PACS Biweekly Newsletter - September 23, 2020

Featured Event | A Call for Waterloo to Divest from Fossil Fuels | Opportunities | Virtual Events | Resources

Hello, PACS students! I hope that your first few weeks of classes are going smoothly, and that the transition to online classes hasn't been too difficult to manage.

As a reminder, the last day to drop courses without a WD is September 28th, so if you're considering dropping a course, be sure to do it before then.

In this newsletter, we've highlighted some fantastic events and opportunities that are worth checking out.

Featured Event

Tackling the Global Inequality Pandemic

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is offering a virtual event that will explore the intersection of inequality, UN public policy, and faith-based advocacy. It will feature leaders from all over the world and in various fields with expertise on this topic.

Through this event, you will have the chance to learn about the work of the UN and about MCC and faith-based advocacy; engage a mix of plenary sessions, small groups, and mini-seminars offering high interaction with experts; and connect and learn with students from other schools across the U.S. and Canada.

Featured Speakers:

Mr. Elliott Harris, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and Chief Economist (from Trinidad and Tobago).
Professor Michael Lynk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory (from Canada).
Ms. Bani Dugal, Principal Representative, Bahá'í International Community's United Nations Office. Has served as co-facilitator of the UN GEAR campaign (Gender Equality Architecture Reform), President of the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, and member of the Steering Committee of the NGO Committee on UNICEF’s Working Group on Girls.
Rev. Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley, Research Professor of Theology and Black Church Studies, Director of the Office of Black Church Studies, Duke University Divinity School. Has served in leadership with the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society, the Baptist World Alliance, and the World Council of Churches.
Dr. Paulus Widjaja, Mennonite theologian, co-author of A Culture of Peace: God’s Vision for the Church, and Director of the Center for the Study and Promotion of Peace at Duta Wacana Christian University in Indonesia. He has served as leader of the Peace Council for Mennonite World Conference.

The seminar will be 5 hours long, between two days:

November 5, 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm and

November 6, 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm (EST).

The deadline for applying for a limited spot is October 1st, and the registration cost is $20USD per student.

A Call for Waterloo to Divest from Fossil Fuels

This is a message from the FAUW Climate Justice Working Group. FAUW working groups are member-driven initiatives that we support in the spirit of advancing open debate and promoting a diverse and inclusive university. The views expressed are those of the working group and do not necessarily reflect FAUW’s views or positions.

The COVID crisis has driven the price of oil below zero, exposing the enormous financial risk of investing in fossil fuels. Meanwhile, climate breakdown is intensifying even faster than predicted, driven by increasing fossil fuel use. As the human health, ecological, socio-political, and economic fallout of the climate crisis grows, our students have called on faculty and staff to join them in bold climate action.

One key component of this is divesting from fossil fuels and reinvesting in a just, climate-safe future. But the University of Waterloo has thus far rejected this responsibility. The University has committed to align its investment decisions around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria and recently signed the Responsible Investment Charter for Canadian Universities. But to date these are primarily symbolic gestures: the university continues to invest tens of millions of dollars in fossil fuels.

If you want this to change, here’s one quick but potentially very significant action faculty and staff can take: Sign a letter calling on the University of Waterloo to divest from fossil fuels and re-invest in a just, climate-safe future.

Opportunities

Call for Abstracts for University of Waterloo Virtual Conference on Student Mental Health Research

As part of UWaterloo's Thrive Week, a conference on student mental health research will be held on November 5th, 2020. Before the conference, Thrive is requesting submission of abstracts to be presented at the conference. Presentations can be in the form of posters or oral presentations.

For guidance concerning your abstract, please email Rachel Reist at rreist@uwaterloo.ca.

Funded Masters & PhD Program in Understanding the Relationship Between Children and Youth with Disabilities and the Visual Arts

This fully-funded graduate degree program is run out of Ryerson University and HEART Lab at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Dr. Fiona Moola is looking for a MA student to undertake QUALITATIVE & ARTS-BASED RESEARCH in VISUAL ARTS. Specifically, the desired MA student will do their thesis on investigating the complex relationship between children and youth with disabilities and the visual arts, in Ontario. The student will be utilizing an arts-based research methodological approach, to generate sociological knowledge by exploring the artistic experiences and artistic creations of children and youth with physical disabilities in Ontario.

Those interested, please send your CV and cover letter, with the Subject Heading ‘Paintbrush Study – MA Student Application’ to Nivatha Moothathamby at nmoothathamby@hollandbloorview.ca

Pan-Canadian Day of Action: Strike for Climate Peace - No New Fighter Jets

This event will take place on Friday, October 2, Noon (12-1pm) at MP Bardish Chagger's Office, 100 Regina Street, Waterloo and MP Raj Saini's Office, 209 Frederick St, Kitchener.

The team organizing this event calls for help to stop Canada from spending $19 billion on 88 new carbon-intensive combat aircraft. It's the second most expensive procurement in Canadian history and it will prevent Canada from decarbonizing and meeting its Paris Agreement target to stop catastrophic climate change.

Virtual Events

Water Institute Conference Looks at Achieving Sustainability in a Post-COVID World

A message from the Water Institute.

Does the coronavirus pandemic doom the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Or does it present an opportunity to make significant progress against the SDGs? How can water research contribute?

Join the Water Institute from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. EDT on September 29, September 30 and October 1 for Can we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in a post-COVID world? A Water Institute Conference covering five continents over three days.

Resources for Online Learning

How to Be Successful in Online Learning

How to be successful in online learning is an online session that will be offered on September 24th (11 AM - 12 PM) and 28th (2 PM - 3 PM). Register for this event here.

Virtual Peer Support

Virtual 1-1 peer success coaching, is available for all students through the student success office. Register to get study tips and advice from an upper-year who has been where you are now. Read more about this event here.

Tutor Connect

If you're in need of a hand with one of your classes, be sure to check out Portal's Tutor Connect feature, which will connect you with someone who can give you a hand. Read more about Tutor Connect here.