Well. We’ve got a lot of stuff to cover this week folks, so let’s get to it.
First, if you haven’t already heard about it, AUSU Council has lost two members. There’s a little bit of detail in the “Council Connection” article this week, but right here I’ll just say that only one of them resigned. See, now you have to go read the article to see what happened to the other. And doing that will make you read all about the new AUSU budget for 2016/2017. Which you should read anyway, because it’s your student union fees (that $9/course you pay) that are going into it.
The result, of course, is that Council is now down two members, and as you probably know, has decided to run a by-election. If you’ve ever thought you have an idea for what could make AU better for students, or if you’ve been looking for a way to get more involved with AU and give back to it by helping it become a better choice for other students, then this could be your opportunity. With regular elections every two years, signing up now will give you a significant amount of time to get your feet under you and hopefully make some positive changes for your fellow students here at AU. It also doesn’t hurt for developing further connections with the university, and just to have a greater idea of some of the things going on at and behind the scenes at Athabasca University. The call for nominations will start on August 31, and last until September 14. While two weeks might seem like a long time, from experience I can tell you that it runs by quicker than you expect, so if you have an interest in possibly running for council, there’s no better time than the present to start investigating what’s involved.
This week, I’ve decided that my own article, “What’s Going on At AU” is the feature, just because the subject matter is important enough to warrant it. And because I can. AU made an important announcement this week about it’s future, and had some serious difficulties with it’s email systems that affected anybody, student or otherwise, who was trying to contact them. I’ve got some information on what happened, and some questions about how this might affect us in future.
Also this week, we’re trying something new and replacing our regular comic feature with a graphic novel science fiction story, “The Doppelgänger Cure” which will be presenting to you one part at a time for the next several weeks. Tune in each week to see the newest installment.
And since we don’t have our comic to bring the funny this week, instead, we’ve got articles on how you can bring the funny to your writing (and if it turns out you’re good at it, please get in touch with me.) Plus, of course, our usual smorgasbord of news, insight, advice, music and film reviews, and other items to keep you busy and connected with your fellow students.
Enjoy the read!
P.S. If you didn’t already know, The Voice Magazine has a Facebook page and a twitter feed if You’re into that kind of thing!
