Putting the 'sup in marsupial: Eric Jardin caught this little scavenger red—or at least pink—handed yesterday outside the Tim Hortons at Modern Languages, looking for a Timbit. Also, opossum or possum? Tomato, tomahto...

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Adobe users cautioned after security breach

Jason Testart, IST's director of Information Security Services, writes: "In October 2013, Adobe announced a significant breach of their customer database.  Of the millions of people affected, IST believes that approximately 3000 people are in the uWaterloo community.  If you’ve ever signed up to download anything from Adobe, and there’s any chance you have used that password anywhere else, you are strongly encouraged to change your password, particularly if you may have used your WatIAM password to sign up."

To change your WatIAM password, visit the WatIAM site.

Approximately 38 million users worldwide were affected by the security breach, first reported in early October.

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Stand Up to Stigma campaign starts next week

Stand Up to Stigma, the student-led mental health awareness campaign supported by UW Campus Wellness, will be running its annual blackboard campaign from Tuesday, November 12 to Thursday, November 14.

Stand Up To Stigma "aims to reduce stigma surrounding mental health by increasing awareness and discussion in the University of Waterloo community."

There will be booths set up at various locations across campus, where students, faculty, and staff can write a message about mental health and/or stigma on a blackboard and have their photo taken. The photos are then uploaded onto the campaign's Facebook page to "show that UW is a community that cares about mental health." In addition, resources about mental health and available support services will be available.

The campaign locations are:

• Tuesday, November 12: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Davis Centre Atrium
• Wednesday, November 13: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Carl A. Pollock Hall and Columbia Ice Fields, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Village 1 Main Lounge
• Thursday, November 14: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Davis Centre Atrium, Hagey Hall Atrium

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Conference celebrates women in computing

by Anna Beard.

The University of Waterloo and David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science will host the fourth annual Ontario Celebration of Women in Computing this weekend.

The conference brings together female professionals from across the province, students and faculty who are interested in, or working in, computing. The conference, on November 8 and 9 helps generate excitement about the field while providing attendees with opportunities for networking, sharing and mentoring.

A number of speakers will address attendees including, Maria Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College, Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify Inc, and Kelley Irwin, VP of Technology Solutions, TD Bank Group.

“We are excited to host this event at the University of Waterloo where so much cutting-edge computer research takes place and much of that by women,“ said Professor Kate Larson of the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. “This is an important opportunity to showcase the exciting contributions being made by women in computing, and to inspire female students to pursue computing.”

Previously held in Kingston, London, and Toronto, Ontario Celebration of Women in Computing 2013 is set to be the largest event in the annual series so far.

In addition to hearing speakers, attendees will participate in a number of technical sessions, a research poster competition and a job fair.

A full schedule of events is available through the ONCWIC website.

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Students attend climate change conclave

by Sam Toman

Student delegates are representing the University of Waterloo in the upcoming United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP19), the most significant climate change gathering of the year. The event is attended by government delegates from around the world, including Canada, with the aim of developing an effective, globally-binding agreement to help solve climate change challenges.

During the two-week conference taking place from November 11 to 20 in Warsaw, Poland, students from the University of Waterloo Coalition for Sustainable Development  (UWCSD) will meet with government and citizen delegates from other countries, and report back to Canadians on their perceptions of the event. They hope their activities there will help to bring the importance of these negotiations home.

To help promote these goals the student team will employ a wide-ranging communications strategy for use both during and after COP19. The hope is to engage Canadians, particularly young Canadians, through reporting back on the goings-on of the negotiations directly through social media, including blog updates, video blogs, live Skype calls back to the ‘home team’, active twitter feeds and more.

Broadcasting the experience of the negotiations will give viewers an “inside-scoop” they may not otherwise have, and will do their best to actively respond to questions from back home throughout the proceedings.

“We have a meeting scheduled with Dan McDougall, Canada's Chief Negotiator and Ambassador for Climate Change, and we will voice concrete policy recommendations that can improve Canada's climate change policies,” says Andrew Wong, a student organizer for the delegation.

The UWCSD believes international agreements are critical to effectively solving this pressing global issue, and that each nation must do its part. By actively engaging in self-education, every citizen can come to better understand what’s at stake and the options available in moving forward.

Follow the student delegation on their Facebook page and Twitter (@uwcsd, #UWatCOP) for regular updates. To learn more about the University of Waterloo Coalition for Sustainable Development visit their website.

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