It seems like just a few minutes ago that we were putting up the first edition of The Scavenger and, now, here we are with Issue No. 2.

This year’s magazine has a theme: alternate views of Edmonton, or hearts of the city. Our contributors went looking for untold stories, unsung heroes and undiscovered countries.

In “A Refugee’s Tale,” Riyah Lakhani traces the life of an Ethiopian woman from brilliant student in Africa to refugee in a cold climate and a sometimes colder society.

Alexander Sorochan’s “Animal Haus” pulls back the drapes in the picture window of Clint's Haus to reveal the home of “some of the weirdest and loudest music in Edmonton.”

In “Post-Secondary Safe and Secure” Kaylen Small looks at three security services that are more like small police departments – the men and women who patrol our post-secondary campuses.

It’s jarring and life-changing to suddenly find that you’re a part of a culture you know little about. That was the situation in which Evan Davits found himself, and which he describes in “The Hunt for the Inner Spirit.”

“When Life Is Too Much to Bear” is Sahar Saifee’s exploration of the pressures that push young people to consider suicide, and begins with Des’rae Stage, who barely survived a troubled childhood.

In “The Struggle for the Soul of Alberta Avenue,” Tamanna Khurana looks at the human face of a street that has been maligned, misunderstood and mostly ignored by Edmontonians.

Katt Adachi’s “Last Picture Shop” takes us to a disappearing urban landmark – the video store. The last of its kind in Edmonton, The Lobby is as much a cultural institution as a business – part video emporium, part monument to movie geekdom.

With “Life After the Beat,” Pierre Royal talks to retired police officers, who spent their working lives in some of the highest stress environments imaginable, and carry the scars of those years.

So there it is – with a big round of applause for managing editor Katt Adachi, assistant editors Riyah Lakhani and Alexander Sorochan, copy editors Evan Davits and Pierre Royal, photo editors Tamanna Khurana and Kaylen Small, and social media editor Sahar Saifee, for their talent, patience and hard work.

–Brian Gorman, Assistant Professor,
Communication Studies