At 7:52 p.m. on March 10th, Yale President Peter Salovey sends an email notifying the community that University courses will be conducted online following Spring Break, in response to increasing global concern about the spread of COVID-19.

At 3:04 p.m. on March 11th, Dean Deborah Berke confirms that the School of Architecture will be moving to online instruction until at least April 5th, with the majority of access to Rudolph Hall being limited after March 22nd. Dean Berke states that the school will reassess the situation during the week of March 30th, while other schools in the region commit to online instruction through the end of the semester as COVID-19 spreads along the east coast. At 1:53 p.m. on March 14th, Director of Yale Health Dr. Paul Genecin confirms the first case of COVID-19 within the Yale community, and later that evening, President Salovey extends online instruction to the end of the semester.

Meanwhile, at Rudolph Hall, a team of maintenance staff rips up the old, stained, paprika carpet to be replaced with a “new, brighter shade” [1] in preparation for the end of the 2019–2020 academic year. A group of seven students, stragglers among a population currently scattered across the globe, watches the process from the 5th floor bridge, wondering when and whether they should start packing up their studio desks.

As a student-run publication, Paprika! has worked to balance its dual responsibilities of on-the-ground reporting from inside the school and contributions to a broader discourse outside of it. In this spirit, we are using this bulletin to address the “State of the Carpet” at the Yale School of Architecture, to put student voices behind these unprecedented changes.

The editorial team has decided to continue as planned with the remaining issues of Volume 05, to be published online as scheduled until on-campus activities resume. We will plan a joint physical release event for any issues published during this period as soon as we regain access to Rudolph Hall. Copies of these issues will also be mailed out to physical subscribers as soon as campus operations resume.

In the meantime, we are planning to hold space for 500–800 word opinion pieces in each upcoming issue from current students at the school, to continue discussion as the situation unfolds. If you are interested in contributing to this content, please contact info@yalepaprika.com.

The entire Paprika! team wants to express our concern for everyone affected by the current situation and an ongoing commitment to remaining a voice for the community throughout this time. We’ll be around as long as there is paprika(!) carpet in the fourth floor pit, stained or not.

[1] @yalearchitecture on Instagram, March 13, 2020.