Considering our own recent in-office positive test and the continued rise of Covid-19 cases across the state, the editors and staff of The DePaulia have decided to switch operations entirely online for the remaining weeks of the quarter. The guiding mission of our newspaper is informing the DePaul community and we feel we are best positioned to do that working safely and remotely.In August, we submitted a detailed social distancing plan to Public Safety in order to work in our newsroom in the DePaul Center for the past two months. We limited how many people could be in the office at once, where they worked and, of course, required masks.

But even then, someone on our team got sick, likely from an outside party. 

While the rest of the staff members who were potentially exposed have since tested negative for Covid-19, there’s still no such thing as being too cautious as we enter our eighth month in this pandemic.

Our time in the newsroom this quarter allowed for some great reporting and design from student journalists at DePaul to be featured in print, forever serving as physical reminders of a fall quarter unlike any other. The newsroom’s location and our weekend production schedule also provided for some reporting that would have otherwise been impossible — like when CPD threw a pizza party that ignored Covid-19 protocols across the hall.

These intangibles cannot be replaced with a switch online but the potential reward is in no way worth the risk to the health of DePaulia staff or anyone else who may utilize the DePaul Center. 

With that said, The DePaulia fully intends to continue producing the rigorously reported stories that readers have come to expect from us. Our dedicated team of editors, writers, photographers and designers is more motivated than ever to make sure that everyone in our community is informed. Moving forward, be sure to follow us on all major social media platforms to make sure you never miss a story.