Daily
Bulletin

Shut down today The bookstore, computer store, UW Shop and Techworx will be closed this morning as the retail services department holds an annual meeting for staff. The stores will open at 1 p.m. The library's Trellis catalogue will be down from 6:00 tonight until Monday morning, August 13, for a software upgrade. Access to a backup catalogue will be provided during the upgrade, the library says. Other library services & resources will remain available.

UW forms gay and lesbian committee

"We want people to feel that when they come here they're judged for themselves, not their sexual orientation."

She has announced formation of an "LGBT Committee" that she will chair, and said it was created with extensive involvement from the Gays and Lesbians of Waterloo (GLOW) organization.

GLOW has been the leading gay and lesbian organization in Kitchener-Waterloo for more than three decades. "They have just done an outstanding job," says Scott, calling GLOW "a tremendous support" especially to young people confused about how to understand their sexual orientation and "come out" to family, friends and the world. However, she went on, GLOW can't do everything that may be needed on campus to support people in "the LGBT community", especially as the organization's members have tended to be just gay men. "They're saying, we need a little support from the university!"

The committee so far includes university officials, someone from the Federation of Students, and representatives of GLOW, all of whom are men. "We are hoping," said Scott, "that members of the lesbian community, in particular, will come forward to be members of the committee and tell us about their concerns, so we can work on those." She also said she'd like to see staff or faculty members join the committee.

The terms of reference for UW's new LGBT Committee say it is responsible for "advising the university's various constituencies on matters related to the interests and concerns of the LGBT campus community. UW has a reputation for providing an open, accepting and welcoming environment and it is important that this philosophy be extended to its gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual members.

"Specifically, the committee will advise the university on: LGBT issues as they relate to the UW campus; pro-active measures that may be needed to increase the level of acceptance and understanding of LGBT issues; changes in and development of policies; educational programs; accessibility of resources and level of assistance to the UW LGBT community; other relevant issues."

Besides Scott, committee members include Heather FitzGerald of her office; Matt Erickson, UW's ethical behaviour and human rights coordinator; Brenda Beatty, vice-president (student issues) of the Federation; GLOW coordinator Matthew Nichols; graduate students Trevor Fenton and Jeremy Steffler; and undergraduate student Joël Larose.

Power behind Quest is revealed

The shutdown schedule is of keen interest to students who keep late hours, since it means they can't use Quest for course changes and inquiries between midnight and 7 a.m., on Sunday mornings, or from noon to 4 p.m. on the third Sunday of every month.

"Why?" a student asked on the newsgroup uw.general earlier this week, with six question marks appended.

Fortunately, math student Michael Froh had the answer:

The hamsters providing it with power get tired from spinning their little wheels, and hence can only work for 17 hours per day. Unfortunately, even with nightly breaks, the hamsters tend to burn out pretty quickly, and hence, the QUEST staff has to take a trip to the pet store on a monthly basis to find new hamsters.

Of course, eventually, the hamsters will unionize, I'm sure, in protest of these working conditions and unfair dismissal practices. They will call for a reduced workweek, at which point more hamsters will have to be hired, all working shorter hours. This increased hamster-staffing will naturally result in an increase in tuition, followed by numerous complaints from students along the lines of, "Well, last year, a group of us offered to spin hamster-wheels as volunteers, but The Man held us back!" and "I can't believe the kind of useless hamsters the university will hire! I was doing a better job running in a wheel back on my first co-op term!" The ensuing discussion will then bring in various comments from fellow students and pedants alike, discussing the finer aspects of proper wheel-spinning technique.

Of course, that's just my guess.

"The third Sunday of every month is when the system is reserved for the system admin types to do scheduled maintenance, database tuning, etc., which also cannot conflict with the nightly processing."

As of this week, graduate students can use Quest to add or drop courses. Later in August, the graduate studies office says, grads will be able to use Quest to update their mailing addresses and e-mail addresses, view their student accounts, and look at "unofficial grades".

WPIRG starts commuter campaign

"We take the information from the consultation process and create a report for the employers that makes recommendations about how they can go about putting these strategies into effect," said Jennifer Niece, transportation demand management coordinator for the new project. "We will also give assistance marketing and promoting transportation alternatives within the workplace."

Lori Strothard, who served as project facilitator on the recent Commuter Challenge in Waterloo Region and is a member of the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Air Quality, said local companies have expressed an interest in the project. "During the Commuter Challenge we had a lot of companies say they would be really interested in being assisted to find ways in implementing carpooling in their workplaces," she said.

One employer expressing interest in the project is the City of Guelph. Rajan Philips, transportation planning engineer for Guelph, said the project was a positive measure and the City of Guelph was supportive of the initiative. "There is a sufficient number of people who travel into the city from outside it and there is a possibility of providing alternative modes of transportation," he said.

Niece said she developed the project with other volunteers who were concerned about traffic congestion and health problems caused by automobile pollution. It's jointly sponsored by the UW-based WPIRG and a similar organization at the University of Guelph.

"Almost every day in the paper there's some kind of comment about smog levels or air pollution, and it's really frustrating to see the negative impact this pollution is having on the community," said Niece, a UW environmental studies graduate.

Last year, a study rated Kitchener with some of the worst ozone and particulate matter pollution in the country, WPIRG says. "If every driver used an alternative way of getting to work only one day per week, commuter traffic would decrease by 20 per cent," Niece said. "That could add up to quite a difference." She said she would like to see a broader range of options for people who choose not to drive. "'As someone without a car, I feel marginalized by our car-centered travel infrastructure, particularly if I want to travel between cities."

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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