Items

• 2020-06-05

  What is Zoom Fatigue and what it means for students

  This article gives some context as to what "zoom fatigue" or "tech fatigue" is. It's not something I've really considered before this year. My previous years of having mainly online classes, were still broken up by at least one or two in-person classes, along with the other distractions of going the store or visiting family, and doing something fun or interesting, without the anxiety of getting severely sick, or getting my loved ones sick. The article also includes some basic "how to fight tech fatigue" tips which I think could be useful, however, this type of advice can easily fall into the one-size-fits-all category. This needs to be avoided, because there is a wider range of diversity and accessibility, and for some people the "20,20,20" rule, simply doesn't work.
• 2020-10-16

  A slightly light hearted take on how professors are making Zoom classes better for students.

  I chose this article because it touches on some issues I faced myself on a much smaller scale. Zoom class meetings can be, for whatever reason, intimidating. They create a different type of social anxiety than when in a class setting, where things can be more relaxed, or tension eased quickly. The communication barriers of having to mute microphones to hear one another, technical issues, and just not wanting to be the focus when you see your screen light up, and also still wanting to contribute can get stressful quickly. It also can be uncomfortable, staring at all of your classmates all at once, and also trying to focus on your professor. I also enjoyed how the professor in this article discussed his methods of improving his online lectures, and trying to ease those social tensions, and create a sense of normalcy for his students despite the vast array of challenges faced.
• 2020-11

  Journal Entry: Thoughts on the first semester of grad school.

  This is less of an entry and more of a summary of how my year has gone? I'm trying to write without too much filter, to really capture the raw emotions of the pandemic. It's been a weird, and rough semester. A positive is that due to the pandemic, I was able to get into a school I had been interested in for quite a while. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get in, but I had a much better chance of doing so, than I did before when online classes weren't offered for my major. I did get in, at the last minute and picked my classes the day before the semester started! I needed a laptop, which were certainly in short supply, but luckily there were some available. When my laptop was stolen, and a webcam was a more immediate option for an older computer, that was more difficult to obtain. I hadn't even considered that they were in short supply but almost every cheap to middle priced webcam were sold out. I definitely didn't think this is what my first semester of graduate school would be like when I started. One class ended in a project showcase that felt far differently than it would have had we been able to present in person. Juggling the semester and also working at night was certainly not something I expected to be doing. During the nights we (my coworkers and I) would be frantically trying to stock canned goods, paper goods, and other items in high demand, just to watch it all be bought within 30 minutes of the store opening for the day. This is also on top of trying to run the store normally. It was very surreal to go in and see shelf after shelf empty and ransacked, as if a hurricane was on the way. All in all, I'm not thankful for the pandemic, but being able to find positives, and to be grateful for the opportunities afforded me is healthier than focusing on the negatives.
• 
  2020-11-16

  Interview with a Student Athlete: Getting an education during quarantine.

  This interview shares the perspective of not only a college student learning during the pandemic, but also a student athlete. Preston Potter strives to maintain his job, his grades, and also stay in athletic shape, while also trying to keep a sense of team brotherhood while staying safe. We explored how he tried to juggle all of this, stay sane, and lead a normal life. Preston gives a positive outlook on the struggles and challenges he faces, focused solely on achieving a dream career of being a professional baseball player. It is a unique look into how different students are handling the many balls they have in the air between work, school and practice.
• 2020-11-21

  College student during Covid-19

  It is hell. This pandemic has turned my university into a political money-grabbing institution. In my experience, I was told that my classes would be in person so that meant I had to pay for my $6000 dorm with money that I could not get because Covid-19 affected business and their hiring process. Now, all my professors have moved online by choice and I am still paying full tuition for classes I signed up to be in-person. Not only that, I am paying around $800 for a month for a dorm I am barely allowed to leave.
• 
  2020-11-13

  Full-Virtual Work in the Middle of a Pandemic

  This document was created and shared by myself and some coworkers in the History department at my university, St. Mary's. This document was the result of a project we were all assigned to work together on regarding researching the African-American community in West San Antonio, Texas. The work was not easy. Being separated from each other meant coordination and collaboration were very difficult, and actually accomplishing much in the way of actual work was slow going, with few of us actually being able to work together at the times the others were available. Not helping in any way was the fact that working remotely left us with almost no oversight from our supervisor, who was also in charge of several other projects in the department. Our research also took many different forms before settling on the one it ended up in, and it suffered most greatly from most of the workers assigned not being in the city we needed to be in, not having access to any traditional resources like proper records or non-digital resources that might have gone into the detail that we needed, and of course being unable to properly help each other. Despite this however, when we finally were able to coordinate a time to collaborate and work together, we surprisingly were able to unearth the aspect shown here, the resurrection of the Keyhole Club by noted Jazz musician Don Albert, famous for being a fully racially integrated nightclub during a time when such a thing was unheard of, and was challenged. Despite some serious challenges of our own, my coworkers and I were able to emerge successful after all and provide some much-needed information to the assignment.
• 
  2020-10-06

  How acting changes during the age of COVID

  This document is a list of requirements and guidelines for the attendance of a an acting workshop I was a part of in October of this year, as a part of a larger project the Drama Department at my university, St. Mary's was and is attempting to create a new and safer theatre experience for the coming semesters. The workshop we attended was, of course, created with the intent for attendees to participate in-person. Despite this, however, as the requirements here show, the fact that that was impossible, or at least very ill-advised, not only wasn't enough to prevent it from happening, it may have helped it in a good number of ways. For a first example, the individuals in charge of the workshop, affiliated with The Tectonic Theatre, were situated in New York, as opposed to my university being located in San Antonio Texas. The fact that the workshop was held virtually actually made it much more realistically approachable as otherwise the distance would have complicated matters considerably, which was taken care of in that way. In the same vein, as the requirements hint at with the items that are required, is that each person who participated was able to use their surroundings, almost exclusively their own homes, which they were of course very familiar with, to great affect for the exercises that were given to them. In fact, despite the initial misgivings that many of us-myself included-initially had, the workshop was able to take place not only just as well as it would have had it been in person, but in my personal opinion, it might have gone even better. All in all, the workshop was a pretty impressive look at overcoming complications from this pandemic and working around them to make the virtual experience lose nothing from an in-person experience.
• 
  2020-10-25

  Bonding with Family Throughout the Pandemic

  The old saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, still applies to every situation thrown at us in life today, especially with new normals being navigated throughout the pandemic. Like other college students, when the pandemic hit in March, I had to evacuate my college, leave my friends and volleyball team, and transition to online learning. While leaving school unexpectedly early and staying inside the majority of the time has been tough, I feel incredibly lucky to spend more time and bond with my family at home, hence that I am a student from California studying all the way in Boston! This fall, I had the opportunity to stay at home, work towards my degree online, and bond with my family. This is precious time I would have lost with them if I did not have this opportunity! I am trying my best to be positive and make the most out of tough situations everyone is navigating throughout the pandemic.
• 
  2020-09-01

  St. Mary's Mask Squad

  A feature story in the lifestyle section of The Rattler student newspaper is about the St. Mary’s Mask Squad, a group of student leaders from different RSOs on campus promoting safety and Marianist values. The job of the mask squad is to not only promote proper mask wearing but find ways the campus can improve on safety for its students and staff. This promotes our Marinist values by caring about other’s safety and health and making sure our actions are aimed towards protecting those around us.
• 
  2020-09-01

  Resources and Tips for St. Mary's Students

  This is the center spread graphic of the first issue of the 2020 fall semester—the first semester where many students on the St. Mary’s campus have gone to primarily remote learning. This center spread is meant to bring awareness to the resources students have available to help them through unfamiliar times: the resources listed include the business office, the office of financial assistance, the student health center, and the student counseling center. Also included are tips from fellow classmates on how to stay engaged and succeed and helpful apps that may help them stay organized throughout online learning.
• 
  2020-03-16

  Art class moves online in the wake of St. Mary's University's decision to move online for the rest of Spring 2020

  In March 2020 while on spring break we got an email sent from the Office of the President saying that spring break would be extended an extra week to allow staff to transition class to fully online/virtual. When I heard this news I was worried about how my art class would continue. When Dr. Joffe sent this email it felt reassuring that our professors were acting fast to create plans for the class.
• 
  2020-08-10T15:06

  Work Studies Begin Working Remotely for Fall 2020

  When I got the email saying that as a work-study student at St. Mary's University I was going to be able to work from home for the semester I was extremely excited. Before the pandemic, we were only allowed to work in-person while on campus. In March all work-studies were told that they would not be able to work at home, so it was stressful waiting to hear if we were going to be allowed to work. Being able to still work on the projects that we are assigned during this pandemic is a nice escape from reality.
• 
  2020-09-01

  Meet The Rattler Staff

  These photos are introductions of The Rattler (St. Mary's University school newspaper) staff to the campus. Typically students interested in working on staff can meet the current editors at one of the many in person meetings, but since all meetings are held over Zoom and students can pick up more stories through a simple email putting names the faces of the section editors can be a bit hard. These introduction photos can help writers connect with the staff they will work with so closely, and understand who may be best to contact if they have any questions.
• 
  2020-11-18

  The Use Of A Commuting Students Vehicle

  A vehicle was how a commuting student got to and from school. I loved driving to school it gave me and opportunity to reflect on my day and go over any activities I need to do during the day and just listen to music. During this pandemic I can not do any of those activities. All classes are online so there is no need to drive my car and it just sits in my driveway. Driving was an everyday thing for everyone and since quarantine I have gone days without driving. However, I didn't not mind not having to pay for gas as often. This is the only plus side I see from not being able to drive during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-08-11

  Out of Lockdown and Sadness, Joy and Hope Spring Eternal

  The oldest screenshot in this collection is from July of 2019, when my initial inquiry into attendance at St. Mary's University began. I was initially disappointed because I am located in Houston, St. Mary's is obviously in San Antonio, and they did not, at the time, offer online degree plans. In August I received an e-mail about the Public History scholarship program, which also announced the university's plan to have remote learning programs for this Master's program. I was ecstatic; I applied, and was accepted just in time for the semester to start. I received an informal acceptance in an e-mail from the program director, Dr. Wieck, and then a more formal one from the Interim Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. These screen shots mean a lot to me, as I was very interested in St. Mary's as the college for my Master's, even though it wasn't ideal location wise, it seemed like one of the more thorough and dedicated programs in Texas. I was disappointed at first when I first was told I there weren't online classes, and didn't think much about that specific program for a bit afterwards. With the craziness of the pandemic sweeping over the country, I decided what the heck, picked up a GRE study book and began the process of studying, to apply to a closer university when I got the e-mail about the scholarship and remote learning classes. Being able to "attend" my preferred school has been a welcome surprise amidst constant weeks and months of bad news, stress, and anxiety. It has been a wild ride, given the short time between my application and admittance, when I wasn't sure I'd be admitted to the program in the first place. However, I'm rather pleased to be going pursuing this dream, and trying to learn from my mistakes daily.
• 
  2020-11

  Social Events in a Pandemic Year

  Part of attending college, both as an undergrad and graduate student, are campus activities. Some are designed to be fun, or educational, stress relieving, or to create a sense of community amongst the students. Sometimes you just walk into them as you are traveling about campus, or you see a flyer or an announcement e-mail for the event. The pandemic, and the constraints that go along with it have changed how these events happen. While some events happen in person, to comply with social distancing regulations, they are limited to how many people can attend, requiring a registration link. Other events that used to happen in person are now conducted over Zoom or other video conferencing platforms. The things that strikes me most out of these two screenshots is the asterisk next to some of the events, indicating it's a virtual event. It's foreign, and odd and really just serves as a constant reminder of the pandemic that the world is experiencing, because it singles out the event; this isn't in person, you must attend from your home / location of your computer.
• 
  2020-11-16

  Oral History with an Anonymous Teacher

  I've chosen to submit this interview, because it captures the raw and real experience of an (almost) brand new teacher. Someone who has recently graduated (May, 2019) and barely dipped their toes into the teaching world. She has had to adapt to not only teaching a subject different than the one she studied for in college, but also navigating the trials of teaching in a pandemic world. This 40 minute long interview that show cases the emotions and trials that a teacher has to experience. On top of issues like student engagement, and teaching unfamiliar material she has to ensure that she's accounting for all her students attending, both the ones physically and online, while juggling asynchronous and synchronous classes. One particular poignant quote "It's not that I'm trying to relax and be happy or anything. It's just trying to find downtime to just have energy" really sums up the energy of how the year has gone for this new teacher. This perspective is important, as it shows the reality of how strenuous the pandemic education scene has been for educators, and the problems it's creating for students, as this person discusses. The pitfalls of technology that are harming rather than helping, and causing issues that might reverberate in the futures of the student's academic careers.
• 
  2020-11-02

  THE HIGHER RISK GROUPS

  This is new information dated November of this year updating the list of groups at higher risk for Covid-19. It is important to me because I am a member of a high risk group and virus prevention is important to me.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Memes for COVID-19 that Spark Joy

  I, like many people my age, find not only humor but relatability in memes. They take the stress of issues that are exacerbated by the pandemic and help make us chuckle at it. I picked these three after looking at many, many others, because I related to them quite a bit.
• 
  11/07/2020

  Miguel Ramirez Oral History, St. Mary's University student

  Miguel Ramirez, a St. Mary's University student, shares his remote learning experiences.
• 
  2020-04-29

  Distance Learning with her BFF

  My daughter cannot sit still for long therefore did not do well with distance learning. Every morning she had a Zoom meeting with her teacher and classmates to check in. I snapped this photograph as she Zoomed with her class and laid against her dog. She finds comfort with our golden retriever who loves her dearly.
• 
  2020-03-16

  First Day Distance Learning

  This is a photograph of my son on his first day of distance learning. He set up his learning space himself and was quite excited. At this time we believed that distance learning would only last two weeks so it was more of an adventure at this point. By Day 7, he was frustrated, depressed, and lonely. This picture shows him hopeful and happy.
• 
  2020-06-03

  Final Day of Distance Learning

  My 6 year old finished her kindergarten year at home due to COVID 19. Her teacher put together a "yearbook" for her as well as a "class ring" and a gift. My daughter's first year of school was not what she nor I expected but her teacher was fantastic and made the best of it.
• 
  2020-10-22

  Interview with an Undergrad: Grad School in Quarantine

  This interview was conducted with college junior Camryn Blackmon about her experiences with online learning and COVID19. She expresses her frustration at the change and discusses how previous problems, such as anxiety and depression, were heightened due to the pandemic. Hearing from an undergraduate student gave me more perspective about what it's like to learn online during COVID19.
• 2020-06-06

  A Redeemed Graduation

  My friend, who has autism, was very excited to graduate from High School. He spent years struggling with behavioral issues, enduring the isolation that comes from being an atypical kid in a school that had not prioritized his needs. When the pandemic hit, it hit him particularly hard. He had a specific routine, one which included restaurants, public parks, travel, all of which had been cut short by the drastic effects of the pandemic. He had regressed in a lot of his behaviors and he became very isolated. He still continued with his education, and by Summer of 2020, he was to graduate, but was upset when learning that it would be only a Zoom graduation. However, local parents in my city got together and went outside with balloons out of their cars and honked to celebrate his graduation while his Mom gifted him his diploma. It was a very encouraging thing to know that all aspects of society, even those silenced voices, were considered and accommodated where possible in these troubling times.
• 2020-06-04

  A Redeemed Graduation

  My family friend, who has autism, was very excited to graduate from High School. He spent years struggling with behavioral issues, enduring the isolation that comes from being an atypical kid in a school that had not prioritized his needs. When the pandemic hit, it hit him particularly hard. He had a specific routine, one which included restaurants, public parks, travel, all of which had been cut short by the drastic effects of the pandemic. He had regressed in a lot of his behaviors and he became very isolated. He still continued with his education, and by Summer of 2020, he was to graduate, but was upset when learning that it would be only a Zoom graduation. However, local parents in my city got together and went outside with balloons out of their cars and honked to celebrate his graduation while his Mom gifted him his diploma. It was a very encouraging thing to know that all aspects of society, even those silenced voices, were considered and accommodated where possible in these troubling times.
• 2020-10-30

  Being a student during a Pandemic

  From the events that have happened this year it makes it very difficult to try and stay focused on things that are important but also things that we just want to do. Due to COVID one thing that has changed for the worse is trying to get an education during a pandemic. For some it is harder than others and for others it is just as easy learning on the computer than it is learning in person. As a student I must admit that there are some things that i learn better in person than i do on a computer. During this pandemic getting my education has become both easier and harder. The easy portion is how well my school adapted to switching to the online courses instead of in person classes. I must admit that ASU surprised me with how well they transitioned. The hard part for me was trying to learn some material that I had no idea what was going on and i did not have the opportunity to get in person help on the subjects I was struggling in. What this pandemic did was rewire the brains of young people due to the lack of human interaction we had. It is almost as if we forget how to be a person around other people and I know that sounds silly but it is the truth. Going out in public was making me feel bad becuase who am i to go out when other people have to stay inside. Overall this learning curve shed a lot of light on how comfortable we were as students with being able to just go up to a professor and ask for help instead having to email and then being hopeful that they would get back to us in time. I have really learned a lot about myself during this time and hope it comes to an end soon!
• 
  2020-10-30

  Teaching Today

  This is a photo of my friend, Lindsay. She is a high school teacher here in Colorado. We live in a small town that was fortunate enough to not feel the panic of the pandemic until well-after other places had. She misses her students, and there are real concerns for the mental health of not only the kids, but the teachers too.
• 2020-10-30

  Teaching during a pandemic

  As we know we are in a time of having to adapt to a situation we were never prepared for and things are changing rapidly. One thing in particular that has been ongoing for a while now is teaching in America. As we have been adapting to most things that has been happening in the world one of the hardest things that has happened is for the working family to have to find a way to make sure their children are being monitored while they are doing school through the computer. A much needed thing for most families is the time they have to do their work while their kids are at work. Having to adapt to something like that has been hard for most families in America. Having a friend who happens to be a teacher in this time i had the opportunity to aske her how she was dealing with having to teach from home. Listening to how hard it is to try and get kids to pay attention to the things she is trying to teach is the hardest part to her. Imagine trying to get teenage kids who are at home to try and listen to you while you are trying to make sure they are getting the correct materials to move forward in their academic careers. She says that it is her most challenging year yet and that she has not been this stressed from her job ever. After having this conversation with her it made the appreciation i have for teachers that much more great. We need to celebrate these people who have chosen to become teachers to our kids.
• 
  2020-10-22

  Mental Health and Online School: An Interview with Graduate Student Gwyn Hartung

  This is an interview with St.Mary's University Public History Graduate Student Gywn Hartung. Gwyn recently graduated from UTSA with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and classical studies. She is currently in her first year of graduate school and began it entirely online. In the interview, Gwyn described her first semester of graduate school and how her mental health has been impacted by the combination of COVID-19 and transition to online school. Gwyn's experience is significant because many students in the fall 2020 semester face various obstacles with maintaining their social lives, productivity with school, and staying physically and mentally healthy.
• 2020-03-15

  Covid changed my life positevly

  I could've write this in French, but i feel it would be way easier for you to get everything out of my story if i was writing it in english. When COVID started, it gave me a good reason to stay for long periods of time at my girlfriend's house, placing me away from my violent and alcoholic roomates and the insecure environnement i was in. Being away from them lowered my stress levels and this was the first step of my depression recovery. Then, when university went online and offered us to extend our projects due-dates to the end of the summer, i was more than happy to put my school work aside to focus on my mental health. Because of the situation, I was able to reach out to a university psychologist and we worked out memories and discovered i was a sexual assault victim when i was young. This information being brought up, she was able to testify for me to a gov. agency that helps criminal activity victims to get psychological help. So i got a weekly psychologist (uni. psy was short term only) and then i started digging deeper and deeper into my traumas. At the same time, i moved out to a student residence in a 1 and a half appartment on the campus. In this environnement, i had total control over everything and i started feeling safer and safer. I had no one to see phisically and i was able to determine the way i was to live my life in the daily matters (ex-roomates were sleeping until 2pm, hurting my freedom to just use my old appartment as i wanted to ) This situation made me understand how my well-being is inherently attached to my hability to control my environnement and to have the freedom to realise the person i am. I started meditating everysingle day, i started taking care of my appartment, of my body's health and i started performing way more in school. Being a ADHD person makes it that i find online classes better than offlines... i can pause, record, fast-foward, go back .... love it. I also started taking care of my spiritual sides, studying viking runes, their meanings, their wisdom and the way they could teach me about life. Covid saved me, made me realize i should take care of myself, it made me realise i have something to bring to the world. I didn't have any suicidal toughts since 2-3 months and it feels great.
• 
  2020-09-20

  online learning is hard

  Someday in September, I was curious about how to learn everything online just being five hundred feet far away from students and the teachers. I’m starting to get bored to just stay there forever, this makes me want to go back to school again. If you want to meet your friend you need to meet online. The only fun thing left for me to do is to play videogames on my computer making me felt time go pass faster. However, online learning just comes in and cleans up my schedule of playing video games. So now I need to wake up at midnight just for “learning” online for six hours straight and start getting tired because of the different time zone I’m in also homework. In conclusion, I just want to be lazy again not having any homework or classes online.
• 
  2020-10-21

  Responding to the COVID-19 crisis as a student from a different state: Arumi Ortiz

  This is an oral history with Arumi Ortiz conducted by Victoria Villaseñor. Arumi was born in Veracruz, Mexico and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma when she was 15 years old. Arumi is now a senior at St. Mary's University.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Online for First Semester of College

  This is important because it affected my ability to have the first semester on campus at UNLV. The government implemented multiple travel restrictions throughout the U.S. This affected many college student's abilities to live on campus in college. For this semester, I am staying at home, not being able to experience college dorms or the college experience due to the pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-12

  Doing what we can

  This picture is one of a few I took during my AP CALC test which I would have to upload to their server. I find it important because it shows one of the first real choices that students and the school districts had to make when the pandemic was barely starting. By all accounts, teachers, admin, and children alike understood leaving school would be bad for their academic success but public safety demanded it. The people most affected by this being minorities who had less access to technology at home. In situations such as mine, the school could not even formally assign work to its students until it was certain every student had a laptop/desktop to work from; the consequence being that there was no incentive for kids to study. Blogger, Guest. “What Coronavirus Has Taught Us About the Digital Divide.” Education Week - Rick Hess Straight Up, 18 May 2020, blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2020/05/what_coronavirus_has_taught_us_about_the_digital_divide.html. Valencia, Bryan. Scribbles. 2020.
• 
  2020-07-09

  Covid-19, Education and Making Choices

  The Covid-19 pandemic has forced almost everyone to make decisions, some small and some drastic. The following is a reflection of how my studies as an international student at the University of Melbourne, Australia were affected by the pandemic. The date is 9 July 2020. Covid-19 cases have been on the rise in Melbourne in the past two weeks. This trend seems specific to Melbourne as the rest of Australia seems to have the situation under control. I receive an email from the University. The email announces that the studies for the second semester (July to November 2020) will take place entirely online. The majority of semester 1 (March to June) had also taken place online. But students were hopeful that a return to face-to-face teaching would be possible given the relatively low number of cases of Australia up to late June 2020 (when the second wave started). As an international student, I must make a choice. To stay in Melbourne or to fly home. I need to do so quickly, since incoming flights to Melbourne had already been suspended, and there is no guarantee that the same might not happen to outgoing flight. In my case, returning home seemed the obvious choice. I would rather have stayed in Melbourne (a city I love!), but alas at least to return means to be closer to friends and family during these times. I write this in October 2020, the semester is almost over, and the number of daily cases in Melbourne has now dropped significantly (to single digits), after months of strict measures. For much of the rest of the world however, there does not seem to be an end in sight. Submitted as part of the HIST30060 Making History subject at the University of Melbourne.
• 2020-03-28

  Life on hold

  When I first heard about COVID-19 at the end of February and all the commotion surrounding it’s origin I honestly thought this would be another minor dispute and the sickness would really be so bad. I realized I was completely wrong in my assumptions once my job actually emailed the company employees about the school shutting down for an indefinite period of time. I have never lived through any events remotely similar to the current pandemic and I’ve never been so stressed to be at home for so many days a time and so unsure about how long I will remain employed. My daily routines have been completely changed and I find myself getting bored often. And even when I do go out, I fear catching the virus or having to go all the way back home because I forgot to pack a fresh mask. All around me I can feel the changes this pandemic has caused and in my opinion is not necessarily for the better. As trivial as this may sound, many of my local food spots have either limited their store hours, do not allow dine-in or have completely removed items off the menu. Even the way students are learning has been greatly affected. Being an online college student, the changes weren’t too noticeable for me, but when I look at school children trying to learn material online, it seems almost unreal to expect such a change not to have some kind of consequences. I am not a religious person, but my co-workers have expressed how their places of worship have restricted the number of people physically allowed in religious buildings and have moved almost all aspect to a virtual format. Many changes have been caused by the pandemic, and while I understand the need for the changes it doesn’t make it any less of a massive conversion to a new way of life.
• 2020-10-06

  Friendship During COVID

  Before I went to college, I always struggled with making friends. When I made my way to Arizona State University that all changed. I met beautiful people who had priorities beyond petty drama. They were passionate about the causes I were, cared about school and turned out to be amazingly good people. I was pleasantly surprised, and I embraced my new friends. They’ve been my rocks throughout all my ups and downs for the first 2 years of college. In March 2020, I was eating lunch in the dining hall with a friend I hadn’t seen in months. We got the notification that we were going to be doing “virtual learning” for the rest of the spring semester. I don’t think either of us knew what this would mean. We walked back to my apartment, and I left him with a box of disinfecting wipes before we said goodbye. Within the next few weeks I was living at home again, still paying rent on my apartment 2 hours away. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my friends, and I was all of a sudden trapped in my house with my mom and sister. I love them, but I didn’t think I would ever be spending that much time in that house ever again. If we fast forward to July, I ended up losing one of my friends to suicide. That was one of the most difficult thing I was supposed to go through. While it was of the saddest thing I’ve ever gone through, I ended up meeting a lot of people who knew him. My circle of friends grew by a lot, and I ended up becoming close to a lot of them. The picture I added is from my online birthday party. The pandemic meant that I wouldn’t be able to see anyone safely because a lot of people live on campus. But the party was actually great. We played games over Zoom, talked and laughed. It was the first time I felt normal in a while, and it was definitely the best birthday of my life (weirdly).
• 
  March 8 2020 - May 4, 2020

  M.A. in Zoom pt. 1: Initial Anxieties & Adaptation

  This entry is part one of two entries that capture the first six months of my graduate school experience. I’m a graduate student in the public history program at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. I, like many students throughout all levels of education, felt a dramatic shift during or following spring break 2020. Most institutions, like mine, extended our spring break by a week to brace campus for transitioning fully online. At this time, I was enrolled in a course called “Conceptualizing your Capstone.” As the world began to catch on fire, I was just starting to piece together my final project which will enable me to graduate with my M.A. degree. Perfect timing. These are images of what my first semester of graduate school kind of boiled down to: completing the initial, most crucial, stages of my capstone virtually and completing my fellowship with what I felt were limited resources. What is not pictured was my constant fear of the unknown. Initial Anxieties For my capstone project I’ll be looking at the development of ballet folklórico in San Antonio and its influence throughout the state of Texas. I was looking forward to digging in our university and local archives; Fiesta was around the corner and I would’ve used that as an opportunity to document the different folklórico groups set to perform; and most importantly I had planned on meeting with the community members I’m working with face-to-face. The last point there was particularly concerning for me. I’d have to reach out remotely to a community who seldom opens their vaults to outsiders. How was I going to establish credibility and convince these groups that they could trust me via an email or Facebook message? The whole concept of my capstone project also might’ve had to change. I was originally looking to create a narrative history of Ballet Folklórico in San Antonio by drawing on the experience of my community partners–they are the earliest 501(c)(3) groups established in the city. In regard to my schoolwork, how was I going to produce legitimate work from the confines of my house? Was I even in the right place mentally and emotionally to perform at graduate level amidst social, political, and medical disarray that was being broadcasted? I was starting to get cabin fever; I could’ve ignored the commotion outside so I could focus, but that felt selfish. How could my mind be everywhere at once, yet my body needed to remain indoors? (These are actually a bunch of large questions I’ve had swirling in my head throughout the rest of March.) In late March, one of my brothers who’s a Texas State Trooper was ordered to quarantine for two weeks after someone in his unit contracted the virus. Then in mid-April, my other brother came down with something that gave him body aches, chills, fever, and made him sleep all day. No respiratory issues, however, we had no idea what was going on. He got tested for COVID and his results took four days to come back. Both my brothers tested negative, but these two events made it seem like the virus was everywhere and inhibited my ability to think and produce sound work. Adaptation After a couple of dramatic weeks, I got to a point where I could realize the amount of privilege my family and I managed to hold on to regardless of the dystopian-like transitions we were going through as a society. My dad and brothers could still commute to work (that has never been compromised throughout the past nine months), and my mom and I have been able to work from home; neither of us experienced a cut to our pay nor hours; I could get back to a regular sleep schedule because I no longer had to commute from campus, which is on the other side of town, late at night; we have stable WiFi; we have insurance; we’ve been able to pay our bills on time. In terms of academics, contrary to my initial anxieties, my experience in graduate school wasn’t really compromised. I had already established relationships with my peers and professors so Zoom classes and weekly meetings for my fellowship didn’t feel so awkward. Even if I didn’t have the first half of the semester to acquaint myself with my classmates, my generation is very much accustomed to digital communication. We literally grew up on it; we witnessed the evolution from wall phones to smart phones. Making digital connections isn’t a foreign concept to me. The pace of graduate school also didn’t change much. Yes, not having to commute to campus really alleviated a lot of my stress. However, the sense of urgency in graduate school did not fade one bit. I also underestimated the digital literacy of older generations. Specifically of the ballet folklórico community throughout Texas. Through the power of Twitter, Facebook, JSTOR, online university archives, and Zoom, I was able to build upon my research for my capstone. The individuals and groups I reached out to for help were surprisingly eager and generous. Maybe we were all craving some new faces or voices to interact with, or maybe I underestimated the power of engagement. I was able to build upon my capstone, and was probably more productive with it given that I had to stay in one place and work. Optimism was in the air. The first photo is a screenshot of our final presentations where we pitched our capstone idea to the St. Mary’s history department. We were originally set to present our capstone idea to the public history department (staff and students). Initially, I thought this experience would be compromised. I thought I’d miss out on forming connections with other professors in the program. However, there was a collective understanding these young academics (my peers and I) are in the midst of creating one of the most important pieces of our careers under unimaginable outside challenges. All hands were on deck in making sure we received the most help and access to whatever resources. It reinforced that I belonged to a community grounded in the belief that regardless of the circumstances, our duty is to assist each other in our pursuit to public history. I hope other graduate students across the city, state, country, and world experienced this same empathy.
• 
  2020-05-15

  Please focus a little bit.

  My fourteen year old brother struggles so much with staying focused on work. When we went to online learning, he started falling behind immediately. To help him focus on work, I would sit in his room and go through each piece of work with him so he would stay engaged. He got completely caught up and stayed on top of work until the end of the school year. I lost hours and hours of time. Up to six hours a day that I would spend sitting next to him trying to get him to finish a math sheet, not text his friends back, and encourage him to add another sentence. this was on top of my own schoolwork each day. It felt like a waste of my time, to sit there staring at a wall while he worked through each piece of homework. I was grateful to spend time with him that I normally would have been at school for, but I still felt like it was hours of time I was using for nothing. He would ignore me, fight me, lock me out of his room and refuse to work. He would also make me laugh until I could not breathe, show me a new way of approaching a problem or question, and smile at me when he was proud of himself. Now, he calls me two to three times a day. He tells me about school, his friends, things that are bothering him, and tells me about what he is learning about and reading. He does all of his schoolwork in my room at home and frequently calls me from my own desk to update me on something small. My dorm would be a lot more lonely without the consistent ring of his Facetime calls. Quarantine and virtual learning is now something I am extremely grateful for. My brother and I are closer than ever and I contribute that entirely to online learning and the time I was able to spend with him that normally would have been spent in my high school building. None of those hours were wasted sitting next to him while he worked, they are all showing their worth as he calls me to tell me about his day, something he used to be very closed-mouth on but now initiates. I am grateful for that time I was able to spend with him, and am grateful for safer at home, with the acknowledgment that I wish that time had come from a less deadly cause, but since it did happen and I could not control it, I look back gratefully on that time. The attached photo is from photography outings we started taking during online learning. He would use my Nikon and frame photos while telling me about why he thought it would make a cool photo. We would be out there for hours watching geese, turtles, birds, muskrats, and frogs sharing each other’s silent company. They are some of my favorite memories with him, and one of the highlights of my 2020
• 
  2020-10-04

  Life of a College student during the COVID-19 pandemic

  My story is about how the COVID-19 affected my education starting from spring semester to fall semester. Taking all my classes from online, which is a little bit challenging. (REL 101)
• 
  2020-10-03

  Smalltown COVID-19

  My experience during COVID
• 2020-10-02

  Growing Tired of This

  This might be long, but quarantine has been one of the worst experiences in my life. At first, I was kinda cool with the fact that I didn't have to go out. Not having to sit in classrooms for hours, not having to deal with hundreds of people at school, not having to deal with intense anxiety anymore! Life seemed pretty good for me at that time. Online classes during my last months in senior year of high school wasn't too bad. But when it came time for college, I was panicking. I mean, who wouldn't? Starting a brand new experience right in the middle of quarantine? That'd shake anybody in their boots. Like most things, it wasn't too bad at first. Sure, Zoom was pretty annoying to figure out, but things seemed to be running smoothly. However, in my opinion, trying to figure out Blackboard is a nightmare. That site is sooo not user friendly, it's such a complete mess. To this day, I'm STILL having trouble with it. The work load isn't too harsh, but trying to muster up the energy to do even anything during this pandemic is difficult. Everyday has started feeling the same: wake up, feel miserable, force myself to eat, try to do something productive (while feeling miserable), go to sleep, rinse and repeat. My depression has never hit this hard until starting college. On my worst days, I literally cannot bring myself to get out of bed and make myself food. I lie there with zero energy until the sun goes down. It'd be 6-8pm before I finally drag myself to the kitchen for a light meal (which is the same thing I've been eating for the past several months) or for a long, hot shower. I can hardly bring myself to focus on school work. As of writing this, it's currently 4:51 AM. My sleep schedule is an utter disaster. On most nights, I end up staying up till the sun rises. It's not too uncommon that I stay up for 20+ hours. Though this all comes crashing back to me when I end up sleeping through class Zoom calls, or even oversleeping and missing my classes entirely (it's happened twice so far and both times have spiraled me into a deep depressive episode that I won't be describing). Trying to be productive during quarantine is a joke. I have a lot of things around me that can entertain and distract me. How am I expected to focus when Twitter, YouTube, and Discord are in my reach 24/7, you know? During my classes, I just tune everything out. What's even the point of listening, when professors ramble on for a two hours about things you don't even care about, when all the assignments just consists of reading a bunch of articles that bore you to death and then having you write some response (that you can easily BS) to it? I never thought I'd say this, but I just want to be allowed to go out again. I'm tired of all of this. I'm so exhausted. Learning virtually is mentally draining. It can hardly be considered learning. I doubt anybody is really even absorbing any information being given to them during these virtual meetings, save for the few innocent souls that haven't been tainted by quarantine depression yet. I'm so sick of it all. I can't focus. I can't bring myself to do anything. I just can't anymore. (Also isn't it kinda stupid how they're letting literal children go back to school and yet campus won't be open? Okay sure, maybe it's because CUNY has way more students, but still. I wouldn't trust a 5 year old to properly wear a mask for the whole day and practice good hygiene. Kids are messy.)
• 2020

  New Challenges, New Hope

  Ever since the start of the pandemic and the shift towards remote learning, I’ve faced new challenges in places I did not expect. In my home, it was hard getting used to studying and going to class whilst living in a small apartment that I share with my family; I did not having adequate space to learn and read, but my family and I worked something out and now I could/can study with ease. Additionally, I could not talk to my friends and interact with them, even online, given how I had to focus 2x more on my studies but I realized that my friends were experiencing the same thing and we soon planned several days to just talk online and interact. With COVID-19 and police violence spreading like wildfire, I feared what was going to happen to my family, friends, professor, class colleagues and more. However, seeing how people got together, helped each other, protested, united and worked in solidarity, it showed me something: hope. That even in the hardest times in life, there is still hope.
• 
  2019-03-19

  Beaten But Not Broken

  This year has been really challenging for me and my family especially my kids who had to resort to online learning. As I started the spring semester with confident and some excitement as I was entering my last year at Brooklyn College, anxiety ,fear, and some what nervous because this is a crucial part of completing my degree. Some may think why are you so worried you should be happy you made it this far, but coming thus far and failing a class can mean one more semester and you not been able to graduate on time can get you pretty worked up. However while al this was going on in my mind the news break that COVID 19 has taken control of our lives and we have to resort to online learning. This was not the news I want to hear, when I have never taken online classes before ,and I must say its because online I hate. Not only that, I will now become my children teacher while in school myself and this was something that I have been concern about from the beginning of the pandemic until present. Though I have manage to pass my classes it is no secret that I have been overwhelmed, sometimes thinking that its too much to for one person to do in any given day. COVID 19 has bring mores worries and stress in my life than anything I ever experience, but I am determine to overcome COVID 19 and all its challenges.
• 2020

  A cacophony of silence

  This is a personal account of my time during the height of the pandemic, how it affected my studies, and ultimately the crushing loneliness of it all. Hello, My name is Shemar Providence and this is my account of the COVID19 pandemic. I will begin at the start of the virus. During this time I was going to classes as normal. The virus had become known as it swept through Wuhan china. My mother and I were worried that it would eventually make its way over to the states. Overall I would describe the climate around the virus as a general sense of apathy. “As long as it wasn't over here everything is fine” was a common sentiment among my peers as well as governing officials. It was the beginning of March when it began to spread like wildfire in new york. The most apathetic of us were now worried or decided to stay home. Colleges began to transition to online learning to stop the spread. Within about 2 weeks, from the gossip to the first outbreak, New york was put into a standstill. I was born with asthma as well as a weakened immune system. For me, the virus was a matter of life and death. I live with my mother who quarantined me in the house until the virus would cool down. We bought masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, whatever we could get our hands on to keep each other safe. During this time the mania had begun all over the country. People were buying things in bulk fighting each other over the most basic of things. It was a mess. it was approaching the end of March. In just a few short weeks I got a glimpse at what pandemonium looked like. Remote learning was a challenge. My neighborhood had poor connectivity issues. For about half of April, I had no internet connection and could not reach 2 of my professors. I ended up not getting credit for those classes. For the other professors, I was able to reach I was able to come up with a compromise. A lot of instructors weren't really well versed in remote learning and would go missing some days. With poor connectivity zoom meetings would stutter and stop. Overall the entire learning process was halted not only for me but for others as well. Considering how many others had a poor connection and were forced to drop classes. The greatest thing to experience first hand was the politics of the virus. You would think a matter pertaining to community health would not become a divisive issue but it was. Like everything in recent years, it had to be split down the middle to appeal to the most radical on both sides. Some people were saying it was a hoax and that the government was seeing how far they could control people. These people felt as though being forced to wear a mask violated their civil liberties. These were the most apathetic of us not caring about what happens to those of us who are less healthy. They bemoaned anyone who would wear a mask as a democrat thus sparking the aforementioned democrats to return fire. And like that the division grew. I think the isolation from the quarantine probably helped to heighten tensions but looking at it live it just seems so stupid. A matter as simple as stopping the spread became a democrat and republican issue, and a rights issue. republican s even put less emphasis on the virus due to it spreading in primarily blue states. It was all truly awful. With the country seemingly falling apart in pandemonia staying at home felt more and more suffocating. The same four walls became a coffin of sorts. If the virus got in I would be done for. However, I was still dead to the world around me. Keeping touch with friends was my only salvation between schoolwork and deafening silence. It didn't help that my own mother kept live streaming the ongoing pain at its height. I couldn't escape it. The death of the depression the pain. It was all around me. People I knew and loved in my neighborhood died and I couldn't even see them go. I grew depressed and more cynical as a person. It seemed like hell. It just kept going and going. School ended leaving me more depressed over my studies than ever. But at least the rate of death had started to decrease. It is starting to get better, slowly but surely. But it still feels as though there is worse yet to come. This year has been so divisive and sad. And I feel like it will just keep getting worse.
• 
  2020-09-22

  Professor Shares Anonymous Student Anxieties

  A professor shared student's anxieties about the Fall 2020 semester. Most of the responses show the toll the pandemic has taken on student's mental health. Another common theme is that many students face a multitude of difficulties when it comes to online school. Whether it's finding the motivation to go to class or how a student's home-life creates a toxic environment for online learning.
• 
  2020-05-11

  Nick Maleno's Covid-19

  This story explains what i did to help my get through the first part of this pandemic.
• 2020-09-18

  A Time of Uncertainty

  During the school year prior to the virus, I attended a university that did not meet my expectations. I stayed in my room almost every night and only went to classes. It was not the college experience I had expected and was promised. When the outbreak started to hit the news in March, I was hoping my university would go to all online learning, so I could be home with my family and friends. At first, I thought this was going to be the best outcome, but I did not know how much of an impact the virus would have and still has. The lockdown ended up being exactly how it was at school; there was no seeing my friends and extended family. I spent most of my time in my room and on my phone constantly. My classes were boring and I lost even more interest in school. I had hoped that the virus would fade out so I could begin my new journey at a new school, but the virus had other plans. I am now doing classes remotely from home instead of on campus. Although I have more interest in this school and courses, but the online learning is not the same as in-person classes. I feel everyone is struggling to keep their motivation up and I cannot imagine what the grades below me are experiencing. The virus has taken a toll on most likely everyone's mental health. It is a time of uncertainty, which takes away our sense of security. The only thing we can do to keep moving forward is to think positively and be grateful for the small things in life. Although the virus has taken so much from us, we have been forced to take a step back from our daily lives. I have been gifted spending quality time with my family and finding new hobbies that interest me. My confidence in myself and my relationships with others have increased. The world my never be the same as it was, but we cannot let this stop us from moving forward into the future.
• 2020-03-06

  The Abrupt Ending to My Senior Year

  Everyone was always saying how quickly senior year of high school would really go, how you want to cherish every moment you have because it will end before you know it. Well, for me and all the other graduating 2020 seniors across the globe really got to see how quickly it can end. On March 6th, 2020 at Dallastown Area High School in York Pennsylvania, we were informed over the loud speaker that we would be taking an extended absence from in classroom schooling for the time being, and little did we know it would be our last time stepping into the school as students. The whole day was a blur to me as I look back at it. I went into the day with my normal routine, breakfast, drive to school, and hang with my high school buddies in the parking lot until it was time for 1st period to start. There was no thought in our minds of what was going to go down that day. All day the rumors spread from person to person like wildfire that we would be sent home for school for a period, which differentiated depending who you heard the information from. The fear of Covid-19 in my area wasn’t as imposing as some other regions of the United States, so I was perplexed in why we would be getting sent home and frankly, didn’t believe what I was hearing, or I didn’t want to. But then it happened, our principal came over the loudspeaker during the last period of the day, and last of my high school tenure. Feelings were flying in my head of heartbreak and worry. Was I going to get my senior prom that my girlfriend and I have been excited for all year? Was I going to get anymore experience writing with the student newspaper that I had just joined? And many other thoughts swirled around my head like a merry go round. I went home that day with high hopes of coming back after the initial two week period that was set by the school, but before the week was concluded, we received the heartbreaking news that the remainder of the school year would be completed entirely online. I could not believe it; my senior year of high school was over in the blink of an eye. They did not come out and say it, but it slowly started to set in that this meant more than just no school. It meant no prom, no traditional graduation that you worked 13 long years of school for, no more hangouts with your best friends on Friday nights for the time being. In my head, there was people I knew I would never see again, who I did not hang out with outside of school. Some many emotions filled my head as the bad news kept coming and coming, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was a tragic event that we all had to live with, and I guarantee if we all had the opportunity, we would all go back a change the high school ending experience we were all forced to face.