Bereaved people need to know they are not alone, and young adult novels can help, says Jeremy Johnston.

The master’s student in English literature took top honours in Wednesday’s final round of the UWindsor Three Minute Thesis competition, and will now go on to represent the school in the provincial final at Wilfrid Laurier University on April 14.

Judges selected his presentation, entitled “Wait, you feel that, too?” as having best met the challenge of presenting graduate-level research in just three minutes. It analyzed the effects on readers of young adult novels that deal with death and mourning.

“By observing fictional characters react to and discuss topics like death and mourning, young adult literature provides a social space for teen readers to reflect on those ideas as well,” Johnston says.

Listen to his entire presentation as part of a synopsis on CBC Radio.

“The hardest part of whittling down my research was trying to strike the right balance between necessary information and creating a useful analogy for the audience,” Johnston says. “It took many hours of editing and revising, but eventually I found some pieces of information worked well in a condensed way, while others did not.”

His victory netted him a $1,000 prize; second-place finisher Krithika Muthukumaran received $500; and Zainab Bazzi won $250 for the people’s choice award. Both the latter two are doctoral students of biochemistry.

“It was such a competitive group, and everybody did a tremendous job delivering their material,” says Johnston. “I feel very fortunate to have been chosen as the winner, but I'm also really proud of everyone’s effort.”

Second-year students in the digital journalism program will premiere their film, How Bad is Bad, a documentary exploring issues of poverty in Windsor, on Sunday.

Students in the course “Collaborative Studio II” have been conducting interviews since January, says spokesperson Aria Carter: “from city officials to soup kitchens and food banks to the people living on the streets.”

She says the city’s poverty is hidden, making it worse than most people think.

“We hope that this documentary can start a conversation about this issue and hopefully find a way to help these people who are living in poverty,” Carter says.

The screening is open to the public and will begin at 7 p.m. April 3 in New Song Church, 999 Drouillard Road. 

Leddy Library officials have issued a denial of reports that its rooftop will house a customs plaza to serve a planned twin span of the Ambassador Bridge.

While acknowledging that the recent demolition of Electa Hall makes the library an optimal site adjacent to the proposed new six-lane, cable-stayed span across the Detroit River, acting associate university librarian Heidi Jacobs said it is not currently under consideration.

“Who knows how these rumours get started?” she said. “Of course, leasing out our rooftop would certainly help offset the low Canadian dollar at a time of increasing resource expenditures, but we have to consider the impact such a venture would have on our patrons.”

She expressed concern in response to questions from students and faculty about whether academics still need a library now that everything is on Google.

“They’re just fooling, right?” asked Jacobs.

Poster presentations by students in the Master of Social Work for Working Professionals program Saturday, April 2, will be the first public event in the University’s downtown campus at 167 Ferry Street.

The students will offer their ideas for enhancing the community and its social service agencies. The day’s activities will also offer the opportunity to tour the facilities, located in the former Windsor Star building.

The event is free and open to the public; it runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Find details on the event website.

MSW candidates in the regular program will hold a poster presentation Friday in the CAW Student Centre.

Friday, April 1, is the deadline to reserve your spot at a reception to celebrate the successes of Allan Conway as he comes to the end of his tenure as dean of the Odette School of Business.

With a theme of “Celebrating the past and looking ahead to the future,” the April 9 event promises entertainment, refreshments and hors d’oeuvres, all in the faculty’s Odette Building home. Tickets are $50 per person; learn more on the event website.

A mini-conference this afternoon—Friday, April 1—at Windsor Law will consider issues of refugee movements and labour migration.

Two panels will lead discussions in room G102, Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law Building:

• At noon, The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Causes and International Responses will feature Ghuna Bdiwi, Syrian human rights lawyer and doctoral student at Osgoode Hall Law School; Rana Khan, protection officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Canada; and Anneke Smit, Windsor law professor and chair of the Windsor Refugee Sponsorship Support Program.
• At 1:45 p.m., Migrant Farm Workers’ Experiences in Canada will feature members of the farm worker advocacy group Justicia for Migrant Workers and Windsor law professor Claire Mummé.

The event is presented by the Transnational Law and Justice Network in collaboration with the Windsor Law Refugee Crisis Response Steering Committee, Justicia for Migrant Workers, the UWindsor chapter of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and the Windsor Law International Law Society.

The 24th annual banquet of the Organization of Part-time University Students was a huge success, says executive director Maryan Amalow, with 140 guests gathering in Vanier Hall on March 24 to honour 14 awards recipients.

“It was an exceptional celebration of our 47 years of existence, acknowledging those outstanding individuals who make our university a unique place and those students that lead the way to a successful future,” she says.

With a theme of student pride, the event featured performances by the dabke dance team, musician Adeniyi Agbola and DJ R. J. Sivanesan. Amalow cites as highlights two new awards: for student solidarity to Graduate Student Society president Iftekhar Basith and for administrative leadership to dean of students Clayton Smith. A special presentation paid tribute to OPUS president Ed King’s 20 years of involvement with the organization.

Find a full list of award recipients on the OPUS website.

A free public reception Saturday, April 2, will celebrate the opening of an exhibition by students of printmaking.

“A Pressing Matter” will run through April 16 in the Windsor Printmaker’s Forum, 420 Devonshire Road. Saturday’s reception there begins at 7 p.m.

The exhibition will feature the work of students in the School of Creative Arts course in advanced printmaking: Arin Anger, Taylor Broda, Alexandra Charnina, Emily Cote, Lauren Crosby, Erika Dame, Alex Derbyshire, Erin Donnelly, Charl Fourie, Shannon Golen, Amanda Hawkins, Sophie Hinch, Shuhan Jiang, Zoe Kolonelos, Julia Lepera, Becky Lisk, Derrik Marvin, Maria Mediratta, Christina Naer, Alexa Sampson, Meaghan Saunders, Allison Scheele, Taylor Simser, Jillian Siu and Leila White.

The Leddy Library is an environment conducive to productivity and great work, says acting student Billy Chandler, president of the drama student society Club SODA.

“A friend of mine recently told me that he is so sad that he only discovered the library this year because he wasted three years trying to study from home,” he says. “It is a joy to be able to hide in the library, on the third floor, or monopolize a computer for hours to get work done. Wherever you go in that building, there is a spot for getting work done.”

Chandler led a delegation Thursday presenting its staff with complimentary tickets to the current University Players production, The Double Dealer. The comedy opens April 1 in the Essex Hall Theatre.

He says the gift acknowledges the role of librarians in ensuring student success.

“The staff keep our grades high. It is the staff who help us write our papers, do our research, study our notes,” he says.

The final play of the semester for the drama school’s theatre company, The Double Dealer is a satire of upper class life in the Restoration period. Wednesday through Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. A “talk back” discussion with the actors will follow the April 3 performance.

Tickets can be ordered online at www.UniversityPlayers.com or by calling 519-253-3000, ext. 2808.

The Windsor Symphony Orchestra will welcome a guest trio for pops concerts April 2 and 3, titled “Broads on Broadway.”

Heather Bambrick, Diane Leah and Julie Michels came together as Broadsway just over two years ago, with a style that combines Broadway classics, jazz improvisation, a pop sensibility and a sense of humour.

Their Windsor concerts will feature works from Rossini to Mancini with a little Bacharach—done Broadsway-style. They are set for 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Capitol Theatre, 121 University Avenue West. Find ticket information and more details on the orchestra’s website.