To live in interesting times is something widely thought to be a Chinese curse (in reality, probably not, but it makes a good story) but, origin aside, it does remain a fair comment that the things felt to be most interesting in history are generally the things that cause the most misery.
In that respect, novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, is shaping up to be one of those things. On the bright side, most of us will live through it, and then have the dubious distinction of being able to tell our children or grand-children about that time we lived through a literal pandemic.
And while this may be taking a lighter-hearted view of it, we definitely shouldn’t make light of this situation. I’ve seen a lot of comments about how the flu has killed far more people, or how measles can spread a lot faster, and while both of these things are true, they fail to note that this outbreak is less than three months old. This is serious stuff, folks.
So this week in The Voice Magazine, we bring you some of the latest information, including some “do”s and “don’t”s when it comes to COVID-19. Don’t panic, but do be careful, and do your best to ensure you’re not inadvertently spreading it even further.
But our feature article this week is a look at Alternative Schooling Systems around the world. Athabasca University is, of course, a bit unusual in how it works, but there are other school systems, both post-secondary and otherwise, that also take an unusual tactic when it comes to educating kids. The most radical one, at least to me, is a school that runs in an entirely democratic fashion, with every student’s vote having the same weight as any adults. That doesn’t seem like something that would work out well in the long run, but the school has been closely examined, is still running, and seems to be performing fairly well for many of the students it turns out.
We also have an article that digs into daylight savings time. Just this week, you probably had to drag your butt out of bed earlier than you would have liked. Or to be more specific, even earlier than the time before. But have you ever wondered why? Francesca Carone did, and so she went looking for some answers for The Voice Magazine.
And don’t forget to check out this week’s Council Connection, where Natalia Inawek is reporting on the last meeting of AUSU Council to happen before the election. How is AUSU Council wrapping up the year, what’s left on the plate and what’s coming up for the new group? You’ll find some of the answers here.
One last thing I want to point out is that now that the AUSU Election is complete, with the appeals deadline having past, I’ve put the Minds We Meet, where we interviewed student and former AUSU Council Candidate Alek Golijanin back up. On the website, I’ll have it as a featured article, but in the PDFs, you’ll have to go back and grab issue 2808. And I’m telling you this because it’s worth the read. Sometimes seeing what other students are doing can give us a sense of pride to be AU students. This is one of them. (And don’t forget our reviews, scholarships, events, and more!) Enjoy the read!
