The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Submission guidelines
It's Bell Let's Talk Day today
A message from Organizational and Human Development (OHD).
At Waterloo, workplace mental health is extremely important to us. On January 30 the Healthy Workplace Committee would like to invite you to participate in Bell Let’s Talk Day activities, which promote mental health awareness. Bell Let’s Talk aims to reduce stigma and encourage people to start conversations about mental health.
On Bell Let’s Talk Day, Bell will donate 5¢ for:
- Every text message sent by Bell Canada, Bell Aliant and Bell MTS customers
- Every mobile and long distance call made by Bell Canada, Bell Aliant and Bell MTS customers
- Each use of the hashtag #BellLetsTalk on Twitter
- Each view of the Bell Let’s Talk Day video
- Each use of the Bell Let’s Talk Facebook frame or Snapchat filter
Waterloo Speech Bubble Campaign
For Bell Let’s Talk Day, we invite you to take part in a campus-wide awareness campaign by capturing your thoughts on “Speech Bubbles” about what mental health means to you. Build awareness by posting the bubbles in your work area.
You can download the “speech bubbles” template from the Healthy Workplace website, or contact Occupational Health for a supply to be sent to you.
For other ideas to raise awareness and participate, see the Ideas and activities page on the Healthy Workplace website.
Information for Students
In addition to the above, please note the Peer Health Education Group will be hosting a Jack.org talk on the evening of January 30 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the SLC. Please encourage students to attend this valuable conversation.
Let's talk about mental health
A message from Campus Wellness.
One in five Canadians suffers from a mental health concern in their lifetime. However, because of stigma associated with mental health, nearly two-thirds of those with a mental health concern cannot seek the help they need.
Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day, and its goal is to end stigma and start conversations about mental illness. Here on campus, Peer Health Educators invite you to join the conversation about mental health and how we can create change.
Bell Let’s Talk: Jack Talk tonight in SLC
In a talk tonight hosted by Jack.org, trained speakers will equip audiences to spark conversations, look out for each other, and end the silence around mental health.
The event runs tonight from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre Great Hall.
Mental health resources
Educating yourself is a key element in reducing the stigma around mental health concerns. The language we use and our behaviour towards our family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances has an impact on the wellbeing of those around us.
There are many resources available to those seeking help for their mental health. Below are some important resources for the Waterloo campus community.
For employees
- The employee and family assistance program offers counselling and other services, and can be reached at 1-800-663-1142.
- Occupational Health can be reached at 519-888-4567 ext. 36264 or 30338.
For students
- Campus Wellness Counselling Services offers same-day appointments for emergencies. They can be found in Needles Hall North on the 2nd Floor, or reached at 519-888-4567 ext. 32655.
- Campus Wellness Health Services offers walk-in appointments for urgent concerns and can be found in the Health Services building, or reached at 519-888-4096.
- Good2Talk is an Ontario post-secondary student helpline, available 24/7 at 1-866-925-5454.
For everyone
- Here 24/7 is a Region of Waterloo helpline, available at 1-844-HERE247 (1-844-437-3247).
- Grand River Hospital can be reached at 519-749-4300.
Student Service Centre has grand opening today
The Student Service Centre (The Centre) is celebrating its grand opening today.
The Centre opened its doors to undergraduate and graduate students in December in a newly renovated space on the first floor of Needles Hall.
The Centre is a new department formally created in November 2017 to address student frustrations when it comes to navigating services across campus. The facility evolved from the Student Services Transformation Needles Hall (SSTNH) project and has been operating out of the Registrar’s Office for the past year.
The Centre combines the front-line services of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) and the Registrar’s Office (RO), including Student Awards & Financial Aid (SAFA), and the Student Success Office (SSO) will join in 2019. Some services of other units, such as Student Financial Services, have also been incorporated.
Recent improvements to the student experience in The Centre include a free self-serve proof of enrolment letter in Quest, extended hours, the ability to pay fines and add cash to WatCards, on-the-spot transcripts for both undergraduate and graduate students, and an expanded e-commerce platform, making it easier than ever to order documents.
The Centre is envisioned as a welcoming space for students to accomplish tasks, ask questions, and receive information quickly and efficiently. It includes self-service stations, UPrint, wickets, consultation rooms, and a waiting area/study space that will improve the students’ overall experience.
The grand opening event takes place today at 2:30 p.m. in the new space on the first floor of Needles Hall.
Donna Strickland delivers President's Lecture; other notes
Physics and Astronomy Professor and Nobel Laureate Donna Strickland will deliver a public lecture tonight as part of the President's Lecture Series.
Strickland accepted the Nobel Prize in Physics for her role in developing chirped pulse amplification. Her lecture will explain the technology, the science behind it and its potential. She will also speak briefly about her experience during Nobel Week in Stockholm last December. A fireside chat will follow. Kate Lunau, senior editor of Motherboard, VICE’s science and technology site, will moderate.
Doors open at this sold-out event at the Humanities Theatre at 6:30 p.m., with Professor Strickland's lecture beginning at 7:00 p.m. The event will be livestreamed.
Join today’s W3 (Waterloo Women's Wednesdays) gathering over lunch hour for Getting Unstuck: Tools to Deal with Conflict. Women and non-binary grad students, post-docs, staff and faculty are invited to take part in this interactive workshop on conflict resolution.
The workshop will review perspectives on conflict to reconsider areas where we may feel bogged down or unable to move. It will also explore tools to interrupt where we’re stuck, fostering a different experience or path through conflict. The workshop will be run by Julie Friesen, Director of Conflict Resolution and Mediation Services with Community Justice Initiatives (CJI), a local, non-profit organization offering restorative justice services and alternative experiences of conflict.
The workshop takes place today from noon to 1:00 p.m. in Needles Hall 3318. A light lunch will be provided. No registration is required.
The February LGBTQ+ Making Spaces workshop takes place on February 6 at 9:00 a.m. in NH 3308. Sponsored by the Equity Office, the Making Spaces program is a framework for creating affirming spaces on campus and fostering interpersonal relationships through education and training on aspects of social identity. Community members partake in training and a registration process to become Space Makers, ambassadors of equity. The program launched as a pilot in fall 2016. Check the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion events page to sign up for the winter 2019 workshops.
Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include Points International, Cisco, Arista Networks, Restaurant Brands International (RBI), Nascent, Stripe, Splunk, DHL Supply Chain, Clearway Construction Inc., Cruise Automation, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges - INKOMPASS Networking Session, Solium and Nulogy Corporation. Visit the employer information sessions calendar for more details.