Our Fellow Patriots,
This might be a longer letter than usual. We have reached the end of our publication schedule. This is our final issue for the year. This is our final issue as your Co Editors-in-Chief.
Last August, we asked our staff what we should tell the student body, in our first ever “Letter From the Editors.” We were told to tell you all, “This is going to be a good year.”
Of course, back then there wasn’t a global pandemic to worry about. Yet we choose to remain optimistic.
Patriots, we hope you’ve been able to have a good year.
Our staff has been able to stay in relatively good health, which is a fact we have been thankful for since we were first informed about how the pandemic would affect Mason students.
This year is ending in a way no one could have expected, even when reports first started coming out about COVID-19 and we were preparing for our spring break trips. No one would have expected it would be their final time on campus for the remainder of the year.
If we would have known our last time in our newsroom was the actual last time, we would’ve taken a few extra minutes to look around. We would’ve taken the opportunity to thank our outstanding staff, and our outstanding advisors. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to make it past the first round of interviews.
But we didn’t know. So, in our final letter, we’ll do it here instead.
Our advisor, Kathryn Mangus and business manager, Ben Hosig, were instrumental in the process of putting together our staff, our budget and our paper. The two of them fought for us on the days we didn’t have the patience or time to do it ourselves. For that, we are immensely grateful.
Our staff, to whom we have already sent numerous sappy messages this past weekend, know how much we appreciate them. But, as our Assistant News Editor loves to remind us, positive affirmation is important.
So, we’ll say it here again.
Our staff, past and present, is full of some of the most amazing, talented and hard-working people out there. We could not have asked for better people to share this experience with. Because of that, we know our readers are being left in good hands.
Even though we have chosen to step down from our position here at Fourth Estate, we are excited to see what our staff does next.
We strived to make the paper a place where you all, the students, felt heard and supported. We worked as hard as we could at it, and we’re proud of the work we’ve done here. We hope we were able to make you proud along the way.
With that, we have an exciting final lineup for you all.
First up, in our News section, we have a story about how different student organizations are coping with COVID-19. Read more on that here.
In our Culture section, our Culture Editor Peter Njoroge has written about the Zoom call the Patriot Activities Council hosted with Tiger King’s John Finlay. Check it out here. The coronavirus survival guide is also back and reminds us that maybe it’s time to get our lives back on track — check it out here.
Our Sports Editor, Natalie, addressed the student body one last time from that title, since she is graduating from Mason this semester. It was heartfelt and sincere, and it may or may not put this letter to shame. Check it out here.
Last, but not least, in our Opinion section, check out Sidonia Cannon’s piece on why you should consider taking up gardening during this quarantine. Or check out Steven Zhou’s article on why it’s important to share your opinion. Maybe it’ll inspire you to submit your own op-ed in the future.
And, for one last time, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please direct them to us at masonfourthestate@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Hailey Bullis and Dana Nickel
Co Editors-in-Chief
