Welcome back, everyone! It’s so great to be back on campus. It goes without saying that a lot has led to this moment, but I’m confident we’ll all have a safe and fun semester. Things are really only looking up from here as we quickly approach 2022.
To those who continued their club participation remotely, I salute you. At The Outlook, it wasn’t always easy keeping things afloat. We take for granted how the simplest actions are complicated when they’re done online. Working together in-person again has completely streamlined our way of doing things, and we hope to provide a service to our campus community that’s leaps and bounds ahead of what we could provide online. As of today’s issue, The Outlook has launched a brand new website, further expanding our reach and keeping us up-to-date with other college publications.
To those in other campus clubs, whether that be PRSSA, HawkTV, WMCX, Monmouth Esports, or the dozens of other clubs, The Outlook extends our appreciation to you for keeping your organizations afloat and being there with welcoming arms for all new students who look to capitalize on our return to campus.
We sincerely appreciate all professors, faculty, and staff who made the best of our remote-learning period and have come back better than ever to educate in-person again. The transition from in-person to online was just as difficult for them as it was for students, so it means a lot to all of us that so much passion goes into their craft.
Everyone should take the opportunity of returning to in-person classes to appreciate how fast things can change and how quickly we can be forced to adapt. A significant chunk of a traditional college experience has been taken away from us, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit envious of any freshman with a normal next four years to look forward to. Regarding that, I think there’s something to appreciate in the uniqueness of the experience. We were part of something, for better or worse. We’ll look back on our time in college and remember something so momentous as so memorable.
I’m optimistic about this semester and you should be too. President Leahy has expressed that the indoor mask mandate is dependent upon a multitude of factors and recommendations from health services, and the situation will be monitored daily. I’m confident that by next semester, the campus will be looking like it’s old, bright self. Vaccination rates amongst students and faculty alike are incredibly high, so I’m sure health protocols on campus will become more comfortable as the weeks come and go.
I urge you to use this opportunity to become more involved on campus. It was a valid excuse to not do so during our remote-learning period, but everything is now back in full swing. If things will cautiously return to normal in 2022, it would be best to lay some groundwork for yourself now regarding your involvement. After attending the Comm Kickoff Event and Involvement Fair, I was shocked by the amount of freshmen and sophomores looking to join clubs and organizations. It seems that every club had a wonderful turnout, and I hope that momentum continues into the rest of the semester. You can tell that there’s a new sense of excitement in the air.
I don’t want to take too much more of your time. Speaking for ourselves, The Outlook plans on having a wonderful and productive semester as we re-enter our office space. We’re planning to bring back weekly comics for our editorial page, and a few more surprises as the semester goes on.
Whether you’re reading this in physical print or on our website, I wish you the best of luck this semester and urge you to savor whatever college time you have left!
