Item
Sachiko Mortia-Mulaney Oral History, 2020/10/17
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Sachiko Mortia-Mulaney Oral History, 2020/10/17
Description (Dublin Core)
This is an Oral History interview with University of Cincinnati student Sachiko Morita-Mullaney. Sachiko discusses her experience as a student at the University of Cincinnati. She brings up her identity as a Japanese-American woman and how that has affected her personally during the pandemic due to anti-Asian racism. She also talks about her small online business, and the different ways her and her family’s employment have been affected by Covid-19. Sachiko, a Political Science major at the University of Cincinnati, is very informed about the government’s response to Covid-19. She shares her opinions about healthcare in the United States and how racism and classism have affected the United States’ response to the coronavirus. Finally, we talked about the future and the quality of the US response to the coronavirus.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Event Identifier (Dublin Core)
Partner (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
oral history
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Education--Universities
English
Business & Industry
English
Home & Family Life
English
Clothing & Accessories
English
Race & Ethnicity
English
Government Federal
English
Technology
English
Health & Wellness
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
11/10/2020
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
06/11/2021
06/15/2021
07/03/2021
04/28/2022
06/11/2022
06/12/2022
12/29/2022
Date Created (Dublin Core)
10/17/2020
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Emma Hynes
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Sachiko Mortia-Mulaney
Location (Omeka Classic)
Cincinnati
Ohio
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Coverage (Dublin Core)
March 2020-October 2020
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:39:53
abstract (Bibliographic Ontology)
This is an Oral History interview with University of Cincinnati student Sachiko Morita-Mullaney. Sachiko discusses her experience as a student at the University of Cincinnati. She brings up her identity as a Japanese-American woman and how that has affected her personally during the pandemic due to anti-Asian racism. She also talks about her small online business, and the different ways her and her family’s employment have been affected by Covid-19. Sachiko, a Political Science major at the University of Cincinnati, is very informed about the government’s response to Covid-19. She shares her opinions about healthcare in the United States and how racism and classism have affected the United States’ response to the coronavirus. Finally, we talked about the future and the quality of the US response to the coronavirus.
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
0:05
Hynes, Emma
We are recording. My name is Emma Hynes and I'm here with Sachiko Morita-Mulaney. The date is October 17, 2020. The time is 6:59pm. We are– I am in Fairfield, Ohio and Sachiko is in Cincinnati, Ohio at the University of Cincinnati. So, Sachiko, I want to briefly review the informed consent and deed of gift document that you signed earlier. This interview is for the COVID-19 History Project, which is associated with the Journal of the plague year of COVID-19 archive. The COVID-19 oral history project is a rapid response oral history focused on archiving the lived experience of the COVID-19 epidemic. We have designed this project so that professional researchers and the broader public can create and upload their oral histories to our open access and open source database. This study will help us collect narratives and understandings about COVID-19 as well as help us better understand the impacts with pandemic over time, the recordings demographic information and the verbatim transcripts will be deposited in the journal at the play gear a COVID-19 archive in the Indiana University Library System for the use of researchers and the general public. Do you have any questions about the project that I can answer?
1:25
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think I'm good.
1:27
Hynes, Emma
So, taking part in the study is voluntary you may choose not to take part or you may leave the study at any time, leaving the study will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are entitled. Your decision whether or not to participate in this study will not affect your current or future relations with the Indiana us university IUPUI or the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute or the or the University of Cincinnati through which we are running this project. Participating in this project means that your interviews will be recorded in digital video and or audio format and may be transcribed. The recordings and possible transcriptions of my interviews, copies of any supplementary documents or additional photos that you wish to share, and the informed consent and deed of gift may be deposited in the Journal of the plague year COVID-19 archive in the Indiana University Library System and will be available to both researchers and the general public. Your name and other means of identification will not be confidential. Do you have any questions?
2:27
Morita Mulaney, Sachiko
Uh, nope.
2:27
Hynes, Emma
Okay. In addition to your signed document, would you please offer a verbal confirmation that you understand and agree to these terms?
2:35
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I understand and agree to these terms.
2:39
Hynes, Emma
Thank you. I am also asking that you verbally confirm that you have agreed that your interview will be made available under the following license a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial sharealike 4.0 International license.
2:51
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Yeah, I agree to that.
2:52
Hynes, Emma
Okay, cool. Finally, I'm going to ask you for a verbal confirmation that you have agreed that your interview will be made available to the public immediately.
3:00
Morita-Mulaney, Sachico
Yes, that is okay.
3:02
Hynes, Emma
Perfect. So now I'm going to start the with the questions. So first, I just wanted to ask, What's your name? And what kind of things do you do on an everyday basis like your job, any extracurricular activities and things like that?
3:15
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, well, my name is Sachico. And every day I, you know, I take care of my dog, I walk him as he needs to, I also feed him. I also run a small business online and you know, do all my schoolwork, my double major of Spanish and political science.
3:33
Hynes, Emma
Okay. So, where do you live right now, what's it like to live there?
3:38
Morita Mulaney, Sachiko
I live in an apartment called the Deacon- I don't know if that's a bit too much information-
3:43
Hynes, Emma
No, that's alright.
3:44
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
right on campus, and it's decent. They allow dogs and other pets. So, I get to live with my dog, which is great. I would say it's a bit boring because of COVID we can't really do much, so a lot of the amenities are restricted. So, in order to use the gym, instead of just going you have to sign up for a time, get a key, like leave your ID it's a whole process. So, I just walk my dog and that's my exercise.
4:15
Hynes, Emma
So, do you do you feel like the people around you are following the COVID restrictions that have been set up by the housing services where you live?
4:23
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, I will say my roommate and I do follow them but a lot of times, so, in the main lobby of my apartment, you are required to wear a mask but a lot of people just passing through won't wear one. And I guess we're just passing through right don't get close to them. There is a rule that you have to be six feet away from an elevator waiting, to wait for people in the elevator to get out. And people don't do that. All the elevators are open and there's just someone right in my face and they're not wearing a mask. So that's, that's fun every time that happens, but it is, we'll say, I think it's better than most places. And because I don't live here as an as like a dorm, it's you know, just like a normal apartment for me, I'm able to avoid it more, because I can just stay in my room if I want to. And when I walk my dog, it's not, it's not at hours where people are out and about as much in the morning at night. So I'm able to avoid, you know, irresponsible people as much as I can.
5:27
Hynes, Emma
Um, when you first learned about COVID, what were your thoughts about it? And how have these thoughts changed since the beginning of the pandemic?
5:38
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think when I first first heard about it, I was, my brother probably didn't really help. I wasn't reading into a lot of it, my brother's kind of a live, let, let and live life type of attitude. He's just gonna do whatever. So I thought it was just bad flu. And it is a bad flu, but it's a flu without the vaccine, and not a lot of information on it. So it's dangerous. I likely don't have any pre existing or underlying conditions, so my chances of survival with COVID are very good. But there is a chance for a lot of people to die, not, maybe not COVID itself, but like of what it does to your body. We've seen 20 year olds with lung transplants. So now it's very serious. I don't leave my apartment without a mask. Before, I would just maybe leave without one, at least at the beginning. Like I think it's March, when it was finally coming to the states pretty aggressively. Yeah, and then when school transmission online and the spring semester, I did not leave the house at all until August. And I went on a small trip because I was going stir crazy. But I wore my mask, I use a hand sanitizer just my dad and I, it was to Disney World, we felt very safe. We felt more unsafe going to like gas stations on our way there. And at the hotel on the way there, not the hotel at Disney. We felt more unsafe there than we did at the park itself. And then you know, and then I went to school, but rather than that I didn't leave and I I just now I rarely leave unless it's to get groceries or go to the the one class that I still have in person.
7:27
Hynes, Emma
What, what issues have most concerned about the pandemic right now?
7:34
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think the role politics has had on it. As a political science major I'm very much more aware to it. But I guess a lot of people are aware to it, as well, because, you know, our president has not done a great job with addressing it. He's put a race, racial connotation behind it too by refusing to call it anything but the Chinese virus most of the time, and that's affect me on a personal level. I am a Japanese American, I'm not Chinese. Right. But even then, like, right during March and February, when we saw the Coronavirus rise, start to rise out of China, I had a stomach bug at that time. I got several jokes joking that I had Coronavirus because I'm Asian. It was a stomach bug, and that's a respiratory thing. And then I've had- of course it's Facebook- I've had a lot of people on Facebook, make pretty racist remarks about it to my face. And I'm not Chinese, but it's still not okay. I had one lady told me all all asians eat dogs. I don't know what that has to do with Coronavirus, but I think it didn't help her belief in you know, the asian community. So I've definitely also people avoid me in public. And I'm not inherently you know, Asian looking. I'm Asian American. I'm Japanese and white. I'm not completely, you know, one or the other. I'm a mixed race baby. But it's, I'm still very clearly of, you know, the Asian persuasion. So I don't, I don't love it, what's going on right now. It shouldn't be a political issue. It shouldn't be a race issue it should be a human issue because it is something affecting all of us. And I think if we acted like New Zealand, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation right now.
9:17
Hynes, Emma
What do you mean if we acted like New Zealand?
9:20
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, so they took rampant precautions against Coronavirus. And they've gotten down to zero cases several times, they've been able to open up pretty well. Like I saw a article the other day where a college play was able to go on with 500 people in the crowd out and they were able to do that because there was zero cases in the country. And every time there is a new case, they shut down again, and then it's taken care of. It's not, not a lot of people have to you know, be scared for their health and safety when leaving the house. And that's just because instead of making a political issue, their government made it a health issue because that's what it is.
10:09
Hynes, Emma
You talked about some of the prejudice that you've come across, has, have any of your family members been like, racially profiled or anything because of the virus.
10:19
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
My mother. So, the reason I'm Japanese American is because my mother is also Japanese American, but only my mother, because my father is white. And well my brother, he's my twin, so we're mostly, you know, the same makeup. We're paternal so not exactly. But you know, he doesn't look very Asian. He doesn't have an Asian name. I have an Asian name. And I just also inherently look a bit more Asian, so he's been able to avoid that. My mother and I have been racially profiled in public and online. None of it's like outright blaming us for blaming us for it because you know, we're not Chinese and we went to China what in like, 2014 once, and we haven't left the country since this whole thing started. We're not, we're not spreaders of the Coronavirus. We're not the origin of it. And not to say the Chinese are the origin of it- like granted, it got its start in that country- but it doesn't mean the people themselves are the reason. It's, it's a, it's a disease, it's an illness, it spreads to whoever it's, it doesn't discriminate. But we see human beings do discriminate. We also, my mom and I are a bit more fearful to like leave sometimes because we read these articles like a man in New York the other week was brutally beaten because, he was he wasn't even Chinese, he was a Japanese pianist, and he was brutally beaten in New York because they blamed him for Coronavirus. So that's very disheartening. Um, I don't think my mom and I are, you know, in direct threat or direct harm I mean, frankly, because we barely leave, but we do get, you know, the social media attacks, I, you know, some ignorant people and it's just more, it's more disheartening to see. It doesn't feel great.
12:13
Hynes, Emma
Golly. Do you think that the President's refusal to call it anything other than the Chinese virus has to do with the amount of attacks that you see against just Asian people in general in America?
12:25
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I don't think it helps. We've seen the present president refused to condemn, you know, a lot of things that, you know, humans should condemn. He later does it, when he's gotten some flack for it. But it, I think, inherently it doesn't help when an authority figure, who, you know, is very impressionable in a lot of people just, you know, broadcasts that message, and they take it as truth. They won't look into any other sources, because well, he's the president. But that doesn't matter. It's not, it's not right. It doesn't help. Because we've seen that this President, he has a lot of fans, I'd like to say, you know, followers that are pretty adamant that what he says is basically to them like the word of God. So they're going to take, take anything else with a grain of salt except for his words. So it doesn't help. I don't think any other leaders in the world have called it the Chinese virus and gotten away with it.
13:34
Hynes, Emma
So I'm going to shift the topic a little bit. And I just wanted to know, has has COVID altered your small business in any way?
13:51
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Well, since it's purely online, I don't think so. There's definitely more precautions being made. Sometimes people will state like, hey, do you clean your stuff? I obviously clean my stuff. So I guess I'm a bit more cleanly. Um, and I didn't actually start, I started my business in 2019. But I kind of let it die off. I didn't do anything with it. I started to back up during quarantine. So I think if anything, it's helped because more people are online shopping. So I think I got more business that I think the only thing that's gonna be affected is what's been happening with the USPS system and being over overrun because of COVID. But I think they've done a great job. It hasn't really affected you know, my ship dates or anything. So I think it's, I think it's been alright.
14:48
Hynes, Emma
Has it affected the employment of anybody that you know, like your parents or any of your friends?
14:52
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Oh, it affected me. Um, I had an internship, a paid internship over the summer and it was canceled two weeks before start date because of COVID. So a lot of people for that internship opportunity, including my brother, my brother had the same opportunity. And we didn't get to do it. Of course, they still paid us, which was good, because we had signed a contract saying, Hey, we're gonna do this, and we set up direct deposit, filled out all these forms. And then just before starting, they're like, Hey, we don't think it's safe. And we don't think with, if we move it online, it wouldn't work, you need to be here to do that. And that's not safe. So we're just going to cancel it, we'll give you 10 weeks pay. I'm sorry. So I wasn't super bummed because I was getting paid to essentially be told, don't do work, we're sorry. But I didn't get to put that on my resume, which, which my resume needed. And I think my mom does, is a professor, but she mostly works online so it doesn't affect her. My dad had to get like a fancy new desk and spend money on like a chair and desk for the house because he's completely online until maybe January, or until there's a vaccine, he works for a pharmaceutical company. So they're being very precautious, about who's going back to work and who's not. And he's, you know, he's not a scientist, he's more of a manager dude, even though he started work there as a scientist. So he at one point did help with COVID testing, when our state started to do it, or the state didn't really start to do it, his company did it before the state did it. And then he stopped volunteering once the state took over. So I guess it affected his job because he volunteered more and worked from home more, so we had the time. So now he just has a lot more free time. I have a lot, everyone has a lot more free time.
16:53
Hynes, Emma
In regards to free time, what are you doing in your free time with people now that, you know, with with your friends or your family during COVID, since it, the ways that we can do things are severely impacted?
17:07
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Well, with my family, it's just a lot of zoom calls that we're using that are faced at home. So my family's from Indiana, I'm from Indiana. But my mom and dad are from California, and the rest of the live family lives in California. So I've been using, you know, having to only you know, communicate with them a majority of time via you know, FaceTime, or they just through the phone, it's, it's very rarely face to face. Because you know, traveling to California is a time and money effort from coming from the Midwest. So I was used to doing that part but with friends? We just started to play more video games. I've actually made more friends during COVID than I had in a long time because of an online class. And then I met all these people. And then they invited me to like, play video games with them. And now I have like 10 new friends and we talk nearly every day online. So I think it, for me, it's been easier to communicate with people because there's less planning involved because we're not going anywhere. We're just sitting down on the computer and playing video games. Which I think is pretty fun. It's, I think it's kind of ironic that I've expanded my social circle in a time where it's hard to go out and about.
18:19
Hynes, Emma
What are some of the biggest challenges you've, you've faced during COVID?
18:24
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I hate online school. Um. I thought I'd be okay with it. Because, you know, I wouldn't have to like leave my room. I still do. I do have one in person class. Um, but it's hard on my professors, which makes it hard on the students. It's not that the effort for me isn't there. It's just I have a harder time grappling the [inaudible], it's not, it's easier to to ignore, and like zone out when I'm just staring at a computer screen for like an hour. I don't, I do not retain information as well as I used to. And the assignments sometimes are harder now because we switched online, or they're far and few between. So it's hard to get a consistent grade because you fail one thing you you're not going to do well. My anxiety is not great because of it. And it's also hard to get a therapy appointment because you know, a lot of therapists are booked up during this time. I scheduled in late September, mid-September, for a therapy appointment in my therapy appointment was not for over a month later. So it'll be October 25 when I scheduled I think September 15 or something. So that's crazy. I've been spending a lot of money to cope. So I buy Legos to keep busy and like crafts. And you know that stuff gets pricey. So, I cope by spending money and doing crafts, which is not a good coping mechanism.
19:55
Hynes, Emma
So, you talked about your own mental health, what, what ways in general do you think COVID has been affecting people mental or physical health.
20:03
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Physical, like people who like went to the gym, they couldn't for, like a while because gyms closed. I mean at least the legal gym clothes. I've heard of a lot of like illegal gyms popping up so people could, you know, exercise during COVID. Very unhealthy, that's, that does not sound safe. But I think I've heard of like a lot of suicide rates going up in adolescents because they can't, um, I heard this one with this boy, he killed himself because he like, couldn't see his friend playing a lot of video games. And then he like got mad and like, broke his monitor instead of like, you know, dealing with it, he killed himself. I don't, I don't know a lot of information on that, because I got sad and I turned it off for my own mental health. Um, but yeah, like, I definitely like a lot of people, you know, who are preteens teens, they are not able to see their friends as much and it's, for a lot of people that's their only social circle, maybe like. I, it's not great either for like people in bad like, you know, family situations, because there's, a lot of times you're just stuck with that you can't, there's no escape anymore, because you're stuck at home. Um, and for me, like being cooped up is not a huge deal. For me, it's just, you know, the added stress and pressure or how different things are, and just not really knowing how to handle it. I don't know, I don't think a lot of us know how to handle it, because this is new. We haven't had a pandemic since 1910? 1912? Um, so it's a whole 100 years ago, a whole century of just not knowing what to do. And then there's also you know, the added pressure of a very important election coming up. And, you know, every, when the pandemic started, a lot of other movements started. And it just all piled up. So, it just feels like a lot right now. I don't think that's good for anyone.
21:54
Hynes, Emma
So along with mental health, have you seen people change their opinions and the things they do every day? You talked a little bit about politics earlier, I think politically, people have changed. And you can talk about that as well, since you are a poli sci major.
22:09
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Yeah, I think it doesn't help with the division, because there's two sides right now with COVID. If you want to go like liberal or conservative, I don't think it's black or white, it can be pretty gray on which side you can, you can be conservative, but also understand that science is real, and you need to wear a mask, and it's a danger. But we've seen like a polarization of a lot of people who, who will say, oh, wearing a mask is for liberals, like, it's like liberal propaganda, it's not real, it's the flu, you'll be fine. And then those people, you know, get COVID. And then there'll be like, you know, the president saying, Oh, it's not a big deal. Or you'll be like Chris Christie, who got it and said, Hey, actually wear a mask, I was in the ICU, it's not good. And that doesn't help that it's so wishy washy with a lot of like people in power, who are meant to be like, a lot of times, embodiments of like, here's what's good, here's what you should do, here's what the country needs to do. And then when you have a leader who's saying something else than you know, the top scientists who have a grapple on the situation, it gets very polarized, because you have a lot of people just refusing to believe that this is real, and this is happening and like life is not normal right now. And it's true. Life's not normal, it sucks, but we come into realization with that is better than you know, dying of a pandemic, or of a virus, like dying of something you could have avoided. You know, I don't, I think it's because it has not helped the current polarization within the political system and the nation in general.
23:51
Hynes, Emma
How do you think municipal leaders and government officials are well, how have they responded to the outbreak? And then do you think that these responses are good enough for the situation that we're facing?
24:04
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Overall question, no, it's not good enough, considering we have the highest death rate from COVID. And it's still happening. The death rate is not really stoppening. Stoppening? Stopping. Um, it's, it's the worst in the world, essentially, it's not great. And you think, oh, we're the United States. We have, you know, all these technological advances like we're pretty, we're pretty well off. But you know, people are dying every day of something that, you know, places like New Zealand has figured out and they're not seen as well off as the United States is, but they figured it out because their government officials agreed with the scientists. They said, here's what we're going to do. It's a it's a public health issue. It's a human issue. It's not a bipartisan issue. It's not a political issue. We got to fix it. But in our country, it's become a political issue. It's become a bipartisan issue. And it's also, instead of being a nationwide, you know, effort, it's been statewide. So it's been up to the states to figure out what they're going to do. And a lot of states don't agree. So, in some states, you know, it's pretty well under control, because you know, they have someone who's like, in charge, who's like, okay, we're going to tackle this. But you have other states, like, I don't know, Florida, where masks are like, whatever, and then you get the higher rates there. So it's, it should have been something that the nation tackled early and, you know, as a whole, rather than just leaving it up to the States, because it's, it's not just the state issue. It's a human issue. And we're all humans, and we live in this country, and we don't want to die.
Hynes, Emma
25:48
What do you think about Ohio's response specifically, like how we're doing as a state.
25:53
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, so I'm not, I'm not technically an Ohio resident, oopsies. But I know there's a mask mandate. Again, I don't want to go-
26:02
Hynes, Emma
Well, you're from Indiana, right.
26:04
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I'm, Indiana and Ohio, it's kind of similar, my county that I live in it like I'm a resident of in Indiana, it's a bit more progressive than others, like, like the rest of the state of Indiana went to Trump in 2016, my county went to Hillary, were pretty blue versus the red. It's like a tiny little lake of blue surrounded by a sea of red. So I'm in my county, there was a mask mandate. For like a bit, and I think there still is, again, I have not been home in a hot second, and I just don't really leave just, just to avoid having to wear a mask and be scared and worried, I just stay where I'm at until I have to go get groceries. And even then sometimes I'll just order in. You know, just leave it there on the ground, I'll pick it up. But I think, again, it's not I have not seen it enforced when I have left, you know, on campus, the popular bar Woody's, I've seen it packed, no masks, and there is a mandate. I feel like more is being done if you like party in your dorm room than if you party in a public establishment. I've seen the cops around campus, just maybe who are supposed to enforce it, they're not even wearing their masks. And if they are, they're not wearing them correctly. So while the mandates may exist, like, I don't think the enforcement is there. And I think the enforcement needs to be there. We've seen it. Like, I think I was the Italian, Italian parliament, if you don't wear a mask, they drag you out. And while that's not, you know, the peaceful way to go, it works. People will wear a mask, if they're forced to. And I'm not saying oh, we're going to have to force them to I'm, it's not even strongly encouraged in many places. So I think the enforcement needs to be there. You know, in some states, they're putting ankle monitors on you to make sure you stay where you are, if you have COVID. Um, so I think that would be a smart idea to be able to track those who are being, you know, risky with their behavior when they shouldn't be. But the enforcement is not there for sure. I don't see it being enforced at all.
28:19
Hynes, Emma
What about the UC's response? What kind of things that they've been doing to make sure that, you know, students stay safe during the pandemic?
28:27
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think a lot of it has to do with like, a lot, it's a lot more with UC students in housing. So, they, I know they do just random COVID tests. What's different, so my [redacted] goes to IU, and he was in a frat, his frat locked down, he actually got COVID, which is not surprising because he was in a frat, and you know, Greek life is notorious for being slightly rowdy. So, they did actually end up testing a lot of Greek life at IU and also, you know, like at a higher rate and like locking down their houses. So my [redacted] was locked down in his bread house for two weeks, actually longer than that. So, his frat house locked down and then he got COVID and then he had to extend it to an additional two weeks and then he's allowed to go because he has antibodies and they're like, okay, you're good. I don't think that's particularly smart, but I'm not IU. And also I knew you were required to get tested before you went to school. You had to get a test before you went to school. At least my [redacted] had to get a test before he went to school. Here I just showed up. I had not been tested yet. I've never been tested. I don't think I've had COVID, I show no symptoms. And not, really the one time I put myself in like a tiny risky situation was Disney World. I felt safer there and then I do here. But IU tested a lot of people, Cincy right now I received an email that you can go get tested if you want to, at certain dates, like through October or something to November something you can go get tested. You have to go out of your way to do it. And then right now they're doing random selection tested, testing for those who work on campus, have to come to campus for class, or are in UC housing. I haven't been selected, but I might be because I do still have a class on campus. But even then, most of my classes have moved online. And the classes I do have on campus there is, I think, way more than six feet between me and anybody else. But again, it's also again, like, people will respond differently to certain restrictions. So sometimes I'm way less than six feet away from someone because they don't know personal space, and they'll get up all up in my area, cuz they just don't seem to care. Um, so yeah, it's, it's again, up to this not much enforcement that I've seen. So when you're on campus, you have to wear a mask. I've seen many people just not, but they're further than six feet away from me, and anyone else. So that's good. Um, but yeah, I don't think the enforcement's there either.
31:02
Hynes, Emma
You mentioned that your [redacted] got COVID. What was that like?
31:07
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Well, my [redacted] very nonchalant about everything. So he had symptoms for like two days. He was like, had the shivers, lost his sense of smell and taste for like a day or two now after that he was fine, actually, all, so he shares a room with three other people. All of them got it. My [redacted] got it last. So the first two who got it just went home, which I also think is slightly stupid. And then his other roommate went to a hotel to quarantine. Um, and so his whole frat was on lockdown before he got it for a couple weeks. Because if there's enough cases in a house, they'll shut it down, lock it down, so they're not allowed to leave and no one's allowed to come. So for food, my [redacted] would have delivery dropped off on the curb, and then he'd go get it. But he, he feels like he's Superman now, because he doesn't have it. But he has antibodies. He's like, I'm immune now. And like, that's not how it works, dude. He's like, Yeah, but the chance, I have, like, he's like, Yeah, but I can also get struck by lightning. I'm like, this is not the same situation, you can get it again. So I think my [redacted] like the outlier in my [redacted], not really taking it seriously. He traveled to like several states. You went to Michigan a couple times over the summer. And I barely even I drove to the grocery store. But my dad went inside, or I drove to the post office, when my dad went inside, with the closest I got to being risky was going to Disney World. And I felt safe. And I wore masks the entire day, the entire time. I only took it off when I ate, and we only ate like one snack. And then maybe a tiny breakfast and then like sit down dinner but like very sanitized, very clean waiters, who had face shields, I, we felt fine. I felt we felt like a safe enough distance away from the waiters and stuff. But my brother, he thinks he's, you know, immune now. And I think that's what a lot of people think, after they get it. Where they're like, Hey, I'm great now, but we've seen you can get it again. But he doesn't care. And he didn't care to begin with. He's been of the same sentiment, like, it's just a really bad flu. And I'm like, dude, you're 20. Of course, it's just a bad food for you. But our parents are in the age risk group because they're above 50. Granted, not by much, they're like young 50-year olds, but they're still 50. Also, our [redacted] has some asthma issues, allergy issues. They shouldn't, like his health's not great. Like it's not bad, but it's not, you know, he's not the fittest person out there. He just doesn't really care.
33:57
Hynes, Emma
Yeah. Finally, I wanted to ask just a couple questions about what you think the future is going to look like. And what do you think life is going to be like in a year.
34:07
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Hopefully, we'll have a vaccine. And so you know, more places will open up. I'm surprised Disney World opened up when it did, like, I'm surprised that trip was not canceled. We booked that thing in February, before this all went down. And then when they opened up again, we're like, oh, we can still go. Well, we're stir crazy, let's go! Um, I think the new normal is just going to be like a bit more attention to detail with sanitation. We've seen like subways actually being cleaned in the United States. So I think they should keep that because they were really gross to begin with. And now they're slightly less gross. That's good. And also, as we seen, like Asian countries, people wear masks whenever they feel slightly sick. Even before the pandemic in the States. That didn't happen. You just go out and you know, infect everyone. As you can see, now, there's like there's an inherent refusal and a lot of and, some people, a lot of people just not wearing it. Because it's their right, or whatever. But in, in Asia, it was not hard for them to wear a mask to have to go out because it was already inherently a part of their culture and their way of life to like, hey, if you feel slightly ill wear a mask and they like made, you know, fashion out of it. And we've seen that with like a bunch of different face masks, like I have like six Disney face masks. I don't think I have a normal looking face mask. I made them all colorful and fun, because why not? If I'm gonna wear it, it's gonna, it's gonna look cute. I hope that stays. You know, it feels like human decency to like, hey, if you have like a small cough, don't really know what it is yet, haven't been able to go to the doctor quite yet, don't know if it's serious or not yet, wear a mask if you feel slightly sick. I hope that stays because it just feels more polite. And also, I've been wanting to do it for a while, but, and I did it freshman year when I had a pretty bad cough, I wore masks around campus and I was looked at like a wacko because it's just it's not the usual here, but it was so normal in Asia. So I want, I want that to stay. Because it feels it feels right, and just, you know, polite to do so. Yeah, overall sanitation, I want that to stay. Um, I don't think the general consen- consensus and like educational levels of you know, viruses is gonna stick with some people. But I hope it sticks with most.
36:35
Hynes, Emma
So, knowing what you know now about the virus and how different responses work or don't work, what are what are things that you think that individuals and communities or even governments need to keep in mind for the future.
36:48
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Pandemics are going to happen, we can do the best we can do to avoid them granted, I don't think they happen that often, as we have seen, we have not had one to this scale in a century. Um, but you know, maybe enforce more like get out the consensus that like hey vaccinations are important, taking care of yourself is important, and you know, be kind to one another. Because we've seen, not a lot of us are kind to one another right now, I've seen it, I've experienced it. But yet pandemics are going to happen. And we need to be more prepared. We were not prepared at all, and our current administration did not help with out preparedness, as we have seen. So I think after this, we really got to be prepared and be ready for another one. I don't think our nation was prepared.
37:43
Hynes, Emma
What do you mean by preparation, in this case, like?
37:46
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
So we ran out, As a country of, you know, oxygen machines? I don't? I don't remember exactly what they're-
37:54
Hynes, Emma
Ventilators?
37:56
Morita Mulaney, Sachiko
Ventilators, yeah, we ran out of those. We did not have enough tests. And that's why a lot of people at the beginning did not get tested or just weren't able to, because they couldn't, there were not enough tests. And so it became like, if you were rich enough to get one you could. So it became like class war was kind of involved with that so that sucks. And we've also seen also more African American deaths, like Black deaths, because you know, their health is not taken as seriously as you know, other races and therefore they have a lot more underlying conditions that they may not know about, and therefore they pass away due to complications to COVID. So I think it's brought to light that we need to pay attention more to people of color in the health, like health world, even though I think a lot of, not a lot of us, but I knew and I know about other people I know knew that like, their symptoms and other illnesses are sometimes ignored. And they shouldn't be. We need to understand, like if we need test we need to get more, the administration did not want to get more. And it took them a while to get more. Now we have enough. We're good. We have enough. But I don't know, just production of more tests, increased sanitation to begin with, because like I said, a lot of the United States was grimy before when it really didn't need to be and it did not have to be and you know, just putting more effort into our healthcare system than we have in the past. Because, you know, without the health care system, we will literally die. It shouldn't take a pandemic to realize that health care for all is necessary. So yeah.
39:48
Hynes, Emma
Hey, thank you so much Sachi. I'm going to stop recording now.
Hynes, Emma
We are recording. My name is Emma Hynes and I'm here with Sachiko Morita-Mulaney. The date is October 17, 2020. The time is 6:59pm. We are– I am in Fairfield, Ohio and Sachiko is in Cincinnati, Ohio at the University of Cincinnati. So, Sachiko, I want to briefly review the informed consent and deed of gift document that you signed earlier. This interview is for the COVID-19 History Project, which is associated with the Journal of the plague year of COVID-19 archive. The COVID-19 oral history project is a rapid response oral history focused on archiving the lived experience of the COVID-19 epidemic. We have designed this project so that professional researchers and the broader public can create and upload their oral histories to our open access and open source database. This study will help us collect narratives and understandings about COVID-19 as well as help us better understand the impacts with pandemic over time, the recordings demographic information and the verbatim transcripts will be deposited in the journal at the play gear a COVID-19 archive in the Indiana University Library System for the use of researchers and the general public. Do you have any questions about the project that I can answer?
1:25
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think I'm good.
1:27
Hynes, Emma
So, taking part in the study is voluntary you may choose not to take part or you may leave the study at any time, leaving the study will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are entitled. Your decision whether or not to participate in this study will not affect your current or future relations with the Indiana us university IUPUI or the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute or the or the University of Cincinnati through which we are running this project. Participating in this project means that your interviews will be recorded in digital video and or audio format and may be transcribed. The recordings and possible transcriptions of my interviews, copies of any supplementary documents or additional photos that you wish to share, and the informed consent and deed of gift may be deposited in the Journal of the plague year COVID-19 archive in the Indiana University Library System and will be available to both researchers and the general public. Your name and other means of identification will not be confidential. Do you have any questions?
2:27
Morita Mulaney, Sachiko
Uh, nope.
2:27
Hynes, Emma
Okay. In addition to your signed document, would you please offer a verbal confirmation that you understand and agree to these terms?
2:35
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I understand and agree to these terms.
2:39
Hynes, Emma
Thank you. I am also asking that you verbally confirm that you have agreed that your interview will be made available under the following license a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial sharealike 4.0 International license.
2:51
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Yeah, I agree to that.
2:52
Hynes, Emma
Okay, cool. Finally, I'm going to ask you for a verbal confirmation that you have agreed that your interview will be made available to the public immediately.
3:00
Morita-Mulaney, Sachico
Yes, that is okay.
3:02
Hynes, Emma
Perfect. So now I'm going to start the with the questions. So first, I just wanted to ask, What's your name? And what kind of things do you do on an everyday basis like your job, any extracurricular activities and things like that?
3:15
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, well, my name is Sachico. And every day I, you know, I take care of my dog, I walk him as he needs to, I also feed him. I also run a small business online and you know, do all my schoolwork, my double major of Spanish and political science.
3:33
Hynes, Emma
Okay. So, where do you live right now, what's it like to live there?
3:38
Morita Mulaney, Sachiko
I live in an apartment called the Deacon- I don't know if that's a bit too much information-
3:43
Hynes, Emma
No, that's alright.
3:44
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
right on campus, and it's decent. They allow dogs and other pets. So, I get to live with my dog, which is great. I would say it's a bit boring because of COVID we can't really do much, so a lot of the amenities are restricted. So, in order to use the gym, instead of just going you have to sign up for a time, get a key, like leave your ID it's a whole process. So, I just walk my dog and that's my exercise.
4:15
Hynes, Emma
So, do you do you feel like the people around you are following the COVID restrictions that have been set up by the housing services where you live?
4:23
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, I will say my roommate and I do follow them but a lot of times, so, in the main lobby of my apartment, you are required to wear a mask but a lot of people just passing through won't wear one. And I guess we're just passing through right don't get close to them. There is a rule that you have to be six feet away from an elevator waiting, to wait for people in the elevator to get out. And people don't do that. All the elevators are open and there's just someone right in my face and they're not wearing a mask. So that's, that's fun every time that happens, but it is, we'll say, I think it's better than most places. And because I don't live here as an as like a dorm, it's you know, just like a normal apartment for me, I'm able to avoid it more, because I can just stay in my room if I want to. And when I walk my dog, it's not, it's not at hours where people are out and about as much in the morning at night. So I'm able to avoid, you know, irresponsible people as much as I can.
5:27
Hynes, Emma
Um, when you first learned about COVID, what were your thoughts about it? And how have these thoughts changed since the beginning of the pandemic?
5:38
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think when I first first heard about it, I was, my brother probably didn't really help. I wasn't reading into a lot of it, my brother's kind of a live, let, let and live life type of attitude. He's just gonna do whatever. So I thought it was just bad flu. And it is a bad flu, but it's a flu without the vaccine, and not a lot of information on it. So it's dangerous. I likely don't have any pre existing or underlying conditions, so my chances of survival with COVID are very good. But there is a chance for a lot of people to die, not, maybe not COVID itself, but like of what it does to your body. We've seen 20 year olds with lung transplants. So now it's very serious. I don't leave my apartment without a mask. Before, I would just maybe leave without one, at least at the beginning. Like I think it's March, when it was finally coming to the states pretty aggressively. Yeah, and then when school transmission online and the spring semester, I did not leave the house at all until August. And I went on a small trip because I was going stir crazy. But I wore my mask, I use a hand sanitizer just my dad and I, it was to Disney World, we felt very safe. We felt more unsafe going to like gas stations on our way there. And at the hotel on the way there, not the hotel at Disney. We felt more unsafe there than we did at the park itself. And then you know, and then I went to school, but rather than that I didn't leave and I I just now I rarely leave unless it's to get groceries or go to the the one class that I still have in person.
7:27
Hynes, Emma
What, what issues have most concerned about the pandemic right now?
7:34
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think the role politics has had on it. As a political science major I'm very much more aware to it. But I guess a lot of people are aware to it, as well, because, you know, our president has not done a great job with addressing it. He's put a race, racial connotation behind it too by refusing to call it anything but the Chinese virus most of the time, and that's affect me on a personal level. I am a Japanese American, I'm not Chinese. Right. But even then, like, right during March and February, when we saw the Coronavirus rise, start to rise out of China, I had a stomach bug at that time. I got several jokes joking that I had Coronavirus because I'm Asian. It was a stomach bug, and that's a respiratory thing. And then I've had- of course it's Facebook- I've had a lot of people on Facebook, make pretty racist remarks about it to my face. And I'm not Chinese, but it's still not okay. I had one lady told me all all asians eat dogs. I don't know what that has to do with Coronavirus, but I think it didn't help her belief in you know, the asian community. So I've definitely also people avoid me in public. And I'm not inherently you know, Asian looking. I'm Asian American. I'm Japanese and white. I'm not completely, you know, one or the other. I'm a mixed race baby. But it's, I'm still very clearly of, you know, the Asian persuasion. So I don't, I don't love it, what's going on right now. It shouldn't be a political issue. It shouldn't be a race issue it should be a human issue because it is something affecting all of us. And I think if we acted like New Zealand, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation right now.
9:17
Hynes, Emma
What do you mean if we acted like New Zealand?
9:20
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, so they took rampant precautions against Coronavirus. And they've gotten down to zero cases several times, they've been able to open up pretty well. Like I saw a article the other day where a college play was able to go on with 500 people in the crowd out and they were able to do that because there was zero cases in the country. And every time there is a new case, they shut down again, and then it's taken care of. It's not, not a lot of people have to you know, be scared for their health and safety when leaving the house. And that's just because instead of making a political issue, their government made it a health issue because that's what it is.
10:09
Hynes, Emma
You talked about some of the prejudice that you've come across, has, have any of your family members been like, racially profiled or anything because of the virus.
10:19
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
My mother. So, the reason I'm Japanese American is because my mother is also Japanese American, but only my mother, because my father is white. And well my brother, he's my twin, so we're mostly, you know, the same makeup. We're paternal so not exactly. But you know, he doesn't look very Asian. He doesn't have an Asian name. I have an Asian name. And I just also inherently look a bit more Asian, so he's been able to avoid that. My mother and I have been racially profiled in public and online. None of it's like outright blaming us for blaming us for it because you know, we're not Chinese and we went to China what in like, 2014 once, and we haven't left the country since this whole thing started. We're not, we're not spreaders of the Coronavirus. We're not the origin of it. And not to say the Chinese are the origin of it- like granted, it got its start in that country- but it doesn't mean the people themselves are the reason. It's, it's a, it's a disease, it's an illness, it spreads to whoever it's, it doesn't discriminate. But we see human beings do discriminate. We also, my mom and I are a bit more fearful to like leave sometimes because we read these articles like a man in New York the other week was brutally beaten because, he was he wasn't even Chinese, he was a Japanese pianist, and he was brutally beaten in New York because they blamed him for Coronavirus. So that's very disheartening. Um, I don't think my mom and I are, you know, in direct threat or direct harm I mean, frankly, because we barely leave, but we do get, you know, the social media attacks, I, you know, some ignorant people and it's just more, it's more disheartening to see. It doesn't feel great.
12:13
Hynes, Emma
Golly. Do you think that the President's refusal to call it anything other than the Chinese virus has to do with the amount of attacks that you see against just Asian people in general in America?
12:25
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I don't think it helps. We've seen the present president refused to condemn, you know, a lot of things that, you know, humans should condemn. He later does it, when he's gotten some flack for it. But it, I think, inherently it doesn't help when an authority figure, who, you know, is very impressionable in a lot of people just, you know, broadcasts that message, and they take it as truth. They won't look into any other sources, because well, he's the president. But that doesn't matter. It's not, it's not right. It doesn't help. Because we've seen that this President, he has a lot of fans, I'd like to say, you know, followers that are pretty adamant that what he says is basically to them like the word of God. So they're going to take, take anything else with a grain of salt except for his words. So it doesn't help. I don't think any other leaders in the world have called it the Chinese virus and gotten away with it.
13:34
Hynes, Emma
So I'm going to shift the topic a little bit. And I just wanted to know, has has COVID altered your small business in any way?
13:51
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Well, since it's purely online, I don't think so. There's definitely more precautions being made. Sometimes people will state like, hey, do you clean your stuff? I obviously clean my stuff. So I guess I'm a bit more cleanly. Um, and I didn't actually start, I started my business in 2019. But I kind of let it die off. I didn't do anything with it. I started to back up during quarantine. So I think if anything, it's helped because more people are online shopping. So I think I got more business that I think the only thing that's gonna be affected is what's been happening with the USPS system and being over overrun because of COVID. But I think they've done a great job. It hasn't really affected you know, my ship dates or anything. So I think it's, I think it's been alright.
14:48
Hynes, Emma
Has it affected the employment of anybody that you know, like your parents or any of your friends?
14:52
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Oh, it affected me. Um, I had an internship, a paid internship over the summer and it was canceled two weeks before start date because of COVID. So a lot of people for that internship opportunity, including my brother, my brother had the same opportunity. And we didn't get to do it. Of course, they still paid us, which was good, because we had signed a contract saying, Hey, we're gonna do this, and we set up direct deposit, filled out all these forms. And then just before starting, they're like, Hey, we don't think it's safe. And we don't think with, if we move it online, it wouldn't work, you need to be here to do that. And that's not safe. So we're just going to cancel it, we'll give you 10 weeks pay. I'm sorry. So I wasn't super bummed because I was getting paid to essentially be told, don't do work, we're sorry. But I didn't get to put that on my resume, which, which my resume needed. And I think my mom does, is a professor, but she mostly works online so it doesn't affect her. My dad had to get like a fancy new desk and spend money on like a chair and desk for the house because he's completely online until maybe January, or until there's a vaccine, he works for a pharmaceutical company. So they're being very precautious, about who's going back to work and who's not. And he's, you know, he's not a scientist, he's more of a manager dude, even though he started work there as a scientist. So he at one point did help with COVID testing, when our state started to do it, or the state didn't really start to do it, his company did it before the state did it. And then he stopped volunteering once the state took over. So I guess it affected his job because he volunteered more and worked from home more, so we had the time. So now he just has a lot more free time. I have a lot, everyone has a lot more free time.
16:53
Hynes, Emma
In regards to free time, what are you doing in your free time with people now that, you know, with with your friends or your family during COVID, since it, the ways that we can do things are severely impacted?
17:07
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Well, with my family, it's just a lot of zoom calls that we're using that are faced at home. So my family's from Indiana, I'm from Indiana. But my mom and dad are from California, and the rest of the live family lives in California. So I've been using, you know, having to only you know, communicate with them a majority of time via you know, FaceTime, or they just through the phone, it's, it's very rarely face to face. Because you know, traveling to California is a time and money effort from coming from the Midwest. So I was used to doing that part but with friends? We just started to play more video games. I've actually made more friends during COVID than I had in a long time because of an online class. And then I met all these people. And then they invited me to like, play video games with them. And now I have like 10 new friends and we talk nearly every day online. So I think it, for me, it's been easier to communicate with people because there's less planning involved because we're not going anywhere. We're just sitting down on the computer and playing video games. Which I think is pretty fun. It's, I think it's kind of ironic that I've expanded my social circle in a time where it's hard to go out and about.
18:19
Hynes, Emma
What are some of the biggest challenges you've, you've faced during COVID?
18:24
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I hate online school. Um. I thought I'd be okay with it. Because, you know, I wouldn't have to like leave my room. I still do. I do have one in person class. Um, but it's hard on my professors, which makes it hard on the students. It's not that the effort for me isn't there. It's just I have a harder time grappling the [inaudible], it's not, it's easier to to ignore, and like zone out when I'm just staring at a computer screen for like an hour. I don't, I do not retain information as well as I used to. And the assignments sometimes are harder now because we switched online, or they're far and few between. So it's hard to get a consistent grade because you fail one thing you you're not going to do well. My anxiety is not great because of it. And it's also hard to get a therapy appointment because you know, a lot of therapists are booked up during this time. I scheduled in late September, mid-September, for a therapy appointment in my therapy appointment was not for over a month later. So it'll be October 25 when I scheduled I think September 15 or something. So that's crazy. I've been spending a lot of money to cope. So I buy Legos to keep busy and like crafts. And you know that stuff gets pricey. So, I cope by spending money and doing crafts, which is not a good coping mechanism.
19:55
Hynes, Emma
So, you talked about your own mental health, what, what ways in general do you think COVID has been affecting people mental or physical health.
20:03
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Physical, like people who like went to the gym, they couldn't for, like a while because gyms closed. I mean at least the legal gym clothes. I've heard of a lot of like illegal gyms popping up so people could, you know, exercise during COVID. Very unhealthy, that's, that does not sound safe. But I think I've heard of like a lot of suicide rates going up in adolescents because they can't, um, I heard this one with this boy, he killed himself because he like, couldn't see his friend playing a lot of video games. And then he like got mad and like, broke his monitor instead of like, you know, dealing with it, he killed himself. I don't, I don't know a lot of information on that, because I got sad and I turned it off for my own mental health. Um, but yeah, like, I definitely like a lot of people, you know, who are preteens teens, they are not able to see their friends as much and it's, for a lot of people that's their only social circle, maybe like. I, it's not great either for like people in bad like, you know, family situations, because there's, a lot of times you're just stuck with that you can't, there's no escape anymore, because you're stuck at home. Um, and for me, like being cooped up is not a huge deal. For me, it's just, you know, the added stress and pressure or how different things are, and just not really knowing how to handle it. I don't know, I don't think a lot of us know how to handle it, because this is new. We haven't had a pandemic since 1910? 1912? Um, so it's a whole 100 years ago, a whole century of just not knowing what to do. And then there's also you know, the added pressure of a very important election coming up. And, you know, every, when the pandemic started, a lot of other movements started. And it just all piled up. So, it just feels like a lot right now. I don't think that's good for anyone.
21:54
Hynes, Emma
So along with mental health, have you seen people change their opinions and the things they do every day? You talked a little bit about politics earlier, I think politically, people have changed. And you can talk about that as well, since you are a poli sci major.
22:09
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Yeah, I think it doesn't help with the division, because there's two sides right now with COVID. If you want to go like liberal or conservative, I don't think it's black or white, it can be pretty gray on which side you can, you can be conservative, but also understand that science is real, and you need to wear a mask, and it's a danger. But we've seen like a polarization of a lot of people who, who will say, oh, wearing a mask is for liberals, like, it's like liberal propaganda, it's not real, it's the flu, you'll be fine. And then those people, you know, get COVID. And then there'll be like, you know, the president saying, Oh, it's not a big deal. Or you'll be like Chris Christie, who got it and said, Hey, actually wear a mask, I was in the ICU, it's not good. And that doesn't help that it's so wishy washy with a lot of like people in power, who are meant to be like, a lot of times, embodiments of like, here's what's good, here's what you should do, here's what the country needs to do. And then when you have a leader who's saying something else than you know, the top scientists who have a grapple on the situation, it gets very polarized, because you have a lot of people just refusing to believe that this is real, and this is happening and like life is not normal right now. And it's true. Life's not normal, it sucks, but we come into realization with that is better than you know, dying of a pandemic, or of a virus, like dying of something you could have avoided. You know, I don't, I think it's because it has not helped the current polarization within the political system and the nation in general.
23:51
Hynes, Emma
How do you think municipal leaders and government officials are well, how have they responded to the outbreak? And then do you think that these responses are good enough for the situation that we're facing?
24:04
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Overall question, no, it's not good enough, considering we have the highest death rate from COVID. And it's still happening. The death rate is not really stoppening. Stoppening? Stopping. Um, it's, it's the worst in the world, essentially, it's not great. And you think, oh, we're the United States. We have, you know, all these technological advances like we're pretty, we're pretty well off. But you know, people are dying every day of something that, you know, places like New Zealand has figured out and they're not seen as well off as the United States is, but they figured it out because their government officials agreed with the scientists. They said, here's what we're going to do. It's a it's a public health issue. It's a human issue. It's not a bipartisan issue. It's not a political issue. We got to fix it. But in our country, it's become a political issue. It's become a bipartisan issue. And it's also, instead of being a nationwide, you know, effort, it's been statewide. So it's been up to the states to figure out what they're going to do. And a lot of states don't agree. So, in some states, you know, it's pretty well under control, because you know, they have someone who's like, in charge, who's like, okay, we're going to tackle this. But you have other states, like, I don't know, Florida, where masks are like, whatever, and then you get the higher rates there. So it's, it should have been something that the nation tackled early and, you know, as a whole, rather than just leaving it up to the States, because it's, it's not just the state issue. It's a human issue. And we're all humans, and we live in this country, and we don't want to die.
Hynes, Emma
25:48
What do you think about Ohio's response specifically, like how we're doing as a state.
25:53
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Um, so I'm not, I'm not technically an Ohio resident, oopsies. But I know there's a mask mandate. Again, I don't want to go-
26:02
Hynes, Emma
Well, you're from Indiana, right.
26:04
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I'm, Indiana and Ohio, it's kind of similar, my county that I live in it like I'm a resident of in Indiana, it's a bit more progressive than others, like, like the rest of the state of Indiana went to Trump in 2016, my county went to Hillary, were pretty blue versus the red. It's like a tiny little lake of blue surrounded by a sea of red. So I'm in my county, there was a mask mandate. For like a bit, and I think there still is, again, I have not been home in a hot second, and I just don't really leave just, just to avoid having to wear a mask and be scared and worried, I just stay where I'm at until I have to go get groceries. And even then sometimes I'll just order in. You know, just leave it there on the ground, I'll pick it up. But I think, again, it's not I have not seen it enforced when I have left, you know, on campus, the popular bar Woody's, I've seen it packed, no masks, and there is a mandate. I feel like more is being done if you like party in your dorm room than if you party in a public establishment. I've seen the cops around campus, just maybe who are supposed to enforce it, they're not even wearing their masks. And if they are, they're not wearing them correctly. So while the mandates may exist, like, I don't think the enforcement is there. And I think the enforcement needs to be there. We've seen it. Like, I think I was the Italian, Italian parliament, if you don't wear a mask, they drag you out. And while that's not, you know, the peaceful way to go, it works. People will wear a mask, if they're forced to. And I'm not saying oh, we're going to have to force them to I'm, it's not even strongly encouraged in many places. So I think the enforcement needs to be there. You know, in some states, they're putting ankle monitors on you to make sure you stay where you are, if you have COVID. Um, so I think that would be a smart idea to be able to track those who are being, you know, risky with their behavior when they shouldn't be. But the enforcement is not there for sure. I don't see it being enforced at all.
28:19
Hynes, Emma
What about the UC's response? What kind of things that they've been doing to make sure that, you know, students stay safe during the pandemic?
28:27
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
I think a lot of it has to do with like, a lot, it's a lot more with UC students in housing. So, they, I know they do just random COVID tests. What's different, so my [redacted] goes to IU, and he was in a frat, his frat locked down, he actually got COVID, which is not surprising because he was in a frat, and you know, Greek life is notorious for being slightly rowdy. So, they did actually end up testing a lot of Greek life at IU and also, you know, like at a higher rate and like locking down their houses. So my [redacted] was locked down in his bread house for two weeks, actually longer than that. So, his frat house locked down and then he got COVID and then he had to extend it to an additional two weeks and then he's allowed to go because he has antibodies and they're like, okay, you're good. I don't think that's particularly smart, but I'm not IU. And also I knew you were required to get tested before you went to school. You had to get a test before you went to school. At least my [redacted] had to get a test before he went to school. Here I just showed up. I had not been tested yet. I've never been tested. I don't think I've had COVID, I show no symptoms. And not, really the one time I put myself in like a tiny risky situation was Disney World. I felt safer there and then I do here. But IU tested a lot of people, Cincy right now I received an email that you can go get tested if you want to, at certain dates, like through October or something to November something you can go get tested. You have to go out of your way to do it. And then right now they're doing random selection tested, testing for those who work on campus, have to come to campus for class, or are in UC housing. I haven't been selected, but I might be because I do still have a class on campus. But even then, most of my classes have moved online. And the classes I do have on campus there is, I think, way more than six feet between me and anybody else. But again, it's also again, like, people will respond differently to certain restrictions. So sometimes I'm way less than six feet away from someone because they don't know personal space, and they'll get up all up in my area, cuz they just don't seem to care. Um, so yeah, it's, it's again, up to this not much enforcement that I've seen. So when you're on campus, you have to wear a mask. I've seen many people just not, but they're further than six feet away from me, and anyone else. So that's good. Um, but yeah, I don't think the enforcement's there either.
31:02
Hynes, Emma
You mentioned that your [redacted] got COVID. What was that like?
31:07
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Well, my [redacted] very nonchalant about everything. So he had symptoms for like two days. He was like, had the shivers, lost his sense of smell and taste for like a day or two now after that he was fine, actually, all, so he shares a room with three other people. All of them got it. My [redacted] got it last. So the first two who got it just went home, which I also think is slightly stupid. And then his other roommate went to a hotel to quarantine. Um, and so his whole frat was on lockdown before he got it for a couple weeks. Because if there's enough cases in a house, they'll shut it down, lock it down, so they're not allowed to leave and no one's allowed to come. So for food, my [redacted] would have delivery dropped off on the curb, and then he'd go get it. But he, he feels like he's Superman now, because he doesn't have it. But he has antibodies. He's like, I'm immune now. And like, that's not how it works, dude. He's like, Yeah, but the chance, I have, like, he's like, Yeah, but I can also get struck by lightning. I'm like, this is not the same situation, you can get it again. So I think my [redacted] like the outlier in my [redacted], not really taking it seriously. He traveled to like several states. You went to Michigan a couple times over the summer. And I barely even I drove to the grocery store. But my dad went inside, or I drove to the post office, when my dad went inside, with the closest I got to being risky was going to Disney World. And I felt safe. And I wore masks the entire day, the entire time. I only took it off when I ate, and we only ate like one snack. And then maybe a tiny breakfast and then like sit down dinner but like very sanitized, very clean waiters, who had face shields, I, we felt fine. I felt we felt like a safe enough distance away from the waiters and stuff. But my brother, he thinks he's, you know, immune now. And I think that's what a lot of people think, after they get it. Where they're like, Hey, I'm great now, but we've seen you can get it again. But he doesn't care. And he didn't care to begin with. He's been of the same sentiment, like, it's just a really bad flu. And I'm like, dude, you're 20. Of course, it's just a bad food for you. But our parents are in the age risk group because they're above 50. Granted, not by much, they're like young 50-year olds, but they're still 50. Also, our [redacted] has some asthma issues, allergy issues. They shouldn't, like his health's not great. Like it's not bad, but it's not, you know, he's not the fittest person out there. He just doesn't really care.
33:57
Hynes, Emma
Yeah. Finally, I wanted to ask just a couple questions about what you think the future is going to look like. And what do you think life is going to be like in a year.
34:07
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Hopefully, we'll have a vaccine. And so you know, more places will open up. I'm surprised Disney World opened up when it did, like, I'm surprised that trip was not canceled. We booked that thing in February, before this all went down. And then when they opened up again, we're like, oh, we can still go. Well, we're stir crazy, let's go! Um, I think the new normal is just going to be like a bit more attention to detail with sanitation. We've seen like subways actually being cleaned in the United States. So I think they should keep that because they were really gross to begin with. And now they're slightly less gross. That's good. And also, as we seen, like Asian countries, people wear masks whenever they feel slightly sick. Even before the pandemic in the States. That didn't happen. You just go out and you know, infect everyone. As you can see, now, there's like there's an inherent refusal and a lot of and, some people, a lot of people just not wearing it. Because it's their right, or whatever. But in, in Asia, it was not hard for them to wear a mask to have to go out because it was already inherently a part of their culture and their way of life to like, hey, if you feel slightly ill wear a mask and they like made, you know, fashion out of it. And we've seen that with like a bunch of different face masks, like I have like six Disney face masks. I don't think I have a normal looking face mask. I made them all colorful and fun, because why not? If I'm gonna wear it, it's gonna, it's gonna look cute. I hope that stays. You know, it feels like human decency to like, hey, if you have like a small cough, don't really know what it is yet, haven't been able to go to the doctor quite yet, don't know if it's serious or not yet, wear a mask if you feel slightly sick. I hope that stays because it just feels more polite. And also, I've been wanting to do it for a while, but, and I did it freshman year when I had a pretty bad cough, I wore masks around campus and I was looked at like a wacko because it's just it's not the usual here, but it was so normal in Asia. So I want, I want that to stay. Because it feels it feels right, and just, you know, polite to do so. Yeah, overall sanitation, I want that to stay. Um, I don't think the general consen- consensus and like educational levels of you know, viruses is gonna stick with some people. But I hope it sticks with most.
36:35
Hynes, Emma
So, knowing what you know now about the virus and how different responses work or don't work, what are what are things that you think that individuals and communities or even governments need to keep in mind for the future.
36:48
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
Pandemics are going to happen, we can do the best we can do to avoid them granted, I don't think they happen that often, as we have seen, we have not had one to this scale in a century. Um, but you know, maybe enforce more like get out the consensus that like hey vaccinations are important, taking care of yourself is important, and you know, be kind to one another. Because we've seen, not a lot of us are kind to one another right now, I've seen it, I've experienced it. But yet pandemics are going to happen. And we need to be more prepared. We were not prepared at all, and our current administration did not help with out preparedness, as we have seen. So I think after this, we really got to be prepared and be ready for another one. I don't think our nation was prepared.
37:43
Hynes, Emma
What do you mean by preparation, in this case, like?
37:46
Morita-Mulaney, Sachiko
So we ran out, As a country of, you know, oxygen machines? I don't? I don't remember exactly what they're-
37:54
Hynes, Emma
Ventilators?
37:56
Morita Mulaney, Sachiko
Ventilators, yeah, we ran out of those. We did not have enough tests. And that's why a lot of people at the beginning did not get tested or just weren't able to, because they couldn't, there were not enough tests. And so it became like, if you were rich enough to get one you could. So it became like class war was kind of involved with that so that sucks. And we've also seen also more African American deaths, like Black deaths, because you know, their health is not taken as seriously as you know, other races and therefore they have a lot more underlying conditions that they may not know about, and therefore they pass away due to complications to COVID. So I think it's brought to light that we need to pay attention more to people of color in the health, like health world, even though I think a lot of, not a lot of us, but I knew and I know about other people I know knew that like, their symptoms and other illnesses are sometimes ignored. And they shouldn't be. We need to understand, like if we need test we need to get more, the administration did not want to get more. And it took them a while to get more. Now we have enough. We're good. We have enough. But I don't know, just production of more tests, increased sanitation to begin with, because like I said, a lot of the United States was grimy before when it really didn't need to be and it did not have to be and you know, just putting more effort into our healthcare system than we have in the past. Because, you know, without the health care system, we will literally die. It shouldn't take a pandemic to realize that health care for all is necessary. So yeah.
39:48
Hynes, Emma
Hey, thank you so much Sachi. I'm going to stop recording now.
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