NEWSWIRE

Take a break at
York is U's
Stress Buster Carnival

With exams fast approaching students are feeling the crunch. Take a break and unwind this Wednesday, Nov. 21, from noon to 5pm in the East Bear Pit/Central Square, with free massages, cotton candy, popcorn, Las Nubes coffee, carnival games and great prizes. Aiming to help participants escape the cold Canadian winter, this Fall’s Stress Buster Carnival will have a Hawaiian theme.

Subway construction start planned for spring 2008
Imagine a Common without any of the 1,400 or more buses that currently circle York’s central open space every day. Instead, picture a pair of discreet entrances to the Spadina subway located at the new Archives of Ontario/York Research Tower and the Seymour Schulich Building, with pedestrians enjoying the peacefulness of an urban green space, free from the roar of engines.

A super sporting weekend at York
If you’re a sports fan, York University is the place to be this weeken as six York Lions teams will play a combined total of 13 games this week in one of the University’s busiest sporting weekends of the season. Volleyball, basketball and hockey will be the featured attractions at the Tait McKenzie Centre and Canlan Ice Sports.

Researcher finds that cramming damages long-term retention
If you cram for a test, you won’t retain much information afterwards, according to a new study by York psychology Professor Nicholas Ceped. The study of over 1,350 individuals showed that material needs to be relearned at least a month after initial learning, in order to achieve maximum retention a year later.

York Dances traces choreographic journeys in Way/faring
The Department of Dance launches its season Nov. 21 with York Dances, an annual fall showcase highlighting the talents of up-and-coming young choreographers. The program, titled Way/faring, presented the world premiere performances of 18 original works created by third-year dance majors.

Future students enjoy an interactive Fall Campus Day at York
York's annual Fall Campus Days on Saturday, Nov. 3 & 4, welcomed an enthusiastic crowd of future students and their guests to the Keele campus and Glendon College. The events brought more than 3,100 students, their families and friends to York for an introduction to the programs, services and facilities offered by the University.

Las Nubes Café opens with fanfare and 'good taste'
York opened the Las Nubes Café Friday, the first kiosk on campus dedicated to selling York’s own brand of fair-trade coffee. Located in the lobby of the Computer Science & Engineering Building, the Las Nubes Café will use paper cups and sell healthy food in the “Yorkwise” spirit of environmental friendliness.

Symposium looks at Canada's progress on the rights of children
A symposium at York on the rights of children will look at how Canada is faring in its promise to make this country a good place for children by the year 2012. The symposium is part of UNICEF Canada’s pan-Canadian lectures series A Canada Fit for Children in a World Fit for Children.

York launches a series of Holocaust memoirs
York University's Centre for Jewish Studies, in partnership with Toronto's Azrieli Foundation, will launch a series of five impassioned memoirs written by Holocaust survivors in downtown Toronto as part of Holocaust Remembrance Month. The inaugural launch will feature four readings and a keynote address by Ruth Westheimer (right), a renowned pop-culture figure.

Precarious employment issue draws researchers to York workshop
An international who’s who of experts in the field of precarious employment took part in a workshop at York, led by Atkinson Professor Leah Vosko, Canada Research Chair for Feminist Political Economy. They are building a database that will help redefine employment.

Top science students hear Gairdner Award winners speak
York hosted its third annual Gairdner High School Student Lecture in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East. The setting was a perfect complement to the captivating presentations made by two renowned scientists, one a Gairdner Award recipient.

Retrospective exhibit celebrates a brilliant astrophysicist and mother
She came to Canada in 1935, a refugee and an astrophysicist with $2.50 in her pocket. Like many other scientists at the time, she was fleeing the Nazi regime in Germany. Luise Herzberg landed in Saskatchewan with her husband physicist Gerhard Herzberg, who would go on to win a Nobel Prize for chemistry.

York's United Way Campaign reaches $50,000 mark
Two weeks into the United Way Campaign and York University has reached the $50,000 mark in donations. The past week has been very busy for the campaign team and its group of intrepid volunteers. "We’re off to such a good start, said York's United Way Campaign Chair Sue Levesque.

Bill Westcott revives the Jazz Age with Rags, Blues and Stomps
Professor William "The Piano Man" Westcott was featured in the Department of Music's Faculty Concert Series with Rags, Blues and Stomps, a rousing revival of the music of the Jazz Age. Westcott brought to life classic works from the early decades of the 20th century.

Examining therole of Central European history in current politics
The history of Central Europe, its politics and where it fits in with the European Union is what Professor Stanislav Kirschbaum of Glendon’s International Studies Department strives to explore in a new book he recently edited, titled Central European History and the European Union.

A new Chair in Education in Augustine's name
Jean Augustine, Ontario’s first fairness commissioner, celebrated her birthday with a big party to raise funds for a new Chair in her name – the Jean Augustine Chair in Education in the New Urban Environment. More than 500 people, representing the broad diversity of Toronto’s population, attended the brunch event.

Seminar features renowned critical educator Henry Giroux
Renowned critical educator and theorist Henry Giroux will speak on “Disposable Futures, Dirty Democracy, and the Politics of Higher Education”, Nov. 22, at the Burton Auditorium on York’s Keele Campus. The talk promises to be a passionate and challenging discussion linking higher education even more concretely to democracy and principles of sustainable design.

'Twice persecuted' German Jewish woman featured in new book
A book launch will be held at York Nov. 21 for Johanna Krause, Twice Persecuted: Surviving in Nazi Germany and Communist East Germany. The book is part of a series edited by York Professor Marlene Kadar.

York professor was a writer, poet, critic and photographer
Donald Clair Summerhayes, professor emeritus of English, in York's Faculty of Arts, died of cancer Nov. 8. He was 75. Prof. Summerhayes taught at York from 1966 to 1997. He was a teacher, an author, a poet, a critic and a photographer.

Tenney tribute concerts this weeked at the Music Gallery
A tribute weekend of concerts for the late avant-garde composer, performer and York Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus James Tenney will be held this weekend at the Music Gallery in Toronto.