$4,700 raised in a fine effort
On behalf of the Concordia Volunteers, we would like to thank the Concordia community most sincerely for its generous contribution to the success of the Second Annual Concordia Used Book Fair. Some $4,700 was raised, of which half goes to the Student Emergency Food Voucher Program, and half to the Student Emergency Loan Fund.
Although it is not possible to mention all by name, we would like to recognize, particularly:
Lina Lipscombe, for her invaluable counsel and know-how
Ken Bissonnette, for his very practical back-up
Nicole Saltiel, for lending her heart and hands
Miriam Posner and her staff, for help in storing the books
David Brown, who calmly drove, carried and staffed the barricades
Judy Appleby, Ron Wrightson and Susan Hawke for their librarianly expertise
Gerry Gartner, who provided muscle and humour
James Burns, who did that and also staffed the cash register
Susie Dragffly, for her gentle manner and ability to wrap things up
Steven Webster, for his smile and presence
Dawn Johnson, whose style on a cash register takes some beating
Marie-Andrée Robitaille, for help and charm
Donald Peck, who wields a mean tape gun and works unceasingly
Ellen Sheehy, for emptying her shelves so that ours could be filled
Joao Sanches and Remigio Rodriguez, who set us up
Pat Pietromonaco and Gaston Boulanger, who seem able to move heaven and earth
Agostino Borsellino, whose contribution helped so much
Daphne McKergow, who laboured up the stairs with so many liquor commission bags and then came to unpack and sort
And finally, all those anonymous donors who gave us the books and other wherewithal to make the Book Fair possible. Without you, it could not have been so successful.
Geoffrey Adams, President, Concordia University Pensioners Association
Barbara Barclay, Immediate Past-President, Association of Alumni of Sir George Williams
Senior moment for founder
I was pleased to read your report (October 8) on Homecoming Activities and particularly its positive effect on the Capital Campaign.
When Homecoming was first announced I thought that I was having a "senior moment." However, a check with Archives assured me that it was not I, but rather the University, that had suffered a memory lapse. This is the 30th anniversary of the first Bachelor of Engineering graduation, and it's sad that in all the events and all the words written, not a single mention was made of this bit of history.
Jack Bordan
Founding Dean, Faculty of Engineering, SGWU
Numbers skewed to favour science option?
An open letter to Reginald Groome, chair of the Board of Governors of Concordia University:
I attended the open meeting in the Alumni Auditorium on October 1, at which future plans for Concordia University were discussed. I would like to repeat the remarks I made to the participants of that meeting.
I taught physics for 29 years at Concordia to very large classes of students (300 to 400 a year) who were taking compulsory physics courses for their engineering and other programs.
It is my view that it would be a monstrous mistake to move the physical sciences to the Loyola campus. The financial cost of relocation and the disruption of activity would be enormous. We are entering a period of severe economic downturn, and our precious resources should be protected in every way possible.
The physical sciences should be kept close to the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science so as to better capture the synergy of the two groups.
There was mention by some members of the physical sciences that the present location of their departments in the Hall Building made it difficult to do hazardous experiments, and that the creation of a new science complex at Loyola would solve this problem. Another solution would be to identify these experiments and move them to a hazardous experiments site.
In plan C of the restructuring proposal, $18 million was stated as the cost of renovating the science area in the Henry F. Hall Building if the sciences were to remain there. True, after 30 years of use, the laboratories are due for some renovation, but to me, the $18-million figure is excessive and serves to skew the numbers in favour of plan A, which is the option to move the physical sciences to Loyola.
The Physics Department is happy with the Hall Building location, and a move to the Loyola campus would involve an enormous cost to move and rewire the physics laboratories, to such an extent that they probably would not be set up at all.
I would advise the administration to proceed cautiously in these perilous economic times, and choose Option C, as it provides the economic security and synergies that are required for a prosperous future.
John A MacKinnon
Physics (retired)
Better to sell muffins
Advertising in the university is repugnant to me, and a fortiori advertising with sexual and/or sexist connotations, as [with] the young women in Chanel ads (removed), and Cacherel (not removed). They do not hang their ads inside the Sorbonne or the Institut Pasteur.
Justifying the policy by tying it to a popular issue like recycling is revolting. Despite all the articles in last week's Thursday Report ["Recycling the profits from campus ads" and "Advertising on campus raises eyebrows," CTR, October 8], as far as I can tell, all money that comes to the University goes into a revenue pool that is used as those in charge see fit. Advertising pays for administrative perks just as much as it does for recycling. You can decide where we should cut first.
Moreover, recycling does not cost money -- it makes money. Even the most inept of our administrators can make money recycling Coke cans. However, unless I am wrong, the profits from recycling are credited to something else so it looks like recycling costs money so we can be given the spin that recycling is paid for by advertisements.
As to the [good or bad] taste of the advertisement, the assistant to [Vice-Rector Charles] Emond tells me she screens them, aided by a committee, consisting entirely of herself.
If advertising is OK, put it also on the walls of Bishop Court, especially those facing Bishop Street. I asked our Rector to do this and he was horrified at the idea.
I once again ask the University to remove all advertising from University public and academic areas. If we can't live without the $25,000, I will have a muffin sale on de Maisonneuve to raise that amount of money.
E.B. Newman
Biology, Killam Research Fellow
