Items
topic_interest is exactly
#covidminicollection
-
2020-10-15
Vampire Weekend’s “Campus” TikTok trend
For many in gen Z, TikTok has become a form of escape during the quarantine. The range of content on the app means there is something for everyone and really allows anyone to find a niche. Towards the beginning of the semester, one of the big trends on the app was to show clips of your college/university set to the song “Campus” by vampire weekend. For many, this was a reaction to the fact we are missing out on a significant part of our young adulthood, actually being at college and on campus. Many people also did the trend in a different way, showing clips of their house or apartment, which has become their campus. I decided to take my own spin on it, and take clips whenever I found myself doing schoolwork in cool spots. The college experience looks very different for everyone right now, but I think it is fair to say that my generation has struggled with the fact that we are losing out on time that we will not get back. Adults who are in the middle of their careers might not be having a great time, but by and large, they are not missing out on much other than their normal routine, but that feels much more significant to college students, who only have four years at their school and so have lost off on basically a quarter of their undergrad experience -
2020-12-01
COVID in the Navajo Nation
When I was originally planning my trip, I hoped to visit Antelope Canyon, as well as a few other parks on the Navajo Reservation, but the Navajo Nation has been one of the hardest-hit regions in the country, so by the time I was in the area, the parks were closed, and even if they had been open, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable visiting and spreading it more, even if I would have been outside and away from people. Because of that experience I wanted to take this space to try to amplify their experience. This Instagram account records the experience of an organization providing relief to members of the tribe. There are only 45 search results for Navajo in the archive, which I would constitute as an archival silence considering that many cities with comparable populations have hundreds of entries. I know that taking a screenshot of a website can only tell you so much, but it is the best way I could come up with of elevating the voices of the Navajo Nation, which is an important practice to engage within the context of archival work. -
2020-10-07
Angry journal entry
Transcript: It’s been a wild like week and a half. The Grand Tetons are so fucking beautiful. I want to look at seasonal work there in the summer. Yellowstone is pretty dope as well, but I am fully obsessed with the Tetons. I spent like an entire week in that area, then I went to salt lake city and spent the night with aunt Debbie (first shower in like two weeks) and now I’m at little grand canyon, which is a dope random spot, Last Tuesday was the first presidential debate, which was a shit show. Trump couldn’t stop talking for more than like twenty seconds. Today was the vice presidential debate, which was also a mess, but not as bad. The star of the show was a fly on Pence’s head. But, the real news is that Trump has COVID. He was diagnosed last Tuesday and then ended up being brought to the hospital, He only stayed in the hospital before he went back to the White House, which he entered without a mask. I’m really kicking myself that I didn’t write this week. But it's been weird for sure. There was a lot of speculation at first that he was faking it, but after seeing a video of him, he definitely has me. What scares me is how this will change his attitude. He keeps telling people “not to be afraid” of it. This man had an entire team of doctors using experimental treatments and he has the audacity to tell people not to be scared. It’s disgusting. My first journal entry that mentioned COVID was from March 1st, 2020. I was complaining about the fact that my spring break school trip to Madrid might get canceled (spoiler alert, it did.) there were another one or two entries pretty much just ranting, and then on April 5th I wrote my first entry consciously thinking about the long term impacts of Corona. Well, I say long term, but at that point, I still thought COVID was going to go away by summer. I’ve never been the type of person who’s good at routine, so I don’t write every night, but since then I’ve been journaling at least once every few weeks. In this way I’ve been curating my own personal archive since pretty much the beginning of the pandemic, engaging with ethical archiving practices by thinking (sometimes intentionally sometimes not) about what I deem important enough to include in my ‘archive’, which in this case is my journal. This specific entry also illustrates the significance of the election and also the impact that covid has had on everyone up to the president. -
2020-10-11
Visitor guide at Canyonland National Park
This object is an informational poster that provides information to visitors at canyonland, allowing them to choose hikes and plan their visit without having to interact with rangers. This information could be useful to future historians studying how outdoor recreation and the parks service were affected by Covid. Because so much was shut down, and because experts recommend being outdoors if you’re going to spend time with friends, outdoor recreation has been one of the sectors that have been positively affected by covid. Because of this, the way the national parks responded to covid is a significant part of 2020, even if it might not seem like it at first glance. -
2020-10-13
Voting by Mail in Moab Utah
When I was planning my trip, one consideration I had to make was how I was going to vote. I requested my absentee ballot very early and decided I would have my mom mail it to me to pick up through general delivery wherever I ended up being at the time. Where I ended up being was Moab Utah, exploring Arches and Canyonland National Parks. This picture shows me dropping my ballot in the dropbox in Moab to send it back to Connecticut. I think this object is indicative of 2020, specifically the presidential election. Though elections are always important, this one was especially so and will have a significant impact on the future of this country. This object demonstrates the importance of voting by mail in this election, but also in general, as I would have needed to vote by mail if I were on this trip in a normal election cycle as well. I would say that my personal experience is also emblematic of my generation’s determination to exercise their right to vote. -
2020-11-06
Joe Biden becomes president-elect
These photos represent my experience of the day that Biden was declared president-elect. I happened to be near a family member during the election, so I stayed with them, so it was easy to have access to watching the news, but after four days of being glued to the results, I needed to get back on the road for my own sanity. On the morning of the 6th, I felt confident enough in the numbers in Georgia and Pennsylvania that they were going to continue to be in Biden’s favor to leave service behind and go into Yosemite national park. I wanted to be able to listen to the news while I was in the park, so I screenshot the local radio stations while I still had service, but they all ended up being either conservative stations that weren’t reporting on the results, or Spanish speaking stations. The next day I woke up to the news that the associated press had called the election for Biden, and celebrated in Giant Sequoia National Park, while I was there, I wrote Biden in the snow as a way to celebrate and feel in community with other people also on the trails. This was an important day for American history, and while my experience was not something particularly significant, It could be an interesting story to a future historian researching how people responded to the election. -
2020-10-27
Social Distancing reminders in Joshua Tree National Park
This sign caught my eye because of the last item on the list “Still don’t use slower friends as bear bait” made me laugh. This could be of interest to future historians because it demonstrates how different places try to use humor to spread some positivity, while also reminding people how to hike while staying COVID safe. I was reminded of “the strange lives of objects in the coronavirus era” article, and the way simple objects can tell stories. The information outlined on this poster is not new, it outlines the same practices the CDC has advocated for nine months, but the way it is presented gives insight into how national parks are handling the pandemic. -
2020-11-12
A snarky mask reminder
Slab City California is a very unique place. I would describe it loosely as being part squatter and snowbird encampment, part artists’ colony, part homesteading community. The one description that is agreed upon, at least by its residents, is that it is the “last free place on earth”. Given this fact, I was a bit nervous to visit, but I was also really excited to check it out and figured that if nobody was wearing masks or social distancing and I wasn’t comfortable, I could just leave. I was very pleasantly surprised therefore when I arrived and found that residents were all taking the pandemic seriously. I stayed away from people as much as possible, as I did everywhere I went and was able to safely enjoy the art. I snapped this picture in East Jesus, an outdoor art museum/sculpture garden, and felt it was a good representation of the general attitude in the area. I think this item illustrates an interesting part of people’s response to covid which is that while there are many people who refuse to take the pandemic seriously, there are also a lot of people who are doing the right thing because they genuinely care about others. Slab City is an unincorporated community with no government and nobody to enforce state mandates. People might get fined if they threw a big party and word got out to someone who could do something about it, but it’s unlikely that there would be consequences. And yet, people were being responsible, Which to me says something significant about the fact that I would say that most people who are wearing masks and social distancing it are doing it not because they are required to, but because it is the right thing to do. -
2020-10-03
“What are the risk factors for people with ADHD during the coronavirus pandemic?”
I am submitting this article because it speaks in a broader sense the sort of experiences people with ADHD have/will continue to have during the pandemic. It writes of the intersections of ADHD and the coronavirus, such as how remote learning and working can lead to decreased motivation and increased social isolation can be expected to increase other symptoms of ADHD along with feelings of depression and anxiety at levels that neurotypical people may not experience. Rather than collecting multiple small objects that speak to a single aspect of neurodiversity and the pandemic, and potentially overwhelming the archive with repetitive, kitschy documents that may in the future confuse the research process, I wanted to include a single document that spoke broadly of what life is like with ADHD during the pandemic. -
2020-11-19
Hyperfixations through the past 9 months
I am submitting this object because a very common symptom of neurodiversity is hyperfixation, and with the increased amount of time spent in the house, many people, including my dad are more free to spend hours upon hours doing the tasks stimulating tasks. An aspect of hyperfixation is the way it can “turn on” and “off” at seemingly random times, so for my dad, over the past 9 months, he began writing a novel, which he has 80 thousand words in, but is as yet unfinished, he then moved on to creating card and board games, complete with art and promotional material. Throughout quarantine, he has fixated and his health, and took up running. His most recent fixation is music, writing lyrics and music on a modular synthesizer. This object could be helpful in providing an example of how people with ADHD kept themselves stimulated through quarantine, as well as how their minds often flit from one project to the next, depending on how interesting or rewarding it seems at the time. It was also important to me to contribute this item because much of the time ADHD is only focused on children, so adding this object to the collection works to give representation to the many adults with ADHD who are working as well as trying to adjust to life during the pandemic. Sean Bateman (Provided screenshots and pictures) and Megan Bateman (made collage) -
2020-12-02
Trying to stay Organized and Self Motivated
I am submitting this object as an example of how some people with ADHD struggle with self-motivation and how they create workarounds for this. This is a photo from the wall next to my desk. Taped up are daily to-do lists for the next couple of days, a monthly calendar so I don’t get so caught up in the details of something I lose sight of larger projects and due dates, as well as random reminders. This method has been useful for me because it is not only repetitive, which helps me to remember goals and dates, which is important since memory issues are common with ADHD, but it also provides a form of motivation for me. Scratching tasks off of a to-do list, even if it is something simple like “eat lunch” helps me to stay engaged with my required tasks throughout the day. This object speaks to the ways that many college students and young adults are trying to learn how to live on their own, while also going without much of the support from professors, friends, and family they could have had due to the restrictions put in place to stop the spread of the virus. -
2020-12-09
Missing Assignments List
“School is very difficult for me online, as I don't have access to the resources I would if I were attending school physically. I cannot get the extra help I need, and without someone supervising me I'm forgetful and less likely to get my assignments in.” -Mary Harrigan I am submitting this object, along with Mary’s reasoning behind sending me this screenshot because it shows the ways that the education system is overwhelmed in trying to transition to remote forms of learning, which is, in turn, leaving behind many neurodiverse students. While the environment at home may be a bit more comfortable for Mary due to better control of external stimuli, they still don’t have access to the accommodations they need as an autistic student in high school. This object also shows the overwhelming nature of online schooling, and how the technologies we use to help in remote learning oftentimes cause more stress to the student because the reminder of how much work they have is constant: it is on their phones which they carry with them everywhere. Additionally, Mary is Autistic and Nonbinary, Both of these identities are not typically represented within historical records. and I think it's important that their experiences be preserved within this archive. -
2020-12-09
Monster Pyramid: Caffeine and ADHD
I am submitting this image of a friend’s empty energy drink collection because it is indicative of how some people with ADHD use caffeine to deal with their symptoms when medication is inaccessible. Grim is not currently in a position to get the sort of support they need for their ADHD because of the pandemic, so they have taken a gap year from school and are working in the meantime. This is a small part of the collection of empty cans they have from the daily energy drink they have to help them function at home and work. Not many people know how hard it is to get support for ADHD as an adult, especially as someone who was assigned female at birth, so this object serves to show the ways that some neurodiverse people cope, especially now that Covid has made it that much harder and daunting to get non-emergency related doctor’s appointments. This object shows the ways medical care has changed due to the virus, fear keeping people from going in and hospitals and clinics being overwhelmed with people and unable to provide as much care as they once could. It also shows how the pandemic interrupted or changed the plans of many students to continue their education. -
2020-11-13
Teen Vogue: “Students With Cognitive Differences Say COVID-19 Derailed Their Routines”
I am submitting this article because my collection while trying to center neurodiversity, seems to be leaning pretty heavily towards ADHD. This article follows the experiences of 5 different autistic students with school and the pandemic. This article also speaks to the work universities have put in to better accommodate their neurodiverse students through programs that center them and their need for different approaches to education. In submitting this article, I hope that it provides greater clarity that neurodiverse people are not a monolith of the same symptoms and experiences, but rather lead different lives that have all been individually affected by the pandemic. It is important that the collection has many different perspectives within it so that future researchers don’t confuse a single experience with a universal one. -
2020-12-16
Suffolk Masks
Everyone has a mask these days and they are all so unique or plain. Suffolk created their own mask along with a few other styles that students could buy. It is easier to recognize suffolk students when wearing these masks. It is cool to see Suffolk step up and be a part of the pandemic and create new things for their students. Us athletes got a separate mask, seen in the second photo, it is called a gaitor. A lot of the athletes would wear them walking or at practice/in the gym. It separates the athletes from the regular students. Suffolk wanted to be a part of this history so they created these masks. These objects are important to Suffolk’s history through the pandemic and how they chose to help their students out. This is also significant in the year 2020 because everyone was designing their own masks and it was cool to see how all of the colleges and universities came together to create their own masks and contribute to today’s history. -
2020-12-16
Some College Athletes are Marginalized?
This search really opened my eyes to all of the colleges that are not division I and how they are marginalized. I read an article from the ncaa explaining all of the covid guidelines and regulations regarding all of the different schools. Division I schools are still allowed to play but it was postponed due to Covid rather than lower division schools' seasons getting cancelled and their championships. All of the hard work that athletes train for and they don’t get to show how they’ve grown but division I athletes get to go further with their passion for sports. This is important to me because my team is directly related to this topic of not being able to play and having everything still up in the air while division I schools are allowed to participate. This is important to archivists showing the discrepancies regarding different level school along with the sports that are allowed to play. -
2020-12-16
Team Things During Pandemic
Our coaches asked the team to take a video of ourselves doing something with a softball. TikTok is a huge app in our generation and it is filled with popular videos and people. It is a very significant part of this generation's history and we wanted to be a part of that by creating this video and posting to our social media pages, along with TikTok. Within the video, one of my teammates is cleaning the softball with disinfectant spray which is what life has come to during the pandemic and that is what softball teams were doing during the summer. This video shows our team coming together during the pandemic and still somehow being a team during this crazy time. This is an object that an archivist can collect that relates directly to our generation along with an authentic view of Suffolk softball. As an archivist, they look for authenticity and unique objects that have meaning which is what this object represents. -
2020-12-16
Finding out our Season was Cancelled
All of these photos were taken after our last game of the trip along with the last of our season. We found out our season was cancelled the day before and our coaches planned all of this in a day. Also two of our coaches who stayed in Boston flew all the way down to Florida to watch our last day of games and experience it all with us. It was crazy and overwhelming. The game before the last one got cut short because the other team’s coach got a call from their school saying they need to come back immediately because of Covid. This is when we knew it was real and it was over for real. It was a lot of sadness and the seniors did not want to go out like that. Every single senior athlete went through this same thing at every college and high school, all around the country. These photos give the viewer a personal aspect of Suffolk softball and how we dealt with it along with some words that our coach wrote in one of the Instagam posts. It allows historians to look back at how the pandemic affected athletes and maybe compare Suffolk softball to other schools and look at the timeline of before, finding out, and during the pandemic. These images are important to this archive because it is directly related with what is going on today and if people wanted to learn about this then there should be some sort of information on it because there are very little personal stories about athletics. -
2020-12-11
Mother’s Journal Entries During Covid
Corona was definitely hard for many families with health problems. I feel as though it was also difficult for families with people on the frontlines of the virus. My mother is a nurse at a local hospital. Because of her job, none of my family members and/or friends wanted to be around me. She works in the ICU so she is dealing with Covid positive patients constantly. Her journal entries include how she felt while working her job as well as how it affected her family-wise. -
2020-12-16
Suffolk Softball Before the Pandemic
These photos represent what softball at Suffolk was all about before the COVID pandemic started. As a team, we did everything together and that was normal and we did not have to wear masks and socially distance. We did Christmas events together and team Thanksgiving and it allowed us to really bond as a team and have that comradery every team looks for. We also went on the annual spring trip to Florida to play softball and our coach planned fun events throughout the two weeks we were there. But it all ended so fast because Covid hit and that made our trip end differently than ever imagined. These photos are good for future historians to look at to be able to compare to suffolk softball before the pandemic versus after. Photos make it more realistic and really give people a look as to what we did as a team. This is important to this archive because people can relate to it along with using this information to research further. -
2020-08-13
Fires With Family
With social distancing measures out in place when having gatherings, it is difficult to spend time with family and friends. During the pandemic, my distant family members and I decided to light a fire in the firepit located in my backyard with 6 feet in between us. We talked about what each of us have been doing during quarantine and ate delicious food made by others. This fire pit was used multiple times during the pandemic but for the same reasons. The only downfall of using this firepit for visits is that it can only be used in the warmer weather. I feel as though this photo is a necessity for a covid-19 collection. It shows what families go through to be near each other in this part of the country/world. -
2020-06-17
Final Time Seeing Family
During the beginning of the pandemic which was considered to be the worst of it, my grandfather had passed away after years of battling dementia. Only a select few could attend the wake and funeral. My aunts and uncles as well as the grandchildren attended. It was very difficult keeping the 6 foot distance between one another during such a sad moment in time. This photograph is my family and I after the funeral. You'll notice that none of us were wearing masks at this point. This photo captured the very last time I ever saw my family all together in person. This photo shows how bad the virus got over the last couple months in the South Shore of Massachusetts. -
2020-11-27
Virtual Gaming With Family
The pandemic has been hard for all close families. Mine was not able to see each other much at all due to quarantine and most of my family members having major health problems. Due to the fact that my family was not able to spend time together in person, my cousins and I decided to play games over Zoom together. My laptop was very helpful with doing this and was a necessity to keep in touch with family members. -
2020-12-13
Outdoor Dining
When restaurants were allowed to open again, Loretta created outdoor dining for guests. When it got colder, heaters were put up, and blankets and seat warmers were offered. People have really liked the outdoor seating, not only because it is safer to eat outside, but because they also like to watch people, as I have learned from guests. I think that outdoor seating will increase in the future, and people will come to enjoy it more than indoor dining. Outdoor dining was already popular before the pandemic, but perhaps one day when people look at the past, they will notice how much outdoor dining continued even after the pandemic. -
2020-12-09
Through the Eyes of a Waitress
This is a little bit about how I feel while working in a restaurant during Covid. It has been an interesting experience, and I have learned a lot of lessons both from working with the public in general, but also working with the public specifically during a pandemic. I haven’t been able to see my friends that much since the pandemic began, so working in the restaurant has helped because it gets me out of the house and working towards a goal of getting an apartment with my friends, from the money I'm saving up. This journal entry demonstrates something significant to my generation because while we might not be able to see friends, people can focus on themselves and work hard whether it be at school, work or both. Some people have seen their friends, and met up at Loretta for lunch outside, and this has been a way to catch up in a safer way. My journal entry focuses on what I have seen while working, the way people have acted when they come out to eat or pickup their takeout. This is important to me because it is my own words and observations from the past couple of months. -
2020-12-01
Family Board Game Night
While in quarantine during this pandemic, my family and I were forced to spend much time together. We often wondered what we could do to make the time pass while most of us were out of work because of Covid-19. My family members and I, as well as my neighbors who we were quarantining with, decided that it would be a fun idea to start playing board games. These games consisted of Monopoly, What Do You Meme, and Cards Against Humanity. Playing these games brought my family closer together while fighting through a tough time in life. -
2020-12-06
“I Ordered Takeout and I’m Outside Now!”
One of the ways that Loretta has been able to thrive is through takeout. People will call in or place orders online, and can either come in to grab their food, or pull up at curbside pickup. Takeout has been a way that people are able to support a local business during this time, and to get out of their house in a safe way. I think that future historians will find this interesting in order to learn how restaurants used takeout as a way to stay open during the pandemic, and as a way to comfort people in the community, to let them know that we are still here. Recently, we have been offering delivery if people live close enough to the restaurant. -
2020-12-06
Sanitize Everything
I started working at Loretta, a restaurant located in Newburyport MA, in the middle of July. One of the most important things they told me to do (besides wear a mask,) was to sanitize everything. We have to wipe down the tables, chairs, pens, drink menus, receipt books and everything else you can think of. This is important to do because while we try to limit what people touch, they still touch everything, because that is what humans do. This will be important for future historians because it will show how much work is done behind the scenes that we have to do as workers in a restaurant. It will show how much cleaning increased in the year of 2020. -
2020-12-06
Scan Me!
Instead of using reusable menus, to limit what people are touching, Loretta created scannable and paper menus for guests to use. Guests can scan the code on the paper provided, and a link pops up to bring people to the restaurants menu. This is an important part of the pandemic, because people are encouraged not to touch everything they see, so by limiting what people are touching, Loretta has limited the spread of potential germs. When future historians look back on restaurants during the pandemic, they will see how a lot of establishments created scannable menus for their guests. Some people have a difficult time with the snanable menus, which is why the paper menu is offered. People are typically eager to learn how to use the scan menus though, sometimes out of frustration for it not working, but also because of the growing popularity of scanning items with phones. -
2020-12-06
Indoor Dining at Loretta
This is what it looks like for indoor dining at the restaurant Loretta in Newburyport, MA. There are less tables in the dining room and they are all spaced out at least 6 feet with tablecloths on them. Indoor dining has been a controversial activity during the pandemic, with people going out but experts warning against it. Loretta has made sure to keep safe distances with the tables and guests are also required to wear facemasks if they stand up. In the future, historians can look back and see how we maintained a safe dining experience throughout this pandemic. -
2020-06-02
Wethersfieldblm instagram page
This item was important because this instagram was used to organize the Black Lives Matter march that took place on June 5th in Wethersfield. The account also created the “Grievances From the Members of Our Community” list. I think this item is important because this entire instagram, these documents, and most importantly, the protest/march were created by people I used to know back in high school and even before then. This shows that our/my generation is far more involved in activism than most other generations have, as you see and hear a lot more younger people have been taking part in these protests, and being more vocal on social media. This instagram is also a good public digital history project as it allowed members of the community to share their own stories and experiences. -
2020-12-02
“Back the Blue” sign
I decided to include this into the collection because I believe that it would be unethical to exclude the “opposing side”. The “Back the Blue” movement is a sort of counter-movement created against the calls to “defund the police”. ‘Back the Blue’ is also often referred to as ‘Blue Lives Matter’ or ‘Thin Blue Line’. I felt that this was necessary to include opposing viewpoints, as not to completely dismiss them from existing, which would be unethical, and future historians who look back onto 2020 will also find out about this counter movement and the reason why it was formed, which allows them to fully grasp the environment of our times. -
2020-06-02
“Justice for George Floyd” sign in front of Historical Building
This is a sign that was put at the door of a historical building in Old Wethersfield, shortly following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The killing of George Flyod, more specifically, the recording, are what caused the widespread Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. To me, this image is important for the archive because it shows the significance of this event in 2020, because it shook the world, not even just the US, and that support for the movement and support for justice is being called for from ~1.3k miles away. The video was spread over social media, which allowed for it to reach that level of audience that it was exposed to. -
2020-07-03
Tweet from Amy Morrin Bello - State Representative in the 28th District.
This tweet is referring to an incident that occurred when the Wethersfield Historical Society put out a Facebook message about how a Black Lives Matter poster was taken down from their building by a town employee, and how they are an apolitical institution. They mentioned they kept the poster for their own archives, however the backlash came at their wording about being ‘political’ and how Black Lives Matter isn’t a political movement, it is a human rights issue. This item is really interesting, as the historical society is preserving the poster to fill archival silences, and keep a record of current events, however, they are faced with backlash from people who believe that they are not being ethical due to them trying to hide the exposing of human rights violations, which is one of the roles in being an ethical archivist. -
2020-07-16
Grievances From the Members of Our Community
This item/document is an example of how my generation is attempting to make change in society. This document is a collection of grievances and injustices that people faced throughout their years in the Wethersfield school district. This document was submitted to the superintendent of schools and Wethersfield High School administration. I think this item exemplifies multiple criteria because it gives a voice to marginalized groups and their mistreatment in the school system, it was a project undertaken by young student activists, and it could lead to possible changes in the future. -
2020-08-08
“Black Lives Matter” sign
This sign is important because it is the main focus of my entire project and archive. Signs have become a major part of this pandemic, whether they are signs promoting a social message (such as this one), one supporting healthcare workers, or signs that are just motivational, signs have become the way of spreading hope and awareness during the pandemic. This item falls under the criteria of showing future historians a significant moment in the year 2020, as the entirety of the summer consisted of Black Lives Matter protests. The Black Lives Matter movement also was a way for the voices of black people to be amplified and speak up against police brutality and injustice. -
2020-05-12
Elderly Man Must Keep Shop Open To Help Support Family in Alife, Italy
I decided to share this image because it shows my grandmother’s (nonna’s) brother working in the family-owned shop that is located in Alife, Italy. This shop has been owned by my family since the early 1900s. My grandmother’s brother has worked in the shop since he was a little kid. My grandmother’s brother was forced to let his employees go because he simply could not afford to keep them as employees throughout the pandemic. To keep the shop open, he must work at the shop every day. The pandemic has been extremely difficult for him financially as this is his only means of income. I decided to upload this image because I think it will be valuable for future historians as it shows what life is like for elderly people in Italy during the pandemic. Many are unable to retire because they cannot afford to stop working. This item is an attempt to fill an archival silence and amplify the voices of a marginalized group because my grandmother’s brother is 75 years old and has decided to continue working during the pandemic because it is not financially possible to retire. He attempted to apply for the relief package but was not qualified for it and was denied. The pandemic has been extremely difficult for the elderly especially those that have underlying health conditions because they have to make the difficult decision to return to work which can be dangerous because they can be exposed to COVID. My grandmother’s brother is also a veteran and he is not technologically savvy therefore, it has been challenging for him to amplify his voice. This form of archival silence is an unintentional unacknowledged speech act. -
2020-07-27
Economic Relief Package For Homeowners in Alife, Italy
I decided to include this screenshot of the economic relief package that homeowners that have a mortgage have the opportunity of receiving. I think it is interesting to discover what relief packages are offered in Alife, Italy compared to the United States of America. This is important to me because my family lives in Alife, Italy, and are homeowners that have mortgages and they have been financially affected by COVID-19. This item is of interest to future historians because it will help future historians understand what economic relief packages were offered to the citizens in the region of Campania Italy. Future historians will have a better understanding of how the economic relief packages in the United States of America compared to the economic relief packages in regions in other countries such as in Campania Italy which is the region that Alife is located. As the article entitled, “What archivists keep or not” documents are a great way to “help us remember, to share, to compare, to analyse and to synthesize information” (Thompson, 3). -
2020-11-14
Online Learning Notice in Alife, Italy
Translation to the above newsletter - Activities in the presence of the childcare services and the first grades of primary school will resume from 24 November, after screening on a voluntary basis on teaching and non-teaching staff and on pupils. For different school levels and orders, the Regional Crisis Unit unanimously felt it was necessary to confirm distance learning. This newsletter explains the precautions that a small town in Italy is taking in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. I think it is important to learn about what other countries are doing in order to keep the community safe. This is important to me because my family is from a small town in Italy called Alife. My family in Alife has younger children that have been directly affected by this new decision to move the school from in-person to online learning. This object demonstrates something significant about my generation under COVID because many children are being taught online rather than in person in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. As the article entitled “What do archivists keep or not” describes “documents of all types help us to remember, to share, to compare, to analyse and to synthesize information” *Thompson, 3). Documents are pivotal because they can create a snapshot of what life was like during a monumental event in history. Many of these children have never experienced online learning and therefore, it can be challenging for children to remain engaged and motivated to learn. -
2020-05-12
Occupancy Limits in Family-Owned Store in Small Town in Alife, Italy
“ingresso permesso ad un massimo di 1 persona per volta” – Translation “admission allowed to a maximum of 1 person at a time” The image is of the front of the store that my family owns in a small town in Italy called Alife. Due to COVID-19, my family had to display signs which explain a change in the occupancy limit. It is interesting to see how the town has imposed occupancy restrictions that are similar to the restrictions in the United States of America. As described in the article “Professional Ethics for Archivists” this photo “provid[es] a baseline for measuring the present state of affairs” (Professional Ethics for Archivists, 22). This image was published to Facebook which has the ability to store more information than a brick-and-mortar location. This image responds to the needs and considerations of an ethical archival collection because it reflects the current social climate that business owners are experiencing across the world due to COVID-19. -
2020-04-12
How Families Interact During Covid-19
This photo is of my family during one of our zoom meetings. My family lives in Italy and so this is the only way for my family to stay connected during the pandemic. We were planning to visit them in Italy during the summer, but we were unable to due to COVID. This photo demonstrates something significant about my generation under COVID because technology has allowed us to stay connected through the pandemic. A video call was a wonderful experience for the older members of my family because they were only able to send letters when they were younger and talk on the phone. Even though we are in the middle of a pandemic technology has truly allowed my generation to remain connected with our family and friends. As described in our reading “What do archivists keep or not” this is an example of a primary source because it is “tied to particular people doing particular things at [a] particular time and place” (Thompson, 3). -
2020-04-01
Covid Disinfection in Alife, Italy
I decided to share this video because it will help future historians understand how a small town in Italy responded to the pandemic. This item is of interest to future historians because it shows how disinfecting the town center in a small town in Italy was deemed to be essential in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This video is critical for future generations and historians because it will allow them to understand what measures were taken. Future historians can use this video and compare it to pandemics from previous generations and discover what protocols are similar. This video is important to me because my family is from a small town in Italy and it is interesting to see the steps that the town took in order to disinfect the town. I also found it interesting to compare how the United States of America disinfected its towns and how it is similar to the town of Alife. -
2020-12-08
One day I'll...
A huge theme of this pandemic has been having hope. Since COVID came about, professionals have been thrown threw a loop with what works and what the best things to do are, never mind the public being even more lost and clueless. We have had to kind of just follow what professionals tell us is best to do, do our part, and have hope for brighter and healthier days. Despite varying beliefs, most people have seemed to be able to unite through hope. Hoping for the health and safety of ourselves and others, hope for things to return to semi-normal feeling, and just hoping to feel comfort. This tweet shows a playful side of hope. Making the right choices so that you can make other choices later on. By Katelyn not going out and celebrating her 21st how she wanted to and dreamed of doing, she's doing her part in stopping the spread and ensuring that there is a future in which we get to go out to crowded bars and get shots from strangers to celebrate. -
2020-12-03
Don't Touch ANYTHING
One of the biggest things throughout this pandemic was washing your hands and using hand sanitizer. If you touch something in public or that isn’t yours, it’s like your hands are on fire and you need to immediately put them out. I open the door to a store and I immediately grab one of the five hand sanitizers in my purse and drown my hands in it. This object pokes a little fun at the coinciding of the pandemic and those who’s 21st birthday was during COVID restrictions. Joking that this is the best alcohol someone could receive this year as they are finally legal to drink, when most people would probably be thrilled with hand sanitizer as a gift. This item would be of interest to future historians because it illustrates something particularly significant about 2020, the importance and use of hand sanitizer and all those who had makeshift 21st birthdays. -
2020-09-18
Isabella's Story
In this article, Isabella Simonetti discusses how she never imagined little things in her life not going as planned before March, but now her life has been totally flipped upside-down. Along with changes in her school life and work life, Isabella was also one of the people who had their 21st birthday look a little different because of the pandemic. She mentions how she felt as though celebrating at all was a betrayal in itself. Towards the end of her article, she makes what I believe to be a very important observation about the pandemic. Isabella says, “Since March, my life has become less about managing expectations and more about not knowing what to expect at all. While I loathe uncertainty, I’ve found comfort in taking a step back, being grateful for what I have, and knowing that things are so crazy and ever-evolving that I just can’t expect anything at all.” The idea of living in the moment and being grateful for what you have is one of the most important lessons we can all take away from this pandemic experience, 21st birthday edition or not. This collection item demonstrates something significant about my generation under COVID. Learning that unexpected changes are not the end of the world and making the right decisions for the safety of you and others was a huge thing 1999 babies were faced with this year. -
2020-12-14
Making the Best of Unexpected Situations
Carolyn is someone who has been dreaming about her 21st birthday and had big plans for celebrating it as well, however the pandemic forced her to cancel those plans. However, we still made the best of the situation. During this interview I asked Carolyn a couple questions that I needed to be careful with how I phrased them. I related this back to the things we learned about ethical archives. When figuring out what I was going to ask Carolyn, I was careful to think about what affect the question might have on her. I didn’t want to ask questions too harsh or questions that were accusatory. This definitely limited the questions that I could ask but I also think it was very helpful to think of it prior to the interview and make adjustments accordingly. -
2020-05-28
#PauseAgingOut Awareness
CHAMPS-NY is a statewide group of providers, advocates and thought partners, who work to promote state policy and practice changes to ensure children entering foster care are placed into family-based settings whenever possible. In this press release, Kate Breslin, CHAMPS-NY co-chair, talks about how a safe and stable home are vital to both individuals and public health during a global health crisis. This press conference is a call to action for the state of NY to provide foster children with the option to remain in foster care for at least 180 extra days after they “age out”. Nine other states have made this adjustment as sort of a form of a COVID relief plan for foster children and CHAMPS-NY believes that NY should offer this as well, especially since NY has been hit so hard by this crisis. This press conference and including it as a collection item is another attempt to fill an archival silence and to amplify the voices of marginalized groups. Those who speak in this press release are advocating for foster children who struggle to have their voices be heard. These people are fighting for these kids who know one else has or will fight for. This collection item displays and spreads awareness about a group of people who have been silently suffering and who have been subjected to the detrimental impacts of this pandemic just like everyone else, if not more. -
2020-12-08
My Personal Experience Turning 21 During a Pandemic
This collection item not only symbolizes my personal experience of turning 21 during a pandemic but it also demonstrates something significant about my generation under COVID. I was one of the many 1999 babies that experienced this milestone birthday during the pandemic. This photo is to remind that I was not the only one who had to celebrate this birthday in my kitchen and that I was not the only one who couldn’t go out to a bar and take shots with random people. This pandemic has brought about a lot of unexpected things to many people. Turning 21 during COVID times and having an impromptu celebration during it is something that I think is important to document and remember, not only for my generation but for everyone. Looking back on the unexpected and homemade 21st birthday celebrations that people had this year will be something to cherish one day. These kinds of stories are also important in documenting how many people, although there were far worse things going on around them, chose to be selfless and sacrifice this very special birthday for the safety of themselves and others. -
2020-12-03
Aging out of the Foster Care System During a Pandemic
Deshala’s story is one that not only teaches us the struggles of being a foster child turning 21 and aging out of the system during a pandemic but is also a collection item that attempts to fill an archival silence and amplify the voice of a marginalized group. Her story exemplifies how this already anxiety inducing time in foster children’s lives was significantly intensified by the COVID19 pandemic. There are certain groups of people that many of us think of when we hear “marginalized group” but one most people don’t think of is foster children, especially those who are close to aging out. Kids in the foster system normally struggle to have their voices heard and are a group that experiences arguably the most emotional distress and inconsistency in their lives out of anyone in our country. This pandemic not only made them, kids who were about to age out of the system, more stressed and fearful for their future than ever but there was also hardly anything they could do about it either. The inclusion of this collection item is meant to spread and educate people on the strain that this pandemic has put on kids aging out of the foster care system. No one should ever have to worry about losing a safe and stable home, especially not during a global health crisis and Deshala’s story amplifies this issue and calls for action for others in similar situations due to the pandemic. -
2020-04-23
Cardi B Wears a Face Covering in San Antonio
This is a photograph of a graffiti mural depicting the female rapper Cardi B wearing a face mask. This mural was originally painted by a man named Colton Valentine depicting the rapper with no mask, however, it was updated recently this year to adjust to our current global situation. I chose to place this item in the archive because I felt as though it demonstrates the significant roles that celebrities have over my generation under Covid. Many young people look to celebrities for advice and it is incredibly important that said people are setting a proper example by wearing a mask. I enjoyed bringing a different form of creative art into the archival collection with this object.