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McMASTER UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER / THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
The Silhouette YOUR VOICE ON CAMPUS
Est. 1930
VOLUME 82, NO. 4
A Running Start: McMaster students kick off another year with the annual Pyjama Parade. Welcome Week 2011 saw the highest MacPass sales ever and unprecedented attendance. See page 2 for more details on frosh festivites.
JONATHON FAIRCLOUGH / PRODUCTION EDITOR
Gas leak scare a false alarm
Government funds automotive centre
Brian Decker
Kacper Niburski
Welcome Week was a gas for more than just first-year students and reps on Tuesday. The Tandem Accelerator Building and General Sciences Building were evacuated and a large portion of campus was blocked off to pedestrians and vehicles after a gas leak was reported around 1 p.m. at the west end of campus. The incident was later determined to be a false alarm, and an investigation into why the alarm went off is underway. “There was never a gas leak. It was an alarm that signals something is not right in that lab. Once it was checked out, there wasn’t any problem,” said Andrea Farquhar, director of public and government relations at McMaster. Emergency crews were called as per University protocol and the evacuations followed, cordoning off a large portion of campus and shutting down Cootes Drive from campus to Olympic Drive. Welcome Week events that were taking place on the lawn of BSB were relocated. “We don’t know why at this point [the alarm] went off. Once it was checked out, there was no problem that would have caused it to go off,” said Farquhar. Outside of the two evacuated buildings and clearing of the BSB lawn, no buildings or Welcome Week activities were affected.
With numerous research funding announcements this summer, there was little doubt that McMaster’s Innovation Park would be exempt from the lot. On Aug. 24, it was revealed by Chris Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, that McMaster would receive a federal investment of up to $11.5 million through FedDev Ontario towards the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC). The funding is a small portion of the $800-million Conservative government’s Prosperity Initiative meant to accelerate economic development in Ontario. The current centre calls for 80,000 square feet, with a footprint of 50,000 square feet and an upper level of 30,000 square feet. To satisfy such a request, $26 million in funding is required – $22 million of that necessary for renovations and construction while $4 million would facilitate various equipment needs. The current Longwood Road location complies with the MARC building requirements. Previously, the location was home to the appliance manufacturer Camco, and as such, the withstanding structural integrity can be maintained with comparatively little demolition. “Where literally empty fields and mostly
Assistant News Editor
Executive Editor
JONATHON FAIRCLOUGH / PRODUCTION EDITOR
IN THE SIL THIS WEEK...
31 Tips for Success: With all the lecturing going on, let InsideOut give you all the advice you need to succeed at McMaster... pg. 6 Mac Cruises Past Queen’s: Football squad opens season with a convincing 26-2 victory against the Gaels... pg. 8
• PLEASE SEE MCMASTER, 2