This week, The Voice Magazine is taking on a little more of a literary bent, although we’re still bringing you a decent round-up of the news that affects AU and AUSU, but two stories in particular caught my attention as they came across my desk. The first you’ll find is a bit of flash fiction from Barb Godin titled simply “The House”. It’s not easy getting a mood into under 500 words, but I think that Barb managed to pull that off nicely with this story.

Also this week, Wanda Waterman has been exploring the meaning behind the idea of genres of music. Her essay, looking at some of the personal nature of this exploration, struck a chord in me as an extremely evocative piece. This piece is part of her “All the Music Be Happening Now” series, which she usually submits as a graphic, but I think the words paint pictures just as clearly as the pictures she submitted along with the writing do. Check it out and see if you don’t agree.

And we couldn’t really say we’re having a literary issue without one of Jason Sullivan’s look at the intersection of philosophy and being an AU student, so we do.

Beyond that, we also have our report on the most recent AUSU Council meeting, where our Council reporter dug into the question of whatever happened to the annual AUSU planner, as well as some details for the Annual General Meeting of AUSU this coming Tuesday, May 23rd. If you haven’t indicated You’re going to be there already, Barb Lehtiniemi has an article explaining why you shouldn’t wait any longer. Even if You’re a student who’s only taking a single course at a time, You’re still getting charged AUSU fees, and the Annual General Meetings are a good time to see for yourself what is happening with that money.

We also have our news, reviews, events, interviews, scholarships, and all the regular stuff that makes the Voice Magazine valuable to you. One of the things you won’t find in any of those, however, is notice about the AU 2017 Facilities Auction. It just didn’t quite seem to slot into any place else, so I’ll tell you about it here. In brief, AU will occasionally auction a bunch of things that they are no longer using. This year includes everything from a 2002 Windstar van, multiple Macbook Pros and other laptops, professional photography and video equipment, all the way to lawn mowers, deep freezes, light fixtures, lots of chairs and desks, and even a washer and dryer set. The only catch is that there’s no delivery, you’ll have to arrange pick-up on your own. If You’re going to convocation, That’s probably not such a big deal (unless You’re wanting something like the deep freezer).

If You’re interested in bidding on anything, or just are curious about what is up for offer, the auction is open to the public and online at https://athabascau2017.eflea.ca/view and runs until the end of May.

Also, if You’re not following our Facebook page, you haven’t heard that The Voice Magazine is looking for people who are willing to track down and talk to students for articles. It’s a great way to meet your fellow students, and we’ll even pay you for it. Contact karl@voicemagazine.org if you want more information. Until then, I hope to see you at the AGM, and 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!