Columns

Lost & Found – Of Coyotes and Pigeons

In the July 10th edition of The Vancouver Courier, a community newspaper, there was a story about a woman whose cat was injured and nearly killed by two coyotes. The woman’s response was to immediately call for a culling of coyotes in the area, in order to make nighttime prowling safer for domesticated animals. “‘I… Read more »

Women You Should Know – Ella Jane Fitzgerald, (1918-1996)

Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1918 in Newport News, Virginia. Throughout her outstanding career, she became known as “The First Lady of Song.” It has been said that she began singing by accident. In 1934, Ella entered an Amateur Night competition at the Apollo. She had planned on dancing during the competition, but… Read more »

Canadian Fedwatch! News Across the Nation

Aboriginal Students in Saskatchewan Receive Boost The provincial government of Saskatchewan is partnering with the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation in order to create a new scholarship specifically for aboriginal students. Over six million dollars is being put into the new Millennium Aboriginal Access Bursary. This initiative will provide bursaries of $2,000 for 2,500 aboriginal post-secondary… Read more »

From Where I Sit – Strange But True

Anyone wishing to stay on top of world happenings can now easily do so through television, radio, Internet and newspapers. In typical double-edged-sword fashion, this is both good and bad. Sixty years ago, people’s worlds were smaller and more insular. It took days, weeks or even months to hear what was happening in the next… Read more »

Dear Barb – Red Hat Society

Dear Barb: I look forward to reading your columns. Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about a group called the “Red Hat Society.” I’ve seen pictures in the local newspaper of women who are all wearing red hats. These women appear to be having a lot of fun. I think it is some sort of… Read more »

AUSU This Month

AUSU Course Evaluations Would you like to know what your fellow students have thought of an AU course? If so, you are not alone. Many students find the input of their peers invaluable when selecting courses or a program of study. AU students may not have cafeterias and hallways in which to share this knowledge,… Read more »

Women You Should Know – Dorothea Lynde Dix (1802-1887)

Dorothea Lynde Dix was born April 4, 1802 in Hampden, Maine. Dorothea was a social reformer, teacher and author of children’s books. At the age of fifteen, she began a school for girls, as they were not permitted to attend public schools. While working as a substitute teacher at the Massachusetts jail in 1841, Miss… Read more »

From Where I Sit – Head Case

Checking dictionaries and medical books for the meaning of the word skull yields all sorts of interesting facts. My dictionary defines it as “a bone framework enclosing the brain of a vertebrate” (Soanes & Stevenson, 2004). From my medical books, I learned that the cranium is the domed back, top and sides of the skull… Read more »

The Good Life – Age & Beauty

When the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon set sail in the eighteenth century to voyage across South America in search of the fabled fountain of youth, he was continuing one of humanity’s most ancient quests. Since prehistoric times, witches and sorcerers employed talismans and minerals and rendered potions from roots, herbs and flowers in the… Read more »