Students Sunna Yang and Yashar Nazarian seated, with Professor Christina Petrowska.

Piano students from the studio of Christina Petrowska in the Music Department's classical performance stream are making a strong showing in Toronto's musical scene.

Second-year student Yashar Nazarian and first-year student Sunna Yang took first and second prize, respectively, in the Chopin Etudes in the 56th Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto held in February. The Festival brought together some 30,000 competitors of all ages across a wide range of performance categories.

York music student Laura Pilarski, who also studies voice privately with renowned Canadian baritone Louis Quilico, won first prizes in both the classical opera and concert recital/lieder categories. Laura has appeared as Zerlina in Don Giovanni with the Toronto Opera Repertoire and as soloist with the Italian Chamber Choir at Toronto's Ford Centre for the Performing Arts, and is currently taking masterclasses in Holland.

Other York students who distinguished themselves at
the Kiwanis Festival were Ted Vainius performing in the Bach, Beethoven and Impressionist class, Simonida Puzic in the modern works and Impressionist category, and Kam Mohajer in the Chopin concert piece.

Seven piano students -- Sunna Yang, Yashar Nazarian, Simonida Puzic, Sarah Jovanich, Mina Kim, J.C. Peterse and Wei Ling Kuo -- are giving solo recitals at York
in March and April. For
details, please check the University's events Web-site www.yorku.ca/events or call the Music Department at 736-5186.

By Danielle E. Cyr

Some seven years ago, I entered a field of research that would become for me an everlasting source of joy and enlightenment: the Micmac language. Sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanity Research Council of Canada, and in partnership with Micmac linguist Emmanuel Metallic from Listuguj, Quebec, we started the project of making an encyclopedic dictionary of contemporary Micmaq. Thanks to Emmanuel's dedication to the project, this dictionary now contains 12,000 words with extensive English definitions, most of which open fabulous windows on Micmac culture, knowledge and world views. The research is still in progress and, provided with additional support, we expect to bring the dictionary to 25,000 or 30,000 words in a reasonable amount of time.

An additional privilege was to be provided by my Micmac partner, who is very generous with his knowledge. He told me of the existence of the Micmac Ideographic Manual, a book of prayers written in an ancient mysterious writing system and which qualified as North America's first indigenous script. Indeed, the first missionary to visit the Micmac wrote that, as he taught them : "I noticed some children were making marks with charcoal upon birch-bark, and were counting them with the finger very accurately at each word of prayers which they pronounced." (Father Chrestien Le Clercq, 1691).

I was immediately captivated by the beauty of the characters and soon the book became not simply a curiosity; but a companion of creative dream. Using a Micmac roman alphabetic version of the prayer book, and with the help of Emmanuel, I managed to decipher some of the ideograms and to understand how they functioned. This was more of a hobby than serious research, the dictionary being the sole goal of our research project.

Therefore it was with great pleasure that I heard that Murdena Marshall and David Schmidt were working at the decipherment of the whole prayer book. When their book was published in 1995, I immediately bought a copy and went on with my pass time: extracting ideograms from the original text and recombining them in new sentences of my own fashion while, as much as I could, respecting the Micmac way of thinking. For instance I could write, "I preserve words today and eternally" or "We honour you and love you now and forever". I was, and still am, so fond of that book that I carry it with me each time I travel abroad and try to disseminate its content as often as possible.

This hobby took on greater meaning in October 1997, when I was invited to France by the Association of Literary Translators. The purpose of the invitation was that, in the context of their annual symposium, they wanted to hear a brief survey (in French) of one aboriginal language of Canada.

During this short stay, the House of Canadian Culture in Paris asked me if I would agree to meet with a Parisian artist, Jean-Luc Herman, who was preparing an art exhibition on the aesthetic of non-alphabetic writing systems. When he saw the book Micmac Hieroglyphic Prayers, he immediately asked me if I could "reconstruct" a more contemporary text and contribute it to his exhibition. The idea was that I would write the text and he would add a visual component in harmony with the graphs and the meaning of the text.

I first declined the request. It was, and still is, my conviction that this knowledge belongs to the Micmac first and that, consequently, they should be invited to participate. I explained this to Jean-Luc, saying that I could put him in contact with Murdena Marshall if he wished. He said that he understood the principle, but that this would delay the exhibition and be out of proportion with what he could spend on the enterprise. Asking my spirit guides for advice, I came to believe that it was perhaps a timely occasion to share a part of Micmac wisdom with someone in another part of the world.

And so I went to Jean Luc's studio, a one room loft he shares with his wife who works at home as a freelance translator, and with their rare-breed Pharaoh Hound. Here he showed me his other pieces for the show: texts in Tuareg, in Farsi, in Arabic and other languages I cannot remember. Each piece was to be reproduced in twenty serigraphic copies and numbered. Each contributor would receive three copies out of the twenty.

We settled down to work and I wrote a short text that could be translated as, "According to their collective way of thinking, the Micmac help each other because they know that [Mother] Earth has brought them to life in order for them to be compassionate and to love each other." To which Jean-Luc added a dark blue circle which recalled the shape of the ideogram for Earth in the text. Then he asked me to sign with him. I strictly refused, arguing once again that this belonged to the Micmac peoples. He insisted. So I wrote, in smaller and lighter ideograms, "This is how the Micmac think," and I signed D.E. Cyr.

A few months later, I received my three 24 by 36 inch copies. I gave one to Hedi Bouraoui, our then retiring distinguished university professor, and I stored the other two, waiting for an occasion to give one back to the Micmac peoples.

In January 1999, to my surprise, I receive a small stack of the same work, this time turned into a greeting card, with a notation on the back: "Département des affaires internationales [de France], 12, rue de Louvois, 75002 Paris. Avec l'aimable autorisation de la Galerie Florence Arnaud." And Jean Luc had wrritten: "Here is a nice surprise, thanks to the Department of International Affairs and the Ministry of Culture. This greeting card will be sent to all embassies and cultural centres in the world. Congratulations and Happy 1999."

I rushed to the phone and called Jean Luc in Paris. He told me the head of International Affairs saw the exhibition and found the Micmac ideograms to be the most beautiful writing system, and the content of its text to be the most peaceful and international message he could dream of for a New Year greeting card.

I would like to say thank-you to the Micmac. They have always been known for their great sense of sharing, for their respect of others and thus, for their diplomacy. I would like to give them my profound gratitude and to tell them, " Living among you and working with you has made me a better human being than I was perhaps meant to be."

Danielle Cyr is an associate professor with the Department of French Studies, Faculty of Arts

Two years ago the provincial government launched a matching fund program for endowed student support. Your generous gifts and pledges for student assistance are matched dollar for dollar through the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF).

The deadline for this program is fast approaching. March 31, 1999 is the last day that gifts to endowed student support can be matched through OSOTF.

If you haven't contributed, please consider it now. And if you have -- would you consider an additional gift? You can designate your donation to any area of the University. If you're feeling exceptionally generous, a gift of $5,000 will allow you to establish your own named award. You will, of course, receive a tax receipt for your donation.

Forty years ago, on March 26, 1959, the York University Act was passed by the legislature at Queens Park. Mr. Leslie Frost was the Premier. Dr. W. J. Dunlop was the Minister of Education.

Today we launch our fortieth birth year with graduates, faculty, staff, students, governors and friends of York University.

We congratulate our founders for their values and vision. Speaking to a reporter for The Toronto Telegram on February 16, 1960, York's Founding President Dr. Murray Ross said, "York is planned as essentially a liberal arts college where its students will get 'an education' in the broader sense, rather than professional training in a specialized field. Specialized training can come later -- probably at York itself as the university develops -- but the emphasis is going to remain on a general and liberal education".

In 1959, we had no faculty, no students, no buildings -- only President Murray Ross
and grand dreams. Forty years later we have more than 40,000 students, more than 4,500 faculty and staff and we have just completed a $108 million campaignthe largest in York's history.

You will hear this year about York's excellence in research and teaching when we launch 40 Years of Research at York -- a publication you will want to read.

You will read about the honours and awards that have been bestowed upon our faculty over our forty
year history in a special project designed by our late colleague, Professor Robert Haynes, past president of the Royal Society of Canada.

On March 26, you will celebrate with our founding president and the first pioneers of York as we gather in Vari Hall at 12:30 p.m. to unveil our anniversary banner. Join us at the anniversary reception in Founders Dining Hall at 1 p.m.

Alumni! Make this your year to re-visit York, see our excellence, witness our growth to Canada's 3rd largest university, meet today's wonderful students and rejoice in your alma mater's success!

We invite you to contribute your memories to York's archives as we continue to document the history of this remarkable and innovative institution of higher learning.

This is the beginning of our fifth decade -- join with us in advancing our tradition in innovation and excellence.
Enjoy York at Forty -- a year to be proud.

Lorna R. Marsden, PhD

The following eight formal stages, which succeeded each other in remarkably short order, represented the Ontario legislature's approval and consent process for Bill Pr6, An Act to incorporate York University: Statutes of Ontario, 7-8 Elizabeth II, 1959, Chapter 145.

1)February 3, 1959 -- A petition for the incoporation of York University was read by Mr. H. Leslie Rowntree, MPP (a government back-bencher from Toronto) and received by the legislature.

2)February 12, 1959 -- a report from the Standing Committee on Standing Orders, which found the notice of the foregoing petition to be sufficient.

3)February 17, 1959 -- Introduction by Mr. Rowntree and First Reading of Private Member's Bill No. Pr6, An Act to incorporate York University.

4)February 26, 1959 -- The Standing Committee on Private Bills reported Bill Pr6 to the legislature with certain amendments.

5)March 4, 1959 -- Second Reading by the legislature

6)March 13, 1959 -- the House considered Bill Pr6 in Committee of the Whole and reported the bill back to the legislature.

7)March 16th, 1959 -- Third Reading by the legislature.

Anniversaries are both times to celebrate and to reflect on what has gone before and what is yet to come. When thinking about the past, we often seek out our archives to find exactly what happened, when, and how. For this reason York University Archives is receiving a lot of calls from around the University from faculty, staff, and students seeking documentation about York's early years to assist with the imminent 40th Anniversary celebrations.

Such attention reflects the primary mission of the York University Archives to acquire, preserve, and make available the archival records of the University, which includes the records of its governing, administrative, academic
and student bodies. These records are retained in the first instance for their legal or evidential value and can consist of minutes of meetings, regulations, policies, correspondence and reports of Faculties, departments and administrative offices. Over time they serve a secondary value as an important historical resource for people seeking information about the history of the University.

A second important mandate of York University Archives is its acquisition of private papers of individuals and organizations, including the private papers of York professors, to support teaching and research in Canadian Studies in general and more specifically, in the fine arts in Canada (particularly dance and theatre), the urban reform movements in Ontario, women's studies and labour history. In the realm of Canadian literature, the archives has a wealth of primary resources including the private papers of Margaret Laurence, Susan Swan, Adele Wiseman, Don Coles, Bruce Powe and Bill Bissett..

Other collections of significance housed at the ASC include the Canadiana Collection which constitutes a major resource for students and scholars in the field of Canadian studies. Dating from the 18th century to the present, the collection covers a wide variety of subjects that include social and political issues, religion, fine arts and women's studies. Many of the pamphlets and ephemera in the collections are now out of print or hard to find. Also of significance is the Gibson Collection, a generous bequest of Mr. Robert Gibson in 1994. It focuses on Ontario and Quebec and covers history, early accounts of explorations to North America, biography, the social sciences and the fine arts.

Despite the existence of this wealth of unique, in some cases extremely rare, documentation in archival and printed forms, the first expression of many first time users of York University Archives and Special Collections is still "I didn't know you had all this stuff here."

Over the next few months, we hope to introduce you to some of the gems of our collections and draw your attention to the significant role the University Archives has to play in commemorating our 40th anniversary. We welcome your comments and a visit to Archives and Special Collections in 305 Scott Library. Or e-mail us at archives@yorku.ca

U.S. COMPANIES HUNGRY FOR CANADIAN COMPUTER GRADS are contributing to the labour shortage. More than three-quarters of Canadian computer science and engineering students say they are willing to take jobs in the U.S., according to one survey. (Source: The Globe and Mail http://www.globeandmail.ca 2/10/99.)

COLLEGE DROP OUT RATE RABID IN BRITAIN. The British government has threatened to close the country's vocational colleges that fail to make the grade, reports BBC News. At least 7 per cent of the colleges, which provide a range of academic courses and training opportunities, have dropout rates that exceed 50 per cent. (Source: BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk 2/17/99.)

INTERNET AFFECTING COLLEGE APPLICATIONS. Colleges and universities across the U.S. are reporting sharp increases in the number of applicants for this fall's freshman class, reports The New York Times. Admissions officers say the reasons include a record number of high school graduates and increases in financial aid, particularly at Ivy League institutions. But the biggest reason for the trend appears to be the Internet. Several Web-sites allow users to send electronic applications to several institutions at once, a practice that is encouraged by some colleges and universities that waive the application fee for online submissions. (Source: The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com 2/17/99.)

TAKING STOCK OF THE MARKET BOOM. The booming stock market in recent years led to an sharp increase in the average value of college and university endowments for fiscal year 1998, according to a study by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Stock market growth has also benefitted the nation's wealthiest grant makers, which gave 28 per cent more to charity in 1998 than in 1997, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Total giving increased from $4.86 billion to $6.24 billion. (Sources: Academe Today http://chronicle.com 2/12/99; Philanthropy News Digest 2/24/99; The Chronicle of Philanthropy http://www.philanthropy.com 2/25/99.)

ONLINE ED AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. The growing popularity of online education has sparked a debate over possible changes needed in federal copyright law, reports The New York Times. For more than two decades, the law has provided an important exemption that allows distance learning teachers to perform or display certain copyrighted works without the author's permission. (Source: The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com 2/10/99.)

THE POTENTIAL OF E-PUBLISHING. The March 18 issue of The New York Review of Books notes that the technology that once seemed to threaten the existence of publishing might now be the only thing that can save some if its forms, writes Robert Darnton, a professor of history at Princeton University, and the president of the American Historical Association. Time and inflation have not been kind to the printed academic journal or to scholarly monographs, which he says are quickly becoming extinct, as libraries cut them from their budgets to compensate for skyrocketing periodical prices. These developments have added to the pressure on academics starting their career. "Any assistant professor knows the categorical imperative: publish or perish, which translates into something more immediate: no monograph, no tenure," he says. The solution, writes Darnton, lies in the electronic medium, with its relatively cheap costs. (See www.nybooks.com/nyrev/index.html.)