It’s convocation day! While at AU you can graduate on any day of the year, each year AU holds a celebration of those who’ve managed to complete their programs, with events held both in person and online, AU has a convocation ceremony that includes a brief bio of every student who crosses the stage, as well as speeches by various members of the AU community, including the annual honorary graduates, which this year include an Indigenous architect, Wanda Dalla Costa, and an academic and mental health advocate, Dr. Austin Mardon. As usual, AU’s pick for the honorary degree recipients are very interesting, both in their histories and in what they’re doing now. You can find out more about each of them at the Hub. However, congratulations need to be conveyed to all of the graduates, as an AU degree isn’t an easy accomplishment and comes with its own set of challenges beyond just the academic.
Meanwhile, Father’s Day is right around the corner, and it seems to be hitting a chord with the Voice Writers this week, as our feature article is a look at how Alzheimer’s has, counterintuitively, helped Barbara Lehtineimi get to know her own father in our feature article, “Dadddy-sitting”. It’s definitely worth the read, and I’m fairly sure you’ll enjoy it.
Also this week, in lieu of a student interview (and if you like reading the student interviews, have you considered being the subject of one? I’m assured the process is relatively painless and doing so we’ll get you some fun Voice swag that you can use as a conversation starter, if nothing else. Contact mwm@voicemagazine.org if that sounds at all interesting to you!) we have Natalia Iwanek’s look at some ways that you can overcome that feeling of isolation which comes with being a distance institution, and connect with fellow students and other members of the AU community. After all, just because we’re at a distance doesn’t mean we have to be alone these days.
Finally, we round out our three features with a look at HALT and RIDE legislation to combat impaired driving that’s being developed in the United States, and the reasons why Alek Golijanin is suggesting we contact our own politicians to try to get similar legislation enacted here. Would you feel okay knowing your car may take control away from you if it feels you’re driving erratically? While I’m a big booster of autonomous vehicles, I worry about such technologies being a little too assertive or buggy. After all, sometimes there’s a reason we need to drive in an erratic fashion, usually to do with other drivers. Even though I’m in favor of cars that drive themselves and think it would be generally safer, the idea that a car might wrest control away from you when you’re not expecting it makes me worry. But maybe I’m wrong with that fear, and Alek presents the case as to why.
Plus, of course, we have scholarships, events, reviews, recipes, pieces that make you think, advice, inspirational stories and be sure to check out both the article on crypto-scammery if you’ve ever wondered what the big deal about NFTs was, or the latest [blue rare] for an interesting take on what I can only assume is depression and negative self-actualization. Or maybe he’s being literal. I never can quite tell.
At any rate, enjoy the read!
