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Waterloo hosts remembrance ceremony today
The University of Waterloo, in partnership with the Canadian Federation of University Women Kitchener-Waterloo, is hosting an annual ceremony of remembrance to honour the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
Canada changed forever on December 6, 1989 when 14 young women were murdered in a gender-based act of violence at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. This day is not only an opportunity to reflect and honour the lost lives of 14 young women, but to also consider and take action against violence that women in our communities face to this day.
Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor and Mary Wells, Dean, Faculty of Engineering invite members of the campus community to join in person or online as Waterloo comes together to reflect on and honour the lives of 14 young women, and take action against gender-based violence.
The event takes place today from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Engineering 7's second-floor event space.
If you are unable to attend in-person, you can view the livestream of the ceremony.
Paying attention to freedom
By Charlotte Danby. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.
It has been 33 years since a gunman shot and killed 14 women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal on December 6, 1989. Below, two Waterloo Engineering alumni and a current student reflect on what the attack continues to mean for them as women in engineering.
‘We must never grow complacent’
Sandra Ketchen (BASc ’92, chemical engineering) is the President and CEO at Spectrum Health Care. She was the same age and studying the same engineering program as many of the Montreal Massacre victims and remembers the horror and grief of that day vividly.
Sandra Ketchen encourages all engineers to continue to strive for greater equity.
I was on a co-op work term when I heard about the shooting.
I couldn’t believe that 14 women were killed because they were female students, 12 of whom were studying engineering.
For the first time in my young life, I realized the extent of evil and cruelty that exist in the world. Horrific is the word that still comes to mind – it was a very emotional time.
I was lucky to grow up in a family that encouraged me to become whatever I wanted to be. Being good at maths and science, I decided to study engineering like my older brother. Today, more young women are choosing to study engineering, challenging the traditional status quo with some much-needed diversity.
Women make great engineers and so do men. Men make great nurses and so do women. Whatever the profession, everyone deserves the freedom to choose how to use their talents, decide who and what they want to be, and pursue their passions. More pragmatically, research shows that encouraging different ways of thinking and approaching problems delivers better outcomes at work.
Let the important memory of the 14 women killed 33 years ago remind us that we must never grow complacent, that we must pay attention to fostering diversity and inclusion and continue to strive for greater equity – for all – in our profession.
‘I feel strongly about the need for women to support women’
Jodi Menezes (BASc ’13, chemical engineering), works in medical device sales at Johnson & Johnson. She first learned about the Montreal Massacre in her first year at Waterloo.
Jodi Menezes calls for more women to share advice and celebrate each other’s successes.
There was – and still is – a lot of righteous sadness, anger and frustration on this anniversary. For me, it calls to mind all the women all over the world who have lost their lives to or experience gender-based violence.
Three decades later, from abortion bans in the United States to state violence in Iran, women are still being punished for the choices they make.
We’re doing much better at encouraging women to study engineering but I question if we are doing enough to facilitate their success in the workplace. Across professions, employers in industry, government and academia are actively recruiting women to meet their diversity targets but many are struggling to retain them.
This leaky pipeline problem exists primarily because women still carry the burden of domestic care work. To see more women hold senior management positions, employers need to do better at understanding women’s social and familial responsibilities and provide practical support, like equal pay, subsidized, on-site daycare and proper paternity leave.
I also feel strongly about the need for women to support women. Nobody gets ahead without help. We need to open our networks, share advice and celebrate each other’s successes. What better way to revere and remember all the women who have been punished for their choices than by working together to protect our freedoms.
Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News
Waterloo Centre for German Studies announces book prize shortlist
A message from the Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS).
The Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS) is pleased to announce the shortlist for its annual Book Prize.
Established in 2017, the WCGS Book Prize recognizes first-time authors whose scholarly work contributes substantially to our understanding of any aspect of German-speaking society. The prize foregrounds good writing, scholarly relevance, originality, and the ability to reach audiences beyond the academic sphere.
This year’s shortlist, celebrating books published in 2021, is another reminder of just how active and engaging German studies can be.
The finalists are listed below, with links to book descriptions and interviews with the authors.
- Phil Alexander. Sounding Jewish in Berlin: Klezmer Music and the Contemporary City. (Oxford University Press)
- A fresh perspective on klezmer music and its influence on Berlin (and Berlin’s influence on it). - Jeremy Best. Heavenly Fatherland: German Missionary Culture and Globalization in the Age of Empire. (University of Toronto Press)
- German missionaries had surprising ideas about race and colonialism that influenced how ordinary Germans experienced globalization. - Craig Griffiths. The Ambivalence of Gay Liberation: Male Homosexual Politics in 1970s West Germany. (Oxford University Press)
- A nuanced study of this key period in queer history. - S.E. Jackson. The Problem of the Actress in Modern German Theater and Thought. (Camden House)
- German actresses have not only shaped modernist theater aesthetics and performance practices, they've also influenced modern thought. - Andrea Meyertholen. The Myth of Abstraction: The Hidden Origins of Abstract Art in German Literature. (Camden House)
- German literature of the nineteenth century was able to imagine abstract art before abstract art existed. - Brandon Woolf. Institutional Theatrics: Performing Arts Policy in Post-Wall Berlin. (Northwestern University Press)
- In a city struggling to determine just how neoliberal it can afford to be, what kinds of performing art practices and institutions are necessary - and why?
The winner, who receives a CAD $3,000 prize, will be announced mid-December.
For inquiries, please contact the Waterloo Centre for German Studies (wcgs@uwaterloo.ca). For further information, please go to the WCGS Book Prize page.
Faculty of Math community members connect their plates to the planet
This article originally appeared on the Faculty of Mathematics website.
The Faculty of Mathematics helped save thousands of litres of water and hundreds of pounds of carbon this November through its “Meatless Math Mondays” campaign. The initiative, which aimed to increase environmental health and sustainability within the Faculty, encouraged students, staff, faculty, and post-docs to choose meatless options once a week to decrease their environmental impact.
Each week, the vividly pink “Meatless Math Monday” booth appeared outside of Math Coffee and Donuts, offering educational resources, recipes, and free metal straws. Participants got involved at home and at work by choosing meatless options at Coffee and Donuts – like the famous macaroni and cheese – as well as sharing their meatless meal choices on social media.
As part of the campaign, participants could win sustainability related prizes, including reusable grocery bags and cookbooks. Local plant-based restaurants the Copper Kettle and the Hangry Vegan also offered discounts to Faculty members who wanted to try some new meatless options.
Akshar Goyal, a statistics and computational math student who won the grand prize, reflects that he “was really surprised to hear that a change in our diet could really help towards sustainability.” He decided to take things a bit further and swapped out milk for soy milk in his coffee during the month. “I encourage others to continue or try Meatless Mondays, especially as their new resolution for 2023.”
For Megan Martin, student services manager in the Undergrad Office, the initiative was the encouragement she needed to make a lifestyle change she was already considering. She and her husband had wanted to incorporate more meatless options into their diet for a while, but they weren’t sure where to start. “Once we started doing it, it was so simple,” she says. Martin plans to keep planning meatless dinners every Monday for the foreseeable future. “It’s an easier way to eat healthier, and reduce our carbon footprint and our environmental impact,” she reflects, and “doing a meatless day didn’t really end up taking any more meal planning than any other meal.”
“We are thrilled to have seen so many members of our community participate in the Meatless Math Mondays initiative over the month of November,” says Robert Bruce, community well-being and engagement officer. “Environmental wellness initiatives like this remind us how a small behavioural change can have a large impact on not only our own health and well-being but also that of the little blue marble we call home.”
To learn more about the Meatless Mondays initiative, and how you can bring it to your community, visit the Meatless Mondays website. To learn more about the University of Waterloo’s commitment to environmental wellness, visit the Sustainability website.
Tuesday's notes
There's still time to sign up for an exercise and weight loss study organized by researchers from the Metabolism, Exercise Training and Sex Differences (METS) lab in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences. Researchers are seeking sedentary, overweight males and females aged 18-45 years for a research study investigating whether the addition of two nutritional supplements to an exercise regime can improve the effects of exercise training on ‘high-quality weight loss’.
If you are interested in participating in this study or have any questions, please contact Jennifer Wilkinson, Department of Kinesiology at 905-414-7897 or j7wilkin@uwaterloo.ca.
The Office of the Registrar will be celebrating the career of Jo Voisin with a get-together in the DC 1301 fishbowl on December 14. "Jo started working at the University of Waterloo in 1982 in the Grad Office," says a note from the Registrar's Office. "After five years, she moved to the Political Science department. In 1998, she was seconded to work on the new Student Information Project which led to Quest. She has been working on Quest in the Registrar’s Office for more than 22 years."
The celebration event takes place in DC 1301 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and celebratory treats will be provided.