Monday morning of March 9 I was excited for this week to pass by so it could be spring break. That afternoon everything changed. Rumors spread by conversations between students and emails between faculty/staff and students started to spread on the campus of Stony Brook University, regarding the switch to online classes after spring break. As soon as I got notice of this, I got to reporting and writing. Brianne Ledda, News Editor of The Statesman, and I ended up having “Stony Brook University is planning to move classes online after spring break” published that same day after we were able to corroborate emails and announcements that were being made during classes. We broke the news. As we were all reporting, we realized that there was no communication in all of this. There was no clarity or transparency. Students, faculty and staff were confused and there was not one single email addressing any of the rumors that anybody could hear by simply walking through campus.
The following day on March 10, The Statesman editorial team published an editorial that we are all extremely proud of. Everything we said in “Stony Brook University needs to communicate with the campus community” was everything that students on campus were thinking. Yes, Stony Brook University is a part of the SUNY system, which makes the reason as to why the official announcement couldn’t be made until after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced it, but a simple email regarding the confusion and rumors would’ve been better than nothing. The amount of anticipation and anxiety between the day we published the breaking news article and the day the official announcement was made was something I had never experienced before.
Students were seen voicing their concerns and expressing their thoughts at a protest on Wednesday, March 11. My friends and I were going to get lunch at first to bid farewells due to an unexpected longer spring break, but when we heard of the protest we decided to cover and report what students thought. Watching SBU students come together telling administration that they want answers and demand the truth was enlightening. After writing “Students protest university silence” with the other amazing news assistant, Samantha Robinson, we realized that everything we had written prior to inspired change.
Being a student reporter this week was extremely stressful, but an enlightening reporting and writing experience. Of course, this is all because of the coronavirus, which is a pandemic that is affecting people at a fast-paced rate.
This week has been a roller coaster of emotions due to frustration with the administration, happiness because of the accomplishments of The Statesman and sadness since I am losing in-person education and some of my best friends for a couple of months.
I just want to thank The Statesman for everything and this week will be down in history.
Here is the link to the breaking news article.
Maya Brown 