To me, September always signifies a time of rebirth. I know that it’s contradictory to the season’s symbolism as the dying days before our long winter, but I think of autumn as a fresh start. I guess I’ve been a student for too long!

In fall 2011, just after I had been hired as news editor here, I watched our former managing editor create the griff. Prior that point, MacEwan University’s weekly student newspaper had been called Intercamp, and it had run for three decades under that moniker. Four years ago, the powers that be decided it was time for a change, so the newspaper underwent a redesign and a renaming, and the griff was born.

As I enter my final year at our university, it seems fitting that I experience one last rebirth before I go, so I’m happy to introduce our first edition of the griff magazine. For four months, we discussed the types of stories we wanted to run in our new monthly format, how we could improve our readers’ experience both in print and online, and how we could further connect with our community. After all of our planning, I can only hope that we’ve achieved our goals of bringing you interesting, informative content in an appealing format.

In this edition, we turn our gaze toward our city’s future. Will we be a sustainable, inclusive city that pushes boundaries and leaves no citizen behind? One can dream.

In our cycling feature, Marc Kitteringham and Stephan Boissonneault discuss the joys and struggles of bicycle commuting in Edmonton, from gearing up to staying on the right side of the law. We explore the campus bike repair station and let you know about the best places to lock up your ride.

In our second feature, Ana Holleman discusses the university’s new all-gender bathrooms and what they mean for students who don’t conform to the gender binary. She talks to student groups on campus about support and services for queer students, and we offer a list of LGBTQIA+ hotspots around the university.

Also, have you heard the buzz about Nuit Blanche Edmonton? If not, check out Anna McMillan’s piece on the all-night contemporary art festival that will take over our city centre on Sept. 26. It sounds like it will be worth losing sleep over!

For our first Q&A, Anna McMillan met up with Anna Pienkowski, a MacEwan University professor whose research team was recently awarded almost $500,000 to complete their upcoming work in Arctic Canada.

Lastly, I went to Boyle Street Community Services and discussed how it was faring in the face of downtown’s rapid redevelopment. Julian Daly, Boyle Street’s executive director, told me about the issues faced by their clients and the organization’s plans for a new building on their site.

I hope that you enjoy the first edition of the griff magazine, and that you experience your own fresh start this September.