Aug. 31, 2020 Newsletter

August Alumni Newsletter

Executive Update

Dear alumni community,

As summer winds down, The Daily is gearing up for a return to a very different academic year. In August, Stanford reversed its plans to bring half of its undergraduates back to campus in the fall, leaving nearly all instruction fully online and implementing severe restrictions on on-campus activity. Fall sports competitions were suspended, and Stanford announced that it would discontinue entirely 11 varsity sports after the 2020-21 academic year. The Daily’s opinions pages reflect ongoing concerns about equity and justice for Stanford’s BIPOC community, its workers, minoritized students and others who will bear the brunt of the pandemic’s challenges.

This month, The Daily’s high school summer program wrapped up a successful run, with our staff mentoring and teaching the fundamentals of journalism to more than 100 high school participants. Our high school writers covered important developments on campus, in the Bay and even on TikTok. They mixed media, with Arts & Life coverage spanning music, TV and film. And they shared their hobbies, hobby attempts, struggles, convictions and roots with us.

Despite the challenges posed by a fully virtual fall quarter with our staff scattered across the globe, we remain committed to our mission of serving the Stanford community with important news. We at The Daily are immeasurably grateful for your support, and we look forward to sharing with you updates on our many initiatives, projects and goals as they develop over the course of the volume.

Respectfully,

Charlie Curnin and Jackie O’Neil

Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor, Vol. 258

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Get in touch:

Claire Wang, Chief Operating Officer

coo@stanforddaily.com

Charlie Curnin, Editor-in-Chief

eic@stanforddaily.com

Jackie O’Neil, Executive Editor

jroneil@stanford.edu

Holden Foreman, Chief Technology Officer

hs4man21@stanford.edu

Business Update

Hi everyone, I hope you are all staying well and taking care. In case we haven’t met before, my name is Claire and I am this year’s business manager. In 2019, I had the pleasure of serving as the editor-in-chief of The Daily’s 255th volume. I’ve now returned to serve The Daily in a slightly different capacity!

Last year, amid numerous business challenges including a substantial reduction in ASSU funding, our COO Arianna Lombard led the charge in stabilizing our operations and making our business more efficient. This year, despite new business obstacles wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, I aim to carry on this momentum as we pivot to a digital-first publishing model and establish new revenue initiatives including expanded high school program offerings. We are continuing to produce The Quad Yearbook, and are working to optimize our mobile app, website, and daily email digest. Our team of student account managers is also hard at work developing creative new approaches to ad sales.

My goal for this year is to leverage the multifarious uncertainties and newfound challenges as opportunities for adaptation, creativity, and resilience. If you have any questions about our business model or operations, please do not hesitate to reach out. We at The Daily are lucky to be connected to such a strong and supportive network of alumni. Your thoughts and input are invaluable to our organization, and I always appreciate the opportunity to connect with you.

All the best,

Claire Wang

News in The Daily This Month:

In August, our staff balanced covering frequent updates to the University’s fall plans with a commitment to investigative and long-term projects. Links to some highlights are below.

Toxic work culture at the Cantor pushes employees out, interventions fall short

Employees at the Cantor Arts Center allege that hostility and mismanagement have made the museum an intolerable work environment.

Basic Needs Coalition fundraises to fill institutional resource gaps for student needs

Students seek to raise $100,000 in emergency funds for students whose basic needs have been jeopardized by the pandemic.

Stanford to discontinue 11 varsity sports

Since the July 8 announcement that Stanford would cut 11 varsity sports after the upcoming academic year, The Daily’s sports writers have featured reactions and campaigns for reinstatement among men’s volleyball, men’s and women’s fencing, synchronized swimming, field hockey, and men’s and lightweight rowing athletes.

Student advocates presented 25 Title IX recommendations to Stanford. The University took two of them.

Student advocates for sexual violence prevention were left blindsided when University administration released a draft Title IX policy that excluded nearly all of their suggestions and demands.