At Yale, the COVID-19 story went from a small disruption (travel to China discouraged, some musical group tours canceled) to an unprecedented crisis within a few days in March 2020, just as the Yale Alumni Magazine was finishing the feature articles for its May/June issue. Students left for spring break not knowing that some of them would not be returning to campus for nearly a year. When the scale of the pandemic and its effect on the university became apparent, we decided to clear space in the issue for a cover feature that would inform alumni about how the university—students, faculty, alumni, and administration—responded. Within a week, our executive editor spoke to dozens of students, faculty, administrators, and alumni for a comprehensive 3,600-word story that covers the abrupt shift to remote learning, the challenges to caring for the university community, and the university's medical and humanitarian response to the crisis beyond Yale.
From the Judges
The sober, candid take on this pandemic before it was truly being taken soberly and with candor across the United States is what sets this one apart. Well done.
