The end of the 2019-20 school year has arrived. Some of us are pressing send on our last final exams, others may have finished last week. Summer is finally within reach, leaving us with one question: What now? 

First on the list should be “reflection.” We’ve finished the year during an unprecedented time in history, and should all feel an immense sense of accomplishment. We’ve had to adapt to a “new normal” at a moment’s notice. Here at the Torch, this has meant ensuring fluid communication with one another, expanding our coverage and finding new ways to reach the St. John’s community. No editorial board before us has ever been forced to make the transition to a completely digital presence, and we are now navigating these uncharted waters. Within these last few months we’ve managed to significantly increase the amount of articles published to our site, welcome new members to our team and have also re-imagined our social media approach to maintain our digital presence. 

Looking forward, there is still more to come. Just last week we published our interview with University President Conrado “Bobby” Gempesaw, where we asked him the questions on most students’ minds, such as: What will the fall semester look like? How will tuition be affected? What can we take from this experience? Students are expected to receive some more answers from the University within the upcoming months. When these answers are provided, you can expect the Torch to report them to the St. John’s community. 

While you can expect to hear breaking University updates from us this summer, that is not the only thing we have planned. We’re looking to take a deeper dive into the Queen’s community surrounding St. John’s, to hear how the businesses on the streets surrounding campus have been affected by this pandemic. We’ll be reporting on album releases and sports updates and even sharing a few ways to keep busy during this summer. We’ll be releasing our senior tribute in just a few short weeks, to honor those that were unable to walk across the stage this year due to the present circumstances — seniors, you have worked so hard over these last four years and we want to share your stories. You can also expect our campaign to #KeepTheTorchLit to continue into the summer, which will include student testimonials, among other things.  

While this summer will be much different from those that we have known in the past, we’re looking forward to taking this time to expand our digital presence and keep the University community informed to the best of our ability. As students, we may all be heading into this summer with a lot of uncertainty. Each day is bound to bring with it a multitude of stories, and you can expect the Torch to tell them.