Continuing to provide essential news during the COVID-19 outbreak
To our readers, UC Davis and city of Davis community:
During these uncertain times amid the COVID-19 outbreak, news media outlets are more important than ever in ensuring that the public is well informed. Especially in times of crisis, readers turn to trustworthy, reliable news sources to find out what’s happening, and we want The California Aggie to continue to be that source.
In the past couple of weeks, The Aggie’s team has worked diligently to cover the effects of COVID-19. This has included coverage of confirmed cases in Yolo County, event cancellations and the implications of the institution moving to remote instruction for Spring Quarter.
With all of this in mind, The Aggie hopes to continue both its online and print presence. We are, of course, doing all of our work remotely in order to be mindful and conscientious of our staff’s health as well as the health of other students and community members. We did ultimately decide to continue producing our print product; however, we plan to significantly reduce the amount of copies being printed and will remap our distribution sites. This decision was made in order to continue providing information to those who do not have access to our website and to maintain physical editions, which is essential for the maintenance of our recently digitized historical archives.
A limited number of staff members will be distributing copies of our newspaper at locations in Davis that are currently operational — at essential places such as the hospital and grocery stores. In accordance with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide shelter-in-place order, the State Public Health Officer deemed news reporters and media services among those classified as “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers.”
I encourage you all to continue reading The Aggie and ask us any questions you might have — we will do our best to find the answers and provide our readers a sense of stability. Finally, please take heed of the shelter-in-place and social distancing. Many more people have COVID-19 than are reported, as tests are not readily available for all and since some are asymptomatic. The best thing people can do to protect themselves, their family, their friends and the community — especially the at-risk and vulnerable populations — is to stay in isolation. In the meantime, I hear (from an unbiased source) that reading The Aggie is a great way to pass the time, so pick up a copy at your next trip to the grocery store or visit our website!
Kaelyn Tuermer-Lee
Editor-in-Chief
Written by: Kaelyn Tuermer-Lee — editor@theaggie.org
