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Friday, April 4, 2003

  • UW closed today by ice storm
  • Some students returning from Asia jobs
  • Four join Warrior hall of fame
  • What was supposed to be happening
Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Spring? Elmira maple syrup festival tomorrow

[Panels of calligraphy]

From a warmer land comes the inspiration for these paintings by fine arts student Soheila Kolahdouz -- part of an exhibition of graduating students' work that continues in East Campus Hall through next week. The artworks, based on a poem by Persian poet Rumi, combine eastern calligraphy with western-style painting.

UW closed today by ice storm

The University of Waterloo is closed today because of an ice storm that started last night and is expected to continue through tomorrow.

For example, Trudy Moul writes from the sociology department that Soc 322 assignments due today are now due at the same time on Monday, April 7. The "take home" exam questions will be available Monday from the sociology office or from the instructor.
The closing disrupts life on what was to be the last day of classes for the winter term. (Exams start Monday.) It means classes and other events are cancelled; libraries and other services are closed; staff (except a few in essential services, such as sanding the roads) get a paid day off; and students' assignment deadlines are postponed.

The English Language Proficiency Examination, which was to be written tonight, has been rescheduled for Sunday (April 6) at 7 p.m. in the Physical Activities Complex. Anyone for whom that date poses a problem should call ext. 2837 to discuss it.

Students who were scheduled to have in-class tests today should get in touch with the professor, when they can, to set a new date for the test.

The bookstore and other retail outlets will be closed today and also tomorrow.

Under a longstanding arrangement, closing the university is automatic when the Waterloo Region District School Board closes all its schools, as it did today. It's the first time the schools and the university have been closed since December 2000.

("Ice storm" -- those are scary words for anybody who lived through the big storm of 1998 in eastern Ontario and Québec. "I hope I don't have to experience another one of those," was the comment this morning from someone who was at Queen's University in 1998 and is now at Waterloo.)

Some students returning from Asia jobs

Some co-op students are coming home from work term jobs in Hong Kong almost a month early, the result of the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) there and in other places, the co-op department said yesterday.

Olaf Naese of co-op said UW has six students on work term in China this winter, twenty in Hong Kong, thirteen in Japan, two in Malaysia, three in Singapore, six in Korea, thirteen in Taiwan and two in Australia. Those are the countries, besides Canada, where SARS has been reported.

He said several coordinators who have students working "with employers or in locations affected by the SARS situation" have been in touch with their students to discuss what's happening and the options that are open to them. Two web pages provide a summary of the advice being offered, one dated March 31 and one revised as of yesterday.

Says the most recent page: "If you are working in an affected area in Asia and you feel that you are no longer able to continue with your work term due to the SARS situation, you might decide to return to Canada early. If this is the case you will not be penalized for terminating your employment. Discuss the situation with your employer first. If you decide to leave your work term position, you should wrap up your assignments as smoothly and cleanly as possible and leave on good relations with your employer."

As of yesterday morning, Naese said, "a number of students in Hong Kong have left their jobs or will be shortly before the end of the work term. A few co-op students who were scheduled to go on a work term in Hong Kong in May have decided not to go while others are still considering what to do."

Some students closer to home are also affected by the threat of SARS: those working in hospitals. Says Naese: "Although nursing students from other universities or colleges have been ordered to stay away from their placements because of their involvement with patients, the story is not necessarily the same for our co-ops. Depending in the job they are doing, some have felt no effect while others have been moved to other non-medical buildings to continue their work. This could change, however, as the days go by."

The co-op department offers this advice for anybody ending a work term unexpectedly: "Ask your supervisor to complete your evaluation before you leave and bring it back with you. Remember that you cannot receive credit for the work term without a completed evaluation."

Four join Warrior hall of fame

Four new members will join the UW Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday night, as the 20th annual induction ceremony is scheduled for the Festival Room, South Campus Hall, starting at 7:00.

Here are citations (from the department of athletics and recreational services) for the four new members:

  • [Smith in uniform] Jarrett Smith (right), a native of Hamilton , played running back for the Warrior football team from 1993 through 1997. Jarrett left as the Warriors' career rushing leader with 3,895 yards and 684 carries and a member of the 1997 Yates Cup Championship Team. Smith led the CIAU with 1,620 yards on 253 carries rushing, a 6.4 yard average and scored 12 times in his final year with the Warriors. Other records set in his final season included an OUA record for most yards rushing (1,275) in an eight game regular season. In 1996 and 1997 season, Jarrett won the Omega Trophy presented to the OUA most valuable player and also was nominated for the Hec Crighton Trophy (96/97), presented annually to the outstanding player in the CIAU. Jarrett Smith was an OUA all-star in 1995, 1996, and was honoured as an All-Canadian along with his OUA honours. Jarrett is entering his sixth season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League

  • At age 45, Frank Erdelyi became the Maintenance Supervisor at St. Jerome's College. Once on campus Frank immediately became the catalyst of the Campus Recreation Table Tennis Club, taking the club to new heights. Now retired, Frank is still the chief organizer dedicated to insuring that there is table tennis program at Waterloo. For almost 40 years, Erdelyi has maintained the equipment at a very high standard and attended countless hours of sessions all volunteer time. For several years Frank played and trained some of the top international table tennis players through the UW Campus Recreation Club, including Larry Lee who represented Canada several times. Frank was one of the first participants honoured with a life time Campus Recreation pass and also a winner of the Hopkins-Kemp Honorary Achievement Award.

  • The newest swimmer to be inducted into the Waterloo Athletic Hall of Fame is a member from the earliest teams. Lee Fraser was an Athena initially for two seasons 1969-70, 1970-71 and then took a few years off before returning for the 74-75 season. In the earlier years Lee was a consistent medallist at what was then the Ontario Quebec Women's swimming championship. Upon her return to the team in 74-75 she continued these winning ways in the Ontario Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Association swimming championship. Her contributions in the sprint free and backstroke events were significant in the Athenas' success in winning conference championships in all three seasons. The Department of Athletics looks forward to recognizing Lee for her accomplishments and contributions to the success of the swimming program later this spring.

  • [Cook] Long-time athletic department facility manager Bill Cook (left) retired last fall following 30 years of loyal and dedicated service. In Bill's 30 years he witnessed the arena being built, the Columbia Icefield gyms and dressing rooms being built, new fields developed, many renovations to the Physical Activities Complex such as the weight rooms, women's locker rooms and changes to the equipment centre, renovations to the CIF and now, he has helped direct the new additions of a fitness room, a new gym, and the women's ice hockey dressing room at the Icefield. This is a lifetime of building and a legacy for all of us at Waterloo. Managing the operations of these facilities required his strengths and his determination.

    The University of Waterloo Athletic Hall of Fame is one of our proudest traditions and honours those who have made an important contribution to the Department of Athletics and Recreational Services.

    What was supposed to be happening

    Before the weather got ugly, today was to be the final day of this year's graduate student research conference, with presentations from 9:00 to 4:00 in the Davis Centre. Darin Graham of Communications and Information Technology Ontario was ready to give a special talk at 11:30 about Ontario's centres of excellence and how they support graduate research. The noon-hour keynote speaker was to be Keith Hipel of systems design engineering, speaking on "A Conflict of Values over the Control of Our Natural Heritage and Social Infrastructure". And a final awards banquet was scheduled for South Campus Hall. All these activities are cancelled. The grad studies office says the tentative alternate date for the sessions and the banquet will be next Friday, April 11. "All student presenters and conference participants will be contacted as soon as possible."

    Also probably disrupted by today's closing:

    Assuming that the weather gets more manageable by tomorrow, plans are to shut down power in much of the Math and Computer building for maintenance work from 6 to 10 a.m. The information systems and technology department says the shutdown isn't expected to affect its central equipment and computer networks.

    A group from the staff association is off to play at Kitchener's Laser Quest on Sunday. . . . The Humanities Theatre will be busy over the weekend (depending on how the storm shapes up, I suppose) with young dancers in a Rhythm Dance Festival. . . .

    CAR

    Communications and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
    200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
    (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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