Friday, August 30, 2019

August 31 is Overdose Awareness Day - Learn to recognize and respond to opioid overdoses

In 2017, 17 Canadians were hospitalized every day for opioid poisoning and an estimated 3,996 Canadians died because of an opioid overdose. Today, the opioid crisis continues to worsen, and now more than ever it’s important to learn how to recognize and respond to an overdose. 

Overdoses are reversible and knowing how to respond can save a person’s life. In preparation for International Overdose Awareness Day, the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy has partnered with the Addiction Policy Forum to develop an Overdose Awareness Toolkit. The digital toolkit includes infographics and videos designed by Prof. Kelly Grindrod of the School of Pharmacy – these teach viewers how to use naloxone, a temporary antidote for opioid overdoses.

"It’s been great to share our resources as the opioid crisis continues to grow," said Grindrod. "We need as many people as possible to know about naloxone."

Naloxone is a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses by binding to the same brain receptors that opioids do and temporarily pushing out the opioids that are causing the overdose. Naloxone kits are freely available in pharmacies across Canada. Ask your pharmacist for one today.

For more on opioids and naloxone, check out the Overdose Awareness Toolkit or the School of Pharmacy’s Naloxone and Opioids resource page.

HeForShe's Get Free Tour arrives on campus September 16

The University of Waterloo will be the first stop on the Canadian University Get Free Tour hosted by the UN Women HeForShe initiative on Monday, September 16.

The HeForShe Get Free Tour aims to mobilize Canadian students for gender equality by holding local events at campuses across the country that feature United Nations representatives, celebrity ambassadors, and executives from the tour sponsor, DeBeers.

The event will feature a branded tour bus with student activations and sponsor swag giveaways, along with other local programming at each location. The program will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a campus rally to welcome the HeForShe tour bus and special guests. Join your colleagues for music, refreshments and HeForShe giveaways. The Get Free Tour will proceed with a high impact President’s lecture starting at 10:30 a.m. that is aimed at discussing the male imperative in gender equity. Panelists will contribute future-oriented, local and global social justice perspectives related to youth engagement, sexual violence and pay equity. Participants include President Feridun Hamdullahpur, Associate Vice-President, Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion Diana Parry, Senior Advisor to Under Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women Elizabeth Nyamayaro, and a special celebrity guest.

Since joining the HeForShe initiative in 2015, Waterloo has reached its HeForShe targets to boost female enrollment in STEM outreach programs, increase female faculty members and female participation in senior and academic leadership.

The event takes place on Monday, September 16, with the campus rally taking place in the PAC Parking Lot at 9:30 a.m. and the President’s Lecture at 10:30 a.m. in Fed Hall.

The event is free (natch) and open to all members of the University community. Register on Ticketfi.

Strickland awarded Honorary Fellowship from UK-based physics institute

The Institute of Physics (IOP) has named Donna Strickland Honorary Fellow for her pioneering method of generating high-intensity, ultrashort optical pulses. The IOP announced four new Honorary Fellows yesterday. The other esteemed physicists honoured are Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Dame Sue Ion and Professor Ian Munro.

The IOP is the professional body for physics in the UK and Ireland. The Honorary Fellowship is its highest accolade, reserved for individuals who make exceptional contributions to physics. The four honourees announced Thursday bring the total number to 62, a list that also includes Professor Stephen Hawking.

Strickland, a professor of physics at Waterloo, is one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 for developing chirped pulse amplification. She and Gérard Mourou published the work in 1985 when Strickland was a PhD student and Mourou was her supervisor.

Together they paved the way toward the most intense laser pulses ever created. The research has several applications today in industry and medicine.

Strickland visited the IOP in London in February. Earlier that same day, fellow honouree Al-Khalili interviewed Strickland on The Life Scientific, a popular science program he hosts on BBC Radio Four.

What's open and closed on the Labour Day weekend

And there it is: the Labour Day long weekend is upon us, and while most of the University community will have some extra time off, certain operations begin a sprint of hard labour as Orientation kicks into high gear.

Some Print + Retail Solutions locations will have extended hours this weekend, including: W Store Course Materials + Supplies and W Store Gifts + Apparel will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on August 31 and September 1 for move-in days, and from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m on Monday, September 2. W Store Essentials in the Student Life Centre will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on August 31 and September 1 and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Labour Day Monday.

Check the Print + Retail Solutions site for complete hours of operation for all its locations.

Food Services operations are a mixed bag. Locations that are closed over the weekend include: Browser's, Brubaker's, CEIT Café, East End Café, Eye Opener Café, FRSH Vegan, H³ Café, Liquid Assets, ML's Diner, South Side Marketplace, Starbucks - AHS, Starbucks - STC, Tim Hortons - ML, Tim Hortons - SCH, Tim Hortons - UWP, and Williams Fresh Café. Some of these locations have been closed since the spring and early summer, and will be reopening with regular hours next week.

Open locations include Mudie's in Village 1 (8:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., Saturday to Monday), REVelation in Ron Eydt Village, open Saturday, August 31 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and on September 1 and 2 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., the Market at UWP in Claudette Millar Hall, open from Saturday to Monday, 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and the Tim Hortons in the Student Life Centre, open Saturday to Monday, 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Check the hours and location page for more information as is it subject to change. Remember that some locations, including Bon Appetit and Tim Hortons Express in the Davis Centre, are closed for renovations and will open later this fall.

Athletics facilities in the PAC and CIF are open on Saturday, August 31 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. but are closed Sunday, September 1 and Monday, September 2.

Library facilities, including Dana Porter and the Davis Centre locations, will be open Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1 from noon to 5:00 p.m. but will be closed on Labour Day, Monday.

Waterloo Residences will be open for move-in this weekend and its website has detailed information about how students can pick up their keys and their WatCards on Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, September 1.

There are a few essential University services and stalwart operations that never shut down:

• UW police, reachable at 519-888-4911 or extension 22222
• the Student Life Centre and its Turnkey Desk, accessible at 519-888-4434 or extension 84434
• Plant Operations' maintenance emergencies hotline at extension 33793.

The City of Waterloo has enacted some changes to the rules of the road on streets surrounding the University campus this weekend to take into account increased traffic on move-in days. Check out the CBC for a rundown of changes in Waterloo and elsewhere.

Would you like to have your unit or operation mentioned in the opening and closing list for statutory holidays? Send the Daily Bulletin an email with the details.

Enjoy your long weekend!