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Grads vote yes on endowment fund

There were 285 yes votes and 172 no votes, says the chief returning officer, Elena Ferrari-Newman of the chemistry department. That works out to 62 per cent in favour.

She writes in her official report: "The total number of ballots sent out to the registered (as of November 1, 2001) graduate student population not in the cost recovery programs was 2161. This figure is used as the total number of voters on the voting list. Total number of ballots returned before the end of the voting period (including those received after the voting period ended but postmarked prior to the end of the voting period of November 30, 2001) was 493.

"Of the 493 ballots received, the number votes counted towards quorum was 492. One ballot was rejected due to the same ID number appearing on two ballots with the same vote. Of the 492 ballots, 35 ballots were deemed spoilt. The spoilt ballots are counted as part of the quorum as per By Law #8, Section 22.2. Percentage of votes counted towards quorum was 492/2161 = 22.8%. As per GSA By Law #8, Section 22.2, the quorum requirement of 15% was met.

"As the quorum requirement is met, the graduate students of the University of Waterloo have decided the outcome of the Graduate Students Association 2001 Referendum on the Establishment of the Graduate Studies Endowment Fund.

"The spoilt ballots were rejected for three reasons: (1) Incorrect, unreadable or lack of a Student ID, (2) Both or neither of the boxes for Yes and No were marked and/or (3) Identity of the voter on the ballot other than the student ID. Of the spoilt ballots with distinguishable votes, 15 voted Yes and 11 voted No.

"Of the 492 ballots, 457 were deemed valid. Of these, 285 voted Yes and 172 voted No to the question posed on the ballot.

"In response to the question 'Do you support a refundable $20.00 contribution per term for the establishment of an endowment fund in accordance with the Constitution of the Graduate Studies Endowment Fund at the University of Waterloo?', the graduate students at the University of Waterloo have voted in the affirmative. 62.4% of the graduate students voted Yes and the remaining 37.6% of the graduate students voted No. The referendum passes as per GSA By Law #8, Section 22.2."

Librarians present case to faculty

"Librarians want to be represented by a bargaining unit that understands their interests and concerns," says the article. "Our roles and responsibilities are more similar to those of faculty than staff at the University." And they note that at Canadian universities some 90 per cent of librarians are represented by faculty associations. At UW, it's the staff association that negotiates salaries and policies covering librarians.

Librarians -- professionals with master's degrees in library science -- make up about a quarter of library staff. Individual librarians can join the faculty association, and one of them, Carol Stephenson, is a member of its executive. She's among the seven authors of the article.

Says the article: "CAUT's Guidelines on Academic Status for Professional University Librarians acknowledge that academic status protects the scholarly and intellectual nature of academic librarianship. Research and continuing education are recognized as essential components of the profession. Academic freedom protects librarians' collection development decisions as well as the expression of opinions in research. Librarians with academic status work collegially, participate in the planning and management of the library and collections, and contribute to the governance of the university in a meaningful way. . . .

"With academic status, librarians could devote a greater portion of their workload to research and would have better access to research funding and study leaves.

"Librarians share the professional concerns of faculty members. Academic freedom, for example, is a crucial protection for librarians, because we are trustees of knowledge with the responsibility of ensuring the availability of information and ideas, no matter how controversial. Currently at UW, we have no recourse if our academic freedom is challenged.

"Librarians are concerned with selecting, organizing, disseminating, and protecting access to scholarly information in support of teaching and research. . . . Librarians perform a teaching and research role as they instruct students formally and informally, and advise and assist faculty in their scholarly pursuits. Teaching by librarians complements that of faculty by focusing on the development of general critical thinking and research skills, rather than imparting subject-based knowledge."

The seven librarians argue that "In the current organization, the Library is not integrated into the academic structure of the University. Librarians do not have voting membership on academic committees. With academic status we could become full members and contribute in meaningful and constructive ways to university governance by bringing our unique perspectives and expertise to the discussion."

They note that the issue has come up before. Most recently, in the fall of 1998, the faculty association and UW management negotiated briefly about librarians. The authors of the new article charge that "administrators have failed to address pertinent questions raised about academic status and terms of employment for professional librarians."

They write, "Polls to voting members of the Librarians Association of the University of Waterloo have confirmed librarians' support for representation by the FAUW. The FAUW has been prepared to represent librarians with respect to their terms and conditions of employment since 1992. . . .

"The university administration has not been prepared to accept the representation of librarians by the FAUW. To date, it has offered few substantive arguments beyond its position that FAUW representation of librarians is inappropriate since librarians 'do not determine the content, standards and future directions of academic programs and related research activities.' But our role as providers of access to scholarly information and literacy instruction constitutes an integral contribution to the academic directions of the university. We would welcome the opportunity to re-open the discussion of FAUW representation of librarians with the current administration."

Physics building evacuation Thanks to John Morris of the UW news bureau, I have this report on Thursday evening's incident at the Physics building: The building was reopened Thursday at around 7 p.m. Evacuation took place about 4:30 p.m. Safety director Kevin Stewart said he did not count how many people were evacuated, but the numbers were not high as classes were not in session. Stewart, who ordered the evacuation, said it was a precautionary measure and was put into effect as a result of problems in a laboratory experiment conducted by a physics professor, whose name he didn't release. Fortunately, it was a case of potential exposure to a toxic substance. The professor was using a laser and lab apparatus to investigate the properties of hydrogen sulfide, which was in a liquefied state and contained in a glass flask. The professor became concerned about a possible gaseous escape of the hydrogen sulfide during the experiment. Hydrogen sulfide is toxic. The lab apparatus, containing the hydrogen sulfide, was transported to a another lab in the Earth Sciences and Chemistry building, where it was placed in a fumehood box and rendered harmless through dilution before being released into the atmosphere. The fumehood is connected to the roof of the building.

The talk of the campus

• Academic calendar dates for 2002-03
• An update from the provost on plans for the "double cohort" of entering students in 2003
• Discussion of "senate effectiveness"
• The president's "environmental scan", including comments on the recent federal budget
• The proposal to make the department of computer science into a "school" of CS

And right after the meeting, many senators will be heading over to St. Jerome's University for the annual President's Dinner there -- a pre-Christmas, by-invitation tradition dating back to the 1960s. St. Jerome's president Michael Higgins will no doubt be at his most grandiloquent, and the menu promises a "Maritime Theme Dinner".

Free films will be shown in the Student Life Centre again tonight, starting at 9:00. Scheduled: "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Night Before Christmas".

The new issue of the faculty association's Forum, which has that item about the status of librarians, contains a number of other intriguing things as well. In particular, there's a note from Catherine Schryer, president of the association, following up the controversy about a dean's right to change marks assigned by a professor. She writes: "I have also heard from another faculty member (who wishes to remain anonymous) that one of her grades was changed without consultation because a student charged her with unfairness." She doesn't suggest that the incident has led to a grievance or other formal action.

It's been a busy season for Abe Elmasry, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UW who also serves as president of the Canadian Islamic Congress. He's been much in demand for comments on the world situation and national "security" issues. Last week he was in the papers again, as the Star asked for his assessment of the notorious videotape that shows Osama bin Laden rejoicing at the effects of the World Trade Center attack. "It is very shocking that this man is using Islamic teachings to justify these horrible attacks," Elmasry told the Star. As for the tape itself, "I can tell you the translation was very accurate. It wasn't slanted as far as I'm concerned."

If you -- as a UW staff or faculty member -- paid $109 toward the cost of your prescriptions in 2001, you'll likely be paying $110 in 2002. The "benefit maxima" figure goes up by a dollar (or by two dollars, from $218 to $220, for family coverage) in the new year, the human resources department advises. The formula for out-of-pocket payment under the extended health plan is a bit complicated, but can be found in full on the HR web site. Maximum figures for coverage under the dental insurance plan are also going up for 2002.

A note from UW Graphics in this week of pre-Christmas activities: "All copy centres and the Pixel Pub will be closed between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. For urgent matters, please contact the graphics courier at ext. 6885. Graphics apologizes for any inconvenience."

Here's a reminder that several parts of the Quest "student administration system" have been out of operation for software upgrades. PeopleSoft SA (the PC desktop client), Astra (room bookings), and myQUEST (web access for students) will be, if all goes well, back in service this morning; the WINQ "inquiry" application is expected to be down until tomorrow morning.

UW should get some indirect benefit from a $6 million grant to Shad International announced in last week's federal budget. Shad Valley, a summer program for talented high school students with a bent for technology, originated at Waterloo and is now operated at half a dozen campuses across Canada each year. The federal funding is a "phenomenal opportunity" for growth, its president, Jack Pal, told the Record last week. The newspaper noted that "details are sketchy" -- finance minister Paul Martin provided just four words of detail, "to expand its program" -- but that didn't bother Pal: "I'm still on the ceiling."

Finally, I have to acknowledge two mistakes in Friday's Bulletin. First, I referred to the Hildegard Marsden Day Car Centre, which is an interesting concept, but in fact it should have been (of course) "day care centre". Second, I said graduate student James Harynuk was in earth sciences; in fact he's in chemistry.

CAR