The Women's Students Office (WSO) hopes to raise awareness about sexual communication with its third annual Valentine's Day contest.

Creative and respectful answers to the question, "How do I ask my valentine for consent?" will be judged by a panel of WSO's Safer Campus Peer Educators. Winners are eligible for prizes sponsored by campus and University Village merchants.

Entry forms will be available at the Woodward Library lobby on Feb. 6 and at the UBC Bookstore entrance on Feb. 9, from 11:30-1:30 p.m. Contest entry information for students in residence will be displayed on posters in residence commons blocks.

The Campus Advisory Board on Student Development has extended the deadline for nominations for UBC Student Development Awards until Feb. 15.

The awards recognize exceptional contributions or significant improvements to the student experience and learning environment during the past three years.

There are four awards: for an Alma Mater Society, Graduate Student Society, or UBC student service; for an individual; for an undergraduate program or department; and for a graduate program or department.

Nominations, including a written statement and two supporting letters from students, faculty, staff and recent graduates, should be directed to the Office of the Vice-President, Student and Academic Services, Room 123, Old Administration Building, 6328 Memorial Road, V6T 1Z2.

For more information call Byron Hender, executive coordinator, Student and Academic Services, at 604-822-6799.

A new academic centre aimed at monitoring, controlling and preventing communicable diseases has been established in the Faculty of Medicine.

The UBC Centre for Disease Control (UBCCDC) will support programs in epidemiological services, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV control, tuberculosis control and the Provincial Laboratory.

The centre is part of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), formerly under provincial authority and now a part of the Vancouver/Richmond Health Board.

The majority of research and education functions will originate in the new BCCDC building, adjacent to the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre. Medical and research staff will collaborate on disease control projects provincially, nationally and internationally.