Like many other segments of society, higher education was hit hard by COVID-19. Most institutions scrambled halfway through the spring semester of 2020 to adjust to the looming reality that they’d have to shut down their campuses. Faculty and staff took extraordinary measures to finish the academic year virtually, and in a way that allowed students to get the full benefit of course instructions while simultaneously addressing the uncertainty and trauma of a deadly virus experts had yet to fully understand. 

That was March.

Fast forward five months and many colleges and universities decided the fall semester would stay online. Then virtual learning continued through the spring of 2021. This transition had varying levels of difficulty across curriculum, and journalism courses proved to be quite challenging. Reporting often requires physical interaction with the community and the pandemic made this a barrier to the process, but the Mosaic staff pushed forward. Coronavirus was a defining part of our lives, so it made sense that students charged with reporting for this edition of Mosaic focused on how COVID-19 affected different facets of society.

From restaurants to theaters, from single moms to therapists, and from online teaching to sports, these student journalists put forth their best efforts to design a magazine around profile, trend and opinion articles on topics that defined more than 12 months in quarantine. 

We, the advisors of the Mosaic staff, are proud of the work they produced and hope you enjoy this issue that focuses on the unprecedented time that was Life During COVID-19.