Monday, January 8, 2018


Freezing greetings, Winter Welcome Week is here

Skaters at the Warrior Skate event at CIF.

The Federation of Students' annual Winter Welcome Week is happening from January 8 to 12.

Things got started this morning with Warrior Breakfast, a food free-for-all running from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. while supplies last in the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre.

Tonight is Sex Toy Bingo at the Bombshelter Pub from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Strap on your skates at the Columbia Icefield on Tuesday, January 9 for Warriors on Ice, which takes place from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

On Wednesday, January 10, the Campus Life Fair will take place in the Student Life Centre Great Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

If you're interested in putting up your toques, there's a Learn to Knit event taking place in the SLC's multipurpose room on Wednesday, January 10 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Your thumbs will get a workout at the We Got Game free video arcade in the SLC's lower level on Thursday, January 11 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A variety of video game systems, including VR, will be set up for your electronic enjoyment, and best of all you can leave your quarters at home - they're free to play. 

Winter Welcome Week wraps with a Cider & Sweets event at two locations on campus - the Peter Russell Rock Garden and outside POETS - where Feds volunteers will be handing out free apple cider and sweet treats, while supplies last.

Welcome Weeks take place every term and are full of fun and free events for undergraduate students as campus welcomes them back to the University.

Check out the Federation of Students website for more details.

Photo courtesy of the Feds Twitter account.

Construction continues on north campus Field House

A rendering of the Field House.

by Dan Ackerman. A version of this article was originally published in the Alumni e-newsletter.

The north campus of the University of Waterloo will look a little bit different come next fall.

With a $41-million expansion to connect the Student Life Centre (SLC) and Physical Activities Complex (PAC) well underway, ground has been broken on a new 70,654 square foot field house.

The field house will be constructed just north of Warrior Field and will connect to the west side of the existing Columbia Icefield (CIF) building. 

The $16.5 million project with funding commitment from the university will create a multi-activity field-turf building.

“Our priority in the Department of Athletics and Recreation is to enhance the student experience and through the addition of recreational space, we hope to be meeting that goal,” said director of athletics and recreation Roly Webster.

“Our students have a large need for more space to take a break from academics and the construction of the field house will provide a means for more recreational opportunities.” 

The focus of the field house will be for programmatic and drop-in recreation use but will also be a space for the Warriors varsity field teams to train and practice. 

Head coach of men’s hockey and associate director Brian Bourque realizes the potential and impact it will have, not only on the success of the varsity programs but the overall benefit of the student body at UWaterloo.

“It’s a great addition for our varsity programs across the department, giving our teams a realistic playing surface to train on year-round,” mentioned Bourque.

“It’s also encompassing of the entire student population giving them another great space to participate in intramurals or a variety of other Warrior Recreation programming we offer.”

Manager of intramurals and sport clubs Adam Steeves is also highly anticipating the field house and benefits it will provide those programs. 

“This facility will greatly enhance our ability to provide diverse recreational opportunities for the University of Waterloo community all year around,” said Steeves. “The field house gives us the capacity to expand on our intramural and club program offerings while impacting the overall user experience.”    

The field house is just one of multiple phases in the works to continue to expand and build recreational space. It can be described as a Lego project, with the hope of many more pieces to come in the future.    

Those other pieces include a new bleacher building surrounding Warrior Field as well as a new arena and pool.

All of course are conceptual at the time, but Webster mentions that working with community partners and organizations, and the overall support from the university, will be key driving forces.

“We’ve had incredible leadership from our senior administration and student associations across campus.  Without their support, none of this would be possible and we look forward to future expansion plans coming to fruition.

The wellbeing of our students is at the forefront at our university and delivering this necessity requires additional recreational space. These spaces and student engagement opportunities ultimately create a campus community, contributing to a positive and successful student experience,” concludes Webster.

Check the Athletics website for construction updates

Link of the day

70 years ago: Mackenzie King sets record as longest-serving Commonwealth PM

When and where

Winter Welcome Week, Monday, January 8 to Friday, January 12.

Chamber Choir auditionMonday, January 8, 10:00 a.m. to noon, Conrad Grebel Chapel.

CTE550 LEARN for TAs, Monday, January 8, 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Instrumental Chamber Ensemble audition, Monday, January 8, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Grebel Room 1209.

Chapel Choir auditions, Monday, January 8, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Grebel Room 1204.

Winter 2018 Jazz Ensemble Auditions, Monday, January 8, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Conrad Grebel Great Hall.

University Choir auditions, Tuesday, January 9, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Conrad Grebel chapel. 

Instrumental Chamber Ensemble audition, Wednesday, January 10, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Grebel Room 1209.

Campus Life Fair, Wednesday, January 10, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Student Life Centre Great Hall.

CTE759 Designing Teaching and Learning Research, Wednesday, January 10, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m., FLEX Lab, Dana Porter Library.

Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Information Session webinar, Wednesday, January 10, 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m.

Clubs and Societies Days, Thursday, January 11 and Friday, January 12, Student Life Centre Great Hall.

Getting it done: Productive writing strategies for big projects, Thursday, January 11, 10:00 a.m.

Improve your lab report writing, Thursday, January 11, 12:30 p.m.

NEW - Chemistry Seminar Series:  Diacylglycerol kinase and the phosphatidylinositol cycle, Thursday, January 11, 2:00 p.m., C2-361

WaterTalk: “Exploration of the Earth’s Deep Hydrogeosphere and Subsurface Microbial Life,”presented by University Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar, Thursday, January 11, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., DC 1302. Please register as seating is limited.

orchestra@uwaterloo audition, Thursday, January 11, 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Ron Eydt Village.

Writing and Communication Centre webinar, "Improve your lab report writing," Thursday, January 11, 12:30 p.m.

NEW - Chemistry Seminar Series:  Recent advances in characterization of thermoelectric materials, Friday, January 12, 2:00 p.m., C2-361.

Knowledge Integration Seminar: Sustainability & Business Decisions in the Built Environment, Friday, January 12, 2:30 p.m., EV3 1408.

Biology Seminar: Redox proteomics and cell biology, Friday, January 12, 3:30 p.m., EIT 3142.

Clarity in scientific writing, Wednesday, January 17, 10:00 a.m.

GMOs: Facts and Misconceptions, documentary with director in attendance, followed by panel discussion, Wednesday, January 17, 7:00 p.m., Humanities Theatre. 

Beyond Essays: Approaching Peace Education Differently opening reception, Thursday, January 18, 2018, 4:00 p.m., Conrad Grebel Gallery. Please note the corrected date.

Research Matters: Getting Published, Friday, January 19, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Balsillie School of International Affairs.

Knowledge Integration Seminar, "The Web as Infinite Archive: Why we Turned to Machine Learning, Distributed Computing, and Interdisciplinary Collaboration to understand the Recent Past," Friday, January 19, 2:30 p.m., EV3 1408.

Biology Seminar: Bacterial Phages shaping the gut microbiome, Friday, January 19, 3:30 p.m., EIT 3142.

Grammar studio series: Workshop 1, Monday, January 22, 10:00 a.m.

HeForShe Ideathon, Tuesday, January 23, STC 2002.

Grammar studio series: Workshop 2, Wednesday, January 24, 10:00 a.m.

Chemistry Seminar: Pushpull Alternating and Hypercoordinate Asymmetrical Architectures for Light and Moisture Stable Polystannanes, Wednesday, January 24, 2:30 p.m., C2-361.

Getting organized: tools for resisting racism and white supremacy, Thursday, January 25 to Saturday, January 28.

NEW - WIMIN: Waterloo Women: Ideas, Makers, Innovators, Friday, January 26 to Saturday, January 27, Applied Health Sciences expansion.