English department lab opens downtown

A launch and open house event will be held today for the UW English department’s new Critical Media Lab, a “research/creation initiative: located at 195 King Street West in downtown Kitchener. The event runs from 2 to 4 this afternoon. “The CML,” a note from the English department explains, “supports projects that draw on new media to investigate the impact of technology on society and the human condition. This fall, the lab will host a number of research projects and creative endeavours by UW faculty, in addition to a research/creation project by visiting artist/researcher Ron Broglio. The lab also engages in community outreach, which explains the importance of its downtown location. Current community partners include the Contemporary Art Forum of Kitchener + Area, the Waterloo Regional Children's Museum, and the City of Kitchener. This fall, the Critical Media Lab will participate in the CAFKA bienniale, the IMPACT theatre festival, and the City of Kitchener's Public Art program, including the creation of digital productions for projection onto a new large-scale surface above City Hall.” Pictured: a graduate student who doesn't give his name but writes on the CriMeLab blog about his research on "the rhetoric of video games . . . that is what the Critical Media Lab is all about — removing ourselves from comfortable complacency and getting our hands dirty, so to speak."

In other matters . . . several notices have come out from the UW staff association in the past few days. In the first place, the association is asking how many of its members would be interested in a "corporate pass" for Grand River Transit, at a monthly price of $51, through payroll deduction, instead of the usual $60. In the second place, nominations or applications are being invited for a seat on the Committee on Dispute Resolution for University Support Staff (the "grievance committee"), effective from now through next April. And in the third place, a reminder has gone out that there's still room on the bus, or buses, that will head to Pennsylvania November 6-8 for a weekend of heavy-duty shopping.

As classrooms at Conrad Grebel University College are once again filled with song snippets, beating drums, and tricky theory, first-year music students are not the only newcomers. There’s a new choir conductor: Nancy Kidd (right), a recently retired music educator who was with the Waterloo Region District Public Board for 31 years. She has taught music to students from kindergarten to Grade 12, and most recently was head of music at Bluevale Collegiate in Kitchener. Not new to large choirs, Kidd conducted the 500 voice Kodaly Choir at the Centre in the Square for two consecutive years and also led the auditioned female, male and mixed chamber choirs for the 2009 Waterloo Region High School Choral Festival. Kidd has won several awards in teaching excellence. “We are delighted and extremely fortunate that a conductor and educator of Nancy’s stature has agreed to direct the University Choir,” says Ken Hull, chair of the music department. “Her passion for music-making is infectious, and her commitment is not just to the music but to the singers themselves as well. She plans to retain the community focus that the choir has always had, welcoming not just students but other members of the UW community and the wider community as well.” The University Choir meets Tuesday evenings in the Grebel chapel and performs a varied repertoire of works from the past and present. No formal audition is required. Students, faculty, staff, and community members interested in joining the University Choir should plan to attend the first rehearsal, tonight at 7:00. The choir will perform “Remembrance, Peace, Joy” on November 28 at 8:00 at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Kitchener.

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The international student office sent a bus to Toronto's Pearson International Airport four times last week to pick up newly arriving overseas students. "With the help of ten dedicated volunteers and the bus driver," says Maggie Xiaohui Liang of Waterloo International, "we were able to pick up 117 new students from different countries." She's third from right in the photo.

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Flu web site offers new answers

As the campus and the continent wait for the H1N1 influenza to sweep through — something that might happen later this fall, or might not — the answers to some key questions are now available on the university’s flu web site.

Excerpts from what’s been asked there, and answered by Barbara Schumacher, the UW director of health services:

How do I handle the situation when someone comes to class who is coughing and sneezing?

“If someone arrives at your class or workplace and is coughing and sneezing, please be kind. Remember it may not be flu; many conditions can cause these symptoms. Establish the expectation at the outset that a person who becomes ill with flu while at class or work will leave and stay at home until the fever has gone and he/she is feeling better. Persons who develop flu symptoms at home should call the professor, faculty advisor or workplace supervisor to give notice of absence.

“Do not hesitate to step back in settings where a person nearby is coughing and sneezing — try to achieve a six-foot (two-metre) separation between yourself and the ill person. Employees working on the front line should make use of this social distancing strategy too, by setting furniture to increase the distance between the employee and clients. Use telephone or e-mail whenever possible.”

People are asking whether they should stay home from work when family members appear to be sick. Would the same advice apply to students' roommates?

“Providing care for ill family members is a question which has been dealt with in UW’s emergency leave guidelines. This guideline will apply in the case of H1N1 flu.

“The challenge with H1N1 flu is not how sick it makes people, but how many people it makes sick. This means that the work of the university may be interrupted if a significant number of people are away because of illness or need to care for loved ones. Consider taking the steps now to be ready in case you or your loved ones come down with the flu. You’ll be more comfortable knowing that you have contingency plans made and supportive friends to help out.

“The University of Toronto advises students in residence: ‘If you’re ill while in residence, inform your don and/or other residence staff. It’s also a good idea to identify, in advance, one or more flu buddies. These are friends who can help you by taking notes in classes, communicating with your professors, and/or checking in with you periodically to see if you need anything. Find your own set of flu buddies — and volunteer to be someone else’s buddy.’ This is excellent advice.

“The Ontario health ministry has published Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza Virus in Colleges and Universities (September 9, 2009). A key section says: ‘Students whose homes are not too far from the college or university should make contingency arrangements for a return to home until recovery is complete.’

“The Public Health of Canada website offers advice on how to care for someone who is ill. If a household member or roommate is ill and you feel well, you may continue with your usual daily activities at work or school. While others around you are ill, practice hygienic measures diligently and monitor your own health closely. You may wish to avoid crowds and social gatherings. At the first sign of illness in yourself stay home from work or school.”

I hear that most people do not need to seek health care and are able to manage their flu symptoms with bed rest, fluids and over-the-counter medications. How would I know if I should see my doctor?

“If you are extremely ill, you should seek medical attention right away by calling your family doctor, TeleHealth Ontario, or the Health Services flu line 519-888-4467. Signs of more serious illness include feeling unwell for 3-4 days and not getting any better, or feeling worse; a high temperature (above 38°C/101°F) that persists for more than 3 days; difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; pain or pressure in the chest or stomach; coughing bloody or green phlegm; blue skin around the lips and/or blue skin on fingertips; severe pain in the ear(s); severe vomiting, or inability to keep fluids down; difficulty waking up or feeling disoriented or confused; fits or uncontrolled shaking; dizziness, fainting; getting better for a few days and then taking a turn for the worse.”

Other questions that have been answered on the FAQ page deal with precautions for pregnant women and whether asthma patients are at special risk.

CAR

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