We are now right in the middle of the nomination period for the next AUSU Council election.  This is the group of students, like you, who get together to try to decide how the AUSU contribution you provide with each course registration would be best used to benefit students in general. Like many post-secondary institutions, self-nomination is welcome here, and because of the distance nature of AU, even more important.

Of course, the idea of running in an election can be daunting as a distance student.  Even if we forget that most AU students are older and further advanced in their careers (and hence, with less free time overall) there is always the concern that comes from knowing that you don’t really know many of your fellow students.  No matter how many Minds We Meet articles we put in the Voice, or how many student profiles go up on the AU site, knowing about a person isn’t the same as actually knowing them, so who would vote for you?

In that respect, AUSU has what I believe is an advantage over brick-and-mortar schools. What stands out most for voters when it comes to AUSU candidates is their ideas. So often in politics, elections are really just testing if someone is electable.  Do they have the right look, can they speak well—even if what they’re saying makes no sense?  At AUSU that doesn’t tend to happen as much because our connections with each other are mostly through text.  Candidates will have space made available to them to express their qualifications and ideas, they’ll also each get a short interview questionnaire from the Voice about topics that are typically on the minds of students, but the idea of a campaign, of plastering posters with easy to remember slogans around campus, really doesn’t work that well for AU.  There’s not a lot of ‘short form’ space for memes or slogans, and, to my mind, that’s a good thing.

Of course, like anything these days, more and more is moving to video and images, and I expect that, eventually, we’ll be like any other post-secondary institution when it comes to who gets elected to our Council, but I don’t think we’re there just yet.

However, one thing that gets overlooked by many is that anybody who runs for AUSU Council is put on the radar for the Council that gets elected as someone who is interested in supporting AU.  This means they may get approached for other opportunities, which may even involve providing insight and ideas directly to AU faculty and management.  So it really is your chance to make a bit of a difference. Consider taking it.

But this week in the Voice, we take a look at some of the other opportunities AU can provide students, such as aid with international competitions.  We also have playlist and menu suggestions for the oncoming apocalypse, a look at what’s trendy in meals in China right now, some advice on how to be an active listener even if you’re a visual learner, events, scholarships, advice, ruminations, and more!

Enjoy the read!