A film student hopes a new documentary she produced will draw much-needed attention to the issues of youth homelessness in this area.

“The community needs to be aware of what’s happening and what’s needed, and film is one of the best mediums to demonstrate those challenges,” said Svjetlana Oppen, whose 40-minute documentary What Is Home? will be screened for the first time tomorrow night at the Capitol Theatre.

Shot in black and white, the film focuses on the Windsor Youth Centre, a local drop-in site for homeless youth that’s located on Wyandotte Street East. It dispels the ‘squeegy-kid’ stereotype, featuring the story of a young woman with a full year of university under her belt, as well as others who talk with clarity and sincerity about their lives on the streets.

Oppen, a fourth-year student in Communication, Media and Film, said making the film was a passion project done over and above her requirements for academic credit. It began as a series of short videos to complement a published collection of reflections by WYC staff, volunteers and youth on the subject of home. All of the photography and production for that book was handled by fellow student Mary Katharine Keown.

The president of the non-profit Stagehouse Multimedia, Oppen and her husband, who directed the film, began spending a lot of time at the centre, getting to know the youth who rely on it. The result was some very candid and raw commentary from them.

“At times it was way too emotional for me,” she said. “There were times when I had to stop and put the camera down.”

Tamara Kowalska, a fellow student and one of the centre’s founding members, said the film is so honest because the pair earned the respect of their subjects by spending so much time there.

“They really gained the trust of the youth,” she said. “They got what they got because of who they are.”

Identifying with her subjects wasn’t difficult for Oppen. Originally from Bosnia, her own education was interrupted by the war there.

“I was a student in Sarajevo when the siege started,” she said. “I went from having everything I needed to having nothing but the t-shirt and jeans I was wearing and standing in food lines. I understood that feeling of hopelessness.”

Oppen said she hopes the film will open people’s eyes to how they can get involved with tackling the issues of youth homelessness.

“I hope people will leave the theatre thinking that it’s very easy to help,” she said. “It’s easy to get involved and to help these people. You just have to make up your mind and go there.”

Screening of the film will begin at 8:15 p.m. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the MILK Coffee Bar, Villain’s Beastro, or the Windsor Youth Centre at 1321 Wyandotte Street East.

The film will also be screened at Glenwood United Church on Nov. 27 .

Watch a trailer for the film.

When Ernest Squire started working for the University’s Information Technology Services, one megabyte of computer memory was a lot bigger than it is now.

“That would fill a space about five feet high, two feet wide, and six feet long,” recalls Squire, a network analyst who celebrated his 40th year of service to the University in 2011.

Squire was one of five employees honoured for 40 years of service to the University at a breakfast reception Thursday. Years of Service Awards also went to staff and faculty with 10, 20, or 30 years of service.

Squire says he appreciates the work atmosphere on campus.

“You have the freedom to make errors and learn from them,” he says. “I told the president it was a privilege to work for such an institution as the University of Windsor.”

The Department of Human Resources introduced the Years of Service awards in 2011 to recognize and honour University employees celebrating 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service milestones. The program is designed to thank employees for the contributions they make every day towards the achievement of the University’s mission and vision.

Read the full list of more than 130 honourees.

A UWindsor sociology professor is being honoured this Saturday night for his legacy of accomplishments in the battle against AIDS.

Barry Adam, who is also the senior scientist and director of prevention research at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, will receive a community partner award from the Ontario AIDS Network and will be added to the organization’s honour roll at the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto.

“It’s great,” Dr. Adam said of receiving the award. “I’ve been working with community organizations for a long time. It’s a fundamental part of my research, so to be acknowledged like this is really nice.”

A professor at UWindsor since 1976, Adam has been researching HIV and AIDS since it first started appearing in the early 1980s. He was a founding member of the AIDS Committee of Windsor in 1985 and had a long track record of community work before turning it into a scholarly pursuit.

According to a letter written to nominate Adam for the award, he was an early leader within the Ontario HIV research community, forming community-based research partnerships based on what are now considered fundamental principles of that style of research in Canada.

Results from his studies have contributed to a number of new campaigns launched by the Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance and AIDS Committee of Toronto to renew HIV prevention strategies and have been presented at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, the Canadian Association for HIV Research and international AIDS conferences.

Throughout his career, Adam has been a contributor on about $10 million worth of HIV-funded research, and has received funding from Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Ontario HIV Treatment Network and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

“Barry continues to dedicate his research to ensure optimal quality of life for people living with HIV,” the letter says. “He is remarkably generous with his skills and knowledge, always willing to share what he knows to advance the field.”

Kaitlyn Quigley, a fourth-year student of film and geography, packs a big message in a short film.

She won a video contest on the theme “Stand up to bullying,” organized by the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance as part of its Anti-Bullying Week program. The victory carries a chance to have her one-minute video viewed by students across campus, as well as a $100 cash prize.

Watch Quigley’s winning entry:

Nursing professor Judy Bornais will discuss ways health professionals can improve their care for patients with diabetes in a free public brown-bag presentation on Monday, November 19, in room 203, Toldo Health Education Centre.

Her talk, entitled “Patient safety issues related to the care of patients with diabetes,” will assist participants in recognizing insulin as a high-alert medication and will identify common insulin errors affecting patient care. She will discuss ways to minimize errors related to diabetes management.

Professor Bornais is an experiential learning specialist in the Faculty of Nursing. Her research focuses on diabetes care, simulation in health care education, and inter-professional health care. She is a Certified Diabetes Educator.

This event will run 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Attendees are welcome to bring their lunches—and are invited to bring their own clickers. Please register using the online form at http://uwindsor.fluidsurveys.com/s/IHIopenschoolRegistration/.

The Leddy Library will extend its hours for the first two weeks of December to accommodate end-of-term study.

Starting December 1, the lbrary will be open from 10 a.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Saturday. It will re-open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday. These extra-long hours will end at midnight Monday, December 17.

The Leddy Library will operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. December 18, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. December 19 to 21, and close December 22 to January 1. It will return to normal hours of operation on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.