Daily
Bulletin

Chinese video rental night -- by Barbara Elve

As keeper of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association video and magazine rental service, the earth sciences PhD student opens his home every Friday evening to other Chinese students hungry for the sounds of familiar voices and keen to catch the latest mainland releases.

For at least 10 years -- or as long as the CSSA has been at UW -- the organization has provided this cultural link with the homeland for its members, most of whom are graduate students from mainland China.

Current Chinese movies and TV programs make up most of the video collection, some of which are donated by the Chinese embassy in Canada and others copied from current video CDs from China. All are in Mandarin, most without English subtitles.

The club also has subscriptions to about a dozen magazines from China, including popular culture, movie, health, and literary publications, as well as a Reader's Digest type journal.

Guo has been in Canada for only a year, and remembers well his first few weeks struggling to communicate in a second language. "I felt like a deaf person," he recalls: "I know they're talking about something, but I can't get the details. I don't know why they laugh."

The need to hear and see Chinese is the main reason students rent the videos and borrow magazines, he says. "It's hard not to have that in their lives."

As well, students use the service for their visiting parents, who may have fewer social contacts and more difficulty with English. On long weekends like this one, the videos are popular with those who don't have a car or the resources to go away.

The greatest demand is for the latest films from China and Hong Kong, and students are often looking for favourite actors or directors, he says, adding that most students also enjoy movies in English.

While there is no censorship exercised over the collection, as manager of the video library Guo has some discretion over new acquisitions since he's usually the one who copies videos. Among club members, "we have a lot of discussions. They know what I think and I know what they think."

The aim, he explains, is to provide mainstream entertainment rather than propaganda about controversial subjects. There are no Falun Gong tapes, for example. "Some students would not use the service if we had those videos." The deciding factor in making a selection is: "If the students and their families like it."

Since many graduate students from China live at UW Place, the collection has traditionally been kept at an apartment in the complex. Guo has recently taken over the job from a student who has completed his studies and like his predecessor, opens his home -- 161 University Avenue West (West Court), apartment 109 -- every Friday between 7 and 8:30 p.m. for video rentals.

The service is open not only to CSSA members, but to anyone at the university or in the wider community. Guo knows of no other local source for Mandarin language videos. Videos cost $1 per week to rent, and magazines can be borrowed at no charge.

More than 2,500 homes save on energy -- from the UW news bureau

REEP, based in the faculty of environmental studies, was launched just over two years ago to carry out comprehensive home energy evaluations. A typical household in southwestern Ontario paid $1,150 last winter for gas heating compared with $885 the previous year -- a 30 per cent increase. Researchers at UW have found that based on REEP data, the average home in Waterloo Region could reduce its fuel consumption by nearly 24 per cent.

"Our findings indicate that local residents are willing to take action to reduce energy consumption," said environment and resource studies professor Ian Rowlands. "They are also looking for innovative responses on the part of governments and businesses to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy in the region."

Among the potential environmental benefits is an annual reduction of more than 7,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and an overall decrease in other pollutants that contribute to poor air quality.

Rowlands said the economic impact of REEP could be almost $10 million in home energy-related upgrades over a four-year period.

REEP has been evaluating homes in Waterloo Region since May 1999. A joint project of the ES faculty and the Elora Centre for Environmental Excellence, it has received funding from the federal government's Climate Change Action Fund. The cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and local utilities have also supported the project with financial contributions.

In its evaluations, REEP uses the EnerGuide for Houses -- a tool developed by Natural Resources Canada's office of energy efficiency.

Since the beginning of the project, more than 30 students have worked full-time with REEP. Students have come from UW's faculties of environmental studies, engineering, science, applied health sciences and arts. As well, high school students and graduate students have worked for the project and conducted energy-related research.

Also, more than 7,000 citizens of Waterloo Region have learned directly about climate change, air quality and energy efficiency at REEP's community presentations.

For those interested in having an energy evaluation of their home, REEP can be reached at UW by calling ext. 6661.

And now, a holiday weekend

• UW police: on duty 24 hours, 888-4911.
• Student Life Centre: open 24 hours, turnkey desk 888-4434.
• Maintenance emergencies: phone ext. 3793, 24 hours a day.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries will be open their usual hours on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, they'll be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. only.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
| Yesterday's Bulletin
Copyright © 2001 University of Waterloo