Tuesday, September 2, 1997 The Magazine of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society Volume 21 Issue 11

Frosh Week Organizers ........... 3

WEEF .................... .. ... 4
Computing Services ............. 6-7
CFES .......................... 7
ESSCO . .. ......... .. ...... . ... 8
Eng Soc Exec ................ 12-14
Class Rep Advisors ............. 15
Frosh Week Schedule .... ... back page
u . light a candle of understanding in thine heart, which shall not be put out." -Apocryphea
--- --- - - - - - -
2 The Iron Warrior
Welcome to the Family
H
i, I'm Michael Hermann, the
Editor in Chief for this very
special issue of the Iron
Warrior. We've dedicated it entirely to the
Frosh of 1997, and I hope you enjoy it. In
this issue you'll find important words from
the Presidents of the Engineering Societies
the Super-Huges, HEADCOM, and
many others. And of course you'll also
hear from me. Since this is my project, I
get to put my own personal touches on it,
though they' ll be few. And the biggest one
is right here.
So, what do I say to the newest batch
of engineering students at UW? Well, the
obvious thing to start with is welcome.
Welcome to the University of Waterloo,
(usually just called UW). Welcome to
Engineering. Welcome to whatever pro-
gram you're in, be it Chemical, Civil,
Computers, Electrical, Environmental,
Geological, Mechanical , or Systems
Design. Welcome to the Engineering
Society, more affectionately called
EngSoc. Above all else though, welcome
to the Family. I don't say that lightly, and
I understand that not everybody will agree
with that last statement. I say welcome to
the Family because in my relatively short
time here I've come to feel as accepted,
encouraged, supported, and appreciated as
much as in my traditional family. Surely
not everybody's experiences will have
Letter from
the Editor
by Mike Hermann
2B Systems
been as positive as mine, but I hope and
believe that many others have great mem-
ories like mine, and that they will also wel-
come you to the UW Engineering Family.
I suppose I'll say a little bit about
Frosh Week. But just a little because you
are about to become as immersed in this
extended event as you want, and you can
only experience being a Frosh, since
words just aren't enough. This is what I
will say: Frosh Week will be fun. Accept
it, enjoy it to the extent you want, but
remember, make the most of it, si nce you
will never have a better opportunity to
bond with your schoolmates. These peo-
ple will be your greatest friends, your
strongest support, and your extended fam-
il y. Together you will accomplish many
things, and sacrifice just as much. Make
the most of this great opportunity.
Now that I've gotten incredibly melo-
dramatic on two subjects, I better do some-
thing quick to change the pace. Okay,
Proof you C(m scali (I face
three people walk into a bar. One's an
engineer, one's an artsie, and one's a math-
ie ... .. .
Okay, maybe I better not. But that's
ok, it's a bad joke anyway. I really don't
have too much else to say, other than to
plug something else I am involved in. The
Engineering Society, of which every
undergraduate Engineering Student is a
member, is built on the involvement of the
students, and that starts with the class reps.
These people are energetic leaders, who
are willing to take a risk and reach beyond
just the regular classes and labs. I'm look-
ing for a few good men and women to take
on this challenge of being a class rep, since
it is also my job as one of the Class Rep
Advisors to help you along. On page 15
you'll find more details on this topic.
One last thing: Many thank as always
to my outstanding staff and all the contrib-
utors. This had been a tough issue, but it
was worth it.
Mike
"Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven. "
-Wordsworth
Fros" Week '94
The "Welcome to the Family" Issue
Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997

The Newspaper of the University of
Waterloo Engineering Society
Editor - in - Chief
Michael Hermann
Staff
Cory Amundrud
Bill Gray
Alex Matan
Caroline Page
Copy Editor
Carrie Warner
Contributors
Andre Brisson
Professor Beth Jewkes
Paul Cesana
Ryan Chen-Wing
Sarah Davies
John Faber
Melanie Hammond
Vladimir Joanovic
Sanjay Kulkarni
Dustin Kersey
Alex Matan
Kei th Parker
Lucy Pe oraro
Mark Popik
Nina Sodhi
Doron Solomon
Professor Gordon Stubley
IGrn Whitear
Tbe Iron Warrior is a forum for thought provoking
and infonnalive articles by the Engineering
Society. Views expressed in The [ron Warrior are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the Engineering Society.
The Iron Warrior encourages submission from stu
dents, facuity and member> of the university commu
nity. Submissions should reflect the concerns and
intellectual "andards of the university in general. The
author's name and phone number should be included.
All submissions, unless otherwise stated, become the
property of The Iron Warrior, which reserves the
right to refuse publication of material which it deems
unsuitable. The Iron Warrior also reserves the right
to edit grammar, spelling and text that do not meet
university standards. Authors will be notified of any
major changes that may be required.
Mail should be addressed to The Iron Warrior,
Engineering SOCiety, CPH 1327, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G I. Our phone
number is (51.9) 888-4567 x2693. Our fax number is
(5 19) 725-4872. Email can be sent to
ilVarrior@wedge.wGJstar.uwaterloo,ca
The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997 News & Information 3
Welcome to Frosh Week '97
H
ello! Welcome to Fro h
Week. My name i Melanie
and I will be one of your
Superhuges for the week. You made a
great choice coming to Waterloo for
Engineering, and we are here to make
sure that you ha e a good time. We have
so many things planned for the week, and
I hope that everyone makes it out for
everything. Some of the events that you
hould definitely come to are: Scunt, Meet
the TOOL, POETS Patio Ba h, Toga, and
Comedy Night. On the down side you are
required to be at your two exams during
the week, the ELPE and CSME diagnostic
exams Good Luck with tho e, l'm ure
you will all do fine!
At any point through out the week if
you feel lost and don't know where you
should be, stop by POETS in Carl Pollock
Hall and there will be a schedule up of the
week's events and where they are taking
place. If you have any questions during
the week or you want just or you ju t want
someone to chat with go to one of your
Bigs, or Huges. That's what we are here
for. Have a great time this week, because
after all it is your week!
When you see me around please come
up and day hello and Jet me know how you
are enjoying the week so far.
Special Thank you's to:
Mark Popik and Ryan Chen-Wing for
being great guys to work with.
Carrie Junker for organizing the leader
Co-SuperHuge I
Mt!lanie Hammond
38 Chemicul
retreat and for your countIes hours of
help!
All of the peaker at the retreat.
Heather Stewart for doing all of the T- hirt
design.
Susan Robert and Heather Stewart for
organizing Scunt.
Mike Hermann for putting together thi
issue of the IW.
Nancy Baggio for being the all knowing
Superhuge from Frosh Week '96;
thank you for all of the answers.
Nina Sodhi for putting together the Frosh
Week web page.
Vlad Joanovic and Nina for collecting
application forms.
Douf for doing the Handbook.
All the Frosh Leaders for their time and
help.
Roger Miller for bringing us great novel-
ties.
Andre Brisson for all you help and being
such a great friend!
HEADCOM Speaks
W
e are the HEAD's of the
EDucation COMmittee.
The first day you are on
campus the EDucation COMmittee will
greet you and treat you to a week of fun
and many activities. The EDucation
COMmittee will aid your integration
into university by introducing you to
your engineering peers and to
Engineering Society traditions.
The EDucation COMmittee will be
with you all times and will be easily dis-
tinguishable in the crowd. The
COMmittee is there for you. We make
sure you have a good ttme and jf you're
not, let us know and we will work with the
engineering students to make your first
week at Waterloo a memorable one.
On behalf of the EDucation
COMmittee welcome to the University of
Waterloo Engineering. We are glad to
have you.
The EDucation COMmittee has a cou-
ple of things to ask of you. Promise us to
Co-HEADCOM
Alldre Brisso/l
Mark Popik
38 Civil
have a good time, do the thing you want
to do, and if you have any problem let the
EDucation COMmittee know. We are here
to guarantee that.
One of the Orientation traditions that
has been with us for many years is the yel-
low hard hat. All new students to
Waterloo Engineering earn and receive
their hard hat. This hard hat. This hard hat
symbolizes the hard work, endurance, and
hardships of our future profession. This
hard hat of yours will be a new part of you,
an extension of you. This hard hat will be
yours. Wear it with pride.
C
OW,lgOOba! I'm reall) glad to
sec you h're. Wei 'ome to th
Cni\ er. it) of Waterloo
Engin ering Faculty where I kno\\ }' Old I
ad\'an 'C through a tine education and
I hope you' II ha\ e a very fine tim'.
Orientation week gains import ance as
being a week of transition . This. the
b ginning of your po. t-se ondary cdu a-
tion, is a time of great chang' and it c"isL
to help YOll with tho e changes. ou
make your way through thi . week and
through the next five years I hope you'll
remember a few things: tr to gain a .ense
of the community we have here at UW,
seek to ensure your own health and. afety,
and avoid endangering the well bing of
others, and keep in mind that your purpose
for being here is for education both in and
out of the cla room.
We have a great group of people here
and now you are a part of that group. It is
everybody's job to get to know each other.
One of the best thing about Orientation
Week is that it allows people to make new
friends. You might find that in the next few
months you encounter some problems
with school, life or something else. It's
important to have people around to help
you.
Orientation Week can be overwhelm-
ing and seem somewhat chaotic and,
though we try to avoid it, something might
motivate you to do things that could hurt
you. All your Frosh Leaders are here to
prevent you from being harmed but the
person who can most effectively do that is
you. Now that you are away from home,
maybe for the first time you have to take
Co-SuperHuge
/?Wlf/ <'IIl'11-
3B f'./ecliulI;('.ti
more responsibility for your own health
and safety and help your friend. to do the
sam . It is comnhlll to get stressed and
tired too mu h or maybe mak\; hurtful
choi es,
Don't let school get in the way of your
education and dOll't forget that chool j a
part of your education. School is the rea-
son for being here but if all your time is
focused on school then it is not time well
pent. It takes more than book smart to
succeed so pursue interest out ide of clas.
with EngSoc, clubs, or other organiza-
tions. You must have a balance of chool,
extra curricular and maybe a few ocial
activities to gain a strong education and
lead a full univer ity life.
This week will help you with many
social aspects and al 0 some parts of
school. At the end of the week make ure
to look at our priori lies and r member to
keep a balance.
Well kid , thank-you for reading. I can
assure you that I am more interesting in
person 0 come talk to me. Read the
important things that Melanie has written
too. 1 think we'll all get to be good friends
here at UW and that makes me happy.
Cowagooba!
4 Internal Information The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997
What's a WEEF?
Waterloo Engineering Endowment Fund:
Contributing to your education
B
y now you have
probably looked at
your fee statement \J
and have seen a $75 fee under
the line of "Student Endowment
Fund". You may be wondering
what this is for. This money '--:==-'
goes towards the Waterloo
Engineering Endowment Fund
(WEE F) which .is an endow-
ment fund managed completely by stu- reps. The WEEF reps review
dents. these with their class and come
Monies collected through the
Voluntary Student Contribution (the
Student Endowment Fund line on your fee
statement) are deposited into the principal
of the fund. This principal, presently at
$2.5 million, is then invested into a portfo-
lio of stocks, bonds and T-bills. The inter-
est from these investments is used to
purchase equipment for undergraduate
engineering. The yield last year was
around 15% or about $330,000.
WEEF is governed by a set of bylaws
and its constitution. These contain the
rules by which WEEF operates, and how it
spends money. Each term, a portion of the
money is distribuled to successful propos-
als. The main governing body of WEEF is
the Funding Council which consists of
representatives to WEEF from each class.
This is an extremely important position as
these people will decide how tens of thou-
sands of dollars will be divided up
between approximately a quarter of a mil-
lion dollars worth of proposals. There is
also a Board of Directors that administers
the affairs of the foundation.
Near the beginning of each term the
WEEF director will solicit for proposals.
Announcements will typically be made by
the WEEF reps to their classes. Anyone
can make a proposal: students, faculty, stu-
dent project leaders, etc. To make a pro-
posal one must simply fill out a proposal
form, and submit it. In the recent past this
has been done completely electronically.
Each term may have a different process, so
it is important to talk to your WEEP rep,
and to read the WEEF director's report in
each Iron Warrior issue to find out what is
happening this term.
Once all proposals are received they
are reviewed by the WEEF director to
ensure that they fall under the mandate of
WEEF. The only proposals that are not
accepted are ones that do no benefit under-
graduate engineering education at
Waterloo, ones that should be financed
through other means (professorsfT.A.s
wages, renovations to any buildings,
etc .... ). and maintenance costs (eg. annual
renewal fee for a software program).
Following this, a proposals booklet is
compiled, and distributed to all the WEEF
up with questions regarding
specific proposals. A presenta-
tion meeting is held where peo-
ple that submitted proposals
present their idea, and an oppor-
tunity is given for questions and
answers. Following this, any
outstanding information is com-
piled for the funding meeting
held approximately 1 week fol-
lowing the presentations. At
this meeting a funding decision
is generated, and approved by
Funding Council. The Board of
Directors then approves this
decision at its next meeting.
In the past many different
projects have been funded. The
following is a list that is by no
means exhaustive:
-Watstar upgrades (by far the
most extensive undergrad
computer network in
the country)
-Departmental specific equip-
ment (all departments have
benefitted)
-Midnight Sun, Concrete
Toboggan. Formula SAE,
CASI Freeflight Glider and
many other student pro-
jects ....
The total amount of projects
funded amount to $870,000
since it's inception in 1990.
This represents a significant
portion of the new equipment
within engineering, and also
provides a critical source of
funding for several engineering
student projects, two things that
have kept Waterloo the number
one engineering school in
Canada.
Thank you for your contri-
butions to WEEF. Every
Waterloo Student past, present
and future, benefits from your
generous gift that keeps on giv-
ing.
Keith and Paul
WEEF Director
"8" Society
Keith Parker
28 Systems
Weavers
Arms
Restaurant & Pub
c:> ., c::I &::ay
Cheap Draft
CheapWmgs
Eucre Night

Cheap Bottles
CheapWmgs
Movies
Pool League
VVednesday
Dropin
Jam Session
$3tugers

Shooter Nightll
WEEF Director
Society
Paul Cesalla
48 Electrical
,
I
Thursday
Roast Beef
Buffet
11:30 -2 pm
Live Entertainment
9pm
Opm MaD, TIle, 11m l1:301m 10 I_lad Wed, Fri, SIt l1:301m to 2am
LoaI&ed in W.C.R.L s..--,. CoD", 268 PbiIIip St. WatBIoo
The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997 Opinion
When I was a Frosh

Reflecting on Frosh Week '96
BY CAROLINE PAGE
2A Environmental-Chemical
I
turned onto Ring Road, my mother
in the driver' , eat. I waited in a
line of car for hour ju t to get to
Village, where I wa allowed to wait in
line some more to pick up my key, my
phone, my Watcard ....
I waited in line to pay my fees, to buy
my books, and to get my first res meal.
Then frosh week started and I NEVER
HAD TO WAIT IN A LINE AGAIN.
In a perfect world, maybe. But a per-
fect world thi i not. And ye , you will
face ju t a many lineups thi week as you
did on the first day (get used to it though,
because you'll find that lineups, particu-
larly administrative lineups, are an integral
part of the University of Waterloo experi-
ence).
Don't get me wrong, because frash
week can be a lot of fun. There are a lot of
things being offered, and there are a lot of
people who are there to make your first
week more interesting. From Scunt to the
Toga, from Enginuity to the Chariot Race;
there are events for everyone. Some of the
events, su<;b as the presentation of Single
and Sexy, mlly seem' a little eheesy, but
they are well worth showing up for. Good
or bad, and despite what you may have
heard, every event is not ju t a drinkfest,
either. If you want to drink, drink: if you
don't, then don't. It's as !>imple as that.
Sorry for the eli he, but the event are all
what you make of them, If you go into
omething thinking that it going to . uck
then it will. If you keep an open mind
about things, you're much mar" likel to
have a bla t.
More than anything el e, frosh week i.
a chance for you to meet people: your soon
to be classmate . . ome of your profe or.,
and upper year student. When I walked
into class the first day, I had met at least a
third of the people in the room during
fro h week. That was an incredible feel-
ing. People at home had warned me that it
would be weeks before I really met any of
my classmate, so it wa comforting for
me to know that I had already made orne
friends. I also met some upper year stu-
dents who were more than happy to
answer all of my stupid questions without
making me feel stupid. Here's a hint:
upper year students are a great source for
old textbooks and assignments.
I'm not going to caution you against
participation in certain events, but I will
leave you with this one warning: Don't
force yourself to take part in everything,
really etlSy
is something you don't need to do before '
even starting school. It i n't worth it to
kip the whole thing either. Just take it
easy. Although
your frosh
leaders want
you to attend
everything,
they realize
that it i n't
always po si-
ble. So take u
good look at
your schedule.
and decide
what events
you really wan I
to attend.
Don', miss out
on stuff you
want to do just
because your
friends aren't
going. and
don't let your-
self get forced
into anythi ng.
Just have fun,
and be your-
self. l'll see
you out there.
Caroline
6 News & Information The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997
ESSCO - Engineering Students Societies
Council of Ontario
Exposing Ontario's Engineering Students
F
roSh Intro: Please allow me to
be the (insert number here) per-
son to welcome you to the fLrst
day of your four, five or six year quest for
the Iron Ring. My name is Dustin Kersey
and this year I am the President of ESSeO.
Now [ know what's going through that
frosh-like head of yours: What the heck is
ESSeO and when will my head quit look-
ing so frosh like? .. Well let me tell
you .. . ESSeO is an organization set up, run
by, and directed by engineering tudents
for engineering students. Each engineering
ociety at the thirteen universities that
offer engineering in Ontario has a seat on
our council.
Upper Year Intro: Welcome back to
another year of stress, friction and strain.
Don't worry it will all be worth it once you
get that ring on your finger. My name is
Dustin Ker ey and this year ) am the
President of ESSeO. Hopefully you've
heard the word ESSeO floating around
your school and within your engineering
society. Tf not you might as well read the
Frosh Intro.
Throughout your univer ity career you
will discover that there is more to engi-
neering than homework, studyi ng, cram-
ming, passing, and failing. There are
issues affecting your education, university
life, and extracurricular activities. You will
realize that you have entered a faculty
where you have a lot of friendly competi-
tion with other engineers throughout
Ontario. Competition between students
enrolled in these places of so called higher
learning is fun, exciting and sometimes
messy. ESSeO provides an umbrella
under which all Ontario engineering stu-
dents can come together, pool our
resources and help each engineering facul-
ty become stronger (and also to compete
with a greater evil. .. engineering students
from outside Ontario).
While you are an engineering student
you will have opportunities to meet, con-
verse and compete with many engineering
students and share with them your com-
mon interests and experiences (frosh
week). Ask your engineering council about
all of the conferences and competitions
you can attend or help organize. Topics
covered at the e functions range from aca-
demics to frosh week events to women'
issues and everything in between. In addi-
tion you get to visit other universities and
be treated with the same type of enthu i-
asm and gusto you would endow upon a
fellow engineer visiting your university
for the fH'St time (insert evil laugh here).
If you are interested in finding out
more about ESSeO, our events, and engi-
neers at other universities here are ome
helpful hints:
Subscribe to the ESSCO LINK:
I know, I know, What's the ESSeO
LINK? Okay if you have e-mail (which
you should at university) you can send a
letter to the link and the letter will be for-
warded to everyone who has signed up.
The link is used to discuss any matters
engineering students are concerned about.
The great thing is that you can get differ-
ENGINEERING STUDENT SOCIETIES
ent opinions from alJ across the
province and find out every side of the
story. It's also a great way to
exchange ideas with other engineering
students since every engineering soci-
ety in Ontario is on it.
Here is what to do to sign up: send
an e-mail to listserv@listserv.uot-
tawa.ca with the words SUB ESSCO-
L in the body, and nothing in the
subject. Makes sure you send this from
the e-mail account you want to receive the
messages at. Once you've joined don't be
afraid to jump in and give your two cents
worth.
Visit our Web Page:
Ju t surf on over to get all the informa-
tion your dying to know about ESSeO.
We've got contact names for engi neering
societies at other schools, competition and
conference information, contest and the
latest information on projects .we are cur-
rently working on. The URL is
http://www.essco.on.ca!
E-mail ESSCO
Any que tions or comments you have
ESSCO President
Dustin Kersey
Universiry of Western
Ontario
for the executive can be e-mailed to u .
You'll find all our addresses on the
ESSeO website at http://www.essco.on.ca
lessco_executive.hlmf
Talk to the Engineering Society at your
University:
The people on your engineering soci-
ety will have lots of information on con-
ferences, competitions and other event
you can get involved in.
That's about all for now. Watch for
articles from ESSeO in your engineering
publications and keep your eyes open for
conference dates and the ESSeO
Olympic. You don't want to mi ss out on
the fun!!
The ESSCO Mission Statement
The Engineering Student Societies Council of Ontario's mission is to promote unity
and continuity among Ontario Engineering schools and increase the entire orga-
njzation's visibility within the engineering profession.
Esseo shall take a professional and pro-active role in dealing with cun'ent social
and political issues affecting member ocietie and their students.
Esseo will consider the position of government and the professional, academic and
student sectors of Ontario engineering when confronting these issues.
ESseo is responsible for ensuring that the opinions of it members are represented
in a clear and professional manner to the organization and outside bodies.
Esseo will serve to promote engineering as an exciting, challenging and equitable
profes ion to all outside bodies, with an emphasis on elementary and high school
students.
Frosh Wuk '96
Frosh n ~ k '95
The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997 Opinions 7
Reach out and do something
Engineering is more than textbooks and exams
S
ports, social ~ v ~ t , club '. tour-
nament, OCletJes, commJttees,
meeting , pub night , road trips,
residence activities .... where do you draw
the line? Is extra curricular involvement
different in University? - Yes. Does that
mean you should drop everything, lock
yourself in your room and study for hours
on end? - Definitely NOT!
the torie about Univer ity life a an engi-
neering student, I wa convinced that life
as I knew it wa over! I figured that the
answer to urviving first year wa to con-
centrate on one thing and one thing only -
school. Boy, was I wrong!
After much deliberation, I have come
up with a theory. I think it's practical and
works for all types of tudent regard Ie s
of their background, but ultimately it's up
to you to decide. It' all based around the
fact that there are only so many hours in a
day that a person can study. Sure, studying
can range from inten e problem olving to
light review, but
your brain i capabl of handling on a reg-
ular ba is. This means that the reo t of the
time can either be spent con tructively
doing , omething you enjoy ...... OR. hang-
ing around v ith other procrastinators and
trying to trick yourself into thinking
you're doing work.
It finally hit me in the middle of
September that I didn't exa tly love my
student lifestyle to date. I mis ed all the
tuff I u ed to do in high chool and decid-
ed that enough is enough. I quickly
bounced back to my u ual elf, playing a
few sport. joining orne clubs and getting
more involved. First
There seems to be a myth out there that
as soon as you venture into the wonderful
world of engineering at Waterloo
(ahem .. . ) you are forced to drop all social,
n'on-school related activities and banish
the word "fun" from your vocabulary!
Wrong, wrong, WRONG! With everything
being a little overwhelming in first year,
you do have to spend some time figuring
out what time-management strategy is best
for you, but the last thing you want to do is
give up your interests and activities. Too
much studying and nothing else is a recipe
for bum out!
there's only so
much you can
absorb in one day.
When I decided to
cut out my extra-
curricular activi-
te. after ali, text book
smarts can only take you so
far in the real world!"
of all, I felt much
healthier - the phy i-
cal activity gave me
more energy and
greatly increased my
In first year, I followed the "myth" -
that's right, for the first month of I A, I
became the ultimate studying machine!
Talk about culture shock! You see, I was
never one of those students in high school
who just sailed through all my courses
with 0% effort and 90% averages; I
worked for my grades, but I also did a lot
of extra-curricular activities. From student
council and performances to Ski Patrol and
tutoring, I enjoyed being busy and spread
myself pretty thin. After hearing some of
ties I discovered a lot of interesting things.
Most importantly, I discovered that I real-
ly didn't get all that much more studying
in than before! Sure, I wa n't out playing
a sport or attending a club meeting, but I
was spending just as much time procrasti-
nating. I realized that after a certain
amount of brain-work, I needed a break.
Pushing that limit every once and a while
is good, but sooner or later productivity
levels decrease so rapidly that it's just not
worth it any more. I figure that regardless
of how much you actually attempt to cram
in, there is a finite amount of schoolwork
Why IYtiistory?
History 243 Fall/97
(an
Want to understand
where you are going to be working?
History 243 looks at how the workplace has
changed and how the changes have affected
society and Individuals
between 1800 and 1980!
Check It Outl
alertness and ability to
concentrate during studying. Secondly, I
was 100% happier! I didn't mind getting
down to some serious work for a few hour
knowing that I had a volleyball game to
look forward to! And, not surprisi ngly, my
marks went up 10-15% from midterms.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that
studying isn't the be-aJl end-all. I honest-
ly believe that those who do nothing but
study through out their undergrad degree
are missing out on University all together.
Extra-curricular activities are beneficial in
many ways: they keep your spirits high,
provide a mental break, improve your
time-management skills and are a crucial
asset on any resume. Hiring from a coop
Kim Whitear
:: 8 Systf!ms
program at the most prestigiolls engineer-
ing school in the country, employer are
going to expect bright, well -rounded stu-
dents with per onal , kills and a variety of
intere ' ts, after all, text book . marts can
only take you so far in the real world!
So my advice to you is take your
. chool work eriou.ly, but don't let it take
over your entire life. Fir't year should be a
great experience that open, a lot of doors;
don't be afraid to jump in and get your
hand dirty! Do SOme other things you
enjoy to break up . tudy sessions - broaden
your interests and refresh your mind. Of
course, there are exceptions to every rule;
you may have to pull a few late-nighters to
fini sh a signmenls, but in general , make
sure you see more of the University of
Waterloo than just the inside of the library.
Trust me, the 4 2/3 years will pass by
faster than you could ever imagine ..... .
Good luck to you all and have a most
incredible Frosh year!
8
News & Information The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997
Getting Started:
A Message from the Associate Dean for Computing
Associate Dean
for Computing
Heth Jewkes
W
elcome F r o ~ h This special article for the
Iron Warrior is intended to introduce you to
the computing facilities in the Faculty of
Engineering and to answer some of the most frequently
asked questions Frosh have about our Faculty computing
environment - especially how to get your computer
accounts setup. With a little effort on your part to get
tarted, you will soon find that you have access to excel-
lent computing re ources for your undergraduate studies.
As I described to you in the letter sent out with your
offer in June, the main platforms used in the faculty are
PC (IBM-Compatible) and UNIX. Your primary comput-
ing resources will be provided by our PC based local area
network. However, Engineering also uses several multi-
user UNIX machines for various networking functions.
You will automatically receive an account on mail. eng,
our email server, to provide a permanent email address
while you are registered at Uw. You may optionally
obtain pace for a personal Web page on our faculty Web
server, http://ellg.uwaterloo.ca, and an account on
Novice, a general-use computer intended to allow you to
become familiar with the UNIX operating system.
How Computing Resources in the Faculty are
Organized:
Computing facilities in the faculty are found at two
levels. General computing facilitie can be used by any
student in the faculty and are managed and by computing
support staff in the Department of Engineering
Computing. In addition to the general facilities, there are
departmental computing facilities (e.g., Chemical,
lectrical and Computer Engineering ... ). These are typi -
cally used by students from within the department and arc
managed by departmental technicians with support, as
needed, by Engineering Computing stafr. In first year, you
will be primarily using the general computing facilities,
though the departmental computer labs are available for
your use as well.
PC Computing:
The Faculty of Engineering Llses a large PC based
local area network (LAN) which was developed by the
Engineering Computing staff to support the c pecial needs
of an educational institution. The LAN links togelher over
800 PCs, and erves over 6000 users in the faculty of
engineering alone. This LAN i used extensively in other
faculties on campus as well, for a total of over 1800 PCs
and 17,000 users. It is one of the largest educational LANs
in North America and the largest on campus.
Over the period of 1984-1997 this LAN, known as
Watstar, used DOS and Windows 3.11 to deliver a wide
variety of both general and pecial purpose oftware and
network services to users in offices, and departmental and
general computing labs. Over the past year, Watstar was
enhanced to deliver 32 bit applications, notably Windows
95. Windows 95 ha been introduced to the general com-
puting labs and some other areas for this term (FaJll997)
Some of the departmental labs will still be using Windows
3.11 over the coming year until they are pha ed into
Windows 95. Just to set the record straight, though, the
two systems can co-exist and you can move back and
forth between Window 3.11 and Windows 95 labs - it's
mostly an issue of expecting slightly different file formats
as the Windows 95 based system uses more recent oft-
ware applications.
Our PC LAN provides you with access to a wide vari-
ety of software application and services such as:
e-mail (e.g. Eudora),
word processing (e.g. Wordperfect and Word),
spreadsheets (e.g. Quattro Pro and Excel),
statistical and scientific analysis packages (e.g. Mathcad,
SPSS, Matlab, Maple),
World Wide Web browsers (e.g. Netscape)
compilers (e.g. C++, Fortran, Basic)
a wide variety of network services
Once you get your PC account, you can explore the
extensive set of software provided to you for your use as
a student. Note that this software is available to you in any
of the general or departmental computing labs.
Where are the General Computing Facilities?
The general PC computing labs you will be using for
most of your computing are in the rooms listed below.
Get a map of the Engineering buildings and take 10 min-
utes one day this week to check out the labs and to set up
your PC computer account.
General PC Computing Labs in Engineering:
RoOl!' Server Station. Processor
EL108 Helix 28 100 MHz Pentium
E21302 Shim 18 166 MHz Pentium
Wedge 18 166 MHz Pentium
E2l308 Wheel 20 166 MHz Pentium
CPH3390A Lever 12 166 MHz Pentium
CPH2367 GAFF 18 100 MHz Pentium
Total: 114
Getting Your PC Account Set Up:
How to go about doing this is the most frequently
asked question we get during fro. h week. The first thing
you need to do is to become a registered student (i.e. pay
your fees). Then you can go to anyone of the lab listed
above and sit down at an available computer. If the
screen is blank, hit the enter key and you will be pre-
sented with a login screen which has a prompt for a
userid and password. Use "scratch" as the userid and
since no password i required, ju t hit [enter] at the pass-
word prompt. You will then be pre ented with a menu.
Request an account and answer the series of que tions.
Thi procedure will et up both your PC account and
your email account on mail.eng. You will al 0 find out
what your userid is and what server you have been
assigned to. At thi time you may al 0 use the menus to
request a Web homepage and a general use UNIX
account on Novice. You should change your password
from it default etting when you set up your account
(please make a conscious effort to remember it - forgot-
ten pa swords are the econd most frequent query we get
during frosh week!) ]f you have problems with this set
up procedure go to the faculty computer con ulting
office in E2 l308A.
When you log in to the computing system under your
new u erid, you need to specify your userid and your
home server in the format userid@server. One of the
nice feature of our PC LA i that you can log in from
any lab and get acce . to your files - even if you are in a
lab which is on a different server. Your file are stored on
drive :, the network drive, in contrast to the C: drive you
are probably accustomed to. (In ca e you are curiou , the
function of the servers are to store u er files, to act a a
gateway to the rest of the LA ,to en ure that each user
properly identifies them elves (i.e. you can't u e a net-
worked computer without properly logging in), and to
provide you with the ability to print to any networked
printer).
One of the first thing you hould do when you have
successfully logged in is to use Netscape (go into
Windows 95 first) to navigate to the Engineering
Computing website at http://www.eng/departments
/eng_compl. Here you will find a user manual and other
useful information about the computing facilities in the
faculty. You can also purchase the user manual at the
Engineering Copy Centre in E2 2353. ]t i highly recom-
mended reading for your quiet period during frosh week.
UNIX Computing:
In addition to your PC account, you can al 0 get a
UNIX account on Novice, a DEC 3000 Alpha machine
Continued Oil rzext page . ..
Appropriate Use of
Computing Facilities
Computing Facilities at the University of Waterloo
are intended to support the research, instructional and
administrative needs of the Univer ity. Most of these
resources are shared by a large population of users and
your use of our facilities can have a big impact on oth-
ers. You are therefore expected to behave in an respon-
sible fashion. Keep in mind that access to the computing
facilities is a privilege, not a right.
Most users of our computing ystem are consider-
ate of others and are careful to use the facilities for what
they are intended. However, from time to time, we get
complaints about user who are abu ing their privileges.
In these circumstance , the system administrators and
the A sociate Dean for Computing have the right to
access the user account to investigate the situation, and
to take appropriate action. Thi might include su pend-
ing Internet or other privileges for a period of time or,
depending on the nature of the behaviour, more serious
disciplinary action may be taken uch a probation, sus-
pension or expUlsion.
Improper use includes, but i not limited to:
sharing your account with someone else,
breaking into another person's account,
sending harassing e-mail or e-mail with a forged userid,
using the facilities for private businesse or non-univer-
ity volunteer activities, mailing for profit schemes
any criminal activity (e.g. theft of facilities, monitoring
e-mail)
All u ers, particularly frosh, are advised to read the
UW Policy on Use of Computing and Communications
Facilities in the Engineering Computing Web page. The
faculty takes very seriously its mandate to provide high
quality, secure computing for all its users.
The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997 News & Information 9
continued from previous page
which is u ed for general undergraduate
U LX computing. ovice wa e tabli hed
to allow undergraduates an opportunity to
explore U IX operating y tem . On
ovice, you have acce to a variety of
oftware applications uch a compilers,
tatistical. and cientific analysi pack-
age.
Where can I log into Novice?
The primary acce to ovice is pro-
vided by X-terminal in two rooms:
DC 3533A (15 HP 7001RX X-terminals)
GAFFLab - CPH 2367 (12 HP 700/RX X-
terminal)
Another way to log into Novice is
through your PC account - first log in, and
then under Network application , choo e
X-Server to request a login to Novice.
Getting Your Novice (UNIX) Account
Set Up:
Getting your Novice account sel up i
done in much the ame way as your PC
account. Go to one of the general comput-
ing labs (listed above) and log in a cratch
to request a Novice account. As with the
PC account, it will take at most 24 hours to
have it et up.
Consulting Help:
Engineering Computing operate a
consulting office, the Engineering
Computing User Support Centre (ECUSC)
which is located in E2 1308A. The
ECUSC is the focal point for user support
in the Faculty of Engineering and is where
you should go if you are experiencing
computing problems. Experienced consul-
tant , both full time staff and part time stu-
dent consultants will be able to quickly
re olve mo I of your computing problem .
Printing:
High quality elf-serve laser printing
i. available 10 all tudents ea ily and con-
veniently in each of the general computing
lab. In each room. a printer is located
behind a hole-in-the-\\all. You can route
output to the e printers from an) of the
PC in the general or departmental com-
puting lab.
Printing co t ' are $0.08 per page.
When you ct up your PC account, a laser
printing account is automaticall) set up.
To put money into the printing account,
you must first add some money to your
Watcard (at any Food Service outlet) then
use the card wipe facility which i just
out ide the ECUSC (E2 1308A). With
each swipe of the Watcard, you transfer 5
from your Watcard to the laser printing
account. Then you will be able to print
from one of the networked laser printers in
Engineering. More information on other
printing services can be found on the
Engineering Computing Web page at
http://engldeparlmentslellg30mp and in
the user's manual.
Well, that concludes the ba ic of what
you need to know to get started for now.
You will be getting more information
about computing from an Engineering
Computing staff member early in the term
and you can always drop into the ECUSC
in E2 1308A if you are experiencing diffi-
culty. In the meantime, welcome to the
Faculty of Engineering and happy com-
puting!
ENGINE.ERING
SOCIETY
The Top Five ways
to find the C&D.
5. Sniff around tilJ you've
found the smell of coffee and
sugar.
4. Follow a blem'y-eyed student
with an 'mpty lug-a-mug
J. Follo\\ the trail of ookic
crumbs and pop spills.
2. Find POETS. Go in POETS.
a Hi. tep Ollt of POETS,
and lllrn right. Go down the
ramp. Go in door 011 right.
Mi. ion accomplished. Don't
forget to return to POETS and
relax with your snack of choice.
I. Just a k someone! We all
)lad to find out. omeday!
\ \ ...........
Engineering C&D
Serving coffee, donuts, sandwiches, bagels, soups, salads, cookies,
sarnosas, muffins, and other sweets, snacks, and drinks .
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Monday to Friday
Located in the main foyer of
Carl Pollock Hall
Large Coffee for 40 cents * Pop for 55 * Huge cookies for 60 cenls.
The CFES
-
Canadian Federation of
H
ello frosh and welcome to
engineering! Applied Science
and Engineering is a diverse
educational experience. There will be sev-
eral opportunities to take advantage of an
Engineering Students
array of different extracurricular activities
outside of your classes. One of the things
you can get involved with is the CFES,
The Canadian Federation of Engineering
Students. The CFES is an umbrella orga-
nization for over 40 undergraduate
engineering societies across Canada,
repre enting more than 40,000 stu-
dents. Our main goal is to be the
communication link amongst all
member school . We also ensure that
students are being represented to pro-
fessional organizations within the
engineering community in areas of
common interest to ALL members.
In order to ensure that we REP-
RESENT students, the Federation
maintains strong ties by:
organizing the Congress of Canadian
Engineering Students (CCES) -
where engineering student from
across the country unite to discuss
issues and ideas in workshops and

organizing the anadian Engineering
Competition (CEC) - where cngi
!leering student s exhibit their skills
in a variety of competitions and
debates
distributing Project Magazine - the
national magazine for Canadian
engineering students.
It's easy to get involved with the
CFES! You can write articles for Project
Magazine, compete in our annual compcti-
tion, or participate in your student council
and attend the CCES to represent your
school on a national level!!!!
To find out what the CPES is doing,
you can subscribe to an "emajl" link -
where engineering students from across
the country talk about issues affecting
them. To be a member of this email link:
send a one line email message: <sub
CCES-L your name> to
CFES President
1.111 Y PCHorl1fIJ
oj l/mlfl/(J
LlSTSERV Q)UNB.CA
You can also contact our web page at
www.(fes.ca for more information on the
Federation. If you would like to talk to
someone directly, email the execulive at
cfesexec@/islserv.uflb.ca.
All the best to you "first years", and
good luck in Engineering!
10 Opinions The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997
Hidden Opportunities for Learning
O
n July 17, 1981 two crowded
suspended walkways in the
Kansas City Hyau
Regency Hotel collapsed resulting in
the death of 114 peopl e and injuries to a
further 185. What went wrong?
These walkways were originally
designed to be attached to a set of long
rods hanging from the ceiling and extend-
ing to the bottom walkway (which was stil l
This meant that the lowest walkway was
now hanging from the second lowest walk-
way instead of the ceiling beams. The sec-
ond lowest walkway was not strong
enough!
Amazing. Someone neglects to put two
dashed lines on a drawing and the net con-
sequence is that the structure fails causing
death and injury.
Looking into the future we see "Jamie"
(one of our 750 gifted first year engineer-
ing students just
J repeat, he is p.o'd!
Amazing. Jamie chooses the
wrong trigonometric function and
gets no credit for the re t of hi s
solution. The net consequence i
that he will lose approximately
0.25 marks out of the 100 final
marks in Physics. Will Jamie learn
to pay attention to detail ? When do
you want to learn that detail
counts: when a few marks are on the line
or when
orne 20m above the lobby floor). The
design engineers had assumed that the rods
would be threaded over their complete
length and that collars (like large nuts)
would be threaded into place to provide
support for each walkway. However, the
design drawings were mi ssing a little
detail: two dashed lines to indicate that the
rods were threaded over their complete
length. The construction team could not
figure out how to attach the walkway sup-
port collars and so they used their initia-
tive. They cut the rods into shorter lengths,
sufficient to extend between two walk-
ways, and threaded the ends of each short-
ened rod to place the collars on the rods.
bursting with
potential)
returning from
hi s Phy ics 115
tutorial. He is
p.o'd! He ha.
gotten back hi s
quiz from last
"There are lots of these hidden oppor-
tunities to learn the less tangible but
crucial skills, habits, and attitudes
required of a Professional Engineer;"
lives are
on the
line?
Thi s
cas e
i I Ius -
trates a





week. On one que. tion he multiplied by
cosO instead of sinO near the start of his
solution, ended up completely missing the
correct answer, and received almost zero
for his solution. He argued with the tutor
for more marks but did not get anywhere.
Pricing for Co-op Packages:

ll Resume Stock
Copies

8 White Copies
Co-op Job Postlngs
Package Collating/Stapling
Resume Typesetting
Student Business Cards
.. tf .. tf
STUDENT LIFE CENTRE, LOWER LEVEL
Mon - Frt 80m - 8pm Sat 12 - 5pm 888-4567 ext.6868
hidden
opportunity for learning. You will not find
"Attention to Detail" in any of your course
outlines but it is still a professional con-
cept and skiJl that you can develop in your
studies. There are lots of these hidden
opportunities to learn the less tangible but
Director, First Year
Gordon Slubley
crucial skill, habits, and attitudes required
of a Professional Engineer. You will find
opportunities to develop good work and
time management habits, to develop
integrity in the presence of temptation, and
to develop an engineer's intuition. One of
the things you will notice is that your lec-
turers will not spend much lime in class
talking about these less tangible skills.
That does not mean that the skills are not
important. Remember the walkway col-
lapse! If you would like to talk about this
or other educational issues come by the
First Year Engineering Office. We are here
to help you grow and learn in EVERY
way.
Frosh Week '95
Frosh Wuk '95
The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997 Opinions
The Iron Warrior is Looking for a Few good
Men and Women
The Iron Warrior is an entirely student
run newspaper, and we are looking for
some more energetic, enthusiastic, and
motivated individuals. Experience is not a
requirement, but a desire to gel more out
of life than text books and lectures is a
must. The Iron Warrior will teach you
how 10 get more out of your education
than just a passing grade and student debt.
Top employers are looking for people who
have initiative and communications skills,
and the Iron Warrior is a great opportunity
to gain those talents.
Positions are available in layout, staff
writing, photography, and other areas.
There is no better time to get active out-
side the classroom than now. Contact the
Iron Warrior bye-mail or phone using the
addresses at the bottom of the page or stop
by our General Recruitment Meeting to
join our fun and dynamic team.
The Iron Warrior
General Recruitment
Meeting
Thursday, September 11 th,
4:30pm-5 :30pm
in POETS
(in Carl Pollock Hall, beside the C&D)
Refreshments will be served
1.
11
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clo The Engineering Society
arl Pollock Hall room 1 23B
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Waterloo Ontario
N2L 3GI
Phone: (519)888-4567 X 2693
Fax: (5 J 9)725-8472

-",
12 Internal Information The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997
From the desk of the President
President
"A" Society
Sarah Davies
18 Chemical
President
"8" Society
Daron Solrmwn
4A Electrical
W
elcome to Waterloo
Engineering! Now that
you've joined the best engi-
neering program in the country, we'd like
to show you a few of the ropes of this
place, and make a few introductions.
First of all we'll introduce ourselves.
Sarah was born, in Oshawa, in 1975. She
has j ust completed 3A Chemical
Engineering and is schedul ed to graduate
in April 1999. Sarah began her involve-
ment in EngSoc in 1 A and since has
attended many conferences and has done
many directorships including Special
Events, Semi-Formal, Arts, and Fourteen
not Forgotten. She was also part of Frosh
Week la t year. She was elected
President in November of 1996 after her
2B term. Doron was born in Toronto on a
cold winter day also in 1975. Now at the
ripe old age of 22, Doron is in 4A
Electrical Engi neeri ng, and is sti ll plan-
ning on graduating in 1998. His involve-
ment with EngSo(; started in I A as a class
rep. Since then he has been director of
Course Cri tique!>, Spirited Events, Class
Rep Advisor, and Canada Day Director.
until hi s election to President in July of
1996. As for what's left after President,
he's been heard saying " I' ve had enough.
All 1 want is an iron ring, a degree, and a
job."
Before we start explaining how
EngSoc works today, let's look back at the
first 40 years. When the Engi neeri ng
Society formed back in 1957, it's prime
directive was the organization of social
actiVities. The first Engineering Society
executive consisted of two members,
President Jack Kruuv and Vice President
Bill Lennox (who ha ironically also been
the Dean of Engineering and is currently a
Civil Engineering Professor here). The
society has grown from a small undergrad-
uate association to one with four executive
officers, about 30 directorship, and an
annual operating budget of about $80,000.
We've grown from running the society
from a small office in E2 to a brand new
office in CPH 1327, running POETS, hav-
ing our own Coffee and Donut and
our own newspaper in addition to many
other things. The small society has grown
into an organization with many goals,
activities and duties. The reason that this
has happened is because of the students.
The participation level in the Engineering
Society keeps rising and student contribu-
tions have allowed us to provide numerous
services.
So what's with the whole AlB thing?
And why arc there two Presidents? Well,
these are good questions and we've got the
answers. The Engineering Society, com-
monly called EngSoc, is actually split into
two separate Soclet les, Engineering
Society A (A-Soc) and Engineering
Society B (B-Soe). The reason for having
two separate societies is due to the co-op
system. For the five years that you are
here, you will be alternating school terms
with work terms every 4 months. The only
excepti on is that you do your first two
school terms back to back if you're in
stream 8, or you do your la t two school
terms back to back if
a great part-time job to earn a little extra
cash. {fyou're interested talk to one of the
exec or even better, talk to Mary.
The Engineering Society has evolved
from being so much more than a social
club. Each term we raise hundreds of dol-
lars for chari ti es, reach out to high chool
students and explain the "joys of engineer-
ing", provide resources for cour e cri-
tiques, run sports event, help exchange
students adapt, and provide representation
for students throughout the university, fac-
ulty, administration and beyond. The
University of Waterloo Engineering
Society has grown to be the largest
Engineering Society in Canada.
EngSoc also offers many ervices out
of our office located in CPH 1327. Our
recently renovated office (they fin ished
la t week!) is the hub of activity for the
Engineering Society. Commonly called
the Orifice, you can find the exec there if
you need to talk to them, get nickel photo-
copies (yes, 5 cents), borrow old exams for
every course you' ll ever take (in
Engineering, of course), get desk blotters
to colour all
you're in stream 4.
As a result, every
term is a com-
plete turnover of the
tudents on campus.
All the students here
in the Winter term
leave for the Spring
"The University of Waterloo
,Engineerin Society has Town
to be the largest Engineering
Society in Canada"
over, and lots
of other great
stuff. The
Orifice is
mastered by
our office
term, and the tudent coming in to the
Spri ng term were on work term during the
Winter. So wi th a complete turnover of
student w.e need two separate societies.
To get you started, you'll need to know
where we are now. Thi Fall is a B-Soc
term, meaning that Doron is the "on-
stream" President and Sarah is the "ol"f-
stream" President. Then in the Winter
A-Soc takes over, and Sarah wi ll be "on-
stream" President and Doron' s successor
wi ll be "orr-stream" President. So, if
you're in stream 4, then you'll pend all
your school terms on B-Soc, except 4B.
On the ot her hand, i r you're stream 8, then
you' II switch over to A-Soc in the Winter
and spend th rest of your time on A-Soc.
This is all true of course until you fail a
tcrm, when everything gets completely
screwed up. So try to avoid that.
So what is EngSoc? That's a pretty
good question. EngSoc is a student-run
organization dedicated to servi ng and rep-
resenting Engineering students. As we
mentioned earlier some of the , ervice we
offer include POETS, our pub/lounge for
relaxing between classes (or during class-
es if you don' t go), and our C&D (coffee
and doughnut shop) which offers much
more to eat and drink than just coffee and
doughnuts. The coffee shop is managed
by Mary Bland and it hires primarily
Engineering students to work as cashiers -
guru Betty
who can help
you with any questions you may have. We
even have a darkroom if you are into pho-
tography. EngSoc certainly has something
to offer to everyone.
So we've talked about the exec, but
j ust who are these mysteriou people?
There are four members on the executive
council of each society. These include a
President, a Vice-President External
(VPX), a Vice-Pre, ident Internal (VPI)
and a Vice-President Finance (VPF). You
can read about the three Vice-President
positions and the six people who currently
fill those positions through their articles
included in this issue of the Iron Warrior.
As for the Pre ide nt, we'll explain to you a
little bit about what we do.
The President of the Engi neering
Society i ultimately responSible for the
act of the Society and it' s members. The
President deals directly with the Dean of
Engineering regarding issues within the
society and issues of an academic nature.
The President also sits on a number of
committees, including the Committee of
Presidents, run by the Federation of
Students (FEDS), the Examinations and
Promotions Committee, the WEEF Board
of Directors, the Engineering Safety
Committee and the Iron Warrior Advisory
Board. The President also deals with the
Engineering Society employees and
ensures that day to day issues arising are
resolved as quickly as possible. The
Pre ident also (believe it or not) talk to
students who need to di cus academic,
personal, or other issues in confidence. Or
we can ju t chat together ometime. If you
want to find out more about what the
President does, approach Doron sometime
(Sarah is out on work term in Hamilton
this fall) and ask to di cuss it.
Along with the executive council there
are about eight workgroup on B Soc, each
led by a workgroup coordinator. Each
workgroup has anywhere from three to
eight directorship in it, each erving a dif-
ferent purpose and making a different con-
tribution to the function of the workgroup.
There is aL 0 a task team con isting of stu-
dents who want to help out in many differ-
ent areas without being overly committed.
There's lot of information about work-
groups, director hips, and the task team in
the Vice-President Internal article submit-
ted by Vlad and Kim.
So by now you've got to be interested
in all of thi s, otherwise you'd be lining
your bird cage with thi s paper. Do you
want to know how to get involved. All
right then, we' ll tell you. It' actually
quite si mple. Just approach anyone you
find who' already involved and tell them
what you're interested in doing. You can
approach one of your frosh leaders, one of
the exec, a workgroup coordinator, a direc-
tor, or Betty in the Orifice. Even if you're
not talking to the right person to start with,
they'll know who you need to talk to. So
don't be hy and come get involved.
There's a lot more to university than class-
es and books, and EngSoc can be a way for
you to gain valuable extra-curricular expe-
rience while making life-long friends in
the process.
That' about all we have to say for
now. Please feel free to grab either one of
us anytime you see us in the halls and ask
us a question, or just talk to u. If YOll
can't find u (we get really bu y some-
time ), then e-mail u at
eng_prez@novice. We love to hear from
students expressi ng interest in EngSoc.
For both of u our involvement in EngSoc
ha made a big difference in our lives. If
you're so inclined, it can make a big dif-
ference in yours too.
Sarah and Doran
The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997 Internal Information 13
From the desk of the VP Internal
G
reetings to all the new
Waterloo Engineering fro h
and returning tudent! We
(Kim and Vlad) are the Vice Pre ident
Internal for the Engineering Society. The
reason there are two of u i because we
are a co-op chool. The 'A' Engineering
Society VP Internal i Vladimir Joanovic,
and the 'B' Engineering Society VP
Internal is Kim Whitear. Sooooo, you will
all be starting off on ' B' Society (more
fondly known as "B-Soc") - those of you
in stream 4 will be staying with 8 -Soc and
the 8-streamers will be switching over to
A-Soc in the winter term. (a tad confu ing,
but you'll get the hang of it!)
We would like to tell you all a little bit
about the Engineering Society and some of
the fun stuff that is going to be happening
this term that you could participate in or
help out with!
For all you first year students there is
going to be a LOT to learn and pick up in
the first couple of weeks. We hope that
Frosh week is a great time. Your leaders
have worked very hard
mean you!) . The Engineering Soci ty
CEngSoc") i made up of four exe utive
(exec) members who are elected by the
tudent , man) directors who are picked
by the exec, two full time employee - Belt)
Orifice Manager and Mary
C&DfCorporate Manager, a well a cIa -s
reps and every tudent. The Engineering
Society plan fun events, provide many
service and repre ent the ollective opin-
ion of the student body on relevant issues.
Each term there are ix EngSoc council
meeting where item of bu ine s are dis-
cussed and voted upon, events are
announced, and everyone get together for
a social event after! Each cIas has 2
EngSoc reps that attend meetings and relay
all important information back to their
classmate . Whether or not you are a c1as
rep, it is important to remember that any-
one and absolutely EVERYONE is wel-
come at EngSoc meetings! After all, the
more the merrier, right?
Now, for the info you've all been wait-
ing for. What does Eng Soc do??? WELL-
LLLLL ..... EngSoc has
throughout the sum-
mer to make sure of it.
If you have any com-
ments about it drop
them off in the Orifice.
There will also be a
"There is always room
for interested and
enthusiastic Frosh!"
over 50 directors who
put together special
trips, events, seminars,
theme days ... you name
it! From Brewe tours
survey sometime soon!
The Engineering Society represents the
student body, which includes all
Engineering students at Waterloo (this
and Blue Jay games to
movie nights and engineering competi-
tions! That's on top of all the services we
provide such as cheap photocopying,
resume critiquing, old exam copies and
much more! F r a better idea of all the
tbingi. Fng oc does. stop by the "Orifice"
(The Engineering ocict} office) during
open house in the tina we J.. of i. 'hool or
an)timc at all! There \\iIl always be somc-
one more than hupp) to ho\\ you <Irollnd
and answer all your questions!
Here arc a few things happening in
September that you , hould definitel)
check out:
Orifice Open House - Septemb r 9th-12th
Beginning of,],: ml Pub - September 12th
Brewery Tour - September 16th
Engineering Week (a.k.a Lots-o- 001-
event -week) - September 22nd - 26t h
Two thing you have to do in your fir t
week are: check out POETS during lunch
(you can find it in the CPH Foyer or ask
anyone) and pick up a Blotter from the
Orifice or POETS. The Blotter is a calen-
dar of dates with EngSoc happenings on
them as well as important phone numbers
and adverti ing for local busine se . Each
and every tudent should not be without
one! (They are free by the way ... )
If you are interested in being a director
or helping out with the organizing of
events and things, email the VP Internal
(who would be more than happy to fIll you
in) at the address given at the bottom of
this article, and pick up a brochure in the
Orifice! EngSoc is certainly not an "upper
year only" thjng .... . not at all! There is
always room for interested and enthusias-
lic Frosh! :)
VPInternal
"A" Society
\'Iad
38.')"Slt'mS
VP Internal
. "B" Society
Kim WlJitt'ar
28 Syslellll'
For a more detailed explanation about
the services offered, events run, or de crip-
tions of jobs available, look through 'The
Book' you received in your frosh kit or the
pamphlets that you received in the mail. If
you till don't understand something feel
free to drop by the Orifice and ask the
Executive or the Orifice Manager.
Well, that 's about all for now! Once
again, we hope your Frosh week is a blast
and are looking forward to seeing you out
at some great EngSoc events!
Keep Smilin ' ,' )
Kim & Vlad
From the desk of the-VP Finance
A
nother year goes by and anoth-
er Frosh Week has come again.
Every Frosh Week is a period
full of adventure, festivities and new rela-
tionships. During this week, you will meet
and be introduced to an enormous number
of people. (There will be a test on the
names of all those people at the end of the
first week of school.) You will also expe-
rience your first portion of what engineer-
ing at Waterloo is all about. At the end of
the week, while you are lying down from
pure exhaustion and have some time to
actually think, you will know that later on
in your life you will be able to reflect back
on this time and enjoy the memories . you
will have collected.
In addition to congratulating you on
your entry into the engineering discipline,
the VP-Finances would like to take this
opportunity to stress the importance of
"getting involved." During your Frosh
Week, you will be introduced to the
Engineering Society. The Engineering
Society is a student-organized body that
provides services and events to all engi-
neering student members. All executive
members and organizers are student volun-
teers who have realized the importance of
extra-curricular involvement as well as
formal education. The Society strives to
create a balanced environment for work
and fun so that the time you spend here at
Waterloo is as beneficial and enjoyable as
possible.
The key point here is balance. Some
people overlook the impor-
you will gain leadership and organization
al skills, a couple of talents thut unnot be
taught in a Calculus cours .
While trying not to be bia. ed, an exe -
utive position is the purest and most crfe .
tive form of involvement. During II
16-month term, you will be introduced to
the Engineering Society infra tructure
while making decisions that will affect all
engineers now and in the future. An exec-
utive posilion
tance and benefit of extra-cur-
ricular activity. Even though
most of you chose this univer-
sity for its renowned academics
and co-operative education
program, the Engineering
u becoming involved
will help each of you out
is the closest
representa -
tion to a real -
life executive
or managerial
. h 10 " In t e ng term . ..
Society is one the best organized student
societies in the country. Take this oppor-
tunity to get involved and not only enjoy
yourself over the next several years, but
also acquire skills and experience that are
not taught in the classroom and will
increase your marketability. For instance,
by organizing one of the Engineering
Society events or leading a directorship,
pOSition,
while still having other people there to
support you.
So all serious matters aside, becoming
involved will help each of you out in the
long term. while introducing you to hun-
dreds, if not thousands, of new engineers
here and across Canada. Many new engi-
neers have problems meeting new people
and finding their niche. Start with the
VPFID8IlCe
"A" Society
DanKlm
38
VPFlD8IlCe
"B" Sodety
Engineering Society and get introduced
into a wann, multi-cultural environment,
rich in knowledge, expertise and, most
importantly, FUN. Don't just stand there;
try it out. You have nothing to lose and
everything to gain!
Jay and Dan
14 Internal Information The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997
From the desk of the VP External
H
eIJOooooOoo Frosh! I'm John,
your VP External. Nina, My
counterpart on A Soc., and I
have been working hard on, well, work.
But I guess I should start working hard on
school stuff again. So you're probably
wondering what a VP X docs. Well, unlike
the other VP positions it is sometimes
harder to see what the role of the VP X is;
however, I will try and make it clear for
you, and maybe me, what my function is in
this glorious thing called Eng. Soc.
Let me tart by saying that the VP X
must be in his or her 2B term in order to
run for exec. The reason for this is simple.
If for the off chance that the President of
the Engineering
think they're just a bunch of students try-
ing to make themselves seem important.
Partly, but real work does get done by
these organi/ations. Both organizations
promote, as there main objectives, com-
munication among the Engineering
Societies in Canada and Ontario respec-
tively. So basically we like to talk a lot.
But, talking is good. By talking to other
schools we can come up with new and
inventive ways to help you, be it in a social
or academic context. Finally these organi-
zation!> function as a liaison between us,
the students of engineering, and the
Professional Engineers who control our
future. Some of you may know that after
you graduate you
Society is forced to
resign for any rea-
son, be it academic
(yeah that' s never
happened), or per-
"It's a new beginning; new
people, new challenges."
were required to do
two years of engi-
neering work
before you could
sonal, the VP X assumes the responsibili -
ties of President. So that's it, that's what
the VP X does. Oh wait there's that com-
munication thingy. Nearly forgot it.
The VP X is responsible for all com-
munication with two very important orga-
nizations. They are: The Canadian
Fed ration of Engineerin Students
(CFES) and the Engineering Student
Society' Council of Ontario (ESSCO).
Now why do we care about these organi-
zations? Again, a good question. Don' t
write an exam to
become a profes ional engineer, the ulti -
mate goal of going into engineering. This
has changed in the last three years so now
a four year term is required, however with
the help of ESSCO and the CFES, students
who do engineering work in that last half
of their education can use this work
towards their apprenticeship. So they're
out there fighting for us.
Now let me talk about the Engineering
Society and what we do. Well, we're here
to help you both academically and social-
ly. You are coming to a new place and a
new experience. We want to help you with
the tran ition from the mothering of High
School to the freedom and self reliance of
niversity. In High school, some of your
teacher cared that you got your assign-
ments in on time. In University no one
cares. I'm sure you've heard that before,
but trust me no one is more aware of the
struggles of University then me. But
you'll find out about that later. If you felt
like a geek in High school, none of it mat-
ters when you get here. It' a new begin-
ning; new people; new challenges. Most
of those challenges are not academic.
Now, let me dispel a myth about the
Engineering Society. We are not a bunch
of drunks. Some of us do like to drink, but
we are of age and have made a commit-
ment to drink ........ err ...... responsibly.
The Engineering Society does not promote
drinking. We don't discourage it, but we
don't promote it. So if someone asks you
to have a pint and you don't want to, just
say NO. We won'tbe offended. We won't
even tease you, or look down at you, espe-
cially if you're bigger then me.
Let me end by saying something about
the upcoming term. Last term for the
ex.ccutive n B Soc, it was a growth term.
We were learning what works and what
doesn't. This term is going to be fun, even
if it kills me. Now that I'm going into
fourth year I can see the light at the end of
Prosh Week '95
-_ ... _. -<t-- .. ----- --- - .. ... _-_ ..... ------. - - ... --- -- ......
VPExternal
"A" Society
Nil/IJ Sodhi
VPExternal
"B" Society
John Faber
4A Chemical
the tunnel. It's time for me to have some
fun, and I'm dragging every single one of
you with me. If I don't have the best term
ever and still manage to pass, then we did-
n't do our jobs. Come out and have fun,
Meet new and somewhat creative people.
No matter what race, colour, or creed you
are, there's room for you with us. Clique
no, Friends yes. Let's make your first term
in Engineering your best ever.
With great anticipation,
Fabes and Nina
F1Vlh II'at '95
The Iron Warrior, Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997 Internal Information 15
Hear Ye, Hear Ye,
Who wants to be a Class Rep?
W
hat is thi doing in the Fro h
issue, you must be wonder-
ing. "I just got here. and
already I'm being given the opportunity to
become a Class Rep! And more impor-
tantly, a representative for what, and to
what? And what does this require of me?
And why should I do it? And .. And ... "
Okay, calm down. There i n't a test
coming up in the near future, 0 just relax
and read on. Since you may be unfamiliar
with things here at UW Engineering, I'll
start with a little bit of a background on the
structure of things here in EngSoc.
Eng Soc
The Engineering Society (EngSoc for
short) is organized into several layers. To
start, each and every undergraduate engi-
neer is a member of
oon enough, if you haven't already. Once
you're in your second term here, IB, thing
will be done a I mentioned before. by
cia e.
The Faculty
The cia rep are also re ponsible for
meeting and communicating with the fa -
ulty. They will be your voice to the faculty
with regard to thing like exam chedul-
ing, problem with professor or T.A.'s,
and other administrative-type stuff.
Interaction between class rep and the fac-
ulty serves an important role, and it's a
great way to get to know the profe or
and faculty in generaL
How to become a Class Rep
Class Reps are elected by their classe ,
usually at the end of a term or the very
beginning of the
the society. This
means YOU!
EngSoc is here to
represent you, and
every engineering
student is encouraged
to play a role in our
Society. Getting
"EngSoc is here to represent
you, and every engineering
student is encouraged to play
a role in our Society"
next term. The
elections are the
last responsibility
for the class reps
of the previous
term, but the
Class Rep
involved is a great way to have-alotoffun,
and becoming a Class Rep is a great way
to start your involvement with EngSoc.
Each class sends a pair of elected rep-
resentatives to the society who will report
back about what is going on, as well as
lead the class in participation in the events
of the Engineering Society. So, there are
reps for IB Civil, 2A Chemical, 2B
Systems, etc, which totals ... umm ... Well,
you can do the math, right?
For your fir t term here you will be
electing representatives for each division,
and there are six of the e divisions. You'll
find out all about divisions and K-sections
Advisors will be
ere-co lre1p an ctas'ses iO
as well as to assist the Frosh divisions in
getting started.
Commitments and Responsibilities
The commitment for the class rep is
not huge. There are six Engineering
Society meetings that they are expected to
attend throughout the term, and these are
held roughly every two weeks. There are
also a few departmental meetings over the
term. The number as well as frequency of
the e meeting varies between programs.
The FUll Stuff
Yeah, right, fun . What could be fun
about all this? Well, to begin with you gel
a free piua party at the beginning of the
term. You al 0 get a part at th ' end of the
term to thank) ou for your effort .. There
are i Eng Council meetings to attend,
but you'll , oon find that Engineering
m etings an b a lot of fun, too. You'll
get a chance to e pres, . our vie. s to your
fellow engineer" and the Milk ' n Cookie -
following the meetings will help you get to
know other a little bit better. The best
part of all i that you get to lead your cla s
in the fun event of the Engineering
Society, like CUNT, sport tournament,
Brunny trips, and other wild and crazy
activities.
Who are the Class Rep Advisors
The Clas Rep Advisor are Sanjay
Kulkarni (s kulkar@novice), Cara Gray
(c2gray@novice), and Michael Hermann
(mhermann @novice). We are here to tart
you off on the right foot, support you along
the way, and reward you for your great
work. We'll advise you (hence the title) on
anything you need to do, like how to work
with the faculty or the best way to promote
cla spirit and involvement.
What Next?
o 1rlleres 8 Qr even miJd-
ly intriguing), start thinking about running
for class rep. For the Frosh divisions, the
Class Rep Advisors will be around during
the first or second week of lectures to help
your division get organized and do elec-
tions. There will be a meeting of all the
class reps, including the Frosh reps, before
the second EngSoc council meeting. Free
pizza, important information, and the start
of an exciting term awaits you.
I'd also like to make it clear that you
do not hav\! to b\! a c l ~ s rep to uttl'n<.l the
Council mcclll1gs, or 10 .I 11 III liS lor Milk '(\
Cookies afterward. J think vcry under
SANDFORD FLEMtNG FOUNDA TtON
Work Term Reports
Convocation Medals
Departmental Design Awards
Awards
Teaching ASSistantship Excellence
Engineering Debates
Technical Speaker Competition
Karen Mark Scholarship
John Fisher Leadership AWard
W.R. Petri Engineering Award
Flnancls' AB8lstsnce
Travel Grants
Emergency loans
p,.".."tatlons &
Bridging the Gap
SpotJIIOI'tIhlps
Ontario Engineering Competition
Canadian Engineering Competition
Anyone wishing to learn more about the Foundation may contact the
Waterloo Campus Office at x4008 or sffOdean.uwaterloo.ca
Class Rep
Advisor
Cara Gray
2A EnvimClll'l11
Class Rep
Advisor
Mike Hermann
2B Systems
Class Rep Advisor
Sanjay KlIlkarni
28 Systems
grad Engineer can benefit from getting to
know a little more about their Engineering
Society, and an EngSoc Council will help
you get to know the people you'll be see-
ing in the hall s for the next few year .
Come out and see what you can do for
your EngSoc, and what your EngSoc can
do for you!
Cara, Mike, and Sanjay
8:00
am
9:00
am
10:00
am
11:00
am
12:00
pm
1:00
pm
2:00
pm
3:00
pm
4:00
pm
5:00
pm
6:00
pm
7:00
pm
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunda)
, Registration
;
I
Pizza Party at POETS
(Off-campus students)
Colour Group Activities
for Off-Campus students
Village Camp IIS- Wide EKLPE 9:30-10:30 PAC
Olympics
Charity EI'enr
Single and Sexy
Pi zza Lunch
SCUNT
Enginuity
Preliminary TOOL
Ceremony
Meel the TOOL Aerial
Photo
Campus Parade Columbia
LakeBBQ
Movies in POETS
Village Casino Night
E2 2353, ext. 2334; Fax (519) 888-6197
Monday 10 Friday: 8:15 a.m. 10 4:30 p.m.
Firsl Year Workshop 11:00
-1:00 EL 101
CSME Diagnostic Exam
Departmental Meetings
1:00-2:00
Register, buy books
Free Time
POETS Patio Bash
You wont prompt service lor your copying needs, so you have time to spend on more
important things. We have high speed copying, foxing, Cerlox binding and stationery
supplies lor your needs. We're close and we're lost!
seD 126, ext. 5905; Fax (519) 746-2698
Monday 10 Friday: 8:00 a.m. 10 8:00 p.m.
Located near the SCH Concourse; we are just a short walk away. Specialty items such
as colour copies/prints, novelty gilt ideas, passport photographs, laminating, and spiral
binding are available.
=
Pep Rally
Foolball Game University
Stadium Small Event.
Comedy Night and Week
movie at Fed
Toga Party at Bingemans
All Graphics outlets accept the WATCARD.
You save 2.5 % on your Graphics outlet
purchase, every lime you use your
WATCARD. You have the convenience of
a carLand you save money.
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All Graphics Centres hove subsidized prices
on course materials, course handouts, solu-
tions sets, and thesis copies. Call lor prices.