Dawson College

DAWSON
Dawson College News for the Community.
April 2010 Vol. 5 No. 3
True knowledge exists in knowing
that you know nothing.
Socrates
(469 BC - 399 BC)
Classical Greek philosopher
Be not astonished at new ideas;
for it is well known to you that a thing
does not therefore cease to be true
because it is not accepted by many.
Baruch Spinoza
(1632 - 1677)
Dutch philosopher
Photo: Roger Aziz
The surest way to corrupt a youth
is to instruct him to hold in higher
esteem those who think alike
than those who think differently.
Friedrich Nietzsche
(1844 - 1900)
German philosopher
OLYMPIC GIRLS BRING IT HOME
SAVE THE DATE
May 5, 6, 7
Midsummer Night Kickass Dream
Dawson Theatre Collective
To June 8
Year-End Exhibitions
(see page 6 for full listing)
Dawson graduate Catherine Ward and current student Marie-Philip Poulin brought their medals
and pride back to Dawson to thank the community for its support well before the Olympics put
them in the national spotlight. After a celebration in the Lower Atrium retiring the sweaters they
wore as Blues, the two young women answered questions in the Theatre from students, faculty
and staff about perseverance, determination, discipline and the Olympic experience.
Catherine went on to be a star with the McGill women’s hockey team after graduation and is
now enrolled at Boston College completing her MBA. Marie-Philip had an incredible first semester
with the Blues, racking up 58 points in just 15 games, maintaining her grades throughout. She took
the second semester off to join the national team for the Olympics. Scouts from five major schools
in the northeastern U.S., including Harvard, have been courting her since her return from the Olympics.
Pictured here, Catherine and Marie-Philip were welcomed by students in the Atrium and
later in the Theatre, flanked by their former coaches, brother and sister dynamos Scott and
Andrea Lambton (left) and Derek Mott (right).
May 14
Last day of classes
June 9
Golf Tournament
June 22
Convocation
Place des Arts
Council of Career Programs
celebrates 200
On Monday, May 31, the Council of Career
Programs reaches an important milestone in
its history - its 200th meeting. A portion of the
meeting’s agenda will be devoted to honouring
the work of the Council and its founders. Past
chairs Liz Charles, Cerise Morris, Toni Taylor
and Karen Gabriele will be in attendance. Invitations have also been extended to
former Director General, Patrick Woodsworth,
who is credited with setting up the first Careers
Council in 1987, and former Dean of Technical programs Michael Robillard, who fostered
the Careers Council through its early years and
its transition to the Atwater campus. Director
General, Richard Filion, and Academic Dean,
Bob Kavanagh have also been invited.
CAREER PROGRAMS continued on page 2.
1
CAREER PROGRAMS continued from page 1.
Careers Council was one of several
teacher-governed consultative bodies that
were set up in the early days of Dawson
College to bring teachers together to discuss
pedagogy and to enhance links between and
integration within programs.
Liz Charles, the first elected chair of
the Careers Council in 1988, described the
early council as a unique group that, while
diverse, had many common links, and one
major area of commonality - the endproduct of producing and placing skilled
workers in the job market. She particularly remembered the lengths to which the
department chairs went in order to “stretch
their interest and imagination” to embrace
the aspirations and understand the needs
of their sister programs. Liz also cited the
wonderful atmosphere of mutual respect
and belief in the expertise of the technical
program teachers.
The current Council of Career Programs
has maintained the positive and supportive
atmosphere of the early days, and continues to provide career department chairs
and program coordinators with what Liz
Charles describes as a “community of practice” where they can gather as pedagogues
to discuss teaching practices and program
management strategies.
The Council is involved in virtually every
pedagogical and academic development at
the College. Guests from all branches of the
College regularly visit the Council to bring
issues to the table, disseminate information
and answer questions. The collective discussion of mutual interests preserves resources
and leads to a far more efficient process of
implementing pedagogical, administrative
and/or ministerial initiatives.
Issues stemming from the educational
reforms of the last decade and a half have
been particularly prominent on the Council’s agendas. Liz recalls that even as early
as 1988, the Council had started discussions
on the “program approach” with Sally
Nelson from the English Department and
other contributing disciplines, long before it
became a Ministerial objective.
In 1996, Karen Gabriele, as chair at
that time, remembers that the Council
adopted one of the first College documents
on program committees and program
approach written by Sandra Frosst. Also
during her tenure, the Council created the
College’s first program revision templates
to guide the technical programs through
the revision process, and also developed a
template for technical program constitutions that is still in use to this day.
Other areas of ongoing interest to the
Council over the years have included student
success, literacy, teaching excellence, learning
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
Case competition reflects entire community
CAREER PROGRAMS continued from page 1.
Pictured here, from top left: Robert Soroka, Dominic Durocher, bottom left: Christopher
Mennillo, David Daych, Alessio Recine.
The Business Administration Department’s 4th Annual Bilingual Business Case Competition
took place on March 21 with 23 CEGEP teams from across the province registering for the
extremely competitive event.
The day’s activities have come to represent not only an occasion to witness the kind of
excellence CEGEP students across the board, including Dawson’s, strive for, but also serves
to highlight the effort and professionalism of the competition’s organizers, led by Robert
Soroka, Nick Papatheodorakos and Rosario LoRaso.
The results of the day were no less impressive, in the Marketing stream it was Collège
Édouard-Montpetit who finished first, followed by Vanier College in second and Dawson
College in third. In the Finance stream, Vanier took the top prize, with Dawson in second
and Collège Shawinigan in third. The ceremony was capped with special recognition for the
Montreal Alouettes Sports Marketing group.
Putting on such an event is a group effort, and organizers wanted to thank all the teachers, students and alumni from Business Administration who were involved, as well as Barbara Freedman and the Office of Instructional Development, Kieran Huxley, Kirk Fontaine,
and the Computer Support personnel, the Communications Office, the Office of the Dean of
Social Science and Business Technologies, particularly Diane Gauvin, Catherine Alleyne and
Catherine Leisser, the Blue Ring volunteers, and all the support services offered by Plant and
Facilities, including Cleaning and Security, led by Jorge Sanchez, Vincent Mansueto, Mario
Laccitiello and Drago Kresevic.
Louise Paul and the MELS Canada-Quebec Entente were extremely helpful in putting the “bilingual” into the Bilingual Case Competition. And the Academic Dean’s Office
provided support for the Case competition, not the least of which was the role Robert
Kavanagh played as the event’s master of ceremonies.
skills, hiring practices, admissions procedures, information systems, student and
teacher recruitment, program promotion,
websites, strategic planning, and student
evaluation.
Former councilors and guests are invited
to drop by the boardroom on Monday,
May 31 at 3:30 and join us in toasting the
Council’s illustrious history and celebrating its
many years of collaboration and exchange.
The Council looks forward to an active and
busy schedule over the upcoming years as it
continues to support pedagogical excellence
in the technical programs.
W. S. Lecky
2
Photo: Maha Haddad
ARTISTS IN BLOOM 2010
Twenty-six talented students from Fine Arts and Illustration and Design created 26 works of art that were auctioned off during Artists in Bloom 2010. The canvasses above were among the crowd favourites, the ballerina by Kass Pinsonneault and the blue girl by
Sacha Lefebvre. At the end of the night, $9,170 was counted, with more coming in. The total is expected to top $10,000 for the Tony
Proudfoot Fund of the ALS Society (Quebec). The cause is close to the hearts of the Dawson community and all Montrealers as Tony’s
legendary career in football and education has touched many lives over the years.
Tony was not up to attending the event, but his wife Vicky represented the family with her presence and her words of thanks for
the support Dawson has shown Tony in his fight.
OH, THE HUMANITIES!
If you were fortunate enough to participate
in any of the Humanities Week activities
that took place over the course of three
days in March, you may already be looking
forward to next year’s event. The variety of
speakers invited to present in the Reception
Hall was exceptional and attendance neared
standing-room only in most sessions.
The series of events included internal
and external speakers alike, and offered
teachers the opportunity to attend the
presentations and panel discussions with
their classes. The week was put together
over a six-month period by organizers Susan
Hoffmann and Michael Wood, who were
extremely pleased with the line-up and turnout. “All the sessions were well attended,
and we had a few standouts that attracted
huge audiences,” said Hoffmann.
Among the big draws were “Soldiering
in Kandahar, a Philosopher’s Perspective”
in which Canadian Armed Forces Captain
Derrick Farnham discussed the theatre of
war and ways of understanding war experiences, issues and even terminology from a
philosophical angle. Also bringing in large
numbers were “Shakespeare’s Publics/Public Shakespeares, The Hamlet Effect: How
Shakespeare Made Modern Public Life”
hosted by McGill’s Paul Yachnin, and “Economics without Ecocide,” the presentation
by renowned author Peter Brown.
For those of us looking forward to
next year’s event, we don’t need to wait too
long, as Humanities Week 2011 will be taking place in September rather than March.
“Because the humanities are somewhat
mysterious to new students, we thought that
hosting an event that demystifies the place
of the humanities in society during their first
semester would be more beneficial to them.”
explained Hoffmann. With this revised event
schedule, the organizers are already looking
at ways to ensure an equally successful series
this coming fall.
PLATO’S THE APOLOGY OF SOCRATES
Dawson students and the theatre-going
public, including teachers and staff, were
treated to a wonderful and quite humorous
rendition of the philosopher’s defence while
on trial for his life in Athens, following the
end of the Peloponnesian War.
PLATO continued on page 11...
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
3
CULTURAL TRIPS ENRICH THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE
As any one of the North-South students over the past 16 years can attest, travelling to the places one studies adds a dimension
no book can match. Travel and the learning experience are not limited to North-South Studies. Teachers from Dawson have
been taking students to Europe, Central America and the Middle East for years along with locations closer to home.
Colombia reveals itself
Students in the Languages profile and complementaries
learned that all is not what it seems in Colombia.
Two teachers who firmly believe in the travellearning experience are María Fernanda
Benavides and Nelly Muresan from Modern
Languages. Last year, they took 13 students
to Colombia for two weeks, the second of
two successful trips they have organized. The
first was to Mexico in January 2008. They are
already working on the third edition for 2011.
The students on the Colombia trip
were from the Languages profile in Creative
Arts, Literature and Languages Students
as well as from language complementaries.
Not only was it an excellent opportunity to
practice the Spanish they learned in class,
they increased their historical and cultural
knowledge of Colombia and its people.
The itinerary included a two-day visit
to the National Tairona Park where students
experienced sleeping in a hammock, eating
barracuda, discovering a tropical jungle and
walking through the same pathways the
Tairona indigenous community did more
than 1,000 years ago.
The group also visited the beautiful
colonial city of Cartagena, and experienced
the unique ‘chiva’ ride on a bus. After a
drive through an area surrounded by banana
plantations, the students visited Aracataca,
the hometown of the famous writer Gabriel
Garcia Marquez.
Perhaps the most important lesson of
all was the chance for students to develop
an awareness of the Latin American reality
through first hand exposure to rural life
of the displaced Colombian community of
Santa Marta.
For one week, students worked with
underprivileged children of an elementary
school, performed daily activities such as
role-playing, mini work projects, English
grammar exercises as well as arts and crafts.
The students and children got to know each
other very well; each morning as the bus
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
arrived at the school, the Dawson group was
welcomed with hugs and kisses.
The group was able to arrive at the
village with generous donations from the
Dawson community of clothes and shoes
collected in a drive on campus. Cinema/
Video/Communications teacher John
Connolly and his students helped the
group promote the cause and students who
participated in the trip conducted successful
fundraising campaigns. The experience in
Colombia, particularly with the children of
Santa Marta, made an indelible impression
on students and teachers alike.
King Tut holds many secrets
Students in Jiri Tucker’s archeology class interacted
with experts in antiquities at Tut exhibit in Toronto.
Students in Jiri Tucker’s Archeology class
did not have to travel so far to see one of the
deepest mysteries of all time. Toronto’s Art
Gallery of Ontario (AGO) featured Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great
Pharaohs, with 130 objects unearthed from
the tombs of the Boy King and other pharaohs
spread out over four galleries. The show has
run for the better part of 6 months to sell-out
crowds proving Tut continues to enchant.
Dawson students were no less enchanted
by the storied and mysterious Boy King who
died at the age of 18. Their curiosity and
academic involvement led to a lively and
profound discourse that impressed even the
curator of the Royal Ontario Museum who
is an expert on antiquities and a University
of Toronto archaeologist. He met them as a
group at the Verity Club, a private women’s
club in Toronto.
Jiri hopes to take his students a little
further afield in the future - Greece to be
precise.
As the exhibit could not be photographed, resourceful Dawson students
made a video of their trip which can be
accessed at http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=WaaU9tpg9TY.
Watching the wheels of power in motion
Law, Society and Justice got an up-close view of how
law and justice work within society.
The Law, Society and Justice profile of Social
Science made a trip to Ottawa to visit the
halls of power, in every sense of the word.
They went to the Supreme Court and the
House of Commons to see in action the very
processes they study in class.
First, Ted Irwin, profile coordinator, and
Pierre L’Heureux (History) accompanied the
Greyhound bus full of students to the
Supreme Court to hear the appeal of the
Robert Pickton trial. The students also
participated in a mock trial and toured the
Supreme Court building after the hearing.
After lunch, the students went to Parliament where they met Marc Garneau, the
MP for Westmount and former astronaut.
Mr. Garneau had arranged for the students
to attend Question Period in the House of
Commons where they saw many of Canada’s
leaders participate in floor debate, including
Opposition leaders Michael Ignatieff (Liberals)
and Gilles Duceppe (Bloc), and MPS like
Thomas Mulcair (NDP), as well as government ministers Jim Flaherty and Peter
McKay.
Overall, it was an enriching experience
for the students in the profile who worked
so hard on this project led by the very active
Law, Society and Justice Student Association.
Barbara Freedman and Tina Romeo of the
Office of Instructional Development made
the trip possible through the Student Success
Plan, as well as Dean Diane Gauvin and
Alice Havel.
The group was especially grateful for
the help and welcome of the staff of the
Supreme Court who went beyond any
reasonable expectation to make the visit
possible.
TRIPS continued on page 10...
4
Reviving the Model UN
at Dawson
Dawson College had a pretty good run in
the past with the Model United Nations
student activity. Unfortunately, it ended a
few years back, but Ted Irwin (Geography;
Profile Coordinator, Law, Justice and Society)
has high hopes for its reincarnation in
2010-2011.
Model United Nations is an exciting
and interesting academic simulation of the
United Nations for students at all academic
levels that is practiced all over the world.
Teams from high schools, colleges and
universities compete by taking on roles as
countries and individual diplomats in simulated sessions to debate, deliberate, negotiate
and resolve important world issues and
problems.
In addition to these activities, Model
UN competitions have simulated things as
diverse as the Greco-Persian Wars, WWII
and an annual meeting of the owners of the
National Football League.
Dawson College has decided to organize
a model United Nations for next year going
by the name DawsonMUN, that will be
open to all students in all programs. The
2010-2011 plans for DawsonMUN are to:
• Organize and prepare teams of students
to participate in McMUN 2011 at McGill
in January 2011 and NMUN April 17-21 in
New York.
• Prepare DawsonMUN for participation
in an international Model United Nations
competition in spring of 2012 (as well as
maintaining participation in 2011 events).
• Organize fundraising for the DawsonMUN students to attend both McMUN
at McGill and the National Model United
Nations competition in New York.
Ted is hoping to drum up interest by sensitizing incoming students as early as Orientation about the benefits of participating, and
by reaching current and returning students
through the various means of communications used by the College to keep students
involved in extracurricular activities that
have a direct effect on their understanding
of the world.
The organization of the DawsonMUN
will begin in August. Teachers should encourage students to participate and if they
are interested, should contact Ted Irwin at
tirwin@dawsoncollege.qc.ca or
(514) 931-8731 ext. 1582.
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
CONCOURS DES DéBATS ORATOIRES WINNERS
From left to right (1st row): Me Robert La Haye, Dr. Sophie Brière, the Hon. Gilles Hébert,
and Yannick Villedieu; (second row) René Villemure, Dawson winning students Howard
Cohen and Daniel Del Balso, Me Marc Charbonneau.
Dawson students take 21st edition
of Concours des débats oratoires
Howard Cohen and Daniel Del Balso beat out debaters from nine other colleges, both anglophone and francophone, to take top prize in the prestigious debating contest Concours des
débats oratoires.
The final match up on March 25 was with Chawki Bensalem and Vincent Mai of Collège
international Marie de France. The prize for winning the debate final was $500 for each of
the two students, with runner up prizes for semi-finalist competitors
The Barreau de Montréal provided the topic to be debated in advance: “To intervene
medically against sex offenders, for or against?” This allowed Howard and Daniel the
opportunity to prepare. The two seasoned debaters did much research into the subject and
were richly rewarded with a victory against stiff competition.
The jury was presided by the Hon. Gilles Hébert, a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec,
and composed of Dr. Sophie Brière, Me Robert La Haye, Yanick Villedieu and René Villemure.
Howard started debating in Sec. 2 at Lower Canada College, and by Sec. 4 was participating in several high school debating tournaments, both in Montreal and throughout
Canada.
“I truly developed a passion for debating, which also had the added benefits of travelling
as well as meeting extremely interesting debaters from across the country,” he said
Daniel Del Balso began in Sec. 5 at Vincent Massey Collegiate and says he was fortunate
to have attended many tournaments in Montreal and across Canada, and considers debating
“an invaluable skill.”
It is clear the August jury of the Concours des débats oratoires agrees with him.
5
Unique opportunities to view graduating student work
Once again this year, the Creative and
Applied Arts sector has assembled a vast
array of impressive work produced by
graduating students in across programs and
profiles to be showcased over three weeks
in May and June.
These gala vernissages and exhibitions
have turned into Dawson’s social events of
the year by providing a perfect setting to
see the fruits of labour of both students and
teachers, to witness the pride of families
and to mingle and chat with colleagues at
the end of a long school year.
Below is a listing of the exhibits and
vernissages scheduled for the year-end
showcase:
• Creative Arts, Literature and Languages
Continuing Exhibitions
The Road to Peace is not an easy one
Art History students explore the theme “the
image as violence” by combining images
drawn from art history with ones they have
created themselves.
Library wall, 5th floor C Wing,
back corridor Identities:
On the road . . . what do we see . . .
a diversity of identities . . . of communities . . .
telling their stories.
Library wall, 5th floor, C Wing, back corridor
I LOVE C.A.L.L.
Library wall, 5th floor, C Wing, east side.
Visual Arts Profile student exhibition
5th Floor, C wing
Bathroom Poetry exhibitions:
3rd and 4th floor, E Wing bathrooms
Languages and Cinema/Video/
Communication
Dawson Theatre
Saturday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.
“Talk With Me” - Interdisciplinary
collaboration. Explore the fascinating
aspects of human language and
communication.
Cinema/Video/Communication
Dawson Theatre
Showings:
Thursday, May 13
Will Aitken’s IA class - “Memory Project”
screens at 7:00 and 9:00 (two showings)
Friday, May 14
Cin/Vid/Comm Media Night screens at 7:00
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
• Industrial Design
Graduating Students’ Exhibition
Reception Hall (5B.16)
Vernissage:
May 19 (Wed.), 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Exhibition:
May 20, for special guests
May 21, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
May 22, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Illustration & Design
Graduating Students’ Exhibition
Cafeteria (3rd floor)
Vernissage:
May 20 (Thurs.), 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Exhibition:
May 21, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
May 22, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Fine Arts
Graduating Students’ Exhibition
Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery (2G.0)
+ 2G.4 + 2G Hallway
Vernissage:
May 21 (Fri.), 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Exhibition:
May 25-28, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
(CLOSED May 22-24-Saturday, Sunday,
and Victoria Day Monday)
• Professional Photography
Graduating Students’ Exhibition
Conrod’s (2F.4)
Vernissage:
May 26 (Wed.), 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Exhibition:
May 27, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
May 28, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
May 29, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Success starts here:
The jury is in
After a judging session on April 7 that
lasted well over three hours, the names of
the 36 recipients of the Success Starts Here
scholarships offered by the Regroupement
des fondations collégiales de Montréal
(RFCM) were announced two weeks ago.
The three award winners from Dawson
are Kirsten Cameron (AEC Commercial
Photography), Virginie Gosselin (Professional Photography) and Meng Ying Wang
(Health Science). Congratulations! A gala
awards ceremony was held on April 28 to
present the awards.
The Regroupement launched this year’s
program in February and received more
than 350 applications from students in preuniversity, career and Continuing Education
programs from the 12 on-island CEGEPS.
From these 350-plus, selections were made
based on the strength of the student’s letter,
a letter of support from a College faculty or
staff member, and marks.
A total of 36 scholarships of $1,000
were awarded; three to each College with
one going to a student in a pre-university
program, another to a student in a career
program and the third to a student enrolled
in a full-time program through Continuing
Education or an AEC program. A jury’s
special prize went to one of the 36 in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments,
for Kavi Velauthapillai of Vanier College.
Last year, James Povitz (Commerce,
Social Science), Alex Walsh (Science) and
Rebecca Ward (Liberal Arts) from Dawson
were the College’s three inaugural award
winners.
• Interior Design
Graduating Students’ Exhibition
Avenue Art Gallery, 10 King Street in
Old Montreal (Square Victoria metro)
For directions & map, visit
www.avenueart.ca and select Contact
Vernissage: May 31 (Mon.), 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Exhibition:
May 31, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
June 1, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
June 2, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Graphic Design
Graduating Students’ Exhibition
Conrod’s (2F.4)
Vernissage:
June 2 (Wed.), 5:30 to 10:00 p.m.
Exhibition:
June 3-8, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
(Saturday-Closing at 5:00 p.m.;
Sunday-CLOSED)
This photo of Photography Technician
Terry Sawyer was taken by one of Dawon’s
winners, Kirsten Cameron.
6
Photo: Roger Aziz
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde to return ahead of schedule
In the seven months since the statue of the Madonna and Child were removed from the dome, restorers and artists have been painstakingly taking it apart, repairing it and putting it back together. The work has been meticulous, but it has gone well, despite some
disappointing findings along the way, and will be replaced ahead of schedule.
The entire project has been documented in photos by Dawson graduate, photographer Roger Aziz, and the work can be viewed on
his website, blog.rogeraziz.com/2010/04/dawson-statue-repairs-2/. It includes a time lapse video of the take-down operation and will
have a second video added once the operation to return the statue is completed. Workers will begin to ready the dome for the operation
in mid-May, a full month before expected.
Above, Director of Plant and Facilities Drago Kresevic takes a closer look at the restoration work. The full height of the statue can
be appreciated if you consider that Drago stands almost 6 feet 2 inches.
One of the disappointments during the restoration work was that the head and shoulders of the Madonna figure could not be saved
as the damage was too extensive. But the restorers were able to gather enough information about the original mold from the British
company that cast it in 1907 to create an exact replica. The original pieces will be returned to the College.
The figure of the baby remains solid and is the one piece of the statue that is closest to its original state. A new coat of mineralbased paint will be applied to match the original colour of the statue and a new anchoring system has been designed to attach it to the dome.
The statue’s religious significance is obvious, but its historical value as an artifact of a bygone era remains the most important
reason to safeguard a precious piece of history, from the conception of the statue in France, to its molding in England, its transport
across the Atlantic by ship and its installation on the heritage building that is now Dawson College.
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
7
SPORTS NEWS
WOMEN’S AND MEN’S
BASKETBALL FINISH STRONG
Dawson’s AAA Women’s basketball took bronze at the nationals in B.C. They were accompanied
by coach Trevor Williams (front centre), Athletics Director Paul Rastelli (far left), Athletic Therapist
Michelle Beckles and PARC technician Amy Soulis (far right).
time to dust off the golf clubs
Dawson College and its supporters have
raised over $140,000 for its Students in
Need and Scholarships and Awards programs over the past five years. Through the
annual golf tournament, Dawson brings
together its staff, faculty, friends and suppliers to raise funds for these worthy causes.
The Dawson College Foundation
along with title sponsor Place Alexis Nihon,
is once again seeking the support of the
community for this event being held on
Wednesday, June 9th.
Though programs such as Awards and
Scholarships were sustained in the past by
corporate sponsorship in the form of the
College’s Coca Cola contract, they have
been funded exclusively by the golf tournament since that contract ended. Without
the current influx of golf tournament funds,
there would be no Entrance or In-Course
Awards, nor would there be any College
support for students experiencing financial
difficulties.
Despite the fact that this tournament
attracts many golfers from the Dawson
Community, the organizers point out that
there are other ways to participate as well.
In past years, faculty and staff have come
forward with auction items that account for
much of the revenues of the event.
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
Signed sports memorabilia, restaurant
gift certificates and hockey tickets have
been donated and have generated significant
funds for the targeted services. So once
again this year, the organizing committee is
welcoming any such contributions, as they
are just as important as the other forms
of donations to the cause (items can be
dropped off in room 2E.10).
Those who are thinking of participating in the tournament but are hesitant
because of their less-than-stellar golf skills
should not be deterred; organizers place
weaker players with stronger groups to ensure that no one gets left behind. Over the
years, many first-time golfers have become
captivated by the sport. This is evident in
this year’s membership of Dawson’s Noswad
golf club, which now boasts over 50 members.
If you’d like to participate, or know
any golfers who’d like to spend the day
at the Hemmingford Golf and Country
Club and be entertained by local celebrities
afterward, sign up by visiting the Dawson
website and clicking on the tournament
ad at the bottom of the homepage. Our
students are counting on us!
Dawson College has always been known
for its strong basketball program and this
year was no different. Both the women’s
and men’s AAA team had great seasons.
In fact, the women’s AAA team had a
banner year. They upset the defending champion Cégep de Sainte-Foy in the provincial
championship. Next up, they were off to
Okanagan, British Columbia (at the
University of British Columbia campus) to
participate in the nationals as the secondranked team in the country. Playing the
seventh-ranked Lethbridge Kodiaks in the
tournament’s inaugural game was a stiff
test for the women, but showing their
strength of character they managed to eke
out a 79-75 win.
In the semi-finals, they faced sixthranked Mount St. Vincent and as both
teams were coming off emotionally and
physically draining games, it looked like it
was going to be an excellent game. Plenty
was at stake as the winner would be going
on to the finals. It was a back-and-forth
game throughout with several lead changes
taking place. In the third and fourth quarters the game became a ferociously played
one with plenty of scrambles for loose balls
and hard fouls occurring. In the fourth
quarter, the plucky Mount St. Vincent team
pulled away for a 60-48 victory.
While the team from Dawson came to
win gold, they now had to refocus themselves for the battle to get to the bronze
medal game. Their opponents were the
host UBC Okanagan team. Despite the
home court advantage for UBC Okanagan,
Dawson was able to win by a slim 62-57
margin.
The number one ranked Sheridan
College was Dawson’s opponent in the
bronze medal game. Both top ranked teams
would be looking for some redemption and
to come home with a medal. As you would
expect from these evenly matched teams the
game stayed tight throughout as the largest
lead was 8 points. In the end Dawson won
by a 67-61 score. Our girls had won the
bronze medal at the nationals.
While the men’s AAA basketball team
did not go to the nationals, they too had
a successful season topping it off with
a bronze medal at the provincials held
at Ahuntsic College in the beginning of
March.
8
GEARING UP FOR
THE NEXT OLYMPICS
DAWSON ROW ROW ROWS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
This spring has been a busy time for the Dawson Rowing Team. They travelled to Europe to
get some early season practice in and they hosted an Ergathon to raise money for the Tony
Proudfoot Outdoor Education Fund.
Not only has the Dawson Rowing Team given its team members training in the sport
and important lessons about working as a team, but it has also offered an opportunity for
the rowers to see the world. Last year, the rowing team went to Georgia for some early
season spring training at the same facility that the U.S. Olympic team used in preparation for
the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. This year the team went a little further as they
traveled to the Netherlands and England.
Just before Reading Week in March, the team left for Amsterdam to participate in the
Heineken Roeivierkamp on the Amstel River that flows right through the heart of the city of
canals. It was a beautiful location for the rowing competition that took place on March 13-14.
For this, the opening rowing regatta of the Dutch season, huge crowds gathered along
the sides of the river and at the nearby Nereus Rowing Club despite the cold weather. The
team did well even though they had not yet raced together. After competing in races of
distances of 250m, 750m, 2,500m, and 5,000m, the Men’s Eights ended up in 11th place
and the Women’s Eights in 6th place.
While in Amsterdam the team also took the opportunity to take in some of the sights
this great city has to offer. Trips to museums and to the Anne Frank House were organized.
Next, it was off to England where the team first stayed in a 400 year old farmhouse in
Oxford. From there they made the short trip to Henley-on-Thames and had the pleasure
of being hosted by the prestigious and legendary Leander Rowing Club. The last summer
Olympics netted medals for 13 of its rowers, including several golds.
Founded in 1818, the Leander is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world and is
home club to many members of the British Olympic Rowing Team. The Dawson Rowing
Team was graciously hosted (and fed!) by the people at Leander and got in many hours of
important practice on the Thames River. There was also a chance to visit the River and
Rowing Museum located within walking distance of the Leander Club.
Finally, it was on to London, where the team members were hosted by rowing clubs based
in the Hammersmith area. As was evident from the large turnout, rowing draws British
spectators just as hockey draws Canadian crowds.
Upon their return, the hard work of the team continued. On April 10, the rowing team
hosted its annual ergathon, involving teams taking turns rowing continuously for two hours.
Prizes were given to teams that raised the most and those that rowed the farthest.
For the second year in a row, the monies raised went towards the Tony Proudfoot
Outdoor Education Fund. Clearly an enthusiastic supporter of the event, Tony Proudfoot
was there himself to cheer on the rowers. He inspired a whole host of rowers to push themselves to the limit as he had as an athlete.
Photo: Carey-Ann Pawsey
Zoe Rubin - remember this name as it is
one you might hear a lot of at the next
Winter Olympics. She is a young snowboarder who is quickly making her way up
the ranks of the Canadian snowboarding
team. Zoe is also a Dawson College
student in the Health Science program.
Starting to snowboard a mere three
seasons ago, Zoe, who began skiing at the
age of two and used to ski race, has quickly
become a master at her new sport. Influenced by a fellow snowboarder to take up
the sport, she has adapted to it like a duck
to water - so much so that she is now on
both the Quebec Snowboarding team and
the National Development Team and has
competed at international events.
Zoe’s “home” hill is Mont-Tremblant,
the same as Olympic champion Jasey-Jay
Anderson, but competitions have brought
her to places like Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Mount Bachelor, Oregon and Mont
Blanc, Quebec. Her specialty is the Parallel
Giant Slalom.
During a typical week for Zoe during
the season, she will snowboard three times
a week for five hours and do some dry land
training twice a week, and participates in
races about every second weekend. The
schedule can be hectic.
As is the case for most amateur athletes,
securing much-needed sponsorship is
difficult and the traveling (she has to drive
herself to most events) throughout Canada
and the U.S. is tiring.
Zoe is in the Health Science program
and because of her intense training she has
managed to juggle both by taking a reduced
course load and then picking up classes in
the summer semester. Obviously, she has
managed to keep up with her school work
despite her busy schedule as Zoe will be
attending McGill University next year in
the Physiology program.
With the last Winter Olympics being
held in Vancouver this year, it afforded
this dedicated athlete the opportunity to
experience everything close up. Though she
accompanied the Canadian ski and snowboard team, she did not stay in the Athletes’
Village, but was billeted by a family living
very close to the snowboard venue.
Despite the poor conditions on the hill
due to the warm weather, Zoe managed to
get in a couple of runs a day on the Olympic
courses. She was also on hand to watch
several of the events. This experience will
be an important one in helping her take the
next step in her snowboarding career.
Members of the women’s rowing team take to the water at the fabled Leander Rowing Club at
Henley-on-Thames in England.
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
9
TRIPS continued from page 3...
SPACE CRUNCH GETS DOWN TO NUTS AND BOLTS
What can you fit into one million square
feet of floor space? Twenty football fields
would fit. So would fifty hockey rinks. Or,
in the case of Dawson College, you can fit
10,000 students, 1,000 employees 115 labs,
104 classrooms and 44 washrooms, among
other things.
Though this may seem like a lot of
space, most members of the Dawson community would agree that despite being
housed in this massive building, we still feel
like we could use a bit more elbow room.
To address this real or perceived lack
of space, the Director of Plant and Facilities,
Drago Kresevic, along with the Director General and Academic Dean, held a
weeklong series of meetings with all sectors
of the College in order to share ideas, discuss
suggestions and clarify some of the realities
related to space allocation at the College.
While the meetings, which took place
the week of March 8, offered an opportunity to voice both suggestions and frustrations, they also provided the chance to have
some of our space challenges explained. For
example, the comfort of our air-conditioned
building comes at a huge space premium.
There are no less than 47 large “mechanical rooms” located throughout the
College that ensure that our air is filtered,
chilled, and circulated efficiently in our offices and classrooms.
Though these rooms occupy valuable
space that some might argue could serve
other purposes, anyone who has spent time
in our non-air-conditioned sister CEGEPs
during the warmer months might agree that
this space is well-used.
Other issues raised over the course of
the meetings included the space crunch being
experienced by Physical Education. With
facilities built to accommodate two Phys. Ed.
courses per student, the current three-course
format leaves the department in need of
space beyond what is available in the PARC
facilities.
Faculty members have long complained
about the lack of privacy offered by offices
shared by multiple teachers. Though sometimes adequate, the busy offices do not provide a comfortable environment for students
to share details about their personal issues or
course-related problems. This sentiment was
raised a number of times over the course of
the week.
Suggested solutions included renting
off-campus space, though some countered
that given how long the Dawson community
waited to be located on one campus, the
move back to multiple locations might not
be ideal.
Another suggestion was to better use
the third floor cafeteria. This space, however,
is protected as a heritage space within the
College and is therefore off-limits for any
type of subdivision.
The dialogue tended to focus not on
expansion, but on better use of existing
space. For this to happen, it was suggested
that a system to facilitate space allocation could be put into place. The idea of a
registry was floated, one that would allow
many services to view available spaces at
any given time at a glance.
In the months ahead, the pages of
suggestions recorded over those five days
in March will be discussed and analysed by
the College’s Space Allocation Committee.
Any developments based on the outcome
of the meetings will be published in future
Discover Dawson newsletters.
ElectronicS Fair
Friday, May 14
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
2H.5 and 2H.7
See projects such as the
Home Power Consumption Meter,
the Sudoku Solver and the
Basketball Return System
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
The Discover e-Newsletter is
produced by the Communications Office.
Editor: Donna Varrica
Contributors: Geoff Kloos, Carey-Ann Pawsey
Layout and graphics: Janice Bernath
Dawson’s young democrats go to
Quebec City
Students competing in Québec City.
For the first time ever, Dawson College sent
a team to compete in the Tournoi jeunes
démocrats at the National Assembly in
Québec City on April 16-18. The Tournoi
is part of the educational activities of the
National Assembly. Some two dozen public
and private CEGEPs from across Québec
attend and compete every year to demonstrate their knowledge of Québec and world
politics and history.
The Dawson team was composed of
five students and two teachers from the
Law, Society and Justice Profile: Marie-Pier
Desmeules, Karina Joly, Charles Larose
Jodin Tiffany Smith and Varvara Volkova,
along with Isabel Carrier (History) and
Cynthia Martin (Political Science).
The team prepared for three months
for the competition. Teachers in the Profile
prepared materials and assisted the students
in bi-weekly and sometimes weekly sessions
at the College through the term. Teachers
Michael Duckett, Isabelle Carrier, Pierre
L’Heureux, Cynthia Martin, Maryann
Pelton, and Michael Wasser put the students
through their paces.
Amanda Bennett, Administrative
Assistant to the Liberal Party Whip at the
National Assembly Mr. Pierre Moreau, was
instrumental in leading a number of preparation sessions over the internet and organized
an rigorous meeting with Mr. Moreau at
Dawson College to help prepare the team
on the workings of the National Assembly.
Organizational assistance was also provided
by the Law, Society and Justice Student
Association.
Ted Irwin, Law, Society and Justice
profile coordinator, who is wrapping an exceptionally busy year for the students, says
this was an intense educational experience
for the students on the team. “They learned
a great deal and brought back a number
of suggestions on how to prepare student
teams for future competitions. On behalf of
the Law, Society and Justice Profile, I would
like to thank them for representing Dawson
College at the Tournoi jeunes démocrats.”
10
Plato continued from page 3...
YOU CAN SUPPORT
TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD
NOMINATIONS
In Plato’s The Apology of Socrates, the
old Athenian philosopher defends himself rather than apologizing in the contemporary
sense - against politically motivated accusations of not recognizing the gods of the state,
of introducing new gods, and of corrupting
the Athenian youth. According to Socrates,
human excellence or virtue depends on
knowledge and so a life without self-examination of our beliefs is not a life worth living.
This production premiered in New
York in 2003 and has since been performed
to great acclaim at the United Nations, the
Athens Agora, the NBC Today Show, and in
theatres, festivals, schools, universities and
libraries around the world.
The strength of the production lies of
course in the words of the great classic Greek
philosophers, but also, extraordinarily in
the talent of the lead (and only) actor, Yannis Simonides. The Constantinople-born,
Athens-raised actor trained at the a Yale
Drama School and is an Emmy-winning
documentary producer.
He has served as professor and chair
of the NYU Tisch Drama Department and
is the founder and director of the Greek
Theatre of New York.
His warm, yet powerful performance
filled every corner of the Dawson Theatre,
with the stark and effective set complementing the scene without distracting. In a
performance that relies so much on the exchange between the actor and the audience,
who play the jury and the spectators of his
trial, Simonides looked out into the crowd
approvingly as he prepared to answer questions. “Thank you,” he said. “Tonight was a
good night.”
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
With Convocation just weeks away, our
students are busy handing in final assignments and preparing for exams. As they
eagerly await their grades and the recognition from their teachers, a select group of
teachers are also awaiting the recognition of
these very students.
As the hundreds of graduates cross
the stage at Place des Arts on June 22nd to
accept their Dawson diplomas, so too will
four teachers who have earned the respect
and commendation of their peers and students alike.
Students have been submitting online
nominations for the Director General’s
Teaching Excellence Award over the past
two semesters according to criteria outlined
by the DG’s Office and the Sector Deans.
The 698 online forms submitted included
nominations for 271 faculty members. This
list of candidates was further distilled to
24 teachers based on the total number of
nominations received per teacher.
The process has now reached the
final stage in which, you, members of the
Dawson Community can provide letters of
support to any of those 24 teachers (listed
below) so that four can be selected for the
award presentations at the Convocation
ceremony in June.
This will be the 17th year of the
award, which, since established in 199394 has honoured 48 Dawson teachers for
commitment to areas such as pedagogical
approach and dynamic teaching methodology, solid academic content, dedication to
student learning, contribution to curriculum
development and contribution to college
life, among other strengths.
Please review the names of your colleagues below, and where appropriate,
submit a letter of support indicating why
you think they deserve the accolades their
nominations have suggested (letters can be
deposited in any of the sector deans’ offices
- deadline: May 6).
2009-2010 nominees:
Jean-Francois Brière (Physics)
Joelle Dayan (Psychology)
Rim Dib (Physics)
Claudia Farnesi (Mathematics)
Susan Finch (Psychology)
Pauline Fresco (Illustration & Design)
Marjorie Griffin (Graphic Design)
Erin Hall (Psychology)
Meinert Hansen
(3D Animation & Computer Generated
Imagery, Illustration & Design)
Dionysios Hatzopoulos (History)
Christian Hupfer (Illustration & Design)
Elijah James (Economics)
Suzanne Kunicki (Biology)
Ann Lambert (English)
Yann Lamontagne (Mathematics)
Michael Leon (History)
Davina Mill (Psychology)
Brian Morin (Physical Education)
Sylvain Muise (Mathematics)
Jaime Sandoval (Physics)
Leslie Schiller (Business Administration)
Bryan Sentes (English)
Yoon-Seo Uh (Chemistry)
Abraham Worenklein (Psychology)
THE GOOD, THE BETTER, AND THE BEST CANADIAN NOVELS
Retired Dawson teacher Terry Rigelhof is a
respected author in his own right, but his latest
project pays tribute to the authors he has enjoyed
in his own reading, from about 1984. He created
a list of “The Good, the Better, and the Best
Canadian Novels since 1984,” which is the
subtitle of his last book, “Hooked on Canadian
Books.” Terry retired from Dawson last year
when his battle with major health issues made
teaching difficult. But they haven’t stopped him
from writing.
The book includes entries about work by
Rawi Hage, Nino Ricci, Ian McGillis, Michael
Ignatieff, Douglas Coupland and many more.
His book launch at Paragraphe in mid-April was
well-attended, and included a number of
colleagues from Dawson. Our review on Terry:
he is as vital and entertaining as ever.
Photo: Laurie Nixon
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promoting the integration of persons with disabilities
Dawson College and Cégep du VieuxMontréal have put forth a joint proposal
to create a new Centre collégial de transfert
technologique in the field of innovative
social practices to promote the academic,
professional and social integration of persons with disabilities. The presentation of
the Executive Summary of the project was
presented at the last meeting of the Board of
Governors on April 26.
The two CEGEPs are seeking to formalize the partnership they have fostered
over the years in this field and estimate it
will accelerate research results in this field
so that the adoption of innovative and
structured practices by the establishments
who use them can help them meet the
challenges presented by the integration of
persons with disabilities.
Dawson College and Cégep du VieuxMontréal have collaborated actively for
more than 20 years, putting in place services designed to benefit the integration of
persons with disabilities within the context
of the mandates set out by the Ministère de
l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport for the
public college network.
Since 1982, the Cégep du Vieux-Montréal has been responsible for providing
services to students with incapacities in relation to the senses and motility, in organic
or neurological terms. It is the designated
CEGEP for the western part of Québec. The
CEGEP ensures that a counseling service
outlining the special arrangements available
to students, validates intervention plans that
colleges propose in terms of financing, and
redistributes grants.
For deaf students or those with hearing
loss, the college arranges interpretation,
and for the visually impaired and learning
disabled, coordinates the production of
alternate materials (Braille, sound recordings). It also supplies colleges with specialized material and ensures that resources are
rotated among the colleges according to
need.
Vieux-Montréal also works with other
institutions to develop practices based on
research results. For the past three years,
in collaboration with Cégep ÉdouardMonpetit, it has developed a model for peer
tutoring students with learning difficulties,
and has created social scenarios for students
with pervasive developmental delay. Since
January 2010, it has collaborated in a
Chantier 3 project with the Université du
Québec à Montréal, the Université de Montréal and Collège Montmorency.
It also participates with Cégep Ste-Foy
(the college designated for the eastern part
of Québec), and Dawson College in the
DISCOVER Dawson
April 2010
ongoing mandate with the Ministère de
l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport to redefine the range of services offered to allow
smoother harmonization.
For its part, Dawson College has cultivated a tradition of excellence in research in
the field for more than 30 years. Researchers at Dawson College have been involved
in projects in various areas, touching upon
the health sciences, pure and applied science
and technologies, as well as social sciences
and the arts.
Specifically, through the ADAPTECH
network and its research team, Dawson
College supports applied research activities
in the area of adapted services for persons
with disabilities. Active since 1996, the
ADAPTECH research network has grown
through its strong multidisciplinary, multilevel collaboration integrating the work of
university and college researchers, students
and users of the services.
High profile university researchers have
come from both Canadian and American
institutions. ADAPTECH has conducted
research primarily on the utilization of computer technologies, learning technologies,
and on adaptive methodologies for students
with disabilities at both the college and
university levels in Canada.
Supported by a dynamic, involved,
bilingual and pan-Canadian consultative committee that guides the work and
validates the research directions it takes, the
ADAPTECH network has been able to provide empirical data that facilitates decisionmaking and ensures that policies, practices
and technologies respond to the needs and
concerns of individuals and organizations:
post-secondary students with disabilities,
their teachers, service providers of adaptive
or support technologies, or any other type
of support service relevant to the learning
communities of colleges and universities.
Research activities conducted by
ADAPTECH over the last 15 years have
generated an impressive list of partners,
associations and collaborations, in Canada
and internationally. They have also allowed
the researchers to gain access to significant
funding sources.
As a result of the close connection
between research and practical applications,
Dawson College has become an important
centre for the delivery of integrative services, allowing for the validation, transfer and
implementation of measures to facilitate the
adaptation of services that respond to the
needs of persons with disabilities.
Mission and Objectives of the Centre
collégial de transfert technologique
The need to create a centre of expertise dedicated to applied research and the transfer
of technology in the area of integrative services for persons with disabilities is rooted
in the legal provisions and rights conferred
upon these person guaranteeing them their
rights, as well as in the civic responsibilities
of public and private organizations.
The mission and objectives of the
Centre will contribute to the development,
adoption and implementation of social
practices aimed at the optimal integration
of persons with disabilities in learning establishments as well as in workplaces where
these persons will practice their work or
profession.
This contribution would essentially
be effectuated through activities of applied
research to:
• Aid in gaining an improved understanding
collectively of the responsibilities stemming
from the Law that assures the right of persons with disabilities to exercise their rights
in view of their academic, professional and
social integration (L.R.Q. Chapter E-20.1)
and of the Charter of Human Rights and
Liberties of Quebec.
• Widen the field of research conducted in
Quebec in this area which is at the forefront
of research in North America.
• Identify the most efficient strategies to facilitate the adaptation of practices related to
the integration of persons with disabilities
from the perspective of the challenges presented by the response to their educational
needs and those that occur in the interest of
their professional and social integration.
• Disseminate and aid in the implementation of these strategies within institutional
and organizational environments that
accommodate these persons and deliver
services to them.
• Provide support and technical assistance
to organizations within civil society (institutional, community and corporate) that are
entrusted with the integration of persons
with disabilities in the various functions
they may occupy.
• Provide tools for organizations to use in
their tasks of training interveners who are
interacting with persons with disabilities.
12