Items

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  2020-08-12

  Together But Apart

  This west Wichita sign reflects the coronavirus paradox that has been thrust upon communities across the world since the pandemic's outbreak, as people supposedly face this crisis together, but must maintain physical separation to do so. Also highlighted is the "6 feet rule" that has become an omnipresent feature in most or all public spaces, as social distancing became one of the most effective ways to limit the virus's community transmission.
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  2020-08-04

  A New and Uncertain School Year

  The marquee along Maple Street, Wichita, Kansas, for Benton Elementary School urges parents to enroll their children now in what many thought would be a challenging school year. In late July, the Wichita school board delayed the start of the school year until after Labor Day in order to give faculty and staff more time to adjust their curriculum to more flexible models, clean facilities, and set up necessary shields, barriers, and social distancing measures. Despite the mandate requiring these measures, as well as masks and hand washing every hour, teachers and students still ventured into an uncertain school year, as Wichita-area schools forged ahead with in-person instruction and contact sports.
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  2020-08-04

  Kansas Primary, August 4, 2020

  A scene taken on the day of the Kansas primaries for the US Senate and House of Representatives. With the state caught in COVID's grip, many voters availed themselves of mail-in-ballots, but some voters still preferred to show up to the polls in person, as they did here in southwest Wichita. Nevertheless, this image captures but a small segment of the various challenges that the United States faced in holding federal, state, and municipal elections in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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  2020-08-04

  Last Call: Wichita Bars and Nightclubs Close...Again

  On July 21, 2020, the Sedgwick County Public Health Officer closed all bars and nightclubs until September 9, a date the Sedgwick County Commission quickly amended to August 21. These photographs show two items that sat side-by-side at the front entrance of the Blu Nightclub in west Wichita, Kansas. The first alerts patrons to the club's mitigation efforts and what is expected of them upon entering the establishment, while the second, which was taped to the front door, informs customers that they are closed until August 22. Although no COVID clusters originated in bars and nightclubs, Sedgwick County contact tracers discovered that infected people had stopped at such businesses and possibly spread the virus even more. Finally, note the owner's insertion of the word "Hopefully" on the left side of the sign. With federal aid expired and relief mired in a partisan deadlock in Washington, D.C., many businesses in Wichita, and across the country, feared the potentially fatal effects repeated closures would have upon their livelihoods.
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  2020-08-04

  A Roadside Appeal

  This sign implores Wichita residents to save a life by wearing a protective mask, thereby underscoring face masks' growing importance, when it had been previously dismissed as a relatively ineffective non-pharmaceutical intervention early in the pandemic. Not only does this sign attempt to reinforce the city's mask mandate, its wording also hints at how COVID-19 had become a threat to all age demographics by the summer of 2020. At the time of this photograph, the average age of an infected patient in Wichita had dropped from the mid-60s in the spring to 37, thus Wesley Hospital's appeal for everyone to do their part to help stop a rapidly accelerating and demographically expanding contagion.
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  2020-08-04

  COVID Testing West Wichita

  In an effort to expand testing in west Wichita, Kansas, West Wichita Family Physicians sealed off their minor care clinic from the rest of their facility in order to dedicate it to COVID-19 screening and testing. A patient would call the number listed at the bottom of the sign, then proceed to answer questions pertaining to their travel history, risk factors, symptoms, and possible exposure to the virus. Should the patient's condition warrant further investigation, an appointment was made, with the patient being guided by signs such as this to the proper testing site. At the time of this photograph's creation, Kansas's total number of cases stood at nearly 30,000, with over 4,500 in Sedgwick County alone. Typically, Kansans had to wait 9 to 14 days before receiving their results due to backlogs created by high turnouts and too few testing locations.
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  2020-07-27

  Wichita School Enrollment Proceeds Under COVID's Long Shadow

  Upon rejecting the governor's order to delay the start of Kansas schools until after Labor Day, 2020, the decision as to if and when to reopen fell upon the state's individual school districts. Although Wichita school district USD 259 ultimately decided to delay the start of the academic year until after the holiday, enrollment proceeded under a cloud of uncertainty and unanswered question for students, parents, and teachers alike. This photograph points to that reality by advising all affected parties as to where the latest information can be found regarding an extremely delicate and fluid situation that left students, families, and teachers across the country wondering how something so routine as the new school year could be navigated safely in the face of a potentially deadly virus.
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  2020-07-27

  Masked and Contactless Service

  Following Wichita's municipal ordinance overriding the Sedgwick County Commission's decision to forego the governor's mask mandate, citizens were required to wear protective face coverings in all public spaces within the city limits. Electronic billboards and marquees, such as this one from west Wichita's Credit Union of America, announced that all customers must comply with this order should they wish to conduct business within their environs, while at the same time offering contactless methods for various bank transactions. These photographs underscore the urgency of both masks and social distancing, two of the most effective anti-COVID countermeasures, in combating a rapidly accelerating outbreak that city and Kansas state officials struggled to corral during the summer of 2020.
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  2020-07-21

  Different Restaurants. Different Policies

  These photographs present two different policy approaches taken by two different west Wichita restaurants. The "patchwork" of policies that came to define the United States' COVID-19 response also manifested itself in individual businesses, with some area restaurants, like Ziggy's Pizza, proclaiming that they're open for both indoor and outdoor service, while several blocks away, Chick-Fil-A's sign declares that their dining room remained closed. Both taken on the same day, these pictures represent the myriad messages and signals given by governments and businesses that added to the confusion and uncertainty that characterized the COVID-19 pandemic in Wichita.
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  2020-07-21

  A Packed Gym Parking Lot

  This photo shows a nearly full Northwest YMCA parking lot in west Wichita, Kansas. Despite rising case numbers, Sedgwick County still permitted bars, restaurants, night clubs, and gyms to continue operating, and at the time of this photograph's creation, local news networks were reporting that a public health order aimed at re-closing at least some of these establishments was imminent. Establishments such as gyms and night clubs proved to be fertile ground for viral transmission due to the difficulty in maintaining sufficient social distancing, thus the reason public health officials in Sedgwick County cited them as one of the key drivers of Wichita's virus surge in the summer of 2020.
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  2020-07-21

  Lobby's Open...If You Have a Mask

  After the mayor's and City Council's mask mandate went into effect, Wichitans were required to wear masks in all public indoor spaces, like this west Wichita bank. These photos reflect how this particular business adapted to the new mandate, requiring its customers to don a protective mask or face covering upon entering the building, or use the drive thru service should they lack one. Virtually unseen prior to the pandemic, masks became an integral mitigation tool during the pandemic that caused both minor and major changes to the look and conduct of everyday life.
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  2020-07-21

  Local Businesses Still Need Support

  The slogan "Stay Strong, Wichita" proved quite common during the city's lockdown in March and April, but became less so following Kansas's quick reopening. By July of 2020, Wichita, Sedgwick County, and the state itself grappled with rapidly rising COVID case numbers, prompting many public health officials to emphasize more emphatically their case to slow and roll back Kansas's reopening. Amidst rising illness, divided state and local government, economic pain and uncertainty, and trepidation at reopening Kansas schools in the coming weeks, this local west Wichita car wash exhorts citizens to support local businesses and to "Stay Strong, ICT." Note: "ICT" are the call letters for Wichita's Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (and its predecessor, Mid-Continent) and is a common term of endearment used by Wichitans in reference to their city.
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  2020-07-16

  A Nationwide Coin Shortage

  With businesses having closed down, people avoiding handling hard currency out of fear of contracting COVID-19, and the US Mint experiencing significant difficulties in coin production in the spring of 2020, the US supply of circulating coins took a hit, prompting signs like this one at a west Wichita, Kansas, grocery store to become commonplace. Appearing in both English and Spanish, this image reflects the growing importance of cashless forms of payment and donations as ways of navigating this economic side effect of COVID-19.
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  2020-07-16

  A Country In Tatters

  Taken after a series of thunderstorms swept through Wichita, Kansas, in mid-July, 2020, this image strikes a symbolic parallel to the feelings and emotions felt by countless Americans during the pandemic crisis of 2020. Ravaged by the perfect storm of a ravenous and lethal virus, racial unrest, a hobbled economy, and a contentious election cycle, the United States of 2020 appeared to be a country in tatters amidst a sea of confusion, uncertainty, and partisan strife.
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  2020-07-16

  Some Churches Open...And Others Stay Closed

  Since the lock down, some churches in Kansas had filed lawsuits against the governor and her administration's orders to restrict large public gatherings and advocate social distancing. With those orders largely removed as a result of a compromise package agreed to by the governor and the GOP-led legislature, many churches reopened without restrictions of any kind. These photographs prove that the converse was also a reality, with other churches, like this one in west Wichita, opting to remain virtual, especially as the virus surged across the state in the summer of 2020. Without video conference and social media technology, such religious gatherings would have proved impossible.
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  2020-07-15

  An Outbreak at Heartspring

  On July 7, 2020, Heartspring, a special needs school and residential campus for autistic children and teens in Wichita, Kansas, announced that six of its school employees tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the immediate closure of its pediatric services building and surrounding facilities until further notice. Although all staff underwent testing, Heartspring administrators feared that the outbreak may not have been detected in time and were preparing for more cases to manifest in the coming days and weeks, with local authorities recognizing the outbreak as a COVID cluster. These photographs show the shuttered pediatrics services building and the neighboring residences; a silent testament to the burgeoning case load that swept the city, the state, and threatened its hospitals in the summer of 2020. It also recognizes the efforts of Heartspring staff in taking care of this vulnerable community.
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  2020-07-10

  See You Later Rather Than Sooner: Wichita Theaters Still Closed

  Capturing the same Warren Theater documented in the items "May the Force Be With You, Wichita" and "The Show's Over...For Now," these two photos clearly reveal that, despite Kansas's hurried attempts to restore normal economic activity, the show was still over four months after Regal closed the Warren Theater in west Wichita, Kansas. The sign expresses that the Warren misses its patrons like "popcorn misses butter," while the second photo captures a still empty parking lot on a hot Friday afternoon in July. The duration of the theater's closure is made even more evident by the weeds bordering the parking stalls in the foreground, some of which stood several feet tall.
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  2020-07-09

  Wichita's Healthcare Heroes

  This banner honors the work performed by the doctors, nurses, and staff of the west Wichita Wesley Medical Center Emergency Room at 13th and Tyler Road. Signs like these proved fairly common across the city, therefore adding to the wide variety of expressions of gratitude displayed across the world for those in the medical professions who have dealt with COVID-19's harsh reality. Nonetheless, at the time this photograph was taken, Sedgwick County announced that its hospital space and ICU availability was beginning to encounter greater stress. After a hasty re-opening and a lack of political will to enforce and maintain mitigation measures, COVID-19 cases surged across the state, with patients from the county and surrounding rural areas lacking direct access to medical facilities being brought to Wichita-area hospitals for treatment.
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  2020-07-10

  YMCA and Waterpark Reopen...And COVID-19 Kicks Into High Gear

  YMCAs reopened with restrictions beginning on May 18, although in-person group classes did not reconvene. This photo shows a fair number of vehicles at this YMCA facility in west Wichita, Kansas, and while the city's late June order closed municipal pools and water parks, this did not apply to aquatic centers managed by private entities. Nevertheless, patrons appear to be spaced out on the water slide, with a lifeguard at the top managing the queue. These photos reveal how people in Wichita were attempting to confront the pandemic while retaining some semblance of normalcy in their daily lives, but on the same day these pictures were taken, the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment announced 1,000 new cases in the state, bringing its total to 18,611, with 2,074 of those in Sedgwick County. A week before, the state's total was 15,919.
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  2020-07-07

  Wichita City Council Ordinance No. 51-307: Facemasks Required In Wichita, Kansas

  This Wichita ordinance, passed on July 3, 2020, overrode the Sedgwick County Commission's vote declining to implement Kansas Governor Laura Kelly's executive order making masks mandatory statewide; a vote that was held the previous day. Due to an accelerating positive test rate in both Sedgwick County and Wichita, the Wichita mayor convened a special session of the City Council to mandate in the city what has become one of the most effective preventative weapons against COVID-19. This order specifies the necessity for masks in public, when citizens must wear them, and penalties for non-compliance. Moreover, this order stands as an artifact of the divisive politicization that has come to dominate much of the United States's coronavirus response, especially in states like Kansas, where a Democrat executive, like Governor Kelly or Mayor Whipple, has repeatedly clashed with a Republican-dominated legislature or county commission.
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  2020-07-06

  The Discarded Mask: Two Perspectives

  Found on the sidewalk along west Wichita, Kansas's 13th Street, this discarded mask reflects two dueling realities that have come to define the larger COVID-19 experience. First, such a sight is now rather commonplace across many communities, thereby revealing that masks have become such an important mitigation measure and common clothing accessory in both the US and the world that they are found in use and disuse as easily as a soda can or food wrapper. It is also emblematic of the contrary attitudes still held by many people, especially in more conservative regions of the United States, with a still significant portion of the population who, in the face of surging cases and fatalities, continue to challenge the need for masks and distancing by carrying on as if COVID-19 were a relic of the past.
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  2020-07-06

  Wash Hands Before Entering

  These photographs taken of the east side of a local Wichita grocery store depict the continuing efforts businesses are taking to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Positioned just off the east parking lot, this recently-installed hand-washing station makes clear in both English and Spanish that it is not for any use other than sanitation. With medical professionals touting masks and thorough, 20-second hand-washing as some of the most effective means of prevention, images like this reflect how stores are attempting to ensure customer and employee safety as much as possible by making hygienic facilities as widely available as possible, even before a customer even enters the store.
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  2020-07-06

  Wichita Must Mask Up

  After the Sedgwick County Commission voted 3-2 to not implement the governor's order requiring Kansans to wear masks in public places where social distancing was not possible, Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple convened an emergency session of the City Council to debate and vote on a city-wide ordnance that would override the county's authority . By a vote of 4-3, Mayor Whipple's ordnance passed and became effective immediately, thus prompting local businesses to post signs like this one on their establishments. This sign reflects the first time during the pandemic that mask-wearing became an enforced mandate in Wichita, as the city struggled to control a virus that seemed to be at controllable levels just a few weeks before this photo was taken.
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  2020-06-28

  A Summer of Pathogens and Dust: Saharan Dust Sweeps Through Kansas

  Amidst COVID-19's rising case numbers throughout the state, a massive plume of dust from the Sahara Desert swept across the Atlantic, the American South, and into the Great Plains, as seen in the gray-brownish haze in these photographs. The dust plume's arrival, while not an uncommon meteorological event, nevertheless prompted the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment to issue an air quality warning for vulnerable people, as it struggled to grapple with Kansas's growing COVID case load.
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  2020-06-25

  Protect Your Fellow Citizens...Please.

  Affixed to the jungle gym at Sunset Park in west Wichita, Kansas, this sign encourages Wichitans to protect each other and prevent COVID-19's spread by adopting the listed measures. This photo was taken against the backdrop of rising case numbers in Kansas, as well as in neighboring Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, as local authorities in Sedgwick County opted to continue re-opening without imposing any restrictions to mitigate the virus's transmission. Given the local government's "hands-off" approach, the effectiveness of any and all mitigation efforts rested solely with citizens' willingness to cooperate.
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  2020-06-25

  The Sound of Silence: COVID Summer 2020

  On June 24, 2020, the city of Wichita, Kansas, announced that it would not open any of the city's municipal water parks, splash pads, or swimming pools for the duration of the summer. Pools like west Wichita's Harvest Park, shown here, would normally be teeming with people on hot summer days, but COVID-19 defied public health officials' predictions of a summer remission, with case numbers surging across the South and Central Plains. Kansas suffered an influx of summer COVID infections due in part to a politically-driven, decentralized re-opening plan that devolved authority to county commissions and local officials, while relegating what had once been mandatory state executive orders to mere "suggestions." With Kansas and surrounding states grappling with widespread illnesses, the summer of 2020 was marked by empty pools and filling hospitals.
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  2020-06-21

  And the Crowd Goes...Silent: Football Returns to the UK

  All across the globe, COVID-19 forced sports leagues and tournaments to shut down completely, from Major League Baseball, the NBA, and NHL in the USA, to the the various football leagues in Europe. Not even the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were spared, as the IOC announced the Games' postponement until 2021. This photo captures the June return of the English Premier League following its March shutdown, with a match between Liverpool and Everton F.C. broadcasted on NBC. Like the German Bundesliga, players competed in silent stadiums filled with empty seats and strict testing in order to minimize exposure to the virus and prevent a mass outbreak among players and the surrounding community. To enhance the viewing experience, NBC superimposed crowd noise onto the match, although viewers could download an app to opt out of this feature if they so wished. Also, note the players' jerseys, which read "Black Lives Matter," a reflection of the push for racial justice that spread across the world amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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  06/05/2020

  A Tale of Two Pandemics

  Declaring that being "pro-Black is not anti-White" while memorializing the names of African-Americans who have fallen victim to police brutality and racism, this homemade protest poster in a west Wichita, Kansas, neighborhood reflects the civil unrest roiling the country amidst the omnipresent COVID-19 pandemic. On June 2, just three days before this image was taken, a BLM protest organized less than a mile from this neighborhood as part of a wave of demonstrations involving thousands of citizens that rolled across Wichita. Many demonstrators wore masks as a precaution against the COVID-19 virus, but many more did not, despite Kansas's slow but steady increase in COVID cases. Large gatherings, such as the racial justice protests that have spread across the USA and the world, have unnerved public health officials, who fear that a lack of social distancing and proper protective measures will only exacerbate an already insidious disease's ruthless transmission.
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  2020-04-20

  In the Event of Lock Down: Bake

  With the help of a special-made cake pan and recipe from a recent, pre-lockdown day-trip to Lindsborg, Kansas, this almond cake helped alleviate the stress and boredom of being stuck in-doors during the state's lockdown order. Northeastern JOTPY
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  2020-04-26

  Help Wanted

  While many small businesses shed jobs in the face of lockdowns, special needs communities saw an urgent need for more help to keep their residents safe from contracting the virus. One recruiting inducement was the promise of a hiring bonus, such as the one depicted in this photograph. Northeastern JOTPY
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  2020-05-19

  Drive-Thru Testing Ramps Up in Kansas

  The Healthcore Clinic's mobile COVID-19 drive-thru testing station at the Wichita State Metroplex in east Wichita, Kansas, on the afternoon of May 19, 2020. One of three stations in the city, the Metroplex site had only been in operation for eight days at the time of this photo's creation, thus reflecting the slow implementation of available testing since the beginning of the outbreak, and the absolute necessity for it to contain the coronavirus's spread. Moreover, those being tested are doing so by their own volition, as there was no mandate from government authorities requiring compulsory testing. Aaron Peterka, Northeastern University
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  2020-05-02

  Wichita State without the Shockers

  The empty Wichita State University main parking lot, with the equally empty Ulrich Art Museum in the background.
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  2020-05-02

  The Mall: The Place Not to Be

  The always-crowded Dillards parking lot at east Wichita's Towne East Square Mall devoid of patrons in the last days of Kansas's lockdown order.
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  2020-05-01

  The Pandemic-Plagued Playground

  Although Sedgwick County Park remained open to visitors, all playground equipment were off limits, thus reflecting the virus's stealthy transmission via children. Should a child contract the virus, they seldom exhibit symptoms but can easily pass it to adults. Measures such as those depicted in this photo therefore proved to be vital in mitigating COVID-19's spread. Northeastern University
• 
  05/02/2020

  "For Those At the Front"

  An electronic billboard in east Wichita praises healthcare professionals for their continued efforts in battling the COVID-19 pandemic. The language used in this sign is reminiscent of the gratitude extended to GIs in the post-9/11 era, especially during the Iraq War, thus reflecting the pandemic's growing impact that will cement it as one of the country's, and the world's, watershed moments. #NortheasternJOTPY
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  04/05/2020

  A TP Shortage

  Although this store has nothing to do with hygiene products, this attempt at humor reflects the acute toilet paper shortage caused by the virus-induced "panic-buying" that slammed stores nationwide. #NortheasternJOTPY
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  04/05/2020

  Show's Over...For Now

  As a result of the statewide lockdown measures, all theaters, including the Warren and its always-popular IMAX, closed in an effort to halt the pandemic's march across the city. #NortheasternJOTPY
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  04/03/2020

  A Church's Prescription for COVID-19

  This local church offers just a single word for how to combat the growing virus threat. Aaron Peterka, Northeastern University
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  04/05/2020

  Stay Healthy, Wichita

  A shopping center marquee wishing passersby good health as COVID-19 makes its way to Wichita. Aaron Peterka, Northeastern University
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  04/03/2020

  Stay Home

  While temporarily closed during the Kansas Lockdown, this local car wash sign advised passing motorists to re-think their travel plans if they were feeling sick. #NortheasternJOTPY
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  2020-04-03

  Arts-and-Crafts-to-Go

  Customers who had placed online orders could use the new "curbside pick-up" service in a rather unique shopping experience for arts and crafts that reduced in-person contact, and by extension, the virus's transmission. #NortheasternJOTPY *Northeastern University
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  2020-04-03

  New Market Square, West Wichita, Kansas

  Despite most stores and shops being shuttered in the popular New Market Square, both Best Buy and Michael's Arts and Crafts maintained a curb-side pick up service for customers who had placed online orders. #NortheasternJOTPY *Northeastern University
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  2020-04-03

  Workouts Called on Account of Virus

  This image of west Wichita's sprawling Northwest YMCA captures the vacant parking lot and the abandoned rock climbing wall that would normally be crawling with visitors. However, the well-publicized closures did not deter some patrons from attempting to gain entry before being sorely disappointed by the signs posted on the doors; a site witnessed just moments after this photograph was taken. #NortheasternJOTPY *Northeastern University
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  2020-04-03

  Quiet Lunch Hour, Part II

  West Wichita's Hurricane Sports Bar and Grill, facing west. All neighboring businesses in this small shopping center alongside 13th Street shut down, including the ICT Bike Shop and the Great Clips Hair Salon, since the state had deemed them non-essential businesses. #NortheasternJOTPY *Northeastern University
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  2020-04-03

  Quiet Lunch Hour

  The Hurricane Sports Bar and Grill on 13th Street in Wichita, Kansas, sits empty during what would normally be a busy lunch hour. The banner on the far right indicates the restaurant's open carry-out and delivery services. #NortheasternJOTPY *Northeastern University
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  04/26/2020

  Spread Out at Trader Joe's

  Complying with social distancing regulations, customers maintain a healthy distance while waiting to enter the Trader Joe's in east Wichita, Kansas. Such lines have been common during the pandemic, as stores seek to reduce their capacity, thereby reducing the virus's transmission.
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  05/01/2020

  A Deserted High School

  Parking stalls sit empty on a school day as the threat of COVID-19's rapid spread silences what would have been a busy time of year, not only for Maize High School, but for all secondary schools across the country.
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  05/01/2020

  Empty Stands on a Quiet Friday

  Normally filled with students' cars and spring sports, Maize High School's athletic complex sits empty on Friday, May 1 as a result of Governor Laura Kelly's March school closure order.
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  2020-05-01

  Playground Closed

  Sign posted in front of one of several playgrounds at the popular Sedgwick County Park in west Wichita, Kansas. All playground equipment had been roped off during the state's "stay-at-home" order. Sedgwick County, Kansas: creator Photo taken by Aaron Peterka, Northeastern University Image taken on 05/01/2020.
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  Image taken on 04/18/2020.

  Bear With Homemade Mask

  An attempt at humor in the midst of a crisis.