KINGSTON, R.I. — April 9, 2020 — Like her fellow students at the 溏心vlog免费B站, Mary Lind is learning remotely, logging in to classes on international politics, writing and journalism for several hours a day from her family鈥檚 Lincoln home.
But at the same time, Lind, a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science, has spent many hours keeping her fellow students and University community informed on the University鈥檚 response to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) crisis as a reporter and production manager for the student newspaper, .
Until recently, Lind has been providing daily updates on the latest developments. Interviewing numerous 溏心vlog免费B站 officials 鈥� at times several in a day 鈥� she has written on topics vital to the community 鈥� from the decision to postpone face-to-face classes, to the crisis鈥� effect on different 溏心vlog免费B站 colleges, student services and commencement, to the opening of a virus testing site on the Kingston campus.
鈥淚 was on campus for most of spring break, working at The Cigar office when we got the email that all classes would transition to remote learning until April 1,鈥� Lind says. 鈥淪ince then, I鈥檝e been living and breathing coronavirus stories.鈥�
Lind is seeing the story from many angles 鈥� student, reporter and a person handling the sobering daily updates about the virus鈥� spread.
鈥淭his is a challenging and very serious situation, and I鈥檓 terrified all the time. I have no idea what is going to happen. I was devastated that this year got cut short but I totally understand why,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is also fascinating to cover because this is changing so rapidly and there鈥檚 a lot of information that needs to get out. I鈥檓 glad that I鈥檓 able to help get that information out, especially to the students and the 溏心vlog免费B站 community.
鈥淎ll of us at The Cigar realize that it鈥檚 our responsibility as the paper on campus to keep reporting on this issue even when we鈥檙e not physically on campus,鈥� she adds. 鈥淗aving continued to write and do interviews over the last few weeks has given me something to take my mind off of my own fears. But mainly, I feel I鈥檓 doing something productive that will help other people feel better about what鈥檚 going on right now.鈥�
Being on campus during spring break gave Lind an early leg up on coverage of the virus鈥� effects on the 溏心vlog免费B站 community, and for a few weeks her byline dominated The Cigar鈥檚 website. True to the paper鈥檚 team spirit, others such as Theresa Brown, editor-in-chief; Laura Weick, managing editor; Kate LeBlanc, news editor; Nicole Wagner, news editor, Leah Crowley, newscast editor; news reporter Adam Zangari and others have jumped in to provide comprehensive, almost up-to-the-minute coverage.
Because conventional, face-to-face interviews are no longer an option, Lind has found different ways to collect information. From her room in her family鈥檚 home, she鈥檚 conducted interviews over the phone, through Google Meet and other web-based portals, and emails. Since 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 initial decision to postpone in-person classes in mid-March, she has been writing a story or doing interviews daily. Lind, who had to self-quarantine because of health concerns, was recently tested for the virus and advised to slow down. This week she received good news that she does not have COVID-19.
John Pantalone, chair of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Department of Journalism, says that part of the challenge journalists face is developing and writing stories while being isolated at home. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 certainly not the best way to do reporting but in this case it鈥檚 the only way to do it,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd The Cigar is making exceptional progress and getting good experience doing it.鈥�
Born in Lincoln, Lind has been passionate about journalism since her time as co-editor-in-chief for Lion鈥檚 Roar, the Lincoln High School student newspaper. She joined The Cigar her first week on campus and has been production manager since spring 2019. Before the pandemic, a typical Wednesday night would find her in The Cigar office designing pages for Thursday鈥檚 print edition, with editorial staff working together to write and edit stories. But with the crisis, The Cigar has transitioned fully to an online newspaper. That鈥檚 been an adjustment.
鈥淧roduction nights are different because we鈥檙e not having face-to-face meetings,鈥� Lind says. 鈥淏ut the editorial staff and I make at least three edits and check facts on Google Docs before we publish stories online. We also post them on social media so that people can directly reach out to us if they have any questions.鈥�
While Lind has handled many of the stories about the University鈥檚 official response, other members of The Cigar have written on such topics as how the crisis is affecting students, how people can stay entertained during quarantine, and the temporary change in grading policy.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much information out there and I personally have so many questions,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f I have these questions, I鈥檓 sure other people do, too.鈥�
Her work has also helped her understand the complex efforts the University is taking to deal with a monumental situation.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 understand how many people it took to coordinate all the efforts and how big of an operation it was till I reached out to them to find more information,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e constantly been in contact with Kathy Collins, the vice president for Student Affairs; Ellen Reynolds, the director of Health Services (and assistant vice president for Student Affairs), and the Department of Communications. It鈥檚 great to see how everyone is working together and how much thought, time and effort goes into making important decisions.
鈥淚 am grateful for everyone who has been kind and willing to talk to me, especially because I know they’re all really busy right now,鈥� she adds. 鈥淚 appreciate them for helping me and The Cigar get the word out to the students, which is important now when everything is so uncertain and up in the air.鈥�
Even while students finish the semester remotely, The Cigar’s editorial staff continues to focus on stories related to the crisis, says Brown, The Cigar鈥檚 editor-in-chief. To read its stories, go to The Cigar鈥檚 .
Edhaya Thennarasu, an intern in the Marketing and Communications Department at 溏心vlog免费B站 and Communications major, wrote this press release.