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Friday, August 31, 2012

 

 

  • Movin' on in as Orientation Week looms
  • Details for the week ahead
  • Dispatches from the ninth circle of Traffic Hell
  • What's open and closed Labour Day weekend

 

  • Editor:
  • Brandon Sweet
  • Communications and Public Affairs
  • bulletin@uwaterloo.ca

 

Movin' on in as Orientation Week looms

by Bronwyn Forbes, Co-ordinator, Marketing and Communications, Housing and Residences

This Labour Day weekend, Waterloo Residences will welcome thousands of students who will be moving into residence for the fall term. 4,876 undergraduate and 378 graduate students and families will soon call Waterloo Residences home!

In preparation for the arrival of these thousands of students, our Cleaning Services staff have been working around the clock getting our facilities ready. Here’s some of the things they’ve been up to:

  • washed, dried, and folded over 4,000 mattress pads
  • washed and re-hung approximately 700 shower curtains
  • washed over 6,000 windows
  • steam cleaned almost 2,000 rooms and common areas

Move-in will happen over two days: Sunday, September 2nd and Monday, September 3rd. For more details about moving into residence, students can visit our website.

From 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on September 1 to 3, the City of Waterloo will be redirecting traffic on streets surrounding the university to ease congestion. To avoid this, and other traffic headaches, please review the temporary closures.

Over move-in weekend, many faculty and staff members will be invited to work together during the third annual Residence Move-In Engagement Project to welcome students to their new home. Faculty and staff will make the move-in experience more welcoming and personal by helping students move their belongings into their new room or by taking part in the Family Send Off, with the hope of reducing the fears and anxiety that many students and parents experience. 

Waterloo Residences would like to welcome all students and thank them for choosing to live in residence!

 

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Details for the week ahead

This year, Orientation Week runs from Monday, September 3 to Saturday, September 8. The schedule is so packed full of events that first-year students have to use a form to view their busy calendars. There's also a high-traffic Facebook page and, naturally, a presence on Twitter.

To get things started, Move-In and Check-in takes place on Sunday and Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the residences and in the Physical Activities Complex. Central Check-in runs from 8:15 to 9:15 at the PAC on Monday.

The University Welcome and Playfair event will take place on Monday, September 3 at 6:00 p.m. on the Village 1 Green and is being billed as "the largest icebreaker you'll ever experience" as it will see the 6000+ first-year students gather in one place for a warm welcome from President Feridun Hamdullahpur and Federation of Students President Andrew Noble

Orientation for international students is staggered on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Transfer and exchange student orientation will take place Monday, September 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

New students will be arriving at the Waterloo UAE Campus as well, with events scheduled on Monday, September 3 and Tuesday, September 4.

 

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Dispatches from the ninth circle of Traffic Hell

Road closures and construction are a common enough occurrence this time of year, but the next few days and weeks will be especially noteworthy.

Starting this weekend, from September 1 through to September 3, the City of Waterloo will be redirecting traffic on streets surrounding the university to ease congestion and students begin the annual move-in process. The traffic redirection will be in force from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The temporary traffic closures can be reviewed on the Off-Campus Housing website.

The Athletics Department has posted a notice of its own warning would-be spectators of traffic conditions and suggesting alternate routes to the face-off between the Western Mustangs and the Waterloo Warriors at Warrior Field on Monday, September 3.

The City of Waterloo has provided this graphic to illustrate the closures:

But that short term traffic headache will seem like nothing compared to the lengthy migraine that is to come on Phillip Street between Columbia and University. A reconstruction of Phillip Street under a City of Waterloo contract will commence starting Tuesday, September 4 and is projected to last 16 weeks.

"As of Tuesday, Philip Street will be closed from Columbia Street to Campus Map showing Phillip Street.approximately the midpoint of East Campus Hall," writes Tom Galloway, director of custodial & grounds services for Plant Operations. "The northerly Phillip Street access to Lot B, ECH, E5 and E6 will be closed as a result."

"All traffic going to these locations will only be able to access them via the University Avenue end of Phillip Street and the southerly ECH access onto UW property."

Galloway advises that this is a total reconstruction of Phillip Street that will see a single lane in either direction with a continuous turning lane as well as two pedestrian refuge crossings and bicycle lanes.

Once the first stage of construction is complete, the work will shift to the remaining portion of Phillip Street from University Avenue to East Campus Hall. This stage of construction, projected to last 8 weeks, will mean that access to the affected university buildings will only be possible from the newly reconstructed end of Phillip from Columbia Street, with access via the northerly East Campus Hall entryway.

Access to Phillip at Columbia Street West has been interrupted since late July, and is scheduled to re-open on September 7.

There is no official word yet from Grand River Transit about the impact of this construction on its 201 iXpress bus, which has stops at Columbia and Phillip, Phillip Street, and University and Phillip. My guess is that there will be a detour in the cards, and I will report once I have the details.

One other note: The work currently underway on Columbia Street should be completed by the end of this week in time for the Labour Day move-in. Fingers crossed.

 

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What's open and closed on Labour Day weekend

Well, we certain rode August right to the bitter end, didn't we? And there's nothing to make a late payday slightly more palatable than a long weekend. Thusly...

In general, the university’s offices and services will be closed on Monday, the Labour Day holiday, except for those involved in serving the newly arrived students — and except for a few essential services that never shut down: UW police, 519-888-4911 (ext. 22222 on campus); Student Life Centre, turnkey desk 519-888-4434 (ext. 84434 on campus); maintenance emergencies ext. 33793.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries are open Saturday and Sunday from noon until 5:00 p.m., but will be closed Monday. The PAC is closed all weekend. CIF is open Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Most Food Services locations are closed Labour Day weekend, with the following exceptions:

Mudies in Village 1 is open Sunday, September 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., and Monday, September 3 from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and then from 7:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

REVelation in Ron Eydt Village is open on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Tim Hortons in the Student Life Centre also opens its doors on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Tim Hortons in South Campus Hall is open Labour Day Monday OPEN Labour Day, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Parking services office in the Commissary building is open Sunday and Monday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The WatCard office, located in the Student Life Centre's lower level, will be open Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Monday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Waterloo Residences and Off-Campus Housing Office will also be open Sunday and Monday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.


I have it on good authority that select Retail Service locations will be open this weekend: The Book Store, the Waterloo Store, and Write Stuff will be open Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Book Store, Waterloo Store, Write Stuff, and Campus Tech will also be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday as well.

See you Tuesday, folks.

 

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The 2012 cast of Single and Sexy.

Single and Sexy premieres today

Everybody, on campus and off, is invited to the premiere performance of Single and Sexy, which turns 24 this year.

The play is written and performed by the University of Waterloo students and alumni. It's been described as "a collective play about attitudes", presented each year during orientation to get first-year students thinking and talking about sexual issues and a whole lot more: homesickness, drugs, plagiarism, eating disorders, cultural diversity, suicide.

Admission is free for this preview performance, but a ticket is required. For more information contact Sandra Gibson, manager of Health Education in Health Services, at sandra.gibson @uwaterloo.ca.

Also scheduled are performances for orientation leaders - Friday, August 31 at 1:00 p.m. and Monday, September 3 at 6:00 p.m.

Regular Orientation Week performances get underway, Tuesday through Thursday.

Link of the day

15th anniversary of Princess Diana's death

When and where

Premiere performance of Single & Sexy, Friday, August 31, 10:00 a.m., Humanities Theatre. Details.

Orientation Week, Monday, September 3 to Saturday, September 8.


Perspectives on Academic Freedom conference, Thursday, September 6, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Waterloo Inn. Details.

Weight Watchers At Work registration session Thursday, September 6, 12:15, PAS 2438, info at ext. 32218.

International Longevity Risk Conference, Friday, September 6 to Saturday, September 7, all day. Hosted by the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. Details.

Chemistry Department Seminar Series featuring Prof. Daniel Seidel, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, "Functionalization of Amines via Redox-Neutral Reaction Cascades," Friday, September 7, 2:30 p.m., MC 4058.

Graduate Scholarship information session - Applied Health Sciences, Monday, September 10, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., LHI 1621. Details.

New Faculty and Grad Students: Research Tools and Library Services, Tuesday, September 10, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., FLEX Lab, Dana Porter Library.

UW Farmer's Market, Thursday, September 13, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Student Life Centre Great Hall. Details.

Information Session on Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Mathematics, Thursday, September 13, 4:30 p.m., MC 2066.

Faculty of Mathematics NSERC and OGS scholarship information meeting, Friday, September 14, 2:00 p.m., DC 1302.

Centre for Career Action Volunteer Fair, Wednesday, September 19, 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Student Life Centre Great Hall.

UWRC Book Club, "Lakeland" by Allan Casey (Region of Waterloo One Book, One Community selection), Wednesday, September 19, 12:00 p.m., LIB 407.

Waterloo Lecture featuring Douglas Cowan, "Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television," Wednesday, September 19, 7:00 p.m., Stratford Public Library, 19 St. Andrew St., Stratford. Hosted by the Waterloo Stratford Campus.

UW Farmer's Market, Thursday, September 20, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Student Life Centre Great Hall. Details.

Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre ribbon cutting, Friday, September 21, 10:00 a.m.

School of Planning Induction Ceremony, Saturday, September 22, reception at 9:30 a.m. in the Environment 3 atrium, ceremony at 11:00 a.m. in Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages.

Rotary Scholarship Dinner for UW Stratford Campus, Wednesday, September 26, 6:15 p.m., Rotary Club of Stratford. Details.

St. Jerome's Alumni Golf Classic, Saturday, September 29, 8:00 a.m., Grey Silo Golf Club. Contact Kelly Macnab at kmacnab @uwaterloo.ca for details.

Reunion 2012, Saturday, September 29, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., various locations on campus.

Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre public open house, Saturday, September 29.

 

PhD Oral Defences

Environment and Resource Studies. Darby McGrath, "Novel Ecosystems: A New Concept for Ecological Triage on Canadian Agricultural Lands." Supervisor, Stephen Murphy. On display in the Faculty of Environment graduate office, EV1 335. Oral defence Friday, September 7, 1:00 p.m., EV2 1001.

Statistics. Yanqiao Zhang. "Estimation and Hypothesis Testing for Stochastic Differential Equations with Time-Dependent Parameters." Supervisor, Adam Kolkiewicz. On display in the Mathematics Faculty graduate office, MC 5090. Oral defence Friday, September 7, 1:00 p.m., M3 3127.

Earth and Environmental Sciences. Brenda Bailey, "Geochemical and Microbiological Characterization of Effluent and Pore Water from Low-Sulfide Content Waste Rock." Supervisor, David Blowes. On deposit in the Faculty of Science Graduate Office, ESC-254A. Oral defence Monday, September 10, 10:00 a.m., DC 1304.

Electrical and Computer Engineering. Sudipto Dolui, "Variable Splitting as a Key to Efficient Image Reconstruction." Supervisor, Oleg Michailovich. On deposit in the Engineering Graduate Office, PHY 3004. Oral defence Monday, September 10, 10:00 a.m., EIT 3142.

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