To our readers:

On Tuesday morning, University officials announced that classes would move online and that undergraduates would be required to vacate their dorms by Sunday at 5 p.m. to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

We write to tell you what this means for The Crimson.

As an organization staffed entirely by undergraduates — one that prints a daily paper in our press room on 14 Plympton Street — Harvard’s decision prevents us from carrying out daily operations as usual.

Today’s paper, the 36th produced by the 147th Guard of The Crimson, will likely be our last print edition this semester. Starting today, we will transition to an online-only operation and will continue to cover how these events impact Harvard and its students, faculty, and staff.

Despite the considerable difficulties this will present, we believe it is important to continue our work, if in a different capacity. It has become more, not less, vital to pursue our mission of covering and informing Harvard affiliates as they fan across the globe.

As the only breakfast-table daily serving Harvard and the city of Cambridge, we have a duty to continue holding those in power accountable and to report the news, just as we have done for the past 147 years.

During this transition, we ask again for your support, feedback, and trust. The Crimson’s first issue, printed on January 24, 1873, said “I will not philosophize; I will be read.” With your help, we intend to keep both of those promises.

Sincerely,

Aidan F. Ryan ’21
President of the 147th Guard

Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21
Managing Editor of the 147th Guard