Items

• 2023-03-21

  My experience

  Since I am a homebody and like my solitude, the lockdown was not terrible for me, personally. I was thankfully able to work remotely, and used my sparetime, cooking, taking on line classes and learning about homeopathy which I use as my health path, but delved more deeply into it by taking on line classes. The meditation groups that I would attend in person, were able to convert classes to zoom, which was a truly wondrous thing. Other groups followed suit, and before I knew it, I was involved in groups all over the world by zoom - AMAZING! My cousins and I would meet every Sunday on Zoom to share experiences and catch up on "us". My mom who is now 95 was able to facetime with family several times a day (she was given an ipad by her grandson the year before) and it saved her from feeling isolated. Food deliveries were readily available, thanks to Pam Silvestri keeping us aware of the food community happenings. I realize many people had negative experiences, job losses, etc. or not able to cope, and I myself knew many people that passed during that time. I think this is a great idea to document the stories of the lockdowns and how it affected people in different ways. There is so much more to say, but I will keep it summarized and leave it here.
• 
  February 13th, 2023

  Status of Mental Health During Lockdown

  I was overwhelmed and stress when we went to online classes. The photo I posted is a representation of how I felt during that time
• 2020-06-04

  Reality Check

  When the pandemic began about two years ago, I vividly remember thinking, "Okay, this should not last very long." But I was completely wrong. The pandemic took a lot of things from society, the ability to operate like we would normally would and instilled a fear that many of us had never experience. In my situation, it took the opportunity to have a traditional freshman college experience. Although, it allowed me to have classes on-line and have flexibility in my schedule, it took the one- in a lifetime experience of going from high school to post-secondary education and experiencing all that goes with that transition. This was a dream for me to accomplish, attending a recognized institution and having that ability to dorm, make friends, experience the college life. However, this pandemic made that possibility very surreal. This pandemic in a way was a reality check for me. Never once did I ever think that this type of situation would happen, you heard about it but you always thought about this like if it were something in the past.
• 2022-04-29

  College & Religion ft. COVID-19

  When I was in the second semester of my freshman year at ASU studying Computer Science, we had started hearing word of a virus slowly spreading around the world. Halfway through that semester, it had reached a point where my universities had shut down in-person sessions and ASU had announced initially a 2-week online period, which then quickly ended up being the rest of the semester. For someone who was extremely to get the full college experience, it was very disheartening to have to cut out a decent chunk of our college life. However, with time and acceptance of the current world situation, I was able to quickly adapt and thrive with the new fully-online learning environment. Although, amidst being able to adapt to the new university online life, it was a very different story when it came to my religion. As Muslims, we are very accustomed to being a close-knit community. It is an obligation to attend a group prayer on Friday afternoons on a weekly basis. This is something I have been attending ever since my parents had taught me this at a young age. However, with the way the virus was spreading and considering how crowded mosques tend to get at Friday prayers, they were forced to close down. This had a major affect on many Muslims as it is a big part of our daily routine. On top of that, when the month of Ramadan had come around, mosques could not stay open for the late-night prayers that everyone was so accustomed to attending on a daily basis. With a little more time and a lot of prayers, this year mosques has opened at full capacity for weekly Friday prayers and nightly prayers at the mosque for the month of Ramadan. From a religious perspective, COVID-19 had taught a lot of us to develop more patience than we were initially used to and have faith in our religion that at the end of the day, whatever happens in this world always has an underlying reason.
• 2021

  Covid-19 During College

  My freshman year of college was 2020. Almost all of my classes for the year were online only or online for most of the semester. This made attending classes very strange. It was not easy to ask questions online during the lecture and after class we were not always able to ask questions online. Most professors struggled just to figure out the technology to teach so it was harder for students to learn also.
• 
  2022-03-30

  The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on Students

  At the beginning of the pandemic there was mass confusion and scares about what was to come of this new, unknown virus called SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. Once widespread outbreaks were prevalent, everyone was sent home from work and schools. A lot of smaller businesses could no longer make rent and went out of business, and many people did not know how they were going to make ends meet. However, one of the most vital impacts, was on our students in upper elementary and above. Many public and private schools, from elementary to high school, did not make any school work necessary to be completed in Oklahoma, and as a result, created a gap in the knowledge needed for the continuation of schooling in the years to come. For freshmen college students, as I was at the time, if you were living on campus, in the dorm rooms and apartments, many of us were given notice that we had two weeks to move out unless we had extenuating circumstances. Additionally, all of our classes after spring break were moved online (in the best way possible) but often times were unsuitable to the in person experience. As a Microbiology Major enrolled in several different science classes with labs, it was nearly impossible to get the necessary experience to properly understand the laboratory material. As a result, this made it more difficult in the semesters to come to understand what was required of me, due to the lack of knowledge of materials I would have learned had I been able to attend my labs. Because of the severity of this virus and the rapid spread which sent everyone quarantining in their homes, we may see a lasting impact, not due to the viruses long-term side-effects, but due to our educational generations having a detrimental gap in proper school education.
• 
  11/27/2020

  Cristiano Favazza Oral History, 2020/11/27

  C19OH
• 
  2021-12-21

  My senior year in high school

  The pandemic happened in my senior year of high school so it ruined my last year because I officially become a college student. I was really shocked knowing that I could never be in the classroom again. I wasn't expecting that because everybody thought it was going to be like a 2 weeks vacation for students. The challenge I was facing that is staying inside the house without stepping outside for 2 months. I drove me crazy because I like going on with friends and family, staying inside makes me feel like I've been locked up. And the fear of getting infected by Covid because you could put your family in danger. But as time goes, I get used to everything, I get to step outside after 2 months and I have to get used to wearing a mask in public which is not comfortable at all
• 
  2020

  New England Student in COVID

  It seems as though every winter all of the kids in schools get a cold. Classrooms have a chorus of sniffles and coughs until springtime and we all suffer sickness together. At least, that’s how it started. My college sent an email to all students, staff, and faculty, saying the school would be monitoring the COVID-19 situation in other countries on February 10th, 2020 and there was no threat to worry about. Everyone left for spring break on March 8th, 2020, expecting to be back in a week. Instead, we got an “extra week” of the break to make sure anyone who traveled could quarantine, just in case. That week turned into a handful more and started online classes ASAP. Students were given the opportunity to go back to the college in a 3-hour window to retrieve any materials necessary for a few weeks online until the surge dies down. Fortunately, I am studying computer science, so a majority of my professors had minimal difficulty making the change, but others were not as fortunate. Quickly, the handful of weeks became the remainder of the semester. All courses would be graded on the basis of pass/fail if the students elected for each individual course they were enrolled in, due to the nature of this huge and unprecedented turnaround. All exams were online, many professors canceled their midterms to alleviate stress from the students and fears of cheating. We would receive semi-weekly updates from the college, mostly fluff pieces about missing the student body with information that was important sprinkled in. Eventually, we were permitted to sign up for a window of time to go and move our belongings out of the dorms, once the state allowed outside travelers in. In the midst of all of the chaos, I transferred colleges and started the next academic year attending one that was much larger and had more resources at its disposal to deal with COVID-19. This school had planned to welcome students back to campus in fall 2020 with a few expectations in place. They had devised a “COVID-19 Compliance” system to keep the population safe and maintain records of who was following protocol. Students would have a “green badge” assigned to them in the morning if: they had completed a daily symptom check-in that was negative, they were up-to-date on their twice-weekly COVID tests and had not been marked as a close contact to someone who had tested positive. Had one of these not been completed, you would have a yellow badge to mark non-compliance, a red badge for isolation, or an orange badge if you were symptomatic. Students must show a green badge to enter ANY campus building. Some classes were online, others hybrid in-person/online at the discretion of the professors. Masks were to be worn at all times, students must get vaccinated once they were eligible, dining areas were to-go only, the campus was littered with signs to promote 6 feet of social distancing, and a student-run campaign called “F*ck It Won’t Cut It” was started to bring attention to the urgency of staying compliant to stay on campus. We would receive weekly updates about the status of the campus’s overall positivity rate. It felt like a shell of a college experience, as students could not visit other students’ residences, no clubs could have in-person meetings, attendance at sporting events was prohibited, and students reporting other students for non-compliance created an atmosphere of disdain. We are now in the second full academic year of the pandemic and there are a few deviations from what I described for fall 2020. Now, COVID tests are once weekly rather than twice, students can now visit other residences and attend sporting events, all of the dining spaces have opened up to sit-in dining, masks are still required at all times, all classes are in person, and the “F*ck It Won’t Cut It” campaign has been retired. It seems as though we are creeping towards the idea of a “typical” college experience, but it feels like this will have an everlasting impact on the next few incoming classes of students and change college as people know it.
• 
  2020-09-19

  Hannah Tedawes Oral History, 2020/09/19

  C19OH
• 
  2020-06-01

  Langan Oral History, 2020/06/01

  The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.
• 
  2020-05-26

  Lo_Emerson_

  C19OH
• 
  2020-08-11

  The St. Mary's Wind Ensemble and Online Rehearsal

  This is a series of emails between the music department head and St. Mary’s residence life discussing a way for band members living on campus to practice their instruments without disturbing other residents. These emails are significant as it demonstrates the lengths the music department was working to find ways for band members to continue regularly practicing their instrument even in the midst of COVID.
• 
  2020-06-05

  Beating the Odds

  As cliche as it sounds I feel like I've fought all my life to get my diploma. Covid-19 was just another fight that I had to get through to get what I desired. I was so excited for senior year to start for all of events and the approach of college. When the pandemic first arrived in the United States, I didn't think much of it. At worst, I thought we would only have a few days off from school. Little did I know I would not be returning once covid hit. Although my parents got sick and I was continuing to work, school remained in session. Even though it was online, it was a major adjustment and at times I didn't think it would make it. As time progressed and the pandemic gradually got worse I managed to graduate. Although it was not the traditional graduation setting, I was content with the drive thru graduation I received. To graduate during a pandemic is an achievement I will forever be proud of and to every student during this pandemic I'm also proud of because at the end of the day school simply is not just school. Meaning, one doesn't just learn something grasp it immediately and be done. There are steps involved, learning barriers, time commitments, life stressors, and so much more. Life often becomes a barrier to school and to be able to endure that is quite the achievement. This photograph has tremendous meaning to me because in all honesty I accomplished what I wanted to do.
• 
  2021-09-20

  Wake Up Call

  I was nineteen years old, now soon too be twenty-one, when news started circulating about a new virus that was spreading around in China. Personally, I thought the whole thing was just a bunch of fear mongering being played up by the media for clicks. In March of 2020 my theory would turn out to be drastically wrong. Slowly the spread of this new virus became worse and worse and before I knew it, everything was shut down and my family was in lockdown. My in-person classes at Duquesne University were all cancelled and moved to online conference calls over Zoom. For the first time in my life, a global event was having a real, tangible effect on my life. Being born in December of 2000, I have already lived through some world events that will go down in history. Wars in the Middle East, the Housing Market Crash, 9/11, the rapid advancement of computers and technology… all things I was alive for but either to young to remember or to ignorant to see the significance. For the first time in my life, I was seeing a major occurrence in the world directly impact my life and was able to comprehend the seriousness and significance. The object I have loaded is a picture of the Ferris Wheel my family owns and potentially one of the last times I will ever have seen it up and running. Hundreds of thousands of small and family run businesses have either been shut down temporarily or shut down for good because of the pandemic, my family business is no exception. My family runs Reinhart Amusements, a business that provides rides and games to Parishes around the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area for their summer festivals. I’ve been working for the businesses since I was fourteen and started helping long before then. Like many others, we too had to shut down because of the pandemic. My family does not rely on this business financially like my grandfather did. For my parents and many in my large family, it is more of a self-fulfilling hobby. I’m very lucky to get to say that my father and his father have put smiles on the faces of kids and adults alike all around the Pittsburgh area. It is now September 20, 2021 and we have not been able to partake in a festival for over 2 years now. It is sad to say, but after talking with my father and if we are unable to open back up in 2022 then we never will. I don’t know what the future holds with this virus and the world. What I do know is that though the pandemic may take away my family business, it will never take away my own and many others happy memories of it.
• 
  2021-09-17

  Kayla Cruz and Marisol Palacios Oral History, 2021/09/17

  Day to day life during pandemic.
• 
  2021-09-15

  Jack and Megan; Covid-19 Stories

  This podcast tells the story of two individuals experiences through COVID-19.
• 2021-01-15

  Learning virtually

  I woke up on a warm California spring day at 7:30 a.m. to my mother bantering on about something. I got up and walked to my dresser half asleep, ready to collapse. I put on a blue nylon t-shirt with some black shorts and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Then I slowly walked downstairs pretty anxious and excited to start online. My Dad was already downstairs cooking my up some scrambled eggs and toast to start the new day. As usually my sister was complaining about something, I just tuned her out. My dog the lazy thing he is climbed onto the couch and my mom somehow found something to yell at me about. It might of been about getting on early, but I am not quit sure. any way after breakfast I walked into the living room to get on zoom. It was pretty boring trying to sit through math we were talking about pre-algebra, but I managed to get through it. My dad was super load laughing over the phone, I could hear him perfectly through 2 doors and in another room. My mom was on meetings all day and my sister was in the same boat as me. All the while my dog was sleeeping on the couch next to me without a care in the world. My next 2 periods flew by I don't know why because I had English as one of those. And my last period was rocketry which was fun in the fact that I got to build things, but it would of been a lot more fun in person. Overall the day went by pretty fast ending at approximately 2:45 p.m. After school was finished I slipped by with no homework for the day but I would much rather be in person. The rest of the day was fairly normal I turned on the Television to watch my favorite shows until my sister came down and started bossing me around that I need to get off the T.V and do something productive, shesh she is like a mini mom. Anyway I decided to go for a walk with the dog, and just my luck before I could slip out the door she saw me and made me wait 10 whole minutes to slip on a pair of shoes. When she finally got downstairs she snagged the leash from me and we were on our way. My sister is incapable of controlling a small 40 pound dog so you can only imagine how this walk went. I tried to take control of the leash, but she snatched it back and threw a fit, classic. My dog has a habit of peeing on 14 things in a trip so it delayed it even more. When we finally turned the corner to go up our hill it felt like we've been walking forever. We walked in the door took off the dog's collar and sat on the couch. mom walked in the room and asked us how it went, we said it was pretty good. And after that it was pretty much the end of the day we ate dinner sat in front of thee T.V. and then went to bed.
• 
  12/02/2020

  Flynn Connelly Oral History, 2020/12/02

  This oral history is a retelling of what it was like to attend college, graduate from college, and then hunt and find a job during the Covid-19 global pandemic.
• 
  2020-07-14

  Registering for Graduate School While Serving in the Military on COVID-19 Orders

  While serving in the Texas Army National Guard on COVID-19 Relief Mission orders, I decided to apply to graduate school at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX. While on these orders, I ran into registration issues. I was trying to register as a full time student with nine graduate credits, but St. Mary's had born forced to redo their entire Fall 2020 course scheduling due to COVID-19. This is described in detail in the email. At first I asked the registrar: "I am trying to web register for a third course in the fall. When I go to register in Banner, it states “No terms available for this option.” I seem to be in good standing and lack any registration holds that I can see. Is there any way to get my registration unlocked in Banner?" They responded: "We have temporarily closed registration so we can begin to make changes to the course schedule to accommodate the different modalities that will be offered. We will reopen registration on August 3. In the meantime, if you need to make a change to your schedule, I am happy to assist. Let me know if I can help." I had to ask them to manually enter me for this course so that I was signed up for a full time course load in time to meet my funding date commitments. Luckily this situation was sorted out and I was able to attend St. Mary's University full time during Fall 2020. The Fall 2020 semester was interesting though, as St. Mary's as a whole went almost entirely online.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Empty Shelves

  On March 15, 2020 around 3 PM, Nevada’s governor announced that classes would be suspended. I took these photos on the same day, except for the one in the upper right corner, just about 2 days after. In the collage, you can see empty shelves of beans, pasta, paper towels, toilet paper, and even eggs. I never thought a day would come where multiple shelves in grocery stores would be empty. Coronavirus has already existed long before this announcement, but I remember that day because nothing was ever the same after. People were in a state of panic, buying everything in bulk because the person next to them was doing the same thing and God-forbid that they run out of eggs. Arguably so, at that time, I understood that people wanted to stock up on everything in order to properly quarantine themselves. Around April, I took the photo in the upper right which is a handwritten sign that I made for the store that I worked at. It took some time for the government to officially mandate that masks were required so we had to take the initiative of doing so. Now, 7 months later, I’m not sure if things have gotten better or if we just learned how to live around this virus, but at the very least, the shelves aren’t empty anymore.
• 
  2020-10-08

  Life Indoors

  Taking classes at a university online for the 7-8 months has been a new experience that is new for a lot of people. Both professors and students alike are learning how to switch over to an online environment, and I think it is hard on everyone. But I am personally trying to make the most of it, even if I end up sleeping through my first lecture sometimes. I think it is important to document what the schooling or work life is like during this time because it is something we have not seen before. Spending the majority of my time at home, I have begun to rekindle past hobbies that I have had. I chose to submit a picture of the things I have crocheted because they were challenging in that I hadn't ever tried to make little characters or animals before this pandemic. I took the picture while on a video call with my friends because ever since this summer, we have chatted or video called to keep in touch with each other and "hangout," even if we have to be physically apart. This times online have been very meaningful to me and crucial in my survival of these times, because I tend to get very lonely and I know many people are struggling with mental health. My mental health is doing pretty okay despite everything going on, and I thank my friends for being there to talk and just have fun and take my mind off of everything challenging going on.
• 
  2020-10-09

  covid, religion & public life reflection assignment

  I wrote almost four times the required wordcount as a general reflection on this time period in my life & what it's been like balancing work problems and academics and bad mental health this year and these past couple months for this round of classes. I had some tension I needed to get off my chest, apparently, but I survived this first half of the fall. It is draining to be faced with at least a handful of people every day who radiate contempt for your safety or the dozens who behave carelessly, repeatedly, carelessly or the few who make obstacles of themselves to prove a point. It is draining to not be alone all year and yet pretend, by and large, that all is mostly well, all year
• 0000-08-01

  Life Still Goes on

  Although the pandemic temporarily placed a hold on what everyone could do, the pandemic didn’t place a hold on everyone’s life. The pandemic started in March around spring break of the Spring semester of 2020. Due to the pandemic I had to make a choice to stay in Phoenix and continue working and going to school or leave everything move back home. I made the decision to move home and start over. I was fortunate enough to get a job in these hard times which took up a lot of my time and distracted me from what was about to come. In August I had to make the decision of moving back to Phoenix for school or stay home and do school completely online. Although most of my classes are online anyways and this seems like a very small issue it was very draining for me. After many trips to Phoenix, many tears, and many panic attacks I made the decision to move. Due to the last-minute move and the stress that came with it I began to second guess the decision I had made. Every day I try to convince myself that it was the right decision and that I am doing good considering the situation we are all in. I also feel as though my mental health has been rapidly decreasing. With that being said, I know I am not the only one that feels as though the combination of no human interaction and online school that isn’t teaching us anything has caused mental health issues to increase. A good friend of mine created a group of classmates at the University of Arizona and composed a letter to the President, after being asked in a class how they were doing, explaining how bad they were doing. They received no response; it was a very good concept but not enough to make a difference.
• 
  2020-10-07

  COVID-19 impact on my life

  How my life has been impacted by COVID
• 
  2020-10-05

  What influenced me during the pandemic

  Hello everyone, my name is Eddie Wu. I was born US but raised in Taiwan, a country that is nearby China. That means we are the first few countries that is influenced by COVID-19 due to the geography distance. At that time, my family was separated, me and my siblings living at Tempe, taking classes. My parents were at Taiwan that time facing the COVID-19, my parents are asked to stay home and put on masks when they go out. Then one more month later, the first case has happened in US. First, I think I will just stay here doing normal classes and will stay normal. Then my parents suddenly asks my siblings to go back to Taiwan, because Taiwanese government have already showing their ability to control the pandemic at Taiwan. So, it suddenly changed my day that time. My siblings are back to Taiwan, and I stayed here alone. It is scary that while the first few cases are founded in US, I am the only few person who put on masks in public places. I still remember at March, when I went to one of the store to get groceries, I have my masks on and my gloves on, some other customers told her child that I am sick so I put on my masks. During the pandemic time, it does change the ways I get groceries, socializing with friends, and taking class. The pandemic have make me getting bigger amount of groceries in once. When I am trying to doing activities with friends, mostly we are doing it on voice chat apps, if we have to meet outside, I always ask them to have their mask prepared, and also I will bring hand sanitizer to clean our hands. The last the changes the most is my classes, I am an UAS student, most of my class will be really hard to teach online because we don’t actually see the items in real life if the class is online, so most of my class are really hard for me that time, because it is online, somethings aren’t clear enough and I need to spent more hours to learn it myself. These are some major things that changes in my life during pandemic.
• 2020-09-28

  Dealing with Covid-19 and School

  Last semester (spring 2020) was only my second semester in college and as I was already struggling to get a grasp on my school work and manage a social life outside of school and my part time job I had found myself back at home in my childhood bedroom having to teach myself the material. I am now a sophomore at Florida Gulf Coast University. This semester I have only one class in person and we just meet to complete the labs therefore I am basically teaching myself five college level courses. I also have a part time job at PetSmart and as they are pretty flexible since I am in school it is still hard to fully manage my free time to the best of my abilities without wasting any of the time I do have outside of work. I, like probably many others have found the past few months some of the most challenging yet evolving times of my life. Despite the challenges I've encountered over the last 6 months I was very thrilled to be back at home with my parents and my cat that I was very upset to leave to begin with. But, I shouldn’t have been home that long. Us, the students of America, need to be in classrooms learning hands on, we need that time out of the house to prospere, we need those social interactions with teachers and peers. We should not be forced to take classes via a computer. This is America we should have the right to decide whether we want to return to our lives normally, as we should and be in the classroom learning with our teachers in front of us. As we are now in week seven of the fall semester for students in higher level education across America there have been numerous instances of universities closing due to Covid-19 outbreaks and some not even opening back up to give the students a chance. My university has opened with the majority of the classes still being online which has been challenging. Most of the resources they provide to us have either been moved to online formatting or just simply closed which is unfair. Why should we the students who want to succeed in our lives ahead of us be stuck behind computer screens teaching ourselves the material for our coursework? America should be able to handle this pandemic a lot better than it has been to get our students back in the classrooms.
• 
  09/18/2020

  Lauren Murray Oral History, 2020/09/18

  Lauren discusses how the pandemic has affected her university studies
• 2020-09-17

  MW1: Covid University: I: The Chat Box

  The pandemic forced us all to take online classes. We all miss the traditional classroom setting. But we all remember how awkward it was to ask questions. One thing about zoom is you can ask a question or make a comment in the chat box. This is a feature I hope get added to the in person class experience. It adds so much to the productivity and the curiosity of student. Being able to just add a question into the chat log, then the teacher peeks at it and answers when they have time or if its immediately relevant. No classroom disruption, no being shy, just unadulterated curiosity.
• 
  2020-09-18

  Metamorphosis

  This is a story why Online education is not the same as in-Person education that COVID took AWAY FROM US
• 2020-05

  A Month at my Grandparents

  I was stuck at my grandparents for a month with my two brothers, sister, cousin, and my grandparents during the start of the first wave of COVID-19. We didn't really do anything but stay inside. When we first got there, we had to wipe off my PlayStation 4, PlayStation controller, Headset, and all of my PlayStation games. When we got groceries, we would wipe them off and let them dry overnight. The worst part about the entire thing was that I had to shut my PlayStation off a lot and had to be off at a certain time. It was upstairs so I couldn't try and play on it at night but I also got up at 8:00am or 9:00am for online classes that didn't even count as a grade.
• 
  2020-04-06

  online classes

  We always go to physical schools. However, due to the spread of covid19, I have to get used to zoom app and learn the new things online. Thus, this new style of learning-zoom, is important for us to continue our college during the Covid19 period.
• 
  2020-03-05

  social media for quarantine

  social media still made some fun out of the quarantine situation from COV-19
• 
  2020-03-30

  Creating Safe Havens: University Police on Duty Despite Pandemic

  Like their public safety colleagues across the nation, the men and women of the Suffolk University Police Department are balancing caring for their community and their families. "We still have a job to do to take care of people and their needs," said Lt. Ramon Nunez. "We have to pick each other up and have a positive mindset that we're going to get through this together." "I tell her that police officers are like superheroes in the community and that our job is to go out and help other people." Patrol Officer Gisela Rodrigues' daughter sometimes gets a bit nervous when it's time for her mom to go to work, but the officer knows how to calm her.
• 2020-05-20

  Covid-19 in the desert

  The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of many people. In my case, this has affected me in my education in different ways. First, universities and colleges had to close. I used to go to college four days a week, so my routine changed completely. Now with the spread of COVID-19, I must stay home because it is safer, and it helps to stop the spread. I must admit, I was enjoying being home, but after a few days I was easily bored. Second, students who planned to graduate this spring semester may have a very different graduation. I heard that the college is planning some surprises for them, but I am sure they would rather have a "normal" graduation. I was pretty sure the summer classes would be online, but I did not think about having the fall semester online too. I agree and disagree with the college’s decision to plan the fall classes online. I think it is a good idea to avoid future spread. However, I also think that maybe it may be an exaggeration. The biggest impact personally for me is my job I am a part time employee who has been working up 50 hours a week with none of the full-time benefits. I understand I should not be complaining because I am lucky to still have a job but its almost not worth it people are even more rude and its just taking a toll mentally.
• 2020-05-19

  Untitled

  COVID19 was seen as a joke until people in the states started to get infected with the virus and soon enough a stay at home order was put in place. My school closed down, and classes continued online. I’ve been seeing people complaining about their zoom classes, and it makes me grateful that my school doesn’t make us sit through awkward video chats with our teachers. A normal seventeen year old would expect the same basic routine when it came time to their last year in highschool. Prom, grad night and of course that emotional ceremony where you would say your final goodbyes to the people you practically grew up with. I don’t think any senior this year was expecting, or prepared, for their last year of hell to be cut short, I mean I sure wasn’t. Most parents don't even remember what was detailed in their senior moments of high school, but this year, 2020, will definitely be hard to forget as the years go by. Sadly, my boss informed me that the store I was working at would also be closed down because of the virus. I thought that since I had more time on my hands I would be able to at least use it to work, and save money for my car, but I guess things change. I'm so grateful for the people who are risking their lives to help cure those who have been infected. In Riverside county there have been 5,952 cases, 3,833 recoveries, and 261 deaths. These doctors and nurses are sacrificing their own health and while all were asked to do is stay at home. The question that still remains is when will we be able to socialize with our friends again, and when will we be able to go about our days without having to wear masks and gloves?
• 2020-05-19

  Untitled

  The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of many people. In my case, this has affected me in my education in different ways. First, universities and colleges had to close. I used to go to college four days a week, so my routine changed completely. Now with the spread of COVID-19, I have to stay home because it is safer and also help to stop the spread. I have to admit, I was enjoying being home, but after a few days I was easily bored. Second, students who planned to graduate this spring semester may have a very different graduation. I heard that the university is planning some surprises for them, but I am sure they would rather have a "normal" graduation. I was pretty sure the summer classes would be online, but I didn't think about having the fall semester online too. I agree and disagree with the college’s decision to plan the fall classes online. I think it is a good idea to avoid future spread. However, I also think that maybe it may be an exaggeration, but my sister always says: "I don't believe in this virus, but just in case I protect myself." This epidemic has some good things. In my case, I am using my extra time to cook healthier foods and I have even experimented with new recipes. I have more time to talk to my loved ones. My grandmother can now make video calls. My sister can spend more time with her son. I am planning to learn something new when the semester ends. I hope to be able to travel with my mother to Mexico and see my family. I would like to be with them in this difficult time. Our planet Earth has also benefited from this virus because it now has less pollution. My advice to get over this virus is to stay home and follow the rules.
• 2020-05-07

  COVID-19: The End of Freshman Year

  My name is Griffin, and I am currently a freshman at the University of Arizona. The Coronavirus outbreak definitely changed my life. I was on 2020 spring break in California, following the Western Collegiate Roller Hockey League Playoffs, and after a week of playing hockey and going to the beaches in California, I received an email; school was going to be online for the rest of the semester. I went back to campus, packed up my things, and headed home to Prescott, Arizona. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was sad to leave. I was leaving my new friends, my dorm, and my freshman experience behind. I hadn’t lived at home in months, since before the summer, so it was a weird transition. I felt like I was back in high school. As classes transferred to online, it seemed like the workload increased. Maybe it was because I was sleeping more and had less time, or maybe teachers just felt like they needed to increase the rigor. Either way, online classes were hard, but manageable. However, I definitely preferred in person classes. There were many disappointments with the outbreak. My hockey team received a bid to attend the national tournament in Florida, and we were planning our trip, but it was cancelled. I also had summer plans cancelled. I had a three week study abroad trip planned to China, which was canceled for obvious reasons. I also had a few job interviews for summer internships, but all the companies told me they were no longer hiring because of the outbreak. Now, I’m still unsure what I’ll be doing this summer. Luckily, I’ve been safe up in Prescott. My region has been relatively unaffected, with only about 100 cases of Coronavirus reported in my county. It’s one of the few perks of living in a small county. I still don’t know anyone who has been infected, but I hope it stays that way. For now, I’m just trying to stay healthy, and I’m hoping life can get back to normal. I want to be able to return to school, play hockey, and get a job. Hopefully all this can happen. I’m disappointed my freshman year ended so abruptly, but I’m grateful to be healthy.
• 
  2020-05-02

  COVID-19, Religion, and Public Life Reflection

  Reflection
• 
  2020-04-27

  Teaching in the year of Covid-19.

  To keep our spirits up our culture and climate committee at my school created an office photo contest for the staff to show off what their home office looks like during our "stay home, stay safe, stay connected" order, which is nothing more than a watered-down version of a shelter in place order. This is a picture of my office: our dining room table converted into a desk with all my devices and curriculum materials all around me.
• 
  2020-04-09

  Michael "Cam" White

  A personal account
• 
  2020-04-22

  Personal Impact of the Pandemic

  A Word document file of what my experience with the pandemic has been as well as the impact it had on my family
• 
  2020-03-24

  TikTok coronavirus meme

  TikTok of a recording of an online lab assignment *Erika Ringstrom, Northeastern University, #HIST5241
• 
  2020-03-22

  Professor Recording Class

  An image of a 74 year old professor recording his classes in his former class room now that universities have moved to online instruction. Shows the age divide in ease of using technology and positive response from students who appreciate their professor's effort to continue their instruction.
• 
  2020-03-12

  Screenshot of the email sent to students of Loyola University Chicago.

  Screenshot of the email sent to students at Loyola University Chicago that their classes would be moved online and they would need to leave the Residence halls as soon as possible.
• 
  2020-03-14

  A Concern

  Professor Diaz expresses concern over the many responsibilities students shoulder, referencing her own family situation and elder care.