Each week, I get to pick three articles that I want to feature on the website. These three are “above the fold” as it were and are more likely to have people click into them to check them out. Naturally, the first thing that goes into these is our student interviews. Meeting fellow students, being able to read about who else is attending our distance university and seeing the variety of people all united by the pursuit of an education is an easy pick.
This week is no different, as this week’s interview interview brings us a student who manages to find time to do her studies even among a veritable zoo of different creatures that she cares for, and tops that off with canoeing and hiking too. Meanwhile, I have trouble keeping up with the dishes. Find out more about how she does it in our featured Minds We Meet!
Next, with the election in the home province of AU being so close, we’ve got a look at the education policies of some of the various parties running. If you haven’t already voted in the advance polls, and you’re really not sure of what your decision will be, hopefully this might provide some additional information that helps make your choice just that little bit easier, no matter which way it goes.
So those were the easy picks, a student interview, and an election that could have a significant effect on AU based on the policies of those running. The third one this week was harder, as on the one hand, Alek Golijanin has a look at a story about international students who are being deported back to their home countries because of fraudulent documents in their student visa applications. The tricky part is, the students themselves did not know that the fraud was going on, it being perpetrated by immigration consultants who are hired to help foreign students navigate the difficult process of gaining visas and later residency or citizenship. It’s an important issue and deserving of a look, but yet, I also received this week a piece of short fiction that made for a very good read.
I’ve always argued that the Voice Magazine is a Magazine, not just a newspaper, so while I love fact-based, journalistic articles reporting on issues of importance to students, the important thing is that it be something that AU students will find interesting or helpful to read, which is why we get columns like [blue rare], or various types of advice and reviews, and to me, fiction, good fiction anyway, is one of the best reasons to read something.
So this week, the fiction won out. It’s a good read and one that may cause you to think for a bit if you’re the kind of person who wonders about the edges of morality. Plus, it’s very different from the usual articles that I get to feature, and that factored in as well. But that doesn’t mean that the other articles in this issue don’t also belong above the fold, I just only have so much room.
So be sure to also check out our music reviews, advice, events, scholarships, and more. Or take a quick look at [blue rare] or Xine Wang’s article about treating her parents on the May Long Weekend and the importance of doing so.
Whichever you do, be sure to enjoy the read!
