Hello, Goodbye

This week, AU is holding its first?and possibly only?summer recess. While the break is just one week long, it is something we are not used to: a tangible shift between school years that brings a sense of renewal as we look forward to the influx of fall students. (we’ll overlook, for the moment, the financial pressures that have caused Alberta universities to initiate the staff furloughs this year.) While AU is not on a semester system, we do notice a significant slowdown in student inquiries over the summer, and a surge of enrolments for the first of September start date.

The timing seems fitting, then, for an announcement of change here at The Voice Magazine, the only student-run publication for Athabasca University students.

With some sadness, I must announce that this will be the last issue edited by Sandra Livingston, who took on the Managing Editor role three years ago. I admit to only some sadness because as much as I will miss working with Sandra (as will many of our writers, who have spoken so highly of her), I am thrilled at the reason she is leaving: a burgeoning writing career that demands more time and focus. We should all be so fortunate to have the greatest demand on our time be something that we love and for which we have striven. Of course I also feel a certain level of pride, having selected Sandra for the job because I felt she had real talent as an editor and potential as an author. I’m also delighted any time that one of our staff or writers finds success in the writing field, as I believe that fostering student journalism and creative writing is a key goal of a student-funded publication.

The parting is less bitter, too, when we can be assured that there are capable hands ready to keep the momentum. And we do have momentum: The Voice is often praised for the quality and variety of its submissions and its unique, thoughtful approach to student publishing. Our new editor, AU alum Christina Frey, is as familiar with our publication as she is to our readers; She’s published more than 80 articles in The Voice (many of which are profiles of our student readers). Christina knows our readers, and our university, and I look forward to working with her to continue to take The Voice in new directions. Her task will certainly be made easier by the dedicated and imaginative group of regular writers she will inherit, a group soon to be enriched by Ms. Livingston herself (She’s not getting away that easily!).

Welcome, Christina, and farewell, Sandra.

I’ll leave you now with a quote from my adored Kurt Vonnegut, because it so neatly sums up what I think any publication should strive for:

?New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.?

Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions