Students and faculty turned out Tuesday to watch the first round of the Three Minute Thesis competition, in the CAW Student Centre’s Ambassador Auditorium.
The competition challenges graduate students to make three-minute presentations on the topic of their thesis or dissertation. There are cash prizes for the winner and runner-up, who will also go on to represent the University of Windsor in a province-wide competition in April.
The second heat is set for the same venue on Thursday, March 14, at 3 p.m. The March 18 finals, at 2 p.m. in the Ambassador Auditorium, are also open to the public. Find more information on the contest website.
The Homestyle station in the Marketplace food outlet will celebrate the diverse cultures and cuisines of Africa’s largest nation Thursday, March 14, with a menu prepared in consultation with students from Nigeria.
“We are very excited about being able to offer these dishes,” says assistant manager Paolo Vasapolli. “It is wonderful to be able to offer a taste of home for Nigerian students, and we hope everyone will try and enjoy these delicious foods.”
He said he was particularly excited by the participation of guest Oprah Okereke. The fourth-year business student donned a smock herself to show Food Services chefs how to prepare some Nigerian specialties.
“I was so happy to have the chance to demonstrate some preparation techniques to the staff here,” she said. “They were so appreciative to learn something new, and I was glad to be able to share something traditional!”
Thursday’s menu will include Nigerian-style fried chicken, beef stew, fried rice, fried plantain and yams, and dessert of a jelly-filled doughnut.
You don’t have to be athletic to work in professional sports, say organizers of a conference on campus this weekend.
The Entertainment Law Society is teaming up with human kinetics to host the UWin Sports Conference, Saturday, March 16, in the CAW Student Centre’s Ambassador Auditorium.
Panels will discuss topics ranging from social media and marketing to sports in the courts, player representation and management. Organizers hope to provide a professional environment that will encourage delegates to engage in free discussion.
Law student Amanda Fowler is very excited about the 17 guest speakers lined up: “They range in age from their 20s right to older, more experienced guests.”
They include Dale Lastman, director for Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment; Gord Kirke, renowned Canadian sports lawyer and agent; and Windsor Spitfires president Bob Boughner, who played in the National Hockey League for over a decade.
“It is so wide ranging, and there is such a variety of information that there is something for everyone,” said Fowler.
This is the third annual conference organized by the Entertainment Law Society, following one each on the film and music industries.
Matt Kane, another of the event’s organizers, said they keep getting better: “We’ve had better funding this year in terms of support and consent.”
The conference is open to student in all disciplines and registration is free. To register, send an e-mail to uwinsportsconference@gmail.com and confirm your place. Find conference details, including speaker biographies and a full schedule, on its website.
— by Jess Craymer
Watch a promotional video produced by the student organizers:
A survey distributed to University of Windsor faculty, staff and students earlier this week is designed to assess perceptions of library service, says Gwendolyn Ebbett, dean of the library.
“This survey will allow us to better understand how the University community rates library services and where we can concentrate our efforts towards improving services,” she says. “It will also let us find out how Leddy Library results compare with those of other libraries and determine best practices.”
Participation in the web questionnaire is voluntary and responses are confidential. Participants who complete their survey in full will be entered into a draw for one of three prizes:
Heirloom seeds from traditional varieties of plants have advantages for the organic production of food, says Rita Haase.
“Because these are the varieties that have always grown here, they are better adapted to the environment,” says the women’s studies instructor, one of the organizers of the Campus Community Garden Project.
She is joining students from the class “Political Economy of Agriculture and Food” to facilitate a workshop Thursday, March 14, explaining the benefits of heirloom seeds and their use in the garden. Attendees will also discuss the pros and cons of hybrid and genetically modified seeds and learn where to order seeds based on what they want and need to grow.
The workshop begins at 2:30 p.m. in the OPIRG-Windsor house, 372 California Avenue.
It is the first in the “Nurturing Communities through Nurturing Gardens” series of free public workshops offered by the community garden. Still to come in the series are:
The Student Alcohol Education Team wants to make sure that UWindsor students have a memorable St. Patrick’s Day, but in a positive sense.
“It’s St. Patrick’s Day! Of course we want people to go out and have fun. We just don’t want anyone waking up the next morning regretting his or her decisions, or even worse—not waking up at all,” says alcohol education coordinator Nevin Macleod. “Luckily, this has never happened at UWindsor, but it has at other schools. We just want to remind people to make smart choices and look out for one another.”
Members of the team will circulate around the campus on Thursday, March 14, to hand out St. Patrick’s Day-themed giveaways and ballots to win Dr. Dre Solo Beat headphones to students who complete the e-CHUG Challenge, which Macleod describes as “a pretty cool tool to learn about your drinking patterns.”
Windsor’s poet laureate Marty Gervais will have words with UWindsor writer-in-residence Phil Hall on Thursday, but don’t worry—it’s all in the interests of art.
Both graduates of the University of Windsor, Gervais (MA 1972) and Hall (BA 1976, MA creative writing 1978) will discuss the latter’s work as part of the “Having Words” series of author talks hosted by the Arts Council Windsor and Region. The series promotes informal discussion about the craft of writing, exploring the challenges and joys related to poetry; events are free and open to the public.
Hall is currently serving a one-month residency in the English department. His poetry and essays have received accolades including the 2011 Governor General’s Literary Award and the 2012 Trillium Book Award. Learn more on the department’s website.
Gervais also holds an appointment in the English department as resident writing professional.
The March 14 reading begins at 7 p.m. in the arts council’s gallery at 1942 Wyandotte Street East.
Second-year English student Hanan Khalid and Omar Zghal, president of the Muslim Students
Association, take in a display celebrating Islam Awareness Week in the CAW Student Centre on Tuesday. The association hopes to counteract negative depictions of the religion, says Zghal. An event Thursday will relive the revelation of the Qur’an through spoken-word poetry.
Roman Catholic students watch television coverage of the papal conclave, Tuesday in the Campus Ministry student lounge. From left: Barbara Spanjers, Lisa Zappio, Katelyn Sutton and Sara Dumouchelle. Assumption University will continue to screen the coverage until the selection of a successor to retired Pope Benedict XVI.
The International Wednesdays documentary series presents the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth, today at noon in the International Student Centre on the second floor of Laurier Hall.
Former US vice-president Al Gore has travelled the world delivering a presentation on the global climate change, proving that humankind must confront global warming now or face devastating consequences. This film—winner of the 2007 Academy Award for best feature documentary—captures his journey as a worldwide environmental champion.
The issue of global warming is clearly one that is close to Gore’s heart, as he took to the road after his failed 2000 presidential bid on an international lecture circuit to raise awareness and inspire action on the near-crisis levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the havoc they are already wreaking on the planet.
International Wednesdays screenings are free and open to the public.
