NEWSWIRE

Memorial service held for victims of Virginia Tech shooting

Many in the York community gathered for a solemn ceremony Thursday in Vari Hall to remember the 32 victims of the April 16 shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. It was a rainy day and during exam time but a large number of students, staff and faculty attended to pay their respects. Hosted by York's Interfaith Council, the service featured words from representatives from different faiths, and student and community leaders.

Heading out for an interdisciplinary Costa Rican adventure
Graduate and undergraduate students from York’s Faculties of Environmental Studies, Science & Engineering, and Arts will embark on an interdisciplinary adventure this Saturday as they head off for York’s Las Nubes Rainforest for the sixth annual field course in applied tropical ecology and sustainable development.

Design student's work wins awards for the Toronto Star
Fourth-year York/Sheridan design student Sharis Shahmiryan helped the Toronto Star score a big success in a recent competition held by the Society for News Design. Her work earned three of the 21 international awards of excellence won by the Star.

Student receives the Micheline Saint-Cyr award
York University student Ben-Hanniel Chérette was presented with the Micheline Saint-Cyr award for a French-language short story titled "Ma Pluie" (My Rain) on International Francophonie Day during a celebration of francophone culture hosted by the Department of French Studies, Faculty of Arts.

York unveils 2007 Lions football schedule
A homecoming game against the Varsity Blues and a visit by former Hamilton Tiger-Cats coach Greg Marshall highlight the York Lions 2007 OUA football schedule. The Lions play host to U of T to kick off the second half of their schedule on Sept. 29.

Recreation York’s free Demo Week is on now
Want to take a spin? How about a little belly dancing? In the mood for some salsa? Recreation York is offering a tremendous opportunity for you to try out a host of activities during Free Demo Week, until Thursday.

Taking stock of 40 years of official bilingualism
Canada’s commissioner of official languages, Graham Fraser, spoke at York's Glendon campus about the state of official bilingualism in Canada 40 years after the publication of the report of the Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Fraser's keynote address was part of the University's annual Avie Bennett Historica Lecture in Canadian History.

Experiential education program grows exponentially
Hands-on, practical experience is proving not only beneficial to students but also to a wide variety of business and not-for-profit organizations. Over the past year at York, the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies' Experiential Education program has dramatically increased in size and scope as more students complete a wide array of projects for course credit across the GTA.

Shadows of distant worlds sighted from York
Since 1995, more than 200 extrasolar planets have been detected orbiting around distant stars outside our solar system. Watching from Earth is just what Patrick Hall’s astronomy students were doing this past academic year in the hopes of observing the shadow cast by one of these planets. They were not disappointed.

Ylife goes monthly for the summer
With the end of exams comes the end of weekly editions of Ylife, which will now begin its monthly summer publishing schedule. Look for the May issue of Ylife next week.