Flags of the world mark international week

by Kristin Snell of Waterloo International

Do you know which national flag is pictured at right? If you do, you might be a good candidate to win one of three prizes offered by Waterloo International in a contest being held for International Education Week November 16-20. Stop by Needles Hall 1101 between 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and complete the short quiz. The top three students will win gift certificates to UW Retail Services.

Events celebrating International Education Week are held in more than 100 countries. The week is packed with events to celebrate and draw attention to the many dimensions of international education and its importance for UW and Canada. Whether you are a student, staff member or faculty member, International Education Week provides information about the many ways in which you can get involved in global education and is an opportunity to discover how international education can enrich your life.

Today at noon, a panel of faculty members and graduate students involved in international research projects in various countries will discuss how to undertake an international research project. This session will be of special interest to students and faculty who would like to hear about international research projects and/or participate in international research activities.

Tuesday, a special screening of ”Tell No One” will take place at the Princess Cinemas. The award-winning film is a French thriller about a doctor who receives an ominous e-mail from an unknown source eight years after his wife’s murder. It contains a video of his thought-to-be-dead wife. Bring your UW ID and an item for the Food Bank and a ticket will cost you only $2.

UW is a leader in co-operative education, including work experience as part of students' programs since the university's founding. However, international students have only been participating in co-op programs at UW since fall 2003. With the support of a grant from WatCACE, Mark Morton, Svitlana Taraban-Gordon and Taylor Helferty of the Centre for Teaching Excellence have been investigating what challenges international students face during their co-op work terms, what strategies they use to overcome these challenges, and what their views are on the benefits of co-op. International students often face unique challenges caused by cultural, communication, and bureaucratic factors that are exacerbated by the absence of nearby family/peer supports. On Tuesday, they’ll be presenting and discussing their preliminary findings.

On Wednesday afternoon, a panel of five students will talk about their experiences overseas as interns with international development programs. Among them is Makeddah John, who studied the preservation of the St. Lucian dry forest through sustainable development; Juliet O’Farrell; who travelled to Ghana to work in a primary school, and Corrine Cash who conducted research into water management in South Africa.

Then on Thursday, two students who came to UW under the Student Refugee Program will share the story of their journey from Africa to Canada.

In short, UW students are everywhere, and they take a lot of pictures when they are there! Come to the Tatham Centre on Wednesday between 10:00 and 2:30 to see photos from students who worked outside Canada in 2009. Vote for your favourite photos.

If after seeing the pictures and hearing the stories of experiences overseas, you have caught the travel, bug, you will want to attend one of the faculties’ international exchange information sessions. Consider also enrolling in the Global Experience Certificate to expand your horizons, learn from direct experience, and make a difference in the world. Information sessions will be offered on Friday. And while you’re planning your adventure abroad, note that the library offers a new online tool which will help you develop global career skills: The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas. Workshops will be offered on Friday.

A full schedule of the week’s events is online, and the Daily Bulletin “When and where” column will list them day by day. Oh, and about that flag: the answer is Grenada – and it won’t be one of the flags on the quiz!

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Brubacher House is new couple’s home

by Jennifer Konkle, Conrad Grebel University College

When two people study history in school, work at museums for many years, and ultimately meet and fall in love at a museum, it’s really not that surprising that they jump at the chance to live in a museum.

As of September, Mark and Allison Brubacher are the Brubacher House Museum’s newest hosts. The couple had been eyeing the opportunity since they got married, and with their passion for history, they knew the unique job and living situation would be a good fit.

“We are very much looking forward to doing research and learning about the family that lived in the Brubacher House, as well as about life in Waterloo region during the mid-1800s,” said Allison. “We are also looking forward to talking history with the visitors to the museum!”

Mark and Allison have worked at Doon Heritage Crossroads in Kitchener, and Allison has also worked at other historical museums. These experiences give the couple a good background on local history and they are already practiced at presenting their knowledge to visitors.

Both Mark and Allison received a BA in History from Wilfrid Laurier University and then obtained their BEd degrees from Brock University. Mark is now teacher in a Section 23 school with the local school board working with young offenders who are trying to transition back into the school system. Allison is teaching French at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate.

Mark lived for two years at Conrad Grebel University College, which operates the museum on UW’s north campus, and was a don for one of those years. He’s pleased to be connected with Grebel again, exclaiming: “There’s no life like life on campus!” Mark is especially hoping to be invited to many games of pick-up hockey.

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At the Jianguo Hotel in Beijing, a mixture of UW staff members and alumni pose at an October 29 get-together. It was the first Waterloo alumni event ever scheduled in China’s capital, taking place as part of an Asian trip for a number of Waterloo officials including associate vice-presidents Leo Rothenburg and Linda Kieswetter, as well as dean of science Terry McMahon.

Days dwindle down: dutiful details

The term is racing toward its end, as reflected in a couple of tweets last week. ("Tweets" are 140-character instant messages that carry a striking mixture of insight and noise; you can sometimes be ahead of the curve on UW news by "following" @uwdailybulletin on Twitter, a service that I've been maintaining for a few weeks now.) I quote a student who will be left unnamed: "17 days of classes left?! That's crazy talk!" And an instructor, ditto: "I'm at the point of the term where the marking arrives faster than I can toss it onto the stairs labelled 60,70, 80 and 90." The last day of fall term classes is, get this, a Saturday, December 5, which will operate on a Monday schedule. Exams begin December 9.

The UW senate meets this afternoon (4:00, Needles Hall room 3001) with an agenda that includes a decision on when classes will begin in future fall terms — which, in turn, determines how orientation is scheduled. Senate's October meeting had postponed a decision on starting classes earlier than in the past — on the Thursday right after Labour Day, rather than the following Monday. Orientation would start on the Saturday of Labour Day weekend and run through Wednesday, then resume with events Friday night and Saturday. Student senators asked to have the issue delayed to the November meeting to allow time for more consultation. In an unusual public move, they've now announced unanimously that they'll oppose the change. Today's meeting, which starts at 4:00 in Needles Hall room 3001, will also discuss the recent report of a task force on information technology services at UW; a proposed Master of Arts program in "experimental digital media"; a report on the evaluation of the WatPD program of non-credit courses for co-op students; monthly reports from the president and provost; and various other matters.

The committee that will choose a successor to UW president David Johnston is being put together, and George Freeman, who heads the UW faculty association, sent a memo to his membership late last week urging them to get involved in choosing the faculty representatives to the committee. He wrote in part: "From Policy 50, the President 'provides leadership in all matters internal and external.' I think everyone can agree that the job of a university president is extremely demanding: a good president must be a good manager, a salesman for the university's goals to local, provincial and national governments, to potential donors and partners in the private sector, and to the population at large, and must have the skills (primarily of rational persuasion) to lead our community of academics (herd cats). This choice will have important implications for the direction the University takes in the future. A poor choice, certainly, could do the institution serious harm. A good choice can help UW make an even more significant contribution to society through teaching and scholarship."

"Over the last while," Ryan King writes from the housing and residences office, "we’ve seen an increase in the number of rental scams that students and landlords are encountering. Students subletting their accommodations, landlords looking to rent their units, and even students searching for accommodations have been targeted. Students and landlords are warned to be suspicious when information is shared that is not relevant to their accommodations." Often, apparently, that means messages that are coming (or purporting to come) from overseas, "have questions about the accommodation", and "make mention of their personal characteristics. E-mails are poorly written with many grammar mistakes" — those couldn't possibly be real students, nosirree — "and people are anxious to send a deposit right away." In short, says King, "if it's something that seems too good to be true, it likely is. If anyone is concerned they can visit the Off-Campus Housing Rental Scam Alert Page," or get in touch with the housing office by e-mail: och@ uwaterloo.ca.

Going green needn't leave style behind, says third-year civil engineering student Ali Suleiman, who is out to help prove it at the R4 Fashion show taking place Friday night at the Atlantis Pavilions in Toronto. Suleiman came up with the idea in the spring of last year as a project for the UW student Sustainable Technology Education Project team, which encourages sustainable design, technology and lifestyle. "What better way of promoting environmental awareness than a fashion show because it deals with a sense of style and individuality?" says Suleiman. Three other Waterloo engineering students are among those working on the event. featured on Treehugger.com. Hosted by Candice Batista of Rogers TV's “A Greener Toronto”, R4 Fashion will feature nine of Canada's top professional and student fashion designers. The designers will present casual and dress designs, as well as experimental fashions made from organic and sustainable materials. Their creations will be judged by a jury similar to the one on Project Runway Canada. In keeping with R4 Fashion's green theme, tickets and programs aren't being printed, LED bulbs will light up the runway and organic beer and wine will be served. Tickets are still available ($50, students $25) and a bus will be running from campus to the event.

And this note comes from Sarah Rodrigues of UW Graphics, with the warning that instructors should order their printed course materials this week, or next at latest, if there's to be much hope of things arriving for the start of the winter term: "Visit our website to learn more, or contact ext. 33996 or courseware@ uwaterloo.ca for more information. The winter term is almost here, and we strongly recommend that you place your order before the November 27 deadline. Orders submitted before this date will be available to the students on or before the first day of classes. Please note that Graphics will be closed over the university winter break (December 24-January 3 inclusive)."

CAR

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