- csc-general - CSC Mailman

CSC T-Shirts now Available
by Computer Science Club 02 Nov '17

02 Nov '17

Hi all, We are now taking orders for new CSC T-Shirts. As per the results of the earlier poll, the T-Shirts feature a goose at a keyboard, and will be printed on Heather Gray T-Shirts. The shirts are available in unisex or women's styles and cost $10. A mockup of the design can be found at https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~mnmailho/files/Mockup.jpg The shirts will be printed on Bella + Canvas 3001 (for unisex) or 6004 (for women's) blanks, sizing charts are available in the office. To order, please come into the office with your $10 and speak to any member of the office staff who will be able to take your order. We have a limited number of shirts available, so act fast. For those out of town this term, we will take a limited number of orders by Paypal - please email exec(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca if you wish to do this. Marc Mailhot Secretary Computer Science Club

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CSC/WiCS Social this Thursday (ft. Wonder Woman)
by Computer Science Club 30 Oct '17

30 Oct '17

Hi all, This Thursday (November 2, 2017), the CSC is cohosting a Fall Social with WiCS (wics.uwaterloo.ca). There will be free food, board games, and a showing of Wonder Woman. The event starts at 7pm in MC 4059 and MC 4061. Marc Mailhot Secretary Computer Science Club

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Call for Alt+Tab talks
by Computer Science Club 23 Oct '17

23 Oct '17

Hi Everyone, The CS Club will be running an "Alt+Tab" short talks event at 6pm on Thursday November 9th. Members will be giving short 10-15 minute talks on interesting programming-related topics. If you'd like to give a talk (please do, we have lots of slots!) contact me by emailing tghume(a)uwaterloo.ca with your name and a preliminary talk title (you can change it later if you want). In the past people have talked about the things they learned or built in their previous co-op term, done short introductions to new programming languages, and taught others about something interesting they learned. Examples of past talk titles include "Stepping into math: building a step-by-step algebra solver”, "Typed Racket", "Online database migrations at scale” and “How your text editor does syntax highlighting”. There's lots of things you can talk about and it's a good environment to give your first talk, so go ahead and sign up! - Tristan Hume Treasurer & Programs Committee Computer Science Club

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Unix 101 - Tonight at 5:30 in MC 3003
by Computer Science Club 12 Oct '17

12 Oct '17

Hi all, Unix 101 will be held tonight (October 12) at 5:30 pm in MC 3003. New to the Linux computing environment? If you seek an introduction, look no further (you can if you want we're not the police). Topics that will be covered include basic interaction with the shell and the motivations behind using it, and an introduction to compilation. You'll have to learn this stuff in CS 246 anyways, so why not get a head start! If you're interested in attending, make sure you can log into the Macs on the third floor, or show up to the CSC office (MC 3036) 20 minutes early for some help. Marc Mailhot Secretary Computer Science Club

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T-Shirt Design Voting
by Computer Science Club 06 Oct '17

06 Oct '17

Hi all, As the deadline for t-shirt design submissions has passed, we have launched a poll to determine the design and colour of the CSC t-shirts that will be available this term. Vote for your favorite designs and colours at https://goo.gl/forms/ddEHPpxvNlSWWswn1 . This poll is being run by approval vote, so vote for as many designs and colours as you wish. The poll will be kept up until end of day next Friday (Oct. 13). Marc Mailhot Secretary Computer Science Club

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CSC Goes Outside this Thursday
by Computer Science Club 02 Oct '17

02 Oct '17

Hi all, Come join us for a bonfire outside at the Laurel Creek firepit (across Ring Rd. from EV3) with fellow CSC members, this Thursday (October 5th) at 6pm. Smores and snacks will be provided. The firepit we will be using is in the bottom right of this map: https://uwaterloo.ca/economics/sites/ca.economics/files/uploads/files/firep… Marc Mailhot Secretary Computer Science Club

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Request for T-Shirt Ideas
by Computer Science Club 27 Sep '17

27 Sep '17

Hi all, This term, the CSC has received funding from MathSoc to make club t-shirts. As such, we'd like to put out a call for t-shirt design submissions. Email your t-shirt design ideas to exec(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca, and we will put selected ideas up to a vote. Design ideas do not need to come with artwork (though that would also be appreciated) and should ideally be printable in one color. The deadline for idea submissions is 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, October 5th. As well, if there are members with artistic talent who would be willing to help us execute the selected idea, please let us know at exec(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca Thanks, Marc Mailhot Secretary Computer Science Club

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Code Party 0 this Friday in M3 1006
by Computer Science Club 25 Sep '17

25 Sep '17

Hi all! The CS Club is hosting our first Code Party of the term (Friday September 29th) from 6:30pm until late in the evening in M3 1006! Come code with us, eat some food, do some things. Personal projects you want to work on? Homework projects you need to finish? Or want some time to explore some new technology and chat about it? You can join us at Code Party 0 and do it, with great company and great food. Come any time after 6:30pm, there will be snacks and we'll be ordering pizza at around 7:00pm! Marc Mailhot Secretary Computer Science Club

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CSC Special Election Results
by Computer Science Club 23 Sep '17

23 Sep '17

Hi everyone, After two elections, the full Fall 2017 executive has been selected. The following people have been elected as officers: President: Melissa Tedesco (matedesc) Vice-President: Victor Brestoiu (vabresto) Treasurer: Tristan Hume (tghume) Secretary: Marc Mailhot (mnmailho) Jordan Pryde (jxpryde) was appointed and ratified as the Systems Administrator. The following people were appointed: Office Manager: Zoe Laing (zlaing) Librarian: Felix Bauckholt (fbauckho) IMPAD: Marc Mailhot (mnmailho) Thanks to everyone who participated in our elections. Melissa Tedesco President

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CSC Special Elections: Nominations period has ended
by Computer Science Club 21 Sep '17

21 Sep '17

Hey all, The nomination period for the CSC Special Elections has ended. Elections will be held *Friday, September 22nd at 6pm in the MC Comfy Lounge (MC 3001).* The list of nominations is below: Vice-President: mnmailho vabresto Secretary: mnmailho csfmurph Systems Administrator: jxpryde Office Manager: fbauckho Librarian: fbauckho pnjarlan IMPAD: mnmailho daresnic CTF Club Liaison: bpostnik If you cannot attend the election, you can send in a proxy vote by sending an email to *cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca <cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca>* using your csclub or uwaterloo email address. Please ensure you are a MathSoc social member and a current CSC member. We can renew or sign up CSC members at the elections. Come out, it'll be fun! Also there will be snack food. Melissa Tedesco President

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CSC Extra Elections on Friday, Sep 22nd at 6:00pm in the MC Comfy (electing Vice-President, Secretary; appointing Systems Administrator)
by Computer Science Club 15 Sep '17

15 Sep '17

Hello everyone, During the election, we elected the following positions: President: Melissa Tedesco (matedesc) Treasurer: Tristan Hume (tghume) Unfortunately, due to a lack of nominations and the inability to maintain quorum, we could not elect the VICE-PRESIDENT and SECRETARY, and we haven't appointed the SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR. Therefore, the Computer Science Club will be holding extra elections for the Spring 2017 term on Friday, September 22nd at 6:00pm in the MC Comfy Lounge (MC 3001). The following positions will be appointed: Systems Administrator (to be ratified at the meeting), Office Manager, Librarian and IMAPD. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RUN OR NOMINATE SOMEONE for any of the elected positions, you can put your/their name on the whiteboard or in the nominations box in the CSC office (MC 3036/3037) or by sending an email to the Chief Returning Officer (In this case the current President, Melissa) at cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca. Please note that executive positions are restricted to MathSoc social members. A list of current nominations will be available on the whiteboard in the office and at https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/elections. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO NOMINATE YOURSELF, WE NEED PEOPLE! Nominations will close at 6:00pm on Thursday, September 21st (24 hours prior to the start of elections). If either the Vice-President or the Secretary position lack nominations at that time, we will postpone the election to a later date. Voting will be done in a heads-down, hands-up manner and is restricted to MathSoc social members. A full description of the roles and the election procedure are listed in our Constitution, available at https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/about/constitution. Any questions related to the election can be directed to cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca. Thanks, Melissa Tedesco President Computer Science Club | University of Waterloo cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca | exec(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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Elections: Nominations period has ended
by Computer Science Club 14 Sep '17

14 Sep '17

Hello everyone, The nominations period for the CSC election has just ended. The election event will be tomorrow on Friday, September 15th at 6:00pm in the MC Comfy Lounge (MC 3001). I will make sure that the election itself will start no earlier than 24 hours after this email has been sent. You can find the list of nominations at the bottom of this email. If you can't attend the election, you can vote remotely: Just reply (using either your @csclub.uwaterloo.ca or @edu.uwaterloo.ca address), and for each position, give a list of candidates you approve of! Note that you need to be a member to vote or to be elected. You will have an opportunity to sign up at the start of the election event. There's also a KW Linuxfest happening on 27 January 2018; its Call For Presentations is open until 1 November 2017. Topics should be GNU/Linux, Free Software, Free Culture, concentrating on their history, technological features, or social significance (ie. "What is the Free Software Movement" is good (but that's been done)). Anyone with something interesting to present is encouraged to apply, and everyone with an interest is encouraged to attend! There will also be exhibitor information booths. I'm still drafting up the Call For Exhibitors, but I'd like to extend an early invitation to CSC to have a free (as in gratis) information table. Have a fun election! Felix Bauckholt ******************************* * CSC - Spring 2017 Elections * ******************************* Elections will occur on Friday, September 15th at 6:00pm in the MC Comfy Lounge. See https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/about/constitution for a description of positions and the election procedure. ** ELECTED POSITIONS ** President ========= fbauckho matedesc qllam Vice-President ============== fbauckho qllam Treasurer ========= tghume qllam Secretary ========= mnmailho csfmurph fbauckho qllam ** APPOINTED POSITIONS ** The following persons have expressed interest in the appointed positions: Systems Administrator ===================== jxpryde qllam Office Manager ============== fbauckho qllam Librarian ========= fbauckho pnjarlan qllam Fridge Person ============= fbauckho qllam CTF Club Liaison ================ fbauckho qllam

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Elections on Friday, September 15 at 6:00pm in the Comfy Lounge // StarCon announcement
by Computer Science Club 07 Sep '17

07 Sep '17

If you're interested in speaking at a conference for the first time check out StarCon at the bottom of this email. Hello everyone, The Computer Science Club will be holding elections for the Spring 2017 term on Friday, September 15th at 6:00pm in the MC Comfy Lounge (MC 3001). The following positions will be elected: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. The following positions will be appointed: Systems Administrator (to be ratified at the meeting), Office Manager, Librarian and CTF Club Liaison. If you would like to run or nominate someone for any of the elected positions, you can put your/their name and Quest ID as well as a list of positions on a piece of paper into the nominations box in the CSC office (MC 3036/3037) or send an email to the Chief Returning Officer (Felix) at cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca<mailto:cro@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>. I will periodically empty the nominations box and notify the people nominated via their @edu.uwaterloo.ca<http://edu.uwaterloo.ca/> email address. Please note that executive positions are restricted to MathSoc social members. Nominations will close at 6:00pm on Thursday, September 14th (24 hours prior to the start of elections). At this time, I will publish the list of nominations via the CSC mailing list as well as at https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/elections. Voting will be done in a heads-down, hands-up manner and is restricted to MathSoc social members. A full description of the roles and the election procedure are listed in our Constitution, available at https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/about/constitution. Any questions related to the election can be directed to cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca<mailto:cro@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>. Additionally, we’re excited to announce that StarCon (http://starcon.io/) a conference running in Waterloo next January, has opened its call for proposals! We’re looking for folks who have a passion for technology, learning and sharing to submit 15 minute talks about their favourite piece(s) of technology. Submit your talk before September 15 here: https://starcon.io/cfp/ Thanks, Felix Bauckholt Chief Returning Officer Computer Science Club | University of Waterloo cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca<mailto:cro@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>

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Loss of data on /scratch
by Computer Science Club 29 Aug '17

29 Aug '17

Hello everyone, The /scratch array failed (likely due to a failed drive) at some point during the past weekend. The Systems Committee attempted to recover the data on /scratch but was unsuccessful. We have created a new /scratch on different (larger) drives, and /scratch is now available again. This failure required us to reboot corn-syrup at 9pm on August 28th. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the loss of data on /scratch and the reboot of corn-syrup. Thanks, CSC Systems Committee

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Systems Updates / Planned Maintenance from the Systems Committee
by Computer Science Club 15 Aug '17

15 Aug '17

Hello everyone, This email contains multiple sections: 1. Updates and reminders 2. Upcoming Maintenance (including machine reboots) on Friday, August 18 3. Introducing the CSC Cloud SECTION 1: UPDATES / REMINDERS A few updates and reminder: - Disk space: Please remember that disk space is limited. Home directories have a 4GB quota and SHOULD NOT be used for computational purposes. Please use /scratch or /scratch-hfcs for large storage and computational purposes. Disk space in both is limited, so please remove large items once you are done with them. If space is fully utilized, the systems committee may remove large items to make room for others. - caffeine: When caffeine was upgraded to Debian Stretch a few weekends ago, PHP was not fully upgraded. This has been resolved, and we are now running PHP 7. - Networking for all MathSoc clubs (including the CSC) was upgraded to provide additional redundancy and capacity. On Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017, there were some issues when the inter-building (MC -> DC) link was activated that resulted in unavailability of the CSC network for periods of time during the day. These issues have now been resolved and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. - Is there a piece of software that you'd like installed on our machines? Email syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca to request the package. SECTION 2: UPCOMING MAINTENANCE On Friday, August 18, 2017, from 12pm to 6pm, the CSC will be in a maintenance period. During this period: - Machines will be rebooted to upgrade their kernels (including security updates). Please ensure that all program state is saved prior to the start of the maintenance period to ensure minimal loss. - corn-syrup and high-fructose-corn-syrup will have a 10Gbps network card installed. SECTION 3: INTRODUCING THE CSC CLOUD The CSC systems committee is currently working on the development of a private cloud for all CSC members. Our cloud, powered by OpenStack, will allow us to offer virtual-private servers to members. We are currently looking for beta testers. Please email cloud(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca if you are interested in joining the beta. *Please include your CSC username in the email.* We will ask you for your feedback and ask that you report all issues to us. Thanks to the Math Endowment Fund (MEF) and CSC members for hardware donations that made this project possible. CONCLUSION Finally, we are looking for people interested in joining the systems committee. Please contact syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca if you are interested in learning more. If you have any questions/concerns/comments about the content of this email or about the CSC systems, please email syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca. Thanks, Zachary Seguin Systems Administrator Computer Science Club | University of Waterloo syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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System upgrades: upcoming maintenance window (Sun. July 30)
by Computer Science Club 23 Jul '17

23 Jul '17

Greetings programs, Syscom will be performing Debian system upgrades on most of our stable systems (taurine, mail, caffeine [webserver]) on Sunday, July 30th between the hours of 8am and 8pm EST. During that time, mail and web hosting services may be interrupted briefly. We do not anticipate any system reboots at this time. taurine will be getting irssi and weechat upgrades, so we recommend you restart your IRC sessions once the maintenance is complete to take advantage of the new software. You may have noticed that we already completed upgrades on all our Debian testing systems (sucrose, corn-syrup, hfcs). Please reach out to the Systems Committee if you have any questions, concerns, or deep dark secrets you'd like to share: syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca Thanks for flying CSC Air, -- Elana Hashman Systems Committee Computer Science Club University of Waterloo syscom(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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End of Term Party!
by Computer Science Club 20 Jul '17

20 Jul '17

Hi Everyone, Come join CSC for the End of Term party next Monday, July 24 from 6pm - 10pm in MC Comfy! We will be serving Urban Bricks! Events page: https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/events/MC_Comfy-2017-07-24-6:00_pm Regards, Bo

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Alt-Tab S17
by Computer Science Club 16 Jul '17

16 Jul '17

Hi everyone, CSC's Alt-Tab is back! Join us for food and interesting member talks. The current lineup includes: Ifaz Kabir<https://www.facebook.com/ifazk>: "The comment that took Stack Exchange down and the algorithm that could have saved them" Fatema Boxwala<https://www.facebook.com/fatema.boxwala>: "Manic PXE Dream Servers" Charlie Wang<https://www.facebook.com/charliewangg>: TBA (Something About Typed Racket) Sean Harrap: "Register Allocation With Graphs" Bryan Coutts<https://www.facebook.com/bryan.coutts.5>: "Vehicle Routing" Reila Lee: TBA Facebook event page found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/501869783485380/. Secretary, Bo

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Talkers and Hackers and CS, Oh My
by Computer Science Club 07 Jul '17

07 Jul '17

Hey you, CS Club member! If you came out to our CSC/WiCS bonfire then we hope you appreciated the marshmallows and samosas as much as we appreciated seeing your faces. Because now we have more events coming up! And this time you get to be part of them. -------- *Alt-TAB:* You talk about something you find interesting CSC will be hosting our Alt-Tab on Jul 17/18 this term and is currently looking for speakers, please email z34wei(a)uwaterloo.ca with the topic you would like to talk about and approximate time needed (preferably within 30 minutes) Before July 14. In past terms, people have talked about train signals in the TTC, writing kernel modules in Rust, and finding the closest pizza shop on a graph if the pizza shop takes negative time to cook your pizza. More details soon, once we get speakers! -------- *Crypto CTF, Solve Security Puzzles:* Get brownie points for doing it! On July 13th between 1800h and 2100h, the University of Waterloo Cryptography, Security, and Privacy (CrySP) lab will be hosting a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition in STC 0010. For this competition, the CrySP lab has created challenges and puzzles to test your programming, logic, forensics, and other computer science related abilities. The more challenges you solve the more points you get! Winning teams will receive prizes! Even if you don't think you will win, this is a good opportunity to test your skills and gain instant feedback on how well you are doing. We host these competitions so participants can learn new skills, expand on old ones, and understand alternative uses for their knowledge. If you would like to join us, please sign up at ctf.uwaterloo.ca ! (You will need to bring your own laptop to the event.) If you have any questions please email bpostnikoff(a)edu.uwaterloo.ca <bpostnikoff(a)uwaterloo.ca>. -------- Submit your talks, come to the CTF next Thursday! -- Patrick Melanson Computer Science Club University of Waterloo pj2melan(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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Code Party 0!
by Computer Science Club 21 Jun '17

21 Jun '17

Hi Everyone, Code Party 0 will be held in STC 0020 on Thursday, June 22 from 6-9pm! Abstract Come code with us, eat some food, do some things. Personal projects you want to work on? Homework projects you need to finish? Or want some time to explore some new technology and chat about it? You can join us at Code Party 0 and do it, with great company and great food. Secretary, Computer Science Club Bo Mo

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Machine Learning talk by Professor Shai Ben-David
by Computer Science Club 14 Jun '17

14 Jun '17

Hello everyone, Professor Shai Ben-David will be holding a talk on Machine Learning tomorrow June 15th at 6pm at MC4060! Abstract We are all aware that we live in the era of ("big") data. In contrast to classical scientists that devoted much of their resources to collecting data, nowadays researchers are flooded with data and the focus has switched to trying to make sense of and utilize the big and complex available data. Machine learning is aimed to use computer power to do just that. It is therefore no wonder that machine learning is currently a hot topic. Evidence is all over the map, from NYTimes articles to being a top priority for research investments by Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook. Throughout its (short) history, machine learning has enjoyed fruitful interactions between theory and practice. The growing awareness to its power keeps stimulating research towards new applications to the field, which in turn spur the development of algorithms and inspire new frontiers for our theoretical pursuit. In this talk Professor Shai Ben-David will explain the basic principles behind machine learning and how these principles relate to some of headline-making practical tools. Ben-David will also describe some of the major research challenges and research directions that address the fast expanding scope of potential machine learning applications. Regards, Bo Mo Secretary, Computer Science Club

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Office Training Spring 2017
by Computer Science Club 30 May '17

30 May '17

Hello Everyone, I will be conducting office training on Tuesday June the 6th at 4:00 pm in the CSClub office (MC 3036). Please attend if you would like to become office staff. If you cannot make it at the given time, please contact me directly. Thank you, - Uday Barar (ubarar) Office Manager IMAPD

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Unix 102 Tutorial
by Computer Science Club 29 May '17

29 May '17

Hello everyone, Fatema Boxwala will be holding a Unix 102 talk at MC 3003 from 6pm - 8pm on June 1, 2017. Abstract Finished the bash unit in CS246 and still don't see what's great about Unix? Want to gain some more in-depth knowledge, or some less well-known tips and tricks for using the command line? Unix 102 is the event for you! Fatema is "kind of successful" and "knows things about Unix" and you can be too! Topics covered will be: users, groups and permissions, ez string manipulation, additional skills, tips and tricks. Bring a computer with Minecraft installed if you have one. Bo Mo Secretary

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Spring 2017 - Election Results
by Computer Science Club 17 May '17

17 May '17

Hello everyone, Your Spring 2017 executive team has been selected. All positions were acclaimed. President: Felix Bauckholt (fbauckho) Vice-President: Zichuan Wei (z34wei) Treasurer: Laura Song (lhsong) Secretary: Bo Mo (bzmo) Zachary Seguin (ztseguin) was appointed and ratified as the Systems Administrator. Additionally, the following people were appointed: Office Manager: Uday Barar (ubarar) Librarian: Patrick Melanson (pj2melan) Imapd: Uday Barar (ubarar) Thank you to everyone who participated in the election process. Zachary Seguin Chief Returning Officer cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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Spring 2017 - Elections on Wed., May 17 at 6:00pm
by Computer Science Club 16 May '17

16 May '17

Hello everyone, The nomination period for this term's elections has closed. The nominees for elected positions are: President: - fbauckho - hsivasub - jj2baile - jmgagnie Vice-President: - fbauckho - jj2baile - s455wang - z34wei Treasurer: - hsivasub - lhsong (+1 unknown username starting with "aksh") Secretary: - bzmo - z34wei (+1 unknown username starting with "aksh") The following people have expressed interest in the appointed positions: Systems Administrator: - ztseguin Office Manager: - fbauckho - m3koo - ubarar Librarian: - fbauckho - ymusleh IMAPD (Fridge Regent): - hsivasub - ischtche - ubarar Nominations for elected positions can be declined at any time prior to the vote. You may express your interest for appointed positions at the elections. The elections will take place on Wednesday, May 17th at 6:00pm in the MC Comfy Lounge (MC 3001). If you have not renewed your membership, you may do so at the elections. Voting is restricted to current club members who are Social Members of the Mathematics Society. Voting will use the approval voting system. This means that you can vote for as many candidates as you want for any position. At the meeting, votes will be conducted in a heads-down, hands-up fashion. Absentee votes can be emailed to cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca until 30 minutes before the elections (5:30pm). For more information on the election procedures, please see https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/about/constitution#officers. I hope to see you at our elections tomorrow. Zachary Seguin Chief Returning Officer Computer Science Club | University of Waterloo cro(a)csclub.uwaterloo.ca

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