Aware of academics

By Veronika Janik

Do you ever find yourself in class daydreaming about all the magnificent resources the University of Calgary has to offer? No? Perhaps you simply aren’t aware of the various services that exist on campus.


This is where Academic Festivus comes into play. Previously known as Academic Awareness Week, the event brings assorted clubs and academic departments together.


"The whole idea is to raise awareness for students about all the academic services that are offered," said Students’ Union Vice-President Academic Demetrios Nicolaides.


Various departments will be involved, such as the Undergraduate Programs Office, the Disability Resource Centre and counselling programs that run stress management workshops.


The festival is made up of a range of booths set up in the foyer of MacEwan Hall. As an added bonus, it will include draws, prizes, a $500 tuition giveaway and Roman legionnaires.


"We asked each department that’s coming down to bring a prize of some sort as to encourage people to come around and visit all the different tables," said Nicolaides. "Prizes vary from credit to your ID card, to gift certificates from the bookstore, and a free backpack."


Traditionally, the event is held in the fall semester, but this year was a different story.


"I was shooting for that deadline too, but I wasn’t getting good response rates from many of the different services, so I decided to postpone it in order to do a better job," said Nicolaides. "Pushing it back to January was a really good idea. We have a lot more people and a lot of different ideas so it should be just generally better."