.

The test of a free Internet telephone continues in the Math and Computer building (the Computer Help and Information Place, room 1052). "It is a telephone set connected to the campus data network," explains Bruce Uttley of information systems and technology, and anybody who drops by can make free, brief long-distance calls. Currently reachable are area codes 416, 905 (anywhere that's a local call from Toronto), 519 (local calls from Guelph) and 902 (local calls from Halifax). "There are plans," says Uttley, "to extend the trial to include Ottawa, Kingston and Hamilton. We ask you fill in your comments in the log book beside the phone."

Here's a reminder, though I'll say more about registration in a couple of days, that the due date for fee payments for the spring term is Monday, April 26.

And . . . on April 1 the Bulletin capered a little with the concept of a name change for this university, something that really was proposed in the mid-1960s when confusion with the then Waterloo College was driving people crazy. As we noted then, "Winston Churchill University" was seriously considered, but other possibilities came up (so an old-timer tells me) in late-night talk at the Circus Room, the place at the corner of King and Erb where the young and the restless used to drink, chat and build the university. Suggested there: the Seagram-Hagey Institute of Technology. Apparently the acronym sank the idea.

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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