August 6, 2002

Tuesday, August 6, 2002

Monday visitors need student guides
Now more about Student Life 101
WLU Brantford will teach teachers

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

The Port Huron Statement was 40 years ago

Other notes as exams continue
Spring term exams go on this week, and so do extended hours in the libraries: Dana Porter is open to 2 a.m. nightly, and the Davis Centre library to 3 a.m., all week.
A "mandatory pre-departure orientation" session for students going on overseas programs in 2002-03 is scheduled for Wednesday, 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Davis Centre room 1302, says Maria Lango in the international programs office.
The Bombshelter pub, Scoops ice cream stand and Aussies variety store in the Student Life Centre are open this week and through next Monday, the day of Student Life 101. "They will be closed for the remainder of the month," says Chris Di Lullo of the Federation of Students. "All will reopen at the beginning of September." He adds that Ground Zero restaurant, closed this term, will be open for lunch daily this fall.
A cheerleading camp was held over the weekend in the UW conference centre. Yesterday, as cheerleaders departed, about 100 participants in the 37th Actuarial Research Conference moved in; the event, coordinated by Robert Brown of UW's statistics and actuarial science department, runs all this week.
Academic advising in the faculty of arts will be unavailable August 12-23 as the undergraduate office and related offices close for vacation time.

Monday visitors need student guides

UW's newest students will get a preview of university next Monday, and organizers of their special day are counting on volunteers from among current students to help them feel at home.

"Imagine how you felt, not so long ago, coming in as a first-year student, being so anxious and uncertain of what was ahead," says Heather FitzGerald, UW's student life coordinator. "Now it's your chance to help someone through that same experience.

"By volunteering you have the opportunity to answer the questions, field concerns, and help them find their way around campus. In other words, you get to show them the ropes."

The newcomers will be here by the thousands for the annual Student Life 101 event, "designed by students for students" to help with the transition to university life. But parents are invited as well, and they'll be here in force. A total of 6,500 people are expected on Monday, says FitzGerald. (UW's first-year class in September will number about 4,800.)

The idea of a summer-time orientation event came from a suggestion several years ago by a UW student, Matt Iley, now entering his fourth year of optometry, who found that many newcomers were overwhelmed with all that's going on in September. SL 101 is now in its sixth year. FitzGerald is organizing it along with four student co-ordinators: Cora Dupuis, third-year political science, Graeme Canivet, second-year computer science, Beatrice Wong, second year pre-optometry, and Erin Corcoran, second-year architecture.

"With the help of numerous staff and faculty, the day will be a great success," she says, "but we need more student volunteers to make the day an even bigger success." Anyone interested in volunteering at Student Life 101 should get in touch with FitzGerald at studentlife@uwaterloo.ca.

Now more about Student Life 101

"This amazing one day orientation program," organizers say, "is designed to help incoming first-year students, as well as their parents and family, with the transition to university life.

"A key presentation, 'Student Life at UW', will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Physical Activities Complex, where incoming students will learn about the university. They'll also get a chance to meet some interesting people on campus including UW president David Johnston and Brenda Slomka, president of the Federation of Students.

"Also on the agenda is 'Meet our People' -- an opportunity for visitors to learn more about the student services available on campus and talk with the individuals who run the services." Taking part are Athletics and Recreational Services, Co-operative Education and Career Services, Counselling Services, Distance and Continuing Education, Student Life, Food Services, Housing and Residences, Information Systems and Technology, Library, Office for Persons with Disabilities, Police and Parking Services, Retail Services (Bookstore, Computer Store, and UW Shop), UW Graphics, Student Awards (loans and scholarships), St. Jerome's University and Renison College.

"Afterward," the pitch goes on, "they can check out the Student Life Centre, 'the living room of the university', visiting information booths and learning about the student federation, academic rights advisers, health services and off-campus dons, as well as clubs and student associations. For those interested in touring the campus, tours are available from Fed Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

"Other presentations will include 'Take the Bridge to Health' to answer student health concerns and give tours of the Health Service Centre; 'Adaptive Technology' at the Dana Porter Library's Accessibility Centre to showcase services available to assist students with disabilities; Co-operative Education; and tips on helping to plan the future at the Career Resource Centre.

"There will also be presentations on 'Getting Off on the Right Foot', how to combine academics and extracurricular activities; and 'Making the Transition', how to ease the move from home to campus life."

Two new presentations in this year's SL 101 include one about QUEST and something called the "Show me the Money" presentation, with information for students receiving government loans and assistance this September. "As well, there will be a session called 'So, You're Living Off Campus' with information on finding accommodation away from the university and tips on being an off-campus student.

"Additionally, each faculty will be hosting a presentation for incoming students introducing them to the academic support available to them during their first year."

WLU Brantford will teach teachers

Wilfrid Laurier University is getting into the teacher education business -- not in Waterloo, but at its unusual branch campus in Brantford.

A "concurrent" Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education program is to be offered through a partnership between WLU and North Bay's Nipissing University, starting this fall.

[Under the dome]
WLU's Brantford program was the cover story for the May issue of University Affairs magazine. Pictured is Rachel Anderson, the first graduate in "contemporary studies". She poses under the dome of WLU's Brantford building, which was formerly the city's Carnegie Library.
"The new program," a news release explains, "combines Laurier's strengths in the liberal arts and sciences with Nipissing's long history of providing a rigorous teacher education program that aims to provide well-prepared teachers for Ontario schools."

Graduates will receive a Laurier BA and a Nipissing BEd. The major for the BA will be Contemporary Studies, the "core interdisciplinary" program that already leads to a BA from the Brantford campus. Contemporary studies is available as a general or honours degree and can be combined with other majors or minors from philosophy to mathematics.

The first graduate from the Brantford program received her BA last year, and this spring a "pioneer" class of 12 students graduated in Brantford. The convocation ceremony was held in Central Presbyterian Church, next door to the former library that houses WLU's Brantford campus. At the same convocation, WLU awarded an honorary degree to Brantford-born James Hillier, known as the inventor of the electron microscope sixty years ago.

"This evening celebrates more than a single event. It is a significant step towards the fulfillment of a vision that began in Brantford decades ago," said Leo Groarke, dean of Laurier Brantford. "These 12 students have not only earned their degrees, but a place in the history of both Brantford and Laurier, in return for their belief and trust in the institution we began building three years ago."

The BA-BEd program will begin as a pilot project in September 2002, with one section of 35 students studying education in the Junior/Intermediate division, preparing to teach grade 4 to grade 10. By the fall of 2003, three sections are expected for a total of 105 students.

CAR

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