Editor's Note

Dear Reader, Things are settling into a weird kind of normal. We on the mag are in places we never would have imagined we’d be a few weeks ago. But we’re figuring out how to keep going — how to meet and edit when we can’t gather physically, how to care for each other when we’re not on the same campus, how to report when we’re separated by hundreds of miles from the stories we’re trying to tell. We hope you’ve been able to figure out how to keep going, too. This week, we’ve brought you the scoop on the effect that COVID-19 has had on Harvard and Cambridge: JZL investigated the closing of Somerville Hospital’s Emergency Department in the face of a mounting global medical emergency. OGP and TS talked to professors about how they’re keeping students excited and engaged over Zoom. AKEC reported on what life is like for the few students who have remained on Harvard’s campus. ANW explored how the instructors of Economics 10 are changing their curriculum to reflect the unprecedented economic circumstances of the moment. And BFC talked to a Harvard scientist working research to find a coronavirus vaccine. We have some pieces if you want to get your mind off of coronavirus, too: HRTW and MFXE profiled Favia Dubyk ’08, a doctor and boulderer working to break down barriers to access to the outdoors for people of color. RC brainstormed ways for you to spend time with your newly long-distance significant other. And MGK penned a stunning endpaper for this week, about what “home” means as a military kid who moved frequently throughout her childhood and as a college student who recently had to move off campus. Our cover story this week is by my inimitable co-chair AWDA, who wrote about the role final clubs play in the competition for space in Harvard Square. Many final clubs receive tax exemptions because of their status as social clubs, granting them an advantage over small businesses and real estate firms alike in this competition. AWDA has reported on the dynamic that results with compassion, patience, precision, and unflagging diligence. Wherever in the world you are, we hope there is safety and warmth and something resembling normalcy. We don’t know where the world will be in a week — but know that we’ll be here. Yours until then, NHP