Wow, what a semester it has been.

We finally got back to, what I believe, is our best attempt at normalcy since March 2020. Granted, West Virginia Wesleyan College had a massive COVID spike following winter break, as nearly 20% of campus got COVID either right before returning, or contracted it in the month and a half following returning to campus. Mask mandates have been removed, and we finally started moving in the right direction to an era where COVID is no longer a pressing issue.

But part of the adjustment to normalcy meant getting back to doing things we haven’t done as a college in a few years. In the communication department, we were in the middle of redesigning the department, phasing out our public relations major and turning our media studies major into a media communication major. We also introduced a new broadcasting minor that has gained a lot of traction over the past two semesters of its existence.

In perhaps our busiest semester yet, we are in the process of hiring an assistant professor for the department. This is huge, because not only does it give our department chair, Dr. Nancy Bressler, an opportunity to have lighter course schedules (and a second person in the department to teach more classes), but also allows interns and work study students like myself to focus on other aspects of the department that a faculty member might overlook. We revamped our social media, particularly our Instagram, and there are big things coming for our communication honorary, Lambda Pi Eta.

However, the adjustment back to “almost” normalcy and the busyness of the department has let some things slip through the cracks. One of those is the release of stories from this semester. Over the next few days and weeks, you will see some amazing stories written by the Newspaper class, and a lot of them will be posted retroactively, from movie reviews, to sports season previews, and even a piece that I did, where I interviewed Wesleyan’s new President, James Moore, and so much more. These stories may not make sense because they are outdated, but these are being posted to show the hard work and dedication that the students of the spring semester Newspaper class have put into these stories, and they deserve to be put out for people to read.

There are several people to thank for this semester other than the class members, and Dr. Bressler. To my staff, Chloe Sotomayor (our assistant editor) and Sai Sakamoto (our layout editor) for their hard work this semester. Sai, in particular, has been incredibly busy this year as she prepares to graduate, so I appreciate her making time for us to make sure these stories look good upon release. We at The Pharos thank you for your work and wish you the best after graduation!

To Chloe, as well as Tim Walker (general manager of C-92 FM), I’d like to thank you for your support and I can’t wait to work with you guys next semester as well!

To Kobe Vinegar (President of Lambda Pi Eta), thank you for your guidance and leadership. You’re leaving the honorary in good hands and we wish you the best after graduation. O-H!

I would also like to thank everyone who has been patient with us as we are just now trying to push stories out to read for your enjoyment.

I would also like to welcome TWO new members to the newspaper’s executive staff! Replacing Sai as our layout editor will be rising junior Shauna Caro, and another rising junior, Emily Reed, will serve as our copyright editor, a newly formed role. We know these two are going to do great and only enhance our teamwork next semester!

Big things are coming for the communication department. Our Instagram will be even more involved in the fall. I will be taking over as President of Lambda Pi Eta, and we will be planning some fun events for next semester. Our newspaper, radio, and TV classes all have solid enrollment for the fall. We only hope to get the communication department as revitalized as we possibly can.

I am also excited to return as Editor-In-Chief for the 2022-2023 academic year. As for now, we, at The Pharos, hope you enjoy the stories written by students of the COMM 138/238 Newspaper class from the Spring 2022 semester.