Gradzette
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT MAGAZINE September 2012
Gradzette The UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA’S GRADUATE STUDENT MAGAZINE Gradzette c/o The Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation 105 University Centre University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2 General inquiries and advertising Phone: (204) 474.6535 Fax: (204) 474.7651 Email: publisher@gradzette.com
Editor: Sheldon Birnie Copy Editor: Ryan Harby Designer: Leif Larsen Contributors: Jennifer Wasko, Silvana Moran, Chinenye Alozie, Grace Romund, Beibei Lu, Foster Lyle Cover: Beibei Lu
The Gradzette is the official student magazine of the University of Manitoba’s graduate student community and is published on the first Monday of each month byThe Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation. The Gradzette is a democratic student organization, open to participation from all students. It exists to serve its readers as students and citizens. The magazine’s primary mandate is to report fairly and objectively on issues and events of importance and interest to the graduate students of the University of Manitoba, to provide an open forum for the free expression and exchange of opinions and ideas and to stimulate meaningful debate on issues that affect or would otherwise be of interest to the student body and/or society in general. The Gradzette serves as a training ground for students interested in any aspect of journalism. Students and other interested parties are invited to contribute. Please contact the Editor for submission guidelines. The Gradzette reserves the right to edit all submissions and will not publish any material deemed by its editorial board to be discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic or libelous. Opinions expressed in letters and articles are solely those of the authors. The Gradzette is a member of the Canadian University Press, a national student press cooperative with members from St. John’s to Victoria. All contents are ©2012 and may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the Manitoban Newspaper Publications Corporation. Yearly subscriptions to the Gradzette are available, please contact publisher@gradzette.com for more information.
It’s that time of year again! Orientation Week promises fun for grad students By Foster Lyle
A
s another summer draws to a close and students begin looking back to school, the executive members of the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) are busy
planning this year’s Orientation Week. #
Like every year, the first several days of the
school year are kicked off with more than classes. Though this year’s Orientation Week will be shorter than past years, only spanning three days, it will packed with opportunities for students to become acquainted with their school as well as their peers. #
Orientation Week is headed by the vice
president external Tonia Bates, but is designed and planned by all members of the GSA Executive. The annual cost of orientation week varies, but this year is running a bill of between $4,000 and $6,000. All funds come directly out of the GSA’s budget and
Photo by Beibei Lu
therefore all activities are made completely free to students. Though students cannot assist planning Orientation Week directly, they can get involved by attending as many events as possible, and sharing their opinions of them with the executives of the GSA. #
The goal of Orientation Week is to “inform, educate, inspire, encourage
laughter and to begin the important connections grads can make with each other on campus,” said Bates in recent correspondence with the Gradzette. Bates also said that she is excited to be able to talk with students about the GSA, graduate student experience and other topics of interest. #
One of the strongest points stressed by the GSA is that Orientation
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for the new GSA Lounge held every afternoon between 2:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. GSA Executive members will be on hand to answer and discuss questions related to the GSA and/or the graduate studies program. # Of course no Orientation Week would be complete without the food! This year the GSA has gone about doing their meals slightly differently. “Last year we had long lines [to receive food] that would sometimes take up to an hour,” said Bates. # To fix this the GSA will serve breakfast as usual from 9:00 A.M. to 9:30 P.M., but students who go to the presentations afterwards get a “VIP Lunch Ticket,” ensuring a spot in a shorter line for lunch. Bates went on to say that the GSA Executives hope this will encourage participation during the presentations and speed up long lunch lines. # Regardless of if you are a new student, or a returning student Photo by Beibei Lu
looking for laughs, lectures, information or friends, this year’s Orientation Week should provide a little bit of something for every
Week should bring graduate students together to interact and bond with one another. One of the ways the GSA has done this is by planning three social
graduate student at the University of Manitoba. #
For more information on Orientation Week please visit umgsa.com.
events throughout the first week. On Sept. 11 a screening of the comedy Ph. D will be held in St. John’s Theatre. The following night the GSA Lounge will be hosting a thrilling “Quiz and Games Night,” while the last night of Orientation Week graduate students are invited to an evening of food and drink at the new campus pub, The Hub, located on the third floor of University Centre. #
The GSA also hopes that graduate students will attend the spectacular
UMSU concert featuring K’naan and Ludacris on Sept. 14, as well as the Pep Rally being organized on Sept. 4 by Bison Athletics. #
Other events for the week include interesting and informative speakers/
‘Last year we had long lines [to receive food] that would sometimes take up to an hour’ -Tonia Bates
presentations that will be held each morning from 9:30 A.M. until approximately 1:00 P.M.. Students are also encouraged to attend open houses
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Construction at Dafoe Library Delays limit access to campus library into the Fall By Grace Romund
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f you have spent the summer months catching up on reading and research instead of soaking up sun rays, you might have noticed that Elizabeth Dafoe Library has not been an ideal quiet study space on campus. Construction in the library began April 16, and was expected to be completed before
September. Due to setbacks, however, the library will not be fully functional until the end of October. #
Throughout the renovations, the library's main entrance has been blocked, forcing
students to enter through the rear exit on the other side of the building. While there are signs to guide you to the temporary entrance, some feel they are not very easy to follow. Perhaps because the signs are not very clear, the Elizabeth Dafoe library webpage provides a link to a YouTube video showing students the way to get from the blocked main entrance to its current temporary entrance. #
Students may not wish to spend much time inside the library while construction is
underway, however, as the noise made by the construction crew appears to be easily audible from the sections of the library that are still currently accessible, which include the computer labs, printing and copying services, atlases, government publications and microform, archives, special collections, Slavic and Icelandic collections, and graduate study carrels. #
The reference collection remains inaccessible as construction continues, and those
looking for materials that have been placed on course reserve will have to travel instead to the Sciences and Technology Library in Machray Hall. Reserve materials are to be returned to the Science and Technology Library as well.
Photo by Beibei Lu
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#
The Science and Technology library has also taken
over the responsibility of serving as a pickup location for Document Delivery throughout Dafoe’s continuing renovations. #
While this may sound inconvenient for students
who might have used Dafoe library for its ordinarily available resources and quiet study space, many have been entirely unaffected by the summer’s construction project. Currently many students remain unaware that construction is projected to continue up until the end of October due to a structural problem discovered midrenovation. #
One such unaffected graduate student is PhD
candidate Olivier Gagne. #
“It won’t affect me personally because I use the
Science and Technology Library,” Gagne to the Gradzette. “Throughout my degree I’ve never used the Dafoe library.” #
Gagne is completing a PhD in geological sciences,
and therefore has little use for the materials found in Dafoe. Gagne is not alone in having the option to study in another U of M library more specific to his field of study. The Agriculture, Engineering, Management, Law libraries, among several others, are all fully operational and will continue to be come September. #
One harsh reality that is sure to affect many, as
students and faculty alike try to get themselves back into a routine of early morning lectures and long study hours, is the sad fact that the Starbucks in Elizabeth Dafoe library will remain closed as construction continues.
Photos by Beibei Lu
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RESEARCHER PROFILE
Adenike Olabisi Hassan By Chinenye Alozie
A
denike Olabisi Hassan, known as “Nike” for short, is a master’s student and research assistant at the department of soil science at the University of Manitoba. Nike is a “freak” for waste control. It upsets
her when waste products are not properly managed or controlled. Being a citizen of Nigeria, born and raised in its most populous city, Lagos, Nike observed the problems caused by the poor waste disposal and management Photo by Chinenye Alozie
techniques practiced and she picked up the challenge to bring this to an end. #
“I hate it when municipal waste are poorly managed,” said Nike in an
make them beneficial for other use. The decommissioning process is usually
interview with the Gradzette.
followed by draining the water from the lagoon, stabilizing the biosolids,
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allowing the sludge to dry and spreading it on agricultural land for amendment
In search of answers, Nike pursued her undergraduate degree at the
University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Her final year thesis was on the
and conditioning purposes. This occurs after obtaining approval and
distribution of heavy metals in the soil profile of dumpsites. Nike went further
certification from the ministry of environment to ensure the bio-solids are
to work in the same institution as a junior research fellow where she researched
harmless and pose minimal risk to plant growth, quality of crop and
heavy metal sorption and remediation in contaminated soils. She was then
environment, as well as general public and animal health.
employed at the University of Manitoba to continue her research. Nike now
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works with Dr. Zvomuya Francis along with several wetland specialists from
Conservation describes remediation as “the improvement of a contaminated
Ducks Unlimited Canada. They hope to offer a better method of remediating
site to prevent, minimize or mitigate damage to human health or the
lagoons for small cities and better techniques for big cities.
environment.”
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Municipal lagoons are constructed structures that store and treat
The success of this process is dependent on remediation. Manitoba
There are, however, a number of limitations to this remediation process
domestic, commercial and, in some cases, industrial waste. They are closed or
including: cost of excavation and transporting the biosolids, pollution caused by
decommissioned after their life span is exceeded. Decommissioning involves
the release of pathogenic gasses, and the fact that in some areas there may not
the process of closing, remediation, and reclamation of contaminated lands to
be enough suitable agricultural land to accommodate the biosolids.
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A more effective and preferable method has been proposed that involves
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The wetland technology incorporates the principal components of
the direct cleaning or removal of the contaminants and nutrients from the
wetlands ecosystem. The system is designed to utilize natural processes such as
lagoon via phytoremediation and conversion into wetland.
vegetation, soil substrates and their associated microbial assemblages to
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accumulate and remove metals and pollutants. The Canada-wide strategy for
Phytoremediation involves the removal of contaminants from the lagoon
through the growing of hyperaccummulating plants, which can survive within
management of municipal waste preaches high performance standards and a
such an environment. The contaminants are removed upon harvesting these
harmonized framework to ensure citizens are protected from health hazards.
plants. The research is focusing on the use of switch grass and cattail grass as
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remediation agents. These grasses are grown in a growth chamber whose
ground waters at many sites in the US. Target contaminants include both
internal conditions can be controlled to ensure the best condition for growth is
organic, nitrates and inorganic constituents. Using constructed wetland for
maintained.
remediation involves a number of physical, chemical and biological processes. A
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large mass of water is channeled to the area to either create a subsurface flow,
Nike’s research utilizes the sludge from Niverville Lagoon. It contains
Constructed wetlands are used to improve the quality of contaminated
some contaminants so the grasses are planted in them and then placed in the
passive surface flow, vertical flow or any combination thereof. This flow results
growth chamber. Upon harvesting the grasses the contaminants are then
in a reduced condition, which will be readily identified using a probe to
removed. The rate of removal is obtained by testing the contaminant level of the
determine the oxidation-reduction potential and dissolved oxygen. Cattail grass
harvested grass and the soil in the laboratory after a planting cycle.
is also planted in the area to assist in the remediation process. The area is
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continuously maintained wet until the contaminants is reduced to a minimal
The 111 x 100 x 35 inch chamber was designed by Biochambers, a
Manitoba owned firm that specializes in the design of premium growth
level.
chambers and rooms for bioscientists around the world. The unit has an inbuilt
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visual graphic display, which shows the relative humidity, temperature, light
seed as well as its germination. However, the most 'wow' event is reluctantly
intensity of the set and actual state of the chamber.
trying a procedure stated in a 1968 paper based on the recommendation of my
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Nike visits the chamber on daily basis to see how the plants are fairing.
supervisor and surprisingly the result was splendid. It was a miracle,” Nike told
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“These plants are like my kids,” she said over coffee with her teammates.
the Gradzette.
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The research is also focusing on the use of wetland for remediation.
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“So far the most challenging part of this research is finding the cattail
“It has been very interesting doing this research with my advisor and
Several works have shown the increasing advantage accompanying the use of
other team members. I have been able to establish my phytoremediation
wetland for remediation.
experiment and my wetland system is just in the embryonic stage. The fact that
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I need to go to the chamber every other day including weekends, it’s one that I
“It is presently regarded as the best method for remediation,” Nike told
the Gradzette.
have to cope with until there is an automated system to do that.”
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What’s the deal with parking? A parking guide to Fort Gary campus Jennifer Wasko
P
arking on the Fort Gary Campus can be confounding to a newcomer.
allows for eight hours. In the south, at the edge of the “G” lot, the maximum
The coveted Student Parking Permits must be applied for between
allowed
April and mid-July and are awarded via a lottery system. There is also
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time
for
parking
is
two
h o u r s .
After 4:30 PM, parking in the pay-display-lots and meter parking stalls
the parkade as well as several pay-and-park lots and meter parking stalls
are free, with the exception of the “N” lot, in the Chancellor's Circle. This lot
available throughout campus. Hopefully, the Gradzette can help shed some
charges a flat rate of $4 for evenings starting at 4:30 PM weekdays and at all
light
hours on weekends. The parking meters throughout campus charge 25 cents for
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on
the
situation
h e r e .
The Parking Services website provides a map that highlights where these
1 5 m i n u t e s , o r $ 1 / h o u r w i t h a m a x i m u m t i m e l i m i t o f t w o h o u r s .
public parking areas are located. The cheapest are in the “SD” lots located to
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the west of the new stadium, the Investors Group Field construction site, with
hour for the first hour and then $2.00/hour for each additional partial hour to a
a rate of $2 per four hours for a maximum of eight hours. There are two
maximum of $9.00 per day between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. After 6:00 PM,
different rates for the remaining lots on campus: $2 for two hours to a
there is an evening flat rate of $5.00. Once 6:00 PM is reached, the flat rate of
maximum of eight hours and $1 for one hour to a maximum of two hours.
$5.00 is charged regardless of what you've been charged for earlier hours so it is
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worthwhile to move your vehicle to a free parking spot between 4:30 PM and
The hourly rates don't change but the allowable parking times do.
The most expensive option is the parkade, charging $1.50 for each half
P M .
Starting at the edge of “U” lot near the Welcoming Centre and continuing
6:00
clockwise, let’s tour the public lots. The first lot, beside “U” lot allows eight
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hours max, as does the public lot at the edge of "Q" at the north end of campus.
accept the new loonies. Pay-and-park dispensers also accept Visa and
However, the parking located inside of the “Q/K” allows only a maximum of
Mastercard credit cards. Deciphering the costs and parking times is only the
two hours. There is a maximum of eight hours at the two most easterly public
first step, the next step is actually parking. It is common to see cars idling in
lots at the edge of “B” behind the Elizabeth Dafoe Library, while the smaller
t h e i s l e s o f t h e p u b l i c l o t s , w a i t i n g f o r a f r e e s p a c e t o o p e n u p .
parking areas in this section (closer to campus) limit the maximum to two
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hours. In the southeast corner beside the “AC” lot, the pay-and-park allows for
public transportation.
All meters and pay-and-park ticket dispensers have been upgraded to
All things considered, of course, the easier option for some may well be
eight hours. Along Dafoe road, the lot beside the Engineering Information and Technology Complex (EITC) allows for two hours while the lot beside “T” lot
Map no next page
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Graphic by Silvana Moran
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