Friday, November 15,1996 The Magazine of the Unil'ersity of Waterloo Engineerillg Society Voilime 9 Issue 4

14 not
erym
The "Home for a Rest" Issue
Vou now read the beginning of dosing words of
, this an unusual period in the times of the Iron
Warrior.
Sixteen years ago the Iron Warrior rose from the fail-
ing of another newspaper to serve the students in the
spirits it should. Inarguably this is seen as the shining
light in our society's history.
Thirty-two months ago, our newspaper changed for-
mat and set out as the Iron Warrior magazine. New
graphic design, page size and overall feel were intro-
duced.
Eight months past the Iron Warrior was temporarily
shutdown resultant from the deterioration of ties
between the paper and its publisher and conflict
between IW Editors and EngSoc Exec. Preceding the
shutdown, your paper was often viewed as adrift;
anchored not in the waters of Eng Soc; not moored on
the nearby shores with the students. The A Soc paper
of recent past terms was a good paper; it was not,
however, a good Engineering Society paper. Few
people realized that dtfference.
The Iron Warrior lives on the time and effort of its
staff. Sometimes I feel that now, but not then, my and
my staff's time bleeds from the wounds of March 11 's
shutdown. It's been many nights we have unneces-
sarily stayed up through the night. Only unnecessary
as this newspaper is to you.
The Bat
O
ften stories were told to explain things we see or
know. This story is one of such kind and is not
my own but, at times, matches my feelings of recent
sleepless times.
Many moons and many memories ago when our
wor1d was young this place was to be the setting of a
great war. Animals across our land had taken to a
hatred of birds; birds had mirrored the same. No one
\<rows what happened to I\ght such a fire of oonfronta-
tion as what happened following is more important.
It was the eve of the first battle in this unfortunate
and detestable war. The bat flew to the animaJs to join
their cause.
"You are not one of us," they said, "You take to the
air like a bird flying in the manner of our foes. You are
a bird. Leave us lest we taste this battle earty."
Dejected and silent the shunned bat went away to
see the birds.
The birds gave no dtfferent a response. "You have
fur just like a bear. You have no beak and teeth you
are an animaJ.
Sad and flying ever lower the bat slinked off to
sleep through the war. From that time forth the bat
never saw the sun and lived in night-time under the
moon. Never a part of animaJs nor bird unlike being
both as it. should be. That old war is long forgotten but
in our minds and in the bat being ever banished in the
night.
Award
I
heard of this psychology experiment where the
subject (Joe) was put at the end of a row of people
who were unknown cohorts of the experimenter. The
group was asked to answer down the row which of
three lines is longest.
Things happen as you would expect, but after a
while all people before Joe give an obviously wrong
answer. Wrong answers continue. What does Joe
do?
About a third of the Joes stick to their guns and
keep gMng the right answer. The remaining two thirds
give an answer that agrees with everyone else. This is
the power that consensus and conformity has over us.
When the two-thirds group is confronted half of
them (one third of the whole) say, "I knew it was wrong,
I was just going along." the last part is weird and con-
vinces themselves that they were giving the right
answers.
Recent events have made me consider that, how-
ever I dislike it, I may be part of the second, go along
with things group. Thank-you for letting me explain.
Here I go. Wednesday was the last EngSoc
meeting of this Fall term. During this meeting along
with others I was given a President's award for my
work with the newspaper. I had entertained, in my
mind the possibility of being awarded such an award
and I rather did not like it. It come to mind that I might
just not accept the award as it was not something I
wanted.
. During the meeting though there is so much
expectation for things to happen normally that I just
took the award.
What I reaJly wanted for my work on the newspa-
per is: for students to enjoy it, support from the stu-
dents for the newspaper and to be able to shake pe0-
ple's hands when they say, "Hey, Ryan, you did a not
bad job on that paper." At times these things were
lacking which makes the award seem much more
superficial. Overall I'm glad I started as Iron Warrior
Editor but more so that I am finished. Thank-you for
continued on page 17
yan
Chen
Wing
-
The Magazine of the University of Waterloo
Engineering o c i ~ t y
Editor-in-Chief
Ryan Chen-Wing
Assistant Editor
Bill Lee
Advertising Director
Kevin Saliba
layout Editor
Paul Cesana
Staff
Jeff Gobatto
Caroline Page
Contributors
Eric Aaviku
Nancy Baggio
Ed Barsalou
Andrea Brown
Tony Caldarone
Gina Catenazzo
Matt Clarke
'Sarah Davies
Erin Dunphy
Usha Elyatamby
Chris Ford
Vladimir Joanovic
Dan Kim
Andrew Krywaniuk
Frederick Lai
Paul McKone
Sarah Mee
Christina Mitchell
Leah Nacua
Amanda Pinto
Trevor Quayle
Rocky Radovan
Nina Sodhi
Jason Van Dyk
Keith Wace
Tim Weis
Alison Woodcock
The Iron Warrior is a forum for thought provoking
and informative articles published by the Engineering
Society. Views expressed in The Iron Warrior are
those of the authors and do not nece sarily reflect the ,
opinions of the Engineering Society_
The Iron Warrior encourages submissions from ,
student , faculty and members of the university com-
munity. Submissions should reflect the concerns and
intellectual standard of the university in general. The
author's name and phone number should be included.
All submissions, unles otherwise stated, become the
property of The Iron Warrior, which reserves the
right to refuse publication of material which it deems
unsuitable. The Iron Warrior also re erves the right to
edit grammar, spelling and text that do not meet univer-
sity standards. Authors will be notified of any major
changes that may be required.
Mail should be addressed to The Iron Warrior,
Engineering Society, CPH 1327. University of W-ater-
100, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G I. Our phone number
is (519) 888-4567 x2693. OUI fax number is (519) 725-
4872. E-mail can be sent to
iwarrior@wedge. watstar.uwaterloo.ca
Volume 9 Issue 5



ENGINE.ERING
SOCIE.TY
& D Exam Hours
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Monday to Friday
Closes for the last time in 1996
on Thursday, December 19
at 4 p.m.
Reopening in the New Year on
Monday, January 6 at 8 a.m.
The Iron Warrior
Get the Shell out of Nigeria!
Tim talks about a local
demonstration - page 4
The News
Christina fills us in on the
world around us - page 4
A Word About Computers
Chris explains his views on
the Information Age - page 9
My Wild West Adventure
Gina leads LIS on a wacky
journey across western
Canada - page 5.
14 Remembered
Info about the H 14
Not Forgotten"
Memorial - page 6
Germa ny Exchange
Matt talks about his
experiences - page 7
The Way the Ball Bounces
Tony responds to
Professor Ball's
article - page 8
Exec Old & New
They have some opening and
closing words for you - page
10 & II
Grad Comm '97
Usha gives you the lowdown
for next term - page I 4
Charities Update
Our directors bring us
up to speed on the
latest info - page 16
Women in Engineering Conf('rcnc
Sarah l.:1lks Jbout the 1996
event - page 15
IW Arts
Tons 0' submissions
from tons 0' people.
Check it out - page 27
3
4
The Iron Warrior
Friday, November 29, 1996
Get the Shell out of Nigeria!
Tim We;s
28 Mech
N
ovember 10, 1996 marked the
one-year anniversary of the
murders of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a
storing and drilling waste along with fre-
quent spills from faulty pipelines have poi-
soned the surrounding land and water
upon which the native Ogoni people
depend for survival. Ken Saro-Wiwa
began the Movement for the Survival of
the Ogom People (MOSOP), in attempt to
bring justice and compensation to his dev-
astated homeland. Preaching non-violent
protests and peacefuJ resistance, MOSOP
was successful in bringing global attention
to the plunder of Ogoniland, to the point
where Shell temporarily pulled out of
Nigeria in 1993.
Ogoni struggle for justice has been
crushed, Shell has returned to pumping
black gold out of Nigeria. Unfortunately,
things proceed today much as they did in
the past, while this atrocity is slowly being
forgotten.
describe, for more information please see
http://www.gem.co.za/ELA/ ogoni.fact.
html. Come by the WPIRG office in the
SLC (above Brubakers) for a petition post-
card telling Shell to divest in Nigeria. For a
copy of "Delta Force" the television docu-
mentary aired last year (roughly an hour
long), please e-mail tmweis@mechanical. Nobel Prize nominee, and eight other
Nigerian activists. These nine men were
arrested without charges, by the Nigerian
dictatorship government and tried a year
later, in a military tribunal in which wit-
nesses have admitted to being bribed to
give false evidence. Students from UW,
WLU and local high schools have banded
together to picket Shell gas stations in an
attempt not to let this incident be forgotten.
Meanwhile, the Ogoni people in Nigeria
continue to suffer, under the brutal Niger-
ian military dictatorship.
The responsibility is now in our hands
to pressure Shell to divest in Nigeria, and
show the world that oil is not worth blood.
This is a complicated issue and even
more horrible than I have been able to
"Why picket Shell gas stations?" you
are probably asking yourself. This article is
intended to hopefully answer this ques-
tion, that has somehow fallen out of the
media spotlight here in North America.
Shell Oil has been exporting oil from
the Niger delta region since 1958, leaving
behind it a wake of environmental dam-
age. Continuously burning open gas flares,
high-pressure pipes passing through vil-
lages and fanns, open and unlined pits for
However, according to an article by
Jeanne Moffat, "The Oil Noose," published
in Greenpeace Greenlink, Shell provides
the Nigerian dictatorship with close to 50%
of its income. So naturally, the dictatorship
responded to MOSOP's success, by attack-
ing 10 Ogoni villages, killing 750 and leav-
ing 30,000 homeless. Women and girls
were raped and boys as young as 12 years
old were taken prisoner according to a
documentary titled "Delta Force," shown
on the CBS program Witness. At the same
time, the government rounded up Ken
Saro-Wiwa and eight other MOSOP
activists to be held without charges for
close to a year, before being hanged. Now
that Saro-Wiwa has been silenced and the
..
Christina Mitchell
INTERNATIONAL
Switzerland bankers have started to investigate how
much money in their vaults belongs to heirs of Nazi vic-
tims-Shortly after takeoff from New Delhi, a Saudi Arabi-
an jwnbo jetliner and a Kazkhastani cargo plane crashed
in mid-air, killing 350 people, in the world's worst mid-air
collision-Thalidomide, possibly the world's most infa-
mous drug having caused thousands of horrific birth
defects more than 30 years ago, may soon be sold in the
US. Previously unapproved in the US., scientists are now
applying to the FDA to use Thalidomide to treat immune-
related diseases such as lupus, leprosy and certain AIDS
ailments -Belarus President Alexander Lukansheko issued
a threat to NAID (North Atlantic Treaty Organization);
unless NAID guarantees to keep nuclear weapons away
from NA1O's new members in Eastern Europe, Be1arus
will retain its own nuclear arsenal. Eventually, under
heavy pressure from his Russian allies, he surrendered his
last nuclear weapons-UN authorizes Canada's request to
lead multinational humanitarian mission into Zaire-Russ-
ian Mars Probe crashed into Pacific Ocean, near Easter
Island, after a booster rocket on its fourth stage of a four
r ..... "',.. 1;4 nU hilPrl tn iunitp-(';m<lnian students trail
THE NEWS
Asians, edge Germans and Americans, in international
comparison of student achievement in Math and Science.
Canada averaged 59% putting it in the middle of the pack
- slightly above international average of 55% for math and
56% for science-Canada and Chile reached a free-trade
agreement-Hijacked Ethiopian Airline Flight %1 ended
in disaster as it ran out of fuel on its way to Australia and
ditched in near Comoros Islands - 55 of the 178 passengers
aboard survived
CANADA
Pat Hentgen, of the Toronto Blue Jays, became the first
pitcher with a Canadian-based team to win a Cy Young
award-New study, done by the Ontario government, pre-
dicts that Quebec secession would devastate Ontario econ-
omy. Increased spending and loss of tax revenue would
cost Ontario government $16.5 billion -Parti Quebecois
mandated French use further in its new language policy
which restricts government meetings with Quebec-based
businesses to French language and requires civil servants
to get permission before they make any speeches in Eng-
lish -Richard Therrien, convicted in 1971 of being an acres-
sory after the fact in kidnapping and murder of liberal
cabinet minister Pierre Laporte, was appointed a judge of
Quebec murt for penal and criminal matters. Therrien
was fotmd guilty of aiding and abetting Paul Ra:ie, mem-
ber of the FLQ flee from police after the murder-PEl
country singer Stompin' Tom Connors received the Order
of Canada Progressive Conservatives won handily in the
PEI provincial election, defeating governing Liberals (1st
time in a decade)-Toronto Argonauts defeated Edmonton
Eskimos,43-37, to win CFL Grey Cup.
UW
A former University of Waterloo graduate student, Joan
Hu, has won the 1996 Pierre Robillard Award (offered by
the Statistical Society of Canada) for a project aimed at
helping companies check the reliability of their products.
The annual award recognizes the best PhD thesis in stafis..
tics defended at a Canadian university in 1995 -UW physi-
cist, Marcia Wehlau, wins Polanyi Prize, awarded by
Ontario government for exceptional work by a postdoc-
toral scholar, for Theory of Everything. The Theory of
Everything is a theory unifying all that is known about the
universe at the subatomic level and bringing together mat-
ter and the fundamental forces that act upon it- UW
retained its reputation as "best overall" university in Cana-
da in national rankings compiled by Maclean's magazine
from a survey of opinion leaders. UW also ranked placed
tops in national reputational categories for "most innova-
tive" and "leaders of tomorrow" -
Volume 9 Issue 5
The Iron Warrior
My Wild West Adventure
Gina Catenazzo
Civerely Ticked
A
couPle of summers ago, three classmates and I decided to pile into a 1984 gray Honda Prelude and drive
out west to British Columbia- During the first day of our trip, we had decided to drive straight from
Waterloo to Wmnipeg, a trip that took a total of 22 hours. Around three in the morning, well past the
Canada-US border, we were stopped by a Michigan police officer. We managed to weasel out of that tense itua-
tion by explaining that we were nice university students who had just finished several days of grueling exams.
Driving through Manitoba and Saskatchewan was an enlightening experience. The sky was big, and the clouds
thick and fluffy. I was SUIprised by the Saskatchewan terrain. I had expected it to be quite flat but surprisingly it
was very hilly along the TransCanadahlghway.
In Alberta we visited many places such as Dinosaur National Park, Drumheller, lake Louise, and Banff. In
Dinosaur National Park we could feel the presence of prehistoric life, while the glaciers seen on our hike in lake
Louise were majestically perched on their mountain shelves.
In British Columbia we visited Whistler, Vancouver, Victoria, and went as far west as Totino. The giant red-
woods on Vancouver Island towered over our heads like skyscrapers, while Butchard Gardens in Victoria were a
palette of colours and fragrances.
Although the whole trip was not perfect; like when our clutch gave and the car had to be towed for an hour from
lake Louise to Golden, Be; it was a pretty amazing trip.
(Starting at left, counterclockwise)
5
Moraine Lake (this is the picture on the back of the old twenty
dollar him)
Totem pole; Museum of Anthropology, UBC.
The Hoodoos; Drumheller, AJberta.
Rock formation; Dinosaur National Park, Alberta.
6
The Iron Warrior
Friday, November 29, 1996
14
'1t could have been me, and instead it was you ... "
-Holly Near
On December 6 1989, 14 women were killed at Ecole
Polytechnique in Montreal in what has become known as
the "Montreal Massacre." The atrocity shocked a nation
into opening its eyes to the horrors unearthed in the so
calJed civilized society. Spousal abuse, gun control, vio-
lence against women; these issues all came to the forefront
of the nation's attention. In 1991, December 6 was declared
a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence
Against Women. It is unfortunate that these women had to
die in order for a coun try to take action.
It is now seven years since this event occurred. The lega-
cy of fear that Marc Lepine has left is still with us. Many of
the families and friends of the women have dealt with their
feelings. December 6 is meant to remember these women,
to mourn their loss, and then to work together for change.
The Rose button campaign, the White Ribbon campaign,
the buttons worn by undergraduate engineers across the
country all help to show a united front; that we will not tol-
erate violence against women any longer.
In light of this desire to change, the week of December 2-
6 has been dedicated to informing and working with the
University community about society's attitudes regarding
violence. Films, speakers, displays and workshops will be
held in the Student Life Centre every day of the week with
the exception of December 6, when a memorial ceremony
will be held. Some of the themes being pursued include:
spousal abuse, sexual harassment, child abuse, anger man-
agemcharient, andrid the has Athdona-
tion 'ty 've an ongomg actiVIty, e pro- \).v
ceeds of which will be going to battered women's shelters \' _A 'lIP .
in the K-Warea. Details will be posted around campus and _ ... \.\"f:Y
in the SLC. All are welcome and there is no admission 1
charge for any of the activities. # W-r.p
Silence will not make this problem go away. ()#...d . S
At the stroke of midnight
"All computing things must come to and end" - or - "It's pumpkin-time, Cinderella"
Paul McKone
UW EngIneering Computing
Watstar and Novice Accounts Expire
With the end of teon comes the expiry of most under-
graduate computing accounts, but it's possible to extend
your Watstar and Novice accounts into the new term. Log
onto Watstar as "SCRATCH" (no password) at any teoni-
nal in Engineering, and select "Request Account Exten-
sion" from the menu. Answer the questions, and your
accounts (both on Novice and your Watstar server) will be
extended for another tenn.
What If I Don't Extend?
your Watstar account will be removed, along with
any files it contains, December 31.
your Novice account will be limited to sending and
receiving electronic mail, although its files will remain
intact.
Once your Watslar account has expired, it is not possi-
ble to extend it, although you can create a new, empty one
the next leon you are on campus.
But I'm Registered, or Will Be
If you are already registered for the upcoming term,
there is no charge to extend your accounts; if not, ten dol-
lars will be deducted from your Engineering Laser Print-
ing Account If you plan to return next term but have yet
to register you will still be charged; the amount will be
automatically refunded to your Laser Printing Account
the second week of the new term, once you are registered.
If you don't register, the ten dollars isn't refunded.
And My Laser Printing Money?
Your Engineering Laser Printing Account (and its
money) is carried over from one tenn to the next. There
must be at least ten dollars available on it if you plan to
extend your accounts. You can transfer money to your
Laser Account from your WATCARD, five dollars at a
time, at the "swipe station" outside the Engineering Com-
puter User Support Centre (E2-1308). The ECUSC can
handle any problems that may arise from extending your
Watstar and Novice accounts.
Apprentice and Harbour Acco\Ults End
Userids in the special-purpose Apprentice and Harbour
labs are almost all tied to specific courses, and will be
removed at the end of term, when the course associated
with them finishes.
What Else Should I Consider?
If you will be accessing your accounts from off-cam-
pus, make certain you've got money in your ANNEX Ter-
minal Server Account. Drop by the ISf Customer Sup-
port Centre (Me 1052).
The "uwdir" database contains an entry for you and
your on-campus electronic mail address. You can update
this information through the Novice mail-shell, or you can
send a blank mail message to mailman@sail.uwaterloo.ca,
and instructions will be forwarded to you.
Questions and comments regarding this or other com-
puting issues may be posted to the newsgroup uW.wat-
star.
Volume 9 Issue 5 The Iron Warrior 7
Alattexplainsexchange
with Germany
I-E
there! For those of you who don't know me,
I'm Matt Clarke, a member of the Systems
'gn Engineering class of 1999,OASys. I'm
presently sitting in my room in 8raunsd1weig, Germany,
figuring out how I'm going to tell you all how much fun
I'm having (yeah, I have to work, too, but I don't have
exams until next March). I started this article several
weeks ago, planning on sending in a full report on every-
thing I'd done, but since then I've spend a day in the Harz
Mountains, a four-day weekend in
Switzerland, a three-day weekend in Munich, a five-
day weekend in Prague, and a weekend in Berlin.
Between that and (vainly) trying to keep up with my clas&-
es, I haven't had time to write up anything about what I've
been doing on this side of the pond. However, I can tell
you a bit about how I got over here (since I already typed
that up in mid-Ctiober).
anyone who wants to go is able to). The nly real require-
ments are that you have to have decent marks (over 70%, I
think) and you need to be able to speak a bit of German
(even that isn't too big of a deal .... there are intensive Ger-
man courses offered here in the month before classes start
which is enough to get most people on their feet).
So, as I said, the requirements are minimal. On the plus
side, though ... -FREE TUITION! That's right, boys and
girls ... I am presently paying about $90 per tenn in tudent
fees (including a city transit pass good until mid-April
1997). This really is a bonus, because it means that you can
pay for your transportation costs, etc., and end up spend-
ing LESS than if you had stayed at good 01' UW. I will be
missing a work tenn, but I figure it's worth it there is the
possibility of getting work in some of the labs over here,
but your German has to be at least half-decent)
You get to learn a new language (unless you already
speak German), a new culture, and study in a different
envirorunent
You"re in Europe, within striking distance of so many
sights and experiences you can"t count them. Do I need to
say more
Here, the University lGovernment subsidizes student
food and residences, rather than student food and resi-
dences subsidizing the University (and the food is actually
good!!!)
You have the opportunity to take many courses and
I ......... which just aren"t offered at UW
TU-BS is roughly the size of UW, but it is
I am presently one of two people (the other being Fil
Laborde from Comp '99) from Waterloo taking part in this
exchange to the Technische Universitaet Braunschweig
(Technical University of Braunschweig, or TU-BS for
short). The concept of the exchange is fairly simple: up to
ten students per year from each school are permitted to
study at the other institution for a year. It's a simple con-
cept, but apparently most UW Engineering students have
been too busy to grasp it last year, no one went, and this
year, there are only two of us. (In other words, just about
more technically centred. Its faculties
Ovil Engineering and Mechanical Engi-
are supposed to be the best in Ger-
, and it's Electrical Engineering pro-
is no slouch, either. In addition to
it offers Pl'Ob)'J"ams in Me th, CS,
the physical and social scien es. It is
located in the city of Braun hwcig (also
known in English as Brunswick. ... i.e., the
namesake of New Brunswick and
the Brunny), a city of
about 250,000 inhabi-
tants founded in the
twelfth century (1
don"t know about you, but coming from Canada, where
anything before WW n is old, that blows me away).
If anyone decides that they are interested in participat-
ing in this exchange, feel free to contact me (I can be
reached bye-mail atcm28()@jreenet.toronto.oll.ca) or Prof. R
Schu ter from Civil Engineering (he co-ordinates the
exchange, and made my life a lot easier by helping me get
through all the paperwork - thanks, Reiney). 111ere are
also other exchanges available which go unfilled - talk to
Prof. Herb Ratz of First Year Engineering if you want
more information about what's out there.
Well, I hope that everyone back home is enjoying them-
selves. Good luck on your finals, and enjoy your Ouist-
mas break If anyone is planning on being in Germany,
Switzerland, Italy or Southern France over Christmas,
drop me a line ... I mightbe passing through.
Matt Clarke
The OASys Group. Foreign Affairs Division
Studentenwohnheim uAn der Schunter" 2503
Bienroder Weg 54,38108 Braunschweig, Germany
tel: (country code 49) (city code 531) 353625
e-mail:cm280@freenet.toronto.on.ca
8 The Iron Warrior
Friday, November 29, 1996
The Way the Ball Bounces ...
Tony Caldarone
38 Electrical Engineering
was awkwardly shy, and unable to interact socially with not speak to even One engineering student. He quotes
anyone but his good friends. Then he went to Waterloo, high school students who have heard horror stories about
and one week later, was a happier, more confident person. engineering, and an engmeer-writer, Samuel Horman,
The shyness that impeded his commtrnication with others who writes "We can't have engineers coming out as tech-
Ti
e October 16,1996 Gazette included an article was forever gone. It was the best week of his life. mcal nerds", but no engmeering students. He writes,
written by Dr. Norman Bali, entitled ''The crucial The observant reader who remembers all the silly things speaking about students, ''But nothing beats learning from
first week in engineering". In this article, Dr. Nor- Dr. Ball wrote about frosh week will have noticed that peers", and speaks to a total of zero engineering students.
man Ball finds yet another reason why engineers and they do not appear in this little story. The engineering The opinions of the high school students may have been
engineering students are substandard humans, accidental- frash who was the subject of the story (let's call him Steve) formed by reading dated portrayals of engineering like the
ly omitting a few points and fudging some arguments gladly participated in the voluntary (yes, voluntary) activi- one found in Dr. Ball's article. As for Samuel Horman's
along the way. It was a vay entertaining read, but consid- ties. Steve had a great time playing in the mud with his writing, it actually reinforces my argument: Engineers
ering the possibility of some readers believing this non- new friends, despite all the awful stories he had heard in simply can not be technical nerds. They must learn to
sense, I feel forced to respond with some truth and a few high school. "Friends a year or two older told her about interact with others. They do learn to interact with others.
facts. I will then demonstrate how his method of assess- first week. It sounded sick to her.", Dr. Ball wrote about a They learn in rash week. Dr. Ball would know this if he
ment of the treatment of engineering students is young woman who decided against engineering. It did his research. Maybe he does know it, but wants to
humourously wrong, questioning his credibility as an sounded sick to Steve, too. Steve, however, tried it any- convey a different message. It is evident to any engineer-
objective observer along the way. For completeness, I way, and found it to be one of the best experiences of his ing student I have ever met, who has had Dr. Bali as a pro-
might as well also point out the parts where Dr. Ball con- life. It taught him not to be "close-minded", another trait fessor, that he simply doesn't like engineers or engineer-
tradicts himself. that characterizes engineers in the eyes of Dr. Bali. Steve ing. Asking him for an objective opinion about engineer-
As an engineering student with four work terms of was never told that artsies suck, and when he became a ing is like asking a Dolphins fan for an objective opinion
experience, I have observed several different work envi- frosh leader three years later, discouraged any such about the Bills. He is, in my opinion, the rudest, most
rorunents. One thing, however, was corrunon to all of behaviour. opinionated man I've ever met. Maybe if he'd had the
these. Communication, or more generally, interaction, In summary, opportunity to go through the same rash week I did, he
was clearly crucial to the success of these businesses. Logi- Engineering fresh week is fun. wouldn't be that way.
cally, it would follow that interaction should be a crucial All activities are voluntary. And by the way, Dr. Ball, what in a photo of two guys
part of any university education, and that learning to Engineering fresh week promotes confidence, interac- smiling warrants writing " ... apparently glorifying in the
work with people is as important as learning to work with tion and open-mindedness. dirt they bore"? Apparent? I don't think so. Did you
numbers. In this next little tidbit of insight, I speak not One might wonder how a well educated and highly speak to either of them? No. I
only for myself, but for at least 20 of my peers who have respected man such as Dr. Ball could be so completely _ ft
shared remarkably similar stories with me. wrong in his assessment of engineering frosh week. A er'
Once upon a time, in a land far away (Etobicoke), careful inspection of his article would 9,,,e
there was a high school graduate who loved computers reveal that Dr. Ball k -,1' en rns ptof
and calculus, but was lacking a bit on the social side. He did .&1 ee y5 .,ste
.. w._._ .. -,a\ first,,.. ... to a bette' l/IaY, sa
Pcgg. Iff4g0tlM' olllte ASWC'f .. ,Uv tal pO
siJ'W1 F.ngiflurs. Gt'(lt(J8U'$ ''''"e v 100' ",I,
cis!s t)f d "".ter ... on
.. eco" ." v<lme mQte Influen
Tho first week at university giv, A .-) nave to be savvy politically and
dians a lasting impression of III culturally . .. Wean't have engineers coming
of engineering. This column. the first in a out as !cclmical nerds. We can't (c:ontinue to)
ries on Reth.illking Engineering. asks three shorHhangc enginecr& durin& undergraduate
qlle.tion, about 100 firsl week oftnginecnng tdUCtltiOIl." 8ul. lle a<fdtd. hard to change
educlllion. What do ludellt lea",'! it lilly sy tem."
mWtlcr'1 How do we find Octter Dr
mple 'l
What do they le.arn1 (Warning: soml' o!
this might not opply 10 all inslltutiullS.) It b
Fm II. Week .tnd nobody etljl,l '
n r:; ; hard huth. high und
"voluntary" II a bathing in mud
lit heing painted. liCe In uctivides
Hl essential formation of camaraderie, others
'ICe an alJlMrllluian thaI
conformity and groupthink OIhcn e'e
!\ludenls ha\'illg fun. Fun? A few yeal'!O ugo. II
( walk.ed :.0 !\Chool
with un exc:hMBc from Germany. Va'
'-(lw $ever,jl first. )Mf engtneering
bemg draggoo by their ThC'y hlld
rcsistoo a "\'Oluntary" acti"ity. So much ror
having fun.
In Itle rtf [ Il<eek. engineer. also learn thai
"art. Ie!! surk", and arc inferior life-forms.
learn that engincetli Ii",c in another
world and prefer to keep il thai way.
PiBt ar1&ie; Why do engineetli wear those
iron ring5?
an$ic: It's the only way anyone
can tell they're araduaIC).
AIt ...... tlv. v1a1on .,... path
Hartl, but nol It' s been done at
once before. In the Canadian ell
gineenn& and Ind\l\try were eJlpal\uiog at R fu-
l"RCe. There WIU <l de peralt , hor!llge or
wh() understood Canadian industry.
hilI the engil1.('cnng education of Ibc lime
too incrt 10 mett the: ctllllleoge. Theil 'lOme
lit .1 lIeW ,chool called thi! University
of Waterloo the boat 111cir
had til allernate work and study both
of whIch were graded. They learned h(lw indu -
II)' worked a\ the \ame lime I they learned
how enaineerin, 1l01ited a
pressing technologY-Mleiet proMem lind 10
solving it, an alternative Vision and
path.
Now. 40 years later. we need another Wa
terloo to shake up el1.8ineeting erdueation. We
<!M't need either IOllC wollles or clones. We
need people who can work. in groups lbaI
bring logtther different back'fOIIndI and per-
spccli ve . We need )llple who romblilC so
phisticated technical knowledge with $OCielal
and cultural underslanding, And these people
will need a new kind of engineering educa-
tioo.
think you owe
them an apol-
ogy.
Does il matlel'? Should we Care if cnginects
seem close-miodcd. aulhorilarian, isolated,
and unconc;emed aboot IIow they appear to
aChen?
Proreuional ensineering organiulioM
are wort in, hard to peRUade elementaO' and
WhOever lakes liP !.he challenge will need
nerve and commitment to put up with the
barbs from auperlor dilbc:llcYCn who insi$t
that quo,i
set the agenda for quite a few dI:IcItdes. There
are still people at W*,",oo who talk
......... tuU.., Af' ...... ttey.e Ai ;0 .... U,.,...",.1 .. yri .......
tion and proved a fundamental point. Maybe
if it had CQme in lime. the mountUI biken
would have studied enPirw.rin ...... IIP. lII'NWt
Volume 9 Issue 5
The Iron Warrior
A Word About Computers
Chris Ford
OaSys
A lot of people get mad at me
because I don't check my e-mail very
often. I'd like to set the record straight.
The way I see it, the internet is just
another fad or passing fancy of the
twentieth century. In another ten
years, shrinkwrapped copies of
netscape will sit on dusty shelve tops
beside cabbage patch dolls, hula
hoops and pet rocks. I don't want to
develop a dependency on some tran-
sient computer phenemenon that has
no likelihood of surving until the dose
of this century.
Modems will also be quick to tran-
spire. Phones for computers. lefsbe
realistic. People use phones for talk-
ing. Until computers are capable of
intelligent, creative speach, I really
don't see the practicality of selling
computers with modems. The prob-
lem with the computer industry today
is that people are so busy inventing
new technologies that no one pauses
to evaluate the practicality of the inno-
vations.
There are also a lot of myths about
computers. This is because a lot of
people don't know very much about
computers. Computers have been
around for a long time. First everyone
had Commodores with some Ataris.
Then people started using IBM's.
Now everybody uses Windows. Win-
dows is up to version 95 because of its
popularity. A lot of people are switch-
ing over to networks now. I don't
have a network yet, only an IBM.
Disk drives are not used by the gen-
eral public anymore. This is because
computers don't need disks anymore.
Disks hold data, but now computers
themselves hold data. Monitors have
had to get a lot bigger to accomodate
the increase in capacity. A 17", say,
will hold a lot more data than a IS".
The world of computers has also
developed its own vernacular, or cus-
tom vocabulary. Computers them-
selves are usually referred to as just
"purers" (pronounced pooters). If you
walk into a computer lab, it will be
obvious that you don't know what
you're talking about if you can't talk
the talk. Floppy disks are usually
The Campus Shop
is C'osingl
STUDENT LIFE CENTRE
Monday Nov , 8 to
Friday Dec. 20 ONLY
referred to simply a. "flop ". Pro-
grams for computers ar usually
called "apps", or "app! ,II if you want
to get fancy. sample peech YOll
might here in the Math Building
would be "Hey dud , I just slapped
my apple from the Hop to the panter."
Some e ample programs are
Microsoft Word and Microsoft [ ,eel.
Excel i a good screen grid printing
program. Word is a graphics program
that di plays your name and a nice
picture of a peI1. There are lots of other
programs too. There is an autocad
program, presumably used by golf
caddies for managing their affairs. I
heard about a program called
netscape which probably has to do
with fishing net design.
Anyways, the important thing to
remember when using computers is
to never feel like you can't ask ques-
tions. Even I have to ask questions
sometimes. Until next time, happy
computing.
P.5. My cooling fan and I are still
doing fine.
,
~ ..
lLX:A1ED W S1lIIM LR a_ fDMILMl
ftQt.AI ~ ~ 111-4561 .6861
9
/
Songs of experience
Sixteen Months, Sixteen Long Months.
We've grown, We've shrunk, We've
grown again. It's time to sit down and
pass the torch. To you from tired hands
we throw the TOOL. Be yours to hold it
l'hgh. 1f ye break faith with us who sigh,
we shall not sleep. Though daisies grow
in Dean Burns' field.
It has been a long and eventful journey
through time.
Our journey began in the summer of
1995. Picture it, the back room, a hlmdred
directorship applications, Ahh, our first
exec meeting. The next one was close on
its heels, and then another, and another,
and so on, and so on. ad llat/seW1l, amen.
At our very first joint exec meeting with B
Soc we were silent. It was then that our
eyes were first opened to what we had
signed up for. It wasn't pretty. Just two
weeks ago we found ourselves in the
greener pastures of the other side of the
fence, giving the same lecture to the new
B Soc executive. Their eyes went just as
wide, like deer stunned by the headlights
of an oncoming semi.
It is now bur time to look back at the
past, at the things we've accomplished.
There have been some good times, and
some bad timcs, triumphs, and mistakes.
In the end however, we came out on top.
From the very beginning our goal was
change. What started with simply rear-
ranging desks and filing cabinets has
resulted in a new fax machine, new pho-
tocopiers, and a proposal for a complete
renovation of the Engineering Society
Office. As well, there have been many
additions to POETS: new couches, a new
tuner, microwaves, and a new fridge.
There have also been some controversial
issues, like the IW, and the Corporate
Manger. It is these issues which have
taught us some of the most valuable
lessons, but we have learned from them.
The lines of communication have been
reopened between the IW and the execu-
tive, and there is now an IW editorial poli-
cy in place. We have increased the level
of professionalism associated with Engi-
neering Society activities, and worked
towards improving the efficiency with
which the society is run. It is by looking
back at these issues that makes us feel our
time on execu tive has been a success.
We would like to thank all those who
gave us the support needed to make
these terms successful. It has been a time
of overwhelming participation; from
standing room only council meetings, to a
beginning of term Oass Rep meeting that
barely fit in the CPH foyer. Even in
FroshWeek we had over 80 percent par-
ticipation. We would especially like to
thank all of the lab partners and friends
who have had to put up with our tardi-
ness, bitchiness, exhaustion, curtness, and
countless excuses based on the words
''I'm sorry I was in a meeting." We are
looking forward to actually participating
in our classes, and helping more with our
assignments and labs.
Most important we would like to thank
all of the incredible directors who have
done so much to make this society what it
is. It is only appropriate that the best
. engineering school in Canada have the
best Engineering Society. It has been a
hard ride, but it has been an honour. It
will be sad when the Orifice doors close
behind us for the last time (''Wait, I forgot
my knapsack"). And how will we ever
be known without the tell-tale jingle of
our keychains.
Congratulations to the new exec, and
we wish you the very best. May you
receive the same support and success that
we have.
Cheers!
Later Skaters.
Good bye cruel world Its over.
Don't let the man get you down.
Climb on!
Erin Dunphy
Nancy 8aggio
Keith Wace
Jason Van Dyk
Tonya Sulley
Songs of innocence
We would first like to start by thanking you all for
electir)g us and those who showed so much support
over the campaignmg week. We're looking forward to
an exciting sixteen months working with all our new
directors.
So this is it! The four of us have been spending the
last two and a half years coming up with ideas and we
are finally going to have a chance to implement some of
them. We hope that you all can look forward to some
fun and exciting changes.
We would like to put out a big thank you to the old
exec for helping us make the transition as smooth as
possible and for doing such a great job (which will
make ours a whole lot easier). We are also thanking
them ahead of time for all the help we will be asking for
in the next four to eight months.
Over the next sixteen months there will be a lot of
changes happening within the engineering society.
These changes include directorship restructuring, the
Corporate Manager position, Orifice renovations as
well as hopefully lots of new ideas for events that the
society will run. Remember that this is your society and
if you have any ideas or suggestions for these changes
please let us know.
1 you have any questions as to how things are going,
directorships or just need a mend to e-mail so you can
feel loved please feel free. Bottom line, our jobs are
going to be to support the directors, the society and the
undergraduate students, All of you! Things will never
change for the better if we don't know what's wrong so
if you have opinions, please give them. Only then can
we make an improvement.
To all the new directors, we are really looking for-
ward to the exciting summer term that you' will be
bringing us. Think about your clirectorships over the
next four months and hopefully w.e can come back with
a kick. 1 you aren't an engineering society director,
there is a lot of work behind the scenes and helping out
that needs to be done and we would love to involve as
many people as possible. Come on out in the summer
and we'll show you a great time.
Have a great work term!
Sarah Davies
President
s2davies@novice
Nina Sodhi
VP External
nksodhi@elecom2
Vladimir Joanovic
VP Internal
vjoanovi@novice
Dan Kim
VP Finance
d3kim@novice
Orifice Improvements
Nancy 8a99io
VP Internal
This term a committee was formed to
address the changing needs of the Engi-
neering Society Office Space. Over the
p a s ~ few terms it has been deemed neces-
sary to increase the professionalism of the
Orifice while still maintaining the open
atmosphere that allows for all students to
utiUze tl1e services the society has to offer.
The members of the committee were:
Jason VanDyk, Erin Dunphy, Keith
Wace, Nancy Baggio (Current Asoc Exec-
utive), Jennifer King (Acting Orifice Man-
ager), Graeme Skinner and Lisa Poort
(Orifice Directors).
Throughout the term, a number of
issues were addressed. by the committee
as a result the follOwing actions have been
executed:
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
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c:
. :;:"
x 0.
W 0
5 ~
J::.
a.
purchase of a new fax machine
arrangement of a leasing agreement
of new photocopiers
better organization of director's
resource files
mounting of the Council Board and
Suggestion Box
One of the major projects of the com-
mittee was the distribution of the Orifice
Survey in which all students were able to
provide the committee with insight of the
needs of the students.
The chart is a summary of the results of
Orifice usage inquires.
TIle major issues which arose from the
survey include:
More information/advertisement of
services provided
Longer hours
More recent exams with Solutions
The committee has taken the following
J::.
II)
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Q)
(J Q)
Q) ~
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Q)
,g
~
a. "5
0
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~
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w
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Ci.
ffi
actions regarding these issues
The installation of a permanent light
sign listing Orifice Hours and service is
currently being researched and will hope-
fuUy be in place by the end of the Winter
term.
It has been delegated to the new B
Soc President to work in the extended
hours of the Orifice to at least 4 p.m The
logistics of the contract are currently
being discussed
A letter will be drafted for the begin-
ning of the Winter term to be sent to all
Professors with a request for the submit-
tal of exams. A letter of this type will be
the responsibility of the Academic Direc-
tor to draft and send at the beginning of
each term.
Another major project of the committee
has been the commissioning of an interior
designer to suggest plans for improve-
E
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8 e
<5
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ment of the orifice layout. A pl{ll1 has
been proposed and we are currently
awaiting pricing and timeline informa-
tion from University Plant Operations.
TIle main objective of the new layout is to
improve the flow of traffic, as well as pr<r
viding the executive willi usable office
space. The new Orifice will also provide
a more professional meeting area, more
space for director usage an improved
workstations for the usage of Orifice ser-
vices.
><
'E 'iij
.8
Q)
E
:E
~
0).9-
"C
:E
c:
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.w
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'u
(Q
u..
'a8'
, I . . - 1. + -'
- -
Ispevv
@l.
@l
PaulCesana
~ ~
WEEF Director
~
WEEF Approved Spending - Fall '96
~
Good day. How are you? Really? ~ ~
That's too bad, things here at WEEP are ~
Civil
~
great. Most of our work here is done. ~ Hard Drive Space Civil $1,600
~
We are presently in the process of allo- ~ Uninterruptible Power Supplies Civil $1 ,300 ~
eating the $54,239 we spent this term to
~
Refrigerator Civil $500 ~
the projects that were funded. We are
~
PHIISE Meter Civil $975
~
also in the process of getting everything
~
Computers for 4th yr. Civil Room Civil Eng Student $3,383 $1,158
~
cleaned up and organized in the WEEP
~ ~
office so that when B-Soc starts up in
~
Environmental
~
January, there will be a smooth transi-
~
Server and Computer Stations Env Eng Students $3,200 $3,200
~
tion. Speaking of the transition from A-
~
Chemical
~
Soc to B-Soc, if any of you who are
~ ~
switching over to B-Soc want to help out
~
Laptop Chemical $1,600 $1,600
~
Keith Parker (the B-Soc WEEF OUef), let
~ E&CE ~
me know ahead of time so I can guaran-
~
Watstar Upgrades E&CE $2,200 ~
tee you a position within WEEF.
~
Uninterruptible Power Supplies E&CE $981
~
I'd like to extend a special thanks to
~
RLC Bridge E&CE $958
~
the WEEF reps for this term for sitting
~
Computers for 4th yr. E&CE Room E&CE Student $2,500
~
through a FOUR hour meeting deciding
~
Hard Disks for 4th yr. E&CE Room E&CE Student $1,000 $1,639
~
this term's funding d ecision. Don't
~ ~
worry guys, next time it will run a lot
~
Systems
~
smoother! I would also like to thank
~
Control Systems Station Systems $3,475
~
Mike Nevill and Ouis Sharpe for help-
~
DADS Upgrade Systems $828 $4,303
~
ing to make this term productive, as
~ Mechanical ~
well as fun. (I have this overwhelming
urge to refer to it as 'FAN-tastic!' but I
~
Master CAM Software Mechanical $1,848
I
think someone else has a copyright or
~
Materials Tesing Machine Mechanical $6,000 $7,848
~ trademark on that.) Mike will be back
~
General Usage
next term as an assistant WEEP director,
along with newcomers Ryan Penty and ~
Equipment tor Machine Shop Engineering Machine Shop $2,125
~
1.1 GB Hard D'five for Watstar Engineering Computing $4,288
I
Jen Lugtigheid.
~
4.3 G8 Hard Drive for Web Server Engineering Computing $1,543 $1,966
Lastly, we are still looking for another
person to join the WEEF team to work ~
Department Subtotal $40,304
~
on Employer Matching Contributions.
~
Of course, if we get more people we can
~
Student Projects
always find other interesting things for
~
Parts for Car Mini Baja '97 $1,250
I
you to do. ff you're interested, talk to
~
Entrance Fee, Construction, etc. Snow Warrior $2,000
Mike Nevill or myself and we will be
~
Max. Power Point Trackers Midnight Sun $2,250
happy to delegate. So, here's what
~
Parts for car and for testing Team PROPeh?NE $2,000
you've all been waiting for ... (pause for
~
Parts and tools for car Formula SAE '97 $2,000
;
dramatic effect) the WEEF breakdown!
~
Parts for aircraft UWAero '97 $400
I
Look right.
~
Registration and Ucenses SAE Aero Design $335
Until next term ... buh-bye from all of
~
Start up costs Concrete Toboggan '98 $500
~
Part for Glider 1997 CASI Freeflight Glider $800
I
usatWEEF.
~
Attendance Costs for Conference Student Society tor Mech Eng $800
~
Experimental Jet Engine Lab E-JEL Principal DeSign Group $1,400
~
~
Wind Energy Conference Mech Eng Students $200
~
~
Student Project Subtotal 25.69% $13,935
I
~
Grand Total $54,239
~
~ ~
~ ~
@l.1!l
14 The Iron Warrior
Friday, November 29, 1996
Here's to all you 1992 Frosh!
Everything you want to know about GRAD 97
(or at least what you should know)
11
everyone in the engineering graduating class of
1997. To everyone who has decided to devote
their lives to engineering and who has made it
(the pain, the sacrifice, the excitement, the parties,
the mornings after). Graduation is the time that every-
has been looking forward to since September 1992.
. is just around the comer. To all of us who
worked hard for 5 years of our lives, this moment is
t to come true. Cheers to you.
What is the Graduation Committtee, known to you as
GRADCOMM?
We have decided to make a change in schedule of
events for Grad 1997.
The are the Iron Ring Ceremony & Iron Ring
Stag and the Graduation Ball which are going to be held
Thursday, February 27 and Saturday, March 8, respec-
tively. Since there will be a week between these two
events, Grad Comm is trying to fill the week in with
events like Industry seminars, tours and the PEO speaker.
This will no longer be a traditional"furee" day event but a
"ten" day event
Top Five Reasons Why GRAD COMM exists
1. To organize IRS
2. To organize GradBall
3. To organize and compile the Yearl>ook
4. To raise money to reduce special event ticket prices
5. To make sure that everyone has a good time
The memories of our last five years will be l'" .. 'n",,o-Y'
forever. The memories of the events that have taken
have defined our lives. No one can tell where all of us
be next year but the memories will always be the link
will keep us together.
The Grad Committee has organized a series of
that will honour friendship, comradeship and loyalty.
These events will take place between the Iron Ring
mony /Stag Day and the Grad Ball. These events
enrich and entertain our lives, professionally and
Some of these events will be of a serious matter as a
of corporations have graciously offered their services
contributions.
Two people are heading the corporate fundraising
the Grad committee. Their objective is to raise funds
services for these events. This fundraising is done with
purpose of lowering down the costs of the Grad Ball
ets and the yearbook
The Grad committee has already taken the initiative
holding a series of events on and off campus such as:
Pizza sales, Bake sales, and Halloween Costume Party
etc ..
Some of the people involved in the Graduation
mitteeare:
Trevor Baine
HahnChoi
Darren Dickson
Annabelle Edge
Usha E1yatamb
Lara Glouchkow
Dave Humphries
OuisSharpe
Thomas Sondergaard
James Steele
Treasurer
Corporate Pundraising
Plummers Pledge
Pundraising
Chair
Fundraising
Yearbook Editor
Plummers Pledge
Corporate Pundraising
Yearbook Editor
Margaret Wojtarowic Graduation Ball
If there are questions or comments, please forward
them to the GRAD COMM A box in the orifice and we
look forward to your contribution to a successful Grad
1997.
Volume 9 Issue 5
The Iron Warrior 15
Reports from the Women

zn
Engineering Conference 1996
n
title; Conference on Women in Engineering '%
"Challenging the Face of Engineering" was at the
top of the delegate's application form. It seemed
like quite a mouthful that I wasn't exactly too sure how to
take. So I sat and went through the information piece by
piece. OK so I figured that I could pass for a woman, if I
really tried, and I am studying engineering. But as far as
challenging anything, I really didn't realize that I was next
in line against Tyson. So it may not be Tyson, but the what
exactly is the Face of Engineering? It is a question that I
traveled all the way to Kingston in order to answer.
I arrived, half awake, to a large conference room full
of people, mainly women, from across Ontario. As the
first keynote speaker was explaining the changes she has
experienced over her 20 years in the engineering profes-
sion I glanced through the information package and dis-
covered a few things. Apparently the engineering profes-
sion has traditionally been male dominated, who knew?
This tradition is the definition of the Face of engineering
and the idea of "Challenging the Face of Engineering" is
to examine how women have been playing more impor-
tant roles in this profession in the past decade. So by edu-
cating people of the barriers overcome and the continued
forward progress of women in this field one will give
encouragement for future engineers.
Again I found myself not exactly sure of what to
think. I mean Yes, engineering has traditionally been male
dominated but I also think that people's priorities are
changing and there is the freedom to follow your desires
more easily these days. Every year the entrance statistics of
the percentage of women to men students are published
and the numbers of women in engineering are going up.
What is responsible for this phenomenon? I will not try to
explain other people's reasons but personally this, study-
ing engineering, is what I want to do at this moment in
time. That is how I look at it. I don't see myself as fighting
any fight because I am one of the few girls. I look at my
class, we consist of all the described visual minorities but a
person's sex, colour or religion doesn't matter. We are all
engineering students at the University of Waterloo with
the same goal; to get an education. We work together,
laugh together, help one another out and take everyone on
their merits not their outer shells. Treat everyone as you
would like to be treated, respect peopl for their differ-
ences and follow your own desires. 111ese are all things
that we have heard all before, common sense or some-
thing. Then why do racism and sexism still exist? I really
don't know.
Back to the conference, after the keynote speaker we
were ushered off to different sessions. These sessions cov-
ered a variety of topics including: Women in Manage-
ment, Technologist vs. Engineer, Becoming The Major
Breadwinner, Graduate studies, Sexual Harassment in the
Workplace, Managing family and career and Opportuni-
ties Abroad. r attended the Teclmologist vs. Engineer and
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace sessions and talked
to students who had been to the others. In general the ses-
sions were set up to describe situations that are encoun-
tered by women in the workplace. I found them to be an
overview of my three Co-op terms in that the sessions con-
sisted of women describing their experiences in the work-
force.
r would like to share a little story that happened to me
last work term. I was overseeing some outside contractors
who accidentally spilt some paint in a comer of the plant.
They cleaned their mess up but I was told by a certain
individual that I should of been the one on my hands and
knees cleaning since I was a woman. Now I will clean if it
is my job to clean, there is no way you will catm me vol-
unteering. I have this rather large fear of bleach. Anyway
as much as comments similar to this make me feel uncom-
fortable so does 'Wow, you're in engineering! I'm in awe
there aren't many women studying that subject." and ''I'm
really impressed, you must be really courageous to do
what you are doing". What is so amazing about what I am
doing? There are obviously 3(XX) other students at the Uni-
versity of Waterloo doing exactly the same thing.
The conference ended with another keynote speaker
who talked about the skills necessary to become successful
in this profession we hav chosen. ow, I found myself
dozing off not only b caus my bus had gotten into
Kingston at 3 in the morning the night before but also
because the subject matter has been stuffed down my
throat many times before. Co-op, my work upervisol's,
our profs all have been putting a larg mphasis on com-
munication skills and interpersonal skills. Look at your
perfom1ance evaluati 11 closely. The headings; Interper-
soml Behavior, ommunication Written and Verbal are
all th re in black and white. As well th work term reports,
the group projects and presentations all are there to p ~
pare u for the workfor . In general all the things we
curse h Ip us get the skills we need.
In the end I left Kingston thinking the conference had
not been th most effici nt use of my time. Things are
definitively not th sam as they were 20 years ago nor
will they be th same 20 years from now but I don't need
to rally forth with others lik me and celebrate tl1e barriers
we have overcome. We do what we need to do to get the
job done, plain and simple. In the end I just hope people
n ~ able to do what they wish, whether it is a woman
studying engineering or
a man becoming a
primary
teacher, and
judged on their
abilities not their
appearances.
SarahMee
S&M
16 The Iron Warrior
Friday, November 29, 1996
Charities Update
Leah Nacua & Alison Woodcock
On behalf of all the charity organizations we worked
with this term, a final THANK YOU to everyone who
supported this tenn's evenis. They all turned out very
successfully, and it's all because of you!!! (Clap! Clap!
Oap!) It really is a great way to give back something to
the community so keep up the great work, Engineers!
Here's a summary of tills tenn's events:
Thanksgiving Food Drive (collected 134 lbs)
Thanksgiving Food Drive Volunteer Day (sent 7 vol-
unteers to collect food from the community)
Plant Sale (raised $104 for World Wildlife Fund)
Halloween Candy-grams (raised $98 for Urucef)
Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Day (sent 13 volun-
teers to help witl1 current building project)
Tal-Eng Raffle (raised $130 for Habitat for Humanity)
Christmas Toy Drive (approximately $320 worth of
toys for Mary's Place, Anselma House, & 3 other women's
shelters in the K-W area)
We'd also like to thank the following businesses for
donating more than $25 worth of prizes towards the Tal-
Eng raffle draw:
UW Campus Shop (in SL.C)
Dr. Disc
Apple IT Hairstylists
PakMail
First Choice Haircutters
Above: Santa's best helpers - Ohm I
Left: Boxes o'plenty for children gallore
Daddyo's
Loose Change Louie's
Olympic Gyros Subs Restaurant
TCBY
And now, the class breakdown for money raised
towards the Christmas Toy Drive:
1st - Ohm J (2B Electrical) -$123.14
2nd - A&B (3B Electrical) -$66.81
3rd - 2L (Division 2) -$65.68
4th - Oasys (2B Systems) -$53.70
5th - NOx & SOx (2B Olemical) -$11.88
6th - Invincivil (4A Ovil)-$4
Once again, thanks everyone!!!
View From the Other Side
J.Gobatto
Assault and Battery
Before I begin, r wanl to warn those of you who are
looking for a piece of pulp, a quick read requiring no
thought and no opinion, that you should go elsewhere. J
am not going to be shallow, I am not going to be superfi-
cial, I am going to do what] always do, and call it like I see
it.
In the face of mudl adversity, both from the organized
body and the greater masses of EngSoc, Ryan Olen-Wing
became editor and has done an outstanding job this past
term. He took this position last term, after the executive
stopped publication. He knew the load he was taking on,
and he bore that burden silently, and alone.
I was appalled at the small number of submissions to
the Iron Warrior as the term wore on. At first, J attributed
it to everyone getting back and re-Stablishing themselves
in Walerloo for school, but tl1e lack of support for Ryan
continued into the fourtl1 issue. 1 do not mean to say tl1at
those who submitted were not appreciated and noticed,
but the participation this term has been less than accept-
able.
r asked a number of people whose names I remembered
seeing on past terms' issues why they were holding silent
thi term, and while I received orne indications of
increased workload or a need to improve their marks, a
number of people were doing it out of a show of solidari-
ty. They were responding to the shutdown of last term.
The shutdown of last term was an ill executed plan.
This was admitted by Jason Van Dyk afterwards. The
Iron Warrior returned with a new staff, and had lost the
support of the students. Ryan and his staff were punished
for the actions of otl1ers, wrongly punished, in my opin-
ion.
I originally shared this opinion that a show of solidarity
was necessary, but after I spoke to Ryan, the man I
believed to be the authority on the Iron Warrior, J changed
my mind. Ryan wanted tl1e Iron Warrior to be the same
thing I thought it should be: a forum for us, as students, to
speak our minds. I wish more of these people would have
sought out tl1e truth rather tl1an make tl1eir own up.
I am writing tl1is in the hopes tl1at the silent voices will
come out of their hiding spots and write once more. I am
trying to coax them, perhaps antagonize them, depending
on your position, into the pages once more. I want to see
more 30+ page Iron Warrior issues next term. I want to
see a more broad cross section of UW Engineering.
In closing, I would like to bow my head to Ryan, for
whom I have gained an enormous amount of respect over
tl1e course of this term. He has done a spectacular job in
what was hoped to be, at best, a rebuilding time. Kudos,
and best of luck in B Soc.
Volume 9 Issue 5
The Iron Warrior
17
The end of Ryan
Knowledge and creativity
S
ometimes I've heard people talk of how too
much knowledge can hinder your thinking and
how creativity can help in solving problems. I certainly
agree with this. Stories are often told of this.like of the
two cars and the fly.
Two cars are going at certain speeds on a collision
course and while they are moving a fly flies from car
to car until they collide. How far does the fly fly? The
knowledgeable math type guy pulls out his HP sums
a series and comes to an answer. The fool standing
beside him just calculates the time IT takes for said
cars to collide and multiplies it, on his fingers, with the
fly's speed. He came up with a solution that's simple
creative and effective, yeah. That's not the story I am
talking about.
Once this guy was telling me a similarty inspired
tale. Some boy scouts were on a hike. Two thirsty
scouts, Abe and Zeke, came to a stream ready to
take a drink.
Abe looked upstream and saw a really dead deer
carcass contaminating the water. Being bright and
knowing particulars of how bacteria disperses and
becomes harmless, he judged from the flow of the
stream how far they'd have to walk to drink safely.
Abe proudly proclaimed, 'We're a gonna hafta walk
two kilometres downstream to drink."
leke laughed and smugly said, 'We can just walk
upstream and take q drink." leke smiles knowing he
came up with a solution that required thinking and not
knowing.
So here ends the conventional story. How do I end
it? Read further
I replied, just as smug as leke, "I'd be the scout,
Iconoclast BaIBizarro, that walks up behind and says,
'Maybe ifs the water that killed the deer,' and takes a
swig of water from my canteen.
Kar1
~ July twentieth of this year, in earty aftemoon I
Vwas walking around and shopping, to some
degree, at the uptown Bay, Hudson's that is. One
particular thing I was looking for in the Bay was a tie.
Unaware, I was, whether or not this specific design of
tie existed. I was looking for quite a conservative in
look but radical in rarity vertically striped red and blue
tie.
Avoiding suspense, I must tell you that in the
menswear section of the uptown Bay I found that very
tie. A textured surface made the fabric a bit more
omate than I wanted but otherwise it was ideal. It was
branded Tongue Tied by Tom McLellan. Very excited,
I reached for the price tag.
Oh well, my Ross, it was just a bit more than I want-
ed to pay. First its price exceeded the amount of
money in my pocket, 'which is usually the first criterion
on my purchase of anything, and so forth. So I left the
store.
Outside the entrance I looked around at a happy
Saturday and started on my way elsewhere. As I
started walking some guy tried to sell me one of those
newspapers they make for homeless people to sell
and get some money. Unusual for me I started talk-
ing to the guy.
I told him my name was Ryan, as it is.
"My name's Kart!" he grabbed my hand and shook
it in a friendly way.
''So what's your story?" I showed my curiosity.
He told me all about how at one bme he was quite
well off, owning a catering business among other
things. He owned a cottage and a yacht and had a
beautiful wife.
Karl seemed an eamest fellow. It occurred to me,
for an instant, that I could disbelieve his words but I
couldn't help but do the opposite.
His drinking problem took everything away from
him. He didn't really care. Drink had blinded his path
and screwed up his head. Not until his wife left him
did he snap out of it
"Now I gotta fix up here," he pointed to his head and
looked me in the eyes.
"Howald are you?"
'Twenty" I answered.
''My daughter's twenty two," he said.
'That's my sisters age."
We talked on. I asked him how selling newspapers
was. He told me he hung out there every Saturday
and he lived in a shelter down the street.
I gave him two dollars and seventy three cents.
We talked a little more.
"I'd better get going," I said.
"Awright man, see you later. You know, you're
gonna be a success, I can see it in your eyes," he
said. "tfs not about this," he pointed to the money, "
have a good day".
This past Thanksgiving Saturday, a dozen weeks
later I was at the same Bay because I was ready to
pay the price for that tie. Disappointed, I couldn"t find
the tie anywhere. So like before I walked out of the
store. At the same exit as before I recalled my con-
versation with Kart. I looked all around for him but he
wasn't there. Just like the tie, Karl was gone.
I was sad for a seeond, but only that. Kart's proba-
bly fixed his self by now. Maybe he started a new
business, maybe he's wearing that cool tie.
Perceiving appearance
After Thankgiving when I was in the bus terminal
!-\Dn Bay making my way back to KW from
Toronto, I looked around at all the students. It was
easy to pick out the preppy students from Queen's
with their Queen's jackets; the jacket gives it away.
Westem students scream out with purple Mustang
stuff, whatever, you know.
Then I looked at myself. My baseball cap, covering
my short cropped trendy hair, proudly showed I was in
UW Engineering. The navy blue of my Eddie Bauer
thermal T complimented the denim blue of my The
Gap jeans. My jean cuttS, folded over once, rested on
my so dean hiking boots that likely won't see anything
but asphalt for all their days.
Thinking back to one year before where I was in the
same place and same time of year but looking very
different. Long hair messily hung down past my
rough 'goatee.' I wore plaid quilted lumber-jacket and
jeans with no brand-nametag because it just isn't
worth mentioning. My hikers were already wom and
marred with dirt from Alaska and dried from water of
BC mountain streams.
Signs of the APE-CALVPSO
M
any times in similar pages past extraordinary
happenings were described under a title ''Signs
of the Apocalypse" or a dever pun on such a title. No
one truly knows the identity lunatic fringe responsible
for apoplectic fits of literature. He likely wasn't worthy
of much note. None the more apocalyptic tradition
here are some such.
During the Grey Cup on CBC, they gave the nadir
of useless statistics. Under the boldly-exclaimed
brightly-coloured words "Grey Cup Fact!" this quintes-
sential display of statistical trivia: "In 6 of the last 11
Grey Cups the team with the most passing yards has
won." The commentators seemed oblivious of the
fact that this is close enough to fifty percent to mean
nothing. Following the match this stat changed to 6
out of 12.
Monday moming I heard part of the news report on
the radio. The commentator described recent events
of hijackers hijacking an Ethiopian airplane. There
were reports of them preventing the pilot from landing
to refuel. Said commentator went on to say that those
hijackers would have to face accusations of disallow-
ing the pilot to refuel. 'Thafs strange," I thought, "How
about accusations of hijacking the bloody plane"
There's a university in Britain that accepts students
with extra low test scores. In a move of extreme politi-
cal correctness they believe that people shouldn't be
discriminated against for having a low IQ. What?
In the yellow pages of my hometown phonebook,
Terrace-Kitimat, under T there is a weird entry. It
says, 'T-shirts," and on the next line it says, "See T-
Shirts." So under one heading it refers you to, yes,
the same heading. Weren't we all so unaware that
BC Tel was capable of such humour.
In the report from the past executive of the Engi-
neering Society they used what could be called a
word: agnosium. We are quite sure they meant to
say ad nauseum. Okay, I, thought it was laughable.
So pay places, Poe cap lays, Pay leo caps
day poe spa, Coy pals ape, Soy pace I .. p, Say cal
paop
Adam Ahmed
I ypo-space (n.) word deSCribing the space
L.remaining after the performance of liposuction.
Only known by those in the know
Watched Ed the Sock Goes to HolI)"Nood the ether
day on City. An)"Nay, here's the deal: He's at the
beach talking to Americans. Hellt asks each one of
them whether the Earth rotates around the Sun or
vice versa. Each one of the respondants replied that
the Sun rotated around the Earth. Dumb Americans,
Today is Blotter Hat Day
~ happy day! Today is Blotter Hat Day and a
VParty Day. Cowagooba! All day call everyone
by their middle names and exdaim compliments on
hats all around. So, I'm Michael Alan and address
me so but speak quickly to match my superior mental
processing capability. By the way, what gender are
you? Ooh Ia la, in accordance with prophocy.
Ryan Chen-Wing
Iron Warrior Editor-in-Chief
19
fJ'lie Ce{e6rities Were Out
Amanda Pinto
Semi-Formal Director
Assault and Battery
The Engineering Semi-Formal took place on November
8, 1996 and was a HUGE success. It was held at the Uni-
versity Club on campus. We sold out - 150 tickets!!!
The night began with a silver curtain so that you could
make your entrante as a star. Then onto the punch table
to sample some yummy fruity stuff. The food was served -
great veggie dip! And dessert! Time to hit the dance floor
under the silver ball- if you could fit!
A special thanks from Sarah, Jen, and myself to every-
one who helped us decorate, Magic Tunes for the cool
music, June Lowe for being our special guest, Frederick Lai
for his excellent photography, and the TOOL for a spectac-
ular visit, as usual.
21
Volume 9 Issue 5
The Iron Warrior
The Sandford Fleming Foundation
4306 Carl Pollock Hall, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1
len de Vlaming, Chemical Engineering
Sarah Anderson, Civil Engineering
Waterloo Campus Activity
(519) 8 8 8 ~ 4 8
Ryan Ferguson, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Darrell Wilcox, Management Sciences
Hamid Jahedmotlagh, Mechanical Engineering
Jason Levy, Systems Design Engineering
lannois Carroll-Woolery - Year 1 Engineering
Kevin Thomson, - Year 1 Engineering
Funding for these awards comes from engineering student contributions and depends on them for continuation.
An organization devoted to the advancement of engineering education.
Jean Charest visits Fed
On Tuesday, November 19, Jean Charest,leader of the Canadian Progressive Conservative party
came to speak to a crowd of supporters during a breakfast at Fed Hall. He highlighted alleged
successes like Free Trade and described his ties to the university and the area. He spoke well and
certainly is a politician.
23
24
Arr!
nnggh!
The Iron Warrior
Smile
Friday, November 29, 1996
Mud Bowl
Saturday, November 16 we allcame
out and played some football.
Kick
. Hike
Volume 9 Issue 5
The Iron Warrior
25
These are pictures of groups of people on a tour of local establishments.
97 Days
Strangely enough, wit does not increase with alchohot
consumption or lack of sleep. Let's hope fun does.
Bryan Hey,(drool) I want some
26
The Iron Warrior
Friday, November 29, 1996
STUNTS
closkwise from top left: Arts boar
Pordnello taped up, 400 box barred up,
whafs that? A&B, Is that a wrench?, "4A
Civils caged
Heather Locklear goes on
shopping spree at sex store
'--
-
~ A r t s
"The Fall of Rome"
Civil;
Refined, polite,
Not at the University of Waterloo.
Here it's push and shove,
Give and take.
They take our professors and classes
They take our funding and jobs.
They take our money and our minds,
And give us a slip of paper to trame,
And hang on the side of the cardboard box we'll soon call home
It's not that bad though.
We're still smart.
We're still the best.
Neil Armstrong was the best golfer on the moon
That doesn't mean he'l! ever get a job as a golfer
What good is skill with nowhere to use it?
The knife cuts deep when you're learning to be useless .
We bitch.
We whine.
But how long can you listen to a child cry before you block out the noise?
We buckle down.
We deal with it.
But the wells are drying up,
And what will we do without water?
Please,
We're trying to be civilized.
Please,
Try to see through our civil eyes.
Please,
Try to see through our civil lies.
All the dams are built, but the rivers are dry.
All the buildings a r ~ up, but the offices are empty.
The bridges are burning.
The shorelines are receding.
The roads go nowhere.
The cities are dead.
The storm is raging, and all we can do is hold on.
Hold on to the glory that was our past,
And look to a future where the sun may never rise.
Keith Wace
96/11121
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wallowing in a sea of bad poetry number fifteen
little green men in over-ails
are painting pictures on the walls
of prison cells and bathroom stalls
pictures of the strangest things
tibetian monks in circus rings
and albatri that have no wings
they are just your average joes
but why they do it, no one knows
it's just for kicks, i suppose
they came from nowhere one august day
and started painting, so they say
and it looks as if they're here to stay
-trevor 9 quay/e
the tradition continues
.::
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Black in White
The black flag in this world of windy white
Constantly waving at their whims
Yet distinct in every sense of the word
The perfect picture of the ironically free prisoner
Trapped in these Calvin Klein Jean ad walls
Where buff and beautiful and blue-eyed is average
And everyone wears white
Where the World Wildlife Foundation protects
Shelters the endangered species
Well, what about the imperfect individualist?
The Brady kids always fit in
So did the Cosbys and the Keatons
Fuck, even Alf found his niche
Why can't I?
The square, cigarette shaped peg
Trying to fit into a "No Smoking" sign shaped hole
A noble but pointless attempt, truly
Flipping the pages of Rolling Stone
We find Billboard's Top Ten Excuses
Up to number one: "I Don't Know"
And on the facing page, Antonio sits on water bottles.
J.Gobatto
Assault and Battery
@CVf' r t s
Coffee at Tim's
Ed Barsalou
OaSys
There really is no pat response to tha t kind of situa-
tion Simply put, the man was sitting there, in Tim
Horton's, babbling incessantly to thin air. I'm not
really sure who exactly was the intended object of his
tirade - some imaginary listener, the coffee shop in
general (although there were few other customers,
and none nearby) or perhaps he was just having an
in-depth conversation with himself. No matter, his
babble produced a complex array of feeling, as well
as an intense curiosity. I was unable to hear what he
was saying. Perhaps I was unwilling - for fear of
insult, perhaps, by one prejudicially deemed below
me.
On the verge of laughing as I left the shop, I'm not
quite sure how this incident affected me. On hearing
the loud chatter behind me while ordering, I peered
around to see the source of this excited conversation.
I was amused and disturbed upon realizing that this
was only a solitary man, seemingly directing his con-
versation at nobody. He proceeded, unfaltering. It
seemed that he was watching me - any time I looked
his way, he seemed to stare right back at me, into me,
even through the plastic plants.
I do know that at that point, I became fearful that
he would address me, approach me, reproach me.
Belittle my choice of coffee to go, as being environ-
mentally unfriendly, for the paper cup. Berate how I
take my coffee, insisting that purists drink only black.
Attack my frivolity in consumption, not offering to
buy him anything. Denounce my morality, my
materialism, my irresponsibility for avoiding my
work, to instead seek out my recreational drug of
choice.
I bought my coffee, and a chocolate chip cookie.
Very normal for me - costs a buck forty-eight, I know
this and take comfort in it. The cashier laughs when I
tell her in advance how much it will be, recognizing
that I have often bought a medium coffee and a cook-
ie. No mention is made of the frantic one-sided con-
versation being carried out behind me. The thought
crosses my mind that I would probably be a bit afraid
to be working there, with this madman continuously
pontificating to thin air. I smile as I leave, not looking
at the man, and reaching for the door I am near burst-
ing - with laughter, with anxiety, 1'm not sure.
Walking to my car, I shake my head. I don't know
how I would respond if forced to remain - conscience
is a powerful censure.
Prospective Irrelevance
Andrew Krywanluk
Assault & Battery
For some reason I thought that the fourth issue was
the last one. But I was wrong ... so you get to hear
more about things entirely unrelated to engineering.
It's getting near the end of term so I think it's time for
me to get serious about a couple of things. But only a
couple.
This article is not about stupidity. Nor is it about
meaning or demeaning. Of course I'm not saying that
gratuitous zeugma is wrong. But I do not want to
limjt my writing to the truth. I talk about something
that is different for every individual who reads about
it.
1 always hear about the stupidity of the average
person. And yet most people I meet seem to be above
average, what ever that means. Maybe it's because I
meet a lot of university students, but I don't think so. I
think that we've conrutioned ourselves to think that a
rating of 'average' or 'satisfactory' is subnormal. In
theory, more than half of our profs should score aver-
age or below on their evaluations, and yet I always
feel that giving out the mark of average is a tacit form
of criticism. 'Average' seems to imply 'bland.'
And yet the word 'average' never seems to fit any
people that I meet. It never bothers me when I hear
about tragic stories of plane crashes on the radio; it's
just one more solution to the world's over-population
problem. I have these images of 200 cookie-cutter
people plunging to their deaths and exploding in a
ball of flames. Well not really that vividly. - I'm not a
sicko, you know.
Why should I care about the death of people I
don't even know? If I stop to imagine any of the indi-
vidual people who died then I have to admit that I
am saddened by the loss. It's known as putting a face
to the tragedy. It's like making a box full of dirt seem
more interesting by looking at it through a magnify-
ing glass. But does the dirt have an inherent quality of
'interestingness' even when you are not watching it?
It's not so much the loss of life that bothers me
either. It's the loss of a personality, and of a person's
ideas and aspirations. I'm not a vegetarian. It doesn't
bother me that millions of innocent chickens are
killed every year. I just don't care about chickens in
'that' way. I figure they're not that far evolved from
vegetables anyway. I know some pretty bland pe0-
ple; it wouldn't bother me if they disappeared forev-
er.
Perhaps I sound a little judgmental. I am. And I
don't mean that in a religious sense or even a beer
sense. That's what separates me from chickens in my
own mind - [t's one of the reasons why I don't get
bored with myself day after day.
My parents are psychologists. I think I was proba-
bly a test for their experimental parenting theories.
They tell me that fifteen year oids are supposed to
start seeing thing things from other peoples' perspec-
tive. But I still can't. I can understand peoples'
instincts and reactions but I still can't figure out why
they get offended by jokes or attend clay goddess-
making workshops.
There is this type of victim mentality that causes
people to take things too seriously. They think that
criticism of their religion somehow threatens their
faith. They think that a racial slur is evidence of bias
against a race when most of the time it is merely a
convenient (albeit stupid) way of insulting an indi-
vidual. They think that sexism is rampant just
because the average salary of women is lower than
that of men (what about seniority or biological pre-
dispositions).
Some would say that these people want to have
their cake and eat it too; I just think they're looking at
the world through faulty brains. I think that a non-
sequitor would be appropriate here. You can't deal
logically with these people. It's so frustrating that I
regret not being able to close my eyes and wish the
stupid people into oblivion.
Perhaps you feel nervous that I discuss my homici-
dal urges so freely. I am not actively working
towards my goal. I just wish that when terrorists
decided to bomb a plane they would happen to
choose the flight that had been chartered by the 4th
annual conference on anal-retentivity instead of the
one with all the interesting people that I've never met.
Perhaps this sound" a bit puerile, but sometimes I
can't understand how anyone could possibly dis-
agree with me. I keep having to refer back to the fact
that, while intelligence is a useful trait to have, it is not
the primary reason for our existence. For some pe0-
ple, knowledge is only the means to an end. I don't
see it that way. Electrical engineering is a nice hobby
but I wouldn't want to make a career out of it.
What is the point of everything? Well, it is easy to
find the point of a needle or a ball-point pen because
they are tapered objects. But we already know that
the universe is at least ten-dimensional so even if
there is a point we will never be able to see it. What a
shame.
That is why the world is so irrelevant. But I don't
see anything wrong with that so you shouldn't either.
Do you get my point? Is this a rhetorical question?
UW Drama's Romeo and Juliet:
Teenage Pathos, Out of Place
1he play's opening featured two people intensely sucking face for a1mart a minute. Yes, count it out an entire minute. This seemed to immediately capture
the audience's attention for the very much anticipated Capulet/ Montague showdown.
This civil brawl was provoked by a trivial football game? - that cut open and spewed
much of the two families hats all over the stage. Although it was difficult to distinguish
whether the two gangs were fighting against each other or with each other, the individ-
ual kicks to the groin and punches to the head were terrifyingly real.
Aside from the rivalries between the families, I thought that some of the cast did a
superb job at acting out their characters. The true desire of Romeo's ambition to be one
with Juliet sincerely left a wann flutter in my heart. However, Juliet's feeble attempt to
return his love only left me with hard-boiled dissatisfaction.
Mercutio was good. He was really good The actor seemed to play his character with
very little strain at all, almost as if it was natural to him. After Mercutio was murdered, I
think a little bit of the play died too. Give this man an Oscar.
I must admit that the abuse of power in this play was very alive when Capulet
unleashed a horde of anger as Juliet refused to marry his prince. Capulet appeared to be
so sincerely angry, that I felt it disturbing to watch him smack Juliet's face to the floor.
All sarcasm aside, if there was one character that I could say stole the show, it would
have to be the Nurse. She was truly a pleasure to watch perform. Not only was she rivet-
ing, but she seemed to add a certain finesse to the other characters when she conversing
with them.
All in all, the play was a little cheesy. The stage was impressive, but more effort could
have been put into all of the costumes. The Drama Department did a good job at per-
forming a high school production
Kevin Saliba
28 Civil Engineering
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boob
J. Gobatto
Assault and Battery
The rooms were darkly lit, and remained so as the evening progressed into
early morning. At an empty space on the comer of Isabella and Yonge, in down-
town Toronto, an estimated five and six hundred people, ranging in age from
about 13 to at least 45 had gathered for boob, a rave organized in part by a UW
engineering student.
What could bring such a diverse group of people together in one place for what
most would describe as "a party"? Why wouldn't one want to hang out with 500
of one's closest friends for the night, grooving to the tunes and dancing the night
away?
So What's a Rave?
The concept of a rave has been around for years. They have traditionally been
remote gatherings held in large spaces such as warehouses, running from late
evening to the break of dawn or later.
The music is difficult to describe, but once it is experienced it is hard to forget. It
is a mixture of techno style (this is as close as I can get to describing it), with a heav-
ier drum feel and more diverse bass line. There are no true "songs", as one would
find in a bar. The music just flows, with the only discernible breaks coming when
there is a change in the OJ who is spinning.
The crowd is ALL ages, from all walks of life, but at a rave, everyone is equal.
This is in part due to the abnosphere. There is a far more positive feeling at a rave
than at a bar. For example, I was standing along a wall when someone bumped
into me. Being a reasonably large and sturdy individual, the knock did little.
However, the person's reaction was worth noting. He immediately put his hand
on my back to steady me, and pulled out a lighter to relight my cigarette (which I
didn't have), as well as apologizing at least five times. In a bar, this interaction
would likely have been followed by a fight, not an apology.
A rave is about kindness, friendship and energy, to put it simply.
So What About boob?
boob was advertised as a live experimental drum and bass show with some DJs
spinning in between. Rather than go through and name all the OJs and rate their
sets, let me describe the flow of the night, and the feelings provoked.
To understand the picture, a picture of the physical situation of the venue is
paramount. On the ground level was the ticket table, and a set of stairs leading up
to the party.
The second floor was the main show. The walls were either painted black, or
had heavy black plastic cov ring them, giving the rooms a very dark feeling.
There were two distinct sections, both of which were filled by the same OJ. One
room was dimly lit with deep blue and purple lights, and had a couple of disco
balls. At the far end was a screen playing a kaleidoscopic video. This seemed to
hold the attention of the majority of people in this part of the rave. The other room
Harmony
was better equipped with lighting and contained the OJ that was spinning. The
room also sported a water bar, where they had water along with iced tea, Coke,
and Smarties.
The third floor had a brighter abnosphere. There was a different OJ spinning up
there, and the walls were a shade of beige or white. The lighting was similar in
hues to the lower level. There was also a VIP room, which I got the opportunity to
guard, but not enter.
When we arrived shortly after midnight, the first OJ was still up. His style was a
hard techno, and a few people were dancing. At around two the live group came
up, and the feeling became less intense. The music was a lot more ambient, the
drums being sporadically added as the performers saw fit. The dancers were lim-
ited in number during this set, but those who did were dedicated to their task, as is
often the case. At three another OJ started spinning, and the intensity quickly
picked up. This was the peak time for dance floor crowding, with everyone seem-
ing to mold into one another. At four yet another OJ carne out and their style was
more of a jungle feel, with a heavier emphasis on the percussion, particularly the
middle range. At six the last OJ I heard carne out, and this was a surprise: they
were playing a lot of jungle, but there was a lot of vocal samples. I hadn't heard
this at any other rave before.
boob was a great production in my opinion The music was well organized,
and the breaks in between OJs were nonexistent. The flow was marked by their
stylistic differences, not the dead air while one person cleaned up their gear and
the other set up theirs.
The video running provided me and a number of other people with an amusing
observation: the people dancing in this room were all facing the screen. When
one sat at the back of the room , it appeared as though it was a bizarre sort of aero-
bics class going on. The lighting was simple, and while some people prefer being
banged over the head with spectacular visuals, I don't. It suited the evening well
One of the things I love most about raving is the people watching. There is
always such a cross-section of society at raves, and boob was no different. In addi-
tion to the usual occasional transvestite (who actually had a number of people
fooled), there were a number of T-shirt slogans which stand out in my mind.
There were a couple of people at boob that I want to mention One girl had
brought an Elmo doll with her. It was the one that would laugh when you tickled
it, and if you tickled it repeatedly, it would eventually start to shake. It was hilari-
ous to see people gather around, each taking turns "tormenting" this doll to con-
vulsions. Everyone loved playing with it.
Another person I'd like to talk about was a guy who came in with a cast. He
brought a marker and a flashlight with him, because he wanted everyone there to
sign it. (As an aside, there was a search at the door for markers, so that people
didn't put graffiti everywhere. The people covering the door let him bring his
marker in, however.)
I enjoyed the variety, both in music and in people. I had never been to a rave
outside of Windsor before, and I liked the different styles I was treated to. In fact, I
called up some friends of mine who go to raves back home after I got back and
told them they should look into a road trip to Toronto. As for the people, what can
I say? There were so many different people there, and all were in the true spirit of
the rave. At one point I got a little too enthusiastic on the dance floor and knocked
my glasses flying off my face. Three people took out lighters to help me find my
glasses, and one girl offered me a Kleenex to wipe them off. That's the true spirit
of a rave: kindness.
All in all, for the $20 charge for entry, I feel I got my money's worth. A good
night with a lot of excellent music, and an abnosphere where I was comfortable
the entire time I was there. I feel like I met 500 new friends, most of which I will
never see again, but if I did, I know I could say hi, and we could talk, and I would
feel like I was at boob all over again.
I think a lot of people would have enjoyed it, but raving is a very subjective
thing; some people love it and others cannot stand it. I am in the former group,
and for those who have never been to a rave, I recommend they drop the $20 and
try it at least once.
@ ~ r t . f
HAIKU
Iron Warrior
Ever working, Am I an
iron warrior
han -yo or reading
the Iron Warrior this
-term. We hope you
enjoyed it.
For their help this
m I will thank:
I PaFred, Christina,
.
J ff,
Thank-you
Hav b a ~ . . . . . . . ~
go home
Ryan
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