When the rest of the world goes on lockdown, life doesn’t stop for journalists. Here at The Daily Free Press, we’ve done our best to keep running as normal despite the changes to our work environments and life around us. We photographed our new workspaces, wherever they may be, to show how we take the newsroom with us wherever we go.
Editor-in-Chief Victoria Bond is still leading The Daily Free Press team from home, where she’s working as hard as ever. “I’m just glad my passion keeps me busy during a pandemic. My coffee habits have persisted and even when quarantined I don’t have time to pick up a spilled cup of pens.” VICTORIA BOND/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Managing Editor Jennifer Suryadjaja’s workspace has shifted to the couch from her usual desk in the office under Insomnia Cookies as BU shifted into online learning. She usually has a cup of coffee within arm’s reach while editing stories and advising other editors. “As an avid walker and traveler, my transition to virtual learning has been slow but steady. I’ve been in quarantine for more than a month and only leave my apartment for fresh air and groceries.” JENNIFER SURYADJAJA/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
City Editor Angela Yang is still in her dorm in Boston, and though she misses the hustle and bustle being in The Daily Free Press office, she’s making the most of life on Commonwealth Avenue right now. “Before all this, I liked to work in the newsroom. It was my little safe space on campus when home was too far a walk. Then, when all the big changes began to hit, I found tranquility working with a view of the Boston skyline on the 26th floor of StuVi2. Nowadays, I get home from my new job and simply plop into my dorm room bed to get to work on whatever I need to catch up on. Naps are common here and so are FaceTime breaks. But I try my best to stay afloat.” ANGELA YANG/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Campus Editor Samantha Kizner is still following all of BU’s decision-making from the comfort of her bedroom in Massachusetts. “Working from home is definitely made harder by the fact that I do all my work entirely from my bed. It’s comfortable, warm and definitely terrible for my productivity. Somehow, I’ve been managing to slug along and get all my work done. Even though I know my desk, which sits just across the room, is the better place to get my work done, I’m not moving from my bed anytime soon.” SAMANTHA KIZNER/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Features Editor Sarah Readdean is home in Albany, NY where she created a space to balance schoolwork and FreeP work. “I can frighteningly say that my desk at home has never been nor stayed as clean as it has these past six weeks. That’s not to say the mounds of paper haven’t simply migrated to the floor, but I’m happy to finally make use of this space. I attend class at my desk, do physics assignments downstairs at the kitchen table and conduct interviews from the warmth of my bed. Despite the six-foot commute from bed to class each day, I still find all my time is consumed by work and school as I count down the days to a virtual freedom. At least I get to ride out this quarantine with my ducks by my side.” SARAH READDEAN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Sports Editor Chris Larabee is home in Massachusetts, which he describes as bittersweet. “Working from home, while weird, is comforting in a way. It’s probably because I use my bed as my work space, but being at home loses the atmosphere of the office and I miss that.” CHRIS LARABEE/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Opinion Editor Hillary Hao says that she’s adjusted well to working from home. “My transition to working from home has been pretty smooth. My space is relatively quiet, but I still miss the Mugar library occasionally.” HILLARY HAO/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Blog Editor Sophia Yakumithis is taking the transition to working from home in stride. “Working remotely as an editor hasn’t been much of an adjustment for me because I took a gap semester before I transferred to BU, and I was the news editor of my other university’s paper. The greatest challenge of this situation has been re-learning how to live in an Ohio suburb with my parents and adult sister rather than a city apartment.” SOPHIA YAKUMITHIS/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Photo Editor Ausma Palmer is at home in New York, where she’s finding it difficult to balance school and other work with her home life. “My bedroom serving as my new workspace is both a comfort and a distraction — my personal projects and unread books bleed into my schoolwork and constantly try to drag me away from more urgent work. It’s strange to suddenly feel unmotivated and unproductive in a space that I worked in so much as a homeschooled high school senior and a community college student, but I try to remind myself that the current state of affairs isn’t doing much for my motivation, either. It’s also pretty difficult to be a photojournalist from the comfort of my room, and I’m frustrated that I can’t be out on the streets covering the news every day or experience working in the newsroom every night. Still, being home is how I can do my part right now, and I’m lucky to be able to work in a space that is totally my own.” AUSMA PALMER/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
