Three months ago, in his farewell note, last year’s editor-in-chief Daniel Alberto painted a future post-COVID, when school takes place in the same room again.
“There will always be political arguments in English class, and unruly students will still be sent to Dan’s office…Our community isn’t one that can be broken.”
It was that final line that stuck with me. In person or online, Northwest Academy will still be Northwest Academy. As a community, we will work together, to welcome new students, to greet friends, to sing, dance, write, read, learn, create. Even separate, we have the tools at our disposal to remain together.
Right around when things started shutting down, I remember one particular conversation I had with my dad. He had just returned to the house from OHSU, where he works as a physical therapist. And he asked me why people keep calling it “social distancing.” Because, he said, we really should be calling it “physical distancing.” Physically, we are separate. Social separation is entirely different.
I trained myself not to use the term “social distancing,” and I’m surprised that only one person tried to correct me this summer. It gave me a chance to explain this mental shift to someone else.
The Pigeon Press has a unique role to play here. It is and always has been a purely online newspaper, and that will benefit it in some ways in this purely online space. It will also, in many scenarios, be detrimental. While it means that we can continue to publish relatively easily, it can also feel brainwashing to make the deliberate decision to watch another screen. But in the coming months, I believe it can be a virtual window into the Northwest Academy community as it evolves to fit this new style of creation.
This community isn’t one that can be broken. But for now, we must all choose to bend instead.
Photo: “Physical distancing reminder at the ANU October 2020” by Nick-D is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Liam! Thank you so much for this. Exactly right. I will retrain myself to use the term “physical distancing.” And yes, bending, not broken…..what a great way to open this year’s Pigeon Press!
I like the distinction! I am new to the community (parent of a 6th grader) and I am so glad the Pigeon Press is here to keep us all connected. Thank you!
Liam,
I originally opened this tab to find some of my old articles from the Pigeon Press, but I saw a headline that was vague and playful(as it should be) and knew that you were writing your first letter from the editor. Though it’s hard to imagine The Pigeon Press being run out of anywhere other than its usual room in Plaza overlooking the sketchy trophy store, it’s nice to know you’re heading it up. In any case, I’m flattered you chose to take a sentence from my last post and I’m excited to see what you do with the newspaper. Oh, and David, I enjoyed your Jonathan Richman piece.