Dear Readers,

Welcome back to The Comenian! I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday break and a great start to another semester at Moravian University. 

First, I’d like to acknowledge a few members of our staff who have taken on editorial positions. Please welcome AJ Minnich and Abby Brisson as our copy editors, and Anna Litofsky and Kaitlyn Furst as our managing editors. 

As for myself, I will proudly continue to serve as The Comenian’s editor-in-chief for this upcoming semester. 

Second, I’d like to reiterate that The Comenian is always looking for people to join our wonderful staff. This includes writers, editors, photographers, videographers, and graphic designers. No prior experience is necessary. Please email Nicholas Wan ([email protected]) for more information. 

Now, onto the articles for this edition of the newspaper.

With the omicron variant still at large, it begs the question: why did Moravian not mandate the vaccination, and do students truly feel safe on campus with the University’s COVID protocols? Reporter Dominic Trabosci investigates this issue in his insightful article about the pandemic. 

Take a trip back to ye olden days as reporter Bard Bardelli reports on Moravian’s Medieval Conference, which featured calligraphy, weaving, woodcarving, and more!

If you’ve almost slipped on the ice in the first two weeks of the semester, as I and many other students and staff have, then you’d know this is becoming a problem. Reporter Logan Palau presents this issue and the problem of Moravian’s shuttle service in her fiery rant, which you can read right here.

CDT Anthony Donatelli shares his unique experience working in the U.S. Army as a combat medic in the Green to Gold Cadet program. 

“80s bygone glamor with spacey elements attached,” “otherworldly, almost sci-fi,” “an intergalactic joyride”– these are the words reporter Fatimah Bouri used to describe The Weeknd’s newest album, “Dawn FM.” Give it a read and see if this album earned Fatimah’s seal of approval. 

Also, check out Fatimah’s recap of the horrific Astroworld tragedy, which left many concertgoers injured or killed. 

For our Professor Spotlight, learn about Dr. Beth Gotwals of Moravian’s nursing department. 

We have a very special edition of our Club Spotlight feature; this time, we feature Disability and Neurodiversity Advocacy, D.N.A., which was co-founded this semester by two of our own reporters, Shayla Borger and Bard Bardelli. We at The Comenian commend them in setting up this fantastic new club!

Mark your calendar and prepare wallets and bank accounts, as AJ Minnich highlights the upcoming, exciting year for video games to keep your eye on. 

Why did copy editor AJ Minnich call “Spiderman No Way Home” the “quintessential Spider-Man story”? Take a look at his review of the webslinger’s latest movie to find out! 

Moravian students predict the winners of the upcoming NFL conference games in these video interviews by sports reporters David Steinbach and Christian Zamora. 

Finally, Anna Litofsky returns for another semester of her award-winning “Behind the Mask” comic series. Check out her latest comic, a Comenian exclusive! 

And there you have it! Thank you to our readers for their continued support of the newspaper. We release new content every two weeks, so be on the lookout for that!

Your editor-in-chief,

Nick