Items

• 
  2022-03-27

  Were masks and pandemic anxiety a useful distraction towards ideas that should not matter, but did (to many)?

  Like everything having to do with public interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and lockdowns significantly impacted "traditional weddings." Gone were the days of large weddings, dancing around mask free and hugging the happy couple. If you search the internet, you will find a large amount of information on happy couples who had to cancel or alter their plans. Many of the #COVID BRIDES stories on this archive illustrate the extreme panic of changing plans and constant change, such as wearing masks in their pictures. The pandemic altering, delaying, or even preventing weddings has impacted society's mental health and perhaps future cultural traditions in weddings. This archive has a collection on mental health, https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/page/mental-health, which demonstrates how hard this pandemic has been on many people. The effects on mental health shows how weddings are a popular and important tradition in American society. The ceremony is a way to share your love before others, blend families and friends, and move from a "single person" to a team. When I say wedding, I mean the customs and celebration within the ceremony, not the genders of the couple. Gay marriage has not been legal throughout America long, only since 2013. The anxiety and stress of two years of delayed/cancelled weddings during a pandemic pale in comparison to the longstanding social pressure for LGBTQ people not to marry, on top of previous legality issues. There is still a large group of Americans that have the opinion that it is "evil" or a sin. I have seen and heard in person, movies, or television disparaging remarks on the idea of two men or two women getting married and/or kissing. I wanted to highlight this picture from TIME magazine as I hope it demonstrates that masks made people freak out. The idea that the officiant and the people were so distracted and concerned about the two brides either not wearing masks or being the only two kissing while not wearing masks----rather than not being male/female made me smile. I hope some of the pain, anxiety, and discomfort of the pandemic was turned into positivity by distracting people from the meaningless idea of couple's gender and that some LGBTQ opponents realized there are bigger problems in the world.
• 
  2020-03-14

  Sarah Uhlig Oral History, 2020/03/14

  During this interview, I am talking with my classmate Sarah Uhlig about our experience in the program of Empower: Ecuador, since we were both on it together. The main purpose of this interview was to get an insight into what it was for another student like me, to have missed a trip to Ecuador due to COVID-19. Just to clarify, this was not any trip. This was a missionary trip for which we were preparing ourselves to go for most of the semester. As the trip was canceled, we recognized that the program was much more than just traveling to Ecuador. Rather, the program was about our personal lives and the way in which we relate to others around us that are in different seasons and circumstances in life. Another very important thing, was self-reflection into how we were utilizing our gifts and field of interest to not only serve others but be present with others. Many things were learned from this course and Sarah, will be sharing with you her experience despite the challenges and messiness that COVID-19 brought.
• 
  2020-03-20

  Art Basel Hong Kong Moves Its Art Fair Online in the Wake of Coronavirus

  W Magazine’s “Art Basel Hong Kong Moves Its Art Fair Online in the Wake of Coronavirus” discusses the complete digitization of the 2020 Art Basel Hong Kong edition. The feeling of losing the general energy of art events or the excitement of an art fair booth setting more specifically that I and many of my friends and colleagues had when transitioning to remote work was echoed in the article. More interestingly, the article touches on the artistic responses to the pandemic - augmented reality or digital works playing with the new virtual lens that constituted our world during the height of Covid.
• 
  2021-07-31

  My covid Story

  just writing about life since it started in late 2020
• 
  2021-04-22

  Bye Quarantine Hair!

  In December 2010, my husband and I made a pact with our friends, all of us either brand new parents or weeks away from becoming parents, that we’d go on a Disney Cruise together in summer of 2020. Well by planning time 2019, our friends bailed, but we were still committed. For Christmas 2019, we gifted our two kids and my mom a 7 day Disney cruise to the Caribbean. The first week of March of 2020, I went to get my hair done. I considered chopping it to my shoulders, but I told my hair dresser that I wanted to wait until July and chop it right before the cruise. I’m sure you know where this is going. Clearly, the cruise was one of earliest events to be cancelled due to the pandemic and I never went back to my hair dresser in 2020. Throughout the school year, I lamented over my waist length quarantine hair, in desperate need of a cut. Over and over I told my students “when I get vaxxed, I’m getting this chopped off since you know, no cruise.” By the end of March both my mom and I were vaccinated, but were unsure about our hairdresser. She had lost her shop during Covid - had she retired? With case counts declining significantly, we reached out to her and not only was she still doing hair inside her house, (one household at the time), but was vaccinated as well. So farewell to my quarantine hair, cut away all the fear and panic and sleepless nights of the past year and let’s start fresh. (No cruise though, my short hair and I will just hit the beach).
• 
  2021-02-07

  Lost 16th Birthday Gift

  This document recalls my sister's cancelled 16th birthday present and her perspective on the closure of events in 2020-2021. It is important because it captures a unquiet perspective from a teens point of view.
• 2021-01-14T08:53:10

  Covid routine

  routines before Covid were easy because they where every day. routines during covid were different because. the world closed down most off the sports programs, and restaurants and even grocer stores. people had to stay ind=side other wise they would be fined a lot of money. our family had to shop from Amazon for the first couple months. I play a lot of sports, like baseball, football, tennis, golf, and swimming sports. all those sports were canceled due to covid. then after that you have nothing to do.
• 2020-12-11

  The Start of Covid-19

  When I first heard about the Corona virus I didn't think it was a big deal. I thought that scientists would find an antidote and it would go away after a few weeks, but I was very wrong. The first time I realized COVID was a big deal was when school was canceled. At first I thought it was cool, we were gonna get a few weeks off of school, but what i didn't realize was that we would be quarantined for over 10 months. Everything started closing, restaurants, movie theaters, and sports. We switched to online school which was very hard. The school work was easier but many students had no motivation anymore. it was very annoying to have to stare at a screen all day. The Corona virus pandemic was very boring time to live in.
• 
  2020-12-01

  Graduation pack

  Since the graduation has been canceled due to COVID-19, the graduation package had to be shipped to students and let us keep it until it is safe to hold the actual ceremony on campus. I received mine on Dec. 1st, the ceremony was supposed to be hold on Dec. 12 online. I don’t know if the ceremony will be hold in the near future, but I believe that it won’t be what we’ve imagined it. I won’t be able to see all my friends together again, some of us graduated and went to other countries because of the unfriendly policy to international students, and I don’t even know if I will ever see them again.
• 0020-01-01

  The looming feeling of Disaster

  Early into the year (January-March) this all began, and I was thrown into a world of change, excitement, and difficulty, but before all of this, I myself knew 2020 wasn't going to be a normal year. For me, it started out great, I was on a ski trip after new years and was just relaxed because I was out of school and having fun, but in these times I kept hearing of terrible things happening in the world, one of these being the coronavirus, I didn't pay any attention to it and expected it to be a problem only in China and other countries far from California, but as the year progressed, stuff started to get more severe, and by late February/early March, stuff started to get serious as it got into the USA, and March 13 is now a day I will forever remember as the last normal day in 2020, after that, online school started, which was easy to begin with and it was fun because I was still able to go to my local store and talk to my friends online, the last semester of 7th grade was easy and fun, and Summer came around and I was able to hang out with my friends a little bit, then 8th grade started, and it started out fun, but as we entered December, everything is starting to get worse and the cases are increasing because the virus likes colder weather, so much has gone wrong this month, my. yearly ski trip that I mentioned art the start is cancelled and so much is going wrong, lets hope 2021 is better, and we can get this stuff behind us all.
• 
  2020-11-27

  Life During the Pandemic

  I uploaded this image because it describes what is going on in my life currently. I am not able to be at college currently. It's important to me because it is the reality of things. We have online classes, breaks are cancelled, and classes are ending early.
• 
  2020-08

  143 Year Tradition Interrupted

  The Grantsburg Fair was a big part of my life growing up and it happened every year in August. 2020 would have been the fair's 143rd year but was interrupted due to the pandemic. It was surprising to hear that something that was so expected from my childhood could be interrupted by COVID.
• 
  2020-10-20T20:17

  The effect of a Pandemic

  The photo I chose for this assignment is a picture of an empty hockey arena. Covid-19 really effected not only my decision to play hockey this year but the hockey season in general. Due to underlying conditions, in June I decided it was a smart decision to not continue playing junior hockey this year. The decision to not play junior hockey this year, has led me to start my academic career at UNLV. Not only did Covid-19 effect my decision to continue to play hockey, it also effected all junior hockey season around the world, most leagues are not starting their season until January and some aren’t even playing at all.
• 
  2020-10-11

  Studying Abroad During A Pandemic

  The end of January was coming closer and closer. Soon, I would be exchanging harsh Wisconsin winters for the rainy winters of London, England. The year prior, I had been there on a two-week study abroad trip learning about art. This time I’d be spending four months living in the International Student House and going to university there. By the time we left on the plane, there were barely whispers of a possible outbreak of a virus across the globe. We didn’t hear much more about it until the end of March. It was everywhere on the news, and we began to receive emails from our university in the States that we might get pulled from our program. We hoped that wouldn’t be the case. The city of London was seemingly normal up until we left. One major change happened with the tube. It was decided that in order to attempt to slow the spread of the pandemic across the city, certain tube lines would close down. This, in fact, had the opposite effect as it caused more and more people to cram themselves into rail cars in order to get to work or to school on time. We eventually received an email from our home university stating we would have a weekend to gather out things and then fly out early the next week. In fact, that weekend I was supposed to fly to Krakow, Poland on a short trip. I stayed back because I had a sinking feeling that something like this would happen. Crazy enough, if I would have gone, I would have been stuck in Poland--my flight back to London was canceled because due to the pandemic. We left a city scrambling to collect toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and masks and returned home to find a similar state of affairs in Wisconsin. We had heard about how horrendous the lines at customs were in the United States airports that were still open, with some having to stand and wait six to eight hours to make it through. When we arrived, it was impossible to adequately socially distance while we waited to get our temperatures checked and then be interviewed by the TSA about where we were coming from. By the time we had arrived, the process of going through customs had become much smoother--we only waited for about an hour. After returning home, we had to self-quarantine for two weeks. We had to finish our university term online, much like the students back overseas who went online after the Easter holiday. It was an odd thing to finish up my semester abroad in London from my home in Southwest Wisconsin. After ruminating about it for weeks, I thought to myself that I was incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to live and study in London for two months and even though our trip got cut short, I still had an amazing experience and got to meet some really wonderful people during my time there.
• 
  09/18/2020

  Alyssa Fell Oral History, 2020/09/18

  This audio interview expresses Alyssa Fell's emotions and perspective on the pandemic throughout its course from March to now. The questions reflect her opinions and understanding of responses and changes due to Covid-19 in social, political, and financial regards.
• 
  2020-08-20

  Transitions During a Still World: My Time as a TA

  The world stopped. Everything about our daily lives that we loved (even the things we hated) became abnormal. After being sent home abruptly from my study abroad experience, I was aching for something academically stimulating to do with my summer. Internships were cancelled, and the world only seemed to be doing their daily doses of reading through social media. The position to become a Teaching Assistant for a newly created Politics of the Pandemic course fell into my lap. This blessing of a position gave me the chance to not only help a professor teach the national and global problems that COVID-19 brought into the world, but gave me the chance to truly influence the newest class of Suffolk Rams. A year ago, becoming a TA had given me a true, tangible connection to Suffolk, and this summer I got to aid 38 students in finding their own reasons to love the school. Even during a pandemic, when the world seems still, transitions are happening. I consider myself lucky to be a part of so many individual lives and transitions.
• 
  2020-08-17

  Staying Positive During A Pandemic

  I remember when quarantine first started, I was miserable. I hated the idea of being stuck in the house. But I used quarantine as a time for me to stay positive and work on becoming a better me. With staying positive I had a better mindset throughout the day and found ways to keep me motivated. I was upset at first with a bunch of my activities being cancelled but I did find positive alternatives. With this it has definitely lifted my spirits and made me have more of a positive outlook on the cancellation of certain things and on life moving forward.
• March 27, 2020

  COVID Share Your Story #RITtigers #18, Physics and Psychology Major's Point of view

  The REU programs are likely going to be cancelled, which is very upsetting. My volunteer trip to Puerto Rico was cancelled, a journalism conference we were supposed to go to in Long Island was cancelled, and I'm out of a job for the most part. I'm concerned about the future, but if there's one positive thing that has come of COVID-19, it's spending more time with my emotional support rabbit, Rocket. If I could give a message to myself at the start of this semester, what would I say? If the question is asking: "What would you tell your past self regarding this semester if you could?", then I would say: You'll get to bring Rocket to class one day soon :)
• March 26, 2020

  COVID Share Your Story #RITtigers #13, Industrial Engineering BS & Sustainable Engineering ME Major's Point of view

  As a result of COVID-19, there are two main pieces of my time in college that have been affected: my graduation ceremony and RIT's Relay For Life event. The lack of a graduation ceremony, as a first generation college student as well, has left my family and I a bit disappointed. We're trying to stay positive though, and are glad it's allowing me more time home with my Dad before I go off into the working world full-time. Relay For Life was the other large part of my life that has now changed. I'm one of the two event chairs in charge of organizing and planning the event, and after putting in a semester and a half of work spread among 28 people, we had to cancel the in-person event. However, considering that we still want to help the American Cancer Society as much as possible, our team is still working to plan a VIRTUAL event instead for April 20th-April 24th! This will be an opportunity for us to help test a relatively new event delivery method for the ACS, and it will provide guidance and knowledge that they can use in the future to better host virtual events in far more locales! If I could give a message to myself at the start of this semester, what would I say? Appreciate every moment that you're on campus, walking, talking, and hanging out with friends and peers. Make those memories last and stay positive, don't dwell on issues out of your control.
• 
  2020-05-09

  A Loss of Words for a Season That Barely Started

  This year was supposed to be my third year in swim season. Being in varsity swim since freshman year, I've always looked up to give everything I got in my races and maybe even try to break at least one record by my senior year. With COVID-19 cancelling our entire season of swim, I was shocked in many ways because I have never expected the sport I'm passionate about to be cancelled. Not only was this tragic, but also all the hard work that I put into to make CIF 2020 went down the drain. I don't even have a pool in my backyard and when the pool opens back up again, I will be as sluggish as ever. COVID-19 affected my physical abilities in general and as I attempt to exercise with different methods besides swimming such as the popular Chloe Ting's workout, I barely saw any result and gained 7 lbs in the process. Thank you COVID-19 for ruining my swim experience.
• 
  2020-05-25

  A refund from ANA airline due to coronavirus

  Due to coronavirus, many international students face a difficult time about back to their countries, since many airlines are canceled because of the limited airline and policies that are changed easily.
• 
  2020-05-01

  Living

  Living
• 
  2020-03-26

  They Canceled Commencement Reaction

  Image shows an experience that is relatable to many people graduating from high school, college, or graduate school. This piece highlights the many emotions students have, and how they have been impacted in this moment.
• 
  2020-03-17

  Cancelled Baseball Game

  Due to COVID-19 athletic events in schools were cancelled. Additionally county events such as FFA, PAL Softball, Little League Baseball, School Concerts, and Youth Soccer were also cancelled. Despite this reminders of scheduled events remained visabl.e
• 
  2020-03-14

  UC Irvine cancels graduation ceremonies for the first time due to CoVid-19

  Represents the impact that CoVid-19 is having on communities and schools across the U.S.
• 
  2020-03-12

  Sad Mascot finding out the game was cancelled

  St. John’s was playing Creighton in the Big East Men Basketball Tournament at the Madison Square Garden until the game was cancelled during halftime due to Coronavirus concerns. There were no fans in stands due to Coronavirus concerns. Right after the announcement FOX Sports cameras captured the St. John’s mascot Johnny Thunderbird sitting on the empty stands. The Big East tournament was also cancelled right after the cancellation of the game due to the Coronavirus.