Hello, dear readers. This term we will be offering a prix fixe menu of Editors-in-Chief — a different one selected for each issue — and I am honoured to be your appetizer. I’d like to start off my letter with a few words of gratitude for former Editor in Chief, current co-Editor in Chief Kirsten Ehlers, who has done most of the heavy lifting to get this issue in publication. Kirsten has been a patient teacher, and has held my hand through the exciting process of editing the Iron Warrior. She has also created this month’s crossword, which you can find on the last page. If you see her around campus, make sure to give her a little salute for her honourable service, and perhaps ask for her cake-mix cookie recipe.
Co-op season is upon us, and I hope you are all taking care to avoid burnout. Your health and peace of mind are simply more important than employment, no matter how urgent landing a job may seem. The scramble for work is challenging enough when the only competition is your Waterloo peers; it is marginally more difficult in the winter, with other university students in the mix. However, it appears we may soon be joined by a new group of students.
It may interest the reader to know that Brock University, formerly one of the two remaining Canadian universities without an engineering program, has popped its engineering cherry last month. Students now have the option of taking a minor in engineering science. Eventually, the program will expand to a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degrees, with a focus on the “humanist perspective” of engineering, in the words of Greg Finn, Provost and Vice-President. The announcement doesn’t delve far into the specific disciplines of engineering Brock will offer; given the location of the university on the Niagara escarpment, and its pre-existing winemaking program, we can only hope that LCBO engineering is on the horizon.
While Engineers Canada does not have Brock University listed just yet, I suppose it’s only a matter of time. Will Laurier, too, follow the path to Engineering Accreditation? Perhaps, one day, will our children and grandchildren say the words “Laurier Engineering” without a trace of sarcasm?
I have heard many contrasting opinions about the introduction of this new program. I am, however, optimistic about the emergence of new options for technical university education. Whatever the future of engineering may be, let us all face it together.
I wish you all a serene midterm season, a swift and successful job search, and of course, a studious and sexy reading week. You can contact Kirsten and I at iwarrior@uwaterloo.ca.
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