by Sophie Isbister (Staff Writer)
Email: cascade.news@ufv.ca
On Tuesday, November 9, room B121 was transformed into a scientific smorgasbord for the annual UFV Science Social. The event, which boasted free pizza and door prizes, had a great turnout. At least one hundred students, from the science department and others, filled the room, chattering and looking at that various tables set up by student associations.
Ora Steyn, Dean of Science, says the point of the science social is for students and faculty to mingle and get to know each other: “In the Faculty of Science we believe that it is very important for students to get to know each other and the faculty well,” Steyn said. She went on to say, “We were very happy with the number of students that turned out and will definitely increase the pizza budget for next year. We have wonderful students, and it was great to see them having fun!”
Fun was definitely had by all in attendance. Ora Steyn kicked off the evening by welcoming everyone to the event, and then called a representative from each student association to the microphone to talk about what they have planned for the year. Representatives from Kinesiology Physiotherapy Student Association (KPESA), Computer Information Systems Student Association (CISSA), Physics Student Association (PSA), Pre-Med Student Association (PMSA), Biology and Chemistry Student Association (BCSA) and Students for Sustainability (SFS) all spoke to the crowd about their events and ways to get involved.
After the speeches, attention was again turned to the important task of eating pizza and getting to know the various associations. Each student group had several members in attendance to speak with anyone who wanted to know more or about how to get involved. Each table offered treats and good conversation, as well as plenty of fun photo opportunities for The Cascade.
The government of British Columbia has declared 2010 the Year of Science in order to encourage more British Columbians to seek an education in sciences. According to the Year of Science website (yearofsciencebc.ca), “just fewer than 11% of all BC residents are employed in science-related fields… and they are more likely to have full-time employment than other British Columbians.”
The Year of Science hopes to make science fun and exciting for students, and events like the science social definitely help. At the PSA booth there was even a Van de Graaff generator, which is an electrostatic generator shaped like a metal globe that makes a person’s hair stand on end when they touch it. This was a crowd-pleaser and a source of amusement for anyone that got to witness it in action, or, better yet, try it out for themselves.
The focus was on the students at the science social, and it was clear that the faculty has a lot of support for student associations. Dean Ora Steyn had some words about the importance of involvement in student groups: “The groups provide an opportunity not only for students to hang out with like minded individuals, but for taking leadership among their community. This involvement is not only of great value now, but you gain skills that will be useful once you have graduated.”
