Daily Bulletin

Joy, the sculpture between the Doug Wright Engineering Building and South Campus Hall, was dressed in Iron Ring Stag gear yesterday as final-year engineering students celebrated a rite of passage.

Applications down, registrar calm

"We know what we're doing in terms of putting strategies in place," he said, according to an article by Luisa D'Amato that appeared in The Record and was picked up by the Toronto Star.

The registrar also said, the newspapers report, that it's "more important to have a pool of bright, academically inclined applicants who are the right fit for UW than it is to get as many students applying as possible, regardless of whether they really want to be there."

And he and provost Alan George told the reporter that "because UW is difficult to get into and is one of the best schools in the country, many students who want to go there don't even bother applying, because they're afraid they won't get in."

Says the article: "Of more concern to Lavigne is the 5.2-per cent decline in students who picked UW as their first choice. That's a little more troubling, he said, because those are the most committed applicants."

The figures Lavigne was commenting on come from the Ontario Universities Application Centre, which handles all applications for first-year programs at the province's universities.

Ontario-wide, the OUAC is reporting a 2.1 per cent increase in applicants from Ontario high schools, and a 6.4 per cent increase in total applications. (There's no longer a limit on how many applications can come from one individual.)

Compared to that 6.4 per cent increase, UW applications are showing "a very slight decrease of 2.3%", in the words of Peter Burroughs, the director of admissions. "This follows increases of 1.7%, 29.1% and 8.1% over the last few years."

Burroughs admits -- in a memo to deans and other officials summarizing the figures -- that the drop in first-choice applications is "more troubling". But he adds: "Waterloo continues to have the largest proportion of its applicants who have chosen UW as their first choice, at 33.8 compared to the provincial average of 25.6%."

Within UW, applications to three faculties are up: applied health sciences (by 5.9 per cent), engineering (3.8 per cent), and environmental studies (32.8 per cent). Those three all experienced application declines last year.

On the other hand, applications are down in three faculties -- arts (8.9 per cent), science (6.0 per cent) and mathematics (3.0 per cent) -- and those three all showed increases both last year and the year before.

Burroughs notes that several new programs "have helped to modify or redistribute applications" this year. UW is accepting applications for the first time to software engineering, computational science, environment and business, and business administration with mathematics.

Fed results tonight Undergraduate students will know a few hours from now who their leaders for the coming year will be. On-line polls in the Federation of Students election -- and a referendum on creating a Co-op Society -- close at 4 p.m. Results are expected to be announced shortly after that, first of all in a post-election party in the Ground Zero restaurant in the Student Life Centre.

Grad students pick new leaders

President of the GSA, as of May 1, will be Sabesh Kanagalingam, who was born in Sri Lanka and came to Canada (Mississauga) as a teenager. He came to UW two years ago to work on his PhD in chemistry after completing his undergraduate work and a master's degree at Toronto. He was involved in student government at U of T as well, and has served on the GSA council and as corporate secretary since coming to UW.

Kanagalingam says he's happy to have an executive that combines experience with fresh perspectives. Continuing from the previous GSA board are Tim Lahey (computer science) as vice-president (operations) and Jennifer Hunter (physics), William Bishop (electrical and computer engineering), and Derek Louie (optometry) as directors at large. Newcomers on the board will be Andreanne Bouchard (chemical engineering) as vice-president (student affairs), Benjamin Youn (chemical engineering) as corporate secretary, and Jeannette Byrne (kinesiology) as a director at large.

The new president is hoping to revive the idea of a graduate student endowment fund, which was narrowly defeated in a referendum last year. With the launch of the university campaign, such a fund would "demonstrate that more money is needed for graduate studies, and that grad students are serious about doing their part", he said yesterday.

With plans to increase the number of grad students at UW -- and with the double cohort looming -- the GSA will be "working hard to ensure that grad students are not being squeezed out of campus housing. Affordable housing is one of the most important factors in attracting grad students."

In an effort to improve communication and access for grad students to the GSA and its activities, he plans to initiate a monthly newsletter (on paper) to be sent to all 2,000-plus graduate students at Waterloo.

As for the Grad House, which "suffered major losses in the past," he is "absolutely, totally committed to breaking even" during his term of office, after a "significant improvement" in the financial position of the Grad House last year. "I think we're on the right track to meeting that target, and Tim's continuity (as VP operations) will be very helpful."

The chief returning officer says there are two vacancies for at-large members of the board of directors. Grad students who might be interested can pick up a nomination form at the Graduate House. In addition, he noted, GSA by-laws allow for up to twenty (20) at-large council seats. "If you are interested in becoming an At-Large Councillor, please e-mail Rose Vogt, the GSA Administrator, at gsa-mgr@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca or stop by the Grad House to obtain a nomination form."

Faculty, grad seats open on senate

Caught: No, that is not the registrar lassooing new students. It's a scene from "totally durang-ed", the drama department's winter production, which continues tonight and Saturday at 8:00 in Studio 180 in the Humanities building. The lunatic show consists of five one-act plays: this glimpse is from "The Hardy Boys", starring Brad Goddard, Rob Osborn and Justin Kinney.

Scattering to the four winds

The UW Shop in South Campus Hall will be closed Monday and Tuesday "for a pre-inventory count", reopening on Wednesday.

Service from UW's research office may be a little slow today. "Some our phones and computers will be moving," says administrative assistant Elizabeth Harnum, "which may result in some delays in responding."

The annual general meeting of Imprint Publications, the corporation that publishes the student newspaper Imprint, will be held today. All students who have paid the Imprint fee -- the great majority -- are entitled to attend and vote. The meeting starts at 12:30 p.m. in Student Life Centre room 1116.

Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, part of Wilfrid Laurier University, has a special event scheduled for tonight -- an open house:

"Community -- A Celebration of Gifts" promises a multi-media feast for the senses, featuring a live and silent auction of numerous products and services, a delectable dessert buffet, a concert of musical talent ranging from classical to Christian contemporary, special activities for younger folks . . . and great fellowship with the dozens of students, faculty and friends who made it all happen!

Waterloo Lutheran Seminary is on the growing edge of Christian education for women and men of many skills and backgrounds who are called to the Lord's ministry. As we grow, we need to provide top calibre teaching, up-to-date facilities, affordable tuition fees, ongoing financial support for deserving students, and lifelong learning opportunities for clergy and laypeople.

"VISION 2000+ -- to equip for ministry" is a brand new Endowment Fund launched to make our seminary more self-sufficient and in tune with the increasing demands of the future. All proceeds from our auction or public donations on February 16 will go toward this appeal.

Waterloo Lutheran Seminary is located at Bricker and Albert Streets (southwest corner of the Wilfrid Laurier University campus). Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Concert is at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

As the weekend continues, the engineering alumni "funspiel" will be held all day tomorrow at the Elmira Golf Club. "Fantasy 2001", the engineering semi-formal, will be held Saturday night. And something called "Let's Dance" is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday in the Humanities Theatre.

Sports this weekend: The hockey Warriors will host Windsor at 2:00 Sunday afternoon at the Columbia Icefield. Both men's and women's basketball teams play at Guelph tomorrow afternoon. The badminton team is at Western for a tournament, and the track and field competitors are away at the Michigan Invitational.

Looking ahead a few days . . . the third annual student-run peace conference will be held February 27 and 28 at Conrad Grebel College, under the title "Spheres of Action: Responding to Social Injustices in Canada". More information is available from Grebel at 885-0220.

And a note from the local Volunteer Action Centre: "The 3rd annual St. John Ambulance marathon will be held on Sunday April 22. The planning committee is welcoming people with an interest in marketing, sponsorship or organizing prizes. This is a fun, short-term event that will raise money to purchase a first aid post and enable St. John Ambulance to continue to enhance health, safety and qualify of life in our community." More information: 742-8610.

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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