Daily Bulletin

Construction continues in the engineering quadrangle, where a new 120-seat classroom is under construction. "Each seat will have a computer, and the front of the room will have a state-of-the-art advanced projection facility," says the dean of engineering, Sujeet Chaudhuri. Some recent publicity (including this week's Gazette) has said the addition is 50,000 square feet, but in fact the correct figure is 5,000, says university architect Dan Parent.

Renison celebrates East Asian links

The event features academic and business panel discussions, as well as a variety of cultural activities. Renison is the home of UW's East Asian studies program, including language courses in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

The festival opens tonight at 7 at the University Club, with an exhibition of art by Marjorie Pigott and performances by soprano Christine Komatsu, Kui Min, pianist, Peiyi Niu, a Chinese musician, and Korean kayagum player Hee-Sun Kim.

On Wednesday, November 1, there will be a special showing of the National Film Board documentary, "The Man Who Might Have Been", a film about Canadian diplomat Herbert Norman, who was born and raised in Japan. The screening will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Davis Centre room 1302.

Thursday, November 2, in Davis Centre room 1301, a showcase of academic opportunities will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. At 1:30 p.m. in the Chapel Lounge at Renison College, social worker Ashley Poy will speak on the topic "Caring with an Open Heart: The Contribution of Eastern Traditions".

Also on Thursday, a literary evening features author Gerry Shikatani with his newest book A Passion for Food, beginnning at 7 p.m. at the Kitchener Public Library.

The festival will conclude with a Culture and Family Day celebration at the Waterloo Recreation Complex from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 4. It's described as a fun-filled day for the whole family, featuring demonstrations of traditional dances, martial arts, music, costumes and crafts. There will be East Asian food, cultural displays, bonsai demonstrations, origami and calligraphy workshops.

Business day explores Asian contacts

The seminar focuses on giving participants the latest information from experts on market trends in Asia and the opportunity to establish key contacts with other business people interested in pursuing the Asian market.

The seminar will be held in Renison's Chapel Lounge, starting at 8:30 a.m., with an opening address by UW chancellor Val O'Donovan, who is also chairman of the board of COM DEV. Yoshio Nakatani, president of Toyota Canada Inc., will deliver the keynote luncheon address.

Panelists from the manufacturing and service sectors and hi-tech corporations will be available to speak about their experiences and to answer questions. Panelists include Ross Weber, vice-president, Manulife Financial, group benefits; Michael Kauk, vice-president, Waterloo Furniture Components; Tom Lee, vice-president marketing, Waterloo Maple; and UW systems design engineering professor Andrew Wong, chairman of Pattern Discovery Software.

The cost of the business day seminar is $99 per person for the event, including lunch. Advance registration is required: call (519) 884-4404, ext. 620, or fax (519) 884-5135.

Union organizers sponsor speaker

"It is sometimes argued that unions, by pushing up wages and negotiating employment security provisions for their members, have the effect of reducing employment levels," says Stanford in an ad which appeared in the October 25 Gazette. Not so, he argues. "There is little empirical evidence for this traditional anti-union argument. In fact, the experience of Canada's university sector in the 1990s suggests quite the opposite."

According to a CAW news release for the event: "Working for a university used to be considered a relatively 'good' job, but not so anymore. Earnings have been approximately frozen in nominal terms since 1992, and thus have declined significantly in real purchasing power terms. University wages and salaries have lagged far behind wage increases paid in other sectors of Canada's economy (even behind other education sectors), and the university sector now pays below-average incomes. The funding crunch, combined with the growing corporate influence on university budgets, suggests that university employees need to organize themselves collectively to protect their interests during this period of financial flux."

Mostly on a Monday...

The civil engineering department is raising funds for the United Way with a silent auction of items which will be on display in E2 room 2336 today through noon on Tuesday. As well, a 50/50 draw is being held, with tickets available from the civil engineering support staff. The draw will be held on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

A legal aid clinic sponsored by the Graduate Student Association will be held on Tuesday, starting at 1 p.m. at the Grad House. Interested grad students are invited to contact Bob Sproule at bsproule@ionline.net for an appointment, providing their student ID number and a brief description of the nature of their concern.

Barbara Hallett
bhallett@uwaterloo.ca

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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