DEAR READERS:

Do you remember the "This is fine" meme? The 2013 webcomic from artist KC Green depicts a fedora-clad dog sitting in a chair, delivering the namesake line as the room is engulfed in flames around him.

I'm not sure Green realized how prophetic his comic would be seven years later. but as we endure our ninth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, I find myself thinking constantly about that dog: his repose, his blissful smile, his simple acceptance of impending doom. How does he do it?

Life as we know it has fundamentally changed over the course of this year. A global pandemic. A long-awaited national reckoning on race and identity. A presidential election that could alter the course of our future. These flames have especially affected college campuses like ours, which have become both hot-spots of COVID-19 cases and hotbeds of impactful student activism

This fall, our dedicated team of writers, editors, designers, fact-checkers and more have committed themselves to publishing something I know will one day serve as a powerful account of these historic times. In Pregame and Hangover, they've somehow managed to find the light amid the darkness — like a chair that united a first year class that's never met one another and a hilarious parallel timeline for 2020. In Dance Floor, they've refused to back down from the nuance and complexities facing our campus, including the symbolic defiance of Black joy and the Abolish Greek Life movement's unforseen consequences for Evans Scholars. Each of our four Features takes a deep dive into how the flames engulfing our nation, from the police to the pandemic, have reached our school

We've even pushed the boundaries of what our magazine is, means and does. Our digital exclusive project, Unmasked, is producing incredible watchdog journalism about Northwestern's response to COVID-19. Our joint diversity report with NBN's online team is taking a much-needed look into why and how our staff doesn't always reflect the community we cover. NBN 101, our virtual workshop program for first-year students, has built a community where we thought it was impossible and trained a new generation of magazine staff.

Some way, somehow, Northwestern students are managing to once again sit in our chairs and say to the world, "This is fine." Here at North by Northwestern, our staff has gone betond "fine." I'm so honored and proud to have served as Print Managing Editor these past two quarters. I know that dog would surely be proud of us, too — had his face not melted off a few panels later.

MICHAEL KORSH