Surprising Situation

This past Tuesday while I was at work at the Info Desk, I overheard an argument between two strangers. The male was extremely rude, sexist and demeaning towards the woman; I found out afterwards that it was all because of her clothing.

I didn’t know what to do in this situation; I had never encountered anything close to this before and found it unfathomable. To me it didn’t seem real; I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that this male thought so little of women and truly believed we were lesser beings.

I was relieved when the confrontation ended and even more relieved when I heard from a member of the board of directors that the male would face being kicked out of school for harassment. The Respect campaign adheres to Conestoga’s student code of conduct, many actions are deemed as prohibited conduct, this includes verbal abuse and harassment.

While I am unsure if being kicked out of Conestoga is too steep of a punishment, I hope that the male is punished severely enough that he changes his ways.

Venn-erific

One day while aimlessly looking around the internet, I found a site dedicated to funny graphs and venn diagrams. Each weekday morning the author posts a fun diagram explaining little pieces of life. Sometimes she tries to understand love, or the way friendships work, but the majority of the time she shows diagrams of random things that recently affected her. Here are some of my favourites.

http://thisisindexed.com/

Haiti Help

In times of hardship everyone tries to do their part to help with relief efforts. When Haiti was hit by a 7.0 M earthquake and over 50 subsequent earthquakes three million people were affected. To help deal with the medical needs and money necessary to re-build Haiti, Leif Steiner of Moxie Sozo and Josh Higgins, organizer of the So-Cal Fire Poster Project, are organizing a poster sale.

Designers are asked to create and print posters, then send them off to the cause. Everyone is welcome to produce posters for the cause, and since it is not a juried show everyone’s poster will be included in the project. The goal is to display a beautiful cross section of posters from famous and not so famous designers. All proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders, they are currently working in Haiti and urging other emergency medical teams to continue helping as well.

This is an example of one of the countless ways designers have used their talents to give back to people in need. While they may not be in the fields helping people affected by tragedy, organizing fundraising efforts such as these helps to provide the financial assistance that is desperately needed.

Winter Wonders

Over the Family Day long weekend I took a trip to visit a couple of my high school friends in Ottawa. As it turns out, it was one of the three weekends of the Winterlude festival.

On our first afternoon we visited the festival to see what it had to offer. Upon arrival the festive atmosphere was amazing; everyone was excited and happy to be there. The first area we went to had an interactive Native dance. Leaders were dressed in intricate Native clothing, and invited the audience to join in. After the dance was finished we toured around and looked at all of the different sculptures.

The ice sculptures surprised me in a way, while sculptures traditionally depict mythical creatures, this year’s offered a modern twist. Instead of a sea monster, one contestant sculpted a Transformer. I found it funny that in a way, Transformers are mythical creatures too. It is interesting to see how different people interpret the same task. This happens in school all the time, while we are all given the same design brief/project sheet, we all come up with different solutions.

On our second afternoon we visited The National Gallery of Canada. After being greeted by Louise Bourgeois’ sculpture “Maman”, we entered the gallery. Without any knowledge of the different exhibits on display, it was suggested that we visit the Hoffos exhibit on its last day. I was blown away by David Hoffos’ work; he incorporates dioramas with video holograms. As we peeked through each window a different world was on display; the detail and thought put into each piece showed Hoffos’ dedication to his work.

While Hoffos was the highlight of my visit I also enjoyed many of the installation pieces on display. Some of my favourites include: a four foot metal sculpture made of fine metal chains and clear beads, two sculptures covered completely in dice and a piece depicting a photo that changed size depending on your distance due to magnifying lenses.

After a great weekend in Ottawa, it makes me wonder if there is more to discover in the Kitchener/Waterloo area. While the attractions may not be as impressive, they would certainly offer something new to discover.

Plants on the Roof?

Woodstock, my hometown, has an abundance of green space, I love having three parks in walking distance. While I was home I went on a walk with my parents and passed a house with a green roof. I realized that plants can be used in so many different ways to benefit the environment.

According to studies in the USA green roofs can effectively sequester carbon from the atmosphere. If a city the size of Detroit had green roofs, 55,000 tonnes of carbon could be captured; this is the equivalent of taking 10,000 mid-sized SUVS off the road. Green roofs also help to reduce energy consumption, it has been found that die heat flow is reduced 70-90% in the summer and 10-30% in the winter. Another advantage of green roofs is the reduction of storm water runoff, this helps to cut down the load on city sewers.

Overall, once the initial cost of the roof is paid for, the benefits are huge. Not only does the homeowner save on heating bills, the atmosphere is improved. The air is cleaner for you and your entire community.

Horoscope Hilarity

On campus there are a few newspapers offered for free. Each morning a stack of The Record is dropped off. The school’s newspaper, Spoke, is kept around the school all week. After I read through the headlines and any of the articles that catch my attention, I head to the entertainment section. While horoscopes can be cheesy at best, Spoke takes it to the next level. They offer the most outrageous horoscopes I have ever seen. This past week I was warned that I would get in an argument with an eight-year-old on the subject of Transformers. Entirely likely! After being encouraged to stay calm if such an incident occurs, I moved on to read the other comical predictions.

I love that instead of trying to create realistic horoscopes, the author accepted their lack of knowledge in the field of astrology. This acceptance allowed them to amuse readers, and in a way, poke fun at the inaccuracy and vagueness of traditional horoscopes. Accepting a lack of knowledge in certain situations can allow for creativity to blossom and for many things to be learned. Being open to learning and trying new things can have surprising results.

Program Popularity

Each time I tell somewhat what program I am in at Conestoga, they want to know what I will do in the future. I struggle to give a description that encompasses all of the possibilities, I could work for a magazine, or design packaging, or direct mail, there are so many different avenues I could go into. Each time I leave feeling like I didn’t do my program justice, that I didn’t accurately describe what I will likely be doing.

After being a speaker at a student leadership event, I realized the reason people want to know what I will be doing is because they are fascinated by design. Good design sells, and they are the ones buying it. The other reason people are interested is that everyone wants to or knows someone who wants to become a designer. At Conestoga it can be a nerve wracking experience, first you apply to Conestoga and if you have high enough grades get a letter sent to you with three date options for your interview. After preparing a portfolio, you head to Conestoga dressed in your Sunday best. Current students introduce you to the program, then send you in for an interview with the Professors.

This process may seem time consuming, and it is, but it helps prepare you for what is to come. Becoming a designer is more than a job. It eats up so much of your time and changes your perspective on so many things. Finding a balance between school and life can be difficult, projects pile up and it seems like it is never ending. However, when people show an interest in what I am doing, and what the future could hold, it makes it seem worthwhile. The interest people have shown in what I do has inspired me to continue trying my best, and working towards becoming the best designer I can be.

Don't Do It!

With such an important decision being made today, I figured it was about time I talk about the potential College Strike. Bargaining began in June of last year; both sides met throughout the summer then took September off as a recess. In October and November bargaining continued without success. Mid December a date was chosen for the province wide academic strike vote. Before the holidays the parties tried to resolve the issue, but were still unable to reach an agreement. On January 13th 57.03% of Ontario’s full-time academic staff voted in favour of a strike mandate and gave the union the ability to pull them off the job if negotiations didn’t progress in their favour. Parties met once again from January 19th to 21st, little progress was made and a four day recess gave both sides time to think. On January 28th OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) were given the college’s final offer, according to the Mediator, OPSEU will notify colleges today of their decision.

I’ve been trying to ignore the entire situation in hopes that it would all be resolved without disrupting my studies. Unfortunately, things are not looking as good as I had hoped. After much bargaining it seems that very little progress has been made and that OPSEU wants a strike.

If there is a short strike, things will most likely be fine and we will be able to finish our semester with minor disruption. Should the strike last long enough to cost us our semester, I am very unsure of what my program will do. Each of the three main teachers teach one year, part time teachers teach us specific courses and work within the various years. If we have to re-take second semester next year, we will be unable to accommodate any new students as each teacher would be busy with their current class. If this happens an entire year will be spent trying to reverse the damage, not a pretty picture. Here’s hoping tomorrows news is in favour of the students wishes.

collegestrike.com