Posts By: Debbie Jabbour

Debbie Jabbour

re: Dominique Abrioux’s letter – response from Debbie Jabbour

Response to D. Abrioux’s letter by AUSU President Debbie Jabbour. Originally published in the Edmonton Journal on August 14, reprinted with permission of the author. I would like to thank Athabasca University president Dr. Dominique Abrioux for the information he has provided in response to the letter from concerned AU student J.R. Buhler. While the… Read more »

From My Perspective – And then the lights went out!

About a week ago, Edmonton experienced a particularly violent storm, one that resulted in power failures, and our LRT (Light Rail Transit) being shut down for almost a day when an underground portion of the route flooded. My daughter was relaxing and watching television, and I was just finishing up some work on the computer… Read more »

From My Perspective – Festivals and Commercialization in Edmonton

Edmonton bills itself as “festival city”, and rightly so. Of our numerous summer festivals, the main ones are: Klondike Days, Jazz Festival, Heritage Days, Fringe Festival and the Folk Festival, but there are many other smaller ones such as the Cariwest, Bluesfest, Taste of Edmonton, International Film Festival, Street Performers, and the Blueberry Bluegrass &… Read more »

From My Perspective – Trailer Park Blues

Tonight I had a near-death experience. Well, it was not really near-death, but it sure felt like it. It happened at around 7:00 P.M. My daughter and her companion have purchased a mobile home in a large trailer park in the city. It’s a “fixer-upper”, and I spent the day with her, working to bring… Read more »

From My Perspective – Good China

Do you have a dining cabinet where you keep all your good china? Or perhaps a kitchen cupboard that is designated as a special storage location? I think most of us do, based on a long tradition of keeping one set of dishes and glasses for everyday use by the family, and another for when… Read more »

From My Perspective – Graduation – What Comes Next?

For most of us who are working on a degree at AU, our motivations combine several elements. Personal development and challenge are important, of course, and many of us are trying to set good examples for our children by placing a high value on university education. But practical reasons are generally primary. We want a… Read more »

From My Perspective – A Tribute To My Piano Teacher

It was with great sadness I read an obituary notice the other day to discover that Thelma Johannes O’Neill had passed away, one day short of her 88th birthday. Her obituary states that Mrs. O’Neill was “dedicated to motivating and encouraging her students to search for the highest musical expression.” I can testify to the… Read more »

AUSU Moves

Last fall the AUSU office in Edmonton received some unexpected news. The building where we have our office was for sale, and a buyer had purchased the mortgage, then foreclosed, evicting all the tenants with one month’s notice. This included the Athabasca University Edmonton Learning Centre and our AUSU office. Although the university consulted with… Read more »

From My Perspective – Graduation Special – The Class of 2003

Author’s note: This is the third of three articles that will detail three very special and very different graduation experiences. I have the privilege this year of participating in three graduations – my youngest daughter has graduated from high school, my second eldest daughter has graduated from university, and I graduated on June 14! Each… Read more »