Item
Cameron Hornbarger Oral History, 2020/09/19
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Cameron Hornbarger Oral History, 2020/09/19
Description (Dublin Core)
This interview describes Cameron's life during the Covid-19 pandemic as a high school senior, now freshman in college, and citizen of New York and the United States.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Contributor (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
Voice Recording
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Education--K12
English
Education--Universities
English
Government Local
English
Social Distance
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
09/19/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
10/31/2020
03/08/2021
04/28/2022
06/07/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
09/19/2020
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Cameron Hornbarger
Location (Omeka Classic)
Boston
Massachusetts
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
audio
m4a
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:07:58
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Speaker 1 0:02
Hi. So what's your name?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:03
My name is Cameron Hornbarger.
Speaker 1 0:06
Can you give me the specific date and time?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:09
is September 19. And it is 12:49pm.
Speaker 1 0:16
And do I have your consent for me to interview?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:19
Yes, you got my consent.
Speaker 1 0:20
Okay, so I want to ask you, where are you originally from?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:24
I am from Cortland Manor, New York. It's a small town located 40 minutes north of New York City.
Speaker 1 0:33
So is this where you were when they first announced quarantine?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:36
Yes, this is where I was when it all started getting crazy.
Speaker 1 0:41
And what was your initial reaction when you saw it on the news and heard from the media?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:46
Um, I mean, initially, I think it was like, late February, I think I remember when all the stuff in the news started getting ramped up, and people are starting to get more and more concerned. And my sort of last week of school, everyone had a feeling that things are gonna start getting shut down. But I felt like, like most people, I didn't really want to believe that it was all going to happen and happen so quickly. But yeah, I think it was maybe March 13, that everything just got shut down. And I had like plans coming up that had to be cancelled. And it was just really shocking.
Speaker 1 1:32
Was it plans with your friends? Or was it school events that had to be canceled?
Cameron Hornbarger 1:37
It was with friends, we were planning on going to a concert. And even as everything was getting shut down, we were still hoping that we'd be able to go despite everything becoming all crazy.
Speaker 1 1:50
And so were the rules strict in your hometown.
Cameron Hornbarger 1:54
Um, in my hometown, they were they were somewhat strict. I mean, everyone was definitely really scared starting towards the start of the pandemic. So Governor Cuomo, he sort of immediately instituted the requirements of like wearing masks in public and he shut down basically all businesses and they didn't really end up reopening until around early June, when they started implementing the different phases and plans to reopen businesses. But it was it was pretty strict towards the start, obviously, I mean, quarantine wasn't necessarily required, but it was highly recommended that people stay at home. And it was noticeable when I went out and about in the town that there was barely anyone around.
Speaker 1 2:54
Yeah. And so now that, you know, six months almost went by and you're in September, do you agree with the way the government is handling the situation?
Cameron Hornbarger 3:03
Um, I mean, that's definitely a really loaded question. There's like the federal government and the state government. I think that New York alone has handled it pretty well. I think. many New Yorkers would agree that despite that, New York has had like, probably the worst number of cases because of the density of New York City. I think that Cuomo handled it pretty well. And we're on the decline right now. And we're looking to recover. I think that the federal government, I, I wouldn't say that they have handled it. Well, I think that towards the start, even though Trump claims that he was taking it seriously, I felt like he was not. And I felt like the the federal government was really playing down the virus. And then I think they were really too late to be imposing restrictions on travel and travel in and out of the country. So I think that led to really just the massive amount of outbreaks across the country, like I remember, think the first case was in Washington. And then at that point, it was just over like, there was one case and three and then 50. And from there, it just became really uncontrollable. So I think that the federal government did an okay job, but they definitely could have handled it better.
Speaker 1 4:39
And I mean, this past year has been especially crazy for us because we were seniors in high school. And you know, so how, how is the high school experience the online school experience for you? Was it difficult to kind of adapt to that sudden change?
Cameron Hornbarger 4:56
I mean, it was definitely strange and very different from what I'm used to cuz classes I'd literally like never been online before, besides maybe a review for tests or something or finals. So it was definitely an awkward transition, I felt like it was definitely more strange for the teachers because it because the changes so sudden it felt like they were just sort of thrown into it. And probably for the first two weeks or so like, we really didn't have that much work to do. Because they were just trying to figure out how to handle all this. I think after a while, it was a lot easier. And it was generally just more comfortable. So I think we got used to the system as a whole. But at first it was definitely a big transition.
Speaker 1 5:50
Yeah. I agree with that. for teachers, it's it was a lot harder to you know, get used to it then for us. But yeah, so how has COVID influenced your high school experience, specially your last year?
Cameron Hornbarger 6:04
Yeah, I mean, it, it's definitely influenced it in massive ways. I think, at first, everyone was super hopeful that it would all like go away after like two months or so. But once we started getting into like, late May, and everyone had taken their AP's online, and we're starting to realize that this wasn't going away anytime soon. It was, it was super sad cuz I didn't end up getting a prom at all. And then my graduation was super strange, because unlike other states, which like had sort of ease their restrictions on those sorts of events and gatherings, New York hadn't. And they never really did.
So we never actually got like a real in person graduation. What my school ended up doing was a graduation, where we walked up onto a small stage across two days, only one of us and we had four minutes. And we just got a picture with our principal. And that was that. So it was definitely super sad. And it was just an emotional ride.
Speaker 1 7:21
Yeah, well, now that you're here starting your freshman year of college, how do you think this all has shaped you as a person?
Cameron Hornbarger 7:29
It's definitely changed my perspective a lot. It's made me more grateful to really have the experiences that I've had. And, you know, I'm hoping that eventually, all this will go away and calm down. But I think that college life has definitely gave me a new perspective on everything.
Speaker 1 7:53
Thank you for answering questions.
Cameron Hornbarger 7:55
Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Hi. So what's your name?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:03
My name is Cameron Hornbarger.
Speaker 1 0:06
Can you give me the specific date and time?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:09
is September 19. And it is 12:49pm.
Speaker 1 0:16
And do I have your consent for me to interview?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:19
Yes, you got my consent.
Speaker 1 0:20
Okay, so I want to ask you, where are you originally from?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:24
I am from Cortland Manor, New York. It's a small town located 40 minutes north of New York City.
Speaker 1 0:33
So is this where you were when they first announced quarantine?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:36
Yes, this is where I was when it all started getting crazy.
Speaker 1 0:41
And what was your initial reaction when you saw it on the news and heard from the media?
Cameron Hornbarger 0:46
Um, I mean, initially, I think it was like, late February, I think I remember when all the stuff in the news started getting ramped up, and people are starting to get more and more concerned. And my sort of last week of school, everyone had a feeling that things are gonna start getting shut down. But I felt like, like most people, I didn't really want to believe that it was all going to happen and happen so quickly. But yeah, I think it was maybe March 13, that everything just got shut down. And I had like plans coming up that had to be cancelled. And it was just really shocking.
Speaker 1 1:32
Was it plans with your friends? Or was it school events that had to be canceled?
Cameron Hornbarger 1:37
It was with friends, we were planning on going to a concert. And even as everything was getting shut down, we were still hoping that we'd be able to go despite everything becoming all crazy.
Speaker 1 1:50
And so were the rules strict in your hometown.
Cameron Hornbarger 1:54
Um, in my hometown, they were they were somewhat strict. I mean, everyone was definitely really scared starting towards the start of the pandemic. So Governor Cuomo, he sort of immediately instituted the requirements of like wearing masks in public and he shut down basically all businesses and they didn't really end up reopening until around early June, when they started implementing the different phases and plans to reopen businesses. But it was it was pretty strict towards the start, obviously, I mean, quarantine wasn't necessarily required, but it was highly recommended that people stay at home. And it was noticeable when I went out and about in the town that there was barely anyone around.
Speaker 1 2:54
Yeah. And so now that, you know, six months almost went by and you're in September, do you agree with the way the government is handling the situation?
Cameron Hornbarger 3:03
Um, I mean, that's definitely a really loaded question. There's like the federal government and the state government. I think that New York alone has handled it pretty well. I think. many New Yorkers would agree that despite that, New York has had like, probably the worst number of cases because of the density of New York City. I think that Cuomo handled it pretty well. And we're on the decline right now. And we're looking to recover. I think that the federal government, I, I wouldn't say that they have handled it. Well, I think that towards the start, even though Trump claims that he was taking it seriously, I felt like he was not. And I felt like the the federal government was really playing down the virus. And then I think they were really too late to be imposing restrictions on travel and travel in and out of the country. So I think that led to really just the massive amount of outbreaks across the country, like I remember, think the first case was in Washington. And then at that point, it was just over like, there was one case and three and then 50. And from there, it just became really uncontrollable. So I think that the federal government did an okay job, but they definitely could have handled it better.
Speaker 1 4:39
And I mean, this past year has been especially crazy for us because we were seniors in high school. And you know, so how, how is the high school experience the online school experience for you? Was it difficult to kind of adapt to that sudden change?
Cameron Hornbarger 4:56
I mean, it was definitely strange and very different from what I'm used to cuz classes I'd literally like never been online before, besides maybe a review for tests or something or finals. So it was definitely an awkward transition, I felt like it was definitely more strange for the teachers because it because the changes so sudden it felt like they were just sort of thrown into it. And probably for the first two weeks or so like, we really didn't have that much work to do. Because they were just trying to figure out how to handle all this. I think after a while, it was a lot easier. And it was generally just more comfortable. So I think we got used to the system as a whole. But at first it was definitely a big transition.
Speaker 1 5:50
Yeah. I agree with that. for teachers, it's it was a lot harder to you know, get used to it then for us. But yeah, so how has COVID influenced your high school experience, specially your last year?
Cameron Hornbarger 6:04
Yeah, I mean, it, it's definitely influenced it in massive ways. I think, at first, everyone was super hopeful that it would all like go away after like two months or so. But once we started getting into like, late May, and everyone had taken their AP's online, and we're starting to realize that this wasn't going away anytime soon. It was, it was super sad cuz I didn't end up getting a prom at all. And then my graduation was super strange, because unlike other states, which like had sort of ease their restrictions on those sorts of events and gatherings, New York hadn't. And they never really did.
So we never actually got like a real in person graduation. What my school ended up doing was a graduation, where we walked up onto a small stage across two days, only one of us and we had four minutes. And we just got a picture with our principal. And that was that. So it was definitely super sad. And it was just an emotional ride.
Speaker 1 7:21
Yeah, well, now that you're here starting your freshman year of college, how do you think this all has shaped you as a person?
Cameron Hornbarger 7:29
It's definitely changed my perspective a lot. It's made me more grateful to really have the experiences that I've had. And, you know, I'm hoping that eventually, all this will go away and calm down. But I think that college life has definitely gave me a new perspective on everything.
Speaker 1 7:53
Thank you for answering questions.
Cameron Hornbarger 7:55
Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
This item was submitted on September 19, 2020 by Cameron Hornbarger using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive
Click here to view the collected data.