Friday, December 23, 2016

Previous | Next

• A holiday message from the President
• Finally it's Friday, the last working day of the year
• Your guide to a cold, closed campus
• What to expect when you return in 2017
• A thank-you to Daily Bulletin contributors

A holiday message from the President

Finally it's Friday, the last working day of the year

Well, it's that most wonderful time of the year - the last working day before the University's winter break. In a few short hours, the University will close for its longest holiday of the year, with students, faculty and staff taking a breather until 2017 (apart from a few fine folks providing essential services).

It's also payday, just in time for a flurry of last-minute Christmas shopping.

On that note, all Retail Services locations will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today. However, all Media.Doc locations (DC, MC, SCH, SLC, STC) as well as Campus Tech, Watcard and New Media Services will be closed from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Food Services operations are winding down as well, and the majority will close up shop later today. Caffeine addicts will have a few options today, including:

• Food Services operations are winding down as well, and the majority will close up shop later today. Caffeine addicts will have a few options today, including:

• Starbucks in AHS/BMH, open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.;
• Starbucks in the STC, open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.;
• Tim Hortons in the Davis Centre, open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;
• Tim Hortons in South Campus Hall, open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;
• Tim Hortons in the Student Life Centre, open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Check the Locations and Hours website for a full breakdown of Food Services openings and closings.

As for the Library, the Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. today. Library operations will be closed on Saturday, December 24 through Monday, January 2, 2017. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. Check the Library website for a full list of locations and hours. 

The Physical Activities Complexis closed today but theColumbia Icefield is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

IST services including the service desk in EC2 (exam scanning and helpdesk services), Media Resources in MC1007 and Equipment Loans in MC1088 will be open for regular hours on Friday, December 23 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Central Stores will provide normal delivery/pickup services for all departments today. An extended staff lunch will affect afternoon service times slightly.

Health Services will be closing at 5:00 p.m. today and will remain closed until Tuesday, January 3 when they reopen at 8:30 a.m. Students with medical problems over the holidays are encouraged to first call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 for medical advice.

The School of Pharmacy and the Waterloo Stratford Campus are both open today.

The School of Architecture is open today, as its its Melville Café. Design At Riverside is open until 4:00 p.m. today.

Rick Zalagenas, Director of Maintenance and Utilities, reports that building conditions will be held at normal night and weekend setback temperatures starting tonight, and most ventilation will be turned off. "The university is closed," he stresses, "and anyone who elects to be here should not be expecting normal services and temperatures." Zalagenas invites everybody's help with conservation, ensuring all appliances, office equipment and unused fume hoods are turned off. "And please make very sure all windows are closed before you leave.”

The time has also come for laboratories to be shut down in an orderly fashion for the holiday break. The Safety Office has circulated its annual list of precautions to be taken to ensure a safe shutdown over the holiday period.

All laboratory operations are to be suspended by 5:00 p.m. today, and may resume on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

The last day for hazardous waste pickup and drop-off at the Environmental Safety Facility was Wednesday, December 21. Any remaining hazardous material should be stored in properly sealed containers and in containment areas. Compressed gases and equipment gas supply lines should be shut off.

Electrical devices, such as hot plates, computers, fume hoods and environmental chambers (if they aren’t containing hazardous materials, that is) should be turned off and unplugged, which will prevent damage to equipment due to power surges, while at the same time reducing energy waste and pollution.

Anyone working in a lab during shutdown should have supervisor and departmental approval and adhere to the Working Alone Guidelines posted on the Safety Office website. The Safety Office is available to answer questions at extension 35755.

During the holiday break, grounds staff will be on call to do winter maintenance of emergency routes on campus as requested by either Police Services or the Central Plant.

Police Services will start locking doors to campus buildings at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 23 and will reopen them at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3.

Your guide to a cold, closed campus

Beginning tomorrow, things will quiet down on campus as we close up shop for six business days, with two weekends thrown in free of charge.

All Retail Services operations will be closed over the holidays.

Most Food Services locations will be closed from December 24 to Monday, January 2, 2017, opening on Tuesday, January 3, with the exception of Mudie's in Village 1 and REVelation in REV, which open January 2.

The ECEC children’s program closes on December 23 at 12:00 noon and will re-open on Monday, January 9, 2017 with regular hours.

The School of Pharmacy and the Waterloo Stratford Campus will be following the main campus's shutdown schedule over the holidays.

The School of Architecture will be closed from December 24 to Monday, January 2, returning to regular operating hours on Tuesday, January 3. The School will be shut down and inaccessible to anyone including students, faculty and staff for the shutdown's entire period. The fob system will be inactivated over this period. 

The Melville Café is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on December 24, and is closed December 25, reopening on December 26 and remaining open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until December 30. It is open from 8:30 a.m to 4:00 p.m. on December 31. It is closed January 1, 2017. It will reopen with its regular hours on January 2nd.  

Design at Riverside is closed from December 24 to 26, reopening on December 27 and remaining open to December 29 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. It is open on December 30 from 12:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m and December 31 from 10:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m. It is closed January 1, and January 2, 2017. It will reopen with its regular hours on Tuesday, January 3.

Snow removal on the main campus over the holiday period will be "limited", according to the plant operations department. "Grounds staff will respond to serious snow issues," is the official word, especially to clear priority areas such as the ring road.

The Graduate Apartments at St. Paul's will be open to tenants during the holidays and on-call staff will be available during the break. The Guest Rooms are also open during the shutdown period and guests may use the convenient self-check-in process. (Rooms should have been booked by 10:00 am on Thursday) 


A major exception to the week-long campus closing is the Student Life Centre. Scott Pearson, operations manager of the SLC writes that the building will be open throughout the holiday season, as always. The Turnkey Desk (519-888-4434) “will be staffed 24 hour a day with friendly Turnkeys to provide assistance to those who stay on campus,” says Pearson.

Most of the SLC's businesses will shut down entirely throughout the break including Lifetouch Photography, Campus Tech, Tim Hortons, Brubakers, the Bombshelter, International News, Student Health Pharmacy, WatCard and SOS Physiotherapy.

CIBC will be open on both Saturday December 24 and 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and will be closed on December 25, 26, 27, and January 1 and 2. The branch will be open regular hours on December 23, 28, 29, and 30. All regular business hours will resume on Tuesday January 3. 

Campus Dentist will be open until December 23 and will resume regular hours on January 2.  They may have appointments and handle dental emergencies on December 29 and 30, so please contact the office directly.

The Student Health Pharmacy closed on Thursday December 22 and will resume regular hours on January 3.

The Airporter will make its usual stops at the Student Life Centre.

GO Transit and Greyhound will continue to service campus throughout the shutdown, although some days the schedules will operate on holiday scheduling. Full ticketing and travel information is online or available at the Turnkey Desk. 

Pearson also states that “on New Year’s Eve all transportation on GO Transit is free system-wide after 7:00 p.m. No tickets are required.”

Grand River Transit will be operating on a special holiday schedule from December 19 to January 1. GRT is also free after 6:00 p.m. on December 31. Many main routes will have extended service with final trips between 12:45 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.

All parking lots will be open and free throughout the holidays, except for lot D under Needles Hall and the Early Childhood Education Centre (ECEC) lot at the Psychology, Anthropology, and Sociology (PAS) building. Gates to the lots around campus are being opened one by one in the course of this afternoon, says parking manager Sharon Rumpel. From now until the morning of January 3, there's no need to put money into any pay-and-display machines.

Students who live in residence and are leaving their cars on campus over the break should register with Parking Services and will be told just where to put the car, for the sake of snowplow operations. Enforcement of parking rules on fire routes and in handicapped spaces will continue, the university police say.

"If you notice an outage of the campus network or any major IST-maintained computing facility, you can leave a voice message with the IST Service Desk at 519-888-4357 or submit a request online," writes Peggy Day. "Voicemail and Request items will be checked daily."

What to expect when you return in 2017

As of Tuesday, January 3, the University will be up and running for a new year and a new term. Lectures and the co-op work term will also commence.

Regular Move-In Day for undergraduate students is scheduled for Monday, January 2 for residents in MKV, REV, UWP, Village 1, Minota Hagey, and Columbia Lake Village North and South. Graduate students in Columbia Lake Village can pick up their keys at the CLV community front desk after 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 1, 2017.Visit Housing's move-in dates and times page for additional information.

Winter 2017 Extended Hours for Retail Services begin on Monday, January 2, with operations open from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. From Tuesday, January 2 to Thursday, January 5, hours of operation are from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Friday, January 6 hours of operation are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Retail Services'2017 hours of operation are available on their website. 
Media.Doc SCH will be closed on January 2 and will reopen on Monday, January 30.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre Library locations will be open at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Check the Library website for a full list of locations and hours.

Most Food Services locations will be back in action on Tuesday, January 3. Check their hours and locations site for specific information.

Feds Used Books in the Student Life Centre opens on Monday, January 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. A special Saturday opening from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. will also take place.

WaterlooWorks postings and interviews will resume at the start of the winter work term on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, according to CECA.

IT Service Desks return to regular operating hours on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 8:30 a.m.

Winter Orientation begins on Monday, January 2 and runs to Friday, January 6, 2017. Check the Orientation page for more information.

Finally, the Daily Bulletin will return on Tuesday, January 3. Any emergency announcements before that date will be made on the University's home page.

A thank-you to Daily Bulletin contributors

Throughout the year, I have had the privilege of working with many talented people across campus and beyond who have written material for the Daily Bulletin and who have helped you keep informed about life at the University of Waterloo. Here is this year's cavalcade of contributors:

Christian Aagaard, Dan Ackerman, Elorm Agbeyaka, Saja Al-Biladi, Whitney Albright, Sandra Banks, Jessica Barch, Anna Beard, Bill Bean, Clare Bermingham, Shannon Bradley, Stephanie Bromley, Sarah J. Brown, Brian Caldwell, Bruce Campbell, Pam Charbonneau, Ziwei Chen, Arifeen Chowdhury, Nadine Collins, Ryan Connell, Rae Crossman, Clare Cummins, Rebekah DeJong, Loran Ellero-Dionne, Lamees Al Ethari, Alex Farley, Susan Fish, Nadine Fladd, Alex Fleck, Sarah Forbes, Carrie Gabla, Amy Geddes, Sandra Gibson, Tasha Glover, Anne Grant, Rick Haldenby, Feridun Hamdullahpur, Rachel Hammermueller, Melissa Horne, Peggy Jarvie, Yuni Jo, Samantha Johns, Viktor Karklins, Lisa Kiviaho, Jane Kolb, Jennifer Konkle, Natasha Jennings,  Terry Labach, Jean Lowry, Alyse Martin, Jacqueline Martinz, Phoenix McDonald, Max McKee, Meghan Miceli, Sanaya Mistry, Mark Morton, Colleen Nevison, Carrie Nickerson, Kaitlin O’Brien, Alexandra Orlando, Katie Parkes, Andreea Perescu, Ellen Perschbacher, Wendy Philpott, Michelle Pressé, Dheana Ramsay, Alana Rigby, Tina Roberts, Katrina Schigas, James Skidmore, Pamela Smyth, Lyndia Stacey, Heather Steinmetz, Kelly Stone, Lori Straus, Jodi Szimanski, Marilyn Thompson, Brent Thornhill, Carol Truemner, Sophie Twardus, Chantal Vallis, Victoria Van Cappellen, Lucy Vorobej, Khrystine Waked, Linda Warley, Laura Jane Watkins, Cindy Wei, Amy Woroch, Eugenia Xenos Anderson, and Maaz Yasin.

Thank you all.

Have a safe and happy holidays, and see you in 2017!

And with that, we're out.