CORD University Thursday WEEKLYWilfrid Laurier THEVolume 29, Number 17 Jan. 19,1989 WLU Co-op: Who pulls the strings? The Cord Weekly 2 Thursday, January 19,1989 ARTS CAREER INFORMATION NIGHT THE CORD WEEKLY In the DARK about what to do with your ARTS DEGREE January 19,1989 Volume 29, Number 17 Editor-in-Chief Cori Ferguson NEWS INFORMATION NIGHT Editor Bryan C. Leblanc Attend ARTS CAREER Associate ..Jonathan Stover and see the light! Contributors About thirty career representatives from such fields as personnel, insurance underwriting, banking, Frances McAneney Rory Moss Sean Stockholm lan C. Morton sales, probation and parole, teaching, sports medicine, and many more will be available to discuss their COMMENT occupations with you. Contributors MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 1989 Steve Giustizia Jon Stover - 6:00 8:00 pm , PAUL MARTIN CENTRE D.C; The Pelvis (inspiration) FEATURES Edit0r.............................................................. E.A. Sajnovic Contributors Frances McAnaney Student Pubs staff ENTERTAINMENT .t-, Editor Neville J. Blair Contributors Cori Cusak Dave Lackie Sarita Diaram William Penny Jon Stover SPORTS | I 599 I Editor Brad Lyon El fioofc K Contributors la CQ9 1 PVf 'vow 1 Serge Grenier Shelley Burns Brian Owen Mary Ann de Boer mm vjfcjl mM |ttg| JeffDragich Keri Downs Wayne Riley Raoul Treadway DESIGN AND ASSEMBLY ■ Production Manager.......»••••••••••••••••••••••••...... ...........Kat Rios A55i5tant5...........—....... •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••a***Sandy Buchanan ... ....................................................... Sarah Welstead Bill Casev Systems Technician.............................................. Paul Dawson Copy Editors Shannon Mcllwain —. Keri Downs Contributors Andre Widmer Helen Skibinski(she's back!) PHOTOGRAPHY Manager Vicki Williams Technician Jon Rohr Graphic Arts ............................................................Paul Tallon Contributors Peter Wood Bryan Leblanc Katrina Rivers Neville Blair Ijondon return Tracey Adamite James Gingerich $99 ADVERTISING a truly inspired price. Manager ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••«••••••••••»•••«••••••••••••••••Bill Rockwood Fly to London, England from Toronto or Just visit your local Travel Cuts office and present Classifieds Mark Hand Montreal with Travel Cuts for the supernatural price your student ID along with the deposit before Production Manager .. Scott Vandenberg of $99 return when you book selected tours from February 3rd 1989. Flight departure dates must be National Advertising Campus Plus Contiki, the world's number one holiday company prior to 12th May 1989 and this special cannot be (416)481-7283 for 18-355. taken with any other offer. Simply choose from a Contiki Grand European, TogetherContiki and Travel Cuts make Europe CIRCULATION AND FILING European Adventurer or European Contrast holi- fun and affordable. For more inspiration see and we will fly you to London and back for $99. Travel Cuts today Manager ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••a***JohnDoherty day jj TRAVEL CUTS Some restrictions apply-departure taxes not included.Ont. Reg # 132 4998. Quebec permit holder, nf 1 1989 Europe for details Limited space available. Refer toContiki's brochure booking UOIHE TOIIY Vw 3V ■ Eight month, 24-issue CORD subscription rates are: $20.00 for addresses within Canada and $25.00 outside the country. Co-op student* may subscribe at the rate of $9.00 per four TORONTO 979-2406 OTTAWA 238-5493 MONTREAL 288-1130 WINNIPEG 269-9530 WATERLOO 866-0400 month work term. GUELPH 763-1660 SUDBURY 673-1401 QUEBEC CITY 692-3971 HALIFAX 424-2054 STUDENT PUBLICATION BOARD Pre5ident............................... ......... —.....Chris Starkey Directors Kirk Nielsen Gail Strachan William Penny Doug Earle Barbara Smith Riyaz Mulji Karen Bird The Cord Weekly welcomes all comments, criticisms and suggestions from its readers. Letters to the Editor must be typed, double spaced and submitted by Friday at 6:00 pm far the following publication. All letters must bear the author's full name, telephone and student number. Letters must not exceed 400 words in length. The Cord Weekly reserves the right to refuse any submission. All submissions become the property of The Cord Weekly. The Cord offices are located on the 2nd floor of the Student Union Building (Nichols Campus Centre) at Wilfrid Laurier University. Telephone 884-2990 or 884-2991. The Cord Weekly is printed at Fairway Press, Kitchener. The Cord Weekly is published weekly during the fall and winter academic terms. Editorial opinions are approved by the editorial board and are independent of the University, WLUSU, and Student Publications. The Cord Weekly is a member of the Canadian Uni- versity Press. 3C5. Copyright © 1989by WLU Student Publications, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L No part of thispublication may be reproduced without the permission of the Editor-in-Chief. The Cord Weekly news 3 Thursday, January 19,1989 Students slam Co-op dept. By Sean Stokholm many are committed to a second One student expressed doubt term with the same employer, as about the amount of information per department rules. Thus they a student could learn in a half- Note: The names of all students are unable to change jobs and hour interview. Another ques- interviewed for this article have apply for a new one, creating an tioned the quality of information been withheld by their request. artificially high figure of fifty that Career Services could supp- jobs. ly. Since most of that information What is the WLU Co-op de- Thompson downplayed the is of a general company-wide na- partment doing to students? negative feelings of students. Stu- ture, students say that little can be Complaints have recently sur- dents' unrealistic expectations are learned about a specific job. faced from students that the a main reason for disappointment Thompson, when asked if Laurier Co-op department isn't with jobs, he opined. salary considerations play a role doing it's job. But according to When a second year student in student satisfaction with the the Co-op department, they are begins his or her first work term, job, said "unfortunately, it plays doing far more than the students they do not usually have any too much of a role". He then realize, and that student expecta- business-related experience, he quickly pointed out that salaries tions are too high. said. He also explained that pre- are generally quite acceptable, Job quality is a major com- vious typically jobs summer have ranging from approximately $400 lie with the student or with the that such an interview could be plaint of some students. The chal- been restricted to waitressing and to $600 a week. employer? Since the students pay conducted by phone, particularly lenges—or lack there- working in stores for females and A number ofstudents resented a fee, some feel that the depart- if the job is an established one. of—provided by various jobs, driving trucks or manual labour the department's requirement of ment should be more accountable Thompson countered by stat- and their applicability student positions for males. to spending two of the total three to the students. ing that a personal visit is the interests need improvement. But by the second or third work terms with one employer. only sure way to confirm the term, While his term, Some believe the department ig- work he continued, student Many of these students would on work one working conditions, and that even student was nores complaints about bad jobs, expectations have risen such that like to be able to change unsure whether he established jobs will experience and continues to offer them to they believe that they have "the employers after each work term. was to be offered a permanent job radical change. As well, the inter- not, students. world by the tail" and are deserv- Thompson said that over 90 or and wanted to know. He views are a necessity, he pointed One student called his experi- ing of high-level jobs of a super- per cent of employers wanted the was not notified of the absence of out, since the Laurier Co-op pro- ence in a government job little visory nature. two-term commitment for a a job offer until the end of the gram is accredited by a body that term, but more than "make-busy work." He However, one student said couple of reasons. The money in- upon returning to requires such an interview for Laurier, believes the department should that the opposite is true—that stu- vested in training a student can- he discovered that his every student during each work coordinator strive to eliminate such jobs from dents start out with inflated ex- not be regained unless the student had known no posi- term. tion the posting. pectations but after one or two is with the company for longer was available for some time. Proposed for the future by John Thompson, Director of work terms have a more realistic than one term. As well, most Another student found herself some fourth year students is a Co-operative Education, when outlook on the sort of job they companies view the co-op pro- in a job that she felt was in- booklet, "Hints From Fourth- asked about these and a number should be assigned to. gram as a recruiting technique, appropriate. Having been advised Years" that would give the of other complaints, cited the fifty Thompson noted that students and therefore want to evaluate the by the Co-op department to write benefit of four years of co- unfilled jobs available for the Fall are not placed by the Department. students over a greater period of a letter to the company express- operative wisdom to junior stu- 1988 work term as evidence that Indeed, they choose the job them- time. The end result of the two- ing her concerns, she did so. Fol- dents. How this will change students had an abundance of selves, and should have ample term commitment is beneficial, lowing this, however, the depart- things remains to be seen. choice in their postings. opportunity to research jobs they said Thompson, as it expands the ment rewrote her letter, deeming One student expressed the One student noted that since are interested in by using Career scope of the student's it too blunt belief that "they (the department) the Fall 1988 period is the third Services and by asking questions responsibilities on the job.