To the Lafayette Community:

This fall was the first semester in a very long time that The Lafayette went without printing. Through the devotion of the editorial board and our staff, we were able to chronicle the courage and chaos of the semester away online. As well as this went, I am pleased to announce that we will be printing for the duration of the semester starting this week, and that copies will be distributed to all the familiar locations on campus.

I took over as editor-in-chief soon after the announcement that Lafayette would be going remote last spring, following in the footsteps of the two incredibly accomplished and talented editor-in-chiefs who preceded me. Both of them profoundly impacted me and the campus community during their tenure. 

Every editor flavors the paper in a particular way, not just through their writing but through the stories and narratives they choose to center. In addition to our ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on campus, this year The Lafayette has been focusing on narratives of justice. This is a response to the courage and leadership of student activists on campus as well as movements operating with similar goals at a national level. 

The college is also in flux. With President Byerly announcing her decision to step down last semester, the next leader of the college will be defining the college’s vision coming out of the pandemic. This will include managing the ongoing population growth of the college, the fiscal challenges wrought by the pandemic and new construction on College Hill.

I am confident that with the talent and commitment of our staff, we will keep the community apprised of all this and more in an accurate and timely manner. As always, we welcome feedback, story ideas and criticism from anyone in the community.

Cheers to another unorthodox semester,

Ben Fuller