The weekend before our first night of production as the new editorial board, we took it upon ourselves to usher in a slate of new changes — rearranging dusty couches and furniture, installing our neon “135” sign and adorning the walls of 88 Benevolent St. with a collection of freshly printed photos.
At the time, we understood this was just the beginning of what promised to be a year full of new opportunities, transformations and, of course, challenges.
Looking back, we couldn’t have been more correct.
In January, we returned to a College Hill cloaked in uncertainty, as the University’s $46 million budget deficit and the Trump administration’s new mandates on immigration enforcement and diversity, equity and inclusion raised questions about the changes Brown would usher in. Just weeks later, we saw the University join what would be the first in a series of lawsuits against federal agencies that attempted to cut funding for indirect research costs.
The deportation of a Brown professor in March brought the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on immigration enforcement to College Hill, spreading fear and outrage among our international peers. This unease and anxiety continued through April, when the White House shared plans to freeze $510 million in Brown’s federal research funding. It intensified as the visa revocations that rocked college campuses across the country reached our own community.
We left campus after the spring semester only to see our University remain in national headlines, the subject of congressional subpoenas and hearings. Just weeks before we were set to return, the University reached an agreement with the federal government to restore research funding in exchange for a number of concessions, resolving some questions regarding the campus we would soon come back to but undoubtedly raising more. Our inquiries multiplied in October, when the Trump administration invited Brown to sign a compact that would increase the University’s federal funding priority if it instituted a variety of changes — a proposal it ultimately rejected.
But even amid a year of turbulence, the changes we saw to our University revealed something unmistakably Brunonian. Brown is driven by a commitment to “discovering, communicating and preserving knowledge and understanding” via a community defined by “free inquiry” and a “diversity of ideas, perspectives and experiences.” In a time when our campus confronted unprecedented uncertainty, these values were not abstract ideas, but rather lived, daily practice.
We saw this spirit of dialogue in our opinions pages, where our brave editorial page board and columnists offered the first voice in the wake of these extraordinary changes to our University, soon met with debate, discourse and new perspectives submitted by alums, faculty, administrators and you, our readers, in op-ed pieces.
This commitment to “free inquiry” was mirrored by the people who shape The Herald every day. Our staff’s diligent reporting, editing, filming and designing, alongside their devotion to informing the campus community, breathed life into our coverage when information was scarce and uncertainty ran rampant. The stories we have shared with you all over these past few months would not be possible without their tireless work.
It is because of our staff’s endless contributions that we’ve been able to introduce new conduits for conversation on campus. Our ever-creative multimedia staff are responsible for The Herald’s new vertical video initiative, through which we have interviewed our fellow Brunonians to further understand how this year’s developments are molding the College Hill community. Our talented tech staffers have created new ways of capturing our campus’s unique perspectives and ideas, while our keen-eyed data desk has spearheaded projects that help us understand how students’ opinions have changed over time. The examples are truly endless. We cannot wait to see what they do next.
And of course, we’re deeply grateful to you, our readers. Thank you for placing your trust in us this year, as we attempted to make sense of how this flurry of changes have shaped our campus. Thank you for sharing your stories and asking us difficult questions — our coverage has not been perfect, but our role as the University’s paper-of-record would not be possible without your curiosity, criticism and willingness to share. Your engagement constantly reminds us that journalism requires collaboration, a trait that defines the work we do at Brown.
As we leave 88 Benevolent in these next few days and look ahead to a restful spring, our time as Brunonians is also coming to an end. In just a few months, we will walk through the Van Wickle Gates for the last time as students. But if there is anything our expansive network of Herald alums have taught us, we know that the lessons we’ve learned here — in the newsroom, across campus and throughout our unique, diverse community — will continue to shape how we navigate the world.
More than any course, this year has taught us what it means to be a Brunonian — a forever student who asks tough questions, who searches for clarity amid uncertainty and who treasures the community around them. We will carry this understanding with us long after we leave College Hill, and we hope our work at The Herald has helped ensure that you carry this understanding with you too, wherever you may go.
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.
