THE NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO ENGINEERING SOCIETY volume 24 issue 10 | 29 August 2003

“The distance is nothing; it’s only the first step that is difficult” - Marquise du Deffand

Official FroshWeek Schedule

Avi Caplan inUganda

How to Save SomeCoin

Check us out @ http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/

Page 11Page 5 Page 7

Welcome to Orientation Week 2003!

You’ve made it through a stressful yearof your parents worrying about the doublecohort, you worrying about the doublecohort, a bunch of exams in some not tooeasy courses and maybe a summer spentworking to pay for that first term oftuition. The $4243.99 is a tough pill toswallow, even after six work terms!

But here you are, at the University ofWaterloo having been accepted into whatis widely known as best engineeringschool in Canada - and we’re all too happyto confirm that for you over and over again:)

So you’ve either just cracked this openafter having received your frosh kits, oryou may have waited until after the fullfirst day of activities to spend a little quiettime taking everything in. Either way, restassured that you are now a passenger on avery wild and wonderful ride - one thatyou have ultimate control over. Over thenext few days, and indeed years, you willmeet and associate with some of thesmartest minds in Canada (other than yourown of course) in the way of classmates,professors and industry professionals. Youwill have the opportunity to represent yourclass, faculty and university at regional,provincial and national competitions, onteams and advisory committees.

The Faculty is fortunate to have suffi-cient smart minds with similar intereststhat it has been able to build and sustain

award winning sports teams such as theAlternative Fuels Team, Mini Baja,Formula SAE, Clean Snowmobile,Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group andMidnight Sun Solar Race Car. Quite apartfrom the vehicle teams, we also havebranches of Engineers Without Bordersand the Institute for Electronics andElectrical Engineers (IEEE). Watch outfor recruitment posters during the firstweeks of class and take note of the timeand place if any of these teams interestyou.

The Engineering Society, whose logoforms a large portion of the back of yourleaders’ shirts, consists of a number ofexecutive and director positions filled bydedicated students that help to continue toprovide invaluable services to you. Theseservices include the online examinationbank, which allows you to view and down-load old midterms and finals; the coffeeshop, offering a full range of food and bev-erages to get you through the long gru-elling days of first year; POETS, theFaculty lounge and bar, complete withstate of the art sound, full entertainmentsystems, and foozball; and the EngineeringSociety Office, providing low priced pho-tocopying and novelties.

To help with some of those tuition andliving expenses, there are many scholar-ships and bursaries for which any studentcan apply. In addition to this, many facul-ties (including this one) as well as theFederation of Students (FEDS) offer manyon-campus jobs. For those of you who

might want to diversify your involvementacross the University the FEDS offer jobopportunities including working atFederation Hall or the Bombshelter, theTurnkey Desk or Walksafe. The housingoffices of your residences may have jobopenings at their front desks or you maywant to follow in the footsteps of your Donand put in an application. For those of youwho are more politically boisterous, thereare representative positions on the FEDSCouncil and in its executive. You will bethrust into ongoing tense and not-so-tenserelations with the University and the Citybecause after all, some people are alwaysup for a good argument.

Snippits of all of these facets ofUniversity life at Waterloo will be present-ed to you during Orientation Week and

afterwards, with many opportunities toexplore the ones of interest to you in moredetail. All that is required of you is thedesire to make the most of what will easi-ly be one of the most rewarding periods ofyour life.

Having said all of that, and you willhear this over and over for the next fewweeks, but welcome to Waterloo, theUniversity of Waterloo and to the Facultyof Engineering and we hope you enjoyyour trip!

Sincerely,

James Kunz and Justin Bishop

Welcome to University of Waterloo Engineering

University Eating: Surviving Residence - Frosh Edition

Welcome to the V1 cafeteria. Ontoday’s menu we have a choice

between brown cardboard smothered in apasty gray sauce and gray cardboardsmothered in a pasty brown sauce.

Okay, so the caf isn’t as bad as all that,but the repetition can get a bit tiresome.The following are some useful strategiesfor surviving the residence food.

1: Know your optionsAssuming that you’re on the standard

meal plan (and not some wacky St.Jerome’s thing) you have full access to 5cafeterias. Each of these has it’s own fla-vor and choices. Important to note areBrubakers in the SLC, which can provideyou with your (somewhat overpriced)pizza quotient as well as the occasionalBelgian waffle (mmm so good). Also, theDC caf has a Tim Horton’s, a Mr. Sub anda source of Chinese food.

Next, check the calendar. There’s oneor two posted at every caf stating who’sserving what and when. Sometimes there’ssomething good being served at anothercaf. Usually not, but you’d feel dumbmissing steak night for steamed beans andgoo.

Finally, experiment with the grills andsub places. A Phillycheese steak or grilledcheese can often be afine substitute for theglop served at the maincounter.

2: SpicesCafeteria food is

made to be edible for the largest portion ofthe population as cheaply as possible. Theemphasis here is on edible, not enjoyable.That basically means bland. The more fla-vorless the food, the fewer people there arethat can’t eat it.

So what can you do about bland food?Bring your own flavor. You’d be amazed atwhat some decent pepper and a bit of bar-

beque sauce can do. Plus having yourfavorite brand names from home makesthe transition a lot easier. I suggest havingthe following with you at all times in thecafeteria: salt, pepper, BBQ sauce, soysauce, oregano, Tabasco, garlic powder,your favorite salad dressing. Anything elsethat you’re used to having access to at

home is also highly rec-ommended.

You’ll also probablyfind that having the rightkind of sauce is a greatway to meet people.Nobody else likes thefood either.

3: SnacksGolden rule of snacking: don’t buy

them at the cafeteria. Your meager mealplan does not allow you to frequently buyany of the tasty goodies available to you inthe cafeteria. Satisfying your munchieswith cafeteria food will have you com-pletely out of meal plan by mid October.

Instead, buy your snacks in a normal

supermarket, or even better, get your par-ents to buy them. (By the way, the closestsupermarket to residence is just west of theuniversity on Columbia Ave.) Granolabars, yogurt, fruit cups, potato chips,crackers, popcorn, it doesn’t matter -they’re all much cheaper to buy offcampus. Don’t be fooled by the “halfprice” at the caf. They’re half pricebecause you already paid the other half.Double the price, then see if the Ben andJerry’s is worth it.

4: Dietary restrictionsSo you have a complex set of dietary

restrictions. You’re a lactose intolerant,celiac, vegetarian, diabetic who’s deathlyallergic to nuts. All I can say to you is goodluck. The university is always ready toaccommodate the special needs of theirstudents. So make sure your needs are wellknown.

A final word of advice: if the food evertastes really good, and seems very heavilyseasoned, assume it’s that way to cover theflavor of rotting meat.

Ryan Consell3A Mechanical

“you’d feel dumb missing steak

night for steamedbeans and goo.”

For some of us, this is just another termin the seemingly endless parade of

profs who feel it necessary to inundate uswith not quite completely incomprehensi-ble oratory that on occasion has somesmall pertinence to the assignments andexams. And for others, those of youreceiving this special Frosh issue forexample, this is the start of somethingcompletely new. I'm sure I'm not the first(and hopefully I'm not the last) to welcomeyou to the University of Waterloo.

What you're now reading is a specialFrosh issue of the Iron Warrior. Over thecourse of a typical term, the Iron Warriorpublishes five issues - one every otherweek, with a week-long break over mid-terms. In fall terms, however, we also putout an extra Orientation week supplementgeared towards introducing first-year stu-dents to the university and to Engineeringlife. This is said issue. Thank you forreading it.

What I'm going to address in this, myfirst editorial, is the idea of becominginvolved at the university. You are mostlikely going to be overwhelmed with thelarge number of groups, teams, clubs,organizations and societies that are seek-ing your involvement - remember, youdon't need to choose immediately. Feelfree to take a term to grow accustomed towhat each club has to offer; by doing soyou can ensure you don't overload yourschedule or become involved in somethingyou won't enjoy.

Although I'm advocating taking yourtime, I'd also like to emphasize howimportant it is to become involved. beingan all-round student is crucial to enjoyingyour university career. To be honest, theprogram you're about to enter is not goingto be easy. It's going to be stressful and it'sgoing to force you to stay up very, verylate, very, very often. Being involved inextra curricular activities is a great way tobreak up the monotony of that work.

Essentially, what I'm advocating is tobe involved, but to do so intelligently.Don't rush to join every club you see asyou'll only burn yourself out. Take yourtime and be choosy.

There are a number of ways to becomeinvolved and I'd like to introduce you to anumber for which I am particularly fond.Yes, this is blatantly pushing my particularchoices in hopes of convincing some ofyou to join up. No, I won't do this everyissue. This one's special.

The first is the Engineering C&D(Coffee & Donut shop). Everyone is freeto shop in the coffee and donut shop, butwhat few people know is that it's possibleto earn P**5 points for volunteering yourtime as staff there (for those of you whodon't know - P**5 are spirit point classescompete for - the three winning classeseach term earn cash prizes). I myself firststarted volunteering at the C&D in thesummer of 2002. For nine hours eachweek I'd be able to relax in an environmentwhere I could pick my own music, chillwith the other staff and meet a lot of newpeople. It was a blast and I highly recom-mend it. If volunteering at the C&Dsounds like something that would interestyou, drop by and ask for Mary - she canhook you up.

The second item I wanted to mentionwas the entire series of Campus Rec teamsand athletics programs offered at the PAC(Physical Activities Complex). If there's asport you enjoy, chances are there'salready a team or club you can join. If not,they're always open to starting new clubs.I first joined a club in my 1B term - theJuggling club. Most recently however I'vetaken advantage of the $40/term martialarts club and the free squash courts.Physical exercise at the fraction of theprice of a gym's membership. Chiseledabs and Adonis-like physique here I come.In all honesty though, it's a cost effectivealternative and there is a ridiculous num-ber of options.

The final item I wanted to highlightwas the Iron Warrior. The Iron Warrior isthe University of Waterloo engineeringnewspaper and gives all engineering stu-dents the opportunity to improve theirwritten communication skills. It's notrequired that you have any previous news-

paper-related experience, only that youhave a desire to participate. Every term,this term included, there are openings forwriters, photographers and editing staff.

I first became interested in the IronWarrior in my 2A term - when I passed bya staff meeting and noticed they haddonuts (yes, there are free drinks andsnacks at the meetings). I was lured in bythe tempting pastries and haven't left theoffice since. If you're at all interested inparticipating in any of the above capaci-ties, or if you simply want a donut, feelfree to come out to our weekly meetings tosee how things are run.

The final point that bears mentioning isthe way the Iron Warrior works acrossterms. Although in the past, the ASoc andBSoc Iron Warriors were run independent-ly, over the last couple years we've gonethrough a lot of changes - changes whichhave resulted in a paper that's almost com-pletely uniform across the two societies.This means that if you join the paper onone stream, you're more than welcome tocontinue on into the other society.

So in closing I'd like to leave you withtwo examples, each indicating an extremeof involvement. I have a friend whoapproached me this term with a long dia-tribe about not know UW had a jugglingclub and that now he's graduating and can'tfind the time to join. Don't let this be you.It sucks. On the other hand, during my lastterm in school I was so involved that whenI calculated how much time I'd spent inclass, the sum total was depressingly farbelow the 50 hour mark. For the entireterm. Don't let this be you. It sucks.

If you have any questions whatsoeverabout the newspaper, volunteering or any-thing else about getting involved here atUW, feel free to drop me a line at iwar-rior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

The Newspaper of the University ofWaterloo Engineering Society

Editor-in-ChiefJonathan Fishbein

Joseph Fung

Assistant EditorCindy Bao

John Olaveson

Photo EditorVacant

Layout EditorVacant

Technical EditorVacant

WebmasterVacant

Distribution ManagerVacant

Business ManagerVacant

Offstream Editor-in-ChiefJeff Henry

StaffAndré Beltempo

Ryan BayneBen GuzinskiDan Foong

Matt GagliardiKristina HotzJames KunzMatt Moore

Christos SarakinosDavid Yip

Contributors

Jeff AlfonsiEmma Bardon

Krystina BensonJustin BishopAvi Caplan

Ryan ConsellJeff DeLoyde

Mike HenhefferGrant Hollohan

Kate KelleyAfsheen KhanNick LawlerJosh Levitz

Jay LiuChristine McCulloughLiam McHugh-Russell

Laura MooneyMatt Strickland

Rajat SuriMeagen Wheeler

Erin Young

2 Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

Letter From the Editor

Joseph Fung

3N Computer

Editor-in-Chief

Questions? Comments?We welcome letters and feedbackfrom all our readers. Please emailus at:

iwarrior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

The Iron Warrior is a forum for thought provokingand informative articles published by the EngineeringSociety. Views expressed in The Iron Warrior arethose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect theopinions of the Engineering Society.The Iron Warrior encourages submissions from stu-dents, faculty and members of the university commu-nity. Submissions should reflect the concerns andintellectual standards of the university in general. Theauthor's name and phone number should be included.All submissions, unless otherwise stated, become theproperty of The Iron Warrior, which reserves theright to refuse publication of material which it deemsunsuitable. The Iron Warrior also reserves the rightto edit grammar, spelling and text that do not meetuniversity standards. Authors will be notified of anymajor changes that may be required. Mail should be addressed to The Iron Warrior,Engineering Society, CPH 1327, University ofWaterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1. Our phonenumber is (519) 888-4567 x2693. Our fax number is(519) 725-4872. E-mail can be sent toiwarrior@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

Getting Involved ... At a Medium Pace

3Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

News

Agroup of 10 University of Waterlooengineering students are departing for

Costa Rica on Monday, August 25 as partof an environmental volunteer work expe-dition.

This group of 4th year environmentalengineering students will dedicate 7 daysout of their 12-day non-creditfieldtrip to work-ing with locals ina remote commu-nity. Located atan altitude of6000 feet in them o u n t a i n o u sDurika BiologicalReserve, the com-munity boasts ane x h i l a r a t i n gdiversity of lush rain and cloud forests,monkeys, toucans, and jaguars.

“We will be working on a micro hydro-electric project, planting trees in deforest-ed areas, and bringing used clothing to anearby indigenous village,” said KellyBush, a UW environmental engineeringstudent.

The students will also be helping thecommunity with daily tasks such as gar-

dening, repairs, and the always favouriteherding, milking, and feeding of the goats.The goal is for the students to integratethemselves into the daily lives of the peo-ple they will be staying with.

Each morning the students will work inthe community, then trek in the afternoonson rainforest trails to waterfalls, an indige-nous village, and, for two days and onenight at an elevation of 10,000 feet, back-pack to the continental divide from whereboth the Atlantic and Pacific oceans can be

seen.The 10 UW

students will betraveling as partof a group of 15university stu-dents from acrossOntario. Thiscultural/environ-mental experi-ence is led byJohn McKillopfrom Journey

South, a Toronto-based teacher turned eco-adventure travel operator. This will be his9th student fieldtrip this year.

“John was a high school teacher ofmine who led a school group that I waspart of to Costa Rica in 1998,” said JeffDeLoyde, a 4th year environmental engi-neering student at UW.

“John was so enchanted by the beautyand spice of the place that he retired early

from teaching and now leads universityand high school groups to Costa Rica,”said DeLoyde.

The Durika community was founded15 years ago and includes about 30 resi-dents who left their city lives for a simplerlifestyle. The community is entirely sus-tainable in that they produce all the foodand materials they need on-site.

They use the money raised througheco-tourism to buy tracts of rainforest withthe aim of creating a protected wildlife

corridor betweenDurika and LaAmistad NationalPark. To date theyhave secured18,000 acres ofrainforest. Thisconservation effortis critical since LaAmistad is thelargest park inCentral Americaand is a UNESCO

designated World Biosphere Reserve andWorld Heritage Site.

“University students often use thesefieldtrips as a springboard for independenttravel around Costa Rica and Central andSouth America,” says McKillop.

Costa Rica is a paradise for naturalists,with countless species of wildlife, plants,and ancient virgin rainforest.

“This is truly a once in a lifetime

opportunity,” says Bush.

For more information contact JeffDeLoyde at (519) 883-7839 or by e-mail atjdeloyde@uwaterloo.ca or John McKillopof Journey South at (416) 306-0760 or bye-mail at info@journeysouth.com.Alternatively visit the Journey South website at www.JourneySouth.com or theDurika Biological Reserve web site atwww.durkia.org

Jeff DeLoyde

UW Students Volunteer in Costa Rica

Year 2003 Black out that hit over 50million, spreading from New York

state to all the way up to parts of Ottawa,was one of the more serious events thatoccurred in the past 26 years in NorthAmerica. It was a great mishap, the causeof which is still unknown. The black outtargeted residents when temperatures roseup to 32 degree celsius during daytime andnights were too warm with hardly anywind or cool breeze blowing across (ofcourse what else would you expect in midof august).

The people of Ontario greatly sufferedas ATM machines were not working andmany people did not have cash on them tobuy food or beverages. On the other hand,many people had large feasts with theirneighborhood as all the stored meat anddairy products were going bad in therefrigerator. People stuck in Go-trains,subways and elevators were delayed to getback home on time. There were no flood-lights so the baseball and football gameswere postponed. The Ministry of Healthhooked up generators to power the hospi-tals. All the domestic and US trans-borderflights were postponed and 70,000 passen-gers were affected. As darkness fell on thecity, the residential area was patrolled bythe dedicated and tired police force.People tackled the situation patiently andcooperated with each other. There werehardly any casualties.

The Mayor of Toronto in said: “Well,we do everything we possibly can …Iknow it is scarce but please be calm. We

are going to make sure every one is evac-uated from subways. I know it is scary toget stuck in an elevator I want to ask peo-ple to conserve water, not wash your carfor a couple of days won’t hurt it. Pleaseturn off your air conditioners before thehydro comes on I don’t have a direct timebut I know they are working hard on it. Iam proud of this city and its emergen-cies…”

Ontario has been in a vulnerable situa-tion for the last year and a half due to ourpower grid’s dependency on its U.S. coun-terpart. It was believed that the lighteningat the Niagara power station might havebeen the cause of the blackout. It is uselessto play blame games when the damage hasalready been done, so we now have to dis-cover how to avoid such an incident fromhappening again. We need to foresee andrectify the problems in our power gridbefore they strike us and our economyagain. The consequences of such a poweroutage are severe and it’s time for us torealise that we need to expand our sourcesof power and become independent by gen-erating a surplus of our own. Peopleshould not take Ontario Hydro for granted.Electricity generation is not magical; it hasbeen developed with great effort and hardwork.

Now as engineers here at Waterloo it isour responsibility to help save ourprovince and nation from such a disaster inthe near future by both conservation andexpansion. I am sure we can do it! Wehave the means and the brains to go aboutit. It the time when we have to learn tostand on our two feet set up our own gridto meet our needs and not to depend onothers for power. The future is in the handsof the engineers of tomorrow and we canmake it or break it.

Time to Get on Our FeetAfsheen Khan1B Chemical

“This group of 4thyear environmental

engineering studentswill (work) with

locals in a remote community.”

“The 10 UW studentswill be traveling as

part of a group of 15university students

from across Ontario.”

Scenic Costa Rica

4 Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

Advice

Welcome all Frosh! But this articleisn’t really about Frosh. So that’s

all you’ll see on that (I’m sure you’ll allagree) over-discussed subject from me fornow...

But then, what do I talk about? In pre-vious issues, I’ve discussed rampant killersquirrels, slime-volleyball, the OntarioSociety of Professional Engineers, andwhatever other assignments have beenissued me by my learned editors. But thistime, there was a general call for articles.What you read is my response.

We all know, or will soon know, aboutco-op jobs. Some are good, some are bad,some don’t even get one. First year itsreally random. In upper years too,although the higher you go the better theaverage job.

We all know what we think of classes.Some of us hate them, I don’t mind themas a way to get me out from behind aPlaystation II controller. That’s right, Idon’t live only for video games. There’salso beverages, parties, and girls. Classesare a way to keep informed about upcom-ing events. So is residence. There aresome good party houses that you’ll end upat one day or another.

I’m going to talk about the importanceof moderation. No one can spend all theirtime partying or schooling or lounging andmaintain a healthy body and mind. Nohuman is designed for that. So do a bit ofit all. Sure, you’ve likely heard thisbefore. In fact, I may have done an articlelike this before. I forget now. But moder-ation is the key.

Go rollerblading or biking or hiking, orcheck out that big gym on campus, to getaway from stuff. Not only do those thingskeep your body healthy but exercise lets

the mind work out issues that you mightnot even know you have. Two for one.

Cook for yourself. Cook somethingmore than just hot dogs and Kraft Dinner.Don’t think I’m saying to stay away fromthose excellent food sources. But dosomething fun with them, if you don’t goall-out and make a stir-fry or stew or pasta.Add some flavour, some spices, some veg-gies. Vegetables keep the body runningsmoothly and feeling fine. All meats,grains, and beverages (that’s code, by theway) will go a long way to shortening alifespan. Yeah, eating well may feel like alot of work, but make it fun! In fact, makeall of life fun! Just don’t throw spit-ballsat me. Or you’ll be the subject of my nextundercover story. And then we’ll all seewhat kind of creep you really are.

Read a book (not a textbook, most ofthose are too dry to be any fun). Readingcan take your mind off school. I know. Ispent hours reading way too late into thenight during my first term. But a goodbook is a cure for over-schooling.Writing, too. One needs not be good atwriting to gain its benefits. Just take a penor pencil and use up some of that paperthat’s sitting in your notebook. Throw itaway when you’re done if you want.Writing can help to dislodge the junk thatclogs the mind.

Sleep! I can’t stress that one enough.After a long and tiring day, a bed feels sogood. Some people like to bathe beforebed. Do what feels best. But get sleep.One or two late nights won’t hurt. Butmoderation, people! Sleep enough thatyou can enjoy those parties without pass-ing out all the time. You can definitelyhold your beverages better when you’rewell-rested.

That does it for my words of advice fornow. But I’ll be back, with undercoverexclusives and high-risk investigations.What really happened when the roof of theSLC collapsed? Who is that mysteriousperson who came into my dorm room oncea week last semester? Soon all will berevealed.

John Olaveson

1B Civil

Advice from a Well-Travelled Man

A Typical Day in Rez

Free Money! Here’s how!

Did you know that the University hasmillions of dollars that they need to

give away to students in financial need?Did you know that it’s really easy to get it?

Step 1: Apply forOSAP. It doesn’t matterif you don’t think you’llget anything, it doesn’tmatter if they say youwon’t get anything. Youjust have to apply to beeligible for free money(that you NEVER haveto repay) from theschool. Go tohttp://osap.gov.on.caand fill out an applica-tion. Note: if you are not from Ontario,apply to the student loans program of yourhome province.

Step 2: Apply for a Bursary. Go tohttp://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infoawards/interface/main/current/2583-1-Bursary-

App-July-03.pdf to get a printable form,or drop by the registrar’s office (inNeedles hall, 2nd floor) to pick one up.Fill it out, write any letters they ask for,and drop it off again before the deadline.Before the end of the term, they’ll let youknow how much they’re giving you.

What’s the difference between a schol-arship and a bursary, you ask? A scholar-ship generally depends on your marks. Ifyou’re not right up near the top of yourclass, you probably won’t get one.

Bursaries are based onfinancial need. All theyreally ask marks-wise isthat you’re passing.

For a full, search-able list of scholarships,bursaries, and studentaid available to you,sign up for an account atwww.studentawards.ca- they have a full list ofscholarships and bur-saries available to you

both through the school and externally,based on the criteria you give them.

If you have any specific questions onscholarships and bursaries, the studentawards office can be reached at stu-dentawards@uwaterloo.ca.

Emma Bardon

Vice President,Education

“For a full, searchablelist of scholarships,

bursaries, and studentaid available to you,

sign up for an account at

www.studentawards.ca

First Year Advice

Hi there, welcome to UW engineering!If you’re like me, by the third day of

frosh week you’ll hate the word “frosh” asyou’ll hate the food at V1. Hopefully thelot of you have weathered the dehydratingdeath march known as “frosh week”, metsome people, enjoyed Single & Sexy,among other things. Throughout this issueof IW I’m sure there will be articles ofgeneral tips, things to do, checklists, etc,etc.

Quickly I’ll fire these off. * Eat* Sleep* Exercise* Play* Study* Get help if needed

This heavy stuff - study, exercise, etc -these things you’ll already know if you’resmart, or will learn the hard way if you’rea bit slower. I’m in group B; I didn’t fol-low any of those points during 1A, andI’m probably a lot worse for it. In fact my1A experience is probably exactly whatyou shouldn’t do, but I digress.

Apart from those aforementioned gen-eral lessons that you will hear a lot, thereare a few fine details that have stuck out inmy head from my first year experience.These are easy to do, don’t require nearlyas much effort as studying or exercising.

* Eat at South Campus Hall FestivalRoom for lunch. It’s DAMN good. Plusit’s a short walk from RCH. The first weekor two no-one knows about it, but once theword is out, you’ll be leaving classEARLY to get ahead in the custom pastaline. My friends and I did.

* If you’re used to surfing the net a lot,remember to check your daily usage.There’s a bandwidth cap - last time Ichecked if you download more than 500MB a week you get booted into a SUPERSLOW connection. It’s really embarrass-ing confronting the “What were youdownloading?” questions when you haveto borrow your roommate’s computer toget an assignment. The cap is probablylower now because of more students. Evenbetter, just cut down on your surf time, andget out and talk to people, or study, orsomething else.

* Buy a mini stapler and carry it withyou at all times. Essential for staplingassignments prior to hand-in, organizingstudy notes, etc.

* Don’t buy all your textbooks beforeclasses start. It’s tempting to do the “freshstart fully prepared” buying spree, butthere are some books you just won’t need,even though it’s on that sheet of textbooksthey give you. In addition to saving somehefty coin you’ll save yourself a morningof waiting in line.

* Don’t worry too much about theELPE, but worry a little. It’s not a big deal,but you, like some of my friends, will beannoyed if you fail it and have to take anEnglish credit. It probably wouldn’t be a

bad idea to spend five minutes to remindyourself how essays are written.

* Don’t worry about that Math thing;the worst thing that can happen is that youget assigned to a problems lab where youget extra TA help, which is in fact a goodthing.

* If you have a nice bike, don’t leave itoutside. It seems kind of obvious, but I leftmy bike locked outside during 1A and itwas fine. Someone cut my lock one weekinto 1B.

* There is a new city out there (unlessyou’re from the area of course). Check itout, but not without a map, or a local stu-dent. Standard navigational logic does notapply in KW. I quote last year’s IW FroshIssue: “You may know that roads inEngland are based on old sheep paths. Youprobably don’t know that the same is trueof KW, except the sheep were drunk at thetime. For example, King and Weber inter-sect three times.”

* Also keep in mind that on campusand off campus are like two differentcountries, where demographics, language,customs, cuisine, currency, and culturediffer.

* Try to read things: a friend of minewhose boyfriend is in my class com-plained that he couldn’t read her a storyanymore. Plus if it’s the news you read,you’ll save on some minor embarrassmentwhen you leave the university bubble.“What? A war? A new Prime Minister?”Try CNN, BBC, CBC, the UW Bulletin,Imprint (student paper) and uwstudent.org.

You’ll note this article is basically inpoint form - perhaps a testament to dimin-ishing writing skills as well.

* Do NOT eat Mr. Noodles. Mr.Noodles is the lowest common denomina-tor of instant food. Some of your class-mates can probably suggest morepalatable instant alternatives.

* Finally, get to know people. Be openand friendly! Help move in, or set up acomputer, or just chat. In high school peo-ple with technical inclination may have fit-ted a rather narrow profile, but in mymechanical class of 2007 I have guitarplayers, a DJ, freestyle rappers, down-hillers, artists, and a jazz singer, to name afew.

As a closing note, you will undoubted-ly hear reams of advice from professors,your Bigs, your Huges, and administra-tion. Still, the best way to learn is to justget out there and try new things, meet newpeople, and just take advantage of yournew environment and lifestyle! You’llonly get out as much as you put in.

“I have learned throughout my life as acomposer chiefly through my mistakesand pursuits of false assumptions, not bymy exposure to fountains of wisdom andknowledge.”

- Igor Stravinsky

Completely unprofessional personal-interest plug:

Check out the UW bloggers web-ringfor some insight into what your later yearlife might be like. http://p.webring.com/hub?ring=uwwebbloggers

David Yip1B Mechanical

5Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

Advice

Here’s how You’re Getting Ferschnickered!

Some of you may not pay your owntuition, but I bet that a lot of you do.

You’re in a magical place calledEngineering at UW, which according tosome university administrators means youget an unending supply of scholarships,and since you have a job, apparently youhave no financial need. Certain unnamedhigher-ups have made these views known,although not publicly.

Well, I know a lot of engineers that seethe situation a little differently. For one, awhole lot of engineers, especially ones inlower years, can’t find co-op jobs. Thatmeans none of the financial benefit ofthose swanky high paying jobs at the but-ton factory. Not to mention a large portionof those who do find jobs do so in the mid-

dle of term, meaning that, while theirweekly pay might be significant, it doesn’tadd up to enough to pay one term’s tuitionfor a whole bunch of people.

Maybe you missed it, but there wasalso a tech bust, and engineering is - sur-prise - a technical field. Many employerscan’t pay to fly you to California, can’t payto find you a cheap apartment, and certain-ly can’t pay the sizable salaries that theyused to. Which contributes just a littlemore to the growing attack on the invinci-ble financial situation of our beloved engi-neers.

It sure doesn’t help that your tuition(including the coop fee) is just $400 shortof being twice as much as for regular artsstudents. Your tuition has gone up by justunder 40% since I started in the fall of ‘99,and over 100% since ‘95 - less than tenyears ago. You’re now paying as much perterm as some of your older siblings or

cousins would have paid for engineering ina whole year.

As you probably know, many of youdon’t qualify for OSAP. This is probably inpart because the OSAP calculations havechanged over the years, which has led tothe removal of almost 140 000 students peryear from received support. So if you don’tget OSAP, consider yourself part of twospecial groups - those who will one daywear the Iron Ring, and one of the 140 000that should get financial aid, but don’t.

Keep in mind that this ever-harder topay for education isn’t ever-better. Mostdepartments on campus have had to cutspending over the past few years, andengineering has just been able to find themoney to break even instead - thanks tosome generous donors. That means thequality of your education is about what itwould have been five years ago, if longwaits because of the double cohort don’t

effect the quality of your education. There are small things you can do to

fix the problem. There’s a whole pile ofbursaries that you might qualify for thatyou can pick up applications for at theStudent Awards Office. There are peoplewho are trying to get this problemaddressed - your EngSoc reps are one, andthe FEDS (despite what some of your lead-ers might say) are another. Lastly, you candevelop an interest in provincial politics -decreased government funding has beenthe root of many of these problems, and ifyou don’t vote, politicians will think stu-dents don’t care.

So, when you’re scrounging for changein your couch to try and buy a box of Kraftdinner, or your TA doesn’t have time tocheck email, do more than just get fersh-nickered - get angry.

Liam McHugh-Russell is A mathie, buthe tries hard anyway.

Liam McHugh-RussellFEDS VP Education

My Two-Cents

It must be exciting to begin a new chap-ter in your life. Only a few months ago,

you were among the thousands of anony-mous high school kids who were beingguided blindly through the dark hallwaysof RCH by yellow-shirted Waterloo volun-teers. You said to yourself, “Well, I can seemyself being here.” You scratched yourhead, took a few pictures, and rode the 401back to your cozy homes.

The next day, you fell in love withUofT. The beautiful campus. Computersthat work. Arts hotties down the street.

Then your parents told you to eitheraccept Waterloo’s offer or get lost. Parentsare always the smartest of people.

It really doesn’t matter why you arehere. People come to Waterloo engineer-ing for a variety of reasons. Some can’tafford MIT. Some heard rumours aboutacademic excellence. Some were duped bythe prospect of Microsoft internships.Regardless, now you are on your way tobecome a proud Waterloo grad, and unlesssomething goes horribly wrong, whatawait you are the cruelest five years ofyour life.

It is not my intent to offer you any use-ful advice. If I had any, I would’ve tradedthose for something more useful thanappreciation from first year students. Twoexcellent skills do stand out to being ofsome importance, and it would not bedetrimental for them to be explained hereas I attempt to brush up on my writingskills before my work report resubmit.

The first one is the ability to watch outfor yourself while being lost in the day-to-day trivia of learning standardized engi-neering theories for the purpose ofobtaining high marks on examinationswhere the maximum possible leeway forcreativity is to decide between an idealizedtool A and an obviously inferior but no lessidealized tool B, which, to the confusionof many upper year students, is also occa-sionally named “A’” or “not A”. To main-tain a healthy lifestyle, both mentally andphysically, is essential. Since most of youwould be living on your own, the absenceof excessive nagging of your guardiansneeds to be counterbalanced by a strictsense of self-discipline. It takes time and

energy to stay sane, stay fit, and stay ontop of school work at the same time.However, these are exactly the famed “lifeskills” that a postsecondary education issupposed to offer. Employers will giveyou all the technical training you need todo your job. They will not teach you howto avoid depending on Big Mac couponsfor the rest of yourself.

The second important skill is not to getcaught up in the engineering bubble.Engineering schools tend to be veryenclosed environments. This is due to therigid structures that our predecessors havecreated for us. The structures exist to befollowed in order for us to be of competentservice to the common man upon gradua-tion. As you may have observed from yourfaculty-imposed course schedules, thenumber of electives is very limited, andthat of non-technical ones even fewer.Conspiracy theorists reckon that thisapparent governmental influence is pre-sent so that large quantities of identically-skilled workers can be cheaply assembledto not only meet the insatiable demand ofthe American Dream, but also to surplusgenerously for deployment in theCanadian and other underdevelopedeconomies around the world.

The mistake is to believe that we are inany way better than differently trainedcreatures on campus and elsewhere. Therereally is nothing holding you back fromthe temptation of feeling rather good aboutyourself right now. However, the comingfive years, if done correctly, should be adefinite eye-opener for most undergradu-ates. During these formative years, it isimportant that you truly embrace yourselfto the other side of the world. Diversifyyour field of study. Dive into the subjectsof liberal arts and social sciences withouthesitation. An engineer who is well-informed and one who understands theimportance of the world serves the societymuch more competently than someonewho is narrow-minded and, to use a high-ly sensitive technical term, “nerdy”.Economics will help you understand whyMicrosoft is dominating the world.Psychology will help you understand whywe let Microsoft dominate the world.Philosophy will help you understand whyMicrosoft seems to be immortal. Onlywhen you are capably armed with anunderstanding of the victor can you thenconfidently start to plot your owninformed plan to challenge his reign. Afterall, if history has taught us anything, it isthat no empire has lasted for ever.

7 Ways to Save YourMoney in Frosh Year

Okay, so you just got to Waterloo andyou’re probably wondering what to

do with that big OSAP cheque or the lineof credit you just received right? If youdidn’t notice, (because you were busysaying goodbye to 6875 of your closesthigh school friends or deciding whichJustin Timberlake CD to bring with you,)your tuition was just over $4200 this year,which for most of us is a good portion ofour cash for the semester. It’s agreed thatyou are going to have some tough timesahead of you, but here’s 7 helpful hints onhow to save cash during the semester sothat you need not opt out of the healthinsurance (which will come very handy inMidterms when you need a note to get outof your

Chemistry exam,) or heaven forbidyou could take back your WEEF moneyand earn

the title of “hey there’s that cheapbast—d” for the rest of your engineering

career.Hint #1: Be friendly with your neigh-

bour. Chances are he or she has stuff youforgot, and borrowing is cheaper than buy-ing. Learn to share!

Hint #2: Make friends with upper yearstudents. They will know the cheapestplaces to eat, drink, and where to do yourlaundry (if not in REZ.)

Hint #3: Make the most of your par-ents. If you are close enough to go home,or your parents do delivery you’ll want tocollect the following items: anything youcan, including food, toiletries, and quar-ters. If you can’t use it you can probablytrade it.

Hint #4: Pre-drink. Enough said.Hint #5: Go to any event that offers

free food or beverage. Eat lots, pretend tolisten, you might learn something, andmake friends with upper years too!

Hint #6: Do all your photocopies atthe orifice.

Hint #7: Apply for a bursary, you’d besurprised!

Catch you on the flip side!

Erin Young

WEEF Director

Jay Liu

3B Computer

UW Senate Report

The University of Waterloo Senate isthe highest Academic body on

campus. They control everything fromdetermining the very existence of facultiesand departments, to determining admis-sion standards, to conferring honorarydegrees. Whenever a program is modified(for example, an option is created), it mustget approved by Senate before becomingofficial. Membership consists of studentrepresentatives from each faculty, as wellas faculty members, the President andProvost, and members of the community.Meetings are held once a month, and areopen to the public.

Current projects being undertaken bythe student senators include: getting allcourse critiques from all faculties online, a

study on the impact of tuition levels onstudents at UW, and increased communi-cations between the senate and the studentbody. Other issues that have been dis-cussed include policies on admission toco-op programs given the current relative-ly low employment statistics, and lookinginto making the cap on bursaries reflectiveof the tuition paid as opposed to having acap common to both regulated and dereg-ulated programs.

The primary role of the student senatoris to ensure that student voices are heardby administration. If you have any con-cerns with any academic issues oncampus, let me know and I’ll see what Ican do - I’m here to represent you, so youropinions matter to me.

If you’d like to know more about sen-ate and what it does, go tohttp://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/uwact/uwactsen.htm.

If you’d like to keep posted on whatthe student senators are doing, visithttp://helmer.ca/mailman/listinfo/senate-consult to be added to the mailing list.

Emma Bardon

EngineeringUndergraduateSenator

6 Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

Community

Ihad a very interesting New Year’s Daythis year. I woke up at 5am, tripped over

the large suitcase that lay on the floorbeside my bed and threw on a sweatshirtand some cords as I hurried out of thehouse. The next thing I knew I was hug-ging my parents and boyfriend and passingthrough the gates at Pearson Internationalon my way to South East Asia and theNational University of Singapore (NUS).

After watching several friends go onexchange, including a few who went toNUS, I decided to check it out for myselfand applied to complete the 4A term of mycivil engineering degree in Singapore. Iwould recommend to anyone with thedesire to travel to go on an exchange aspart of their degree. The engineering fac-ulty offers an amazing exchange programto a number of countries all over the worldand it’s a great way to meet new people,immerse yourself in a new culture andlearn in a different education system.

I have to be honest and admit that I didmiss my friends, family, and a good oldCanadian winter at times, but overall itwas an experience worth having. I mettonnes of people, including foreign stu-dents studying full time at NUS fromplaces like Malaysia, China and India. Ialso met many other exchange studentsfrom all over the world.

I had a chance to experience the Hindufestivals Thaipusam and Pongal, see danc-ing Chinese lions, have my hands paintedwith henna, wear a sari, tour the Tiger BeerBrewery, make dumplings for ChineseNew Year, visit the oldest Mosque on theisland, go mountain biking and see a wildboar, visit a resort in Indonesia, spendweekends in Malaysia, tour Singapore’snew state-of-the-art water reclamationplant, and experience what’s it’s like to goto school on a tropical island where it

rained buckets for an hour every afternoonand was sunny and hot again by dinner. Ialso got to experience coffee with sweet-ened-condensed milk drank from a bag,eat shrimp dim sum and tom yam soup,and try Singapore’s famous chili crab andblack pepper crab.

The highlight of my trip was the springbreak, which was spent with anotherexchange student in Cambodia. I wasamazed by the magnificent temples of the10th-15th Century Khmer Empire.Angkor Wat, the largest of these greatstone temples, is the largest religiousbuilding in the world. Though almost athousand years old, and slowly being con-sumed by the jungle, these buildings putme in awe at the accomplishments theKhmer people. We witnessed it all upclose and from the back of a moto withsome very friendly locals. I was equallyhorrified at the legacy left by the KhmerRouge, who effectively sealed Cambodiaoff from the rest of the world as it upset theentire social structure of the country andcommitted genocide by brutally murderingover a million Cambodians (1/7 of thepopulation) during their reign from 1975

to 1979.I will never forget the amazing places I

saw, not the people I saw them with, butafter having been home for four months, Isometimes wonder if it was all a dream.Go check out the engineering exchangeweb page and start dreaming! It’s an excel-lent opportunity and I’d do it all over againgiven the chance.

Ryan Legg, a student from ISU also on exchange at NUS, in front of Angkor Wat

Meagan Wheeler displaying her Mehndi art

Meagan Wheeler4A Civil

Live the Dream, Do an Exchange What’s Upwith Co-op

this Fall

Ah, the start of a new term. A blankslate; a fresh beginning. Late nights

spent at the computer writing lab reports,mere hours before they are due, are a thingof the past. This term you will avoid thatstress by getting a jump-start on that kindof thing. No more waiting until the daybefore the midterm to acquaint yourselfwith that expensive bundle of paper theycall a textbook. Why, if you gave it theproper attention, you might even enjoyreading about partial differential equa-tions. So that’s it, this term will be differ-ent.

Right. While there are people thathave been here longer than I and wouldexperts in this area, I have been at this uni-versity for a long enough to understand itsunique rhythm. And my experience tellsme that this gung ho, take the term bystorm, race to the top of the class attitudeis part and parcel of the cycle of our high-er education. So, stop now, put down thepen, chances are you don’t need to writethat acceptance speech for being awardedthe Nobel Prize. Still convinced that byDecember your name will be spoken allover the world with great reverence for

your amazing work? Well, let me refreshyour memory about the thought processthe vast majority of us go through eachterm:

Week 1 – Have they ever given a 100%average to someone, because if theyhaven’t, it’s happening this term, and it’shappening to me. My system is flawlessand I am a machine. Roar. Watch out cir-cuits/ PDE’s / organic chemistry here Icome.

Week 2 – I could go out to the Bomberthis week, labs haven’t started, and I havesome of my assignments done…

Midterms – Exactly how did I gethere? How did I let it slide so far? I can’tbelieve this.

Post – midterms: See week 1. Last Week - Screw it. I am so far gone

it doesn’t matter. I’m going to the bomber.Finals - MUST PASS! MUST PASS! I

wonder if my prof takes bribes…Marks Posted on Quest – I don’t even

know how I got through that course, and Ididn’t deserve that mark, but I will take it.I am never letting this happen again.

Oh yeah, you know exactly what I amtalking about, don’t deny it. We’ve allbeen through it.

But wait, the situation is not hopeless.It may be possible to break the cycle. Andsince I have this incredible insight let my

offer a couple of suggestions. First, itdoesn’t hurt to get organized. I know thatword is off limits for some people, so I amgoing to say it again, organize. It willhelp. Second, don’t set you goals so highthat you have little chance of achievingthem. If your average has never cracked70%, chances are you won’t come out ofthis term with a 90%, so set a more realis-tic goal. Lastly, ease up on yourself.You’ve probably heard every one of your

classmates say at one time or another “Idon’t know if I passed that one”, but in theend they did pass. This program is toughenough as it is, you don’t need to be con-stantly beating yourself up over everything. Don’t dwell on your less than stel-lar performances; pick yourself up, try tolearn from your experience and make sureit doesn’t happen again. In other words,make a few small changes and this termwill be different.

Christine McCullough2B Chemical

Waterloo Through My Eyes:This Term Will Be Different

A new term, a new start - or not

As some of you may know CECS (Co-operative Education and Career

Services) is implementing a new, entirelyonline system for the co-op process. Thiswas slated to begin in the Fall term of thisyear, but has been delayed to a Winterstart. This means that all Engineers goingthrough co-op this term will be using theAccess system, as we have done for thelast few terms.

During the fall, the system will be test-ed on Teaching and Architecture students.This happened over the Summer term aswell, and will be repeated this termbecause of a change to the software.

Over the Fall, we will be running sev-eral co-op related seminars and work-shops. A quick summary is below. Forfurther details, look for posters.

Resume Critiques - this is an opportu-nity to get your resume checked out by asenior Engineering student who has beenthrough co-op a few times and knowswhat employers might be looking for. It’salso a chance to get it looked at by an extraset of eyes, no matter what level you’re at.This will be held early on in the term.

Interview skills - never had a formalinterview before? Want to brush up onsome basic interview skills? This work-shop will go over some of the basics youshould know before any interview. Willbe held shortly before interviews begin.

CECS.Online Intro session - since it’snot starting up until winter, this will likelybe late in the term. It’ll review the newsystem, and go over some of the basicsyou might want to know before headingback to school next term, like what docu-ments you’ll need to create and a quickoverview on how to make them.

Emma Bardon

Vice President,Education

7Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

Community

Engineers Without Borders: A Volunteer’s Story

The Northern part of Uganda - a coun-try of 25 million bordering on Sudan,

Democratic Republic of the Congo,Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya - has suf-fered for the past 17 years from what isreferred to as "insecurity." Attacks andambushes on civilians by the Lord'sResistance Army, a quasi-religious guerril-la force, disrupt agriculture and education.Women and children are abducted for useas human shields, to be taken as wives, orto be trained as soldiers. This summer, I'vebeen working in Uganda as an EngineersWithout Borders volunteer with CanadianPhysicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) on aproject intended to increase the productivecapacity of war-affected women and youththrough the use of ICTs - information andcommunication technologies - and also tohelp build the ICT capacity of CPAR-Uganda as an organization. By the timeyou read this, I will have returned toWaterloo to begin the final year of adegree in Independent Studies. Needlessto say, I've had quite a variety of interest-ing experiences in my three and a halfmonths here.

Immediately upon arrival in Africa itbecame clear that technology is used in abit of a different way. When boarding asmall plane in Nairobi for the last leg ofmy journey, I was asked to step through ametal detector, but was not allowed tohand off my keys and wallet. It seems thatthe metal detector goes off for everyone,and then security frisks you if you look asif you might be a threat. In Toronto, bycontrast, the roll of duct tape in my carry-on bag was cause for significant concernand was confiscated. I was told it would bedestroyed as it "would make a greatrestraining device."

It also became clear in my first fewdays at and around the CPAR head officein Kampala, the capital of Uganda, thatdaily life here is quite different than whatI'm used to. On the roads, for example,which are in quite different shape thanCanadian ones, size rules the day. Vehiclesdon't slow down as they approach pedes-trians, bicycles, or animals. Liberal use ofthe horn encourages smaller things tomove or be moved. There's no such thingas a traffic bridge, and I can recall havingseen only one set of traffic lights, but theyweren't working. In order to get anywhereyou just nose your way into a swarm ofvehicles to open up a space to turn or tocross.

Up North in Lira, where the ICT learn-ing centre is being established, motorizedvehicles are less common. Bicycles and

bicycle taxis fill the roads, and most goodsare moved with human power. What struckme most up country - besides the impossi-bility of reliable power, telephone, andInternet connections - is the poverty.Respectably-dressed co-workers go homeat night to homes in disrepair, without run-ning water or electricity, and where food iscooked outside over charcoal. One canonly be sure of the availability in the wayof food of some form of starch and somevariety of meat, plus whatever local pro-duce happens to be in season, and even avisitor with money is hardly assured offinding much of a selection. Not to say thatsuch poverty doesn't exist in Kampala - farfrom it - but it's even more noticeable upcountry where a few dollars would feed anextended family. And everyone has a storyof how the insecurity has affected them orsomeone they know.

One of the most exciting things I sawin Lira is the work of the director of a localFM station. White people such as him andmyself, I should note, are very uncommonup country, and are followed with all eyesor called out to on the street for attention.He decided three years ago to stop talkingabout development and actually do some-thing, and so shopped around for an oldradio transmitter, hitchhiked to Californiato take it down off a tower, then set up aradio station that plays not only music, butalso offers educational programming onsubjects such as basic agricultural eco-

nomics. He also helped to set up a servicewhereby cell phones have been providedto each of the public markets in Uganda.There, they are used to report back regu-larly by text message the prices of majorcrops. This information is then published,announced over the radio, and made avail-able at the cost of a single text messagefrom any cell phone. The result is thatfarmers are now able to sell their goodswhere the demand is highest, whereasbefore they might have only gotten 50-70% of fair value due to a lack of informa-tion. He's using simple technology to makethe market mechanism work.

In my short time here, I've been help-ing CPAR look at how this sort of infor-mation and communication technologycan be used to help improve people's livesand implement a computer learning centre.There are no easy answers, and the prob-lems we've faced have been not only tech-nical, but also social and political. There'sno question that much work remains to bedone, but the resourcefulness andresilience of the people here has beennothing short of incredible.

Visit http://waterloo.ewb.ca to find outmore about the Waterloo chapter ofEngineers Without Borders.

A recent Human Rights Watch reporton Uganda may also be of interest, and canbe found athttp://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/ugan-da0703/.

Avi Caplan

EWB VolunteerUganda

Scaffolding on a 5-story building in Kampala, Uganda. Halted contrstuction on Kampala International University

A typical Ugandan dwelling A richer area of Kampala

8 Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

EngSoc

ENGINEERING SOCIETY EXECUTIVE REPORTS

Welcome first years to your newhome. My name is Josh Levitz, and

I’m your Engineering Society ‘B’President. So before getting into the arti-cle, I know you must all have so manyquestions like “What is the engineeringsociety?” or “why is there an EngSoc Aand B?” or “How the #$%& do I find myway out of this building”. Hopefully mostof your questions will be answered duringthis frosh week, but I’ll get into a fewsmall details here.

First of all, I want to say congratula-tions to all of you for making it here. Youhave the opportunity to study at the bestengineering school in Canada, and I’m notjust saying that because I go here. The next5 years will be tough – I’m not going to lieto you – but they have the potential to besome of the best years of your life. It’s ulti-mately up to you to make them just that,but there are many resources to help youout: TA’s, professors, your peers, and ofcourse EngSoc.

Essentially, EngSoc is a student coun-cil for all of engineering. Being president,I’m pretty much the main contact foradministration, I sit on numerous commit-tees, and along with my amazing exec,represent the Engineering Society. I’ll justclarify the EngSoc A and B thing quicklybefore I go on: Because of co-op, half ofyou will be in school while the other halfis working at any given time. Therefore wehave two separate societies, with twoabsolutely fantastic and modest execu-tives! You are all currently coming into BSociety, but those who are doing 8 monthsof school straight will switch over to A inJanuary.

So what is this EngSoc this guy won’tshut up about? We’re here to help you withacademics, social life, co-op, and anything

else you can think of. You’ll be seeing usplan any number of events from semi-for-mals, to athletics, to resume critiques, tothe orientation week you are currentlyinvolved in. We also provide services suchas cheap photocopiers, POETS (the biglounge with the huge TV), and the C & D,where you’ll likely have at least 70% ofyour meals over your university career.EngSoc depends on students like you tokeep it going strong. I encourage everyoneto get involved in the society whether it bejust attending a few events, to being anevent director in the future, or even exec. Iwant to see a ridiculous amount of newfaces at EngSoc events this term, so don’tdisappoint me; it’s not pretty when I cry.

I’ll cut this off now but there’s just onemore thing I need to say, some advice fromthe wise if you will. Academics are amaz-ingly important - I’m not going to arguethat - but getting out and relaxing, meetingpeople, and having fun once in a while aremusts if you are going to stay sane in thefast paced engineering world. We knowyou’re all nervous but we’ve all been thereand we understand the huge adjustmentyou’ll be going through. Feel free to ask usany questions, either in person or by this“email” thing people are talking about –we’re good people to talk to. Take care thisweek, and over the next 5 years. I’m sureI’ll see you around!

Josh Levitzbsoc_prez@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

Josh Levitz

President (B-Soc)

From the Prez’s Desk

Welcome to the fabulous fall term.Why am I so enthusiastic about this

fall school term? Well we have somewicked awesome events happening. Infact, you should probably cut this articleout, photocopy it, and tape it to everythingyou own as a constant reminder of thingsyou won’t want to miss.

First off, we have a number of exhila-rating guest speakers lined up for Bridgingthe Gap. If you are interested in augment-ing your engineering education with abusiness or law degree be sure to markdown September 30th and October 7th,respectively, in your palm pilot, cellphone, UW agenda, or calendar. For youwomen, or men, there will be a number ofwomen in engineering events, which haveincluded movie nights and wine-and-cheese parties in the past. A few worthycandidates will also be selected to repre-sent the university at the Women inEngineering Conference in Kingston thisNovember. There are also other confer-ences and competitions for you to attend.The Canadian Federation of EngineeringStudents is hosting its annual conferencein Victoria, BC. Applications will appearon the Engsoc website (http://engsoc.uwa-terloo.ca/www/) sometime this term. On amore competitive note, the OntarioEngineering Competition is taking place at

Queen’s university this winter. Deadlinesfor entries will be early December, socheck with your department, or ask me, fordetails.

In additions to the aforementioned spe-cial events, there are always fun activitieshosted by our Engsoc, such as a play, artsweek, talent show, and sports.Furthermore, Engsoc presence extendsbeyond the university. We host ShadowDay, where high school students get achance to experience a day as a Waterlooengineer, and we build and ride a float forthe fantabulous Santa Claus parade. If youare interested in either event please let meknow. On a university wide level, you canjoin the chess clubs, environmental club,or the acappela group (seehttp://www.feds.ca/clubs/index.html forthe complete list). Your active participa-tion will only make university life better.

Beyond the scope of the university,you can get involved with the EngineeringStudent Societies Counsel of Ontario(www.essco.ca) or join the ProfessionalEngineers of Ontario (www.engineer-ingstudents.peo.on.ca) and the OntarioSociety of Professional Engineers(www.students.osep.on.ca) as a studentmember. There is no membership fee andyou get educated on issues pertaining to aprofessional engineer.

So enjoy a pig roast, some kus-kus, ahamburger, or a spring roll with a beer,martini, Perrier, or pop while tossing aFrisbee, aerobe, lacrosse ball, or yourcomputer (out the window when it dis-plays the windows blue screen of death forthe eighth time) and smile. This is a greattime in your life!

Jeff Alfonsi

Vice President,External (B-Soc)

From the Horse’s Mouth

Greetings from your friendly neigh-bourhood VP Ed. You might be won-

dering what exactly a Vice President ofEducation does here in UW Engineering.A lot of the work done is pretty invisible tothe average student, but the impact canstill be huge.

Workshops – this is probably the mostvisible aspect of the position. Every termwe run workshops on things like car care,etiquette, and various co-op related onessuch as resume critiques (get a senior stu-dent to go over your resume) and inter-view skills.

Course Critiques – a survey done inevery class, every term to rate the courseand the professor. The results of these sur-

veys actually impact the professor’ssalary, and even whether or not the profwill teach that course again. Summarizedresults are available to you in theEngineering Society Office.

Co-op Council – There is a council forco-op students, to deal with co-op relatedissues. A member of CECS (Co-operativeEducation and Career Services) staff sitson this council along with representativesfrom each faculty offering co-op. Believeit or not, they actually do care what thestudents think.

Debt-load surveys – As huge a finan-cial help as co-op is, for many students, itdoesn’t cover all expenses. We provide asurvey to students to help track the level ofdebt they are experiencing. There is cur-rently a campus wide project in the worksusing these surveys to show the impact ofthe rapidly rising tuition on the students.

There’s a lot more to the position, butthat’s a quick intro. For more information,see my other articles in this issue, or cometalk to me anytime.

Emma Bardon

Vice President,Education (B-Soc)

Hi everyone! I'm your friendly blondeWEEF Rep! I hope you've had a safe

and enjoyable summer. I will be makingsome class appearances during the firstfew weeks of the semester. I am going toapproach each class with a 3 minutespeech on why you shouldn't get yourWEEF money refunded. It's going tohighlight all the benefits each particulardepartment has received in the past fewterms, as well as a reminder about how itsupports the many student teams whichbring pride to Waterloo Engineering everyyear. I’m hoping this will help reduce theamount of refunds we have to give out thisyear.

Refunds will be staring during the sec-ond week of classes. If you do come to getyour refund please be patient, we processthem as quickly as possible. Bring theproper identification with you and look forsigns on the WEEF door for informationabout specific times and dates (generallythey will be running during lunch hours)

and more. I ask for your co-operation inorder to make things run as smoothly aspossible. Remember that the people pro-cessing the refunds are generously volun-teering their time, and refunds will bemailed out at a later date to your addresswhich is posted on the QUEST system.Any questions? Come see me, or email:weef@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

Due to disturbances in the economy inthe past months we are dealing with aseverely reduced budget for WEEF thissemester. Therefore, it is increasinglymore important now more than ever tokeep your donation where it belongs.

Please come see me in the WEEFoffice (2nd floor of E2 near the Civil Lab)if you have any questions about WEEF,especially if you are looking to getinvolved.

Remember that each class has to desig-nate a WEEF representative to attend afew short meetings during the course ofthe semester. You pay for your educationso get involved, make choices, makethings happen!

See you on campus!

Erin Young

Erin Young

WEEF Director(B-Soc)

Work and Studies

WEEF is Good!

Greetings Frosh! Welcome toEngineering at Waterloo. You’ve

probably heard here that our little schoolhere is the one of the best (if not the verybest) engineering schools in Canada! TheEngineering Society Vice PresidentEdumacation (as it’s known in some cir-cles) is your student representative on aca-demic issues to the faculty administration.It is my job to look out for you education-al issues like tuition, bursaries, scholar-ships, quality of education, and the like.

Some things to look forward to in the

winter terms are debt load surveys. Forthe past while, the engineering faculty hasbeen putting out surveys to try to gaugethe level of student debt within the engi-neering student body. This is your chanceto tell the administration how the deregu-lated tuition hikes are affecting your abili-ty to afford your education. There will bemore information about these when thetime comes in the winter term … so don’tyou fret.

For all you 8-streamers out there whoget to taste the joy we call the co-op sys-tem for the first time in the winter, don’tworry. The Engineering Society will berunning resume critique and interviewskills workshop to make sure your wellprepared to dive into the job market.Again watch for these at the start of thewinter term.

Good Luck in 1A and see you in 1B!

9Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

EngSoc

ENGINEERING SOCIETY EXECUTIVE REPORTS

To think, at this time last year I was oneof you: a wide-eyed, confused, excited

and totally innocent frosh. I remember,and I’m sure you’re still experiencing thecombination of excitement and slightpanic at entering engineering at Waterloo.You might want to start panicking more.

My name is Kate Kelly, I’m going into2A ElectricalEngineering, and I’malso Vice PresidentInternal of theUniversity of WaterlooEngineering Society(EngSoc) A (I’m off-stream). Don’t be shy ifyou see me around.Feel free to introduceyourself, ask questions, or just chat!

Engineering is all about what youmake of it. Studying and working hard inyour classes are the main reasons you arehere, and try not to forget that. However,there is a whole other side to engineeringthat you can totally overlook if you decideto just focus on schoolwork. EngSoc runsa number of events throughout the semes-ter, and by getting involved it’s a wonder-ful opportunity to meet new people andhave a lot of fun.

You’ll soon be seeing signs for “BOT”,our Beginning Of Term party, which takesplace in POETS (Pi*s On EverythingTomorrow’s Saturday), the engineeringlounge in CPH foyer (they serveBEvERages at the “OT”’s and everyThursday and Friday). This is a greatchance to see the TOOL, visit with friends,relax from school and of course meet moreengineers!

You’re soon going to be meeting yourclass; these are the people you are going tospend the next 5 years of your life with.You will make some very good friends.They will be the ones who will teach youhow to do an important calculus problem,

or a computer algorithmthe night before themidterm, so make sureyou get to know them!

Also, get to knowsome upper year stu-dents, they have gonethrough the same cours-es and workload as youwill be experiencing.

They are excellent resources and greatfriends. Don’t hesitate to ask an upper yearstudent questions or for advice, we’re usu-ally more then willing to comment oncourses or Profs.

Get involved, it’s fun! Check out thewebpage http://engsoc.uwaterloo.ca/wwwfor information on classes, upcomingevents, and other things you can getinvolved in! Remember that if you haveany questions, any of the Execs will bearound to answer your questions!

Kate Kelly

Vice President,Internal (A-Soc)

Jonathan Fishbein

Vice President,Education (A-Soc)

Welcome to the frosh edition of myreport. My name is Grant Holohan

and I’m your Vice President Finance. Thisspiel is packed full of good stuff especial-ly for the frosh. So read on!

For the Frosh:

You paid $14 to the EngineeringSociety because EngSoc does lots of greatstuff for you. Get to know our servicesbecause they can be awesome! First of all,and likely most important to you financial-ly, you can get the cheapest photocopieson campus in the EngSoc office (a.k.a. theOrifice). If you don’t know where this isyet, it’s down the hall from POETS, or bet-ter yet, ask your bigs or huges to showyou. Copies only cost 5 cents to EngSocmembers (that’s you!). Take advantage ofthis service because EngSoc provides it toyou at less than cost, so we actually eat uppart of your cost to save you money. Also,if you need to make a phone call, EngSocprovides a phone for free local calls. It’sin E2 by the SAE car, and it’s the one onthe right (the phone on the left is for on-campus calls only). Just dial ‘9’ and awayyou go.

If you liked the Engineering stuff inyour frosh kits you can buy moreEngineering Novelties like shirts, cardecals, beer-mugs, and other cool stufffrom the Novelties shop (right besidePOETS) or the Orifice.

Look around the Orifice to see all theother services we provide. After all, youpay for it all, so in effect it’s your Orifice.I won’t go into all the detail about whatelse happens in the Orifice, but EngSocemploys two full time people to help lookafter things for you: Mary and Betty. Getto know them too! They’re really nice andhelpful! Come on out and meet them thefirst Wednesday of the term at the OrificeOpen House.

For everyone:

For anyone who wants to be a directorthis term, I’m going to be holding a quickhalf hour workshop for new directors thatwill tell you how to fill out your budgetforms, and your expense sheets. That willbe happening on Tuesday September 16 at11:30 in the Orifice.

That’s all I have to say… except thatB**5 (i.e. B-Soc’s Big Bad BowlingBonanza) will be happening this year onSept 28th. Stay tuned for details…

“Do not go where the path may lead;go instead where there is no path andleave a trail.” --- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Grant Hollohan

Vice President,Finance (B-Soc)

The University of Waterloo’s engineer-ing program may very well be the

death of you. I’m not even kidding. Well,it probably won’t kill you, per say, but itcould end up being some of the worstyears of your life. Alright, hold on, I’m notinspiring too much confidence here. WhatI really mean is that it’s incredibly easy tofall victim to scholastic tunnel vision: toconcentrate all your time and energy onassignments, tutorial quizzes, and read-ings. To look up from your calculus text-book just long enough to grab a Coke andsome onion rings from the V1 Cafeteria.Don’t get me wrong, your principal reasonfor coming to university should be to fur-ther your education. Unless you’re somesort of sophisticated homework robot,however, you’ll probably find the next fiveyears pretty dull if you choose to ignore allthe clubs, teams, organization, activities,and events this campus has to offer.

This is where EngSoc, the Universityof Waterloo’s Engineering Society, canhelp you. EngSoc is constantly working tomake your life, as a UW student, easierand more enjoyable. The Society isresponsible for such essential services ascheap photocopying, an online exam bank,and resume critiques. But furthermore,EngSoc organizes events that appeal tonearly every engineering student. Be it acharity fundraiser, talent show, semi-for-mal, drama production, art contest, orrock-paper-scissor tournament nearlyeverything fun that goes on in the engi-neering buildings falls under the director-ship of the Engineering Society.

How can you get involved? Well,you’ve already taken a step in the rightdirection simply by cracking open thisnewspaper. Stay informed as to what’sgoing on in UW Engineering. Readposters, check out our website(engsoc.uwaterloo.ca), sign-up to receivee-mail updates by joining the EngSocGeneral mailing list. And most important-ly, take advantage of as many events aspossible. Engineering soccer tournamentthis weekend? Talk to your classmates

about getting a team together. Is the engi-neering play coming up? Get a ticket foropening night. Bored between classes?Check out what movie’s playing inPOETS, the Engineering Society’s two-story lounge. There’s no better way tomeet other engineering students.

If you feel like being even more activein EngSoc, consider becoming a class rep.Every class (e.g. Mech Eng ’08) can sendrepresentatives and cast a vote atEngineering Society meetings. Class repsare crucial in relaying information to theirclassmates and voicing concerns to theEngineering Society. There is a strong tra-dition of class rivalries here in UWEngineering and it’s important that yourclass decides on a name (e.g. “Syanide” –Systems Design ’06) and work on estab-lishing a website/mailing list. Class repsplay an important part in coordinatingthese things. Students who are interestedin organizing a specific activity can getinvolved by becoming Directors. Directorsare the people who make the world go‘round. They undertake a particular event(e.g. a wheelchair basketball tournament)and work to make it a reality. There arejust shy of 100 directorship positionsavailable and a few remain vacant as ofthis writing. Again, check out EngSoc’swebsite for more information.

Finally, a few dates to mark on yourcalendar. On Wednesday, Sept. 10th, theEngineering Society’s office (The Orifice)is holding an open house and, later on thatnight, is the first EngSoc meeting of theterm. This is a great chance to see what theSociety’s all about and enjoy a delicious,free dinner. The following day, Sept. 11th,features two more open houses: comecheck out POETS, your engineering stu-dent lounge, as well as UW Engineering’svery own darkroom. Finally, the weekconcludes on Friday, Sept. 12th with theBeginning of Term (BOT) Pub to be heldin POETS that night. For more details, beon the lookout for posters throughout theengineering buildings.

On a campus as big as Waterloo’s thereare countless things going on at any giventime. The Engineering Society is just oneway you can stay busy and get to knowboth your classmates and upper year stu-dents. Take advantage of being at such agreat university and get involved as muchas you can.

Matt Strickland

Vice President,Internal (B-Soc)

Money, Money,...MoneyHaving Fun is ... Good!

Everyone Loves WinterActivities

“Studying and workinghard in your classesare the main reasons

you are here”

Let the Learning Begin

First of all, I’d like to welcome the newsuckers…err I mean engineering stu-

dents to five years of tonnes of fun and nowork! Or was it the other way around?You’ll find out soon enough!

A little introduction on my part.I’m the VP-Finance for those of you inStream 8, which basically means I manageyour money to ensure that it goes to all theright places (ie events like MudBowl andthe engineering play, or subsidizing photo-

copies and C&D food) and to none of thewrong ones (ie “How To Give a Wedgie tothe Dean” seminars). Each of you pays arefundable fee of 14$ that goes into allthese wonderful events and you can besure I’ll be hard at work to make sure nota penny is wasted.

I’ll also be managing the budget,so if you have any ideas or suggestions,I’d be glad to take them at rsuri@eng-mail.uwaterloo.ca. My term as VP has juststarted, so I’ll be around for another 16months to take of your monetary needs!

So welcome to Waterloo, and Ihope you have a great time here! (P.S. I’ma Huge for the YellowJackets group inFrosh Week, so if you feel any urge toscream at me for my corny writing in per-son… feel free!)

1 0 Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

EngSoc

Welcome to Engineering at Waterloo!I’m Nick Lawler, the VP External

for EngSoc “A”. This means that whenyou 8-streamers come back to school inJanuary, my fellow executive and I will berunning the EngSoc show for the term. Asthe VP External, my job consists of keep-ing up relations with those who are outsideUW Engineering life. Including otherengineering societies and the general pub-lic. Lots of events are planned under myposition. These include the Bus Pushwhere we actually now “pull” a bus toraise money for the Big Sisters ofKitchener-Waterloo. This is an excellentevent that can really help an importantlocal charity (and it’s a load of fun too!).For you first years reading this, the FirstYear Integration Conference (FYIC) isbeing held this February at the UWO.This is an excellent way to meet other first

year engineering students from acrossOntario, and to learn about the great tradi-tions engineering has to offer. Ten spotsare open to only first year students, and allexpenses are paid by the Dean’s Office.

In the winter term an entire week isdevoted across Canada to promotingEngineering pride and accomplishments inCanada. This week known as NationalEngineering Week (NEW) looks to be afun filled week, including a very popularevent called the National Pie Toss. In thisevent by donating a small fee, you canorder a cream pie to be thrown in the faceof a chosen victim…hmm…I mean friend.They can choose to redirect the pie foranother small fee. You can see how thehilarity will ensue. In the last winter termthis event raised a huge amount for chari-ty. Well that is it for now, let me assureyou that many more great events areplanned for the winter term, but the spaceis too short to report them all!

Welcome, you are now part of a distin-guished, and small group of those privi-leged enough to get an engineering degreefrom the University of Waterloo.Congratulations and have fun in your firstterm!

Rajat Suri

Vice President,Finance (A-Soc)

Nick Lawler

Vice President,External (A-Soc)

Happy to be 8-Stream

ENGINEERING SOCIETY EXECUTIVE REPORTS

Welcome!

WEEF is Great!

Hey everyone, I’m Michael Henhefferand I am the WEEF Director for ‘A’

Soc(those of you in 8 stream will be on ‘A’soc in the winter. WEEF stands for theWaterloo Engineering EndowmentFoundation. This foundation has set up anundergraduate engineering endowmentfund. Interest generated from the principalof this fund goes towards lab equipmentfor engineering and to support the studentteams, such as Midnight Sun, UWAFT andmany others in order to keep WaterlooEngineering as the pinnacle of engineeringprograms in Canada and to leave no doubtthat it is the best in the world. The greatthing about WEEF is that it ist he studentswho decide what the money is spent on.

This leads to one of the ways inwhich you can help WEEF, and conse-quently help increase the quality of yourown education. Each engineering class

has one representative on the fundingcouncil for WEEF. The funding councildecides what the WEEF money should bespent on by regarding grants to the pro-posals that it feels will help WaterlooEngineering the most. So, if you wouldlike to be at the heart of the allocation ofover $100 000 a year, you should run forWEEF representative when your classholds its elections.

The other way in which everyonecan help WEEF in its quest to make oureducation the best it can possibly be is tomake the donation to WEEF each andevery term you are on campus. You mayhave noticed a $75 voluntary student con-tribution on your fee statement and won-dered what it is. Well, this is a donation toWEEF. The principal of the fund contin-ues to grow as students make this donationeach term. And of course, the more moneyin the principal, the more money WEEFcan grant for years to come. I can’t stressjust how important it is that you make thisdonation(or rather don’t get a refund).One statement that you will be hearing alot is “WEEF is good!”.

Visit www.weef.uwaterloo.ca for moreinformation.

Yet Another Exec Report

Hello all! As we come ‘round to anoth-er fall term, it’s always great to see

the new faces wandering around – somelooking lost as they navigate these hallsfor the first time on their own, some look-ing nervous as they head into their firstclasses, but hopefully all looking happyafter a great orientation week. In case youwere worried that the fun stops after thefirst week, have no fear – there will beplenty going on through the next term, not

to mention the next 5 years, to keep any-one from being bored.

Since I’m offstream, I’ll leave discus-sion of this term to my partner in crime,Josh Levitz. For those of you on 8-stream,I look forward to seeing you when youjoin A-Soc in the winter. Just be sure todrop by the EngSoc office and use the ser-vices that your EngSoc fee helps pay for,and come out to the events being put on.Have an idea for something new? We’realways looking for ways to better serveEngineering students. Leave your legacyby starting something great!

So enjoy the rest of your first week oncampus, and don’t forget that the firstEngSoc social event is Sunday night –don’t miss it! It’s bound to be full oflaughs and fun.

Laura Mooney

President (A-Soc)

Michael Henheffer

WEEF Director(A-Soc)

1 1Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003

Frosh Week Schedule

Where’s This Frosh Week I’ve Heard So Much About?

Tuesday9-10 AM: Registration (Colour GroupHQs - head towards Engineering to findout what colour group you’re in - and RCH209)- Students pay if they haven’t already- Students receive frosh kit, hard hat, etc.10-11:30: Meet Edcom/Scratch (ColourGroup HQ, E2 1310)- Meet the education committee- Learn about the computing resourcesaround campus11:30-12:30: Department Lunches- Hear from their departments about acad-emics* Civil, Enviro. Civil, and GeologicalEngineeringRCH 301* Chemical EngineeringDWE 1501/1502* Electrical and Computer Engineering DC 1350/DC 1351* Mechanical EngineeringE2 1310 (WEEF Lab)* Mechatronics EngineeringRCH 302* Software EngineeringDC Courtyard* Systems Design EngineeringE2 1303B12:30-2:30: Services Tour (Dana Porter,Health Services, etc) and Single & Sexy(Hagey Hall Theatre)2:30-4:30: Earn your Hard Hat (Grassyknoll behind Grad House)- A series of events culminating in the firstyears receiving a hard hat.4:30-5:30: Aerial Photo (BMH Green)- Group photoWednesday9:00-11:30: Junk Yard Wars (VillageGreen)- Similar to the TV show of the same name11:30-12:30: Professional Reception- Lunch- Meet graduated engineers12:30-2:30: Single & Sexy/Services Tour(See Tuesday)2:30-5:30: Meet The Tool (FedHall)/Engineering 101 (ModernLanguages)- Meet the engineering mascot- Meet first year office staff8:00-2:00: Lunar Luau Pub Night- Hawaiian themed evening of fun andentertainmentFriday7:00-2:00: Scavenger Hunt (Colour GroupHQs)

James Kunz & Justin BishopSuperHuges

Important September Dates from CECS

Sept. 16: “Master” Copy co-op recordavailable after 10 AMSept. 17: Workshops:* Letter Writing: Learn how to use lettersto your advantage in the job search.4:30-5:30 (TC Room 2218)* Resumes: Discover techniques for writ-ing an effective resume.5:30-6:30 (TC Room 2218)Sept. 18: Workshop:* Making the Career Fair Work for You:Learn the “do’s” and “don’ts” of thisexcellent networking and work searchopportunity.2:30-3:30 (TC Room 2218)

Sept. 19: POSTING #1 (includesChartered Accounting) AVAILABLE BY 12 NoonWorkshops:* Letter Writing: Learn how to use lettersto your advantage in the job search.1:30-2:30 (TC Room 2218)* Resumes: Discover techniques for writ-ing an effective resume.2:30-3:30 (TC Room 2218)Sept. 22: POSTING #1 EXPIRES 8 PM* Hand in 1 copy pf resume package toCECS Drop Off Slot by 8 PMWorkshops:* Making the Career Fair Work for You:Learn the “do’s” and “don’ts” of thisexcellent networking and work searchopportunity.10:30-11:30 (TC Room 1208)

Sept. 23: POSTING #2 (inlcudes char-tered accounting) AVAILABLE BY 12 NoonWorkshops:* Own your own Business. All studentsinterested in implementing their ideas arewelcome! (regular-co-op-high tech-lowtech-no tech) The Basics: This workshopwill help you assess your readiness to starta business venture, and show you how toconvert an idea to a commercial opportu-nity.4:30-5:30 (TC Room 2218)Sept. 24: POSTING #2 EXPIRES 8 pmCAREER FAIR 10:00 AM - 3:30 pm, RIM ParkWorkshop:* Thinking About Working Outside ofCanada? This introductory workshop is

intended for students who are thinkingabout the possibility of an internationalwork experience at some point in thefuture. It will help you determine yoursuitability, and provide some advice onbeginning the process.3:30-4:30 (TC Room 1208)Sept. 25: POSTING #3 AVAILABLE BY 12 NoonSept. 26: POSTING #3 EXPIRES 8 PMSept. 29: POSTING #4 AVAILABLE BY 12 NoonWorkshops:* Interview Skills: Selling Your Skills.Don’t stop at the fundamentals; you mustalso prove your skills in the interview.NOTE: Please attend only if you can staythe full two hours.3:30-5:30 (TC Room 2218)

Krystina BensonCECS

1 2 Fr iday , Augus t 29 , 2003