Hindus celebrate Diwali in SLC

The holiday goes by various names when it's transliterated into English: Divali, Deepavali, Vel. Amit Bakshi of UW's Sai Baba Group calls it Diwali, and promises a "huge" celebration today, all free. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is organized by a committee based in the South Asian Students Association.

"Diwali is the largest religious festival celebrated by Hindus worldwide," says Bakshi. "The objective of the day is to educate students about Diwali, why we celebrate it and how we celebrate it. Most of all, the event will be fun and with lots of culture embedded into it. The room will be decorated with lights. People are welcome to wear traditional Indian clothing."

Says one web site: "The word 'Diwali' is the corruption of the Sanskrit word 'Deepavali' -- Deepa meaning light and Avali, meaning a row. It means a row of lights and indeed illumination forms its main attraction. Every home -- lowly or mighty -- the hut of the poor or the mansion of the rich -- is alit with the orange glow of twinkling diyas, small earthen lamps, to welcome Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Multi-coloured Rangoli designs, floral decorations and fireworks lend picturesqueness and grandeur to this festival which heralds joy, mirth and happiness in the ensuring year. . . . It symbolises that age-old culture of our country which teaches us to vanquish ignorance that subdues humanity and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge."

Today's celebration promises an "educational corner" with displays about the festival and Hinduism; a food corner ("sweets and samosas"); a fashion corner ("try on Indian clothing and accessories"); and an opportunity to try Mehndi and henna body decorations. There will also be dandiya/garba dance sessions, demonstrating a traditional Gujarati "dance with sticks". Twenty-minute dance sessions begin at 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30, and participants are welcome: "No experience necessary -- learn on the spot."

Kicking back to celebrate UW Day yesterday are Pounce, one of UW's two lion mascots, and president David Johnston. Other VIPs at the event in the Student Life Centre included past president James Downey, far left, shaking hands with Federation of Students president Yaacov Iland. Before the free cake, provided by food services, Johnston spoke briefly to a crowd that filled the great hall. He told them that UW's rating as Canada's number one university is the work of staff, students and faculty dating back to 1957, as well as those who are here today. Cabinet minister Elizabeth Witmer also spoke briefly, stressing how proud the community is of the black-and-gold university in its midst.

Grad students vote on endowment -- from today's Gazette

At an information session about the endowment fund last week at the Grad House, Graduate Student Association president Sabesh Kanagalingam described the concept of grad students supporting their own scholarship fund as absolutely altruistic. Such a symbolic gesture could assist the university in inspiring private donors to support graduate studies, he said.

Grad students are being asked to vote in a mail-in ballot on this 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?" Voting began Monday and runs through November 30.

This is the second time the endowment question has been asked. Last fall a similar question was put to grad students and narrowly defeated.

The idea dovetails with the university's plan to launch a major capital campaign with a target of $262 million. The GSA would like to see a significant piece of this pie allocated to graduate studies.

Also in the Gazette Officials in the graduate studies office are "pretty ecstatic" to learn that funding for graduate student bursaries has nearly tripled. For the past few years, the amount of money allocated for grad student support has been about $800,000 per year, says associate dean of graduate studies Jim Frank. The figure will jump to $2.3 million with the infusion of $1.5 million from unspent funds -- and interest accumulated on that money -- set aside from tuition increases. . . .

Jason Churchill, a PhD candidate in history, is heading the yes committee in the campaign leading up to the referendum. No one has formed a no committee. "We need to improve the relative position of grad students at UW, compared to others in the G10," Churchill told grad students at the information session, referring to the top ten group of universities in Canada. Of that group, UW has the lowest ratio of grads to undergrads.

A pamphlet the yes committee is distributing in support of the fund expands on the need for grad support: Ontario currently provides the least public funding to its universities of all the provinces and states in North America. As a result, there is a large need to attract donations from the private sector, the reasoning goes. With the potential to increase support for scholarships, conference travel expenses for grads, and even capital projects, Churchill believes the fund sells itself. "It has the potential to become a great thing," he says.

A constitution for the proposed fund calls for a board of directors on which grad students would hold a majority of seats to make decisions about fund allocations. Contributions to the fund by grad students would be 100 per cent voluntary, and tax deductible, said Churchill, with the $20-per-term fee amounting to only $5 per month.

Still, he admits, the expenditure could create a hardship for some grad students. According to the constitution, students who do not contribute to the endowment would still be eligible to receive funding from the fund. To pass, the referendum needs a 15 per cent voter turnout, with a majority of voters approving the proposal. Ballots were mailed to 2,200 full and part-time grad students on November 9.

'Twelfth Night' hits stage today

Tickets for the four evening performances (8:00) are available at the Humanities box office and at the drama department offices in Modern Languages. There are also three matinee performances aimed at school audiences (single tickets for those are not for sale).

Drama professor Joel Greenberg is directing the show, and says "Twelfth Night" is "an ideal choice for students" because, frankly, it's about young people in love. "Since students are between the ages of 18-23, discoveries about love and how we respond to emotions far more powerful than our intellect, strikes me as entirely age-appropriate. Second, those of us beyond the student age range have plenty to feed upon in this play about what love means and how easily we work to make it a mirror for our personal needs. As with so much in Shakespeare, whether in the classroom or on the stage, the possibilities are limitless and the themes continue to resonate as we age and add to our experiences."

The play dates from 1602 and is set in a vaguely Renaissance Italy, but Greenberg has moved it forward to the 1960's. He explains why, in the director's program notes: "We aren't doing a period send-up or a fashion portfolio of that era. Instead, we are using a time that is known for its liberation of gender and sexual freedom, and we hope that the specific references help to consolidate the play's themes. Every time a production of any of Shakespeare's plays is re-set in time, the production is severely tested by the transposition. Our take on Twelfth Night is no different." (And it includes several modern songs, some of them from a sixties rock version of the show.)

Among the resulting anomalies: "We know and accept that sword fighting was not exactly a staple of the 1960's, even though the text refers to such action. (In our edited version, swords are not included.) We know that courting rituals were not the same in Elizabethan England as they were in Somewhere 1968. Still, we believe that the heart of the play is about more than actions or sentiments defined only by history."

Says Greenberg: "With a cast of young actors playing all the roles, I have decided to look at the play's optimism and vitality rather than its often-explored melancholy."

All this youth should appeal to the high school crowds who will be on campus today, tomorrow and Friday afternoons to see the show. "We have schools coming from as far away as Strathroy, and a number of schools from the Toronto-Mississauga area," says Joyce Hahn, department secretary in drama. A teacher in North Bay is hoping to bring about 30 students south as well, she added.

Some of the student groups will take part in a 75-minute seminar beforehand. They'll chat with three English professors: Kathy Acheson (speaking on "Gender and Genre"), Brenda Cantar ("Homo-eroticism and Cross-dressing on the Elizabethan Stage"), and Ted McGee ("Places and Plots in Twelfth Night"). "The schools electing to come to this," says Hahn, "received a collection of short essays on topics related to Twelfth Night, representing summaries of more substantial research projects carried out by dramaturgy students in our department."

Happening in the middle of the week

The personal safety advisory committee will meet at 10:30 in Health Services room 126. Among the agenda items: how to spend the personal safety grant received from the Ontario government this year. (Proposals were invited from across campus last month.)

In the co-op department, today brings the winter term job match for architecture and teaching students. Results will be posted by 11 a.m. For all students, the career development seminar series continues; there are sessions today on letter-writing (10:30) and résumé writing (11:30). The career resource centre in Needles Hall has details.

At 12:30, the music department at Conrad Grebel University College presents a concert by Recordare: "Music from the Time of Columbus". Admission is free; the concert takes place in Grebel's chapel.

Sandra Sabatini, a new author who finished her PhD at Waterloo this past year, will read this afternoon at St. Jerome's University. Her first book, The One with the News, was described as "a humane and heartfelt debut" by one reviewer, while another wrote, "Her writings possess that alchemy of poignancy, reality, and harsh beauty that make me believe Sandra Sabatini is one to watch." Her reading will start at 4:00 today in room 327 at St. Jerome's. Everyone is welcome.

Students in religious studies are invited to a wine and cheese social this afternoon, starting at 4:30 in the Renison College chapel lounge. "It is a chance," says Rachel Nazareth of the Religious Studies Society, "for the department to mingle and get to know each other and just chat. All RS profs, majors, minors and students interested in the program, please come out!"

A prominent speaker is scheduled for 7:00 tonight in the Humanities Theatre: Gilbert Parent, former speaker of the House of Commons and now "ambassador to the environment" for the government of Canada. He's brought to campus by the Federation of Students environment commission, and will speak about "Canada's Preparation for Rio+10".

And two notes about tomorrow:

• Alumni in Toronto are invited to lunch at the Marriott Toronto Eaton Centre, where they'll hear from one of their own, Dean Hopkins of Cyberplex Inc., and two UW vice-presidents: Paul Guild (university research) and Laura Talbot-Allan (university relations). Tickets for the event are $30
• A talk by Toronto artist Natalka Husar, scheduled for 1:30, has been cancelled. "We look forward to her rescheduled talk sometime in the winter term," says Art Green of the fine arts department.

CAR