Editorial

With the COVID-19 pandemic still in full force, it is safe to say that Nov. 3 is not going to be your typical Election Day.

The University’s new COVID-19 protocols, which says that clubs must function virtually until Oct. 20, raises questions about club involvement on campus. Are students more or less inclined to join a club if all meetings are held virtually via Zoom meetings? The Outlook editors reflected on this question.

Between an economic recession and the shift to working from home, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an abundance of uncertainties when it comes to entering the workforce after graduation.

When COVID-19 shut down schools and offices in March, newsrooms were no exception. However, as things began to gradually re-open, a few newsrooms around the country decided to close permanently, with writers and editors working strictly from home.

Since Monmouth University re-opened with a mix of in-person and online classes this semester, students have rapidly adjusted to the “new normal” on campus. Regulations such as social distancing, mask wearing, and hand-washing are enforced, while the new meal-ordering app was introduced to minimize the number of students in the student center and dining hall.

I am thrilled to give a warm welcome back to all Monmouth students, faculty, and staff!

Welcome to the club. As the University’s Wrestling Club hits the mat for the first time this semester, The Outlook’s editors reflected on the state of clubs at Monmouth and their experiences with them.

Job hunting. It’s stressful, time consuming, and a constant battle to outshine your peers. As a college student anything you can do to make the search easier, you will.

In the early 1990s, I was a young burgeoning journalist in the war-torn Croatia lead by, democratic on paper, but in all other way’s autocratic government. Right from the start, in 1991 Croatian Democratic Party and its leadership lead a public campaign against free and independent journalism. My home was a small local newspaper “Otok Ivanic” (Island Ivanic), that covered about 20, 000 inhabitants, in mostly rural areas. We covered local politics and occasionally commented on national politics when they affected the lives of people in our area.

I am writing this note to The Outlook Editors from a classroom in Plangere where the digital clock says half of the number 7 part of number 5 and an entire 8, which I guess means 7:58, or maybe 9:58, but more on that later, as the Chair of the Department of Communication I want to apologize to the editors and the staff of the newspaper for their disappointment in lack of reaction to the removed newspapers. When the incident occurred, I did verbalize my support and willingness to aid the staff and editors whatever way they wanted to move forward with investigating the incident. However, I should have put that support in writing, in-print, in the school’s newspaper.  So, this letter serves to do that and to also enlighten the staff and editors to my experience as an Alum of Monmouth College; as a former writer and editor for The Outlook; as a faculty member and now as the Chair of the Department of Communication.