CAMPUS | COMMUNITY | CONNECTIONS
VOL. 1 | NO. 1 | APRIL 7,2008
CAMPUS | CONNECTIONS | COMMUNITY
VOL. 1 | NO. 1 | APRIL 7,2008
Summer 2011
coffee with a co-worker Name: Rhoda Howard-Hassmann Title: Canada Research Chair in International Human Rights and Professor, Department of Global Studies and the Balsillie School of International Affairs Where you can find her: On the fourth floor of the Dr. Alvin Woods Building
How long have you been at Laurier? Since July 1, 2003. What do you teach? I work on some very heavy topics – mainly human rights and genocide. Right now I’m working on state-induced famine. In human rights literature, there is a lot of work about international markets in food and how that affects people’s access to food. But there is very little about how governments will deprive their citizens of food. It intersects with both genocide studies and human rights studies.
Heard on Twitter Check out what the Laurier community has been tweeting about at twitter.com/lauriernews. Laurier also has official sites on Facebook at www.facebook. com/LaurierNow and YouTube at www.youtube.com/LaurierVideo.
@LaurierNews The Globe and Mail: Laurier wins big in Ontario funding announcement http://bit.ly/jQAOJT #Laurier June 21, 2011 @LaurierFootball Former @WLUAthletics Golden Hawk @grapanaro makes a great tackle in @CFL action last night for his @Wpg_BlueBombers bit.ly/ l7L8Sd June 17, 2011 @LaurierTO RT @LaurierNews: #Laurier alumnus & Juno award-winning rapper Shad sits down with @nationalpost for Q&A: natpo.st/kgknOI June 17, 2011 @LaurierMBA #Laurier School of Business and Economics introduces Canada’s first chair in Brand Communication Management. http://bit.ly/myeRvK #MBA #wlu June 16, 2011 @WLUPress A serendipitous discovery last night in Toronto. A street in honour of the late Barbara Godard, WLUP author http://yfrog.com/h4o2hujj June 15, 2011
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Photo: Sandra Muir
Drink of choice: I drink coffee in the morning and herbal tea the rest of the day. My husband and I buy coffee beans and mix them up together. Right now we are on French mocha and Columbian.
In her spare time, Rhoda Howard-Hassmann finds joy in both poetry writing and pumping iron.
What is your typical day at the office like? I have meetings or classes most of the day. I usually eat lunch at my desk or in the faculty lounge with people from the History department. I conduct my research and write at home. What do you like to do in your spare time? In my private life I write poetry and I publish it in local places in Hamilton, where I live. I’ve been publishing as a poet since the late 1970s. From poetry workshops I’ve learned a lot about writing. The first thing I learned is that I can’t rhyme so I don’t try. I learned
CONVOCATION continued
moved in a procession from the Brantford Research and Academic Centre to the theatre. “It made it a celebration for not only the students and their accomplishments, but also the city of Brantford,” said Klein. Throughout the year, both in Brantford and Waterloo, hundreds of tasks must be completed to prepare for each ceremony, including: working with the convocation planning committee, organizing the chancellor’s luncheons, scheduling the orchestra and soloists, training volunteers, publishing programs and liaising with each of this year’s nine honorary degree recipients. In Waterloo, the set up for the ceremonies is a full-day job that happens just the day before. The gym floor goes down and the stage goes up. The red carpet is rolled out and the chairs are placed. The set up also involves coordinating with a number of external vendors, including the furniture rental service, sound technicians and photographers. This year, in celebration of Laurier’s 100th anniversary, a screen projected the university’s historical timeline and photos, “for those parents who showed up early to get good seats,” said Schwartz. Special efforts were also made to bring high-profile honorary degree recipients. The final list included Raffi Cavoukian, Dr. Neil Arya, Arthur J. Carty, Louise Arbour, Roméo Dallaire,
to be very precise and specific in the words I use. You have to use words that have meaning, and you have to be able to portray or convey a picture or feeling in words. How else do you unwind after a long day? Because I deal with such heavy topics in my work, I like to watch British murder mysteries in the evening. And while I sit in front of the TV, I crochet baby blankets. It’s very easy, you just go back and forth. Around here, there are so many people having babies. It’s a young faculty, so there is practically always a candidate for a blanket when
Craig and Marc Kielburger, Linda Hasenfratz, Bishop Michael Pryse, and Fisk Johnson. The last piece of the puzzle is setting the stage. “Once the thrones are in place we know we’re good to go. It’s like, ‘OK, now we can go to sleep.’” In Waterloo on the day of a ceremony, the excitement begins in the Bricker Academic Building, where students rent gowns and line up in alphabetical order. “A whole other production is going on there while parents filter into the AC,” said Schwartz. “Alumni Relations and Career Services collect information from graduates, Student Publications distributes yearbooks and class composites. Then after graduates have picked up their gowns they proceed to the Science Building to line up.” In Brantford, setting up the ceremonies also includes working very closely with Nipissing University on a joint ceremony. Believed to be the first of its kind when it began in 2006, Brantford’s joint ceremony is actually two ceremonies: one for Laurier and one for Nipissing, with a shared stage party, procession and recession. This year, Brantford students made their way to the new Research and Academic Centre, where they had an opportunity to connect with Career Services and Alumni Relations before heading off to the Stedman Community Bookstore to get their gown and hood. Then they joined the student procession.
Film Studies.
I finish one. Sometimes I’m rushing. Do you have a favourite book or author? No. But I read fiction constantly and belong to two book clubs. I nicknamed one the “Respectable Older Ladies Bookclub,” organized by a friend of mine who is retired from teaching in the Catholic school system. The other one I nicknamed the “Serious Literary Group.” We’ve had professors from Laurier come and speak at the group, including professors Tamas Dobozy, Maria DiCenzo, and Lynn Shakinovsky in the Department of English and
While there have never been any major problems the day of a ceremony, students showing up late is always a big challenge. “It happens almost every ceremony,” said Schwartz. “Our marshals have to seat them elsewhere and then remember to slot them back into line when it’s time for them to go up on stage.” Despite minor hiccups, everything always runs smoothly, in part thanks to a regular crew of volunteers who know how to make the quick fix when needed. There are about 30-45 volunteers needed per ceremony, in addition to the more than 50 staff and faculty who take part.
What is something that people would be surprised to learn about you? I like to pump iron. I’ve always been a swimmer, but I just started going to the gym about a year-and-a-half ago and I really like it. My ambition is to lift a fifth of what my 30-year-old son can lift. He can do a 75-pound weight. I can do 12.5 pounds, and would like to move up to a 15-pound weight. I just thought, I’ll get my courage in my hands and try this.
By Sandra Muir
While the Office of the VicePresident/Principal coordinates Brantford’s ceremonies, Klein says the day is truly a campuswide event. “The staff and faculty at Brantford play a huge role in convocation, and many are integral through all the stages of planning,” said Klein. The same goes for convocation on the Waterloo campus. “I don’t think there is one department or faculty not involved with convocation – it takes a whole campus,” said Schwartz. “It’s really great to see an entire university come together to celebrate this important occasion.”
In the media “The evidence suggests that individuals are less likely to engage in risky or reckless behaviour during recessions and are more likely to engage in health-improving behaviours.”
Ariizumi
Schirle
– Hideki Ariizumi and Tammy Schirle, Faculty of Economics From “Out of Work? You may Live a Little Longer,” published in The Globe and Mail on March 21, 2011. The article reviews recent studies showing that increased jobless rates are associated with a drop in mortality. Laurier community members are frequently featured in the local and national media. To see more coverage, visit www.wlu.ca/Laurierin thenews, and find out about our Experts at Laurier program, visit www. wlu.ca/experts.