Around the ring

Historic water tower damaged by fire
UVic's facilities management department continues to assess the damage caused by a fire on the night of April 28 to the Hamsterley Farm water tower on Haro Road at the entrance to Alumni House. The blaze was reported at about 9:30 p.m. Saanich Fire Department extinguished the fire but there was extensive damage to the tower. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The water tower was built in 1911 for an area farmer and was originally a tank on a timber structure. In 1933, it was enclosed, roofed and the tower shingled to incorporate it into the adjacent stables. It became part of UVic in the late 1960s. The tower was used by the university as storage for boats and other equipment.

Law duo nearly world champs
Two UVic law students narrowly missed being world champions and finished second in the recent International Client Counselling Competition, organized by the American Bar Association in Glasgow, Scotland. The competition requires students to demonstrate the range of skills needed to establish good lawyer-client relationships in a series of on-the-spot scenarios. Maria Barrett-Morris and teammate Darin Reeves persevered through 12 regional competitions in North America to take the national title in Florida, qualifying them to compete for the world title. UVic law professor Andrew Pirie and law sessional instructor Steve Perks shared the team's coaching duties. UVic placed second to a team from the University of Auckland, New Zealand—finishing only one point behind on total marks compiled from 15 different standards.

Hot off the press
UVic Research 2004, this year's edition of the prize-winning research annual, is now being distributed to key audiences, informing them of the great variety and outstanding quality of research endeavours conducted by UVic faculty. The colourful 12-page tabloid publication features profiles of researchers working at the forefront of a broad range of disciplines. It includes a special cover story on the research involvement of undergraduate and graduate students who, with the mentorship and guidance of outstanding faculty members, are well on their way to becoming the research leaders of tomorrow. UVic Research 2004 was produced by communications services and designed by Malahat Group International. A PDF version is posted on the Web at: www.research.uvic.ca/research_uvic/Reports.htm.

Engineering students want your computer
This summer UVic engineering student Christina Kinch will be improving the lives of underprivileged Filipinos by setting up information technology centres in the Phillipines and providing training in computer literacy. She'll travel overseas with 11 other Canadian engineering students from Engineers Without Borders (EWB) to establish 12 IT training centres in the Philippines. To do this, EWB needs at least 200 donated computers, which should fit the following specifications: 133 MHz processor, 32 MB RAM, 15-inch colour monitor, network interface card, mouse and keyboard, CD-ROM and an optional 3GB hard drive. Any of these individual components are also welcome. Tax receipts will be issued for any donation that's worth more than $20. If you would like to donate, or require more information, call EWB member and engineering student Dave Adams at 881-2546 or e-mail dadams@uvic.ca.