A familiar buzz has returned to College Hill: the wheels of moving bins scraping against the pavement, families filing into stores and restaurants on Thayer Street, students ignoring traffic laws every time the campus bell rings. It’s almost like we never left.
But beyond the typical first-day-of-class jitters, our return to Providence has been accompanied by a new feeling in the air. From a congressional subpoena over allegedly illegal admission practices to an agreement with the White House to restore federal funding, this summer brought a barrage of federal actions with wide-reaching implications for the University. All the while, Brunonians are seeing their alma mater in national headlines, anxious to see how the Trump administration’s activities will impact the Brown community.
Over the summer, we’ve remained committed to producing journalism that you, our readers, can trust. Our ambitious reporters have chased early-morning and late-night stories to bring you important information as soon as possible, while our courageous columnists have been some of the first to weigh in on national news.
But just like many others, we have looked forward to the familiarity of classes, coffee runs and nightly Herald production.
Today’s paper marks the first print issue of The Brown Daily Herald for the fall 2025 semester — and the start of our final stretch as the 135th Editorial Board. At 88 Benevolent St., a fresh group of Herald staffers is learning how to write their first stories, take their first photos and design their first print spreads. And we look forward to learning the names and faces of the next cohort of Heralders.
This weekend, our offices will once again fill with students eager to join our news, opinions, multimedia and other teams. We commit to continuing The Herald’s longstanding tradition as a teaching paper. From covering University news to reporting on the latest developments in the Providence community, Brunonians of all years will be introduced to the expansive world of journalism.
We cannot predict what the next four months will hold for Brown or Rhode Island, but we will be here to cover every development. All the while, our writers and staffers from across the world will be learning the foundations of reporting. Some of them will go on to dedicate their lives to this profession — and their journey will start right here.
We hope you follow along.
Editors’ notes are written by The Herald’s 135th Editorial Board: Tom Li ’26, Ryan Doherty ’26, Owen Dahlkamp ’26, Julianna Chang ’26, Anisha Kumar ’26 and Yael Wellisch ’26.
