I joined The Daily Evergreen in fall 2019 because I wanted to make dumb satire articles and nothing else. Mint was the way to do that. Maybe I’d dip my toe in a news article every other month, but I had no intention of going any further than that. If you had asked me then if I wanted to be Mint editor, I’d have told you it’d be nice, but I don’t have the time.

Now I have nothing but time.

Being in charge of the arts and culture section of the paper is difficult during a national pandemic. For one, art centers shouldn’t stay open and most events need to be put on hold, so most of the stuff Mint covers is on pause. Along with that, there’s also the question of whether we need a Mint section right now. Is it really the best time to talk about book clubs, recipes and student profiles? 

I’m under the belief that arts and culture is always essential. That doesn’t mean opening the theaters and concerts up again or that we should all start going out and putting our health at risk for the sake of art. It means that art is too important to stop and it won’t stop, even though other things have. 

Since COVID-19, I’ve seen virtual open mic nights, art galleries, concerts, readings and all sorts of performances. Books, movies and music are still coming out and people are still talking about them. Despite our isolation, art hasn’t stopped thriving and we haven’t stopped enjoying it.

So Mint is going to keep covering it. Not just the book clubs and the recipes, but art people are creating, what culture we’re creating, as well as how we’re changing and adapting with the times. I want to highlight the arts and culture that is thriving, could thrive and will thrive once we’re through this.

If art won’t stop, why should we?