For the first time in more than 200 years, a total solar eclipse will be visible in Essex County, an event one astronomer calls “once in a lifetime.”

On April 8 at around 1:58 p.m., as the moon moves between the Earth and the sun, temperatures may drop, and the sky will darken with just a thin sliver of sunlight visible.

“It's really spectacular,” said astronomy instructor Steven Pellarin, vice-president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Windsor Centre. “I’ve been to four eclipses, and I can’t get enough. I’m willing to travel to go and find these things in different places in the world because it’s just the freakiest thing you’ve ever seen when you experience it.”

What exactly is an eclipse?

Each month the moon moves around the Earth in its orbit, and being lit by the sun at different angles, appears to us as different phases. Typically, when the moon gets between the Earth and the sun, it’s either above or below the Earth and casts a shadow. But during an eclipse, the moon is tilted in its orbit, Pellarin explained.

“So an eclipse happens when the moon’s shadow lands on the surface of the Earth so that it lines up almost perfectly from its orbit 300,000 km away,” he said. “That happens usually twice a year.

“Two parts of the shadow hit the earth. There’s a wider shadow — that’s a partial shadow because there is some sunlight that gets into the bottom of the moon and blocks out some sunlight. But the top of the sun’s light gets into that part of the shadow. The same thing happens on the other side.”

For a total eclipse, which will be visible in some areas of Essex County this year, there will be a cone of shadow that’s completely dark, Pellarin said. When that hits the surface of the earth, that’s when you’ll see the black disk in the sky.

“So you have to be standing inside the moon shadow, the darkest part of the shadow, to actually be able to see the total eclipse,” he said.

Pellarin said along with the darkening skies, you may notice a few other things, like the wind picking up, and shadows on the ground may appear sharper as the sun’s light will be very narrow.

“You’ll notice that the animals will start to behave strangely because they sense something is happening,” he said. “This has happened in every eclipse I’ve been to. As the eclipse approaches, the sky will start to darken. And if you’re in totality, it’ll get dark enough that the planets will start to appear. The brighter stars will start to appear in total during the maximum part of the eclipse.”

How to safely view the eclipse

If you plan to take in the eclipse, it’s important to ensure you have the proper eye gear to be able to look at the sun without causing damage to your eyes.

“It’s like trying to look up at the sun without an eclipse going on. You have lenses inside your eyes that act just like magnifying glasses,” Pellarin explained.

“Magnifying glasses concentrate light and make it very intense. You can burn paper with it, things like that, and that happens with your own eyes. You have lenses that concentrate the light on the back where all the nerves and the sensors are that let you see. And obviously, you don’t want to burn them.”

So, you will need some sort of eye protection, such as solar eclipse glasses or a welding mask.

“They block out a very, very large portion of the light that’s coming in. So only a very small amount gets to your eye in and can’t do damage,” Pellarin said.

He recommends looking down at the ground while putting your glasses on, looking up at the eclipse, and then looking back down to remove them to avoid any potential eye damage.

It is also important to look for glasses that have the ISO certification that confirms they meet the Transmission Requirements of ISO filters for direct observation of the sun.

Where to see the eclipse

A line running from southwest to northeast across Essex County will demarcate the zones of total and partial eclipse.

The communities of Harrow, Colchester, Kingsville, Leamington, Tilbury, and Wheatley, along with Point Pelee, Pelee Island, Hillman Marsh, and Rondeau Park are south of the line and will be the only local areas to experience the total eclipse.

“What you will see is that as the moon crosses in front of the disk of the sun is the sun’s outer atmosphere,” Pellarin said. “And it’ll be shimmering like a silk curtain fluttering in the wind changing shape. And it’s kind of silvery-white, very beautiful. It’s the only time that astronomers can study the outer atmosphere of the sun. Because otherwise, the sun is just so blindingly bright, it blocks our view of that.”

All other areas, including Windsor, will not see a total eclipse, but instead 99.9 per cent coverage, Pellarin said, which is why it’s important to have protective glasses on hand.

While it will be very close to a total eclipse, it will not be quite as spectacular.

“If at all possible, people really should try to get into the zone of totality,” Pellarin said. “It is, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime event and totally worth the extra drive to get under the umbral shadow path.”

There are several events hosted by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Windsor Centre in areas within the line of totality including at Point Pelee, Colchester Beach, and John R. Park Homestead for people to share the stellar experience.

Attendees will have the chance to look through solar telescopes as well to get an up-close look at the sun’s activity.

“The sun is very active right now,” Pellarin said. “It’s undergoing lots of storms on its surface. And that causes lots of eruptions. So, we’re going to see long plasma flames sticking out from the edge beyond the moon.”

The eclipse is expected to begin at about 1:58 p.m. with the start of totality beginning closer to 3:13 p.m., but that timing will differ depending on where you are. If you’re planning on attending one of the viewing events, Pellarin said, it’s best to arrive early as roads are expected to be congested and there will likely be line-ups.

If you’re looking to learn more, he will be speaking at free talks leading up to the eclipse. The first will be held on Monday, March 18, at the Fogolar Furlan Club of Windsor at 7:30 p.m.

Located at an ancient crossing on the Euphrates River in south-eastern Turkey, Zeugma is home to archeological remains reflecting Greek, Roman, and Semitic influences — notably mosaics that are the subject of a lecture Wednesday, March 20.

The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures will host archeologist Katherine Dunbabin, professor emeritus of classics at McMaster University, to discuss “The Mosaics of Zeugma on the Euphrates: Visual Culture on the Roman Frontier” at 4:30 p.m. in Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall.

Dr. Dunbabin is an expert on ancient art and has authored The Mosaics of Roman North Africa (1978), Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World (1999), The Roman Banquet: Images of Conviviality (2003), and Theater and Spectacle in the Art of the Roman Empire (2016).

Her lecture is free and open to the public.

Members of the University and the larger Windsor-Essex community are invited to a free screening of the award-winning French language movie C.R.A.Z.Y. on Thursday, March 21, in the Collaboratory Room of the Leddy Library. The movie will be shown in its original version with English subtitles.

The event is hosted by the Franco Committee of the University of Windsor and ACFO WECK, an acronym from the French for “Association of Francophone Communities of Ontario - Windsor-Essex-Chatham-Kent” in observance of Francophonie Month.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. and complimentary pizza and refreshments will be served, sponsored by the Department of Political Science, French Studies, and the Faculty of Law. The film will start at 6:30 p.m. Street parking will be available free after 6 p.m. Those interested in attending should RSVP Judy Sinanga-Ohlmann at ohlmann@uwindsor.ca.

C.R.A.Z.Y. was directed by Quebec filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée and won 10 Genies in 2005, including best picture. It was Canada’s submission for best foreign film in the Academy Awards.

It is the poignant and funny story of an adolescent, Zachary Beaulieu, growing up in Montreal during the 1970s and trying to define himself. He must deal with an emerging sexual identity crisis and an intense desire to please a fiery and uncompromising father whom he adores above all else.

The Symposium on Slurs will bring together campus EDID champions, professors, and scholars to explore the historical context of slurs as they pertain to substance use, academic freedom, intersectional gender x race, 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, ableism, mental health, indigeneity, and racism.

Marium Tolson-Murtty, director of Anti-Racism Organizational Change, says the event promises a compelling lineup of insightful discussions, Q&A sessions, and networking opportunities, March 19 to 21.

On Tuesday, March 19, she will welcome attendees at 11 a.m.

11:10 a.m. “The Power of Words: Why People Use Slurs and How Slurs Shape Power Relations”

• Alex Pershai (they), equity, diversity, and inclusion advisor
• Jane Ku (she/her), women’s and gender studies co-ordinator
• Ashlyne O’Neil (she/they), educational developer

1:30 p.m. “The N-word + Connections to Other Slurs”

• Andrew Allen (he/him), associate professor of mathematic education and social & cultural foundations of education

3 p.m. “Substance Use”

• Mack Park (they/them), Lancers Recover Program co-ordinator

Event registration page and schedule.

The symposium reconvenes at 9:55 a.m. Wednesday, March 20.

10 a.m. “Academic Freedom”

• Tranum Kaur (she/her), faculty, Chemistry & Bio-chemistry
• Pierre Boulos (he/him), learning specialist
• Richard Moon (he/him), distinguished university professor of law

11:30 a.m. “Intersectional Gender X Race”

• Natalie Delia (she/her), acting head, Interdisciplinary and Critical Studies

1 p.m. “Can I Say Queer? A discussion on 2slqbtqia+ Slurs”

• Ashlyne O’Neil (she/they), educational developer
• Joyceln Lorito (she/her), accessibility advisor and learning strategist

1:30 p.m. “Resources”

• Andrew Allen (he/him), associate professor of mathematic education and social & cultural foundations of education

Event registration page and schedule.

The symposium opens its last day at 9:55 a.m. Thursday, March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

10 a.m. “Ablelism and Mental Health”

• Cherie Gagnon (she/her), accessibility manager
• Kate Hargreaves (she/her), employee mental health strategy co-ordinator

11 a.m. “Terrorist: How Affiliations with Violence and Terror Perpetuate Islamophobia 

• Naved Bakali (he/him), assistant professor of anti-racism education

1 p.m. “Indigeneity” 

• Jaimie Kechego (she/her), learning specialist
• Russell Nahdee (he/him), learning specialist

Event registration page and schedule.

Find the complete schedule of UWindsor Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization (EDID) Week activities.

When former Canadian national gymnast Abby Spadafora attends her children’s sporting events, she watches coaches and parents as much as the action.

Spadafora was verbally, psychologically, physically, and sexually abused by coaches during her years as a club gymnast. Adult witnesses to the abuse — coaches and parents — kept mum.

Spadafora won’t ever make that same mistake.

Spadafora and former national team gymnast Melanie Hunt were in the Faculty of Human Kinetics last week to address kinesiology professor Krista Loughead’s “Ethics in Sport and Physical Activity” class. The previous night, they were among a panel of speakers at an event to raise awareness about the toxic culture in Canadian sport.

Hunt and Spadafora shared their experiences and spoke about the organization they founded: Gymnasts for Change Canada. The group supports abuse survivors from myriad sports including swimming, taekwondo, and hockey.

“From our experience, there doesn’t seem to be ethics in sport,” Hunt told students.

She was abused by the same coaches as Spadafora. Their male coach was eventually banned from coaching gymnastics, but not other sports. Hunt and Spadafora’s attempts to bring him to justice victimized them and the other gymnasts who came forward all over again.

There is no governing body for coaches in Canada, Hunt explained. And while individual sports organizations may have policies to reduce instances of abuse, those policies are open to interpretation, Spadafora added.

Their club had a reporting mechanism, but it was broken. Their abusive coach was also the club’s executive director, so he reported to himself.

Spadafora said children like herself and their parents were “brainwashed” into believing coaches were infallible. Parents weren’t allowed to watch practices where the abuse would take place. The children kept silent because the abuse would get worse if their parents said a critical word.

Spadafora recounted how her coach threw her around the gym like a rag doll. Once, after criticizing her hand positioning on the uneven bars, the coach placed her in a handstand position on the lower bar then sent her crashing into the ground headfirst. She remembers laying dazed on the ground as her coach stood over her threatening to do it again.

She never told her parents. Neither did the other children and adults who witnessed it.

Believing her coach had her best interests at heart and was her ticket to the Olympics, Spadafora’s parents allowed her to move in with him and his wife in another city.

That’s when the sexual abuse began.

Spadafora never told a soul until she reluctantly opened up to police after another victim came forward years later.

Hunt later lived with the same couple, enduring the same abuse. She recalled injuring both knees during a competition and being unable to walk. Her coach carried her to his bed that night.

Beyond the physical and sexual abuse, the win-at-all-costs culture of sport damaged them, the women said.

They were weighed twice a day and placed on low-carb diets by age 12. Hunt recalls her male coach pinching her buttocks and calling her fat and ugly in front of other children and coaches. When she lived with the coach and his wife, she recalls her diet being so strict that when she visited her parents on the weekends, she would gorge herself. After gaining five pounds one weekend, the visits home ended.

Both women attended universities in the United States. It was there, removed from the environment in which they’d been immersed, that they came to recognize what they’d endured as abuse.

“You leave the sport and you’re broken,” Hunt said.

Hunt and Spadafora’s classroom visit included an appearance by professor emerita Victoria Paraschak. Dr. Paraschak started a petition last year calling on the federal government to launch a judicial inquiry into abuse in Canadian sport.

The University of Windsor Faculty of Nursing welcomed Ontario’s minister of long-term care Stan Cho on March 13 for a tour that extended beyond the University to include visits to long-term care facilities in the Windsor and Sarnia regions.

Accompanied by MPP for Windsor - Tecumseh Andrew Dowie, Cho attended a roundtable discussion encompassing long-term care research, practice, and needs. Representatives from UWindsor faculties of nursing and human kinetics, and the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, shared information on their fields of study and practical experience.

“The Honourable Stan Cho’s visit was very engaging and productive,” says dean of nursing Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine. “Given our presenters’ diverse areas of expertise, we demonstrated how research and practice come together as solutions to ever-evolving long-term care needs, especially from the standpoint of responsiveness to care.”

Dr. Sheppard-LeMoine adds that inter-faculty research provides effective strategies to better understand how to support long-term care in the future.

Nursing students in long-term care clinical placements also attended the event and third-year student Lekha Patel shared her personal experience.

“My placement has really opened my eyes about quality of life as well as understanding different challenges that are associated with aging and the significant need for long-term care in our community,” says Patel. “As for the meeting, it was a great opportunity to hear about the various research initiatives at UWindsor, especially surrounding gerontology.”

A tour of nursing’s simulation lab provided Cho and Dowie a close-up look at its capabilities and how education in these critical spaces of learning helps prepare students for the workforce.

The Student Awards and Financial Aid Office is encouraging students to visit their Award Profile in UWinsite Student. Students should start a new application to see if they qualify for any of the current awards still available.

View the list of Application-Based Awards that are still available.

Drop-in sessions will also be available for students needing assistance with completing their award profile. The dates of drop-in sessions can be found here.

The University has declared three digital cameras for sale by bid as Disposal File 2030.

Available are:

• Canon EOS 5DS R body with BG-E11 battery grip
• Sony A7R III body only, lens not included
• Sony A7S II body only, lens not included

Click here for more information and details on submitting bids.