Items

• 2020-03-13

  covid

  schools shiut down at spring break
• 
  2022-04-05

  Big Changes to a Small Island

  At the "heart" of Polynesia, (referring to its geographic location in the Polynesian triangle) American Samoa appears as another tiny dot on the map. Nevertheless, it means the WORLD to its 55,000+ people, and to some, it is all they have ever known as their home. It is also the southernmost territory of the United States (below the Equator) and the second to the last place on earth to always welcome the New Year LAST. Perhaps it coincidently depicts the slow-paced nature of the island to which many visitors claim that "it feels like time slows down", here at a piece of heaven on earth that is deeply rooted in the Christian faith and the "Fa'aSamoa", a.k.a the Samoan culture or literally, the "Samoan way of life". The people of our island are like a big tight-knitted family--we are all related anyway--when something good or bad happens on the west side of the island, news travels to the east faster or about the same as the speed of light! It has its disadvantages, but for the most part, it is a beautiful thing to see the collective reaction of our people when it is of happiness, support, and sympathy. When the coronavirus started spreading rapidly in the United States in early 2020, our territory continued its commercial flights until mid-March when Hawaii's cases started to rise. Since March 2020, our borders were closed to commercial travel for the next 11 months, not including cargo flights and ships. Residents were stuck in the States for nearly a year. The first of many repatriation flights finally began in February 2021. The repatriation flights took place once a month, during which passengers would undergo a strict process of testing and reporting, a quarantined stay in Hawaii for 12 days, and another 2-weeks quarantine upon arrival in American Samoa. Throughout all repatriation and medical flights, the quarantine process was still a requirement, which was how positive cases were caught and taken care of to prevent community spread. Fast forward to February 2022, exactly a year later, news of a COVID outbreak quickly spread when it was leaked on social media that the family of a Department of Health worker tested positive for COVID at the main hospital. The general public was seeking answers and taking their concerns on social media until later on that same evening the said family tested positive, the local news channel held a Livestream in which the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the COVID-19 Task Force officially announced the community outbreak of the virus. People rushed to the stores to buy necessities and food before the lockdown was set to begin at midnight. The lockdown was marked as Code Red, with curfews from 9pm to 4:30 am, and business hours to be from 8am to 4pm, while all government workers and non-essential employees are to stay home, except essential workers and first-responders. Students transitioned to virtual learning and now interact in class with options such as "raise hand" and/or "mute/unmute". Our people had to adjust very quickly to the new reality we now face. A small island once free with family gatherings, church services, and close human interaction as we are known for...now all of that sounds like a distant memory that will take some time to experience again. Beaches and parks used to be crowded with people and all the happiness they offer their surroundings, now empty and eerily quiet with a "CLOSED" sign nearby. We are masking up everywhere--with little to no physical interaction--so far with 4,700+ cumulative positive cases and a total loss of 7 souls, which has hit our dearest island with extreme sorrow. While the world has moved forward and learned to live with COVID, even opening back up and unmasking, our island is once again a little behind with the experience. It is only the beginning for us! Fortunately, our unwavering faith in God continues to be our ultimate Hope, along with the support of our loving families, beloved people, the United States, and our fellow Pacific islands. One thing we are sure of is that WE ARE RESILIENT PEOPLE, having overcome many challenges for centuries! This too shall pass...on the bright side, in order for it to pass, our journey with COVID had to begin. Now we must go through it, endure it, and overcome together AS one like we always do! God be with us...God IS with us.
• 2020-03-19

  Panic During a Pandemic

  March 19th 2020 started off as a very normal day, I very clearly remember dropping off my son at school and heading into the office for work. I was a Senior Purchasing Agent at a fairly large IT solutions company and we were busy preparing for the Fiscal Year End as it was only a week and a half away. At around 10 am, my phone buzzed, I looked down and noticed it was an email notification from my son’s school which was fairly uncommon during school hours. I quickly opened it up and saw that the schools were going to be shut down for two whole weeks, which was absurd to me at the time, I had never heard of such a thing happening. I quickly let my supervisor know in hopes of being able to work from home. At the time we were piloting working from home one assigned day per week to see if we could make it a long term perk. She quickly approved me to stay home with my son, I am a single mother, and we all know how expensive childcare in California is. Moments later, I heard everyone who was in the office shuffle into the breakroom to watch a press conference on the news. President Trump was on the podium announcing that he was issuing a “Stay at home” order for the whole country. I immediately got chills down my spine and was in complete panic wondering how dangerous the Covid-19 virus truly was. I then quickly grabbed my phone to text in my family’s group text to check in on them. We all thought that it was absurd but understood that it was for everyone’s safety. Next, there was panic in what seemed like every corner of the United States, as almost no one had enough supplies to cover their entire families for two weeks without going to the stores. This caused complete havoc! For some reason, the hot commodity at the time was toilet paper. It was flying off the shelves and obsolete for some time. My mother and I went to stand in line the next morning at 4:45am in hopes of getting enough food and basic necessities to last our family. Upon arrive at the store about five minutes later there were a hundred people in line waiting for the store to open. Inside the store, people were dashing to get whatever they could and manners were completely out the window. It seemed very apocalyptic. Little did we know that the lockdown would not end for six months. I personally lost an aunt and very good family friend to the virus. Even today, December 10th, 2021, there are mask mandates, and now variants of the virus. Although there is only a vaccine, not a cure, we are learning how to safely navigate life again.
• 
  2021-10-08

  my Quarantined life

  My Name is Alex Clayton and I go to lone star Middle School, and I am a basketball player for the Idaho Stags. It started as a news report saying a cruise ship arrived in the U.S with diseased passengers and I did not think anything big about it, so I let It go. A few months later everything shut down out m of nowhere and school, restaurants, movie theatres, just anything public that is a company shut down or was close to that. Eventually things started to die down and things opened back up, but you would get your temperature checked and be wearing a mask everywhere. Life was never the same for like two years. (This was all my perspective) -Alex Clayton
• 
  2020-03

  Carla Dollar Oral History, 2020/03

  I was given the assignment to share a recipe I made during quarantine that started March 2020. However, the reality was that as an essential worker, I had no time to cook. And in my tiny, conservative town, we rallied together to support local business. We ordered more take-out foods during that time, to support our friends and family who owned restaurants, but also, just didn't have time to cook.
• 
  2020-03-06T14:57

  A Sign of Things to Come

  Early March 2020. We were out of toilet paper and stopped at the grocery store to get some. We sort of knew things were about to get crazy but this scene really cemented it for us. About a week later, LAUSD shut down for “two weeks.”
• 2021-02-01

  My College Experience; Covid Edition

  The Coronavirus pandemic has most certainly been a time I will not forget. When I was a second semester Freshman at Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, PA, this wild spread begun. It was the spring semester of 2020. New year, new decade, new semester and all I wanted to do this particular semester, was rush a Fraternity and join Greek Life. I got initiated into my fraternity on February 28th, the night we were leaving school for spring break. After that week, we arrived back to campus, and all my new brothers and I were very excited to get to know one another and spend the rest of the semester together. When you get initiated, that first semester is meant to be something really special. Unfortunately, however, that semester was cut short. Around the second week of March, we all got the news that the Coronavirus was spreading across Asia and Europe, vastly approaching the United States. On March 16th, 2020, we all got the news that our University was going to be shutting down. Come March 22nd, 2020, I moved all my personal belongings out of my dorm and said goodbye to my school. The worst part for me was, I never got to personally say goodbye to my Freshman year, my friends, or my new fraternity brothers. The semester had to continue, however, academically. We were told that our school was going to be using this Facetime software, called “Zoom”. I of course did not hear of this particular software before. Once it was set up, and running, I quickly got used to everything. I actually made the Dean’s list once the semester was over and done with. Now for me, the summer was nothing bad. I worked at a golf course, spent a lot of time with my family, and got to know some of my neighbors better. Unfortunately, this was not the same for some of my friends. Before we left, I got to know some people who were in other Greek life organizations. One of my new friends at this time in particular, really struggled with mental health. At the end of the day, I still managed to help not only him, but other friends with things that were on their minds. A year later, it is the Spring semester of 2021. We are still going through the same pandemic, and things have improved a little bit, which is good. However, in college, we are still on zoom, and all our fraternity events for the recruitment processes have been virtual. This is not easy, because to get the ideal number of new members, things should be in person. The moral of the story in my opinion, however, is that I am very, very grateful that I joined my organization when I did. I am very blessed for the opportunities that I have come about, and for the people who have stuck by my side since March of 2020. This may not have been the college experience I have envisioned thus far, but It is certainly one I cannot and will not forget.
• 
  2021-01-26

  Covid 19 Final Entry - Statistics

  Covid-19 has around 20-2,000+ victims a day losing their lives. Around 2,000-10,000+ people are being diagnosed a day. This whole corona virus is a total pain because of all the lives that we have lost as well as everything that has been shut down and re-opened and shut down again. Everyone's lives have changed and their still is no vaccine thoroughly thought through and produced yet. Hopefully everything will be over soon.
• 2021-01-26

  Statistics with COVID

  Living in California during the pandemic was a struggle. With how big the population is and the governor, the entire thing was a mess. First off corona itself took over California with how greatly populated the state was but, our current governor used statistics in a way to shut the state down not in the right way and could not prove what science he was using to shut the state down so, he has to open up the state again since he could not prove any of his statistics.
• 2021-01-19

  COVID lockdown rules

  The stupid COVID rules that have been put in place are not worth following, this virus has a 99.9% recover rate for anyone in between 4-50 and we have to shut the whole country down. I live in California which is democrat run so we have to be on red alert like this virus is a threat to all humanity. It’s stupid and it always has been. I wish I lived in Florida at this point because I can play sports there and live life. But no, I have to comply to California’s socialist communist ideology’s.
• 2021-01-19

  Rules, Rules, Rules!!!!

  When Covid struck in the United States on March 14, 2020, I wasn't worried that my school had been shut down. I thought it was a chance to get out and see new things. Boy was I wrong. My mom and dad were extremely nervous, as scientists had found Covid-19 affected the lungs, and I have a massive problem with my lungs, as I only have half of a right lung. I also have type 1 diabetes, so it would be even more of a problem if I got it. The government told everyone to stay home, and go out only for emergencies or supply runs. Stores could only have 20% capacity, so my mom had to wait outside of stores for hours just to get in! They also told us to wear a mask whenever going into public scenarios. Our current president at the time, Donald J Trump, refused to wear a mask, and he tested positive 7 months in to the pandemic. Over the summer, the numbers in our area started to go down, so my mom and dad decided we could resume normal life cautiously. The first time I had gotten out in months was a mountain bike ride around our neighborhood. It was good to get out after months of staying in! I had also noticed a decrease in my health, as I had been sitting inside. for most of the summer and fall, things were good. But then in December, disaster struck even harder. My neighbor got it, and we did not wear a mask at all! Thankfully, we were not in close enough contact for us to contract it. After that, I had become a whole lot more conservative on going out and seeing others. As you can see, Covid has affected me heavily, and I am done with having to wear a mask 24/7 365.
• 2021-01-14

  The impact of Covid-19

  Corona Virus or Covid-19 started in Wuhan China in early 2020. It has almost been a year since this deadly virus started. When the disease spread to America and was declared a national pandemic. Stores all around the world, and with those stores, schools shut down too. All kids around the world were now going on virtual meetings and learning from home. This change affected me a lot. I started going to bed later and barley getting sleep, I wasn't exercising, or eating right. Life wasn't that good... until I got used to it. Once I got used to it I would sleep in between classes and have all my assignments turned in on time. We're back to school now which makes me sad and happy at the same time. Whatever happens I'm just glad I get a good education.
• 2021-01-14

  Online Learning!

  When I got the news that my school would be shutting down on March 6, 2020, I thought it would be only for a few weeks. Little did I know that it would be months before even being able to see friends. Looking back, zooming in to classes in 7th grade was crazier than 8th grade, as I was learning the routine. I remember not knowing how to go to Gallery view, so whenever someone spoke I would have a massive head on my screen. It always made me laugh. After about a month, I started to get the hang of things, and I was even enjoying it! I had a routine. 7:30: wake up, shower, get dressed. 7:50, sit in my chair and watch Youtube until class started. I noticed that my grades were increasing, and I had better sleep schedules! I also was getting better lunches than I did at school, although school lunches at my school are amazing! I remember I asked my dad if he could do a Meatball Sandwich, and it was the best thing I ever ate while in Science! To be honest, I enjoyed online school more than in person school, but now, in the month of January 2021, I am missing seeing friends and teachers in person.
• 2020-12-10

  Now vs. Before COVID

  My life before COVID was just going to school, sports (tennis and dance), then going home to eat dinner and going to bed so I can repeat the process the next day. Now during COVID I wake up and go straight to my computer to start school, after I finish school I practice online dance lessons and sometimes play tennis and then I eat dinner and go to bed. I think I knew things were going to change when my sisters school shut down and my friends and I started talking about this new disease that is spreading.
• 
  2020-10-20

  The new normal

  I recently graduated high school class of 2020 . Me and a lot of my friends didn't get a proper prom or graduation.The schools were the first thing the government shut down . Here we are months into a pandemic where new information about the virus is coming about .We have come accustomed to wearing masks and keeping distance. Meanwhile the president of the usa disregards the whole pandemic.While we the citizens have to face what's going on . It's completely unfair and unsafe. Everyone should follow the rules.
• 
  2020-10-14

  Las Vegas Lockdown - March 29

  These two photos were taken on the strip at the beginning of lockdown in Las Vegas. Both photos show the government in action as they were taken during lockdown when the strip basically shut down. These photos show empty streets and billboards telling everyone to stay home and stay safe. The billboards provided a sort of unity within the city since it encouraged everyone to “be kind from a distance” and were small reminders that we were all in this together.
• 
  2020-10-08

  A Bright Light At the End of the Tunnel

  The first picture shown was taken while in Downtown, Phoenix. It was very shocking to me to see how many little tents and makeshift homes were here. The whole area looked like a miniature town. It is impossible to know if people were pushed there due to Covid-19 and the rising unemployment rate, but I wouldn't doubt the possibility. According to The New York Times, "Staggeringly High: U.S. Jobless Claims Remained Elevated Last Week" by Ben Casselman, millions of Americans remain out of work and that number has only been rising. Casselman also stated that 8.3 million Americans reported that they could be evicted from their homes within the next two months. Hearing all of this it also makes sense the homeless population is rising. It's hard enough trying to find hygiene products, food, and other essentials when you are homeless; I can't imagine what it's like during a global pandemic. I think something must be done to help these people along with those facing eviction and job loss. The pandemic is a human issue and its very strange that people put money before actual people's health and livelihood. The last picture I used of the rainbow is meant to symbolize a bit of hope in these gloomy times. I feel especially down lately, hearing about how many people have lost others due to the virus and how helpless the situation seems when many are making absurd choices. I remember I saw the rainbow while taking a walk- which is pretty much all you do while being safe right now. It had rained a bit but the rainbow lifted my spirits seeing all the colors and the vibrant greenery. The pandemic can't last forever, and I hope everyone can work together to stop the spread of the virus and implement change within our fragile health and economic systems.
• 
  2020-09-27

  Walking Through the Neighborhood Again

  Prior to the pandemic, my friend and I would canvas neighborhoods for a local city council candidate here in Tempe. The election was held the week before the world shut down in March. Since then I haven’t done any canvassing. Local campaigns have adapted to the pandemic through no-contact lit dropping (and wearing a mask while doing it, of course). This is essentially just dropping off a flier at someones door with a candidates information on it. I used to take photos of the cool houses and things I would see when walking through the neighborhoods. This past weekend I stopped to take this photo in “The Lakes” neighborhood.
• 
  2020-03-31

  Unplugged

  This photograph was taken one day when I was out on a walk with my mother. I am in college, so we were forced to shut down and head home early for the semester. I live in Northern California, so it is very hilly and green in the springtime. Since we shut down before many other states did, we were forced to entertain ourselves at home for the majority of quarantine. My mom and I are both very into fitness, so we decided that we would take a two mile walk each day. I took this picture one day on our walk. I am calling this story “unplugged” because I feel that I may not have gone on these walks with my mom if we had other things to do. When on these walks, I was really able to take in nature and have great conversations with my mom. I feel that this was a super important time for me. I was not focused on anything that was going on around me besides the fact that I was spending time outside with my mom. This image is important to me for a number of reasons. This was a beautiful image of a landscape looking out into the hilly greenery of Northern California. I think that this picture is a representation of how we can find beauty even in the midst of a hard time. I took this picture at the start of the pandemic since it was taken late March. This was a time of lots of unknown and worry around the country. This is a time that everyone has to find happiness in each other, and learn to work with what we have. It is also important to take the time and spend time with the ones you love, as well as take time for yourself. These walks that I took with my mom allowed me to do both. I was able to take time for myself, as well as spend time with my mom after being away at school for a year.
• 
  2020-04-16

  Long distance letters

  This photo is a birtday box my friend sent me from Maryland to Florida. We originally planned on celebrating together because we'd be at school still, riding out the end of our freshman year of college, but with all Florida universities being shut down in early March, we were forced to move out of our dorm and return to our homes. This image is important to me because with the craziness and uncertancy of the future, we went back to our roots and stayed in contact the old fashoned way, letters. While we still talked on the phone and texted, waiting to get your next letter in the mail was exciting and fun. In this particular box, I was sent a shirt that my friend tye-dyed herself & a couple of letters about different things she'd been doing (or not doing) and just letters about life. Even though we were apart, being able to write and send momentums made us all feel closer.
• 2020-09-18

  A Terrible Blessing

  At a time where I’ve never been more in need of a break, I received more than I had bargained for. It is early 2020, I’m in my senior year of high school and worked almost everyday after school; I almost reached my breaking point. Everything stressed me out: drama, school, work, and lack of sleep. I hoped and wished and prayed for a break, and my prayers were unexpectedly answered. At first, it seemed like Coronavirus was just another cold, but then the world collapsed and everyone shut down. I was about to get an early spring break: two weeks to flatten the curve. Yet, this break turned into a nationwide hellscape. Everyone was forced to stay home, schools closed, entertainment centers closed, hockey was postponed, and even graduation was up in the air. I’ll admit, getting to stay home everyday was a blessing for the first few weeks. Then, it started to make me go nuts. I didn’t get to see my friends or go to work or school; my life was paused. A break is only good when you enjoy it with your friends, and my friends weren’t allowed out of the house and quite frankly, neither was I. My anxiety truly peaked and I was scared things would never even begin to go back to normal. Although it was different than it should’ve been, graduation still happened. I finally was reunited with my friends and teachers and it felt amazing to accept my diploma. As for college, it has been a little stressful amidst the pandemic. Not having in person classes is extremely different and it's much harder for me to learn, but i’m managing and things are getting better by the day. This brings us to the golden thing that remains: masks. I hate having to wear a mask in public, it’s a severe pain. However, I will follow the rules until everything returns to normalcy. At the end of the day, this pandemic has taught me a valuable lesson: always appreciate what you have and live in the moment, you never know when it could come crashing down. And today and forever, I stand by this. I will cherish what the lockdown has given me and taught me, yet I had to walk through hell to get to heaven.
• 
  2020-09-18

  Life in Quarantine; Summer 2020

  I decided to write about what my experience was like living in quarantine this past summer. I want the reader to understand that though there were definitely challenges, as one could expect, there were also positives to take away from the experience.
• 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.
• 2020-09-13

  Music Education During a Pandemic

  Music has been a big part of my life ever since I was young. I picked up the violin in second grade, and my involvement in the music industry has only grown since then. This year is my senior year as a music education major in college; however, in light of the pandemic, I am anxious about what the future holds for music. Music class is very different from other classes that students may have throughout the day. While it is more feasible for a math or science class to be completely online, with live-streamed lessons and online assignments, these concepts are not so easy for a music class. With a large ensemble, it is almost impossible for the teacher to actually hear their students play in an online format. Many schools are using Zoom, which is great for the virtual classroom, however it tends to have a significant audio lag. Due to this problem, music ensembles cannot actually all rehearse at one time. Many music teachers have dealt with this problem by requesting that students mute themselves and then play along to a pre-recorded track that the teacher will prepare for them; however, with this barrier, the teacher will never be able to hear their students play all together, which is a crucial part of an ensemble rehearsal to assure that everyone is fully understanding the music. Not only are large ensemble rehearsals affected by these restrictions, but also the elementary general music classroom. In elementary general music, singing is a crucial part of the curriculum. At a young age, students need to be able to start singing so that they are able to start developing a knowledge of pitch and rhythm. At this stage of brain development, it is crucial for students to be able to have this aural experience in person. However, in many areas of the country, singing in a public space has been completely banned. This causes a big problem for music educators because there are so many concepts that they cannot teach without being able to sing with their students. I am in no way stating that the measures being taken in light of the pandemic are unnecessary; I believe that COVID should be taken very seriously and completely understand why it is that these restrictions need to be put in place for educators everywhere to keep the staff and students safe. However, it is frustrating to know that some people are blatantly not following guidelines, which is causing a delay in reopening schools, and because of this, an entire industry is being affected. So many musicians work off of the profit they get from live concerts alone. However, absolutely no concert halls will be able to reopen until we have this disease under control. During the time of the pandemic, I worry for what is going to happen to the music industry, and how this is going to take a toll on music programs all over the country.
• 2020-09-11

  The Struggle of a Small Business Owner

  Throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic and my time in quarantine, I struggled with a multitude of things. I was distraught over my senior year being taken away, lonely from the lack of human connection and interaction, and full of anxiety and fear because everything about this virus and the future was still very much unknown. But none of this compared to my biggest and most upsetting struggle. Coincidently this struggle of mine wasn’t even my own, it happened to be my father’s. My father owns a vintage bowling alley named; The Fox Bowling Center located in a small town in Upstate New York. For over 25 years my father has owned and operated this bowling alley, and he has been involved with this business since he was 9 years old when his parents bought it in the early seventies. This bowling alley has been an integral part of my father’s life for almost 50 years, and during March of this year he had to shut down business due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My father was absolutely distraught and shattered over this news. He was worrying constantly over the future and when things might take a turn for the better so he could open back up. He also struggled severely with trying to pay bills and manage the money in a time when he had zero income. I think seeing my father struggle with money issues really hit home for me the most. The bowling alley never really made a lot of money to begin with, and when this happened he had nothing to fall back on. He worked tirelessly on trying to secure any type of loan that would help him just pay the bills and keep the business afloat. Seeing him go through this each day was torture. I just wanted to help in some way and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but I had no money to offer him and in total honesty I had no idea what the future held for small business owners like my father. Even though watching my father go through all this pain and sadness was one of the worst things I ever witnessed, he still managed to teach me some amazing life lessons I will cherish forever. He showed me to always persevere and look towards the future, and he also showed me that you can’t give up on the things you love and hold dear. I’m happy to also share that because of his hard work and perseverance with financial issues, he is able to reopen now that bowling alleys are allowed to open back up in New York. My father is overjoyed and can’t wait to have his loyal customers and friends bowling once again, even if it is a little different. I will never forget his struggle to keep the business open and when I think about those long months in the future I will always remember his hard work and dedication.
• 2020-01-20

  The 2020 coronavirus pandemic

  Even though the coronavirus had origionated in China it soon reached Washington. On the 20th of January, A resident in Washington had the first US case of the coronavirus. Eventually, the virus had gained more than 4.8 million cases in all 50 states. I remember being in school in March hearing everyone talking about the virus tht was spreading, and the stores running out of toilet paper, water bottles, and all types of foods. In April schools had finally shut down, resturants shut down and people were losing their jobs, and we were under quarentine doing online school work. Though I was very happy to be out of school, quarentine really took a toll on mine and many of my firends mental health. Not being able to see my friends and people im comfortable around (besides my familey) for a long period of time really affected me. I spent most of my time either in my room on tiktok or painting, or hanging out with my brother, neice, nephew, and sister. After a while resturants, movie theaters, ect started opening up again, but most places required masks to be able to go in. Its now August and schools are back open, its not very fun though. We have to wear masks at all times in the school, water fountins arent open, doors stay open, theres no lockers, our tempuature has to be taken everyday, and we have assigned seats. Allthough the dethe rate is low, thanks to the technology, knowlge, and nurses we have, we still have to be cautious of spreading the virus even more. Some people i knew and had come in contact with tested poitive for the coronavirus so i had to go get tested and ended up testing negative. Although no one I knew had died from the virus, many peoples family and friends had passed away from covid.
• 2020-03-14

  A life of unpredictable moments.

  During the time of our spring break in 2020 we were headed to Florida with a bunch of friends and my brother who was in high school but got switched to online 2 days before. During that time the pandemic really took off. While we were there everything got shut down in Florida and in Ohio, nervous about if we were still going to be able to make it back to Ohio. In case of a travel band. We were confused and was kinda upsetting while we did have a pool in our back yard everything was getting shut down, the beaches, parks restaurants and basically the whole state of Ohio back home. The thing that was good to come out of this was my younger brother then a senior in high school was able to last minute come with us because his school went remotely. While we spent that whole weekend in the pool and ate the only restaurant that seemed to be running while everything was closing down.
• 
  April 3, 2020

  Newburgh IN The Hair Bar

  These photographs were taken to document some of what people in Evansville and its Tri-State region saw and experienced as the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic came to the area in the spring of 2020. Many of these images represent literal signs of the time, while others figuratively depict signs of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-07-03

  ‘Human behaviour at its worst.’ Wasaga Beach to close main beach area, limit parking after huge Canada Day crowds

  Article discussing the closure of the popular Wasaga Beach following holiday crowds over Canada Day. "The public’s 'blatant disregard' for the rules of social distancing has resulted in Wasaga Beach laying out a plan to shut down the majority of the main beach area by July 9."
• 
  2020-05-17

  An Afternoon at Kiwanis Park

  After weeks of quarantine at home, my partner and I decided to try and get out of our house and do something fun. We decided that a park would be most safe, so we donned our masks and headed to Kiwanis Park in Tempe to play some Pokemon Go. Although there were there numerous signs outlining specific measures to keep park-goers safe, the park was split about 50-50 in terms of people wearing and not wearing masks. As we left the park, I heard one woman loudly complaining to her friend "So now I'm supposed to prioritize other people's safety over my comfort?" She was, of course, not wearing a mask.
• 
  2020-04-17

  Life In Isolation: The Coronavirus... Ann-Marie Kay Merriman

  A virtual exhibition by the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science
• 
  2020-05-28

  Oneida Nation Extends Declaration of Public Health State of Emergency Until June 11

  “March 12, 2020 the Chairman declared a Public Health State of Emergency, the Oneida Business Committee took actions to take steps to protect the health and welfare of the members, employees and the community, including instituting expenditure restrictions to preserve resources for the provision of governmental services to members most at risk, closure of the Nation’s gaming operations, and insuring that employees will continued to be paid during the Public Health State of Emergency as long as the Nation’s resources will allow.”
• 
  2020

  Modified Hours at Symphony Cleaners

  This is a photograph of a sign hung in the window of the Symphony Cleaners. The sign details how the hours of business for the cleaners have been changed and that they are only accepting pickups and drop offs for businesses such as hotels. The sign refers to the virus as a "little bug"
• 
  2020-04-22

  Wild animals take over lockdown cities around the world

  As people living in cities are shut away amid countries' COVID-19 lockdowns and the hustle and bustle of city roads are brought to a standstill, wildlife has taken over urban spaces. Penguins run riot in a Cape Town housing estate, Coyotes roam the streets of San Fransisco. A Kangaroo hops around Adelaide and Venice canals have become so clean and peaceful jellyfish have been spotted swimming in the canals of the ancient city.
• 
  03/19/2020

  Closed Beaches

  Beaches are closed down due to the Pandemic
• 
  04/20/2020

  So Much For Essential Activities

  The Montgomery Bell State Park in Tennessee is shut down and completely blocked off like many others despite the governer stating that outdoor recreation is an essential activity and therefore still allowed.
• 
  2020-04-16

  We over-reacted

  Description of someone's opinion of shutting down society during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-05

  The Struggle in Rural Communities

  The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly scary. We are currently faced with a time in which people are fighting for their lives, we can’t leave our homes, businesses are closed, and our lives have been completely uprooted. There is no doubt that this situation has affected every single person’s day to day life. However, from my personal experience I think that different communities are affected in different ways or perhaps hit slightly harder. Although everyone’s top priority at this time should be safety, I also think it is important to address the strain this pandemic is putting on communities like my own. The first week of March I drove 600 miles from South Carolina to Pennsylvania to go home and visit my family for spring break. Little did I know that I would end up being in Pennsylvania for the foreseeable future. My hometown is the epitome of a rural community. If you are not one of the few small business owners, a farmer, working for a natural gas company, or a factory worker in the next town over then you most likely live in poverty. Therefore, my community was already economically struggling before this pandemic hit. Once it did hit, the small businesses deemed nonessential were shut down, hours of operation for essential businesses have been cut back, and those who were already wondering how they were going to pay their bills now have absolutely no idea how they are going to survive heading into the future.
• 
  2020-04-03

  It is game time!

  With the shops shut and online deliveries taking forever to deliver, my friend came up with this amazing idea to “create” Monopoly from scratch!
• 
  2020-04-05

  Dancing peacock in the middle of a street

  With transportation systems completely shut down in India and no humans to disturb it, a peacock is seen dancing on a road
• 
  2020-04-05

  Empty streets like never before

  The video shows Hyderabad’s empty streets. Every business in the country, no matter how small, has shut down. The country of 1.3 billion is at a complete standstill. Closures at this stage have not been observed till date, not even on Sundays are the streets so deserted.
• 
  2020-03-22

  My Life in China During the Coronavirus

  Ten weeks ago, I was in Beijing. I did not have to wear a mask, I did not have to get my temperature checked. I was with a close friend of mine. While they were worried about this virus, I shrugged it off. "We have a new virus every year," I said--"This will be no big deal, I'm not worried." I still feel terrible about that conversation exchange. A few weeks later, I was canceling my holiday to South Korea. A couple weeks after that, China had reached 40,000+ cases. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I was stuck inside. I slipped into what felt like an endless ocean of the blues. I felt sad, worried, I was contacting those most important to me almost every chance I got. Now, after 10 weeks, China is slowly starting to return to normal. This picture, taken by Joe Larrea, shows me out and about for the first time since the pandemic began. We have been teaching online for 7 weeks now, with uncertainty on when we'll go back. However, it's nice to see that the city is finally starting to come back to life, even if it is still not as booming as it usually is. We still cannot leave without masks, or enter anywhere without temperature checks. But the country is slowly starting to open up again. What's considered normal is starting to return, albeit at a slow rate. Now, the rest of the world is reaching the problems that China experienced a few weeks ago. Hopefully, the rest of the globe can combat this as well, and one day it'll all seem like a bad dream.
• 
  2020-03-25

  Public Safety Alert text message - Washington, DC

  This was a text message pushed out to the cell phones of all DC residents on 3/25/20 at about 8 pm. DC shuts down non essential businesses.
• 
  2020-03-25

  Interview with 3rd Grade Teacher Sarah McCormick by Lawson Miller

  Educators experience the impact that Covid-19 is having on our society first hand, as schools across the nation shut down to slow the pandemic. Sarah discusses when she first heard of the novel disease and what she thought of it. She discusses the transition from school to online school and how she coped with this transition after just returning from maternity leave and also caring for an immunocompromised son.
• 
  2020-03-25

  Another Empty Campus: Hobart and William Smith Colleges

  This is just another example, on a smaller scale, of how the virus is affecting daily life. Schools cancelled, restaurants closed, small businesses around the country being shut down. Much of our infrastructure relies on these students being on campus and without it a lot of people are losing money and jobs.
• 
  2020-03-15

  A letter from Mickey

  A letter from Mickey Mouse / Disney to kids as to why it has had to shut down Disney World/ Disney Land