What will UVic be like on its 100th anniversary? Last month, The Ring asked all forward-looking members of the UVic community to unleash their imaginations and describe UVic in 2063. Our judges awarded first prize to Cheryl Hebb, director of campus-based fundraising in the Development Office. Runner-up prize went to fourth-year biology student Ryan Heron.

Here are their winning entries.

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UVic in the News 2063

By Cheryl Hebb

Facilities declares UVic "Deer Free"

UVic announces campus deer moved off-site

The front page of the Times Colonist features a story today of the UVic campus finally declared "deer free," after years of trying different methods to deal with the exploding on-campus deer herd. While students are sad to see their adopted mascots gone, the Head of Facilities assured everyone that the deer all went to good homes and noted bioscience students now caught cloning deer will be disciplined.

Academics

UVic profs demand end to naked students

The Saanich News is reporting that a group of faculty members have petitioned the Provost to demand that students no longer be allowed to "attend" on-line classes naked, now that i-Holographic, 3-D representations are generated directly into classroom seats and interspersed with clothed, live student bodies and avatars. "If the students want to learn from home and don't want to dress for class, they should have the decency to send their avatars in their place," said one anonymous professor. Student government reps have vowed to fight the ban, stating that global warming has made wearing clothes uncomfortable across most of Canadamerixica, and avatars are becoming increasingly more costly and personally demanding, making i-Holographic technology an important means of complying with class attendance policies.

Travel services

Transportation warns students to book early for spring break

Students who want to ensure they have decent Transporter times for spring break departure should book now, said UVic Travel Services. Arriving home via Transporter in the middle of the night has trigged complaints from some parents in Euro-Asia and the United Middle East. The head of Transportation Services warns, "We're filling up timeslots fast, so many of you may find yourself facing the tunnel/bridge traffic back to Vancouver if you don't book departure times now." UVic Travel Services reminds students that, due to increasing demand, Transporter passage is reserved for live students only-no avatars.

Law faculty backs avatar rights

Avatars fight for their rights

The Saanich News has picked up the story of the almost 200 avatars that gathered this weekend at UVic for the Vancouver Island Avatar Rights protest aimed being permitted to accompany their human hosts on transporters, in restaurants and other places where human students are allowed to go. Protest co-ordinator and UVic Law Professor John George Ringo commented, "They study for them, they take tests for them, and they want to be allowed to go wherever students go."

Students/Alumni

Sale of moccasins at Bookstore and venison at Cafe

The UVic Bookstore announces a flash sale of deerskin moccasins today at noon at the bookstore; 50% off while supplies last. The Biblio Caf&e#180; announced that this week's featured venison burgers are also available in a vegan version.

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My First Day at UVic in September 2063

By Ryan Heron

I remember my first days at UVic quite well. The year was 2063, and I was transitioning from a small-town Penticton high school to the exciting and scary world of university. Move-in day was a spectacle, with over 4,000 students moving in over the Labour Day long weekend. I felt like a salmon leaving a stream and discovering the ocean!

My dad, a UVic grad, was frustrated because he mistakenly drove on Ring Road, which we learned from Campus Security was now only for busses, service vehicles and bicycles. We eventually made it to a parking lot and secured a charging stall to power up our Tesla electric car.

The enthusiastic residence staff helped me find room 327 in Tower, which was in the older half of the residence neighbourhood. As I was unpacking my belongings, my mom chattered away about how her old laptop was too heavy to bring to class and only lasted a few hours on battery power. Their technology in the 2020's seemed so ancient!

I was both relieved and nervous to have my parents leave, but then I started meeting other students in my hallway. I first met Lydia because she was having trouble downloading her textbooks. I showed her how and also installed a campus map onto her phone, and we went walking around the expansive campus, guided by the phone's GPS and virtual tour guide telling us about significant buildings we passed. We even discovered a shiny new greenhouse where students could grow their own vegetables! The CARSA recreation facility wasn't the newest building any more but still looked impressive, and I couldn't wait to try out its indoor running track. Instead, Lydia suggested we go for a run up Mt. Tolmie, and soon we were watching the sun set over the southwestern mountains before returning to our new post-secondary lives.

Walking into my first class the next day, I was shocked at the hundreds of people in the Bob Wright lecture hall B150. I bet I will make a lot of new friends here, and apparently the new buildings have even larger lecture halls! All the students, myself included, had new Apple two-panel tablets, with the 3D textbook images on one screen and our digital notepad on the other. I didn't have this in high school, but quickly found it easily beat binders and a stack of paper textbooks!

After class, Lydia video-messaged me to come play Frisbee on the quad. As I took a shortcut through the prehistoric Elliot building, I overheard a professor and a graduate student discussing their designs for a life-support system for the upcoming Mars mission-cool!

Outside the library, I got a piece of the enormous birthday cake to commemorate the start of UVic's hundredth year. Meanwhile, I was simply celebrating getting through my first day of university! My older sister intimidated me with tales of eternal studying in the library and a century's worth of dried tears on the final exam desks, but so far UVic looked to be an experience I would thoroughly enjoy.