This year's Nobel Prizes

Daily Bulletin

234 givers so far In just a few days -- up to Wednesday -- the United Way campaign on campus was at 40 per cent of its goal, organizers report. Gifts and pledges from staff, faculty, retirees and a few students had reached $56,531 towards the target of $142,000. Special events had brought in another $456 -- including $32.60 from "Hat Day" in the registrar's office and $90.98 from a bake sale in computer science. The campaign, supporting 80 programs offered by 50 local agencies, continues through October 20. UW's campaign is part of the larger United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area, which this year is seeking to raise $4.8 million.

Engineering students bounce in SLC

For kids and their families at the Waterloo Rotary Centre last month, the Engineering Society's student-run CircusEng troupe provided a day of family entertainment -- complete with amateur jugglers, clown, storytelling, face painting, dress-up, a barbecue -- and a performance by children's musician Eric Traplin.

"The idea is that the families that use the Centre can come out for a free day of fun," says Margaret Parkhill, one of the CircusEng directors. "This is the third year of CircusEng, and every year we hold it to benefit the Centre."

In addition to hosting CircusEng, the Engineering Society has raised some $900 for the centre -- which provides services for children with special developmental, physical and communication needs, and their families -- over the last couple of years.

This year, as a fundraising project, a 24-hour Trampoline-A-Thon will be held starting at noon today in the Student Life Centre. (Yesterday's Bulletin spoke of the event as "family entertainment", but it's not a full CircusEng show.)

"I know this isn't a typical set-up for fundraisers," says Parkhill, tongue in cheek. The event will take place in the Great Hall -- "very high ceiling" -- and "we're taking lots of safety precautions (spotters, a gymnastics coach, first aid on the scene, etc.)."

Anyone wishing to sponsor a participant in the Trampoline-A-Thon can drop by the EngSoc office in Carl Pollock Hall, or drop by the Student Life Centre during the event. For more information, contact CircusEng co-director Navindra Persaud at npersaud@engmail.

The only place you can get Pepsi

There are "savings to be had for all", says Shannon Willis, vice-president (administration and finance) of the Federation of Students, which owns the store. It was formerly operated under the duller name of "Variety and Post".

A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., but the celebration will continue all day, and will include "massive price cuts" on most items: cans of pop or bottles of water for 50 cents, two chocolate bars for a dollar, 20 per cent off all cards and gifts, and T-shirts for $10. "Students have supported this store through the years," says manager Heather Fawcett, "and now that we've renovated and expanded our product line, we're excited about this chance to introduce students to the new store."

Says Willis: "Significantly, Aussie's is the only location on campus to offer Pepsi products, breaking Coca-Cola's stranglehold on the University of Waterloo." She goes on: "Choice is good. It may seem small when we're talking about soft drinks, but choice shouldn't be restricted anywhere, especially on a university campus. . . .

"The Federation of Students looks forward to continuing to provide alternatives for the UW community." The Feds' motto: "Students serving students since 1967."

Mark Murdoch, director of food services, says his department has a contract with Coke (that's Coca-Cola Enterprises Canada) to provide all the carbonated drinks they sell. The soft drink contract comes up for tender from time to time, he said, and UW gets a good price based on a high volume of purchases.

The Coke contract at UW differs from the "exclusive agreements" at some Canadian universities because it applies only to food services, not other departments at the university, Murdoch said, and also because it covers just carbonated pop, not other drinks such as juice and bottled water. UW officials said in 1998 that they weren't interested in an "exclusive" drink deal because it would tend to raise prices.

A free night of bluegrass

The Kitchener-based group performs at 7:30 tonight in Siegfried Hall at St. Jerome's. Admission is free.

Says the news release: "Together for more than four years, the members of Five on the Floor are Lyle Friesen, conservationist; Ron Harder, social worker; Bob Janzen, lawyer; Jim Reimer, a professor of theology at Conrad Grebel College; and Henry Schmidt, financial consultant. The group sings in four-part harmony, with Friesen on mandolin and Janzen on guitar. For this performance they've added Toronto fiddler Tim Bergen and Robin Shaw of Guelph on acoustic bass.

"When Five on the Floor first performed at St. Jerome's, in 1998, people came from as far away as Owen Sound to hear their blend of elements from British ballad, 'Sacred Harp' singing school, Tin Pan Alley, blues, and Black spirituals. The result is music that springs from basic human emotions and lyrics that are inspirational, humorous, and often ironic."

More Five on the Floor is part of the 2000-2001 season of the St. Jerome's Centre for Catholic Experience.

Hockey defenceman shows true grit -- by Kerry O'Brien, athletics and recreational services

"I was on a breakaway," he says, "and got cross-checked as I was turning towards the net and went head first into the boards. I got bent like this," he says, making a disturbing L-shape with his hands. "Ninety degrees." Johnson wound up fracturing vertebrae in his spine, requiring doctors to fuse part of his spine together and leaving him stuck in bed for a month.

It could have been worse: his doctors told him he had been a fraction of an inch away from full paralysis below the waist. And after a month in bed, another two with a walker, and a full two years away from hockey, Mike Johnson came back.

The injury Johnson suffered (and his amazing recovery afterwards) is a perfect analogy for this year's Warrior team. After a thoroughly disappointing season last year (9-16-1 win-loss-tie) that left them out in the cold when the playoffs rolled around, the Warriors are looking to prove to the world what they already know: nobody works harder than they do.

"We have the longest season in the CIAU or the OUA," says coach Dave Cressman. "These guys show commitment day in and day out, and we go day in and day out. To maintain both hockey and academics takes a lot of character. We need to be the hardest working team in Canada."

The question, then, is what happened last year. "There was a lack of depth -- we couldn't compete in all positions, and we were struggling to fill three lines. And I have never seen a rash of injuries like I saw last year." These injuries included some broken ribs, three torn-up knees, and more than a few concussions.

After his own injury, in pre-Warrior days, Johnson attended the London Knights training camp, but in the end he chose school rather than the ladder towards the pros. "Hockey wasn't going to be a career. I wanted to fall back on something." Now in his fourth year of environmental studies, he has no qualms or reservations about his decision. "[Waterloo] is the best organization I've ever played for. There's a family atmosphere if you're part of the team, you're part of the family."

Although team spirit is important to a winning season, all the team spirit in the world won't help if you don't have skill on the ice. The Warriors feature an incredibly speed-oriented game, reminiscent of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty in the 1980's. Some players, like frosh Tate Phillips, have played pro in the WPHL and over in Europe; others, like goalie Jake McCraken, were drafted by pro teams as close as Detroit. The Warriors are also willing to stretch the boundaries of the game if it works. "I play an offensive style as a defenceman," says Johnson. "Some [other] coaches don't like it, but we have a more free-wheeling style."

Giant sub, music injuries, Sukkot

Today at noon, something called HCI Aerobics is scheduled at LT3, the Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology, in Dana Porter Library room 329. HCI is Human-Computer Interaction, and I understand that the "aerobics" involve a teleconference.

At 2:30, the department of statistics and actuarial science presents a talk by John Robinson, of the University of Sydney, on "Generalised Discriminant Analysis Based on Distances" (Math and Computer room 5158).

Here's an interesting juxtaposition:

• The weekly "Visions in Sound" program on CKMS radio, presenting music from films, this week focuses on music that accompanies the appearance of the Devil, in flicks from "The Omen" to "Prince of Darkness". The show airs from 3:15 to 5:00 (100.3 FM).
• Massage therapist and musician Sara-Lynn Weiler will speak on "Prevention and Care of Music-Related Injuries" at 3:30 this afternoon in the chapel of Conrad Grebel College.

As the eyes of the world turn to conflict in and around Jerusalem, tonight is the first night of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, as well as the Sabbath. The Jewish Students Association, which links UW with Wilfrid Laurier University, will hold a dinner at 6:00: "for security reasons, UW students meet at the Student Life Centre turnkey desk at 5:45."

Members of the Chinese Christian Fellowship and Korean Christian Fellowship will gather for "a night of praise and prayer" at the Conrad Grebel College great hall starting at 7:00 tonight. All are welcome.

The Rheostatics will play the Bombshelter pub tonight, in a concert partly sponsored by PixStream, which provided free tickets to many students from technical fields.

The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Netherlandic Studies will hold a meeting at 8:00 this evening in Humanities room 334. Speaker is Bogdan Bogdanov of UW's chemistry department, talking about "Graduate School in Chemistry in the Netherlands and Canada".

Tomorrow brings the second UW attempt to create and devour the World's Longest Submarine Sandwich for the Guinness World Book of Records. Measuring and verification of the sandwich will take place between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., with the serving of the sandwich to begin at 4 p.m. A slice of the sandwich and pop will be served free to everybody making a cash or non-perishable food donation to the Federation of Students food bank. Location: parking lot B, just off Phillip Street.

The sandwich is going to be rich with Oktoberfest sausage, it being that time of year. And there will be Oktoberfest partying both on and off campus this weekend; the Federation of Students is promoting "Villagehausen" tonight and "Oktoberfed" tomorrow night.

Jon Mark (right) of UW's department of electrical and computer engineering has a big day tomorrow. He'll be in Toronto to receive this year's Award of Merit from the Education Foundation of the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals. He'll be speaking (and receiving a plaque and cheque) at noontime tomorrow at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto. (It's Mark's second big award this year.)

The Joseph Schneider Haus museum in Kitchener has been designated a National Historic Site, and there will be ceremonies on Sunday afternoon to mark the occasion and unveil a plaque. Ken McLaughlin, history professor at St. Jerome's University, who has been involved with the Haus for some three decades now, will speak.

Results are on hand from the Royal Bank Shad Entrepreneurship Cup competition, as described in yesterday's Bulletin. The UW Shad team won the "best prototype" award and was in third place overall for its theft-proof backpack. "Best overall" honours went to a team from the University of British Columbia that designed an affordable, higher-security improvement for deadbolt locks that they say will help prevent household break-ins.

Also in yesterday's Bulletin, I referred to "Greg Han" as the graduate student who had designed a web site for Chemical Engineering 100 and was giving a presentation about it. The name should have been Gang Han, and I do apologize.

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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