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Thursday, February 3, 2005

  • 'Pain and pleasure' photos in gallery
  • Grebel mourns its founding president
  • Fees, spring flowers, Quest down time
Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Setsubun


[Black T-shirts, and check the expressions]

FASSman (Will Russell) does, well, whatever he's doing to Linda Lace (Selina Saba) and the Chicken Commander (Jim Peltier) in this year's production of FASS -- the annual comedy, variety, musical, satirical and homegrown stage show. Under the title "The FASStastics", it hits stage tonight and Saturday at 8:00, Friday at 7 and 10, in the Humanities Theatre. "Several favourite characters returning from previous FASS shows," says producer Alice Pfeifer, "include the ninjas and of course dancing pirates." Of course. Tickets are $8 at the door (students $6 tonight only).

'Pain and pleasure' photos in gallery

Two exhibitions open today in the UW art gallery in East Campus Hall, and the afternoon and evening will bring receptions and artist discussions associated with one of the shows.

It's called "Fair Cruelty" -- a phrase from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" -- and consists of photographs by Shannon Griffiths and Guntar Kravis. Guest curator Carla Garnet says in a brochure for the show that the two "isolate and grab screen images from film and television. Within this popular source material both artists find portraits that express expectations of pain and pleasure, fear and desire. Each artist then re-presents the exquisite appearance using digital and photographic techniques . . . succeeding in heightening our awareness of the edgy turn-on embodied in these visual concepts."

Joining Garnet as curator is Andrew Harwood, who writes: "Pain combined with pleasure is often a taboo and perhaps the most troubling topic in the worlds of feminist and queer academics, as they can never be accurately described in words or debate. Images come closer."

Griffiths and Kravis will be available to talk about their work from 1:30 to 3:30 and 4:00 to 6:00 today in the gallery.

Also opening today in ECH is "Fictions", a body of photographic work by Toronto-based artist Sarah Nind. Gallery director Carol Podedworny calls it "a thematic exhibition, exploring the genre of landscape art and the themes of land, time and memory". Nind will visit to give an artist's talk on March 3.

Both new exhibition continue in the UW gallery until March 17. Admission is free; gallery hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 12 to 4, Thursday 12 to 7, and Saturday 1 to 4 p.m.

ONE CLICK AWAY
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  • Grebel mourns its founding president -- from the UW media relations office

    A memorial service will be held today for the founding president of one of UW's four church colleges: Mennonite scholar J. Winfield Fretz of Conrad Grebel University College. Fretz died January 24, after a brief illness, at Kidron-Bethel Retirement Center in North Newton, Kansas. He was 94. The memorial service begins at 12:30 today in Grebel's chapel.

    Fretz, his, wife Marguerite and family came to Waterloo in 1963 from Bethel College in Newton, Kansas where Fretz had been a professor of sociology for 21 years (1942-1963). He served as founding president of Conrad Grebel College for 10 years until 1973. He continued teaching sociology until his retirement in 1979 when he and Marguerite returned to Newton. He was predeceased by his wife in March 2002.

    [Fretz in front of Grebel wall] When Fretz (right) was invited to become president of Conrad Grebel, the college was still more of a dream than a reality. However, under his guidance, faculty members were hired, a building was constructed, students were recruited, and the dream was realized.

    One of Fretz's greatest challenges as Grebel president was to establish his long-held ideal of Christian community -- to have a truly Anabaptist-Mennonite college on a secular university campus and to select students who were sympathetic to that ideal and who would be good witnesses to their faith. "I felt that it would be especially wonderful for Mennonite people, who had emphasized ethical, moral living, to try to that on a university campus. I felt that Waterloo would be a very interesting place to test how strong our religious convictions are and whether we are able to give the kind of witness we have always talked about," Fretz recalled later.

    Looking back after 40 years, Fretz said that three important decisions shaped Grebel. When he first saw the architectural plans for the residence building, he "couldn't abide it," so the architect changed the roofline into a saw-tooth design. Fretz "really rejoiced in that roofline. It is so much more attractive and aesthetic."

    The round tables in the dining room were also a result of extensive discussion. "Round tables, rather than square, allow all people, whether it is two, three, four, five or six, to face each other directly. It is a very natural source of discourse and it contributes to social graces and interaction," said Fretz.

    WHEN AND WHERE
    Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System 90-minute training session for employees and graduate students, 2 p.m., Davis Centre room 1304.

    Career workshop: "Interview Skills: Selling Your Skills", 4:30, Tatham Centre room 2218.

    Arriscraft architecture lecture: Raj Patel, acoustics consultant, "Spatial Sound, Perception and Architecture", 7 p.m., Architecture lecture hall.

    Upstart Festival of short plays: three productions starting at 7 p.m., Studio 180, Humanities building.

    'Teaching Dossiers' workshop Friday 12:30, Rod Coutts Hall room 306, details online.

    German studies lecture: Christiane Harzig, University of Erfurt, Germany, "German Immigrants to Toronto and Waterloo in the 1950s and 1960s", Friday 3:30, Humanities room 334.

    Doctors without Borders lecture: Dan Bortolotti, author of Hope in Hell, speaks at St. Jerome's University, Friday 7:30, Siegfried Hall.

    Programming contest Saturday 1 p.m., details online.

    Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery Valentine's Day wine gala, Thursday, February 10 -- $50 ticket includes wine, jazz, silent auction, and support of the gallery. Details online.

    The third important decision was to hire traditional Mennonite women in the kitchen. These excellent cooks have maintained Grebel's reputation as the best place to eat on campus to this day. Fretz believed that "the family-style meals were more welcoming and integrating."

    On his retirement in 1979, Fretz was appointed professor emeritus at Grebel. In 1983, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of UW, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree "in recognition of his distinguished service as educator, scholar, administrator and humanitarian." He also authored numerous publications and several books on Mennonites. Fretz last returned to Grebel for its 40th anniversary alumni reunion in August 2003.

    Memorial contributions can be made to the Mennonite Central Committee, or to the Burton D. Fretz Memorial Fund, National Senior Citizens Law Center, based in Washington. The fund was established in 2002 to honour Fretz's eldest son Burton and support his life work of promoting the rights of older Americans.

    Fees, spring flowers, Quest down time

    The school of architecture is definitely leaving environmental studies to become part of engineering -- returning to the faculty where it was created in the 1960s. The administrative change, requested by the school and endorsed by senate last month, was given final approval by the UW board of governors on Tuesday. Rick Haldenby, director of the school, said architecture has changed greatly in the past few years, with a curriculum overhaul, new research directions and its new home in Cambridge, and noted that the link with engineering will make it easier to do collaborative research with the departments of civil engineering and systems design engineering. The move from ES to engineering will not happen instantly, as had been previously suggested -- it's effective May 1, as UW's new fiscal year begins.

    Also approved by the board on Tuesday was a 5 per cent increase in residence fees and rents, to be effective September 1 as the fall term begins. The increase means a room in the Villages for two terms will cost $4,268 (single), $4,073 (interconnecting) or $3,829 (double), and a single room in a Mackenzie King Village "suite" will cost $5,094 for two terms. Other fees: $4,452 in the Minota Hagey Residence; $2,035 for one term for a room in Columbia Lake Village; $997 a month for an "apartment-style" room in Columbia Lake; $4,019 to $4,603 for two terms in a room in UW Place.

    Mari-Beth Davis of retail services sends word on a promotion that starts today: "The Canadian National Institute for the Blind is pleased to announce that their annual Focus on Crocus campaign is coming to the University of Waterloo. Plants will be available for purchase February 3-13 at TechWorx in South Campus Hall. Prices are 1 pot for $4; 3 pots for $10; 20 pots for $65 with free delivery. Payment can be made by cash or cheque. By 'Serving Canadians for 85 Years,' the Canadian National Institute for the Blind's Crocus Campaign helps increase awareness and raise funds while assisting the blind, visually impaired and deafblind in our community. The campaign has been running since 1990 and is one of the major fundraisers in the tri-city. The CNIB has over 2,600 clients throughout the Waterloo-Wellington service area, with 6 direct service staff and over 350 volunteers."

    February is a logy season for lots of people, and naturally the campus recreation program has a suggestion. "The Cross Canada Challenge is a great way to stay motivated through the term," writes Michelle Robinson, CR coordinator. "Simply sign up at the Fit Fun page. Log in your daily activities, and watch yourself move across Canada. Challenge runs from January 17 to April 1 -- you can sign up at any time."

    And . . . students were told by e-mail this week that the Quest student information system is going to be out of commission for a while later this month, an 11-day period that overlaps the February reading week. "UW staff are in the process of upgrading UW's student information system," said an e-mail to thousands of students, "and a new version of QUEST will be launched on February 28. To prepare for the launch of the new version, QUEST will be unavailable from February 17 at 11:59 p.m. to February 28 at 10:00 a.m., EST. During this time, you will not be able to log in to QUEST." The down time overlaps the deadline for dropping winter term courses, and students were told how to go through that procedure by e-mail if necessary. There's more about the Quest upgrade online, including an assurance that the staff and faculty WINQ inquiry system will still be available, though with no updates after February 17.

    CAR


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