Iron Warrior: Volume 12, Issue 6

8/14/2019 Iron Warrior: Volume 12, Issue 6

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volume 15, Issue 1

ONMay 11, 99 THE ENGINEERING SOCIETY'S STUDENT FORUM May 11, 99200 ENGINEERS UNPLACED

... I wonder if they're hiring ......give or take a few.

Co-op students have been advised tostay with the jobs they held inprevious terms and endure anytemporary heartache. Theplacement figures were especiallydiscouraging for the summer term andwill probably continue with similartrends for subsequent tenns.This spring term, there areapproximately 450 co-ops who areunemployed. About one-half of theseare engineering students. Wi th one ofthe best programs in the country, whyare s many without jobs?

t is traditionally more challengingto find a find a job in the spring term.The summer months offer employersrelatively cheap labour for taskswhich they feel unjustified hiring afull-time employee for.The fact that s many are out of workcould not possibly be attributeQ tosummer competition. Clearly,Wa terloo offers employers a "betterproduct" .Our placement difficulties reflect thelarger continent-wide econOmicproblems. The Canadian economicrecession gives some employers no

"Would you like fries with that, Mr. Westlake?"choice but to l y o f f largepercentages of its force. Co-ops areusually the first to go and the last tobe hired. Some companies believethey are doing these students afavour by hiring them in the firstplace. In economic hard times, theydon't feel as generous or obliged to dofavours for students.Dave Thomas, of Opera tionAdministration in Needles Hall,comments that the co-ops who feelthe crunch the most are the loweryear students. They simply lack thepractical experience found in moresenior students.So what are the options available tounemployed UW co-opsAstonishingly few, actually. Themost obvious course of action for oneout of work . .is to try to find work. Coops, being students, tend to be veryflexible in almost any workplace.The pliancy of youth is graced uponsuch chores as garbage collection,window washing, floor sweeping,pJ:inter output filing and of course,flipping.burgers. (Other suggestionssubmitted by students range fromdiamond mining and cotton picking toembezzlement scamming, prostitutionand drug dealing.)A more reasonable option is for thestudent is to switch streams. In doingthis, they go straight into their next

academic terr ll . Tnis sometimes posesproblems. They risk losing touchwith their fnends. They may alsocome across financial difficultiesnever before experienced because theyno longer receive the income theyhave become accustomed to (KraftDinner every night, as opposed toevery other night) .t must not be overlooked though,

that co-ordinators are constantlysearching for jobs as the termprogresses. Some students do notexperience the joy of re-uniting withtheir co-ordinator at the middle-ofterm visit; the reason being that theco ordinator is off jobhunting forunplaced co-ops.Thomas also feels that co-ordinators

e l i l ~ v e that this spring term hasbeen as bad, if not worse than the lastrecession of the early 1980s in terms ofplacement. He adds that placementin the upcoming terms will not be aseasy as it has been in the last fewyears. "The faJl term, however, istraditionally our easiest placementterm ..there are no first year students.And there seems to be a fair number ofjobs hat are coming in." So jobiJrospccts for the near future arelooking up, but co-ordinators stiJIwar '; "Stick with what you've got."

...by Jonathan Seet


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page 2 iron warriorNeedles Hall Speaks Out There is a vast amount of paper bedealt with (a fire at Needles Hall

would be unimaginably disastrous).y Ramesh ManthaAs University of Waterloo engineeringstudents, the coop system is a major partof our program. Every four months, wehave to pack up our lives and go tocities across the country (andoccasionally the world) to take up ourcoop jobs. The coop system, like anylarge administrative program, ha sbecome quite a bureaucracy and ha sthus become the target of a lot ofstudent griping. Forget about BrianMulroney or the GST, for Waterlooengineers, the coop system (and all theneedless hell that goes along with it) istheir greatest annoyance. It cansometimes seem like a major waste of$300.A great deal of the complaining aboutcoop, however, is based on myths heldby students. Graham Murphy, one ofthe coordinators at Needles Hall,believes that there's a lot of halftruths about coop that results inunjustified opinions. We've all heardthe story about the guy who was surethat he had an amazing job. He knewthat the company ranked him numberone and he ranked the job number one.Thus he should have got the job butwhen the results of the computer matchare printed, he ends up with one of hislower ranked jobs, or is out in the coldentirely. Now what happened here?The student might assume that he wasburned by the computer in its attempt tooptimize job placement. But he mayvery well have been burned by theemployer. According to Murphy,Companies sometimes ..play games. Acompany on one occasion told sixstudents that they looked forward toseeing them for work." As a result,several of the students might rank the

1 e 1 : " " " l m M l ~ ~ W M ~ t e company has thebes t possible selection . Naturally, thestudents who waste their number oneranking on this job can get screwed.This behaviour is strongly discouragedby the coop department and Murphynoted that companies have beenwarned about such actions and eventhreatened with a revocation of theirinvitation to participate in the coopprogram. So when an employer tellsyou that you arc their first choice. orsays we're looking forward to seemgyou in September" do not assume thatyou're their first choice. They may betelling this to everyone that theyinterview.The important thing to remember isthat the coop system was not trying toburn the student in favour of theemployer. The coordinators arc tryingto be on the side of both the students

. This is often a major bone of contention;and the employers. There IS the Waterloo is considered such a highgeneral impression that large tech university yet Our coop program iscompanies can gct their way and onc massive system of paper pushing. Amanipulate the system. . Murphy completely electronic system wouldassured mc that al l companies, la:gc greatly simplify the process and wouldand small, work on a level playing probably ease up deadlines.fidd. Murphy says IBM isn't morelikely than c o m p ~ n y ABC to get th.e The fee system in coop can also bepeople they want (of c o u r ~ e e v e ~ annoying, especially when you pay thethis wasn't true, he w()u.ldn t adml.t It work term report marking fee evenbut that may be a bIt p a r a n ~ l d ) . though you didn't SUbmit a work termAn?ther problcm is that a p p l c a t l O ~ s report. Murphy said that theyto Jobs can be very skcwed. Murp y actually have very little control over

m e ~ t . i o n ~ d the ca.se .where for one the fcc process. Fees fall under theposlhon. In a c e r t ~ J n fIeld, there were jurisdiction of the university76 appl cants w.hJle anothe:- c o ~ p a n y administration. They set the fee at ain the held r e c e l v ~ d 7 a p p h ~ a n t s for : value of their chOosing and give thepositions. With sItuations hke that, It coop department as much as they wantis i n e v i t a ~ l e that people. who apply to to. When I suggested canning theevery hot Job may well find themselves marking fee entirely and just increasingwith nothing the end of the p r o c e s ~ . the coop fee by its amount, Murphy saidMurphy mentioned that onc of hI S that sort of thing was a result ofgripes about students is un:easonable university politics and I'd probablyexpectations. A standard l m ~ amon.g get my butt kicked if J commented onelectrical and computer engJneers IS that. The net result is that the coop"where are all the hard a r e jobs? In department has very Ii ttle control overlooking at one term WIth about 200 many things ascribed to it. One suchelectrical jobs, there were 15 hardware thing is the computerization of thejobs. It's a bit unrea,sonable for students department. Such large scale projectsto expect that t ~ e y . II get exactly w ~ a t are imposed from above and Murphythey want. ThIS IS true of the hIgh notes that we aTe constr.ained by thedemand jobs right across the faculty. pyramid .. and where the power really

lies . This may seem like a cop-out butThe coop administration follows a I guess you can't very well expecttight and difficult schedule throughout bureaucrats to actually push for changethe term. There are .definite dates for (at least not very hard). They are alsowhen jobs h.ave to be In, when t h ~ Wa 1t limited by the vision (or lack thereof)Ads get prmted etc. Because of thIS, of their superiors. I f the provost andthey have to crack ~ o w n ?n s.tudents. the vice president had to deal a littleThe back to c a m p ~ s Inte.rvlew IS a case more intimately with the nitty grittyin point. These mtervlews are very of the coop process, they might be aimportant because they tell coop little more inclined to give thewhether you .plan to go t ~ r o u ~ h antiquated system a speedierinterviews thiS term. ThIS Will modernization. Until that happensdetermine how your file is dealt with (don't hold your breath waiting for iI),during the term . Once resumes are remember that the coordinators andsubmitted, every s t u d e n ~ ' s ~ a c k a ? e has coop staff are on your side (for the mostto be prepared and thIS. IS qUIte an part) and be a little patient, becauseinvolved, time consummg process. it's going to be a long hot summer at

seated. becOme tM propel: y dieYm:iAI:., ~ r i a h t to 1 e f u ~,biieation of lII. atfrial which it deemsuosuttdle. The lrgg, Warri6r also reserventhe right to edit aranmw: ~ 1 . . r * ,dof text thai do DOt meet \JIUversuyJtaDdards. Authors win be notified of in)'major c:htqes that m q be required.All .ubmisMou and advertisingenquiriea Ibould be (01 .alded to:

JrooWIDjor~ S o c i e l yCPH 1321Ualvenity of WaterlooW A T E R L O O . ~

U84162

Needles Hall.

May 17 1991Editor in Chief:

Gus Scaiano

News Editor/Photo/Wonder Woman:Giselle Cotta

Layout Manager:Mark Chahl

Advertising:Bhupinder Randhawa

Art Work:

Photo:

Ravi SrinivasanDaniel WongRed HelenStu

Jeff LewisAndrew Reeves-HallBill SprouleMatthias Wandell

Contributors:Drew ConwayGreg CookDan CurtinJyothish DanielDave HitchcockRob KnechAndrea LawrenceRasmus LerdorfRon Lil ycroppRamesh ManthaTim OsborneAntony PringleNeil SchellenbergerJonathan SeetKen Slaughter


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May 17,1991 iron warrior page 3:

Non-Sexist SUNshine Thing Coming Soon ~ t J \ f t . \ . .S tJ\\ - f ~ i ~~at RUBY's in the Waterloo \ : . : .

h> .I....~ 1 9 . f j,#W' You ~ C .L\... Stay tuned for detailsIW Digest ESSCO: We'll Make You FamousGIVING BLOODThis term we ha ve been asked tochallenge the Mathies to donatemore blood. So we did (challengedthem, that is). I f we win all the= = ~ I b l o o d donation p**5 points will be

The Engineering Student SocietyCouncil of Ontario is looking for alogo. This logo will be used on posterslhat will be seen across the province,around the country and all over theworld. It's a great re ume booster andwill get your name known inEngineering circles across theprovince.

Bodacious Babs, 10, enjoys "ridinghigh" on her mountain bike. In her spare time,she also distills various solvent substances anddates older hairy chested men.(send in your submissions for the non-sexist SUNshine thing)

oublcd Here arc the on-campusdates (all at the CC):10 am to 4 pm, June 10

10 am to 4 pm, July 1Sp S POINTSThere 's lotsa P**5 points to be

up. Keep up to date witho's got how many throughATSTAR - type ACCESS P5@1302

and type your class name (eg. 2BCIV).If you want all the classes', typeAL. The top four classes thisterm will win prizes.

.ors - sign up for grad photosASAP at the Orifice. Photos arebeing taken May 22nd to 27th inMC5158A,8:30 to 4:30.

25-26 Sio-pitch8 Volleyball15 Basketb< 1120 Golf scrambleBA Flag football

letic stuff this

Also, challenge voll yball b twcenclasses is on all Sllmmer. ontactEng Soc directors or class reps.LIVE SEA HORSES ~ 3 ~ M

~ I t 1r\ . I . I J ~ J 1 'b .\ 1If' 1


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page 4 iron warrior May 17 1991

H ~ V ) ) ~ AN ItifoRMAT\v ILOJifR I\IGP ~ ~ t l A P 1 A t t C t l ~ m r y ; ~ ~ ~t-\f:- LOO L__ Jils: Y / V / ~ jAzZ.' .JAt I J1

OH YOU JOLLY ROGUE by Kior He"HEY, BIGNOSE " Well , the summer term is upon us , andwith this many opportunities and

: Well, Tony, it s late and the responsibilities. The summer termlayout people are on my case to do an affords all us us innumerableeditorial. You and J never agree on occasions fulfil our a c ~ d e m l c agendaanything, so what do you think I and partake In the JOYous .thoughshould editorialize/moralize about? sometimes tumultuous pursuits thatT: Geez Gus, come on Think about it. engineers are renowned for. It a l ~ o

you are, given this great soap bids us. .Iook ~ e y o n d the hedonisticto air your numerous ridiculous and nihilistic mdulgences of our

1FIRSTLY, LET ME SAY THAT THIS ISA TREKENPOUS ERGONOMIC DESIGN -SPLENDID PIECE OF WORK, ANDAPPLAUSE ALL ROUND TO EVERYBODYCONCERNED.

RIGHT. I SHOULD ALSO LIKE TO POINTOUT THAT THE DESIGNERS HAVE PROVIDEDA POSITIVE RESPONSE TO HUMAN STRESSFACTORS, ACCOMODATING THEANTHROPOMORPHIC CONSTRAINTS OF THE5TH AND 95THPERCENTILES, WHICHIS TREMENDOUSLYADVANTAGEOUSIN THE WORKPLACE.

iews and you can t think of society to find greater purpose andhing??? I mean now, what with essence to our termporal. ~ x . l s t a n c e .recession, the political situation, Our inherent need for propltlalton fromthe environment, war... our corrupt nature requires ~ = = ( 'G: Look Tony, you and I both know f r e w e n d a l ~ u s . ~ p p l i c a t i o n of ourperfectly well that the only solution insipid ~ a r s l ~ o n l a l t t y Thrundanttyandto everyone's woes is a Reform party unrepncadlty often lead us togovernment. I don ' t need to bore gandistulate.. . ___ ..L.L-...,...L...J'-- Ipeople with the obvious. T: Whoa .. You're right Gus. I mean, ~ - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - - - -T: Oh oh . J can sec it now: 'The [ron I've found that ]'ve been propitiatingReformer . The engi neeri ng all too much lately. But you know, Jnewspaper combo reform party rag. think you lost me on the part aboutChange of topiC. So, Gus, what are gandistulation. I mean, that doesn tyour thoughts on free tuition? happen much anymore, especially notG: Is that how tuition is spelled? You in engineeering. But I think you dknow, it s funny, but at the IW better stop writing. This is soudingwriter s meeting someone suggested ajot like some other beginning ofth t for a pOint -counterpo int, except term' editorials I've read lately.that everyone in the room thought G: Yeah, you're ri ght Tony. Look all Ithat tuitions should be raised I guess wanted to say is that Party Summerwe're all rich, spoiled en?incers. . '91 is a great opportunity to getT: Hey, walt a minute, thI S involved in your class, in engsoc, ineditorial s getting really dull. I volunteer organizations, and get athink you d better rethink it... great tan (read: skin cancer). You'reG: Yeah, well, you're right, let me try only here for 4 2/3 years (OK, 5 2/3something different. for you Drew), so make th e most of it.

Drew's pewSee Page 3 Pinup

Before J get into the spew aboutwelcoming everybody back andtelling all what s happening thisterm, I have a few questions I wouldlike to ask as I begin my final term aspresident. It is my hope that peoplewill volunteer answers or a d d r e s ~comments in person to myself or in inkto the Iron Warrior.A. Engineering Society hasmade several widely laudedinitiatives in the field of promotingengineering as a career for both menand women. Examples include: ashadow ' program for high school

students, high school guidancecouncilors informational seminars,and Science and Engineering Quest ( ascience camp for children to be run oncampus for the first time thissummer). I want to know if WaterlooEngineering students feel that it is ourrole to promote the profession?Personally, I belive that it s theAPED s responsibility and theyshould be much more involved.

B How do people feel aboutthe Student Endowment? Hve youseen the new 386's in EL-I08 ? Thereare more on the way. Do you feel thatit is working for you or what?

C The Dean wishes toremove any recreational 'equipment'(read: pool tables, etc.) from allfourth year study rooms, I haveproposed setting up a common fourthyear lounge as a substitute. I havetold the Dean that this space must becentrally located to be acceptable andwould preferably be attached toPOETS. What do particularly fourthyear students fccl about this plan?D. People are always askingme what the new Dean is like. Hasanyone else spoken to or even spottedhim? E. How do you feci aboutEngSoc? Are the services useful toyou? Do the activities reflect yourtastes? Do you feel as though you getnot enough or too much information?Do you think that things are betterthan a year ago or am J just wastingmy time?

Gus (editor) has assured methat letters to the editor are welcomeso please let us know how y u feelabout these or any other issues.

THIS DEVICE IS TREMENDOUSLY BENEFICIALIN RELIEVING FATIGUE IN JOBS REQUIRINGPROLONGED STATIC WORK, AS WELL ASDECREASING CIRCULATORY AND LYMPHATICPRESSURE, WHICH WILL ALLOW FORGREATER EFFICIENCYOF AN EXTENDEDDURATION ANDPOSITIVELY AFFECTMAN'S PERFORMANCEIN HIS WORKINGENVIRONMENT.OH, AND UM -PROPRIOCEPTORS,V A S O C I l ~ T I O N , ANDCIRCAOIAN ROUl.ETTE.ABSOLUTELYTREMENDOUSIN OTHER WORDS

4

HEY MANNICE CHAIR

Now to my spew: This termEngWeek has been scheduled early soas to avoid conflicting with too muchterm work. The directors have puttogether a fantastic week and thep S directors have updated thepoint system and are giving out hugebonuses for competition andparticipation. Later this term wehave Nauticals, The Ring RoadClassic Bicycle Race, Canada Day

Festivities and Fireworks, a secondPOETS Patio Pub, a Tal-Eng show,The Semiformal, and a huge end ofterm giveaway to the winning P"''Sclass Welcome back have anawesome summer


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May 17, 1991 Iron warrIor page 5BREW AND CHEW-A weekly guide to good, cheap food and drinkj I

The Barley Mow How to Eat Like a Maharaja Iby Tim Osborne Iby Chandrashekar and Tagore IIBeer and money, two of my threefavorite things. Through a simpletechnique, more of both of these canbe obtained (possibly the third withproper use of the first two). What isthis revolutionary technique that canchange your life? HomebrewingYes, you too can create a deliciousbeverage in your own home. Join themillions of people around the worldalready making their own beerincluding; Benny Hill, Juan Valdezand the lady who has "fallen andcan't get up".Let's look at the savings for anaverage Engineering studentconsuming a mere 24 bottles per weekat a cost of $24.35 compared to hiswiser friend making his own for $14per 2 1/2 cases for a saving of almost$1000 per year.Before you decide to brew, here'ssome good and bad points about it.Bad - your house will smell like abrewery, you will probably drinksomething not fit for humanconsumption at some point and youwill probably give some of this to a(former) friend. Good - your housewill smell like a brewery, you'll savea bunch of money. The choice isobviousHome brewing will cost you about $45for the starter kit which includeseverything you need for 60 bottles ofyour favorite suds, for those of youwho already own the equipmentyou're looking at about $10 to $20depending on your preference of brew.Tips for the homebrewer;1. CLEAN, STERILIZE (withDiverso l or SodiumMetabisulphite) and RINSE

everything, including you2. See tip #1

This term in the IW we are featuring recipes from India geared for the budding, Icost conscious, student gourmet. Our special chef this week is Madhur Jaffrey an Ithe way from Punjab India. Our first installment is a simple quick curry and ,bread meal that will cost you less than $2 per person. IKeema (spicy beef and peas) ,Ingredients: 1 Lb lean ground Beef I(feeds four) 1 cup frozen green peas (and/or mushrooms) II 1/2 Large onion (finely chopped) I~ ~ 1 tsp fresh ginger (finely chopped) IcJi; or 1/2 tsp dried ginger powder I

ru of the Week - ark utch eer1 can Laaglander Dutch Dark MaltExtractAle yeast (included with above)250 gm crystal malt125 gm chocolate malt1 tbsp Irish Moss1.2 Kg DextroseCrush, grind, mutilate etc. malt (canbe done at brew supply store). Placemalt in cheese cloth and boil for 30minutes, remove malt, add extractand irish moss, continue boiling for 15minutes. Put boil in primaryfermenter and fill to the 22L (5 gal)mark with cool water, add yeast and1.0 Kg of the dextrose. Let ferment for5 to 7 days at 20-25 deg C. Siphonbeer into secondary felmenter and letsit for up to 2 weeks depending on howlong you can wait. Siphon back intoprimary fermeter, add remainingdextrose and bottleUntil next time, send in (lny questions,comments, suggested bru's etc. c/o ironwarrior. And remember beer containsyour four basic food groups - barley,yeast, hops and mali. CHEERS

1 clove garlic (finely chopped) I2 tbsp Garam Masala I1 tsp Turmeric" I1 tsp Chili powder I1 tbsp vegetable oil II,. Note: all spices are available at the International Food Store in theUniversity Plaza III or buy it premixed, just ask for 'Keema Masala'.

Instructions: Beer yoursel fSautee onion, garlic, and ginger in oil until translucent(this is called Tarka, the base for most Northern Indian Cooking)Add beef and almost brownAdd spices and eno ugh water to coverSimmer for 10 minutes, add peas and salt to tasteSimmer on medium until water is evaporatedServe with Chapattis (2 to 4 per person)

IIIIIIIII,rChapattis I1 handful of whole wheat flour for each chapattis Ingredients: water (just enough) I1 1 tsp oilI Instructions: Add water to flour to make dough, knead "I RoU dough into bigph soU haJj portions, ur ,f Roll each portion into a thin-pancake, use lots of flour rI to prevent sticking I\ Shak ex cs flour off hapttl lx'fore putting onto hot, II dry griddle or frying pan, when bubbl s form, flip. III .Note: If you don't have a rolling pin, usc a boltl r something. II The


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page ron warrior ay 17 1991

The ystem Sucksby Rasmus LerdorfAre we being educated, or arc we justputting in the years to get a piece ofpaper? It is a topic of discussion thatis heard more and more amongengineering students . The firstquestion asked by a Microsoftinterviewer, "So, have you learnedanything useful in your enginccringprogram? Being the unfortunaterecipient of this question and havingjust finished a very long Statsmidterm I told him quite franklythat I had never been able to applyanything taught to me in universityto any of my workterms. Perhaps Iget the wrong jobs, or perhaps I justdon't know how to apply myself.Another interviewer took a peek atmy marks, and with a big grin on hisface stated that I had certainlyacquired the art of squeaking throughcourses. He didn't mean this in anykind of negative sense. He explainedthat he was a Waterloo graduatehimself and that he did not consideracademic standing at all whenevaluating a student for a co-op job.It seems that academic excellence isunrelated to engineering excellence asseen by the companies hiringengineers. If academic excellence hasnothing to do with engineeringexcellence in an engineering program,does that not mean that academicsand engineering are unrelated? Or inother words, what we learn hasnothing to do with us becomingengineers. The only link is that wehave to stay here and do as we aretold until the powers that be decidethat we can now call ourselvesengineers.So, what is wrong? Why aren'tengineers taught to be engineers?Waterloo engineering students weregenerally among the top 5 or 10academically in their high schools.There arc many extremelyexceptional students among us. Wehave proven time after time that weare ca,pable of absorbing a tonne ofinformation and regurgitating it atexam time. And most of us haveperfected. the art of disposing of themformatlon within days of writingthe exam. Generally I find that Imay learn and retain perhaps two orthree concepts ft:om each COurse [have taken. It hardly matters howmany concepts the course covered.However, ask me to discuss concepts Ilearned during a work term and 1 cango on for hours.

t we le rn h s nothing too with us becoming engineers

Class lectures, midterms, quizzes andfinals in their present form have verylittle to do with an effectiveengineering education . Info, fnfo,Info, Cram, Cram, Cram, Test, Test,Test. It's an outdated teachingmethod and judging from the opinionsof many students and employers it isan ineffective method. Why do weneed scheduled lectures? Why do weneed tests.

In Systems Design we have somethingcalled Workshops. A Workshopinvolves getting a group of peopletogether interested in some specifictopic, finding a professor who knowssomething about this topic, and thenengineer away .. It may sound like aterribly unstructured and uselessexercise, yet even with rathermodest workshop topics the studentsinvolved spend much more time ontheir workshop than their othercourses even though there are noscheduled classes, nor tests. Librariesall over are combed for informationand when difficult concepts areinvolved the basics areautomatically learned because it isquickly realized that nothing willget done unless the basics areabsorbed quickly.Systems Design Workshops havetheir problems as well. Students stillhave a number of regular courses tocontend with. Since everyone in thegroup will get the same mark thereare times when students are inclinedto let the other guy worry about theworkshop and concentra te onindividual marks in the othercourses. But why do we even needmarks? What do they mean? fs aperson with a 90 average a betterengineer than a person with a 65average? Who other than theuniversity cares about marks? Marksare solely for the benefit of theuniversity. They make thingsterribly easy for them. Ass ig n eachstudent a number, collect the number'smarks, throw out all the numberswith low marks and end up withreally good numbers. Then they giveall these good numbers a ring and apiece of paper and presto, oneenginccr is formed. This leaves theuniversity's resources free to pursueother things and not have to worryabout something as mundane asmaking sure they are providing thebest education possible for theirstudents. Marks and exams breedcompetition between students.Engineers should be team workers.No one person can know enough tomatch the knowledge and ability of awell functioning group. Are wetaught to work together for a commoncause? Are we taught to share ourresources and creatively solveengineering problems as a group?Forget about marks, exams andlectures, run the entire faculty basedon the concept of the workshop.Students will determine whichlectu res were needed. Anappropriate professor would beselected and the students woulddetermine which concepts theyneeded help with. Students wouldnot miss lectures like this, theywould be taught in smaller groups,and every student in the class wouldhave an active interest in the subjectat hand. Presently many studentsskip lectures, there are too manystudents in the Icctures to begin with,and a lot of the ones there are notvery interested in the subjcct beingtaught.

Waterloo sets high standards fortheir students, and therefore realizethat the majority of students are hereto be educated. They are responsibleand have proven time and time againthat they have mastered the art ofdoing well on exams. The mainreasons for lectures and exams seemsto be to teach the basics. "You needto learn the basics " How many timeshave we all heard that? So, theystuff us in crowded classrooms andshout the basics at us. We sit arounduntil exam time, then we use ourbrilliant ability to cram and scamand we sneak through the exam . Wemay even do really well on the exam.Now the university feels secure andthey deem that we know the basicsbecause we passed their course. Butwhat do we get? We get a sea offormulas and concepts which we willprobably find a use for some day.However, the problem is we don't seea practical use for th em now and theyare promptly discarded.Engineers are generally a practicalbunch. When someone tells anengineer to jump, the engineer does notask, How high?", the engineer asks,"Why?" In order to effectively teachthe basics they should be seen aselements required to complete somesort of engineering project. If projectsare assigned to lower year students,properly designed to teach the basicsfor successful completion, then bothteaching them and learning themwould be much more enjoyable andeffective. If no project could bedesigned to teach a certain set ofbasics, then perhaps it is time to reevaluate that set of basics as arequirement for the modern engineer .In upper years the students should befree to select whatever projects theydeem suitable. Projects should coverall aspects of engineering. Right fromdesign to implementation andmarketing. People would specializein various aspects of the project.There would be no need to split upengineers into Mechanical ,Electrical, etc. The students wouldhandle that themselves according totheir interests and ability within theproject.

An educational system free ofcompetition between individuals andstudents with an active role indeciding on lecture structure andcontent would in my opinion be a farsuperior approach to providing agood education.Skeptics would argue that peoplewould take advantage of the system,and that there would be no controlover whether or not a certainindividual was a competent engineer.The students in conjunction with theprofessors assigned to the variousprojects would evaluate theperformance of themselves .Individuals not contributing are veryeasily picked out, and they willprobably weed themselves out asthey go. In our present system wehave absolutely no idea whether thestudent is a competent engineer or notbased on university work. When bothemployers and students see nocorrelation between what is taughtand how it is taught and actualengineering situations, then justbecause a student is successfulacademically does not make thestudent a competent engineer.I realize I have generalized a lot.Many students probably don't feel thesame way about the present system asI but I am sure we have allexperienced some of these problems. rknow that within Systems Designthere are a lot of nega tive feelingsabout the system in general. Ageneral sense of apparently learninga lot about everything, but in realityending up knowing nothing abouteverything. My class was quick toadopt a mo tto of, "Who cares, theycan't fail us aW We are not a bunchof apathetic kids with a badattitude. We did not come here withthis attitude. We are bright,ambitious students who came here tolearn and to become engineers. Wewill become engineers some day, someday we may even learn, but for nowwe will sit on our butts, cram andforget the basics in record time untilone day someone taps us on theshoulder and tells us we are nowengineers.

uild Your Futurewith theConstruction Leader,

PCl CONSTRUCTORS EASTERN INC.Congratulates the Class of 1991

One ofTI,, Fil/,II/' lII1I\NlOOBFSrC O : l l P A ~ I E S TO WORK FOR 1:


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May 17,1991

COUNTERPOINT: OURENGINEERING EDUCATIONby Ken Slaughter

Is our engineering educationuseless?"That was the question posed by staffwriter Rasmus Lerdorf way back inthe Nov. 16 issue of last Fall'sWarrior, reprinted here.I disagree with the blanket assertionthat what we learn here has nothingto do with "real world " engineering.On work terms I've used ideas learnedin class, from fluid mechanics andthermodynamics to machine design.I've even used schoolbooks on the job.Others I've worked with, both atwork and at school have had thesame experience. Were all theproblems I encountered "textbook",exactly as taught in lectures? Ofcourse not. If engineering matchedeverything found in the books we areforced to buy, you wouldn't have to goto school. You'd just buy the rightbook.The real world, however, demandsthe same things we are forced to learnin class: analytical thinking ,attention to detail, and a knowledgeof design methodology andengineering systems ..all of thesecome from learning subjects usually.dismissed as the basics. Thetechnologies, systems, or labels mightchange. The methods stay the same.Marks, lectures, and exams? I don'tlike 'em either. But the orderedworld of the engineering student isn'tall that different from the workingworld. There as wel1 we havedeadlines, scheduling, andperformance standards that must bemet. And like school, there isn'talways just one job to do. Often, yourboss tosses extra projects on your deskthat must also be completed. Work,like school, is results-oriented.The assertion that the competitivenature of our education present aproblem is unfounded. Competitionfor marks in my class was neveranything but good-natured jostling

iron warriorOh yeah ???.

between the top two students at examtime, both of whom forgot about itafterwards. one of us everscrambled frantically for marks as astatus symboL Besides, students don'tcompete for marks. It's not likethere's a limited number of A's outthere, waiting to be snatched up, andwe're all fighting for them likeMuscovites for coal. 1 you want goodmarks, you work for them. For me, amark is a measure of how well theprof thinks I learned the material.On one occasion, after blowing anexam which I knew I could havepassed, the prof gave me anassignment which I could turn in forextra marks. All he wanted wasproof that I knew the subject.As for "competition," regardless ofwhether it's right or wrong, it's part,of the market system most of us windup working in. The company we'l\work in will be in competition withothers. Facing that now is probably agood idea.I t is not competition whichcharacterizes the engineeringeducation, but teamwork. From firstyear we were grouped into smallteams tackling labs and designprojects. The few times competitionreared it's ugly head was when wewere all asked to form groups andactually produce something to givenspecifications, then test how eachteam's design performed.While replacing the curriculum withworkshops is an initially attractiveidea, none of the problems identifiedwould be solved. Studen ts would stillneed to learn that "sea of formulas"called the basics just to do crediblework. There'd still be no way to judgethe work on it's real-world relevancywithout actually testing what hadbeen learned in the workplace.Objective evaluation would berequired. Schedules, organization,analysis, synthesis ..any body ofstudents, whether workshop or class,will have to have those. A groupusually entails structure.My biggest concern with the ideacomes from human nature: if youallow students to choose what they

want to learn in the workshop, you'dprobably wind up with most groupstudying high-tech, glamoroussubject, avoiding what they perceiveas boring and unfashionable ones.For student who want to definehis / her own curriculum, th re arcalready project courses in third andfourth year. At the same timeconventional cour e arc offer d thatteach the skills ne ded for thes ,courses, based on material from firstand second year. You have to wait toget to these cour e ,yes. But youhave to walk before you can run.Do I think the current set-up isperfect? No. At different times overthe past few years I've felt there' arcserious gaps in our education at UW.It doesn't automatically produce awell-rounded, competent engineer,able to tackle any job he/she 'shanded .Perhaps what's needed is somethingbetween the two ideas. My major beefwith the way I'm taught is the lackof choice, being pipelined throughcourses I realize I need, but missingones it might have been fun to take.Taking extra-department or evenextra-faculty courses (maybe even, asRasmus suggests, an occaisonalWorkshop course) should be easier.More personal control over one'sacademic path is the answer.So if we build this sort of curriculum,will UW produce instantly competentengineers?No. Co-op, which gets no mention inRasmus' article, is the real reason weget an education here. Without it,book-learning is hollow. Co-op is th e' Worksho p ' Rasmus wants . It'foibles, imperfections and ' trengthsgo a long way towards d tcnnininghow good our engineering edu alionis. Those characteristics arc thsubject of this issue.Finally, debating and challenginghow we are taught is not anintellectual exercise for a couple ofIW writers. It's something we shouldall do as we go through the program.After all, we're paying for this. We

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page 7

have a right to speak up. Keep thedebate rolling.

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page 8Want Ads We'd like to See .IBM CANADA LIMITEDPHOTOCOPYING ENGINEERTORONTODisciplines: SD,ME,CI,CE,EL,CH

Students are required for work in the PLZ/YK3 division of IBMCanada. Students will gain experience on the PW4/VDK and48WXQ systems which have no practical applications outsideof IBM.The duties of the student include photocopying FZQ documentsfor use in SQL-28G p resentation s, and preparing foils using theMNLP system for ABC/123 presentations.

iron warriorCOLUMBIA RECORDS INC.LEAD SINGER, MILL V ANILLILOS ANGELES, CADisciplines: Any

A recent event has created an opening in one of our recordinggroups. We arc looking for two coop students to work as leadsingcrs of Milli Vani1li. The potcntial c.andidate should havesomc cxpericnce in thc field of dance. Singing experience isNOT required. Dread locks and skin-tight clothes will beprovided. This job offers lots of experience, and many rewardsfor success. Our last two coop students were awarded Best NewArtist at last years Grammies.

May 17, 1991

Students arc also required to answer phones, change tapc reels, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOOcollect printer paper, and work in other remotc areas of IBMthat have absolutely nothing to do with engineering . FEDERATION HALL STAFF

WATERLOOSTUDENTS ARE REQUESTED TO RESTRICT THEIRAPPLlCATIONS TO IBM TO A MAXIMUM OF TWO JOBS.PSCREPORT ANALYZEROTTAWADisciplines: SD,ME,CI,CE,EL,CH

The student wi11 be required to analyze reports. However,there probably will not be any reports to analyze .this term, sothe job duties consist of wandering around the offIce talkll1g toother coop students who have nothing better to do, andoccasionally looking busy when thc boss walks by.EXXON OIL COMPANYOIL TANKER CAPTAINALASKADisciplines: Any

A dedicated, hard-working, sober individual is required todrive one of our oil tankers. The potential candida te mu st nothave any previous record of drunk driving.Students are also required for our Exxon cleanup crew, avolunteer crew dedicated to creating a cleaner Alaska.

BRUCE WAYNE ENTERPRISESBOY/GIRL WONDERGOrnAMCITYDisciples: SD,ME,CI,CE,EL,CH

A recent tragedy to our previous coop student has left a vacancyin our crime-fighting deparhncnt. The student will work withBruce Wayne himself on various missions. As Boy/GirlWonder, you will be trained in the methods of crime fighting.You will then learn to apply your training in the workingenvironment. The student will be asked to change his/hcr namcto Robin, and use the word 'Holy' a lot.

Disciplines: Any

Federation Hall provides a unique learning experience for thecoop student. Thc atmosphere is very relaxed and slow-paced.Responsibilities include frisking people for bottles andharassing intoxicated clientele. Preference will bc given tostudents that havc already developed an attitude problcm.

SPRINGFIELD NUCLEAR POWER PLANTTECHNICAL SUPERVISORSPRINGFIELDDisciplines: SD ME,CI,CE,EL,CH

The student is required to supervise a nuclear power plant, andcheck to ensure that the level of radiation is within tolerablelevels.The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant offers many benefits to itsemployees including extra tartar sauce for fish sticks in thecafeteria and the yearly token promotion.The town of Springfield itself is beautiful with its ownbaseball team, waterpark and SWAT team.

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May 17 1991 i ~ o n w ~ ~ i o r page 9Poster Culprits Caught Burning Near a Steakby Johnny GoodboyThe University of Watuktachuk is infiery debate over the recentextradition of. two students to the Gayand Lesbian Liberation Organizationof Watuktachuk (GLLOW). Thestudents were seen and photographedby a U of W Print'lm photographer ata cricket match at Farcity Green inSouthumberland, U.K., sporting asign saying, "Eat Twi , Not Dicks "

The U of W photographer, JoanneSandwich, submitted her photo tothe Print'lm. The photo wassubsequently captured and wiredaround the globe. Angry GLLOWrepresentatives were reported assaying, 'lIt's not fair . It's just not fair.No human being should not bepersecuted for his or her personaltastes. I t is true, yes, that [theaccused] did net direct the sign at us,nor, did they in any way imply thatTwix bars do taste better than dicks.But we feel hurt, and somethingshould be done to stop this mindless,irresponsible behaviour. Theyshould be severely whipped with awet lasagna noodle an':: then coveredwith grated mozzarella. Worseeven "

" . 3000 Twix bars .."Dean of Stupids, Honest Loosely, isthe man responsible for the hastyextradition of the two "meat-heads"as he vehemently refers to them.When asked why he thought it washis duty to ensure the punishment ofthe students, he pOignantly replied,"Well ...because "Loosely quickly added as per usual ofhis lightning wit, "These two foolsmust be taught not to represent mmOUR, sorry, our school in such amanner as to embarrass me. I don'tlike it. Besides, I think a lot ofReactionist majors on campus wouldagree with me that the guilty partiesare ..guilty .. and, urn .. well as I saidbefore: they're stupid, and it's my jobto keep them in line ..and not-stupid.Right?"

Sure, Loosely. Whatever you say.

Ten or twenty React. studies studentson campus did formally agree withLoosely, and signed a petition to himthat supported disciplinary actionagainst all people who publiclydisplay signs wi th messagescontaining the word "Twix".Rowntree officials say that theydo n ' t mind the publicity, onlycommenting that they hope that thereputation of their Twix candy bar isnot ad versely affected by this freeadvertiSing. GLLOW representativesassured them that nothing, includingTwix, tastes like "Mr. Big".

A misunderstanding arisenfrom ignorance andreactionary tom-foolery ..

It has not been ascertained at thistime whether or not the two studentsare registered at the University ofWatuktachuk, or even i they everhave been registered at theinstitution of higher learning.Regardless of apparent confusionof the university's administration,the two bewildered students havesubmitted an apology letter to thePrint'Im. This letter is reproducedhere with the kind permission ofnobody:To the students of the University ofWatuktachukThe incident that occurred at theMay 13 cricket match at FarcityFields in South umber/and is one thathas directed some I ~ n p r e e d e n t e dattention and previously unheard offocus at the University ofWatuktachuk . A misunderstandingarisen from ignorance and reactionarytom-foolery has resulted in acontroversy over a particularlysensitive issue which we did notthink would cause a problemoverseas.A common nick-name for people withthe name "Richard", "Dick" is notgenerally considered by Brits asynonym for "penis". A friend of ourswas under fire at the time forillegally acting as a privateinvestigator. Dick the Dick, as wecall him, thought the sign washilarious, because earlier on in the

week, to cover bail he Offered 3000Twix bars to the authorities.We want to apologize for anyinconvenience or repercussions thatthis might have caused theUniversity of Watuktachuk's imagewithin the community and nationwide. We would also like toapologize for the particularlyignorant behaviour of our pinheadDean . This was a well-meaning andsomewhat flippant prank which hascaused concern regarding the tastes ofhomosexuals, and has sent that saidfaction into violent conniption fits.We want to forcefully reiterate thatwe regret any negative effects thathave resulted in the fatigue of DeanHonest Loosely, whom we have

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page 10

VP Spew(a.k.a. Droid Chucks)The CFES and YOUAndrea LawreT,ceEngSoc VP ExternalWelcome back to the sunnyUniversity of Waterloo. I hopeeveryone had a fun fun fun work term,earned lots of money and is ready tohave even more fun this summer.Instead of rambling on about myworkterm I will get to the point.While everyone else was happilystarting work in January 1 had thewonderful opportunity to freeze mybutt off in Saskatoon at the annualCFES - Canadian Federation ofEngineering Students conference.Who cares? Well fm here to tell youwhy YOU should care, and how CFEScould effect your student life here atthe University of Waterloo.The CFES organization is made up of39 undergraduate engineering studentsocieties. The objectives of the CFESare to:1)Promote the public image Dfengineering students in Canada2)To co-operate with all engineeringassociations recognized by the CFESin matters of common interest.3)To advance the quality ofCanadian engineering.4)To promote the interaction ofCanadian engineering students withspecific interest groups on nationalissues.Th purpo e of the annual conferenceis to bring all the member societiestogether to discuss, debate, and takea stand on relevant issues as well asto vote on a new executive to act uponthe motions passed at the conference.A few of the more interesting motionsbrought up and passed at theconference this past January were :1) The CFES will renounce andremove any and al l usage of LadyGodiva or any other sexist symbolwithin its member societies.(This would include abo lishing theengineering hymn.)

iron warrior

I I I)fl)fotClS. altO mott .(01, .11 ) oucn fOUt .,.,.10 .ue:.yO\.r hOme CK astlJd/o. m a k ~tf IHUY. tun UI ,*, and Ih i .0 OIK . FtM Irtform.IKNt M/ld 11 00 In"2)The CFES will oversee the creationof an official engineering song whichwill be supplied to all membersocieties.3) The CFES will make every effortto promote all activities of member

societies tha t promote thereputation image of engineeringstudents and communicate this to themedia.As you can tell by a few of the manymotions passed at the conferencethere were some main issues broughtup. The biggest one was concerningthe engineering students imageNow how does this effec t waterlooenginee rs? Well to start we will notbe able to sing the song We are weare we are we are we are theengineers.. . so the frosh thisseptember will never have theopportunity to learn the song.Another major issue here atWaterloo is the TOOL, since it hassexist connotations should we abolishit too?It's time we changed our attitudesand questioned our traditions andvalues. At Waterloo we have beensitting on our butts talking about howwonderful we are while many otherengineering schools have been goingthrough massive changes. Unl ess westart moving too we are going to beleft in the dust It' s definitelysomething to think about. At the nextEngSoc meeting we will be discussingthese very issues so if you feelstrongly one way or another come tothe meeting and let your voicc beheard. Wednesday May 22 7pmNeedles Hall 3001. Be there

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May 17, 1991VP Internal Spew

Dan CurtinEngSoc VP internalTake your mind back to Jan 15th. Mostlikely you were on a workterm, it wascloudy and oVercast, the days seemedunusually dark and short. Peoplehurried from houses to ca rs, cars tooffices and then back again. Everyear strained to hear th latest,hoping for that c l a s ~ breakthroughthat they always announce, waitingfor that relief giving scene of thehandshake between two old guys indour s u i ~ s , watching for the talkingheads WIth perfect hair to tell usthings are well again after all.But of course it n e v \ ~ r ca.me. insteadwe heard first hand instan taneousreports of bombs over Baghdad,target rich regie;l ; and collateraldamage. We heard of w k ~ c w s oforphans and gosh darn SCH\e realproud father saying he just hoped hisson died for a reason. 1 saw some flagwaving, some racism, some anti warprotesters and some anti -anti- warprotes ters. I saw sit ins and apathy. Isaw t-shirts and bumper stickers, andbeing down in the States at the time,I saw a LOT of American flags.Mostly though, I saw a lot of fam iliestrying to deal with li fe duringwartime. I saw the office secretaryworry about her 23 yr. old brotherwho was on the front line in SaudiArabia. I awkwardly signed a card inhis honour; was r really proud of himas it said or just relieved that itwasn't me who was there.I'm not trying to pick any sides or stiranything up (the truth is 1 st ill don 'tunderstand what happened), and I'mnot trying to bum you out on such a niceday. My point is, we really gottarelax, all is relative . When thingsbecome overwhclming this term (andthey will) ,take a step back and say"things could be worse".

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May 17 1991 iron warrior page 11

Small Companies: Co-opPerspective fshort Story conte : )L S coming... ..Jby Ken Slaughter

Small compa nies. Most of my co-opexperience has been with one inparticular, and since this is the co-opissue I thought I'd say somethingabout working in a corporation thatemploys less than twenty people. Icalled up myoid boss and downed acouple of coffees with some of hispresent and former co-op students toget their impressions.I worked at Sensor IB M Hi-Tech Inc.for three work terms. Located in asingle brick building on the edge ofCollingwood, Ontario, B.M. (BlueMountain) Hi-Tech producespeizo-electrics and ceramics, and alsodesigns and builds peizo sensors andtransducers for a variety ofapplica tions.The production staff is small, usuallyabout. five or six people. I f more helpis needed on a production problem,everyone chips in, regardless of theirjob description.The rest of the company is it'sresearch side. For several years thecompany, with contracts fromgovernment agencies, has beenworking on advanced glasses andother materials, including researchon micro-gravity processing. Twofurnaces have been built and flown bythe company on NASA and CanadianNat iona l Aeronau t i ca lEstablishment aircraft. The furnacesprocess glass during zero-g parabolas,to determine the effect of gravity onglass micro-structure.Usually the company employsbetween one and three Waterlooco-op students, from mechanical,systems, and computer engineering.They assist on the research projects,designing experimental apparatus,building fu rnaces, conducti ngexperiments, and helping out on themicro-gravity work. The company'sgeneral manager and researchsupervisor, physicist Eswar Prasad,has found the co-op system fits inwell with a small company. Thework is multi-disciplinary, andwould not occupy full-time engineerslocked into a single field. Studentsare affordable and flexible.If Dr. Prasad has any complaints, it

would be the shortness of the fourmonth work term. In some cases,giving a student eight months of workon a project would be more efficient,rather than bringing in someone newwho must be educated beforeanything can be continued. He feelsthe overlap between terms is vital,with incoming students working withthe outgoing ones in the final weeksof a work term.The bureaucracy associated with theco-op system has been frustrating attimes. Usually only one or twopersons are involved in the interviewand selection process. Meeting theCo-operat ive Educa t ionDepartment's deadlines and rules canbeen a minor hassle. B.M. Hi-Techstudent employees agree on one point:make the co-op system a little lesstied with red tape and a lot moreefficient. Computerizing someaspects (such as interview schedules)is one familiar idea I heard.During the coffee session, we talkedabout the pros and cons of working fora small company from a student'spoint of view. One of us had workedfor several big firms, and had somecomparisons. In a large organization,he found that there was a separationof labor that could lead to the small.cog in a machine feeling. Designingsomething and handing it to the nextperson down the line ended his role inthe development of a product. Thesuit and tie formalism, separationfrom the nuts and bolts of a project aresome of the cons he could think of. Ina small firm it is possible to beinvolved in every stage, frominitiation through design andproduction of a prototype. Andthough B.M. Hi-Tech may be anexception, there is a pleasing lack offormality. No-one minds what youwear as long as the job gets done.Responsibility and a feeling ofpersonal involvement with thecompany and it's future are otherpluses. You have a chance to get toknow everyone there and formfriendships with them.There is a flip side to this, however.More responsibility and anopportunity to work on your Own meanmore stress, pressure, headaches . .ifthings go wrong, there isn't a wholedesign department to spread the

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r-------..,FREEthe lower financial benefits.Another subject came up as we werebatting around these ideas: smalltowns. Collingwood has about 20,000people, and it's an hour or so fromanywhere. Some people might beturned off, but I enjoy small towns,and my workmates agreed. One ofthem pointed out that living costs arelower, and there's still plenty to do in

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page 12 iron warrior May 17 1991

by Andrew Reeves-HallThe Future of Co op

The Co-op Department at NeedlesHalI should be rewarded forovercoming great challenges in orderto help us find jobs. A surprisingamount of time and effort by theCo-op department is spent manuallyscheduling interviews; thetechnology used by the departmentdates back to 1975. The enrolment inthe co-op system is projected toincrease 15% over the next threeyears, yet very little extra room isprovided to handle these students.Thankfully some changes are coming.

975 technology

As we look behind the scenes at theco-op department, we see adepartment stretched to the limit toprovide all of us with the necessitiesto make co-op employment a reality.The job advertisements are manuallytyped and sorted for printing in theWantAds newspaper. Everyone ofyour submitted resumes is manuallystapled to a copy of your transcriptand filed by your last name. Eachemployer you put on your jobapplication form is sent a copy of yourresume and transcript. According toFatima Hendriqucs in the co-opdepartment; three weeks is spent bythe department's staff stapling andfiling all of the resumes submitted.The mailing of individual resumes toemployers consumes another twoweeks. More mailing must be doneafter this for every late posting youapply to.There is one computer system thatrecords each employer's job numberalong with the list of students thatapplied for each. A printout of thisinforma tion is then manuallyre-entered in a second computersystem so that schedulcs can beprinted . Before this can happen,though, the room bookings must bemade. General interviews areusually held outside of Needles Halldue to a lack of space. Theindividual interview rooms inNeedles Hall can accommodate aboutseventy employers daily. Each roommust be manually booked for a

particular employer. The dates andtimes for that employer must also bemanually booked. The relativelyfew incidents of interview conflictswe encounter is due to the effort theco-op department puts into crosscomparing bookings before the secondcomputer system prints out the wallschedule we see. In essence , thissecond system merely sorts all themanually entered bookings by eachstudent's last name.

The University of Waterloo needs acompletely overhauled Co-op systemto sec any real improvement inproductivity. In 1988 a report waspublished on the future of the Co-opdepartment. The main concernaddressed in the report was theupgrading of the computertechnology. [n just over two year'stime we should see one computersystem being used by the co-opdepartment to handle all of itscomputing needs. It will keep track ofevery job and the students thatapplied to them. The ability tomake queries on the information willbe feasible; something which isvirtually impossible in today'ssystem. The system wi ha veknowledge about the available roomsand will automatically scheduleemployers and students in them.Conflicts should occur less than theydo now. Job matching and rankingwould also be performed by thesystem. It is still unknown whetherelectronic resumes will beincorporated. At the same time as allof this, the' two separate interviewperiods for Arts and Engineering wille combined into onc.

complete overhaul is Heeded

Unfortunately, no new physical spacefor the department has beenaIlocated. We will still have totrudge into the basement of NeedlesHall, which is shared with CareerServices, for our interviews. Whatwe as students should be demandingfor our $312 co-op fee is a separatebuilding on campus completelydevoted to the Co-op department.

Let us consider a possible future UWco-op scenario. It is now 1997. As awise high school student you haveselected Waterloo as your universityto obtain an engineering education.After the treats of Frosh week, youhead to a "WatStar room and signon With your mouse you point andclick the JOBS icon. From the JOBSprogram you select MAKE RESUME.You enter your resume either fromscratch or pick a predefined style andfill in the blanks. JOBSautomatically stores it for you. Youthen click SCAN-ADS. To narrowyour job search, you instruct JOBS touse the keys ENGINEERING,JUNIOR, COMPUTER andMEGAMONEY when scanning theWantAds. Since 1994, UW hascombined all students into oneinterview period. Gone are the daysof 1991 when there was a separa teschedule for Arts and Engineering.The students have shown that theybecome more specific when offeredmore selections rather than applyingwildly to anything and everything.Anyway, you continue by clickingSEARCH. Up pops a list of jobs thatmatch your criteria. You click on thejobs that seem most appealing to getmore information. Tentativeinterview dates are also shown. Forthose jobs you find most appealing,you click twice on them to add themto your electronic applica tion form.You glance over your selections andclick APPLY to tell JOBS toelectronically mail copies of yourresume and transcript to your selectedemployers. Not one bit of paper hasbeen printed on in this entire process.

A few weeks later you sign-on againand receive a mail message thatdetails all of your interview datesand t imes. WatStar willautomatically remind you each timeyou log on of your upcominginterviews. You click the JOBS iconand select MESSAGES. You see a listof information messages from theCo-op department about variousitems. You file them away for laterretrieval. You head over to Bob RaeHall for your first interview. Theroom is an individual private officewith its very own fern and plushcarpet. Your interview goes well

You go upstairs for your nextinterview. This one is being held in asimilar office except theinterviewer is actually on a gianttelevision. For this job, you are beinginterviewed by a Japanese companyvia satellite. Again, the interviewgoes well. Later, back at yourWa tStar terminal, you clickRANKING. You rank the jobs by your

preference and click SENDRANKING. Next Monday you willsign on again to find out which job youwere matched to. If there are manyunfilled jobs, you may be able to selectbetween two or three possible jobs. Inthe meantime though, you clickSTATISTfCS. You can ask JOBS howmany other people applied to thesame job as you did. You can obtainother statistics information too: Howmany people had to go throughsecond rounds last term? How manylate postings have there been? Howmany jobs have I applied to? Onaverage, how many jobs were appliedto?

997 via WatStar:electronic ranking

This scenario shows only some of thedifferences we might see as students.Most of the streamlining will be seenby the staff in the Co-op department.Most notably will be the absence ofmanually entered schedules. The newsystem will handle almosteverything. Indeed, not all theconcepts in the scenario will come topass, but many of them hopefullywill. There are concerns to be raisedby the new system too though.Specifically, how do students feelabout entering electronic resumes?Will they lose that individualtouch? How do students fecI aboutonly one interview period for all ofcampus, not two as there is now?As students we must demand value forour co-o p fee. The department isunder considerable strain to provideus the services we came to Waterloofor. New technology will alleviatemany of the problems but a newbuilding should be next on theagenda.

n:5 PM. ''''CoL, : v-lOol'r FAIL rtl0 OLt>I'-lhEND. SrAR1S 1 RA,N. 1:. CoN'r


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May 17,1991 iron warrior page 13Save Big CashSave Big Cash part 2: the Clarificationby Gregory Cook, 4B Civil EngineeringLast term (Fall '90), I wrote an article inIW entitled "SAVE BIG CASH" . Peoplewere wondering about rumors they hadheard concerning ways to decrease theamount at the bottom line of their feestatements. Tn my naivety, I answeredthe call with five suggested ways toaccomplish this task. Since then I havebeen informed that my suggested wayswere not entirely correct. Many peopletook my suggestions and attempted tosave some coin. My apologies to thosewho were unsuccessful and becamedisappoin ted and angry because thesuggestions did not work. Let me note,however, that every suggestion I mad ewas fo rwarded on the basis that they allworked for me in preceding terms. Asnoted below, some information is nowclear. So please read the followingca refully and understand that theinformation provided is currently true tothe best of my know ledge. Here goes:1) First: You only need to pay the co-opfee for a total of eight academic terms.That means that if you have taken anextra non-degree engineering term orbeen delayed due to a transfer betweendisciplines or because you repeated aterm, then you are probably going to endup with more than eight academic terms.Once you have paid the co-op fee eighttimes, pay it no more. Get all subsequentco-op fees signed off by Gary Buckleyand save big cash.2) Next, I noted that a student could gettax receipts from the University Office ofAlumni Affairs in South Campus Hall.No more. After my first ar ticle appeared,[ received a copy of an intra-Universityoro thy Battae, Treas ur er.The memo, dated 01 September1990,reads:

FREE HOT WATER : ; ; . ~ ~ , ~ ~. \ ~ HOllY HYDRO HE TER ~ ~_,.. , . . ._ 11I" . ,......... 1IoIys -lO 11.- :.. _ .1 ,.. 1 1 ' . . . . . UIIl III .... nt,, I ' : l ~ IPrit. 'M . . 4 S ( ~ , o ' 1 i iSENDFOR FREE UTtPATUREt .. fnI (lONa- n n o - r = = 1 ' , = ~ I , , , _ . J I[)(AlfR.HQlJlRlES.IMTtD J [ 1 l ; : E 1 l . O \ , r - + ~ ~ ~

Revenue Canada' regulations for theissuance of official receipts by charitiestipulate that a 'gift' is a voluntarytransfer of property (money). Studentfees do not qualify for charitable taxreceipts under these regulations , sincethey are mandatory fees rather thanvoluntary gifts. In order for the Universityof Waterloo to comply with theseregulations and avoid the risk of losing itscharitable registration status, no furtherdonations' receipts can be issued formandatory student fees."The fees they are referring to included$7.50 for Fed Hall and $10.00 forrecreat ion facility (ie . Columbia Icefield)for which a student could request taxreceipts as I d id last year . ColumbiaIcefield is paid off now and since the SLBvote was 'no', the on ly fee remaining is forFed Hall. At present, you can not receivea receip t for this fee. Buck up littlecampers and take comfort in the fact that$7.50 is a cheap cover price to pay for fourmonths worth of the largest Universitybar in Ontario (Canada? the World?).3) Then I suggested "If you don't submita work report on a given term, then don' tpay the work report marking fcc."Bzzzzzz. Wro ng answer. This fee worksthe same way as your co-op fee. So afteryou've paid it eight times you arc in theclear and don't have to pay it anymore.In effect, you pay the work reportmarking fce eight times regardless of thenumber of work reports you submitbecause the fee is pro-rated.

Coop nd eport Fees-

4) This time, at least, my comment wasvalid. As a student, presumably with alow income, you get a GST tax credit. Ohboy If you are single with no childrenand a reported net income for the last taxyear of $12,000-$22,000 you should get atotal $290 tax credit, more if you have kidsor a spouse, less if you arc single with anet income outside this range. Youshould already have your first portion ofth is credit so for further info, call 1-800-668-2122 and ask .

Tidbits ...Do you know what the relationshipbetween testing for the purity of goldand the atomic bomb is? Do you knowwhat you ge t when you combine acarbon arc light, a billiard ballcoating, a spoked wheel andconsecutive images? If you answeredno to the either of the abovequestions, here's your chance to findout. Back by popular demand isCONNECTIONS a BBC/Time

Life film series. Ten weekly episodeswill trace the surprising, strange andincredible chains of circumstanceleading to today's familiartechnology. Be prepared for startlinginsights and provocative comments onthe relationship of the past to thepresent and on the interdependence ofmodern inventions, as narrator JamesBurke guides you through 19countries.Don't miss CONNECTIONS everyThursday from 11:30 to 12:30 untilJuly 11, in ELlOl.

Giving a li ttle bit of your time andenergy can make a di ffere nce th issummer . I f you are athleticallyinclined, you could be a K-W MinorSoccer coach . I f you are mo reenvironmentally conscious (and Jknow you enginee rs are ) , th eCanad ian Unified St u d e n tEnvironmen t Ne twork needs yourhelp to organize and run a GreenConference. If neither of those twoopportunities appeal to you , thereare a plethora of other choices fromworking with th e Ce ntre fo rHabilitation Edu cation and Researchto organizin g C anada Da ycelebra ions.So, what are you going to do? Formore information about how you canget involved call the Studen tVolunteer Centre at ext. 2051, or dropby their office at CC150A.

5) On page 3:7 of the Univer ityundergraduate calendar it states thai youmay requ st exempt tatus for the healthinsurance item on your fe statem nt.The idea here is that if you already havupplementary health in uran ecoverage, perhaps under our parents'employm nt agreement th n you do notneed to pay this fee. Exmption formsare available in the cashi r's office inNeedles Hall and a brochur des ribingthe supplementary coverage may beobtained at Needles Hall or at HealthServices. You must file an exemptionrequest form every term that you wish tobe considered for exempt status. If,however, you are paying the healthinsurance fee then please note that youcan make claims covered by this policyeven while on your workterm. If it is adesignated double workterm you will bemailed a card to extend the coverage forthe extra four months. The plastic cardyou have been issued is part of thepreliminary steps to the standardizationof a nation wide health insurancedatabase so that even if your workterm isin Calgary, you should have no problemverifying your coverage.After you've tried these suggestions, lookfor more lt is interesting (readdepressing) to note that while I receivedlots of feedback about my originalsuggestions, nobody seems to havegenerated any other ideas. Maybe that isbecause we're already at the skeleton ofthe fee statement. After all, this is notEurope; you do have to pay for theeducation. So try looking at it the otherway and make the best of youropportunities to learn.

40 Mod.', r.mous M.halSAVE Ouc(1 hom Iml)Orttl .Model, lot stu4lnlS. th o.rs, P t o t n . s i o ~ .. s . Shnd.ui0' EI,(lIonle , f m\ ,tudVII.eom. Home TI I,I . Hohnu... _ . . . ,11ftC.,.lor and Irnpoftet prjcu.L ;;;;-'''- - A C C O ~ D I O CDVOIlATlO"5535 IPX ,

CANADA DAY 1991Mitch Ponikvar and Ingo WeigeleOnce again the Engineering Society isorganizing the children's miniolympics for the University ofWaterloo Canada Day Celebrations.The university and the communityjointly organize Canada Day eventsfor the whole family. Havingparticipated in the 1989 festivi tiesboth of us thoroughly enjoyed theentirc day, which included livemusic, various entertainers, but mostof all ...running vents for the kids.As Canada Day directors for thissummer, we would like to encourageyou to get involved. We've got somcgreat ideas for games to play, but weare always looking for more goodsuggestions. So rack your brains, anddrop us a note in the Canada Day boxat the Orifice. Plan to be around thatweekend and come Qut, run an event,have a great time, and earn p ...Spoints. Stay tuned for more infoBuild thisbeautifulDome Homeby yourself

Enjoy super-low energy billsand house paymentsSave up '0 5 0 ~ on u."Il.es , and up 10 60% onbUlld'"g CO lts Beaulilul Moolerey Domes geodeSIChomes are extremely n e r g y ~ e r t i c i e n l , unbelievablystrong. earthquake resistant. and easy to assemble.Ne specisl tools or skills necessary . Our unique,patented bUildIng system makeshome cons'ructlona reality lor the nOYlce.Monre/8Y Oom , pie-cu t. color-cOded I/IeII jUICkagel start . 1$3995. Medel. up 10 It.Send lor our color Catalog . Plan Book - 90 'aclfilled pages of ftxcilm9. atfordablO home.s Sal es. ,"8"'"""." h,lIlabl.lcli _" ',Ill

01 ;ITALHUMANENGINEEREDINTERFACEAPPLICATIONS

These words and infinite othersmean a great deal to Relcon, a ma jo rsup plier of adj us ta ble speed drives toCanadian industry for over SO years.They're words that have enabled usto pionee r new developments in drivetec hnology and establ ish anenviab le reputation as a leaderin application engineer ing.

elconlit-Old Otfit l ' . Ilr,IInptnl1. Ontari O


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page 14 iron warrior

CH RIOT R CES

N

ENGINEERINGTR DITIONOR IS IT?

Get your pens ready forthe Short Story Contest

It s Hanover andit s payday every d yyou take n orderEarn extra money eveningsand weekends by shOWingHanover shoe values to Inends and ne 9hbors.Earn up to 5300 a month spare time by saVIngcustomers S 5 to 520 apair on alileather shoes.Hundreds of styles. sizes and colors. And Withyour IIrsl ten orders. you get a FREE PAIR OFSHOES OR BOOTS YOUR CHOICE. Pluscash-onthe-spot commissions that add up tothousands of extra dollars year1y FREE catalogand detads. Hlnovtr Shoe, Dept. 3105. Hanover PA 17331 .

On Friday May 10 1991, high schoolstudents in Classical Studies fromacross Ontario, met at Seagram sStadium for a good old fashionedchariot race. Our engineering chariotrace took place last Tuesday. Thewinners were the 3A Chem class (seebelow).

M8Y 17 1991


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99ay ron warrior page 5

P GE

BL NK


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page 16Faith and ReasonBy Bob KnetschWaterloo Christian FellowshipMany people think that a person whois a Christian goes by blind faith ,that she or he is either irrational, anout of touch fanatic, or unreasonable. Isit really unreasonable, however, tobelieve in a God? One who is involvedwith and cares for all matters in ourpresent society?Faith is being sure of something wehope for, something that any level headed person has. There is no one whodoes not have faith in something orsomeone, even faith in seeminglysimple things such as believing that afriend will do something if he or shesays that this something will be done.If one really thought about why he orshe is so sure that this friend could betrusted, there would probably be manygood arguments: this friend has neverlet anyone down before, or thissomething has been done countless timesbefore.If it was me, how could I be so sure myfriend could be trusted to do what isexpected? I may spend a whole daypreparing for a promised visit, forexample, all hinging upon him or heractually showing up, By no means isthis irrational behaviour, yet reallynot completely rational either. All ofmy expectations are based on one simpleassumption. It is simply not rational,but it IS reasonable.Though simplistic, this analogy showsthat we all have faith in a great manythings. Simple faith such as in therising of the sun after setting, to muchmore unsure things like flying safely toa Middle Eastern country.In the same way, faith for a Christianis also vcry reasonablc, though by nomeans fully rational. A Christian canuse his or her own mind to understandthe validity of Christianity fromhistorical, or scientific facts, and yetnothing can fully prove anything, Onemust reason in his or her own mind alldthrough life's experiences, whetherChristian or not, why one has faith inany type of belief. Faith is takinga stand in something, whileagnosticism is born out of not being ableto take a stand in anything: she or hedoes not know in what to have faith.As a Christian, r believe I am notunreasonable nor out of touch withreality. I have reasoned and taken astand to put my tr'Jst in a reality when.;God is present he;e, and now. Like a

-, friend we trust in who has never let usdown, so is He to me.

iron warrior

WEEFNews

This fall, Science and Optometrystudents at the University ofWaterloo will begin contributing $50each semester to the WaterlooScience Endowment Fund. Thecreation of this Fund was favored by84.4% of the student voters.

Spring ConvocationThis year's Faculty of EngineeringConvocation will take place on May25. Walter A. Bean will deliver theconvocation address. Bean, thefonner president and general managerof the fonner Waterloo Trust, will beawarded an honorary Doctor of Lawsdegree. Also in attendance will be

The WSEF will come into existence Dr. Norman Berkowitz, an eminentfour semesters after the Waterloo scientist specializing in coalEngineering Endowment Fund began. chemistry, who will recieve anDespite the WEF.F's short existence, honorary Doctor of Engineeringit has, with the help of the Alumni degree. Ernest Siddal, a professionaland the Faculty of Engineering, engineer known for his work in thebought 61 new 386 based computers field of safety management and riskfor the facuIty. . analysis related to large scaleThe WSEF will be administered by astudent controlled board of directors,whose aim will be to improve thelevel of u ndergradu a te scienceeducation .

technologies, will also recieve anhonorary Doctor of Engineerin g ,William A. Phang will recieve anhonorary Doctor of Engineering inrecognition of his work in pavementand road research.

May 11, 1991

UW Students WinBell Canada AwardsThree University of Waterloostudents have won this year's BellCanada Engineering and ComputerScience awards. David Confaloniereand Claire Tomlin, both in electricalengineering and Rene Gourley incomputer science are among 30undergraduates from Ontario andQuebec universities selected by Bellfor their academic achievements,demonstrated leadership qualitiesand significant contribution touniversity life.They will receive full tuition fromBeII for their final academic yearand an offer of summer or work termemployment with the comp,any.

Susan McKee, chair of the Vote YesC O J T l 1 i ~ t e e , felt that the acceptanceof the fee was a positive step, bysetting r- the Waterloo ScienceEndowment Fund, we are making aninvestment in our future ,

APEO Pres

The first honest-fo-goodnessfull color computer you can buyThe Associa hon of ProfessionalEngineers of Ontario (APEO) adopteda new president at their annualmeeting on April 19,1991. BarryHitchcock, P.Eng, assumed thepresidency of the 58 000 memberAssociation for a one year term.Mr. Hitchcock said that during histerm he will initiate a review of theAssociations admissions process. Healso indicated that issues surroundingwomen in engineering will continue tobe a priority for the APEO. Anotherconcern Mr. Hitchcock plans to tacklewill be to clarify the responsibilityof engineers to help solveenvironmental and social probl ems.

for only $299-95William Shatner

= commodo re

- . . . . . - - - -_ _ - 't 0- - 'h. .;I f'___ _ llr\ _. : ... _ - ' , - , ..... _', _ ; ..J,'':. .:...-. '

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May 17, 1991 iron warrior page 17

Coop Is What You Make Of Itby Rasmus Lerdorf

Many negative things have been saidabout coordinators, coop jobs, and theentire coop system in general. Thecurrent recession has not helped thesituation either. Perhaps we are allguilty of trying to project out(owndeficiencies onto a coop system whichover the years has gained muchrespect and recognition across thecountry. Coop is what you make of itI have been stuck without a job in thepast and forced to go through secondrounds. The jobs I received interviewsfor were not even close to the kind ofjob I was looking for. Howeve r, witha little bit of legwork I found myselfa job with a small Toronto-basedcompany that had never hired a coopbefore. People may argue that thelegwork I did was exactly what thepeople in coop should have beendoing for me. But, can they? Nobodycan present you better than yourself.One aspect of the coop system Icertainly don't like is how it appearsto be a separate entity in theuniversity. Students go to coop andsay, "Hey, find me a job". Then thestudent goes away fully expectingcoop to find them the perfect job. Abetter approach would be if thestudent went to coop and said, "Let'sfind me a job". If a more personalrelationship existed between coopand the students coop is trying toserve the entire process mightimprove. For instance, the small

- ~ ' t ' e ' ~ " " e I " " ' ' I N I ' .....ooI jfEMltRd a job withshould have been contacted by coopand asked i f they might be interestedin getting more coops. I am sure I amnot the only student who knows ofcompanies that might take a studentor two if they were pushed a bit.I had intended to get some solidstatistics on the Universily ofVictoria coop program. However, theU Vic coop program director, BarryBrooks, was not very co-operative atall. As soon as he heard I was fromWaterloo he clammed up. In talkingto a couple of U Vic engineeringstudents I found that they had lostall their BNR, IBM and NovAtelplacements for the summer term dueto the recession. These are three ofthe largest employers of U Vic coops.So, it does sound like coop programsacross the country are going throughhard times at the moment.What do we do to improve thesituation? I don't think there is a lotwe can do. We will have to wait itout along with the rest of the country.One thing we could try would be tostop complaining about the rotten jobwe think coop is doing and help themout instead. The responsibility offinding a job for you should not beplaced solely on the shoulders ofcoop. Get off your butt and go findyourself a job. Start now. Send outyour own resumes. In tum, coop shouldallow a student to get out ofinterviews if a job is found withoutcoop's help. As far as I have heard,coop is doing just that this term.

They will give the job you find a coopjob number and then enter a 1-1ranking into the computer. With abit of change on both sides, I think wecan keep the coop program runningsmoothly even through economictimes such as these.Most of the above probably soundslike common sense to everyone. Thenwhy all the bitching andcomplaining? I find in general thatthere is a lack of initiative and driveexhibited by Waterloo coops. I haveheard countless students complainabout getting bad coop jobs. I don'tbelieve in bad coop jobs, only bad coopstudents. Any coop job, no matter howsilly, can be turned into a useful andprobably even interesting workterm.Even if the job you have been given ismonotonous and you have no way ofgetting out of it, the company stillhas resources. Use them. Work 8hours a day for the company and 8hours for you. Instead of going homeand watching TV, get access to thecompany labs. Play around with theequipment. Figure out how it works.Build something. Learn Chances arethe company you work for willrealize that you could probablyhandle a more complex project andmore often than not you can pickwhatever interests you and beallowed to work on that.Your workterms are the only time inyour life where ;rou can bounce aroundand be exposet: to many differentprofessional environ.'1ents. You haveto milk every company you see forevery bit o f experience you Gill. f-oonyon wi:i find thClt y O ~ J r coop jobs areimproving 3nd you may even haveenotlgh experience within a certainfield to start a company and hireyourself. If you make proper use ofresources at your workterm jobs youcan form a"",s,


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page 18 Iron WarriorGAGraduation PresentFrom FordS7S0 off on the purchase \or lease of a new Fordor Mercury vehicle. -If you graduatebetween April 1. 1990and December 31. 1991 you probably qualify fora Ford Graduate Rebate Certificate.P U ~ you can add your graduate rebate to anyother retail offers advertised by Ford to thegeneral public at the time of purchase for evenmore savings.For more information come in and see us. As avalued customer, we 'll give you our best deal.(519)576-7000Weilan,g.nU Sales Ltd .

ENVIRO SCUNTS U M M R 91

Can't find itDuke finally won the NCAAbasketball tournament. John Waynewon his Oscar. Will Chemadiansfinally win the Scunt this year? Orwill some frosh class surpriseeveryone? Will Psychosys or Enorgybe the first class to repeat as Scuntchampions or has Math's timefinally arrived?Get lots of sleep this week, becauseEnviroScunt '91 starts Friday, May24. Organize your team now. Startdigging up your old SmothersBrothers albums and your oldbowling trophies. After all theseyears you've been waiting, theymight finally be worth something.The Scunt is taking on anenvironmentally conscious theme thisterm.Registration for the Scunt is onThursday, May 16 between 1:30 and

3:30 in the Orifice. if you happen tomiss that date, leave a note in theScrewdriver mailbox, or contact one ofus. You are required to bring thefollowing items to registration : $60 incash, 2 lOa-minute high qualitycassette tapes (you will get themback), and at least one item of food tobe collected for a food drive. The fooditem should be one of the following:

.. Peanut butter

.. Kraft dinner

.. Pork & beans

.. Tinned fishA stunt is not requiredScunt this term.

to enter the

Some people have been asking aboutthe location of the road trips . We cannot reveal that information at thisjuncture. It wouldn't be prudent. Wecan, however tell you that one of theevents will start on Wednesday.This term's Scunt will be bigger andbetter than ever, so don't miss it. Getyour team together now.rJJJJJ

Engineering Jacketsll Gold LeatherEng ineeri ng Cres t on Fron t

"Waterloo Eng ine

Documents

Iron Warrior: Volume 12, Issue 6