Nov. 2010 insideLaurier

4 University launches year-long centennial celebra-tion with festive events for staff and faculty.

CAMPUS | COMMUNITY | CONNECTIONS VOL. 1 | NO. 1 | APRIL 7,2008

CAMPUS | CONNECTIONS | COMMUNITY VOL. 1 | NO. 1 | APRIL 7,2008







2 Archive of champions: new Olympic and sports history collection arrives at Laurier.

7Martin Dowding’s new book advocates vigilance on privacy in the age of social media.

Wilfrid Laurier University • November 2010

Laurier centennial festivities in full swing

Chongqing delegates visit tech hubBy Sandra Muir

The ties between Laurier and China’s Chongqing University were strengthened Nov. 12 as a visiting delegation from Chongqing visited the Commu-nitech Hub in Kitchener to discuss current and future projects.

The delegation of high-ranking officials and academics toured the digital media centre, including the Laurier space in the Hub. They talked to young business leaders from Laurier, and other partners within the Hub.

“The delegation is very interested in entrepreneurship and the opportunities that exist through this digital conver-gence centre,” said Steve Farlow, executive director of Laurier’s Schlegel School of Entrepre-neurship. “Entrepreneurship is one of the key focuses of the relationship between Laurier

and Chongqinq University.”Farlow, Associate Vice-

President of Research Paul Maxim and Laurier Interna-tional Director Peter Donahue were on hand to greet the delegates. They were also welcomed by Waterloo Region Chair Ken Seiling, Kitchener-Waterloo MP Peter Braid and they mayors of Kitchener and Waterloo.

After their welcome, the delegation attended a presen-tation about a technology platform that could facilitate curriculum delivery.

“We hope to facilitate oppor-tunities for Laurier students to listen to professors from China delivering guest lectures on Chinese business and culture,” said Tom Buckley, assistant vice-president: academic services.

“This concept is unique in that most Canadian universities send their curriculum the other way.”

Laurier established an office at Chongqing University, which is located in the city of Chongqing, in 2007. Chongqing is a major centre in southwestern China with a population of over 31 million.

The Communitech Hub, located in the Tannery building at 151 Charles St. W., Kitchener, opened in October as a digital media and business-accelerator centre that brings entrepre-neurs together with high-tech companies and academic leaders in a collaborative environment.

As the Hub’s academic partner, Laurier will create opportunities for faculty and students to share their expertise with new entrepreneurs and early-stage companies. Laurier also expects its faculty and students to benefit from their interaction with the entrepre-neurs and with established corporate partners.

Laurier earns top marks in university rankings By Kevin Crowley

Laurier has again scored top marks in Maclean’s magazine’s annual university rankings and The Globe and Mail’s annual Canadian University Report.

In the Maclean’s rankings, Laurier placed first in Ontario and fifth in the country in the Overall Ranking category for primarily undergraduate universities. Laurier also placed first in Ontario and third in the country for Highest Quality among primarily undergraduate universities.

Laurier also ranked in the top three in its category nationally and provincially for Best Overall, Reputational Survey, and Most Innovative.

In the Globe and Mail’s Canadian University Report, Laurier was among the “tops

in quality of education” in its category across Canada for Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Math, Business and Commerce, and Health and Medical programs. It also ranked “tops in career preparation” for Arts and Humanities as well as for Business and Commerce.

As well, a number of Laurier programs were highlighted as

“programs you may not know about — but should.” These include Financial Mathematics, Music Therapy, and Muslim Studies.

“Laurier continues to perform very well in the most important categories in these rankings,” said Laurier President Max Blouw. “Both reports show that our students are quite satisfied with their overall university experience, and that Laurier

RANKINGS see page 3

Large, colourful banners were installed on prominent buildings on the Waterloo campus last month as part of the launch of Laurier’s year-long centennial celebrations. Banners will also be installed at Laurier Brantford, and

in Kitchener and Toronto. The university held festive events for staff, faculty and students on its Waterloo and Brantford campuses in October to kick off the celebrations. For photos, story and upcoming events see pp. 4-5.

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Laurier’s centennial an opportunity to reflect on past and futureThe phrase “celebrating 100

years in 2011” has become a familiar one at Laurier over the past few years. There is no doubt that an anniversary of this magnitude is an occasion for great celebration. It is truly a milestone that should be marked with fanfare and pride.

We launched our year-long centennial celebrations last month with several excellent events for staff, faculty and students at our Waterloo and Brantford campuses. It was wonderful to see so many people take a break from their busy schedules and spend time together celebrating our shared community.

I was honoured to say a few words about Laurier’s centennial and the importance of celebrating such a significant milestone. With your indul-gence, I would like to touch on a few of those themes again here.

A centennial is an opportunity to look back, to reflect upon what we have experienced and

all that we have learned; to recognize and applaud all that has been accomplished and those who have contributed so much.

A centennial is also an oppor-tunity to look forward. This institution has grown from a one-building seminary with four students to a multi-campus university of more than 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

I can’t help but wonder if the people who gathered together 99 years ago to mark the opening of the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary, the insti-tution to which we trace our roots, could have possibly imagined the nature and scale of the developments that would come in the decades to follow. Somehow, I suspect they did not. But Wilfrid Laurier University is here today because of them, and for that we owe them our respect for their vision, and our gratitude.

Throughout its history, Laurier has earned a reputation

for combining academic excel-lence with a distinct sense of community. In our rapid evolution as a multi-campus community it is important to remember that the mission, vision and values that were identified as part of the recent envisioning exercise have captured and built upon strengths and traditions almost 100 years strong.

These values and traditions have allowed us to produce exceptionally thoughtful, engaged and productive

graduates. Our institutional proposition — “inspiring lives of leadership and purpose” — will increasingly become a statement by which Laurier is defined by peoples far and wide.

Over the coming months, you will hear about an initiative that even more completely integrates our students’ academic experience with the many experiential and co-curricular learning oppor-tunities that are so abundantly available to them at Laurier.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this initiative will catapult the university into a position that no other insti-tution holds, and will carve for us a unique leadership position.

Wilfrid Laurier University, I believe, is entering into a brilliant future.

When our namesake, former prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, addressed the Ottawa Canadian Club in 1904, he spoke the following words:

“Canada has been modest in

its history, although its history, in my estimation, is only commencing in this century. The nineteenth century was the century of the United States, I think we can claim that Canada will fill the twentieth century.”

It wasn’t long before this particular quote had a much shorter version, which is now commonly attributed to the former prime minister. “The twentieth century,” people say,

“belongs to Canada.”It could be said that Wilfrid

Laurier University has also been modest in its history. But the prologue has been written. Our time has arrived. And the next century is one of amazing potential and possibility.

Dr. Max BlouwPresident and Vice-Chancellor

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Send us your news, events & stories

Email: [email protected]

All submissions are appreciated, however not all submissions will be published. We reserve the right to edit all copy for accuracy, content and length.

InsideLaurier

Volume 3, Number 5, November 2010

Editor: Nicholas Dinka

Assistant Editor: Lori Chalmers Morrison

Design: Erin Steed

Contributors: Tomasz Adamski, Kevin Crowley, Sandra Muir, Mallory O’Brien, Dean Palmer

InsideLaurier is published by Communications, Public Affairs & Marketing (CPAM)

Wilfrid Laurier University 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5

InsideLaurier welcomes your comments and suggestions for stories.

Tel: (519) 884-0710 ext. 3341 | Fax: (519) 884-8848 Email: [email protected]

InsideLaurier (circ. 2,100) is published eight times a year by CPAM.

Opinions expressed in InsideLaurier do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the university’s administration.

Available online at www.wlu.ca/publicaffairs.Printed on recycled paper

Next issue of

December 2010





Deadline for submissions: November 22

By Sandra Muir

Students and faculty at Laurier now have access to 40 years of Olympic and sports history in the form of personal documents,

reports and correspondence belonging to former International Olympic Committee (IOC) presi-dent Avery Brundage.

Brundage, an accomplished businessman and one-time Olympic competitor, led the IOC from 1952 to 1972, a politically charged period that saw the rise of television in sport.

“If anybody is interested in trying to understand the Olympic movement in the post-Second World War era, and the early to middle stages of the Cold War, this is the place to start,” said Stephen Wenn, professor of kinesiology and physical education.

Wenn has written several papers on Brundage, and suggested bringing the collection to Laurier with the help of an endowment fund.

“This is something that is very unique to the university and to the department,” said Stephen

Perry, chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

The 146 reels of microfilm – which arrived in September – include Brundage’s personal correspondence with IOC members during his tenure, minutes of IOC board meetings, personal correspondence pertaining to the Olympics, speeches, personal newspaper and magazine clippings, and documents related to successful and unsuccessful Olympic bids.

“I can’t take my students to (IOC headquarters in) Lausanne to do research, but they can go to the Brundage collection,” said Wenn.

While the Kinesiology and Physical Education department owns the Brundage Collection, Wenn said the department has no intention of restricting its access. That’s why it’s being housed at Laurier’s Waterloo campus

New collection brings Olympic and sports history to LaurierLibrary in the Archives and Special Collections department.

Julia Hendry, a librarian in Archives and Special Collections who previously worked at the University of Illinois where the original collection is managed, helped with the transition.

“We worked with them to come up with procedures (for usage),” said Hendry.

Archives and Special Collec-tions is located on the first floor of the library, and is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.

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(l-r) Julia Hendry, Stephen Perry and Stephen Wenn with the Brundage Collection.





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John Leigh Walters has won the 2010 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for A Very Capable Life: The Autobiography of Zarah Petri. A reception for Walters was held Nov. 10 in the Paul Martin Centre.

Walters reshapes the autobio-graphical impulse by writing in the first-person voice of his mother, the sweetly acerbic Zarah Petri. Walters’ use of Petri’s colloquial and engaging narration makes the book part oral history, part memoir and part re-imagination of the events of the twentieth century.

Speaking on behalf of this year’s jury, Laurier Associate Professor Tanis MacDonald said, “Walters offers the story of his mother’s journey from Hungary to Canada as a feminine picaresque with the indomitable Zarah in the dual roles of heroine and storyteller. In recreating his mother as a resourceful and often hilarious character, Walters’ sustained act of literary ventrilo-quism captures the ingenuity and passion of the diasporic narrative in Canadian cultural history.”

Walters spent a lifetime writing, producing and hosting television programs in both the United States and Canada, most recently producing and hosting interview programs for CTV in Waterloo. He lives in Kitchener, where

in retirement he has turned his attention to writing memoir. A Very Capable Life is his first book.

The shortlist for the 2010 Edna Staebler Award also included: Lakeland: Journeys into the Soul of Canada (Greystone Books) by Allan Casey and Smiling Bears: A Zookeeper Explores the Behaviour and Emotional Life of Bears (Greystone Books) by Else Poulsen.

The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction was launched in 1991 and is admin-istered by Wilfrid Laurier University, the only university in Canada to bestow a nationally recognized literary award. The $10,000 award encourages and recognizes Canadian writers for a first or second work of creative non-fiction that includes a Canadian locale and/or significance.

Laurier announces winners of MBA Alumni AwardsOn Nov. 4, Laurier honoured the winners of its fourth annual MBA Alumni Awards with a gala dinner at the Toronto Board of Trade.

“Every year we celebrate alumni who have demonstrated extraordinary achievement in their respective fields, from their leadership abilities and business acumen to their entrepreneurial spirit and community engagement,” said Hugh Munro, director of Laurier’s MBA program.

“This year we are excited to present a truly outstanding lineup of alumni who excel on many levels.”

The awards program was established in 2007 to recognize outstanding achievement by Laurier alumni, with the goal of inspiring today’s students to strive for personal and profes-sional success.

The 2010 award winners are: • Outstanding Executive

Leadership: Mitch Frazer (MBA ’03)

• Outstanding Innovation and Achievement: Robert Tong (MBA ’94)

• Outstanding CMA/MBA Alumna: Maureen Tomlinson (MBA ’05)

• WLU Alumni Associa-tion’s Award of Distinction: Michael Dell (MBA ’05)

• Community Leadership Award: Michael Rea (MBA ’98)

• MBA Alumnus of the Year Award: Jeffrey Melanson (MBA ’99)

Laurier establishes Hall of NationsLaurier has established a Hall of Nations at its Waterloo campus to represent the diversity of Laurier’s student community. Flags from about 70 countries have been installed in Laurier’s dining hall.

The Hall of Nations is a joint effort between the Diversity & Equity Office and Laurier Inter-national. It received support from centennial funding and

the Special Initiatives Fund.“The Hall of Nations acknowl-

edges the country of origin of our entire student body,” said Adam Lawrence, manager of the Diversity & Equity Office.

“Being an inclusive community involves celebrating and educating all individuals at Laurier, and we hope this initiative will be a positive addition to the Laurier culture.”

Princeton Review ranks SBE in top 300Laurier has been named an outstanding business school by the Princeton Review. The education services company featured Laurier’s School of Business & Economics (SBE) in

the 2011 edition of its book, The Best 300 Business Schools.

“It’s wonderful to be recog-nized alongside some of the biggest and best business schools in the world,” said Ginny Dybenko, dean of SBE.

The Best 300 Business Schools, published by Random House, features profiles of selected schools with write-ups on their academics, student life and admissions, as well as ratings for academics, selectivity and career-placement services.

In the profile on SBE, the Princeton Review editors say: “No matter how, when, or where they pursue an MBA, Laurier students appreciate the school’s commitment to the case-based learning method.”

Record fall convocation graduates 1,130 studentsThe largest fall convocation in Laurier’s history saw 1,130 students receiving degrees Oct. 29.

The morning ceremony included a speech from award-winning author Lawrence Hill, who received an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree.

During the afternoon ceremony, Gerry McGrath, a former long-serving member of Laurier’s Board of Governors, became the university’s inaugural appointee to the Order of Wilfrid Laurier.

NEWS What’s new and notable at Laurier

By Mallory O’Brien

Suzanne Luke, curator of Laurier’s Robert Langen Art Gallery, turns the crank on a giant, mechanical grasshopper and pipes begin to emit otherworldly sounds. In a few weeks, students from local schools will begin visiting the gallery to interact with this and other kinetic sculptures by artist Steven White.

So will about 400 Laurier geography students, who will hear White speak about the sculptures he’s created from a 1960s combine harvester. Through his art, White explores the fate of agricultural farmland in a world of factory-style farm operations and genetically modified products

– something Laurier students have been learning about in their Intro-duction to Human Geography course.

Over the last four years, the Robert Langen Art Gallery has begun to featuring professional artists whose work directly links to Laurier’s academic curriculum.

“I’m really happy about restructuring the gallery’s mandate,” says Luke. “We can now give students a well-rounded education by including a visual- arts angle in their courses. The arts stimulate creativity and

dialogue, and give students a different perspective on the theoretical concepts they are being taught in class.”

The gallery, located in the John Aird Building, opened in 1989 through the efforts of Laurier Professor Emeritus Robert Langen. Today, Laurier houses about 2,300 pieces in its permanent collection. The gallery also offers framing services to staff and faculty, organizes “artbus” trips and gallery hops, and hosts community outreach programs.

In addition to inviting local schools and community groups to the gallery, Luke has collabo-rated with the Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener & Area to host exhibitions in the gallery space, and has curated works from Laurier’s Woldemar Neufeld collection at The Museum (formerly Waterloo Regional Children’s Museum).

The gallery will celebrate Laurier’s centennial with “100 bowls” as part of the Empty Bowls community initiative designed to raise awareness about hunger. Hosted in collabo-ration with the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop, the Robert Langen Art Gallery will serve as a second venue. The charity event is scheduled for May 19, 2011 and

tickets are $40.Guests select one bowl and

enjoy a modest meal of soup and bread. Potters from the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop donate the bowls and the meal is provided by Laurier’s Food Services. All proceeds go directly to the Waterloo Food Bank.

“This is a wonderful event to raise awareness of hunger in our region,” says Luke. “The university gives to the community and the community gives back to us. We support not only local artists but also each other.”

For more information about the gallery, contact Luke at [email protected].

John Leigh Walters wins Edna Staebler Award

RANKINGS continuedremains a very attractive choice among students.”

In the online edition of the Globe’s Canadian University Report, the students surveyed highlighted “Five Things” to know about Laurier:• Well-known business

program• Friendly, close-knit

community; strong school spirit

• One-on-one interaction with faculty

• Many student-run volunteer services

• Co-op work programsStudents also gave “kudos” to

the following Laurier programs:• Business• Economics• Kinesiology• Music• Concurrent Education

(BA and B.Ed, based at the Brantford campus)

• Criminology (based at the Brantford campus)

The merging of art and academics

Lise Pedersen, manager of programs and services for Laurier International, and Adam Lawrence, manager of the Diversity & Equity Office, celebrate the opening of Laurier’s Hall of Nations.

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Robert Langen Art Gallery supplements university curriculum and reaches out to wider community

Suzanne Luke with a piece from artist Steven White’s The Combine Project.

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Staff and faculty celebrate centennial kick off

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November 2010

What are you reading?

What are you listening to?

What are you reading?

What are you listening to?

Name: Sunil KuruvillaJob Title: Marketing & Recruitment Coordinator, Faculty of MusicBook Title: The Wire: Truth Be ToldAuthor: Rafael Alvarez

I almost passed on this book because it seemed slight (lots of pictures), but I recommend it now because it parses the HBO television series by genius David Simon (so designated recently by the MacArthur Foundation). I also recommend Gay Talese’s The Silent Season of a Hero and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.

Name: Nela PetkovicJob Title: Manager, Enterprise Solutions, Infor-mation Technology ServicesCD Title: ÕÿöArtist: Angélique Kidjo

A resident of New York City, Kidjo was born and raised in the West African country of Benin. Her new album is largely composed of covers, an homage to the musical giants she listened to while growing up. It is a real musical fusion that incorporates elements of soul and funk, samba, reggae, salsa, jazz, gospel, zouk, makossa . . . a lot of reasons to enjoy it!

Brian Smith, a finance professor with the School of Business & Economics, has been named an associate

editor of The Financial Review. As the only Canadian on the

academic journal’s editorial board, he joins a team of leading researchers from around the world and from universities such as Cornell, Purdue, Georgetown and Notre Dame.

New appointments:Beth Noble Annual Giving Officer, Annual Giving.

Sharon Janics Account Admin-istrator, ITS.

Eleftharia (Rhea) Edmunds Coordinator, Continuing Studies, Teaching Support Services.

Tara Cyganik Administrative Assistant, Teaching Support Service.

Charlotte Armstrong Recep-tionist/Administrative Assistant, Accessible Learning.

Marnie Mae Antoniow Aboriginal Student Support Coordinator (Brantford).

Funke Oba Coordinator, Practicum, Faculty of Social Work.

Lacey Payne Administrative Assistant, School of Business & Economics.

Jeff Hunt Special Constable, Special Constable Services.

Melissa Burke Events Assistant- Alumni Relations, Alumni & Annual Giving.

Nicholas Dinka News & Editorial Officer, Communica-tions, Public Affairs & Marketing (CPAM).

Sandra Muir Writer, CPAM.

John Samuel Custodian, Physical Resources.

Hope Engel Intermediate Administrative Assistant, Geography.

Caitlin Bell Coordinator: Student Leadership Centre.

Changes in staff appointments: Denise MacDonald Food Service Associate, Food Services.

Kristine Dyck Coordinator, Events, University Relations.

Holly Cox Manager, Enrolment Services (Brantford).

Melissa Dube Food Service Associate-Lead Hand, Food Services.

Nancy Buckley Board Gover-nance Officer, Secretariat Office.

Maurice Sachs Custodian, Physical Resources.

Marinuta Sirbu Food Service Associate-Lead Hand, Food Services.

Robert Tait Food Service Associate, Food Services.

Malgorzata Urbankowski Food Service Associate, Food Services.

Charlene Mak Administrative Assistant, Laurier International.

Benny Gamble Custodian Leadhand-Weekend, Physical Resources.

Greg Stewart Manager, Athletics & Recreation, Student Services (Brantford).

Mary Ball Custodian Leadhand, Physical Resources.

Charisse Sayer Administrative Assistant – AFS, Faculty of Social Work.

Beth Dela Rosa Special Events Coordinator (Brantford).

Barb Grzybek Grill Cook, Food Services.

Do you have a personal or profes-sional milestone to share with the Laurier community? Email us at [email protected].

PEOPLE AT LAURIER

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Laurier kicked-off a year-long centennial celebration last month that will lead up to the university’s 100th anniversary on Oct. 30, 2011.

The university held festive launch events for students and for staff and faculty on its Waterloo and Brantford campuses in October.

A number of large, colourful banners were installed on prominent buildings around the Waterloo campus to celebrate the centennial. Similar banners will be installed on the Brantford campus later this fall.

In remarks at the launch event in Waterloo, Laurier President Max Blouw said the centennial is a significant milestone for the university and for the broader community.

“There’s no doubt that an anniversary of this magnitude is an occasion for great celebration. It is truly a milestone that should be marked with fanfare and pride,” he said.

Blouw drew parallels between the character of the university’s namesake — Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who served as Canada’s prime minister from 1896-1911 — and the university’s vision and values. These shared values include

“the courage to engage and challenge the world in all its

complexity,” the desire to encourage people to live a “life of purpose and citizenship,” and the importance of supporting “diversity and a culture of inclusivity.”

“Sir Wilfrid’s life was clearly one of leadership and purpose, and it is often said that without him, this country would not be the Canada we know today,” Blouw said. “How appropriate then, and perhaps inevitable, that the university that bears his name inspires lives of leadership and purpose.”

A number of centennial initiatives were introduced, including a new scholarship program, a community volunteer initiative and a centennial website. Many others will roll out over the next 12 months, including a new book about the history of Wilfrid Laurier University, a statue of Sir Wilfrid on the Waterloo campus and a wide range of celebratory events.

For more information about the centennial — including a historical timeline, photo gallery and calendar of events

— please visit the website at LAURIER100.ca.

Laurier launches centennial initiativesCentennial Events in November:

What You Can Do With a Laurier Degree in English and Film Studies: The Department of English and Film Studies Centennial Speaker Series

Alumnus and literary agent Jackie Kaiser will speak about her career and Laurier memories Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. in the Bricker Academic Building.

Wilfrid Laurier Birthday Bookstore Sale

Shop for great deals at the Waterloo campus Bookstore Nov. 20.

100 Years After Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier: Understanding Canada’s Political Landscape

The first of a four-part series, this talk by Michael Byers of the University of British Columbia and Shelagh Grant of Trent University, will focus on arctic sovereignty. The talk will take place Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Senate and Board Chamber.

Francisco Carrillo and Paul Carkner celebrate their status as newly minted MBAs. Fall convocation, on Oct. 29, was Laurier’s largest ever, with some 1,130 grads.

Fall convocation gets two thumbs up

CENTENNIAL





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Sir Wilfrid’s answers are in his own words from documented quotations.

The university celebrated its fall convocation last month. What would your message be to our graduates? As for you who stand today on the threshold of life, with a long horizon open before you for a long career of usefulness to your native land… already many problems rise before you: problems of race division, problems of creed differences, problems of economic conflict, problems of national duty and national aspiration. Let me

tell you that for the solution of these problems you have a safe guide, an unfailing light if you remember that faith is better than doubt and love is better than hate. Banish hate and doubt from your life.

If you could be anyone else…If I were not French I would choose to be Scotch.

How would you recommend the Laurier community celebrate its centennial in 2011 (a full century after your last year as prime minister of Canada)?

Let them look to the past, but let them also look to the future; let them look to the land of their ancestors, but let them look also to the land of their children.

As a politician, what is your commitment to Canada?I pledge my honour that I will give the whole of my life to the cause of concili-ation, harmony and concord amongst the different elements of this country of ours.

Who has influenced you?John Bright [a British radical

and Liberal statesman] has been my mentor and idol, and, of course, [British prime minister William Ewart] Gladstone, as the great apostle of freedom, both fiscally and politically.

How do you spend your spare time?I read. I enjoy art and painting and spending Christmases with my wife Zoé in Artha-baskaville, a small French-Canadian village.

How would you advise people to work toward the university’s philosophy of

inspiring lives of leadership and purpose?Let your aim and purpose, in good report or ill, in victory or defeat, be so to live, so to strive, so to serve as to do your part to raise even higher the standard of life and living.

What do you see when you look at Laurier’s students?When I look about me, I see everywhere hope, calm resolution, courage, enthu-siasm to face all difficulties, to settle all problems.

By Lori Chalmers Morrison

COFFEE WITH A CO-WORKER

Name: Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Job: Seventh Prime Minister of Canada, lawyer, university namesake.

Where you can find him: On Canada’s five-dollar bill, in our history books, on Laurier’s centennial banners, and, coming in 2011, as a life-sized statue on Laurier’s Waterloo campus.

How he takes his coffee: We’re guessing he may have tried instant coffee when it was invented in 1907. After all, he was busy that year travelling to London, England for the Imperial Conference of Premiers and pre-paring for the Canadian federal election of 1908 – surely he didn’t have time to brew his own.

The Combine Project by Steven WhiteWhen: Until Dec. 4Where: Robert Langen Art GalleryCost: Free

This exhibit explores the fate of agricultural farmland in a world of factory-style farm operations and geneti-cally modified products, and challenges viewers to re-examine the concept of agricultural sustainability.

Meal Planning for You & Your FamilyWhen: Nov. 17Noon – 1 p.m.Where: Room CB209, Carnegie Building, Brantford campusCost: Free

This workshop will provide participants with practical tips on how to tackle meal planning for the whole family. To register, visit the Training & Devel-opment web page and click the link in the left-hand menu.

Who Do We Think We Are? Canadian Values and Foreign PolicyWhen: Nov. 18Noon – 1 p.m.Where: Faculty of Social WorkCost: Free

Professor J. A. Sandy Irvine from Laurier’s Department of History will be the presenter

at this popular noon-hour lecture series co-hosted by the Kitchener Public Library.

Laurier Free Film SeriesWhen: Nov. 187 p.m.Where: BA201Cost: Free

Enjoy a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, sponsored by the Dean of Arts Office.

Music at NoonWhen: Nov. 25NoonWhere: Maureen Forrester Recital HallCost: Free

Bring your lunch and enjoy Emma Banfield on violin, Diana Dumlavwalla on piano and Christine Passmore on horn.

The Art of Conducting SymposiumWhen: Nov. 279 a.m. – 5 p.m.Where: Faculty of MusicCost: $60, educators, musicians; $45 university students

This one-day event hosted by the Faculty of Music and the Office of Continuing Studies allows conductors of all skill levels to work under the direction of distinguished conductors.

MBA Speed NetworkingWhen: Dec. 27:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.Where: Laurier Toronto officeCost: Free

How many connections can you make before breakfast? Laurier MBA alumni are invited to attend this morning of fast, fun, formal networking. To register, visit www.laurieralumni.ca and click on Events.

The Genius of George Gershwin (1898-1937)When: Dec. 2Noon – 1 p.m.Where: Faculty of Social WorkCost: Free

Professor Gordon Greene from Laurier’s Faculty of Music will be the presenter at this popular noon-hour lecture series co-hosted by the Kitchener Public Library.

Nutrition Myths and TruthsWhen: Dec. 8Noon – 1 p.m.Where: Webinar – your office.Cost: Free

How well do you know your nutrition facts from fiction? This interactive online session will uncover nutrition myths and truths. To register, visit the Training & Development web page and click the link in the left-hand menu.

COMING EVENTS For a complete list of events visit www.wlu.ca/events

Smoke detectors save livesYou changed your clock in early No-vember, but did you change the bat-teries in your smoke detector? Here are a few other tips to minimize your risk of fire-related injury or death:

• Install smoke detectors outside each bedroom and sleeping area, and on each level of your home, including the basement.

• Follow the manufacturer’s directions for testing and cleaning your smoke detectors.

• Replace any smoke detector that is more than 10 years old.

• Change the batteries as often as recommended by the manufacturer.

• Never “borrow” batteries from your smoke detectors for some other device.

• Develop a family escape plan and include a meeting place outside the home. Practice it with your children.

Adopted from Health Canada. For more information, visit www.hc-sc.gc.ca.





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By Mallory O’Brien

In 10 years of studying privacy, Communication Studies Professor Martin Dowding has learned that, generally, people just don’t know enough about it. Worse than not knowing are those who just don’t care.

“Young people seem so willing to give everything away and it truly surprises me,” he says. Despite the laws that are in place to protect them, “they should be much more careful.”

Dowding says people aren’t keeping their identities private enough. His new book, A Reader About Privacy: Are We Defending An Illusion?, will be published next spring. It details the many reasons why people should care about privacy, even as it gets more difficult to maintain.

But even if you do care enough to sit down and read the Facebook privacy policy — which is longer than the American Constitution — would it change whether or not you use the service?

Not likely, according to Dowding.

He says that in today’s society people have accepted that in order to use a service or to acquire goods they have to give away private information. For example, perhaps you put up with being tagged in unflattering photos because Facebook is so convenient

for keeping in touch with old friends. Or maybe you give your phone number, postal code or email address to a shop clerk because you really want to buy a product.

In 1999, the CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, said, “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.”

“That was more than 10 years ago and it really took people off guard,” says Dowding.

“But sure enough he was right, and people have gotten over it.”

Since the advent of social media, it has only gotten worse.

“As new technologies come along, there are new opportu-nities to breach privacy,” says Dowding, who cites the uproar

over the recent addition of full-body scanners to airport security stations.

In Facebook’s early days, only the user could see all of his or her profile information. As the website evolved, more information was made public automatically. Today, a user’s name, profile picture, gender, location, friends, networks and pages he or she subscribes to are, by default, public infor-mation.

Echoing McNealy’s remarks, Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder, CEO and president of Facebook, more recently said in an interview, “People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.”

“The repercussions of this are that some people will inevi-tably find out something about you,” says Dowding, who has a Facebook page but no profile picture. “That stuff is online forever. If you’ve been to a party or did a weird thing, someone will find out.”

However, privacy is more

than just what is posted online. Since Aristotle first distin-guished between public and private space, there have been problems with defining that line of separation.

There are two main privacy laws in Canada: the Privacy Act, a law that came into effect in 1983, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which became a law in 2000. The former determines how the federal government controls information about Canadian citizens, and the latter governs how the private sector collects and uses citizens’ information.

“The laws are important for controlling the collection, use, disclosure and destruction of information,” says Dowding.

There are reasons why the ability to disclose private information is warranted. While Dowding is against any sort of surveillance, he admits that closed-circuit TV cameras are beneficial for preventing crime.

“The issue of disclosure can be very vital in certain periods in a person’s life. It’s a problem that also comes up

a lot in health care. If you are unconscious and people need to get information about you to someone else, but they think,

‘Oh it’s private, I can’t possibly do that,’ then you could end up in a bad way.”

Dowding offers two cases he’s studied where the proper disclosure of information might have saved lives. In 2008, a Carleton University student committed suicide.

She had been suffering from depression and taking various medications, but no one told her family until it was too late.

One of the most famous cases was the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. The gunman,

Seung-Hui Cho, had a long history of psychological problems, but American doctors did not inform the school of Cho’s severe anxiety disorder.

“Certain disparate parties knew about these problems but they weren’t able to get together and figure out what might happen. In retrospect, when they made the report, they began to realize that disclosure is really important at crucial times.”

The Virginia Tech incident garnered much criticism from the media, which often took the position that “privacy is bad.” Dowding says it’s a common misinterpretation of the law: while federal legis-lation protects confidentiality, the laws also state that confi-dentiality can be broken if someone’s life is in danger.

“The law is and was, in fact, very clear that under special circumstances such as these, counsellors and doctors have every right and responsibility to disclose someone’s condition to the appropriate authorities. If severe harm might befall someone, it’s important to tell the right people.”

RESEARCH FILE

Is privacy possible in a web 2.0 world?Professor Martin Dowding says people should be vigilant in protecting their personal information

Professor Martin Dowding says people have gotten used to having less privacy, especially with the advent of social media.

You can breach privacy

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November 2010

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IN THE CLASSROOM A look inside the lecture hall

Professor: Mercedes Rowinsky-Geurts

Class: SP100: Introduction to Spanish

Description: In this year-long course students learn basic grammar, practical vocabulary and verbal and written commu-nication skills.

Engaging students in a large class entails energy, passion, enthusiasm and a deep under-standing of students’ learning styles, says Mercedes Rowinsky-Geurts, a languages and liter-ature professor.

“I try to provide a variety of methodologies and approaches that attempt to capture their attention and imagination, while offering them the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in the course,” she says.

From the use of creative writing projects based on “affective learning” to colour-coded group work, students have a place to excel and to explore the language’s nuances and culture.

“Students don’t shy away from difficult tasks — they embrace the challenges, and their investment of time and creativity results in a clear commitment to the learning process. This, in itself, is the most rewarding teaching and learning experience.” ~ By Mallory O’Brien

Language of learning

Photo: Dean Palmer

Professor Mercedes Rowinsky-Geurts says her students relish the challenge of difficult assignments.

Homecoming 2010: purple and gold foreverAlumni and friends returned to Waterloo campus Oct. 1-3 for this year’s festivities

Clockwise from top left: The Golden Hawks pummel the University of Guelph Gryphons in a decisive 34-2 victory; runners participate in the Laurier Loop charity run; fans cheer on the football team at University

Stadium; comedian Tim Allen takes the stage at Kitchener Auditorium; serving up a delicious free pancake breakfast in the quad.

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