What is a WatCard?

By the time you enter university, a student card, usually consisting of your picture, name and ID number on it, is nothing unusual but it definitely becomes a staple in your life as a university student.

Now normally, you don’t put much thought into your student ID card, which uWaterloo students refer to as their WatCard. However, last week my WatCard “mysteriously” went missing and suddenly I was experiencing a sense of loss, not to mention panic.

And why is that?
Well, your WatCard has so many uses, other than being your official identification as a uWaterloo student. It's one of those things that you only start to notice its true value until after you find yourself without it. Take it from me!

Use #1, your WatCard serves as a bus pass for the Grand River Transit system for the duration of your Undergraduate studies. All Undergraduate students are able to use their WatCards to take any bus using the public transit service through the Grand River Transit. Get out and explore the city of Waterloo. It won't cost you anything! 

Use #2, your WatCard can hold money on it, acting as a debit card. You have the option to put money onto your WatCard either online through your banking system, or at the WatCard office (located on the lower level of the Student Life Centre). And so my top 3 reasons why you should put money on your WatCard are:

1. You are able to use your WatCard to purchase things at all Food Service facilities (which serves as the meal plan for those living in the Main Campus Residences), and at almost any vending machine and Tim Hortons on campus. As well as food facilities such as Campus Pizza, McGuiness Front Row, Williams Coffee Pub, Pizza Pizza, Swiss Chalet, Sobeys and many more locations off campus.
2. You are able to use it at the Feds Used Bookstore, UWshop, Campus Tech, Feds Express, the pharmacy, the Turnkey Desk (to buy GO and Greyhound tickets) and at any photocopier or laundry mat on campus
3. Doing so eliminates the need to carry cash around on campus and it comes in handy in an emergency.

Use #3, your WatCard allows you access to certain uWaterloo facilities. You need your WatCard on hand when using the athletic facilities (Fitness Centres, Courts, Ice Rink, Pool) at the Physical Activities Complex, or Columbia Ice Fields. You are also able to book study rooms or a piano room in the Student Life Centre, as well as to use the UW Shuttle Service (a transportation service shuttling you to an off campus location from campus late at night) with your WatCard.

Use #4, you are required to show your WatCard to write an examination (midterms and final exams). To me this is the most important use for your WatCard! When you go to write an exam you are required to have your WatCard face up on your desk to show your professor, instructor, or exam proctors to verify your identity. It is definitely a MUST NOT FORGET when heading to any midterm or final exam and causes unnecessary panic before an exam when you realize it's not in your pocket like you thought. Yes I experienced that once or twice in my first year!

Use #5, your WatCard serves as a library card. In order to borrow any books or resources from a library on campus you need your WatCard. The online journal and article database through the uWaterloo library "At Home" system can only be accessed using the library card number that is also printed on your card.

The uses don't stop there! At certain stores such as Zehr's and East Side Mario's, you can receive discounts on your purchases if you show your WatCard.

As for me, my story of the lost WatCard has a happy ending!
I was able to go to the WatCard office and within minutes was given a new card. I was even given the option to retake my photo, which of course I was more than happy about! There is nothing worse than having a photo on your WatCard that makes you cringe for the next four years every time an exam proctor or bus driver glances at it! 

The Federation of Students, so much more than just a student government!

It took me the better part of my first year to become aware of what services and resources the Federation of Students (Feds) offers to the students of uWaterloo. With their name frequently appearing in common areas around campus, I slowly able to piece together what their role was on campus. That, and mainly because I found myself utilizing their services more and more as the year progressed.

The 2011 elections for the Feds Executive, Student Council and Senate are in full swing. Everywhere you look on campus students are feeling the buzz of student government and are pausing to ask, how does the Federation of Students serve our community and can it be improved in anyway. Such questions, I have now realized, cannot be answered with a quick response.

The Federation of Students is a corporation run by an elected governing body of students who act as the Board of Directors overseeing all its operations. As the official voice of uWaterloo students, Feds states their mission is to "serve, empower and represent the Undergraduate Students of the University of Waterloo".

Their vision is to develop a united student body who pursues learning and personal satisfaction on a campus that provides them with an array of opportunities for life experiences.

So where can we see these values translate into tangible services and resources that we the students can benefit from?

The Federation of Students' role on campus can be broken down into: Businesses, Services, Clubs and Societies, as well as Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities.

Businesses

• The Bombshelter (more commonly referred to as The Bomber) is a pub where students can grab a meal any time of the day while meeting with friends. They hold nightly events such as concerts, open mic and trivia nights, as well as events for special occasions. It's a known fact among students that they have the best chicken wings, and it's always one of the busiest places on campus in the evenings.

• Federation Hall is an accessible venue on campus for conferences, catering or special events. This past month a Justin Nozuk Concert was held there.

• Federation Express is a popular convenience store in the Student Life Centre, selling absolutely any item you would need on the go! It beats the Tim Horton's line up for a quick coffee.

• Feds Bus is an inexpensive alternate to any other bus system that provides direct transportation to and from main areas within Toronto, Hamilton, and London. It makes visiting home on the weekends easy and fast, without having to spend too much money.

• Feds Used Book Store is my favourite service of all! Located at the bottom of the Student Life Centre, it acts a consignment store (you receive your money when your book sells) where you are able to sell your old textbooks while being able to buy the textbooks you need for the following term at discounted prices. It really is an amazing service and a must check before heading to the main bookstore on campus.

• Wasabi Sushi Bar and Curry Up! are two great, affordable and unique places to grab a quick snack or lunch in the Student Life Centre. There is so much variety you will never get tired of eating lunch on campus.
• Services

• Campus Response Team - a volunteer-run program that provides first aid and CPR services at campus events.
• The Food Bank - open to any student from Monday to Friday
• GLOW – is the Queer and Questioning Community Centre
• International Student Connection – is the main hub for students from all over the world to share their stories and become more acquainted with uWaterloo.
• Off Campus Dons – Enabling First Year Students who live off campus to get the full experience of their first year.
• Student Refugee Program
• UW Sustainability Project - increases Environmental awareness and community involvement
• The Women’s Centre - creating a safe place for all women

Clubs and Societies

As mentioned in a previous post about the Clubs and Societies Day, uWaterloo has so many opportunities for students to get involved on campus. All Clubs and Societies are affiliated with, and governed by, the Federation of Students. They are provided with so many resources such as funding, and marketing/promotional tools to better connect/ reach the student body.

Jobs and Volunteer Opportunities

Aside from offering students convenient part-time or full-time employment on campus, the Federation of Students has many, many, opportunities for students to get involved in campus life. There are volunteering opportunities to assist with events and campaigns (such as the One Waterloo and Colour Me Educated Campaigns mentioned in previous posts). You can help out, gain experience, and get involved with what you are passionate about.

Clearly, the Federation of Students plays a large role in the uWaterloo we all know and love. Maybe you didn't know that they had a role in some of the services you use everyday or maybe you didn't know all that they offered to you.

Learn more about the Federation of Students at their newly improved website (http://feds.ca/) and start to take advantage of everything that is available to you here at uWaterloo!

A Waterloo Winter Wednesday Wisking into a White Wonderland! (WOW that's a lot of W's!)

Talk of the largest snow storm in decades spread all around campus yesterday as students alike hoped and wished, while doing their snow dance of couse, that today would be a snow day, class cancelled and the university would be closed.

Although, the university did not close and the learning continued as usual, heapfulls of snow covered the ground over night, turning our campus into a beautiful white desert! 

Sure walking around campus from class to class is a little brisk and chilly but the scenery of large slowly falling snow flakes is enough to make you stop for a second and take a look around. Plus, it's nothing a hot cup of coffee or tea can't fix!

Take a look!



The Arts Quad covered in a blanket of snow and piles of snow banks!



Students all bundled up and heading to class. Talk about dedication!

 The view from a window in the Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology Building onto the DayCare Facilities. Definitely no children playing out today!

Conrad Crebel, looking out from across the creek.

Looks like the perfect time for a snow ball fight!

Fundraising with a ... lid?

What do you get when you combine the spirit of competition, 6 faculties, a dumpster, and gallons of paint?

2 Fs: Fun and Fundraising!

The Federation of Students launched their Colour Me Educated Campaign this week with a bang!

A dumpster was situated in the middle of the Student Life Centre holding, 1 student representative from every faculty and one Federation of Students (FedS) representative, 7 students in total. With the Campus Response Team camped out on the sidelines, the purpose was to raise enough money to reach each faculty’s goal, which acted as “bail” for the release of the representative from the dumpster. However, once bail was met, every $2 exceeding the target amount meant an additional minute in confinement.

Reaching almost 20% of their overall goal of $7,000, the campaign launch raised $1,223.75.

Engineering $316.01
Applied Health Sciences $228.02
Science $161.40
Arts $157.10

Math $138. 05

Environment - $119. 01

FedS $104. 16

So what was this all for?

The Colour Me Educated Campaign, in its second year, is raising money for the Pathways to Education program which supports underprivileged youth (students in grades 9 – 12) in gradauting high school and pursuing post secondary education to break past barriers and the cycle of poverty in their community. The area of Kitchener, being one of the 5 communities in Ontario/ Quebec with this program, has two very at risk communities and yet has been able to see students achieving higher grades and improved attendance rates through the program's tutoring, mentorship and overall support.

And the paint?

Well the fundraising doesn't stop here. It will continue over the next 9 weeks and the faculty that's able to raise the most proceeds will receive the opportunity to drench the President of the University, other administrators, and FedS executives in paint (the colour of their faculty).

The Federation of Students have so many wonderful initiatives for the student body at uWaterloo but they also have a large part in reaching out to the greater community. By raising funds for Pathways to Education, the students at uWaterloo are given the opportunity to support an organization that helps students, just like them.

So come on Arts students! Lets show our support and colour uWaterloo Orange!

Kierra's Waterloo Favourites: What is under uWaterloo?

 One of my favourite things about Waterloo are the .... Underground Tunnels!

1. From the the Environment 1 Building to the Modern Languages Building and Arts Lecture Hall.

2. From the Arts Lecture Hall to South Campus Hall and the Tatham Centre.

3. From the Environment 1 Building to Hagey Hall.

They are very accessible, safe and make getting to class quick and easy without having to step outside! They especially come in handy during a snowy Winter morning, a rainy Spring afternoon, a cool Fall evening, or a hot Summer day.

Next time you are running to class in the rain check them out!
Stay tuned for more of my uWaterloo Favourites.

All The Colours Of uWaterloo

A Waterloo Winter Adventure

On Tuesday I attended a photography exhibit, showcasing student submissions, in the Student Life Centre (SLC). The exhibit, arranged by the One Waterloo Campaign, focused around the question, “what does diversity mean to you?”

The collections of photographs were beautiful. Each one was so different from the next as the illustrations ranged from gardens, to buildings, to people, even candy and shoes. Collectively they portray the same message about diversity.

The exhibit, being a celebration of uWaterloo's diversity, was a wonderful representation of the One Waterloo Campaign's purpose. Founded in September 2005, One Waterloo was created to develop a unified environment of tolerance and respect at uWaterloo. Through awareness campaigning, they encourage ongoing discussions about diversity and discrimination prevention.

The more I thought about diversity, the more I began to see how important it should be in our university experience. Every student is different so why shouldn't our education reflect that? Well, that's exactly what being in an Arts program is all about! You have the opportunity to express yourself and explore your passions.


The Arts faculty is the largest faculty at uWaterloo. We have 7400 students which means our community has a broad and diverse student body. This is reflected in our:

• 6 unique and innovative entry programs (Honours Arts, Arts and Business, Accounting and Financial Management, Social Development Studies, Computing and Financial Management, and Independent Studies),
• 30 Arts majors (from Fine Arts, Geography and Environmental Management, Italian Studies, to Sexuality, Marriage and Family studies),
• and a total of 425 degree options students can choose from.

Each student is recognized as being unique and is encouraged to make their undergraduate experience custom to their set of interests and goals. With over a hundred different classes, offered by professors from a wide range of backgrounds, your academic experience at uWaterloo has the potential to be filled with variety, not to mention all the opportunities available for you to gain experience outside the classroom (as mentioned in previous post).

You should leave university not only with an undergraduate degree but as a well-round person ready to apply your knowledge in various settings. uWaterloo supports every student in exploring who they are as an individual which makes us a strong unified community.

So when thinking about university, don't ask yourself, "will I fit in?". Instead ask, "what will my diversity add?"

Read about the Diversity Gallery in uWaterloo's official student newspaper, the Imprint.

My First Waterloo Winter Adventure: Clubs and Societies Day!

How do you really get to know a place?

This week I learned, you can only truly know an environment by familiarizing yourself with the people that are within it. My first adventure of this term was to the Student Life Centre (SLC) on campus for “Clubs and Societies Day” in the Great Hall.

You may or may not be aware that uWaterloo is happily overflowing with Student Life. Today it was even more clear to me that uWaterloo is a community that prides it’s self in student involvement, community outreach, and most of all diversity!

As I walked into the Great Hall of the SLC, I was immediately taken back by the sea of colourful booths, each representing a different club, society, association or charity, and even more by the large crowd of students. Some students were there to promote their club or society/ association, while other students were strolling through the various rows of booths, checking out their areas of interest.

If you're anything like me, you'd find that once you finished with one booth there would be another one that catches your attention. Whether it's your faculty’s student union, your program’s society, an intriguing charitable outreach project, an ethnic based club, or maybe a club centred on your favourite hobbie/ past time, you wouldn't have any trouble finding an opportunity to get involved on campus! You may, however, find yourself perplexed in having to decide which one to choose.

The atmosphere was full of excitement and the desire to get involved was contagious. Every student I talked to was eager to share with me what their club or society was about, their experience, and happy to teach me something new about the community around me.

I still can't believe how many different booths I saw. From the:

• Marketing Club's superhero in a Morphsuit,
• The Latin American Student Association dancers,
• Fashion For Change,
• The Federation of Students' One Waterloo and Colour Me Educated stands,
• To the Arts Student Union, and much more!

There is something for everyone! You can check out a full list of uWaterloo's Clubs and Societies on the Federation of Students website to see which ones interest you!

As I left with my array of stickers, pins, candy and pamphlets in hand I thought to myself, it's not about buildings or reputation. It's about the students. It's about getting involved and making the most of your experience.

Inside the Student Life Centre, that is exactly what being at uWaterloo is about! 

This is my story. What does yours look like?

For many prospective students, today is the day you sent your applications in to the universities of your choice. While you continue to work hard and await those fateful replies, you may have mixed feelings whether it's apprehension, excitement, or both. I personally remember this being an anxiety filled time and so I thought I'd share with you my experience. We each have a story to tell and this is mine ...

Part 1

I remember being so conflicted when I began the search for a program, let alone a university! In high school I really enjoyed my business, economics, and accounting courses and so had begun to see myself in a business related career. And yet, knowing this, I found it hard to picture myself letting go of the social sciences and humanities that I had grown so accustom to and loved so much. But I thought that this is what choosing a program was about, choosing one area of interest over another. 

I began my Grade 12 year thinking: what a difficult decision! How do I even begin looking at admission booklets. Do I research Arts programs or Business programs? So I attended the Ontario University Fair in Toronto, still undecided and as confused as ever, until I visited the uWaterloo booth. I am not going to be cheesy and describe the moment I was introduce to the Arts and Business program as some heavenly epiphany ... actually it was kind of like that and I had to refrain myself from hugging the university representative I was talking to .... but I can mainly describe it as a moment of excitement and relief. Excitement for the future, and relief that I was able to find a program that appeared to suit me so well.

To say the least, it had summed up everything I was looking for: I would be able to take a variety of business courses from economics, to accounting, to human resources management while exploring courses in an Arts major that I could declare at the end of my first year. I would also have the opportunity to apply my learning and gain work experience in co-op, as well as having an option to specialize in an area such as Digital Arts Communication, or International Trade, just to name a few. I couldn't believe how many choices I had available to me through this program and in return the opportunity to acquire a very well-rounded education.

From that epiphany onward I am grateful that my quest was quite easy having found a program and a University all at once. As you may have done today, I pressed that apply button and kept my fingers crossed. I continued to discover that uWaterloo was not only a place I could enjoy learning at, but after several campus tours and visits, a place I could love living at! It was such a surreal moment to receive a package from uWaterloo that said, in big bold letters, “YOU'RE IN”, and yes, there was a great deal of jumping up and down. However, the work was not over yet!

Part 2

The panic began to set in. What will my Arts major be? There were so many options and areas that I found to be interesting. I couldn’t even imagine beginning to choose. Even though I knew you don't declare a major until after your first year at uWaterloo, I didn’t fully comprehend this and I thought I needed a set direction before going to university. So, I chose Speech Communications as my subject of major interest because, to be honest, I felt that it seemed to hold the most promise for a fruitful career in the future. But after a few weeks of classes, I realized Speech Communication wasn't the right fit for me. Now I was worried about what would happen next if I wanted to change my prospective major. Would I be able to? I've since realized that I had come into university with the wrong mentality.

My first mistake was being panicked about not having it all figured out. I am so grateful that I chose a university that emphasizes that it's okay to arrive at university with a handful of interests and to take your first year to explore them. My next mistake was choosing an area of interest not based on a subject I was truly passionate about. If I can give you only 1 piece of advice it would be that you can never truly succeed if you are not passionate and love what you do (and in our case, study).

And so, that's how I ended up here, half way through my second year in Arts and Business, majoring in Sociology (which I absolutely love!), and starting my first work term. Maybe my journey has been a lot like yours, or maybe they are very different, but at the end of the day it's important to remember: it's okay to be nervous. I definintely was. It's okay to not know 100% what you want your future to be like and its okay to change your mind.

Don't limit youself but instead look for new opportunities. Be open to new things and most of all... enjoy your journey. It's your story to tell.

"A beginning is only the start of a journey to another beginning.” - Unknown

Here comes a new year, bringing a new term, and new steps/adventures in our journey.

Hi!  My name is Kierra and I'm a 2nd Year Arts and Business Student majoring in Sociology and specializing in Human Resources Management here at the University of Waterloo (uWaterloo).  As the torch of Arts Communications Associate is passed on each term from one co-op student to the next, I'm honoured and overjoyed to have the opportunity, this Winter Term, to share with you my experience as an Arts student.

I've had an amazing journey over the past year and a half as I've discovered so much about myself and how to translate my passions into my studies. This is what uWaterloo and the Faculty of Arts offers and more! Looking forward to your future can be nerve-wracking; there is no doubt about that! However, uWaterloo is truly a place where students are supported in exploring all kinds of unique opportunities, while having countless resources available on and off campus. As a uWaterloo student you're provided with advantages and experiences that will benefit you long after your academic career comes to an end. And the best part? There is something for everyone here!

The uWaterloo and the Faculty of Arts has become my home and I hope you join me! Over the next four months I will be sharing with you about why uWaterloo and the Faculty of Arts is such an exciting place to be, taking you along with me on my Waterloo adventures, and sharing some of the tips and tricks of how to get the most out of your university experience.

There'll be many updates and interesting things coming your way, not only here but on our Facebook Page and Flickr.  

So ... lets begin!

~Kierra.