Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Alma Mater Society (AMS) of UBC, in conjunction with campus partners, broke ground on the new Student Union Building (SUB) on Feb. 29. Doors of the new GREEN SUB are expected to open in August 2014.
The new 250,000 square foot SUB aims to be LEED Platinum+ certified. The groundbreaking ceremony was the culmination of almost six years of negotiations, consultations, and hundreds of meetings with students, staff and the UBC community.
The new SUB will be a unique destination that serves as a dynamic gathering place for students to interact and grow a vibrant student community UBC’s Vancouver campus. Located at University Square, this facility will feature high levels of sustainable building design and an innovative student- driven decision making process that will serve as a model for future developments on UBC and beyond.
“This building will be the heart of campus, showcase the latest in sustainable development, and redefine the idea of a student union building,” says AMS president Jeremy McElroy.
The future home of UBC students will also see a complete overhaul in food and beverage operations, student services and club spaces including the world’s first microbrewery on a university campus. The new space will seek to nurture the nutritional, cultural, political, academic, recreational, and spiritual needs of all UBC students.
For more information, visit: http://mynewsub.com/site/
On March 11, more than 2,200 student leaders from over 65 countries will converge for Canada’s biggest ever student led conference, the World Model United Nations (WorldMUN). It is being jointly hosted by UBC and Harvard University in Vancouver. At WorldMUN 2012, student leaders will be immersed in finding solutions to historical and contemporary world problems such as the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the Militarization of the Arctic through the art of dialogue and diplomacy. The Motto of this WorldMUN is “Come Together and Go Beyond” which emphasizes intercultural understanding and international engagement.
WorldMUN came to UBC through a successful bid put forward by a small group of UBC students in 2011. Brian Sullivan and Chad Hyson under the VP students’ office were instrumental in supporting the students to make a successful bid. Along the way, multiple UBC units have come on board as supporters of this initiative. For more information about upcoming WorldMUN Vancouver 2012, visit: http://www.vancouver2012.org/
Hassan Bhatti, a second-year engineering student, has been involved with WorldMUN since his third week at UBC. During his involvement with WorldMUN, he has headed the departments of Finance and Sponsorship during the bid process and is currently serving as director of Academic Resources in the Host Committee. Recently, Bhatti along with the External Model United Nation Team attended the Harvard National Model United Nation Conference in Boston, where he won a diplomacy award.
A new website has been launched by the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Focusing on the Faculty’s new building, http://building.pharmacy.ubc.ca/ is dedicated to promoting the award-winning facility prior to its official opening this fall.
To read more, visit: http://www.pharmacy.ubc.ca/aboutus/faculty-news/2012-03-07.
Two UBC engineering student teams were presented with an E-Fest 2012 Community Service Learning award for their contributions to community development locally and abroad.
On Vancouver Island, Heather Kempthorne, Wendy Cheng, Cherie Tan, Anastasia Gumulia and David Eng collaborated with local community groups to design and implement an outdoor experimental model to simulate the Courtney River estuary habitat.
In Mexico, Shalaleh Rismani, Roein Manafi and Pranav Chintalapati partnered with Tsomanotik, a two-year old eco-agricultural centre, to develop solar water heaters to be used during warm months for Tsomanotik habitants.
E-Fest is a one-day trade-show event put on by engineering and geoscientist professionals in the Vancouver Public Library that gives the public a view of how engineering affects everyday lives.
For more information, visit: http://blogs.apsc.ubc.ca/engineeringnews/2012/03/01/ubc-engineering-students-recognized-for-outstanding-contributions-to-community-development/
UBC is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium on March 9. Richard Atelo will give a keynote address, “Indigenous Intellectual Traditions: Re/stor(y)ing Time and Space” and launch his book, The Principles of Tsawalk: An Indigenous Approach to Global Crisis. The graduate student research presentations will be held on March 10.
Date: March 9
Time: 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Place: UBC First Nations House of Learning, 1985 West Mall
Info: http://www.calendar.events.ubc.ca/s/3Bz or contact: gradsage@interchange.ubc.ca
The event is hosted by UBC’s Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement, Faculty of Education, Indigenous Education Institute of Canada, Dept. of Educational Studies, Kloshe Tillicum Aboriginal Health Research Network for B.C. and Western North, and UBC Press.
In commemoration of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last March, UBC Library is hosting a free one-day conference featuring talks from scholars on Japan and personal accounts from UBC students, faculty and alumni. Co-sponsored by UBC’s Dept. of Asian Studies, this conference is part of “Retell, Rethink, Recover”, a three-phase exhibition on display until the end of April.
Date: March 10
Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Place: Dodson Room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Info: http://asian.library.ubc.ca/2012/02/14/retell-rethink-recover/
The 27th annual Canadian Engineering Competition, From Sea to Sky, will bring together 150 undergraduate engineering students to compete in six categories that will challenge them to identify solutions to real-world engineering problems. Competitions are open to the public for viewing.
Date: March 8 – 11
Place: UBC Robson Square
Info: http://www.cec2012.ca/ or http://bit.ly/w9QbMi
Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, an archeologist and a Cecil H. and Ida Green Visiting Professor, will be at UBC on March 18 to 25. Wallace-Hadrill is a professor of Roman Studies and master of Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University. He will give several public talks during his stay at UBC including “How to Be A Roman Emperor” on March 20 at Green College.
For more information, visit: www.greencollege.ubc.ca/whats_on/index/events591/2012-03.php.
Short text Memos or video interviews on current issues in Asia and across the Pacific are published twice-weekly in the Asia Pacific Memo (APM) series.
This week APM will publish memos related to Japan’s 3/11 disaster which occurred one year ago.
• March 6 – Social Networks and Japan’s 3/11 Disaster, by Daniel Aldrich
To view or subscribe, visit: http://www.asiapacificmemo.ca/
Green College Players presents an evening of theatre with their production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item or a suggested donation of $5. All proceeds will go to charity. This project is sponsored by UTown@UBC Community Grant and the University Neighbourhoods Association.
Date: March 14, 15, 17
Time: 8 p.m.
Place: Great Hall, Graham House, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road
Info: Reserve tickets at gc.events@ubc.ca or call 604 822 1878
http://www.greencollege.ubc.ca/
SALA Works — Exhibition of faculty research, writing, and design.
Date: Now through March 15
Place: Or Gallery, 555 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Info: orgallery.org
Constructing— Professors Matthew Soules and Inge Roecker
Date: March 11
Time: 2 p.m.
Place: Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver
Info: http://www.sala.ubc.ca/node/1956
SALA sponsors projects for Vancouver’s urbanism
Date: Now through March 29
Place: 221A Artist Run Centre 221A E. Georgia Street (at Main)
Info: http://tangentialvancouverism.ca/