Daily News

Posted on April 17: McMaster crams in a van for the earth

What happens when you cram a mass of people into a McMaster Parking & Transit Services van? According to the Alternative Commuting & Transportation (ACT) office, you get a clear message about McMaster's parking situation. "We are stretched to the limits in terms of parking supply," says Daryl Bender, ACT co-ordinator. "We don't have a lot of green space left to pave over." He hopes the Van Cram, which highlights Earth Day celebrations at McMaster Tuesday, April 22, will raise awareness of alternative modes of transportation that people can take to class or work. The van will be located in Zone 2 parking, across from the McMaster University Student Centre. There will also be a barbecue and rides around campus on a Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) bus. A tent will be set up, and there will be booths staffed by HSR and MacCycle, who will be on hand to answer questions about cycling and bike repairs. To further encourage the use of alternative transportation, free HSR bus tickets will be distributed at the Compass Information Desk in the McMaster University Student Centre and at the security desk at the downtown centre. Tickets will be available Thursday and Monday. An ACT carpooling initiative will also kick off, encouraging people to register to McMaster's new web-based ride-matching system. Earth Day celebrations will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The barbecue will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a hamburger and pop can be purchased for $2.

Posted on April 17: SARS update to McMaster community

As we approach the Easter long weekend, many people will be traveling and visiting with friends and family. Local health officials wish to remind everyone to take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There continues to be no cases of SARS in Hamilton. Some individuals have undergone precautionary quarantine measures. Hamilton Health Sciences and other Hamilton hospitals continue to implement the access restrictions and precautions as directed by the provincial government in an effort to avoid further spread of the disease. McMaster's crisis management team has established a SARS subcommittee to closely monitor related information and provide updates and direction to the McMaster community. Ongoing updates will be available on the mcmaster.ca Web site at http://www.mcmaster.ca/sarsupdate.html. A direct link is provided from the homepage. The Web site will also provide additional Web sites and phone numbers of resources to contact for further information.

Posted on April 16: Business honours distinguished alumnus Mossadiq Umedaly

The Michael G. DeGroote School of Business will honour Mossadiq Umedaly with the 2003 Wayne C. Fox Distinguished Alumni Award tonight (April 16) at a gala dinner at the Ontario Club in Toronto. Mossadiq, B.Com. '74, MBA '77, is executive chairman of Xantrex Technology Inc. Xantrex is headquartered in Burnaby, B.C. and produces sophisticated devices to convert power from DC to AC, and vice-versa. "I am proud and honoured to receive the 2003 Wayne C. Fox Distinguished Alumni Award from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. Here, I learned practical skills as well as innovative and creative ways to apply them. I have relied on these skills throughout my career," says Mossadiq. Since joining Xantrex in 1999, Mossadiq has repositioned and transformed the company from a small niche player to a world leader in advanced power electronics. His focused business strategy, targeted at high growth markets, has helped Xantrex grow its revenues from $15 million in 1998, to more than US$110 million in 2001.

Posted on April 15: Students to help Canadian newcomers feel at home

Students will learn first-hand about the issues faced by newcomers to Canada, through a student-initiated project that links them with organizations serving immigrants and refugees in Hamilton. "Through the program, it is hoped that students will gain a greater understanding of the issues facing the immigrant and refugee population as they try to settle in Canada," says Leila Salehi, founder and co-ordinator of the program that will launch in September. "It is hoped that students will gain improved cross-cultural skills and be provided with an opportunity to engage in meaningful volunteer work while gaining practical skills in working with an underserved population." Through the program, students will help organize preparatory classes for women preparing to take a G1 driver's exam, help to facilitate employment workshops for immigrant and refugee women and develop and run a series of practical workshops on resources in Hamilton in English as a second language classes. The program, initiated by the Immigrant and Refugee Issues Working Group of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), recently received an $8,254 boost from the Hamilton Community Foundation. Funding will support a student co-ordinator, and the development, testing and evaluations of the ESL workshop curricula.

Posted on April 14: Student surge prompts building boom

A local developer is hoping to cash in on the double cohort McMaster University will face this fall by providing decent affordable student housing located halfway between the University and the downtown core. The six new 2 1/2-storey homes on Dundurn Street, between Main and King streets, will feature a two-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot apartment on the main floor with four lodging rooms and a common area upstairs to house a total of 36 students. Construction began last month and is expected to be finished the beginning of August, in time for the thousands of students who will descend upon Hamilton this fall. Click here to read the story in today's Hamilton Spectator.