Items

• March 31, 2020

  COVID Share Your Story #RITtigers #21, Accounting Major's Point of view

  It has been very difficult. I just finished moving into a new housing assignment after dealing with a demon roommate, then less than a week later RIT made us all leave. Two times in a week I had to move all my things by myself. My family lives in Los Angeles and all my friends were home so I had no one to help me. I've been fighting with both the California and New York DMVs to get my car registered for the last year, so my car is unregistered and I couldn't go anywhere. Luckily my aunt rented me a car so I could drive to St. Louis to stay with my grandfather. My mom didn't want me to drive to LA by myself, even though I've driven from LA to Rochester twice, but with my mom. My cat Poppy and I drove the 12 hours from Rochester to St. Louis in two days. I don't really like St. Louis or LA, I'd so much rather just be in Rochester, mostly because I've never been able to get a job there and I have a job on campus. In terms of classes being all online, I think it will be helpful for me. None of my professors are doing synchronized zoom meetings so I don't have to get up for class anymore. This is good because I didn't go to class all the time anyway. I can do the coursework more on my own terms now. I'm retaking a class I failed last semester and I think I'll pass this time not only because the class is exactly the same, but because the tests are open book and aren't under a time limit because they're online. If I could give a message to myself at the start of this semester, what would I say? Be ready for challenges and approach them creatively. Adapt to the situations at hand.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Plague Journal, Day 45: CoronaWorld oral history, high school teacher

  I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's the latest entry, in which I interview an NYC public high school teacher about the struggles she and her students are facing in CoronaWorld:
• 
  2020-04-16

  Plague Journal, Day 35: Shuttered on Waverly

  I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's the latest entry, pondering the fate of workers from eight shuttered businesses on a single block across the street, plus detailing my further adventures in Unemployment Insurance applications.
• 
  2020-04-02

  Inside Rikers During the Coronavirus Outbreak

  This video shows one families struggle to get early release for their loved one from Rikers Island jail in New York. His sister poses the ten million dollar question, does someone who committed a crime deserve to die? This is the possibility many inmates face in the time of coronavirus because the only way we currently know to slow the spread of the virus is through distance. Something that cannot be done when you're sleeping twelve inches away from another person.
• 
  2020-06-18

  New York Town Honors Their UPS Driver

  During the corona time, workers such as this UPS driver kept on delivering despite any personal danger to him from a high chance of of exposure. These workers, along with custodians, grocery store workers, and of course health care professionals, were rightly hailed as heroes. This is a touching tribute and acknowledgement of the town's UPS driver.
• 
  2020-04-06

  04/06/2020 The Equinox Report

  An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he explains a news story he saw on Democracy Now. The story says 16 states have begun releasing prisoners but New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has resisted even with hundreds of inmates and facility employees testing positive.
• 
  2020/05/29

  Anonymous Oral History, 2020/05/29

  [Curator Note] Christina Lefebvre interviews a physician from New York City about the city's response to COVID-19 and the impacts of the virus on the medical field.
• 
  2020-06-29

  The New York Public Library Lions Wear Masks

  This is a post from the NYPL official Instagram account. The caption reads: "As NYPL prepares to gradually reopen select physical locations on July 13, our beloved lions #PatienceAndFortitude are setting an example to remind New Yorkers to stay safe. To pick up or drop off materials when locations reopen, masks will be mandatory. Learn about services that will be offered during reopening, locations, and more at nypl.org/coronavirus or by visiting the link in our bio."
• 
  2020-04-01

  Plague Journal, Day 19: Kumbaya-dot-com!

  I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. The latest entry discusses the vagaries of digital communication, including a sour school-parent social media thread and sweeter chats with various loved ones.
• 
  2020-03-30

  Plague Journal, Day 17:Authoritarianism 101 (Suharto style)

  I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's the latest entry, with updates on my upstate friend (better!), further turns in The Girlfriend's condition, and thoughts on life under President Suharto.
• 
  2020-06-24

  New York imposes travel restrictions on visitors from Texas, the latest coronavirus hot spot

  Early in the pandemic states like Florida wanted to force people from New York to quarantine upon arriving in the state. Now New York state New Jersey, and Connecticut want people from the states with large outbreaks now to self quarantine. These states include Texas, Florida, and California. Both Texas and Florida were two of the earliest states to reopen after almost the entire country found themselves under some variation of stay at home order in March and April.
• 
  2020-06-12

  NYPD Brass: We're Arresting Too Many Prisoners on Early COVID Release

  The architecture, system, and overcrowding in America's prisons make the spread of Covid-19 very quick inside the nations corrections facilities. To help slow the spread of the disease inside these facilities some jurisdictions have released inmates early. Most early release candidates are those that do not present a public safety risk, have served the majority of their sentence, are elderly, or immunocompromised. While some people support this plan others oppose. This article illustrates the concerns of the plans opponents. Of the 2500 people released from Rikers Island, a jail in New York, the NYPD says they have rearrested 250 individuals, for total arrests of 450.
• 
  2020-06-11

  New York City EMS Workers Allege Retaliation After Speaking About Pandemic

  Excerpt for article: A group of New York City emergency medical service workers who gave interviews to the news media, including NPR, are suing the city for allegedly retaliating against them after speaking about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-06-25

  The pandemic is threatening to close the iconic LGBTQ landmark Stonewall Inn for good

  From the article: "It's not going to close tomorrow or the next day, co-owner Stacy Lentz told CNN, but the Stonewall Inn's future is in jeopardy. Payments for the bar's insurance and rent, in addition to normal operating costs, continue to mount even though coronavirus has closed their doors."
• 
  2020-05-30

  Budget Cuts in New York...But not for Police and Prisons

  This article highlights (at least for me), where our nations priority lay. Educational services always take the brunt of our nations cuts. It is so unfair to our children. Don't they know that education spending will decrease the need for prisons?
• 
  2020-06-16

  Infirmity

  "The coronavirus museum: how historians are documenting the pandemic. The New-York Historical Society has started collecting artifacts for a collection aimed at teaching future generations about the current crisis .."
• 
  2020-06-15

  Conspiracy Theory Involving Captain America and Spaghetti

  Since COVID-19 was an unprecedented event, people tried hard to understand its cause. Many conspiracy theories cropped up. This one claimed that the virus was predicted by the movie Captain America. Here he is shown in Times Square, New York, with a bottle of Corona beer in lights and what could be seen as an atom of the virus. These two elements "prove" that the virus was released into the population. Of course, the virus has nothing whatsoever to do with the beer--it was named corona due to the halo surrounding each virion.
• 
  2020-06-21

  NY Gov. Cuomo highlights the success New York has had in flattening their curve due to people following health guidelines

  This tweet stood out to me because of the contrast that it had with my state current Covid status. While New York was hit hard early, strict health guidelines have been not only enforced but followed well by the citizens of the state, which has notably flattened their curve. Meanwhile, Arizona was not hit as hard early but has now become a global hotspot for the virus due to lax enforcement of health guidelines, the state opening back up early, and therefore less public following of health and safety guidelines. The two states serve as near opposites of each other in regards to the curve of the virus.
• 
  2020-06-16

  Protests and Coronavirus

  When coronavirus started, the first sacrifice that was made to prevent the spread was all large gatherings. While this has mostly been followed for the duration of quarantine across the country, there was a huge concern when protests erupted over the murder of George Floyd. After some initial trepidation, it is clear that protestors are not causing the virus to spread; instead they seem to be trying to follow all CDC guidelines as best as they can.
• 
  2020-06-18

  NYC Nursing Home Guidelines for Covid-19

  In this tweet, Governor Cuomo is called out on his claim that much of the death and misery in the New York nursing home community was caused because the state tried to follow the CDC guidelines. This was proved to be false, and contradicted a past announcement by the State of New York that nursing homes needed to admit patients only if they were able to care for them. With the scale to which the health system in New York was stretched, many nursing homes felt that they had no choice but to accept patients. This item was added with TAGS v6.9.1, searching under keyword #NewYork. Within that search I have chosen to add this item because it speaks on the ongoing debate between state and Federal guidelines over the health of various groups within society.
• 
  2020-05-12

  Liminal

  When trying to remember the year, I think of the last few weeks before we left. There was something in the air that made this semester — this particular semester — feel like the end. And so, maybe we laughed harder and louder than we did before. And we cried so much more and we tried to do what we could to enjoy ourselves — to hold onto what we had left. And we had dance parties and dinner parties that made us feel alive and supported — no one was alone. Although we’ll be back at some point, it will feel like starting over again. And maybe that’s good, maybe that’s necessary. And maybe we’ll come back and say, “Hey, it’s nice to meet ya! My name is ...” because things have changed. We all will have changed. But maybe, just maybe, it will be better than before.
• 
  2020-06-15

  Civilians and Soldiers on COVID-19's Frontlines

  US Army medics and healthcare personnel depart a New York hospital after having spent weeks assisting hospital staff in the relentless fight to halt and treat COVID-19 in virus-besieged New York City. Although the virus appeared to have subsided in the city at the time of this farewell ceremony, the omnipresent threat of infection still loomed large.
• 
  2020-06-08

  Doulas & PPE

  Using the #PPE hashtag, I discovered this story from the AFYA Foundation about how the Metro Doula Group in New York is creating birthing kits from donated #PPE for regional families.
• 
  2020-04-24

  PANDEMIC, The empty spring leading to the river

  These photos were taken by my friend in New York. She usually used to work out in the gym. However, all the gyms had been closed because of the Covid-19. She had to carefully find a route for walking to avoid people. She hardly did so since she didn't like the crowded street but now it is hard to see people on the street. These photos record an empty spring in New York. We can see a cat looking outside the window which is rarely seen in usual because cats are afraid of the crowd.
• 
  2020-05-20

  African Americans and COVID-19

  The uploaded picture is African Americans waiting in line for distributions of food and mask in New York. It is just one of the many pictures and art forms describing the disproportions effects of COVID-19 on communities of color. It has been stated that people of color are becoming infected and dying of COVID-19 at high rates than those that are white. It is important to be made aware of this as it could be the result of systematic racism that is embedded in the access to healthcare and resources as well as the living conditions compared to white folks.
• 
  2020-05-12

  News From Inside

  A story about what’s home, about what the feelings of a home are for me. Two very different spaces that were protagonist in my own personal journey through the pandemic. A film diary, an intimate account of what now are images of memories that don’t even feel real. #Fordhamuniversity, #VART3251
• 
  2020-03-28

  Trash Can

  Each day during the height of the horror of living in the epicenter I'd allow myself 1 walk, strategically timed to avoid as many people as possible. No matter how abstract the imagery the pandemic seems to intrude, in this photograph in the from of an out of focus figure in a mask. #fordhamuniversity
• 
  2020-03-24

  Extreme Measures

  Medical staff moves a patient in an isolation bed into a room during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-28

  Growing Parking-Lot

  After Long Island was recently opened, people have been returning to public places like Parks during the week. The number of cases has decreased, which makes it safer to go out in public than before.
• 
  2020-04-25

  The Necessities

  I live on Long Island, in New York. I was stopped at a traffic light and happened to see this sign for “The Barn”. The Barn is a drive through grocery store and there are several of them on Long Island. Usually the sign advertises ice cream, milk, eggs. This day, the important items are “masks, Duraflame, White Castle”. I thought that this was an odd combination of necessities, and if I had seen this sign at any other time I would be confused. But it sadly made perfect sense to me. Masks because we can’t go anywhere without them. Duraflame because people are at home and enjoying fires. And White Castle because fast food restaurants are closed or deemed unsafe. This sign made me sad - because of what it said, and because I understood it. Tags from contributor: LongIsland, Dairybarn, Newyork, Merrick, masks, whitecastle, duraflame,
• 
  04/02/2020

  Kurt Boone New York City Covid 19 Photo Collection #4

  Subway riders and essential workers were masks on the train in Brooklyn, New York
• 
  2020-04-13

  Handling the Coronavirus Dead in New York

  YouTube video from Ask a Mortician, in which mortician Caitlin Doughty addresses some misconceptions about whether New York City's response to the coronavirus - esp. the use of refrigerated trucks, holding bodies in parking lots, anonymous mass graves - are exceptional and worth being upset about, pointing out that most of these practices are actually very reasonable, practical, and standard practices.
• 2020-05-01

  Missing Sounds of New York: An Auditory Love Letter to New Yorkers

  Soundscape recordings of pre-Covid New York City life, from the New York Public Library
• 
  2020-04-10

  "The Hermit Herald" vol. 1 Issue 12

  Cuomo, terrible CV stats NY State; Saudi Royals sickened; mid-East; cruise ship industry & CV.
• 
  2020-04-26

  Flowers in the Trash Cans

  One month after the US declared a national emergency, the virus is still spreading rapidly. New York, as a severe area in the United States, has the most diagnosed numbers. Even so, the New Yorkers did not give up hope for a moment. New York florist Lewis Miller, reproduces his iconic street floral, FlowerFlash, on the empty streets of New York in the epidemic, paying tribute to the frontline New York medical staff with the vitality of flowers. Lewis Miller used all kinds of flowers to show the vigorous vitality, just like the hope that New Yorkers never extinguish.
• 
  03/16/2020

  Covid-19 Update: Broadway Cancels Shows

  This explains Broadway's decision to cancel or postpone shows throughout April 12 due to the Covid-19 global crisis.