Monday, November 4, 2019

Thrive Week begins

Today marks the beginning of Thrive Week, which runs from November 4 to November 8. There are many different ways for you to get involved and support a healthy mind all Thrive Week long.

• Determined to Thrive—with Heroic Minds, Mental Wellness Panel: Join host Ben Fanelli and panel members to discuss inspirational stories, tactics, and resource related to our mental well-being. Monday, November 4, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., HH Theatre. Get your tickets now.
• Thrive Walk and United Way ‘Souper’ Tuesday, Join your colleagues for a walk around Ring Road to show your support for those living with mental health concerns on campus, Tuesday, November 5, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., meet outside STC building.
• Student Mental Health Forum hosted by the Committee on Student Mental Health (CoSMH): Wednesday, November 6, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Fed Hall. Get your tickets on Ticketfi.

Check out the full event listing.

Supporting your community this week with the United Way and Thrive

A message from the University of Waterloo United Way campaign and Thrive Week.

Get in some steps, eat a healthy lunch, and support local mental health initiatives. Can you believe it’s possible to do all three of these things during your Tuesday lunch?

Work up your appetite tomorrow at the Thrive Walk for Mental Health and then purchase a bowl of soup at United Way’s Souper Tuesday. Whether you show your support for mental health by joining the walk or by donating to United Way, we thank you. 

Thrive Week

Please remember to wear your Thrive t-shirt tomorrow (Tuesday, November 5), or show your support by wearing UWaterloo/Warrior gear. Meet your peers in front of the Science Teaching Complex at 11:30 for the Thrive Walk for Mental Health. Join your friends and colleagues for a walk around Ring Road to show your support for our community members living with mental health concerns. We encourage you to sign-up for this walk and join us afterwards for a warm bowl of soup, chat with campus leaders, and support our campus and broader community.

Souper Tuesday

Tomorrow from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. celebrity chefs will be serving homemade soup in STC main hall. There will be gluten free and vegan options available. A minimum of $5.00 is suggested for donation. Proceeds go to United Way Waterloo Region Communities and supports agencies like KW Counselling Services.

Swing by STC to be served a bowl of soup by one of our celebrity chefs: Jim Rush, Professor, Vice-President Academic and Provost, Joan Fisk, CEO of United Way Waterloo Region Communities, Norah McCrae, Associate Provost, Co-operative and Experiential Education, Michael Beauchemin, President, WUSA, Naima Samuel, President & CEO, Graduate Student Association, Alan Binns, Director, UW Police Services, Karen Jack, University Secretary, Bob Lemieux, Professor, Dean of Science, James Skidmore, Associate Professor and Director, Waterloo Centre for German Studies, Roly Webster, Director, Athletics and Recreation, Maureen Jones, Director, Student Awards & Financial Aid, Kelly McManus, Senior Director, Community Relations & Events, and Mario Coniglio, Professor, Carbonate Petrology.

Lecture and discussion on intersectional equity on Wednesday

The Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion is hosting Dr. Malinda Smith on Wednesday, November 6 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for a lecture and discussion on why diversity and intersectional equity matter in Canadian universities.
 
"Thirty years after employment equity programs were first introduced into the academy, this talk provides an unfiltered account of where the academy has succeeded and where challenges remain, particularly as it relates to racial justice, disability justice and decolonization," says the talk's abstract. "Dr. Malinda Smith will present her latest research and explore where we go from here to achieve equity."

Smith is a professor in political science at the University of Alberta.
 
The lecture and discussion is open to all, but space is limited, so attendees are encouraged to RSVP.

The lecture takes place in Engineering 7 on the 7^th floor Faculty Hall. Light food and beverages will be served.
 
Smith is the keynote speaker at ConversAction, which runs from November 7 to 9. Renison University College and the University of Waterloo have organized this anti-racism conference, which is intended for senior administrators and student delegations from across Canadian universities. The November 6 lecture and discussion provides the wider campus community with an opportunity to hear from and engage with Professor Smith.

Theatre and Performance stages "The Seagull"

The University of Waterloo Theatre and Performance Program presents The Seagull, written by Anton Chekhov and translated by Matt White. The performance runs from November 13 to 16, beginning at 7:30 p.m. with matinees November 13 and 14 at 12:00 p.m.

According to the press release, “Chekhov explores the desperate measures people will go to for love, for acceptance, and for survival, while also demonstrating the unrealistic expectations people place on each other to give them meaning. In The Seagull, characters speak of love and art the way people today speak about climate change. Passionately. On the razor’s edge.”

The play has been modernized and given a Canadian context, which includes references to Uber, Atwood and vaping.

The performance will be on campus at the Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages Building. Tickets are $15 general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Doors open 30 minutes prior to each performance, with an engagement space the audience members can explore. The program is piloting a descriptive audio performance for the visually impaired, which will be integrated into the November 14 performances.

Transit of Mercury and other heavenly harkenings

Mercury is in retrograde on the move! The Gustav Bakos Observatory is hosting a special event for the November 2019 transit of Mercury. Multiple telescopes will be set up on the rooftop for safe public viewing of the planet Mercury as it crosses directly in front of the Sun. Drop in anytime (or multiple times!) during the morning or early afternoon to view this rare event, and learn what it has to do with figuring out distances in our solar system and discovering new planets in our galaxy. The observatory is hosting a free public event for the viewing of the Transit of Mercury taking place all day on Monday, November 11 from 7:40 a.m. to 1:08 p.m. on the Physics rooftop, which is accessible from the third floor across from PHY 313. Get your looks in now - this is the last time you can safely view Mercury glide across the sun until 2032.

While you're looking to the sky, crane your neck to get a glimpse of a construction closure taking place on Tuesday, November 5 in the service road area between Needles Hall, the Science Teaching Complex, and the Dana Porter Library. Pedestrian and vehicle traffic will be impeded as the area will be cordoned off from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. with the crane work being carried out from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The crane will be lifting and toting a large reel of electrical cable from the STC's loading dock into the basement of the Dana Porter Library through the access hatch on top of the hill opposite the STC.

The Waterloo Centre for German Studies is welcoming Professor Elizabeth Nijdam of the University of British Columbia to Waterloo on Tuesday, November 12 for a public lecture entitled "The Social Media Aesthetics of Mobility: Reinhard Kleist’s The Olympic Dream and Comics on Refugee Experience." Professor Nijdam will discuss Reinhard Kleist's graphic novel An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar and how it integrates the technologies of refugee life in order to disrupt media representation of migrants and the—often fatal—experience of migration

Legal and Immigration Services (LIS) is holding a silent auction with all proceeds going to the United Way campaign. The auction is on now until November 15. There are great Christmas gift items available for bidding. Visit the LIS website for more details.