Historically the Optimist has provided news relevant to the ACU, and previously ACC, community through printed pages of a newspaper.

During the current days of reaction and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Optimist staff members are continuing to work long hours to provide timely and accurate news regarding coronavirus updates, as well as any other events or newsworthy matters that may be of interest and importance to our readers.

With response to campus closure and transition of online classes for the remainder of the semester, our coverage has transitioned to an online format only. We feel this is the best way to communicate with our audience at such a time as this.

As the Optimist has done in the past, we will continue to supply news on the social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as posting digital stories online through the Optimist website. We are committed to providing daily stories for our readers, the ACU community.

Although some staff members have had to transition to different writing techniques and areas of reporting, we are doing our best to cover what proves to be the most important information at the time being. Photographers, videographers, graphic designers and sports reporters are learning new skills and broadening their experience in different areas of news coverage so that we can best serve our audience.

We ask that sources have patience with us during this time of learning and transition to what is new and to be willing to communicate with Optimist staff members, even during this chaotic time, so that we can communicate information in a timely manner to our readers and keep them aware of the happenings of the ACU community while away. We want our coverage to keep the ACU community connected, even when physically apart.

We care about our audience and getting news out in a way that is tangible and convenient, that’s why we have decided to proceed with online-only coverage. We hope that this will prove to be a helpful way to access news about the university and updates on the ever-changing events regarding the coronavirus and its impact on our community.

We encourage our readers to follow @acuoptimist on Facebook, @acuoptimist on Instagram and @acuoptimist on Twitter. We also encourage readers to interact with our posts by sharing and commenting.

Please feel free to write a letter to the editor or submit story ideas by emailing editor@jmcnetwork.com.