So many words have been used to describe the past few weeks: “chaotic,” “distressing” and “troubling,” to name a few. But the one we see most frequently is “uncertain.” It’s a fitting description for the COVID-19 pandemic, but not a particularly reassuring one. And as we all ask difficult questions about what life will look like going forward, we’ve had to think long and hard about what North by Northwestern’s place is in all this.

The principles of giving contributors freedom to write what they want and letting their own personal tone shine through have been a huge part of this publication throughout our time here. Our writers truly care about the things they write about, which (in our humble opinion) has allowed us to stay on the pulse of what’s relevant to our primary audience – Northwestern students. While we often put out very serious pieces of journalism, we just as often create content that’s snarky, witty and fun to read.

This past quarter, we put out impactful stories about students canvassing in Iowa and activists fighting for fossil fuel divestment, but we also published lighter pieces about getting a spa treatment in Mudd Library and ranking Democratic debate candidates based on their eyebrows. We believe there is room for both styles of content, especially in times when positivity seems hard to come by. As strange as it may sound, we take our role as a "fun" publication very seriously. We fully intend on maintaining that spirit throughout this remote quarter – although the circumstances have changed, NBN at its core will remain the same.

We are deeply grateful for and impressed by the work our friends at The Daily Northwestern have put in to inform the Northwestern and Evanston communities during this situation. We also recognize that NBN’s specific niche gives us the opportunity to tell stories that might look a bit different from those of our fellow student publications, but are just as important to tell.

Now, more than ever, we understand the importance of journalism. We hope to keep the Northwestern student body informed with our reporting, but we also want to shed light on stories that uplift, entertain and engage the community. Although many of us are far apart, we believe we can stay close to Northwestern through the stories that connect us.

We ask that you bear with us as we navigate the logistics of running a publication remotely. This is a new experience for all of us, and we can’t guarantee that the transition from “newsroom” to “newsZoom” will be perfect, but we promise we will do our best to serve the community this quarter.

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David Deloso, Editor-in-chief

Maya Mojica, Executive Editor