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.
• 2020-05

  Sick, Broke and Stuck at Home

  This Is a story about my being at home during covid-19 endemic May 2020. By this point, we were 2 months into lice living with a pandemic in America. Things were not progressing as people thought it should have been. And on top of going through the pandemic, there was a racial war going on. So, Not only was I dealing with being a human being and trying not to get sick Or get my mom, my little brother who is only 5 years old sick, but I was also struggling with being a black woman in America. A black woman with black parents, two black fathers, and a black mother and brother. I was scared to death every day. I hope they're dying because of the pandemic or dying because of my skin. It's still a story is still a feeling that I go through every day. It is December now, but I have a little more hope because of higher beings that I'm hoping and putting a little faith in doing what we need them to do to better our country. Now the name of my story is sick broken at home because, during May 2020, I was all of those things. I was not because of the pandemic, but because I had crazy allergy attacks, I was allergic to something I didn't know I was allergic to, and I think I was just mentally sick. My anxiety was at an all-time high. I was depressed, and on top of the fact I was home with a younger brother who is also autistic, and although he is high-functioning, there are times where he just doesn't understand like most kids don't know what they're going through and why the world is now changing so fast. And having to deal with adult anxiety while also dealing with child anxiety and having to pinch pennies because the government hadn't given me the money I had applied for and been approved for. It was all depressing, and while I am blessed to say that none of my family members who got covid died, it was so scary to know how drastic you could be. Now I know I don't know for a fact if I had to live in there was a point in February where I had gotten very sick and my stepdad had gotten very ill as well to the where we self-quarantine to not get my mother and my brother sick. I had never felt so bad in my life, and I've been very ill for four to the point where I couldn't get out of bed, and whatever flu I had was worse than that. And not three, four weeks later that our country goes through basically a state of emergency with everyone shutting down on March 13th. It was my last day of work, it was my last paycheck, it was my last everything until late May, and I still have the bills to pay. I got claimed as a dependent the year before, so I was one of the millions of college students who didn't get the stimulus check and whose parents didn't get anything for them because they were between 17 and 25. Everything in the country was being held handled during that time did nothing for me; it did nothing to help my family or me. Every day was a struggle, and every day I felt stranded like I was just a number, and nobody recognized the pain everyone was coming through on more than one level. And then you also have people who we're refusing to do what is so simple to do and call minor things like wearing a mask, slavery. How damaging that was to a fair few amount of people, and I'm talking millions of people. This pandemic is not something I'm going to look on with anger or pain because, for one, I met good people after the fact. I had many things that happened to me for the better, but the month of March through May had to be the worst months I'd had in a very long time. And as someone who's been through a lot, that's not something I say lightly. My only hope is that a lot more good will come out of this unfortunate and heartbreaking situation than bad.
• 2020-11-20

  Covid-19

  During this pandemic people have lived their lived completely different because we have to stay home and limit ourselves to going out and one of the biggest things is wear a mask. I don’t have much stories to tell because I usually stay inside a lot especially during weekdays and don’t do anything. One things I did a lot during quarantine was workout a lot more.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-11

  What Keeps Me Sane

  Between working in a grocery store, and doing class work, I find myself busy and often stressed. I am lucky enough to have a partner, two cats and other luxuries that help me relax and relieve my anxieties. I included an older picture of myself and my partner, my switch, and my cats Wobbles (grey) and Jade (black). Having these distractions in my life have definitely made the pandemic a little more manageable. These things, along with my partner, help me count my blessings and appreciate what I have and have been able to hold on to during these anxious and stressful times.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-11-16

  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.
• 
  2020-10-08

  "The Nightmarish Challenge of Trying to Get an Abortion in a Pandemic"

  The article describes the recent challenges to obtaining an abortion in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic due to several states attempting to add further restrictions on abortion rights. It is important to understand that while it was already difficult for many to obtain abortions to begin with, the pandemic has added even more challenges for those seeking reproductive healthcare as well as more opportunities for anti-choice lawmakers to restrict abortion care.
• 
  2020-11-06

  The Effects of Covid-19 on both a student and teacher

  In this video, I interview a former high school teacher of mine and I ask her questions about experiences she's had while battling this pandemic. I believe she's also attending Brooklyn College Graduate (Law) school.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-11-08

  COVID-19 Hotspot Counties: March 2020 - July 2020

  The map shows how serious this pandemic is in the United States and how widespread COVID-19 really is. This is important to me because it will remind me of the time living during this pandemic.
• 
  2020-09-27

  How Corona Affected Me

  Over 60% of Nevada's revenue comes from Gaming Taxes and Sales Taxes so when everything was shutdown because of the virus our revenue became unstable so large budget cuts were made to education as well as other areas. The education cuts are what concern me the most; not only am I directly affected but so is my community. Nevada is 45th in the U.S. for education so it shows that we will only be going down from that point. Those large breaks in education are significantly impactful for younger children whose brains are still developing.
• 
  2020-03-30

  Teen Vogue’s Advice for Social Justice.

  I found this article on Facebook at the beginning of quarantine in the United States. This article explains how to be an ally and stand up for social justice during a pandemic. At the beginning of COVID-19 spreading to the United States, there were an abundance of stories discussing how Asian people were targeted and harassed for the spread of COVID-19. This article, from Teen Vogue urges young adults and teenagers to stand against social injustice and gives advice on ten ways people can help
• 
  2020-11-01

  A Telling Graph...

  This graph illustrates unfortunately the differences in the handling of the Pandemic. When I created this I chose six industrialized nations They have a total of 346 million residents, according to Google. Also according to Google the United States has a population of 331 million residents. Five of the six nations appear on the graph below the figure for the United States. Taiwan did not have enough cases despite a population of 23.5 million to register on the bottom of the graph. So that is six industrialized nations for 77 thousand deaths versus 200 thousand deaths in the United States alone and growing at the world's fastest rate of infection. This is important to me because it illustrates the failure of our government to take the Pandemic seriously enough.
• 
  2020-06-27

  EHBS’s Class of 2020 Yearbook: Dear Class of 2020

  I submitted this image because I think it means a lot to students who graduated during this pandemic. Although it's specific to my school high school, the message is one that all 2020 graduates can relate to. This image is meaningful to me because in the future when I decide to relook at my yearbook I will always remember that I graduated during a life changing pandemic.
• 
  2020-10-31

  Exercise from home

  I submitted this image because I bought these shoes in anticipation for the lockdown, assuming that it was going to shutdown gyms. Running/Jogging/ walking became one my primary sources of exercises during the lockdowns. This image is meaningful to me because to me, exercise is super important, so running has allowed me to both get exercise and get away from the screen for a bit.
• 
  2020-10-30

  Artful Practices for Wellbeing

  I found this post while doing research on museums and their pathing through the plague year. Here’s one of many examples where museums continue to produce new content for the public to aid in the routines of life.
• 
  2020-10-30

  Building True, Lasting Collaborations with Source Communities

  This is an excellent online article I found while exploring the American Alliance of Museums website. It discusses the development of American museums by focusing their efforts on community-expertise to curate their items in the midst of a pandemic.
• 
  2020-03

  March Madness

  In the beginning of the pandemic during the month of March students, myself included, were advised to bring their stuff home as in person classes would be canceled for the duration of the school year. Pictured is my freshman year roommate, in half empty room as she moved out before me. This is a very sentimental image to me as its the last one I have of a room I truly cherished. Memories and friends were built and grew within that room, I believe it maybe the last authentic college experience that I have. I will never access to that space or room again and I will never be surrounded by the same students either as many of them have chosen to stay home this semester. This beginning of the pandemic and since there drastic changes to my life and others lives have been made. I now live by myself for the safety and concern of myself and others however it has begun to feel lonely and unlike a proper college experience. This picture demonstrates that last time that things felt normal, as we had no idea that it this pandemic would continue to the next semester and impact us so dramatically.
• 
  2020-04-21

  Generation Pandemic

  This magazine which came out along with the article at the start of the pandemic reflected a general attitude of a generation stuck in time because of the pandemic, the graduation balloons hanging defeatedly in the background.
• 
  2020-10-29

  Reddit Title: My Friend Graduating During Covid!

  This is a Reddit post by /u/Da_bigmacwillis whose title reflects the celebratory nature of graduation with the contrasting tough times of COVID, and a joyous graduate.
• 
  2020-04

  No Disneyland this Summer

  I started following a lady on Youtube and Instagram as I began preparations to go to Disney for the first time. This Youtuber gives advice on how to have a great Disney trip for introverts. Needless to say, my trip didn’t happen and neither did hers.
• 
  2020-10-28

  Crew Members Fighting to Save their Jobs

  This is an article about the difficulty that crew members on shows and other entertainment industry venues are facing regarding the pandemic.
• 2020-10-25

  The ACT Test During a Pandemic

  On Sunday, October 25th, my mom drove me to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame to take my ACT test. This test was canceled three times because of the coronavirus. I had never taken the ACT or SAT before, so I wasn’t sure what the “normal” testing looked like. But I think it was a lot different than what it was like when I took it. The room that all the students were in was huge. It had very tall ceilings that made it echo when we talked. The desks were spread so far apart that it felt like we were given mini islands. There were about 15 kids per row and there were 3 rows. I heard the nervous tapping of the girl in front of me and the clear microphone of our proctor. I felt the sharp edges of the paper as I broke my test seal. We had to wear our masks for the whole test which was super safe, but that meant that all I was smelling for 4 hours was my everything bagel-scented breath. During the 15 minute break, I was afraid to take off my mask to eat my Clif bar, which tasted stale. Every time the proctor came near me I wanted to back away at least six feet. The ACT was scary by itself without the added fear of being infected with the virus. I think that my experience during the test is just another example of how a normal teenage experience was changed so drastically by the pandemic.
• 2020-10-26

  Store Shutdowns

  March 13, 2020 started off a normal day. I went to school and listened to all the conversations about COVID and possible school shutdowns. After school my friends and I went to Target but little did I know that the next time I would visit a store would be completely different. A few days later I went to the grocery store with my family. It was a shocking sight when I walked in and seen everyone with a mask on and shelves completely empty. It was like an apocalypse was among us. Everyone was running rampid, pushing their carts as fast as possible and had a mask on all in the process. I had to feel everything through my rubber gloves and had a hard time smelling anything through my mask. Our new normal is wearing mask, social distancing and putting on hand sanitizer every second possible. This is important to share because it shows how COVID has shaped the way we live today.
• 
  2020-07-19

  Cultural Institutions and COVID-19: Anonymous Survey

  These two documents contain the responses to the Cultural Institutions and COVID-19: Anonymous Survey. This survey was undertaken with the support and assistance of Juilee Decker, at A Journal of the Plague Year, in order to capture the experiences of those working in museums and other cultural institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to a combination of furloughs and layoffs as a direct result of COVID-19 lockdowns, and conversations around racial justice in the light of this year’s Black Lives Matter protests, museums and other cultural institutions have been facing an unprecedented reckoning, in terms of workers’ rights and racial justice. This survey asked individuals how this year’s events have impacted them, as well as their perceptions of the cultural sector, focusing specifically on those issues of workers’ rights and racial justice. All responses were collected through the Cultural Institutions and COVID-19: Anonymous Survey website (https://covidmuseumsanonymous.wordpress.com/), between July and October, 2020. This website was further advertised through an Instagram account, found here: https://www.instagram.com/covidmuseumsanonymous/ . The survey had 107 respondents, with 97 giving permission to have their responses published publicly.
• 
  1918-10-18

  Historical Artifact from 1918

  I used the announcement from the article to create a comparison between the situation with the Spanish flu in 1918 and our current situation with the pandemic
• 
  2020-10-10

  Florida Theatre

  The Florida Theatre, a historically significant building in Jacksonville, Florida, has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic and has been unable to reopen safely since guidelines have relaxed. As this article says, the theater is now out of money and is trying to raise money through donations so that they can reopen in December.
• 2020-03-01

  Escaping From Our Daily Despair

  Like most people living through these difficult times, I've found it exhausting to endure months without being able to see close friends and not being able to enjoy activities that I once took for granted. A lot of people have coped with these new, debilitating circumstances by adopting new hobbies such as baking breading and making pottery, but I've chosen to dig deeper into my favorite pre-pandemic hobby: reading. Before the pandemic hit my radar back in March (Like it did with most people), I had already amassed a collection of books that I had gathered from thrift shops or borrowed from the Phoenix Public Library. These books, whose topics ranged from Chinese science fiction (The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin) to 20th century European history (Reappraisals by Tony Judt), have helped me partially escape from the daily despair that came from watching the national death count tick up toward 200,000 people and the anxiety that comes with having friends and family who work in the vulnerable service industry. I feel guilty about escaping from our deadly reality into the pages of fiction, but it's necessary to prevent oneself from giving in to darkness and corroding your mental health. Besides, it's not like I have anything better to do with all of this time. Sometimes, I'd rather think about how it would be like to live in Ceres Station (The Expanse series) or to be constantly reincarnated (The Years of Rice and Salt) than to see the cold, hard reality around me (We're on the road to 300,000 dead by winter's end). Sometimes, you just have to drink the soma to get through this brave new world of ours. I just wish it didn't have to be this way. I just wish we had done better as a society.
• 2020-07-18

  A Trip to a Silent Hospital

  On July 18th 2020 in the late afternoon, I started experiencing some concerning not Covid-related symptoms and I made the decision to go to the Emergency Room. I’ve had chronic health issues all my life, so this wasn’t an unfamiliar experience. However, I’d been isolating since March and I was terrified of having to potentially go into a situation that was unknown in the middle of the pandemic. The things I remember most about the visit are how utterly desolate the places in the hospital felt, and how silent it was. I’m used to packed waiting rooms and constant noise. This visit was very different. After a brief screening in a large, mostly empty lobby with large barriers and protective measures in place, they assessed that I was not a potential COVID patient and sent me to a waiting room that I was alone in for most of my visit. There was no real chatter, mostly just silence, broken by the TV. The silence continued even back into the ER, where it seemed that the staff was spread thin. The most notable sounds were occasional low conversations and the sounds of medical equipment being moved around and the beeps and pulses. Even when evaluating me, while warm, the conversations sounded more terse and to the point. Everything moved more quickly. In some ways, it felt like being in an abandoned building. Everything was dark, silent, and empty in the areas where I was.
• 
  2020-09-24

  The New Normal: A Virtual Graduation

  As a graduating senior, this email was sent to me by the Provost Office to notify me that this semester's graduation will be virtual. Ever since my freshman year of college, the idea of walking across the stage at my graduation always inspired me to try my best in all of my courses. My hard work and dedication was geared towards this big moment. While it is admirable that St. Mary's is still looking at ways to celebrate their student's accomplishments in the safest way possible, it is still difficult to process that I'll be walking across my living room instead of a graduation stage.
• 
  2020-08-17

  Fall Semester Starts on a Positive Note: Grad School in Quarantine

  This email was one of the first ones I received from the university when I first began graduate school. It was sent by the university's President, Tom Mengler. It details the lengths the university is going to in order to protect their students, faculty and other workers. For the first few weeks of the semester there were no reported cases of COVID-19 amongst people at the school. Compared to how other universities are handling the pandemic this shows that St. Mary’s actually cares about it’s students. It made me feel a little safer knowing that the university administration is taking steps to ensure that it’s people are protected.
• 
  2020-10-10

  Humans Don't Avoid It Like The Plague

  Throughout the pandemic, we have learned that some humans refuse to take precautionary measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The government refused acknowledge the problem we had until it was too late. Even when quarantine went into effect, people didn't wear masks or stop gathering in groups.  As a whole, humans did a terrible job at avoiding COVID and that is why this tweet is so important.
• 
  2020-06

  Graduating in a Pandemic: St. Mary's University Hosts Diploma Pick Up

  The object is a post from St.Mary's University Linkedin account. The account posted pictures of seniors picking up their diplomas from campus. Amidst the first few months of COVID-19, many changes occurred, especially in academia's traditional spaces. A huge tradition and milestone for students was the spring 2020 graduation. Many Universities, including St.Mary's, held virtual commencement ceremonies that included words from faculty and a program that listed every graduate's name with their major and any awards or affiliations. To provide students their physical degrees, many schools mailed degrees to students, but St.Mary held an event where students and their families could come to campus and pick up their diploma. Hosting an event like this for students and their families was significant because not having a traditional graduation ceremony was a significant loss for those working towards walking the stage. St. Mary's University has a diverse student body of international and first-generation students. All students dream of walking on the stage to get the rewards of their hard work in college. This was not just a loss for students but also family members looking forward to a significant moment. To give students and their families the rewarding celebrity moment, St.Mary's staff and faculty hosted a diploma pickup with safety precautions.
• 
  2020-10-08

  How The Pandemic Changed My Life For The Better

  Learning how to ride a bike so I can go outside and exercise and be active. It shows I learned something new during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-11-07

  Wear Your Mask!

  I decided that I wanted to place emphasis on the importance of wearing a mask, because I witness so many people either failing to wear one properly, or sometimes failing to even wear one at all. It honestly is such an easy contribution to just stick a piece of fabric over one’s nose and mouth, so I do not understand why such a large group of people still fight it. The most common complaint that stems from wearing a mask is the fact that it can be hard to breathe in. While I do understand this concern, breathing through a face covering is a lot better than breathing with a respiratory device in the hospital. Even though face coverings have been required for months now, and they are scientifically proven to help stop the spread of the virus, people still argue the counter. Not to mention that if more people just started adhering to health guidelines properly, we could help curb the pandemic altogether. Suffering for a few months means that we will be closer to a world without masks sooner than if we do not take this seriously. I am sure the public is so accustomed to seeing signs in front of stores and buildings regarding the fact that face coverings are required, but I feel like the importance of why is not stressed enough. Wearing masks is something that is beyond us; it is for the sake of others, and more people need to understand this. Just because we might not be afraid of contracting COVID-19, this does not mean that we should not respect the people around us. It is just flat-out selfish to claim that it is hard to breathe so one does not want to wear a mask, because it is not about the individual. This pandemic is a worldwide issue, and should be treated as such. Even though it may seem unimportant to some, wearing masks are the least one can do when going about their business in the world. Making excuses not to wear one is simply not acceptable.
• 2020-10-08

  Adjusting to COVID

  COVID-19 has taken the world by shock and disbelief. It affected everyone from around the globe to your local neighborhood. Fortunately, I never had COVID, but my life was flipped upside down and I’ve never experienced such a life changing event, while sharing the same struggles with people around the world. In a strange sense, we were separate but fighting together and it really gave me hope that we can overcome this pandemic. I work for a coffee shop and I remember after the hectic holidays, I took a vacation out to Las Vegas with my partner in January 2020. I heard about COVID back then on the news but it was relatively new and was mostly located in China. I wasn’t worried about it because I never thought it would end up like it is now. Around the end of January, COVID started to spread at a fast rate and the death tolls we’re climbing like nothing before. There was no vaccine and medical professionals around the world were struggling to combat the virus. At the same time, I fell ill with the flu. I checked myself in at a clinic and the waiting room was packed! Every single patient was sick with flu like symptoms and were waiting for a doctor. That’s when it really hit me. This was more serious than the flu. This was more than something you hear on the news. This was something that is happening now, at home. Thankfully, I just had the flu and recovered over the week. But even in that week, COVID became the center of attention and grew even more. Before I knew it, the governor of Illinois ordered a lock down and everything closed and everyone was quarantined at home unless you were an essential worker. My work closed for 2 and a half months. It felt like a long and slow home vacation. I stayed busy and my dogs really enjoyed my company at home. Overall, it was so shocking. My life was normal, going to work, hanging out with friends and even going on vacation. To now, everything is slowly opening back up. Mostly everyone is wearing masks but I’ve been more mindful because of Corona. I wash my hands every chance I get and I don’t go out, unless it’s for essentials or work. As much as I would like to travel, I know better than to endanger myself and the people around me. Together we can get through this and we’ll be back to normal in no time.
• 
  2020-10-08T19:44:54

  Masks may reduce viral dose, some experts say

  Many Researchers have known that masks can prevent people from spreading viruses to others. Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease physician made the argument that people wearing face coverings will take in fewer coronavirus particles. They have found the more virus in the nasal plume, the likelier the people were to get infected and experience symptoms. Some researchers have estimated that about 40 percent of coronavirus infections do not produce any symptoms. But when people wear masks, the proportion of asymptomatic cases seems to increase. Wearing a face covering doesn’t make people impervious to infection, but these trends could make a milder disease, reducing deaths.
• 
  2020-10-05

  The Year 2020

  I hope people can relate to my message and see that it takes all of us to succeed.
• 
  2020-10-08

  Vice Presidential Debate Precautions

  More precautions are now taken for in-person political debates. In addition to sitting at least 6ft apart, the vice presidential debate featured two glass barriers between the candidates to prevent the spread if one of them unknowingly contracted COVID-19
• 2015-04-13

  What If We Had Been Better Prepared?

  This story is important to me because I was raised to always be as well prepared as possible. In this video Bill Gates talks about options the worlds governments can take to help prevent and/or aid in global pandemics. The ideas he presents range in intensity, from increasing the amount of first responders to staging pseudo-war games for attacking the outbreaks most efficiently. The first time I remember a large scale disaster that could have been prevented, saved lives, time and money was the BP oil spill in the gulf of Mexico. The cost of the spill range from about 60 billion, reported by British Petroleum, to an estimated 140 billion. The spill and loss of lives, both human and oceanic, could have been prevented by the company implementing and following global operating policies for deep-water oil drilling.
• 2020-10-02

  UCSF testing promising new treatment that could lessen COVID-19 symptoms

  This article by the San Francisco Chronicles is about how the UCSF Hospital has promised a new treatment that could lessen COVID-19 symptoms. I chose this article because it stood out to me as a reader, and I knew it would stand out to everyone else during this pandemic. If this new treatment does what UCSF says it could do to COVID-19 symptoms, it will be a turning point for this awful pandemic. I recommend reading this article because it’s important to keep updated on the most concerning issue that’s spreading around the world. The media has the responsibility to share recent updates and information that is important to the pandemic. Sharing any information about the pandemic is useful for everyone whether it’s good or bad news.
• 2020-10-04

  COVID-19 From My Perspective

  Luckily, this pandemic has only affected me in the way a dystopian film or novel has. I turn on the news and hear of increasing cases or public figures testing positive. I open my phone to find texts from friends who have lost loved ones and grieve alongside them. COVID-19 fearfully looms over my household but has yet to enter the door. I might have missed out on exciting opportunities and had to do things online that I normally do in person, but these things are minor compared to those who have lost jobs or relatives. Fear comes in waves, but normalcy seems closer than ever. My church has reopened its doors and students have returned to the campus I work at. While masks are required at most places and encouraged at many others, I have found myself this past week at places where people are connecting without taking severe precaution and it feels good to be a little careless sometimes. While I would always recommend wearing a mask and distancing oneself, it felt good to see people smile. I took my first COVID test last week and the experience was surreal. It brought everything back to the forefront when normalcy felt so close. I am beyond grateful for the distance between my family and this virus that has changed the world. It made us slow down and value time we were able to spend together. We typically go to Huntington Beach together every summer which did not happen this year, but it did not stop us altogether. We stayed in a cabin in Idaho which was much less crowded than California yet still delivered that family vacation feel. This pandemic did not prevent us from living the way we wanted to. Instead, it made us rethink our routines and focus on what we value most. It brought us together.
• 2020-10-03

  Eating in Front of a Mirror

  Pre-Covid I already lived an isolated life, both physically and due to pervasive anxiety. I would spend weeks pushing myself, go inside the store, talk to three people at yoga, text four people, a million little social tasks that I did to keep my human animal happy. I live in a rural area, work part time at a library, and survive in a sort of genteel poverty. About every three months I'd drive to visit an old friend. Beyond customers at the library and polite friendships with coworkers, that was the only social interaction I really had. Stage one of the pandemic and my workplace closed, we were furloughed. Still paid. And after a single massive shopping trip at the end of March I just stayed home. Really stayed home. I was lucky, I'm already an introvert, have a home on acreage, pets. It wasn't great, but I was comforted knowing so many people were quietly going through the same thing. Then George Floyd was killed and I was called back to work a week later. This was the worst time so far. The building was closed and yet staffed, so we sat surrounded by clorox while people banged on the windows and cursed us. The pointlessness of it, we were only there so our employer could qualify for the PPP money. The anxiety of each coworker potentially being ill. And then, in the lull of work, the many many political opinions of all my white coworkers. I stayed silent, the lone POC, but I can assure you, I now detest them all. This phase ended when my boss got covid an ill-advised vacation to the Gulf. Coming back from our isolation I entered phase 3 of my pandemic. I now hate all my coworkers and view them as existential threats. Due both to their extremely foolish behaviors and their racism. They attend 200 guest count weddings, take discounted flights, and attend funerals. I try to work around them, taking vacation days to avoid them directly after they return. I have moved my desk out of the shared office and directly into the main room of the building. We are fully open again. Masks are not required. It is possible to drive around my small town and see not a single sign of the pandemic. The local diner which has flouted all the mild restrictions since April still has their sign out front, "Our Fried Chicken is to Die For!" I've started to feel mildly insane for still isolating, for still wearing a mask. But I'm also used to having the sole dissenting opinion in the room. For now my plan is to just not get sick, there's no plan if I do get it. I just go home and spend another weekend eating in front of a mirror, and sleeping with a hot water bottle to try and quiet my lonely human animal.
• 2020-10-03

  COVID-19: Investigating My Positive Aspect

  At a time in history where there were only a few cases of COVID-19 in the world, I, a college student, was applying to be a mentor for a math-science Honors program and my university. I was once a participant of this program, and to give back to it and help high school students navigate this program and their futures would have meant the absolute world to me. I was completing the second round of the hiring process when it was announced that the remaining of the spring 2020 semester would be held online. It was from this point on that I knew this pandemic was going to change my future plans. At the time, however, I did not see it as a "big deal" because in my mind I was thinking that once this virus is controlled and everything is relaxed, things would go back to normal. Obviously, that was not the case. Shortly after, the university required everyone that was able to go home to do so. Approximately a week after that it was announced that the summer program I was planning on working for over the summer would have to be cancelled. Within the span of a month the routine that I grew accustomed to and the plans I had were completely altered, almost like a punch in the gut. That is not where the story ends, though. I am studying to be a civil engineer, and my uncle is a civil engineer who owns his own business in my hometown and is self-employed. So, I was given the opportunity to intern at his business. I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Within the two months that I interned there, I gained a great deal of knowledge and experience that I would not have otherwise acquired. I learned nearly every aspect of the job, from programming materials, on-site job inspections, to the steps required by government officials and engineers alike to even begin a job. Considering I just completed my freshman year, I went into the internship knowing practically nothing about real engineering work, as I had only taken the basic required classes. Two months later, however, I can confidently say that I learned more then than I would have learned sitting at home all day. It also gave me a great opportunity to see whether or not civil engineering is the career path that I want to go down, which I can confidently say now that it is. The opportunity to have the experience over the summer is what I would consider to be a positive outcome arising from quarantine and having the summer program at the university cancelled.
• 
  2020-10-02

  Parallels between today and the "Spanish flu" of the 1910's

  It shows that this time feels very significant in the eyes of those going through it; it made me seek out and reflect on history in an attempt to understand the current moment.
• 
  2020-09-29

  An Unprecedented Time

  We are living through something that nobody could have ever predicted to happen. I believe this news article perfectly encapsulates the overall disaster that the Coronavirus has been, as it continues to ravish through the country taking thousands of lives.
• 
  2020-09-29

  Using Humor to Deal with the Pandemic

  These memes that I have taken from various social media sites that I visit. They help to show how some people are processing the global pandemic through the use of humor and memes to deal with their feelings of anxiety and fear for the future. I have taken part in this and often search the various hashtags for pandemic memes when I am feeling anxious about the pandemic. Many of my friends too share these kinds of memes with each other in our group chats or on their own blogs.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Life in the Times of Covid-19

  This is a description of the way that covid changed little things in my life but also how it affected by academic life and my relationships. This is important to me because the impact that Covid has had in my life has been shocking and eye opening, which is a story that I thought would be worth sharing.