Monday, October 22, 2018

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• Thrive Week - a focus on mental health wellness
• Warriors make playoffs for the first time in 15 years
• Open Access Week celebrates barrier-free scholarship
• Waterloo hosts University art conference
• Election Day and other notes

Thrive Week - a focus on mental health wellness

By Alyssa Clarkson.

After running the annual Mental Health Wellness Day for nine years, the University of Waterloo is encouraging everyone to join in for Thrive Week, an initiative raising awareness about mental health and mental health resources on campus. 

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“Thrive is a week-long series of events focused on building positive mental health for University of Waterloo students, faculty, and staff,” said Director of Campus Wellness Walter Mittelstaedt. “Thrive is also a mindset that encourages you to flourish—people are flourishing when they feel positive emotions and they experience positive psychological and social functioning most of the time. We can each strengthen our mental health by learning about it, thinking about it, talking about it, and discovering new skills and resources to help us thrive all year long.” 

With origins beginning at the University of British Columbia, the Thrive movement has swept the nation and is  in more than 11 universities and colleges in Canada.  Alongside spreading mental health awareness, Thrive also hopes to help Waterloo students, staff and faculty: 

• Increase mental health literacy and promote resources 

• Build healthy habits and self-care skills 

• Foster a supportive and inclusive community 

“The University of Waterloo is a community that cares passionately about one another and Thrive Week is not only about raising awareness for mental health and wellness, but also about coming together as a campus to support those who need to know they are not alone,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor. “We can make a difference and Thrive Week is part of that positive movement forward.” 

Main events will be hosted from October 22 to 26 and will feature various initiatives including: A speaker series with Canadian Sports Journalist and mental health advocate Michael Landsberg; yoga sessions with Athletics and Recreation; a student mental health forum; a walk for mental health around Ring Road; and mental health training opportunities. There are also more than 25 partner events being held in various departments and schools around campus. See the event listing for more information. 

Waterloo members are also encouraged to attend the Student Mental Health Forum taking place in the Humanities Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m.  Here, attendees will learn how the Committee on Student Mental Health (CoSMH) is implementing the recommendations of the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health (PAC-SMH).  An open-house style session will follow the forum, where participants can find out more about current mental health initiatives on campus.  

Register today.

You can also show your support for building positive mental health by participating in events and wearing gold or University of Waterloo/Warrior gear on Thursday, Oct. 25. 

Should you like to learn more about the resources on campus, visit the “Get help” section of the Campus Wellness website.

Warriors make playoffs for the first time in 15 years

This article was originally published on the Athletics and Recreation website.

The Waterloo Warriors might have come out on the wrong side of an instant classic, but, for the first time since 2003, they came out on the right side of the postseason cut line.

And their reward is another crack at the Guelph Gryphons.

Waterloo closed their regular season with a heart-stopping 47-44 double-overtime defeat in a win-and-you're-in game with the Gryphons, but due to results elsewhere in the OUA's final day of regular season play, the Warriors claimed the sixth and final OUA playoff spot, and a rematch with Guelph – who earned the third seed with the victory over Waterloo – next Saturday.

And if their first act was any indication, it will be must-see theatre next week. The regular season finale was a high-octane, see-saw affair in which Guelph's Gabe Ferraro tied the game with a 32-yarder at the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime tied 37-37. The teams traded touchdowns on their first overtime possessions, and Ferraro hit a 42-yarder to give Waterloo a chance to win with a major score. But on the ensuing possession, Guelph's Greg Corfield stripped Warriors quarterback Tre Ford, and the Gryphons recovered to come away victorious. 

Despite the loss, the Waterloo offense put together another jaw-dropping performance to finish off one of the greatest aerial seasons in OUA history. Tre Ford solidified his claim as the best quarterback in the province, completing 30 of 38 passes for 396 yards and 5 touchdowns, while adding 73 yards and a score on the ground. 

Meanwhile, his favourite target Tyler Ternowski caught his 13^th and 14^th touchdowns of 2018 to break the OUA record for touchdown receptions in a season. Against Guelph, Ternowski hauled in 6 balls for 107 yards and his pair of third-quarter scores, while Gordon Lam caught 10 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Veterans Richmond Nketiah and Mitch Kernick also caught touchdown passes, while Dion Pellerin rushed for a season-high 131 yards on 17 carries.

But in a game where Waterloo outgained Guelph 606 yards to 399, the Gryphons used their ball-pursuit defense and big special teams plays to stay close. The Gryphons forced four turnovers on fumbles, and Jason Richards blocked a Caleb Girard punt and returned it himself 16 yards for a touchdown in the 2^nd quarter. Guelph quarterback Theo Landers went just 11-22 for 184 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception, but running back Jean-Paul Cimankinda scampered for 157 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, star linebackers Luke Korol and Job Reinhart lived up to their billing – Reinhart had a game-high 11.5 tackles including one of Guelph's four sacks, while Korol had two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on the afternoon.

Read the rest of the article on the Athletics and Recreation website.

Open Access Week celebrates barrier-free scholarship

A message from the Library.

It's Open Access Week from October 22 to 28. Open Access (OA) is scholarly content freely available to anyone with an Internet connection, without barriers. Among other benefits, OA provides researchers with higher impact for their published work, students are relieved of high journal subscription costs and the public gets access to research often funded by their taxes.

Brought to you by the Open Scholarship Committee, Open Access Week celebrates open scholarship in its many forms. The University’s Open Scholarship Committee has a week filled with events to help you learn more about OA scholarship, including a journal price guessing game, pizza and a movie, an information booth at Dana Porter Library, a discussion panel and Open Access Day.

Open Access Day, Thursday October 25, is an annual conference with speakers and workshops discussing the methods, benefits and challenges of OA, and the services and resources available to scholars across the University. This year’s keynote speaker is Bianca Wylie, an open government advocate, Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in the Global Economy program and co-founder of Tech Reset Canada. Participants may attend all or some of the sessions. Lunch is provided and registration is required.

All Open Access Week events are free and open to all students, staff and faculty at University of Waterloo.  The Open Scholarship Committee has members from the Library, Print + Retail Solutions, Graduate Student Association, Federation of Students, Centre for Teaching Excellence, Centre for Extended Learning, and James Skidmore (as the eCampusOntario Open Education Fellow). Learn more about all the elements of ‘open’ on the Library’s Open Access Guide and on the Open Waterloo website.

“Open Access is the free, immediate online availability of research articles, coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment, says a statement from the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC). "Open Access ensures that anyone can access and use these results—to turn ideas into industries and breakthroughs into better lives.” 

Waterloo hosts University art conference

The Department of Fine Arts is hosting the annual conference of the Universities Art Association of Canada (UAAC-AAUC) from October 25 to October 28.

UAAC-AAUC consists of university and college faculty, independent scholars, graduate students, and other art professionals in the fields of art, art history, and visual culture.

This year over 275 delegates will be participating in 73 themed sessions that explore Indigeneity, diaspora, identity, controversy, technology, and much more. The sessions are complemented by several special events including two keynote performances by Lori Blondeau and Louise Liliefeldt.

For more information, see the programme and abstracts on the Fine Arts website or contact Professor Joan Coutu at joan.coutu@uwaterloo.ca.  

Election Day and other notes

Citizens across Waterloo Region (and the rest of the province) will be casting ballots today for a bevy of municipal leaders: mayors, councillors, regional councillors, regional chairs, and school trustees for the public and Catholic boards of education (as well as French Public and Separate boards).

A range of positions will be on the ballot in Waterloo and the surrounding area because of our two-level system of government, in which some powers are assigned to the city or township and some to the Region.

The City of Waterloo has a complete list of candidates in each ward. Polls open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m.

According to the City of Waterloo, students "may vote in the municipality where they are temporarily residing while attending school as well as at  their permanent home in a different municipality, provided that he or she does not intend to change his/her permanent home."

For Waterloo students living on campus, there is a polling place set up in the Davis Centre. Off-campus students can enter their address on the Waterloo election site to find where they can vote locally.

In addition there are a number of "Super Vote" polling locations across the city, including Waterloo City Centre, RIM Park, the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, the John M. Harper library branch, and at the aforementioned Davis Centre location. All eligible voters are able to vote either at their local voting location or at one of these Super Vote locations.

Under the Municipal Elections Act, all employees who are eligible to vote in the election are entitled to three consecutive hours during voting hours on election day to cast their vote. Quoth the act, "an elector whose hours of employment are such that he or she would not otherwise have three consecutive hours to vote on voting day is entitled to be absent from work for as long as is necessary to allow that amount of time."

A test of the University’s emergency communication system is scheduled for today between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Test activation and deactivation messages will be sent using the below channels:

• Tweets to @UWaterloo and @WatSAFEapp
• WatSAFE mobile app
• The ‘UW Emerge’ on-screen pop-up for desktops and laptops
• Skype for Business Instant Messages
• Portal alerts and push notifications

Your feedback on how these channels operated, specifically the newly added Portal alerts and push notifications option, is appreciated (helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 44357).

In the event of a real emergency during this test, please contact Police Services at 519-888-4911, or ext. 22222.

Be sure to install the WatSAFE app on your device to receive this test message, and more importantly, to stay informed of campus emergency situations. Visit the WatSAFE website for more details.

The Department of Sociology and Legal Studies is presenting a Transnational Talks Series lecture and workshop this week on Thursday, October 25. Sociology and Legal Studies will host Professor Gabe Ignatow from North Texas University for a morning lecture and a hands-on methodological workshop in the afternoon.

At the lecture, Professor Ignatow will speak about his research performing ‘sentiment analysis’ to analyze politically driven social media. In the afternoon, he will give a two-hour hands-on methods workshop on text mining open to all students, faculty, and staff. The lecture takes place at 10:00 a.m. in DWE 1502. The workshop will be held in PAS 2030 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.. No registration is required.

This is the second workshop in the 2018-2019 Transnational Talks series, a new Department of Sociology and Legal Studies initiative supported by Waterloo International, which aims to foster international collaboration and enhance methods training and exposure among faculty and students.

Anyone with questions should contact Professor Janice Aurini or Professor Kate Henne.