December 20, 2002

Friday, December 20, 2002

Coming to the end of 2002
Closed buildings bring savings
Holiday shutdown for UW labs
On campus over the holidays

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Coming to the end of 2002

'Tis not exactly the night before Christmas, but we're getting close. After the end of business today, the university will be officially closed until the morning of Thursday, January 2.

Notes for students
The Quest student information system will be in operation as usual over the holidays, says the registrar's office, "subject to unexpected system outages." However, support for Quest, for anybody who runs into difficulties, won't be available until January 2.
Winter term fees are due December 31 through bank transfer (the deadline for payment by cheque is already past).
Winter term classes will begin Monday, January 6.
Fall term marks should be available through Quest on January 23.
Of course there are some staff whose duties must continue, on campus or off. And a good many faculty will be busy marking papers and exams. In addition, the research work never stops for some graduate students. But for the most part, the university is about to take a year-end break.

Fall term exams aren't quite over -- the last one begins at 7:00 tonight -- and for today, offices and services are mostly operating normally. I note, however, that some food services outlets will have limited hours, while others are already closed. And some offices are likely to close early; the research office, for one, says it will be open only until 11:45.

The libraries will be open until 11 p.m. tonight (circulation services until 7 p.m.). Tomorrow and Sunday, the libraries are open noon to 6 p.m. They are entirely closed December 23 through January 1, reopening January 2. The Trellis computer system is out of service for a software upgrade until sometime on December 23; a backup system is available.

Payday for faculty and monthly-paid staff will be Monday, December 23. For biweekly-paid staff, Friday, December 27, is payday. Full payroll information is available on the human resources web site.

The University Club is serving its Christmas luncheon buffet one more time. . . . The Computer Help and Information Place is open from 8:00 to noon and 2:00 to 4:30 today, then closed until the new year. . . . The telephone switchboard will close at 4:30 tonight and reopen on January 2. While it's closed, as always, it's possible to direct-dial to UW extensions through the "automated attendant" at 888-4567. . . .

During the break, recreational facilities will be closed; retail stores will be closed; the health services clinic will be closed. (A source of emergency health information, over the holidays and any other time, is the Telehealth Ontario line, 1-866-797-0000.)

The Daily Bulletin will return Thursday, January 2. Any emergency announcements before that date will be made through a headline on the UW home page.

Closed buildings bring savings

And so we leave the campus to the few people who live here 365 days a year, the essential staff who will be on duty over the break, and visitors for a few special events.

As usual, heat and ventilation in most buildings will be turned down to night settings from tonight through January 1. Rick Zalagenas, director of maintenance and utilities, is estimating that UW will save $30,000 to $40,000 in fuel and electricity costs because of the shutdown.

He said there's no fixed temperature that will be reached in all buildings -- it depends on their size, the heating system, the difficulty of raising the temperature back to normal levels in January, and so on -- but in general, anyone coming to campus during the holiday can expect to find a cool environment, and it might be worth bringing a sweater along.

"It will save additional energy expense," says a memo from the plant operations department, "if coffee-makers, computers, office equipment and unused fumehoods are turned off during the break. And please make very sure all windows are closed before you leave."

During the break, staff will be on duty in the central plant as always, and emergency maintenance requests can be called in to ext. 3793.

Snow removal from today through January 1 will be limited. "Grounds staff will respond to serious snow issues," says plant ops, especially to clear priority areas such as the ring road.

Construction work continues in various places, including the major projects at Engineering III and the Centre for Environmental and Information Technologies. University architect Dan Parent says there's work on the ventilation at Physics, Biology II and Environmental Studies; roofing work on Matthews Hall; and "various small jobs in engineering, Physics and Modern Languages". Because of one of those projects, heat will be turned off in Rod Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall all day Monday. Water will be turned off in East Campus Hall on December 27 and 28 for repairs to the sewage system. And the west entrance to Engineering II (across from the Physics building) will be closed during the holidays while work is done on the stairways.

Holiday shutdown for UW labs

The safety office has told managers of UW labs that there are precautions they should take before they lock the doors and head out for a holiday break.

A web page dealing with the Christmas and New Year's shutdown warns that, among other things, labs have to be prepared for the power going off during the holidays: "Due to winter weather conditions utilities, especially electricity, may be affected. It is a general rule that all laboratory processes be designed to safely survive a service failure. During the holiday shutdown this is particularly important."

Among the recommended preparations:

Shut down all processes vulnerable to failure of utilities.
Store hazardous materials properly and in containment areas and ensure that containers are closed or sealed.
Shut off compressed gases and gas supply lines to equipment.
Turn off and unplug, where possible, electrical devices such as hot plates, computers and, if not containing hazardous materials, fumehoods and environmental chambers. This prevents damage to equipment due to power surges while reducing energy waste and pollution.
Ensure lab contact information is updated with names, phone numbers and addresses in a location accessible to emergency response personnel (suggest on inside of door). Include documentation on contents of freezers and refrigerators.
If you have any questions about preparing your lab for the shutdown contact Safety Office at x6268.

The web page also has a brief checklist of "What to do if you have a lab incident":

Report failures of equipment or physical plant to Plant Operations at x3793.
If lab or building has been without power, allow the lab exhaust systems to operate for at least 2 hours before entry to lab or building.
Contact Safety Office or UW Spill Team through UW Police at x4911 if you have concerns relating to hazardous materials spills.

Advice about security
A note from the UW police: "Do not leave any personal valuables or smaller 'attractive' items, such as laptop computers, radios and cameras, in the office or workplaces. These items should be secured in a cabinet or removed to home for safekeeping over the holidays.
"The local police services will be out in full force with the RIDE program over the holidays, so if you drink, do not drive."

On campus over the holidays

UW police will be on duty 24 hours a day throughout the Christmas and New Year's period. The emergency phone number is 888-4911 (on campus, that's ext. 4911).

The Student Life Centre (phone 888-4434) will be open 24 hours a day as usual throughout the holiday. The turnkey desk can provide not just coffee but bus tickets, stamps, "some food", lots of information and even sometimes an emergency pillow. Construction fences are up for the planned expansion of the building, but work won't start until January, so "it's not too bad," manager Ann Simpson says. "We managed to keep all the doors open," she adds, although the ground-level walkway between the SLC and the Physical Activities Complex is blocked off.

All parking lots, except lot D under Needles Hall and the ECEC lot at the PAS building, will be open and free throughout the holiday period. Gates to service roads will be kept closed during the holiday break.

If you notice an outage of the campus network or any major IST-maintained computing facility, you can leave a voice message with the Information Systems and Technology help desk at 888-4357 or submit a request on the web. Both will be checked daily.

There's no Warrior sports activity during the holidays, but two of the teams are heading to sunny climes for a training camp: the swimmers leave for south Florida on December 26, and the track and field team heads for San Diego the same day. . . . A group from the staff association is making an outing to see "The Wizard of Oz" at the Princess Cinema on December 29. . . . The usual New Year's Eve party is scheduled at Federation Hall on the 31st. . . .

[St. Jerome's] Mass is scheduled at St. Jerome's University (Siegfried Hall) at the following times: this Sunday at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.; Christmas Eve at 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and midnight; Christmas Day at 10 a.m.; Saturday, December 28, at 5 p.m.; Sunday, December 29, at 9:30 and 11:30; New Year's Day at 10 a.m.

Anglican services at the Renison College chapel will be held this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and Christmas Eve at 11 p.m. There is no service Sunday, December 29.

So some of us go now to church,
and some to feast, and some to skis,
and some to bed -- and most of us
to loving friends and families --
though some must study or must work:
a dozen faiths, a thousand ways
to live in harmony with truth
through cold and dark December days.
We pause from labours, when we can,
and hear the season's whispered call
to burn the candles of our lives
for Peace on earth, good will to all.

CAR