Dear Villanova students, alumni, parents and community,

When we drafted our first letter on March 13 to you about the evolving COVID-19 situation and its implications for the University, we had no clue where that would leave us as an organization. One thing we did know, though, was that we would not let The Villanovan be affected. Almost eight weeks to the day we have kept our promise, and it is thanks to you, the people who keep us motivated.

It wasn’t until we received the email from Father Peter on the afternoon of Friday, March 13th that we had a vision for what needed to happen with The Villanovan. We would have to leave campus, but as editors of The Villanovan, we couldn’t leave our friends, our peers, our faculty and campus employees uninformed of what was happening. At that moment, it seemed vital that we stepped up to the plate. 

Every day, we have the goal of keeping the community informed. Whether that is through social media or articles posted online, we share everything we can with the hope that it will keep us connected.

Community is what makes Villanova home. Most people will tell you that they chose to attend Villanova not only for the academic opportunities and success of the athletic teams, but for the community. Villanovans listen to each other. Villanovans ask you how you’re doing. Villanovans will hold a door open for you, even if they are running late to a class.

We knew that even if most of us were no longer on campus, and spread all over the world, the Villanova community would be just as strong as ever. What needed to keep our community connected was communication. 

We have tried to keep The Villanovan as a beacon of light for our community. When people felt left in the dark, we tried our best to provide answers. When people felt silenced, we gave them a platform to speak. We have a responsibility to keep our  community connected – to keep the Villanova spirit of community alive. 

Our goal during this digital transition was to keep the community informed and aware of anything concerning the community. We pride ourselves on being the primary news outlet on campus that can provide reliable information. We want to thank our editorial staff that continued to keep writers engaged, our entire writing staff across sections for continuing to produce content, our advisors for continuing to work with us daily and most of all, you, the reader. Our next big project, as we continue to produce content regularly online, will be to create the Orientation Magazine for the Class of 2024. 

As we attempt to regularly text, call, and Zoom, we know that every college student is struggling to connect with others right now. It’s hard to feel a sense of community when we lack human interaction. Although we struggle with this day to day, we wanted to make sure that students at Villanova feel more connected now than ever before, and we hoped The Villanovan has helped you connect.

What does the future hold for our community? We may not know for sure. Until we know something concrete, we will continue to do everything in our ability to keep The Villanovan as strong as ever. Whether it is breaking news, Instagram stories, Twitter polls or the Orientation Magazine, we will do it all to keep you both informed and entertained. 

As Co-Editors-in-Chief, we are here for our peers. We are here for our friends and family. We are here for our teachers and coaches. We are here for our alumni. 

The Villanovan will always be here for Villanova. 

Please feel free to reach out to us at anytime on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or at [email protected]. We wish you all good health, and we hope to see you all very soon. As always, Go ‘Cats!

Sincerely,

Emily Cox & Tyler Kemp