Daily News

Posted on Feb. 27: New committee tackles cycling issues

A need for more bicycle racks and improved cycling routes, particularly at the Sterling Street entrance, are among the key comments in a report prepared for the new McMaster Cycling Committee. The report is based on surveys completed during an open house held last fall to solicit comment on everything from bike rack designs to problem areas on the campus and city cycling network. Most of the 57 respondents who completed the survey forms in late October called for more bicycle racks at McMaster. About half of the respondents said they wanted route improvements and about one in five respondents requested additional shower facilities on campus. In response to the survey and earlier comments by cyclists, the University has already added temporary cycle racks at the north end of the campus mall and is installing new racks near the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC). The mall racks are a temporary measure during the current renovations to Hamilton Hall, says Daryl Bender, co-ordinator of the Alternative Commuting and Transportation (ACT) Office. "In the long term, we're looking at putting them on the south side of the McMaster Museum of Art and east of Hamilton Hall."

Posted on Feb. 27: Instructional media centre launched

Faculty and staff have at their disposal a state-of-the-art facility containing a large collection of audio visual and electronic materials with the launch of the Edward & Margaret Lyons Instructional Media Centre. Formerly the Edward & Margaret Lyons Humanities Communications Centre, the facility combines the McMaster University Video Library and the Visual Resources Centre/Slide Library into one area centrally located in Togo Salmon Hall, Rooms 314 and 331. The Lyons officially opened the centre Tuesday with the unveiling of a plaque. Howard Jones, acting dean of humanities, gave the history of the Lyons' involvement while Geoffrey Rockwell, associate professor in the School of the Arts, introduced the key staff members who helped make the centre a success. The media centre's audio visual library consists of approximately 1,400 videotapes, 16mm films, and videodiscs. The collection is primarily used by faculty for classroom screening or individual study. There is a selection of feature films as well as subject specific videos, which cover areas such as anthropology, women's studies, sociology and drama, as well as a large selection from the BBC Shakespeare Series. McMaster is also a member of Interfilm, which provides access to over 34,000 film and video titles from other Ontario universities. The slide and photograph collections, formerly overseen by the School of the Arts, have been incorporated into the centre. The collections can be traced back to the 1930s, when art history courses were first taught at McMaster University. They currently house more than 105,000 slides and 36 running metres of mounted photographs and reproductions. The centre has three video and DVD viewing stations available to preview material. The slide library also has preview facilities. Faculty, staff and students can access the collections during regular business hours. Photo caption: Edward and Margaret Lyons unveil a plaque that bears their names at the opening of the centre Tuesday.

Posted on Feb. 26: Museum of Art presents Made in Canada

The McMaster Museum of Art presents Made in Canada until March 16, with a lunchtime talk today, (Wednesday, Feb. 26) at 12:30 p.m. The Made in Canada exhibition is a visual discussion about the relationship between landscape and Canadian identity using works from McMaster University's permanent collection. The exhibition includes paintings by David Alexander, Jack Bush, Franklin Carmichael, A.J. Casson, Naomi Jackson Groves, John Hartman, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Cornelius Krieghoff, J.E.H. MacDonald, David Milne, Tony Onley, William Perehudoff, George Reid, Otto Rogers, Jack Shadbolt, Tom Thomson and Tony Urquhart.