Welcome to Waterloo: Global Experience Certificate (GEC) candidates and Waterloo International staff promote the GEC and study abroad opportunities to prospective students at the Fall Open House on Saturday, November 2.

 

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Be aware of "scam-like practices," urges memo

"The University of Waterloo wishes to remind faculty and staff members to use caution when purchasing products or services, either online (emails, websites) or pursuant to phone calls, letters, and faxes," reads a memo from Vice-President, Academic & Provost Geoff McBoyle. "Caution is particularly warranted if the company is based or operated outside of Ontario, whether or not you feel pressured by the vendor to purchase such products or services."

The provost offered the following resources to those with inquiries:

• Procurement and Contract Services (P&CS), for non-academic purchases (at extension 32515 or by email);
• The Office of Research Ethics (ORE), for academic purchases and services (at extension 36005 or by email); and
• The Secretariat, for legal questions (at extension 36125 or by email).

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Event celebrates World Town Planning Day

This week marks World Town Planning Day, which celebrates the role that planning profession has in creating livable communities and improving quality of life. Celebrated annually in more than 30 countries on four continents, World Town Planning Day has been recognized for nearly 65 years. It is celebrated annually on November 8.

The School of Planning will be celebrating this week's event with an interactive lecture and charette exercise that will expand participants' knowledge of urban planning.

Discover Planning kicks off today at 8:30 a.m. with welcome and registration, followed by a lecture at 9:00 a.m. entitled "What is Planning?" From 10:00 a.m. to 11:20, participants will engaged in the charette exercise, which will analyze the King and Victoria area in downtown Kitchener, encompassing the proposed transit hub.

From 11:30 a.m. onwards, participants will enjoy lunch and have the option of taking campus tours.

 

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What's worth knowing this week? Well...

Friends and colleagues of Carolyn Nelson in the Dean of Arts Office are invited to a retirement celebration in her honour on Thursday, November 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in HH 373.  Light refreshments will be available. RSVPs can be sent to Debbie Stanley-Pallas at extension 32400 by Thursday, November 21.

Undergraduate students thrust their fists against first-past-the-post last week at a remarkably well-attended Federation of Students Annual General Meeting to decide on, among other things, how to elect their representatives. A proposal by Mathematics councillor Elizabeth McFaul to change the current voting system from to a ranked ballot passed after a similar voting mechanism was test-driven at the AGM to elect student representatives to the federation's board of directors. Executive or single-seat elections would be decided using Instant Run-Off voting, and multi-seat elections, such as those for Students' Council constituencies, would use BC Single-Transferable Vote. In making the change, the Federation of Students joins several other student unions that have moved away from first-past-the-post or plurality voting systems to some form of ranked voting, like Wilfrid Laurier University Students Union (WLUSU), whose members voted to institute Single-Transferable Voting for elections at its general meetings, the University of Alberta Students' Union, and a whole bunch of American colleges and universities.

Contrariwise, a proposal for a referendum on the refundable $4.75 fee paid by each undergraduate student to the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG) was defeated. The last time the WPIRG fee went to a referendum was in 2005. Voting in that referendum was halted before the final results were tallied.

Lynn Cooper, president of the Canadian Pain Coalition, will be the featured speaker at "Pain: Our Silent Epidemic," a public lecture hosted by the University of Waterloo's School of Pharmacy tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the School of Pharmacy in Kitchener. A health care panel that includes Dr. Kim Moore of the Centre for Family Medicine, pharmacist Barbara Coulston, and Catherine Schill of The Schill's Remedy's Rx, will be discussing living with chronic pain, how physicians and pharmacists can help, and how to build a personal pain management team. The event is free, but registration is required.

Victoria Faraci, a graduate student in English and current on a co-op term as a Communications and Marketing Assistant at the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre, has written about her experience at economics professor Larry Smith's recent "So, you want to be a star?" lecture. Give "Yes, Larry Smith, we want to be stars!" a read.

The second season of Stephen Hawking's "Brave New World" returns to television on Friday, November 15, with a premiere episode that features Waterloo professor Chris Eliasmith. The episode airs at 8:00 p.m. on Discovery World.

It's official: Brubaker's and the Subway in the Student Life Centre are now accepting Interac debit payments alongside cash and Watcard payment options.

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) has issued a call for nominations for a number of positions that were vacant at the end of its Annual General Meeting of October 30 including:

• President, one position at a three-year term (one year as President-Elect, one year as President, and one year as Past President); and
• Two director positions, each with a two-year term from October 2013 to October 2015.

An election will be held to fill these position, with those elected slated to take office at the UWSA's Special General Meeting, which will be held on December 16 at 9:00 a.m.

Those interested in becoming a candidate or nominating a staff member should complete a nomination form (available on the Call for Nominations page) before 12:01 p.m. on November 18. The UWSA will also be holding a Question and Answer session on Tuesday, November 12 at 12:00 p.m. in MC 5136B.

Lace up: In support of the university's 2013 United Way campaign, the University Relations team is organizing a Community Skate Night on Thursday, November 7 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Students, faculty, staff, and members of the community are invited to enjoy an open skate at Columbia Icefield simply by making a donation at the door. The evening's festivities will also include door prizes and a silent auction.

 

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