Dear readers,
As of March 22 at 9:19 p.m., there are 12 cases of coronavirus in the Bryan-College Station community and three cases associated with Texas A&M.
While A&M has canceled in-person classes to prevent further spread, the majority of students have retreated back to their hometowns for the remainder of the semester. As such, many of The Battalion’s staff members are either finding alternative methods to interview sources, such as emails or Zoom calls, or not able to continue working at all during this time.
Although we now have a shortened list of contributors, we have been on top of the coronavirus as it relates to A&M since the first suspected student case in February that was later confirmed negative. Since the beginning of Spring Break, The Battalion’s editorial staff has broken the coronavirus news from as far west as Malibu, California, and as far east as New York City. Now that classes are back in session, we intend to continue to serve you just as we have the past few weeks.
Within the pages of this paper are just a fraction of the coronavirus stories we have told so far. This edition includes short briefs about the move to all online classes and the cancellation of Ring Day, as well as feature stories on how members of the Corps of Cadets and graduating seniors are adjusting to this semester’s changes. We also have included a letter from a former Battalion editor who recently returned home from studying abroad in Italy and a letter from sports editor Hannah Underwood about what this means for spring semester sports. To read all of our coronavirus coverage, visit thebatt.com/news/coronavirus.
Though we normally print 6,200 copies of each paper, we have cut that in half to 3,500 for this edition to reflect the dwindling number of students on campus. As of now we’re not exactly sure when our next paper will be printed, but our promise to continue to serve the A&M community remains in the forefront of our minds. Whether classes are on-campus or online, The Battalion’s staff will continue to release breaking news updates as well as daily articles on our social media channels and our website.
For up-to-the-minute coverage, follow us on Twitter @TheBattOnline. To read all of this year’s print editions, visit issuu.com/thebatt. And if you have a question about how the coronavirus is affecting the A&M community, share it with me at [email protected] and I’ll work to make sure we find an answer.
For now, as your fellow student, I ask each of you to continue to listen to healthcare and A&M officials. Continue to practice good hygiene and if you don’t have to be out in public, please stay home. After all, social distancing is selfless service. And if you’re like me and really miss your margs, you can always order one to-go. Thanks, Gig ‘em and stay healthy.
Respectfully,
Samantha Mahler ‘19
Editor-in-chief