October 5, 2000

Hamilton, Oct. 4, 2000 - Maria Minna, Canada's minister for international co-operation, and Stan Keyes, member of Parliament for Hamilton West, today announced that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will provide $750,000 to a project with McMaster University to help reduce maternal mortality in Haiti. "Women losing lives while giving birth is a tragedy that must be addressed forcefully," said minister Minna. "Unfortunately, in many developing countries, this tragedy is still a common occurrence. By supporting this McMaster University project, CIDA is once again reaffirming its commitment to promote better health care services in the developing world." "Today's announcement links McMaster University with the State University of Haiti in addressing this pressing health issue," said Keyes. "With this CIDA-supported project, experts from McMaster University will be able to help health professionals in Haiti work towards reducing maternal mortality." The multidisciplinary team from McMaster University, led by Henry Muggah, professor of obstetrics & gynecology, along with their colleagues from Haiti, will work with a Haitian non-governmental organization, International Child Care, that operates community-based clinics throughout the country.

October 4, 2000

This year's Whidden Lecture features Canadian author and poet Bruce Meyer. Meyer, who earned a PhD from McMaster, will speak on Canadian Literature and the . . .

October 4, 2000

The issue between the Hamilton Fire Department and the University over the blue bin recycling initiative has been resolved. The University will install non-combustible containers that will be fixed into position in their selected locations in foyers and open areas. "We will probably move to metal containers," says Ron Angus, acting director, risk management services. However, he says there will likely not be as many locations as before. And none of the bins will be located in narrow corridors.

October 3, 2000

What did Pierre Elliott Trudeau mean to you? How will he be remembered? What is his legacy for Canada? Editorial staff of the Daily News felt it would be fitting on this day to invite the University community to send in stories, tributes, anecdotes, and personal reflections and remembrances of the former Prime Minister. How did he touch your life? Write to us at daily@mcmaster.ca We'll do our best to get your submissions posted quickly. Contributions will be edited for length and good taste. To read Your Remembrances of Trudeau, click here.

October 3, 2000

Editorial staff of the Daily News felt it would be fitting on this day to invite the University community to send in stories, tributes, anecdotes, and personal reflections and remembrances of the former Prime Minister. What did he mean to you? How did he touch your life? What is his legacy for Canada? Write to us at daily@mcmaster.ca ***** While I was not and am not a supporter or admirer of Mr. Trudeau's politics or policies, he was nevertheless a compelling personality, a great father, and an ardent Canadian. Would that today's politicians speak as openly and frankly on the issues of the day. He will be missed. --Dennis Venerus I became involved as a volunteer for the Liberal Party during the 1979 federal election campaign. It was Pierre Trudeau who inspired me to get involved. I believed in his vision of Canada as a just society, inspiring all Canadians to care about one another, to share what we had with others. To share with people from other countries poorer than our great Canada, people that could not always take care of themselves, like the physically and mentally challenged, the underpriviledged. I believed in his vision that all Canadians should have the opportunity for good education and good health care, whether rich or poor. I believed in his vision of a strong national government supporting the have-not provinces and accepting and participating in the cultural differences evident in other provinces. He never waivered from his vision. That year, I campaigned with him. My children were young; they campaigned, too, helping with signs, knocking on doors with me. They understood the importance at a young age of being politically aware and the importance of believing in something and working towards those beliefs and goals. Ever since, politics has played a major role in my life and the life of my family. We will never regret being involved. I thank Pierre Trudeau for that. His vision is why Canada is now known as the best country in the world in which to live. Let's all strive to keep his vision alive and make sure that Canada continues to be the best country in the world in which to live. That is how we can best keep his legacy alive. I feel so honoured and privileged to have known him and met him. Pierre, we will love you forever. --Myra Leffler I remember Trudeau as such a great man. He was larger than life with passion, class, intelligence, and no fear. But the story I love hearing most is the one my husband tells of the day he became a citizen of Canada: My husband and his parents had excitedly made the decision to become Canadian citizens and in preparation for the event, my mother-in-law, who was unable to speak a word of English, was worried she would not be able to handle the questions asked of her. She studied and memorized as hard as she could. Unfortunately, as the day approached, my father-in-law was hospitalized and his wife did not want to leave his side. But he insisted. He was very determined his family would be Canadians! My mother-in-law and her two youngest sons, (my husband and his brother)hurried to their citizenship hearing. The two young men had no trouble with the questions. My mother-in-law was not so lucky; she was worried about her husband and most of what she had studied seemed to vanish! As luck would have it, the person asking the questions was very sympathetic and asked her one final question, "Who is the Prime Minister of Canada?" My mother-in-law's eyes lit up and(as my husband remembers), without hesitation, she spoke loudly and clearly, "Pierre Trudeau!" With that answer, my mother-in-law became a very proud Canadian citizen! --Silvana Berlingieri Pierre Trudeau inspired a hope that there could be something better for Canada and that there was a role for all of us to play if we wanted to. He left us with his vision of a just society, a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a Constitution of our own. The outpouring of respect and admiration Canada has given him shows that there is still a place in our hearts for vision and inspiration in a world even tougher than it was in 1968. On a lighter note, I had the privilege of shaking his hand twice, once at a political meeting before the 1968 election, and as a tourist on Parliament Hill the same year. He recalled that we had met before, and after a moment's thought, mentioned the political meeting in Granby. I remember being so impressed by his memory and charm. I still am. Goodbye and thank you, Mr. Trudeau. --Gwen Crossan The Right Honorable Pierre Elliott Trudeau was truly a citizen of the world, who valued individual human rights over parochial, insular collectives. He had the remarkable capacity to talk over the heads of the elite to his people, who believed in his vision of a just society. Irrespective of culture, country of origin and language spoken, Mr. Trudeau had the courage to defend the intrinsic values that unite humanity. I came to Canada just after the first Quebec referendum in 1980, and I distinctly recall reading in international newspapers the immense impact his speech at the Paul Sauve arena in Montreal had in bringing home the message of inclusiveness to all Canadians, Quebecers and others. This is his greatest legacy, articulated for all Canadians to enjoy, in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - for the citizens of a country which the UN calls the best place on earth to live, and to all others who aspire to become one. Merci, Mr. Trudeau. --Ibrahim Inayatali I was eight years old when Trudeau came to power, and I recall waving to his motorcade when he eventually made his way to B.C. a short while after he became Prime Minister. I still remember vividly the excitement and optimism of that time. He was PM during my "growing-up" years. His values, passion and his hopes and dreams for Canada inspired me then, and they continue to inspire me now. He was a great Canadian who showed us what being Canadian was all about. We may yet see another Canadian politician who will re-ignite similar passions and once again awaken Canadian emotions (I certainly hope so), but there will never be another Pierre Elliott Trudeau. --Marge Marriott PET: Canada's most charismatic leader. A leader on the world's stage. A man of conviction and principle. Politicians before and since pale in comparison. Canada could use a leader with even a fraction of what Mr. Trudeau brought to the table. --Stuart M.Phillips A gentleman to the end, he taught me how to respect and love others who are not like me. What a wonderful country where the world is right at our doorstep if only we will take the time to explore and enjoy it. Best of all, I always chuckle when I think of how he did not kowtow to anyone, not even the U.S.! Great man, the greatest Canadian. --Aloma Munian When I was about six or seven, I shook hands with PET at a Toronto mall. All that I remember is being on my father's shoulders and my father telling me to shake the man's hand. I remember thinking that I wanted to be a Liberal, even though I did not know what that meant at the time. He brought so much vigor to everything he did, even a seven year old could see it. --Olga Cenic

October 3, 2000

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/communitycampaign.jpg” caption=”President George launches Community Campaign”] One hundred and fifty members of the University community showed their support for the University's annual fundraising . . .

October 2, 2000

Art is a cerebral loop. Scientifically it begins with brain cells and neurochemicals, and somehow ends magically with imagination and creativity. Eminent McMaster neuroscientist Sandra . . .

October 2, 2000

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/haleyweb.jpg” caption=”Mark Haley”]In his final year of university some 20 years ago, Mark Haley helped Acadia win the national football championship. The former . . .

October 2, 2000

A key activist in the movement to oppose one of the world's largest river development projects is this year's Mahatma Gandhi lecturer. Medha Patkar, a strategist with Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), will give the fifth Annual Mahatma Gandhi lecture on Non-violence at 7:30 p.m. tonight in JHE-376. The NBA is a people's movement organized to stop the construction of a series of dams on the Narmada River, India's largest west-flowing river. Since 1985, Patkar and NBA have been holding peaceful marches and rallies to protest the Narmada Valley Development Project, in particular the building of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. The dam would submerge more than 37,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land and displace 320,000 people. Patkar, who has been beaten and arrested for her actions, also conducted a number of protest fasts during the early 1990s.

October 2, 2000

In a proposal to be presented at Hamilton-Wentworth regional council on Tuesday, Oct. 3, the University is requesting that the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth donate the former Wentworth County courthouse property to McMaster for 10 years as a leadership gift to the Changing Tomorrow Today campaign. "McMaster has worked with city and regional officials for the past year to develop a way for the University to help revitalize downtown Hamilton," says President Peter George. "The courthouse is an ideal location for the University, and will provide the space we will require over the next decade. It is also a chance for the University and the new City of Hamilton to work together to build and sustain economic growth." While no final decisions have been made regarding which areas at McMaster may move to a downtown location, the preference is to relocate units or parts of units that have expressed a desire to move, or whose activities would be enhanced by closer links to the community.

September 29, 2000

It's new, it's Canadian and it's coming to a computer screen near you, then to the television screen of Vision TV. The Medieval Women Web site http://mw.mcmaster.ca was officially launched on Friday, Sept. 29 in conjunction with an upcoming six-part television series co-produced by Redcanoe Productions and McMaster University's Faculty of Humanities. It is the University's first foray into television production. "There is a huge interest in medieval times as we explore the new millennium," says Kathy Garay, member of McMaster's Working Group on the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Employing sophisticated, state-of-the-art technology the animated Web site incorporates virtual reality, video and audio. It presents a thoroughly modern recreation of a medieval world, with women's lives as its focus. It is designed for the curious and the scholarly alike. With just a click of a mouse, visitors can experience life in a nunnery, play authentic medieval games or set off on a pilgrimage. The six-part television series begins airing Wednesday, Oct. 4 on Vision TV. It was produced by Hamilton's Redcanoe Productions in association with Vision TV, the Women's Television Network and the Faculty of Humanities. CBC's Avril Benoit narrates each of the television programs in the series which provides insights into another world and time, and also reveals much about our own.

September 28, 2000

Alcohol use played a major role in many of the hearings conducted by the Peer Conduct Board (PCB) during the 1999-2000 school year. According to . . .

September 28, 2000

A new program to increase alcohol education on campus focuses on dispelling the misconceptions about alcohol use among university students. The campaign starts today (Sept. 28) with a quiz in the Silhouette, followed by posters placed in various locations across campus during the week of Oct. 2. Developed by Jane Radix, health educator, Student Health Services, the Reality-Check Campaign focuses on three questions: * the number of nights of the week students spend drinking; * the number of drinks consumed on one occasion; and * the reasons why students drink. According to Radix, research shows that most students have an inflated idea of the number of nights their fellow students spend drinking and the amount consumed in one evening.

September 26, 2000

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/bechtelscropped2.jpg”]The President's Advisory Committee on Community Relations (PACCR) has presented its first Community Service Award. The inaugural winners are Jim and Betty Bechtel. . . .

September 25, 2000

This afternoon, author and advocate for persons with disabilities Mark Nagler will speak on what it means to have a disability, and issues of advocacy. The talk, sponsored by the Centre for Student Development as part of national Disabilities Awareness Week, Sept. 25-29, starts at 4:30 p.m. in IAHS-102. Nagler, 61, who was born with cerebral palsy, is professor of sociology at the University of Waterloo. A recipient of the Governor General of Canada Award for his contributions to the community, he is recognized as an expert on disability and advocacy. The author of six books, including Yes You Can: a Guide for Parents of Children with Disabilities, Nagler is in much demand as a seminar leader and speaker at conferences, and also counsels persons with disabilities and their family members. His latest book, What's Stopping You?: Living Successfully with Disability (Stoddart Publishing, 1999), is a guide for successful living for both persons with disabilities and for caregivers.

September 25, 2000

They aren't promising candy apples and cotton candy, but organizers of this year's annual Faculty, Staff, and Retiree Community Campaign are promising one terrific barbecue . . .

September 25, 2000

Figuring out what it means to be an engineer will be easier for McMaster students thanks to a new Engineer in Residence. Dofasco and the University have joined together to create an Engineer- in-Residence program. Julie Dixon, a production and process automation engineer at Dofasco, will be on loan to McMaster for the next two years teaching first-year classes in engineering design and communication and mentoring students about the engineering profession today. "It's an incredible opportunity," says Dixon. "It's exciting to know that I can have a direct role in the quality of education the students receive. I can bring into the classroom the real-life stories of what it means to be a working engineer. Plant tours and guest speakers from industry will help students understand the career choices that are available to them."

September 22, 2000

Thirty-eight Canadian high school students who have received Excellence Awards from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation are attending McMaster this year. The award winners, who . . .

September 22, 2000

OAC students who are planning to enter a university in September 2001 can get a "smart" start on their post-secondary education at the 2000 Ontario Universities' Fair which begins today in Toronto and continues through the weekend. Representatives from over 17 McMaster academic areas and service departments will be operating in high gear over the next three days to inform more than 40,000 students about the many merits of McMaster University. The objective of the fair is to help OAC students choose with care a university that best suits their focus. High school students who are planning to graduate in June 2001 have to apply to universities by Nov. 30. The University's Student Liaison Office expects this to be one of the largest recruitment fairs ever.

September 22, 2000

Approximately 1,500 McMaster students are expected to participate in this year's Shinerama on Saturday, Sept. 23. The fundraising event, which is a part of Welcome . . .