69´«Ã½

Despite weather conditions, the PostSecret Live event, starring founder Frank Warren, is still taking place tonight at 69´«Ã½as a part of its second annual Mental Health Week. The event will take place in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre at 7:00 pm.

There is no charge for admission but tickets are required. Tickets are still available and can be picked up at the door.

'PostSecret Live' is a multi-media presentation by Frank Warren, founder of PostSecret, an ongoing online community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.

For information:
Matt Rice
VP Activities, 69´«Ã½Student Union
vpactivites@upeisu.ca, 566-0670

They've researched. They've studied. Now graduate students at the 69´«Ã½ are putting their hard work to the test: they're cramming years of study into 180 seconds in UPEI's first ever Three Minute Thesis competition.

The Three Minute Thesis is a skills development activity developed by the University of Queensland, Australia, which challenges thesis-based graduate students to explain their research project to a general audience in just three minutes.

Students will compete against each other for three prizes: third place wins $50; second place wins $100; and first place wins $200 and a trip to Halifax to participate in the regional Three Minute Thesis competition.

The competition will be broken into two evenings-Tuesday, March 18 and Tuesday, March 25. Both events begin at 7:00 pm in The Wave, in UPEI's W.A. Murphy Student Centre.

The Three Minute Thesis is organized by the 69´«Ã½Graduate Student Association, the 69´«Ã½Student Union, and the Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies.

For information:
Dave Atkinson, Research Communications
datkinson@upei.ca, (902) 620-5117

On Tuesday, March 18 at 7:00 pm, a ‘Smart TV' display unit will be officially unveiled at the 69´«Ã½Chaplaincy Centre.

The new TV will be used to view pre-recorded services, inspirational videos, and telepresent services at other religious gatherings, and provide a service to those who cannot be physically present. The ‘Smart TV' is capable of connecting directly to the Web to enhance collaboration and accessibility. The TV's main use will be continued outreach and accessibility to all faith groups.

The ‘Smart TV' was made possible through the Unitarian Fellowship of Prince Edward Island, UPEI's Chaplaincy Centre, and Connection Point Christian Church.

For more information on the event, please contact Sister Sue Kidd at (902) 894-2876 or Chris Vessey at (902) 566-0520.

69´«Ã½and the Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning recently signed a proclamation to honour this week, March 17-21, as National Co-operative Education Week. The national week is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Canadian co-op students.

UPEI's Co-operative Education Program will celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of its students during its annual awards ceremony on Thursday, March 20 from 11:30 am-1:00 pm in UPEI's Wanda Wyatt Dining Hall. The ceremony will recognize 69´«Ã½co-op students for their accomplishments during co-op work terms. Specific awards include 'Co-op Student of the Year' in business, physics, and computer science, as well as 'Employer Recognition' awards. Winners of the 'Co-op Student of the Year' awards will have demonstrated high academic achievement, a valued contribution to their employer and community, and displayed personal and professional development.

UPEI's Co-op Coordinators expressed their pride in the program. 'The 69´«Ã½co-op program motivates students, and encourages them to take a positive step beyond their comfort level,' said Ernie Doiron, business co-op coordinator.

'The program also supports students to take initiative to develop a relevant career path. It progresses learning, maturity, and ambition, while easing the transition from University to the true-life workplace,' added Heather MacMillan, science co-op coordinator.

69´«Ã½is among 130 colleges and universities across Canada that is actively involved in developing their students into workplace professionals through co-operative education. UPEI's Co-operative Education Program fosters next generation's leaders, and gives students the opportunity to push themselves, while at the same time, giving back to the local community. Through real-life experience and guidance from employers and co-op coordinators, students gain valuable knowledge and skills that will be used throughout their career upon graduation.

For more information on UPEI's Co-op Program, visit or email co-op@upei.ca.
For more information on the CAFCE's National Co-op Week, visit

The 69´«Ã½women's curling team is off to Regina this week to compete in the 2014 CIS/CCA University Curling Championships, March 19-23. The event, hosted by the University of Regina, will take place at Regina's Callie Curling Club.

The 69´«Ã½team consisting of skip Veronica Smith, lead Aleya Quilty, third Jane DiCarlo, and second Emily Gray. and coach Paul Smith will take on the University of Alberta and University of Toronto on Wednesday, March 19, the first day of national curling action.

The week's winning team will represent Canada at the 2015 FISU (International University Sports Federation) Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain.

Best of luck to our 69´«Ã½curlers! Go Panthers Go!

69´«Ã½Women's Hockey Head Coach Bruce Donaldson is very pleased to announce that Kristen Gordon is joining the Panthers for the 2014-15.

Gordon, whose hometown is Liverpool, Nova Scotia, currently plays forward for the Metro Boston Pizza in the Nova Scotia Midget AAA league, and attends Liverpool Regional High School. Gordon finished the 2012-13 regular season with six goals, and three assists for a total of 12 points. Gordon describes herself as a hardworking, aggressive, and consistent two-way player who reads the play well. The Metro Boston Pizza team is the defending provincial champion, and is currently in the Nova Scotia final. Gordon represented Team Nova Scotia at the Atlantic Challenge Cup for four consecutive years from 2009-12.

After a recent visit to UPEI, Gordon commented, 'During my visit, everyone I met on campus was friendly, helpful, and encouraging. They made me feel right at home. 69´«Ã½gave me that hometown feeling and I knew it was the place for me. I can't wait to be a part of the Panthers.' Gordon is enrolled in the science program at UPEI.

'Kristen will bring a great work ethic and true grit to our program. It is always great to land a player from such a strong Atlantic Midget AAA program,' said Donaldson. 'With her experience level playing at four Atlantic Challenge Cups and Esso Cup Nationals, she will add depth up front as a strong two-way player.'

'I would like to welcome Kristen to the 69´«Ã½, she's a great addition to the Panther Family,' added 69´«Ã½Athletics and Recreation Director Bill Schurman.

Go Panthers Go!

For information:
Ron Annear
69´«Ã½Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991
annear@upei.ca

Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) announced last night at the Men's Hockey Championship banquet in Saskatoon that 69´«Ã½defencemen Reggie Traccitto had been selected as a CIS Men's Hockey 2nd Team All-Canadian. Traccitto, who enjoyed a strong AUS season garnering 10 goals, and 19 assists for 29 points, was the 10th overall leader and second amongst AUS defencemen, and was also among the top three finalists for the 'CIS Defencemen of the Year Award.' Traccitto was recently selected to the AUS Men's Hockey 1st All-Star team.

To read the full CIS release for a full list of awards click

Congratulations, Reggie! Go Panthers Go!

The annual reading by participants in UPEI's Creative Writing Master Class will take place on Monday, March 24, at 7:00 pm in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Some of the Island's most talented new writers will read excerpts from their fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and playscripts.

The featured writers are Damon Ansems, Chris Bailey, Keith Burgoyne, Michael Conway, Angela Deighan, Sarah Glassford, Ben Hartley, Ruby Madigan, Lori Mayne, Olivia Robinson, Justin Shaw, Toni Timmins, and Ken Williams.

The audience will encounter a circus with a purple giraffe named Vivian who speaks with a New York accent; a young female schoolteacher during the First World War whose brother is fighting in Europe's trenches; mating rituals in the age of sexting and social media; an Islander's journey from a Charlottetown boyhood to Army postings in the world's trouble-spots; and other samples from the literary world of wonders.

The public is invited and admission is free.

The PEI Urban Red Fox Research Project recently hit a major crowd-sourcing milestone when it received its 2500th fox sighting to its website upei.ca/redfox. Since the fall of 2012, Islanders have been logging on to upei.ca/redfox to report their sightings of red foxes. These reports provide researchers with an important source of data that helps them better understand the fox population and how it interacts with humans on Prince Edward Island.

With this data, the research team has discovered areas of high red fox activity in Charlottetown and has identified dozens of den sites and possible den sites for further research. More data would allow the PEI Urban Fox Research Team to discover even more about this species, including possible public health concerns.

If you spot a red fox on Prince Edward Island, visit upei.ca/redfox.

For information:
Dave Atkinson, Research Communications
(902) 620-5117, datkinson@upei.ca

The University of Prince Edward Jazz Ensemble will present its end of semester concert on Friday, March 28 at 7:30 pm in UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall. The "Big Band" sound of Count Basie will be featured on jazz standards including "Shiny Stockings," "April in Paris," and "The Spirit is Willing."

The Jazz Ensemble has again invited 69´«Ã½voice students from the studio of Sung Ha Shin-Bouey and Stephen Bouey to join the band on stage. Singers featured in this concert are: Lindsay Gillis ("Summertime"), Nadine Haddad ("Birdland"), Will Millington ("Our Love is Here to Stay"), Nicole Dupuis ("At Last"), Melissa MacKenzie ("The Best is Yet to Come"), and Olivia Barnes ("Cabaret").

The band is excited to present a "James Bond" theme segment. Bass Trombonist, Evan Hammell, has arranged the James Bond theme which will segue into "Live and Let Die" and "Skyfall."

First-year lead alto sax player Emily Proude will be featured on the funky-rock style ballad "Life without You" and Savannah Auld (tenor sax) will step out of the band and sing Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why."

Admission is $10 adults and $5 for students, and are available at the door, or in advance by calling 566-0507, or by email at music@upei.ca