Daily
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Cooler today: Weather forecasters say the heat wave should be ending, although the danger of being ankle-deep in snow is remote. Pictured is geography student Reid Van Brabant, who was featured recently -- very appropriately -- on the environmental studies "Cool Job of the Month" web site. He spent a work term at Environment Canada's Global Atmospheric Watch lab in Alert, Nunavut, and says his goal is a PhD in periglacial and glacial studies -- research into cold, really cold, climates.

Some figures about co-op students

It says women made up just 12.4 per cent of co-op students in 1972-73, a number that had grown to 30.8 per cent in 1986-87. In 1999-2000, the most recent year included in the report, the figure was 36.6 per cent.

The growth is most striking in science, where women were only 7.2 per cent of co-op students in 1972-73, but reached a majority in 1997-98 and a figure of 57.1 per cent in 1999-2000. Women were in the majority in three other faculties last year: applied health sciences (76.2 per cent), arts (67.4 per cent), and environmental studies (51.1 per cent).

The figure was 25.1 per cent in math and 21.6 per cent in engineering.

Total co-op enrolment last year was 10,020, the report says, just about double the figure of 5,099 in 1974-75, which was the last year before UW offered co-op programs in all six of the faculties. The first year for arts co-op, 1975-76, just eight students carried that label; now there are 1,287, making arts the third largest co-op faculty after engineering and math.

Co-op now makes up 60.1 per cent of total undergraduate enrolment, the report says. In 1972-73, it was 39.8 per cent.

Co-op makes up all of engineering, about 80 per cent of math, slightly less than half of ES and AHS, and about one-third of science and arts.

Conflict in the workplace -- from the summer issue of the human resources newsletter

There are a number of various on-campus resources available to you. These include:

• Accessing the Employee Assistance Program.
• Consulting the Office of Ethical Behaviour and Human Rights.
• Consulting a member of the Staff Association's Members' Advisory Committee.
• Attending sessions offered by the Staff Training and Development Committee.
• Visiting the Staff Training and Development Library which is housed in Human Resources.

Although our recommendation is that you speak directly to the individual or individuals involved in the conflict, we recognize that this is not always possible. Mediation for a wide range of issues including sexual harassment and discrimination is a service that is available through the Office of Ethical Behaviour and Human Rights. Human Resources also provides mediation services for issues that are outside the scope of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Mediation is a completely voluntary process where an impartial third party assists two individuals to identify problems and facilitates the communication between these individuals. The mediator facilitates these discussions through a structured process, does not impose judgement and will assist both parties to find a mutually agreeable and workable resolution. If you would like additional information about the mediation process, please contact Teresa Walker at ext. 5162 or twalker@uwaterloo.ca

You can also contact one of the Staff Relations Co-ordinators in Human Resources: Katrina Di Gravio, ext. 5161; Sandra Hayes, ext. 3135; Rosalind Rampersad, ext. 6595; Teresa Walker, ext. 5162.

Trellis down over the weekend The TriUniversity Group of Libraries -- UW, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph -- will be upgrading the Trellis library system software beginning at 6:00 tonight and continuing until some time on Monday. That's the system that provides the on-line catalogue, among other library services. During the upgrade, a backup Web version of Trellis will be available for users, says Linda Teacher, manager of library systems support services in UW's library. "The information displayed will be current to August 8, but item status information will not be available. Library users will not be able to place their own holds and recalls or use online renewal and self-registration but, otherwise, access to the regular and Reserve collections will be normal. Self Charge will not be available but full circulation services will be available at the Circulation desks in all libraries." She notes that other services and resources accessed from the Library's web site (such as journal indexes, electronic journals, ILL forms, TUGdoc, subject-based web sources) will remain available during the upgrade period. The upgrade is expected to be completed and full Trellis services restored before the end of the day on Monday.

Spring exams come to an end

It's the last day of service for a while in a number of food outlets on campus. The Modern Languages coffee shop is closed already, and Tim Horton's in ML will be shut down after today until Labour Day. Also taking a break will be Bon Appetit in the Davis Centre (but Tim's there stays open its usual hours) and the Village I cafeteria, "Mudie's". What does that leave for the next three weeks? Just Brubaker's in the Student Life Centre, Pastry Plus in Needles Hall, Browsers in the Dana Porter Library, Tim's in the Davis Centre, and the Bookends Café in South Campus Hall.

A conference of young people involved in the Baha'i faith, some 200 strong, runs today through Sunday in the Ron Eydt Village conference centre.

And the Canadian Catholic Students Association was scheduled to hold a national conference this weekend at St. Jerome's University, but word is that the conference has been cancelled.

Sunday evening, the Waterloo Concert Band is performing at the bandshell in Waterloo Park starting at 7:00. (The bandshell is best reached from the Westmount Road park entrance beside the fire station.) "It is a free concert," says James Harynuk, UW chemistry student and publicity director for the band. "Bring a blanket or lawn chair to sit on." Harynuk notes that although the band is a community effort, not based at UW, "many of its members are current students, soon to be students, alumni, and even a few staff members."

And here's a reminder that Monday will bring some 6,000 future students and family members to campus for Student Life 101. The registrar's office notes that new first-year students can pick up their validation stickers (as long as they've paid their fees) at the same time they get their WatCards during the day's events. Upper-year students who have paid for the fall term can get validation stickers at the registrar's office in Needles Hall, and graduate students can get their at the graduate studies office, also in NH.

And . . . somebody obviously has a powerful faith in higher education, judging from this note in Wednesday's Toronto Star: "During such a heat wave, a shelf of cold air high above the city acts like a lid, leaving the city to stew in the warm, dirty air trapped below. The city responds by sending its weather data to the University of Delaware." It seems that a Delaware research group is studying the use of weather data and death rates, seeking to calculate the effects of hot weather so that useful public health warnings can be issued.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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