Items

• 
  2021-03-28

  COVID-19, Social Distancing, and College Theater in Thatcher, Arizona

  By Lori Dugan/EAC THATCHER — Eastern Arizona College’s Fine Arts Division proudly presents “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” from April 7 – 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Auditorium, with the understudy performance taking place on April 8. General admission tickets are $5 for adults and are on sale now at the EAC Ticket Office. Call (928) 428-8228 for more information. EAC employees and students can attend for free. Due to COVID-19, social distancing is in place to accommodate safe spacing. Masks are required. You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown synopsis The musical, based on the wildly popular Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz, is probably best described as an average day in the life of Charlie Brown. It is made up of little moments, from Valentine’s Day to baseball season, from wild optimism to utter despair. The familiar cast of characters is there, from Lucy and Linus to Schroeder, Sally, and, of course, Snoopy. The production explores what it means to be a good person, prompted by affirmations from Charlie Brown’s friends. These compliments set Charlie Brown on a journey of self-discovery as the audience follows him and his friends through a day of adventure and trials. Musical numbers include “My Blanket and Me,” “The Kite,” “The Baseball Game,” “Little Known Facts,” “Suppertime,” and “Happiness.” The play spans the months between Valentine’s Day and Beethoven Day, following the characters in their optimism and utter despair. “’You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ is a crowd-pleasing classic for all ages,” said Chase Moore, EAC Musical Theatre director. “Anybody who’s a Peanuts fan will relive lots of fun memories from the comic strip.” Behind the production The production is directed by Dr. Dale J. Young, and features set designs by Greg Owen, both EAC associate professors of theater arts. Music is under the direction of Chase Moore. The production is choreographed by Rena De La Cruz, with costumes designed by Timilee McNair. Clark Gesner created the book, music, and lyrics for “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, with additional dialogue by Michael Mayer and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. Winner of two Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards, and an Outer Critic Circle Award, this production’s musing on life’s ironies and delights continues to resonate with audiences’ hearts. Theatre Arts at EAC You can shine in the spotlight at EAC! In the Department of Theatre Arts, students take part in dynamic shows and emerge as artists for the next step in their careers. “Our graduates are successful all across the country,” said Dr. Dale J. Young. “Some of the roles they hold are teachers, managers, actors, playwrights, directors, administrators, MFA graduate students, and the list goes on.” Students interested in this area of study at Eastern Arizona College enter the Associate of Arts Program in Theatre Arts www.eac.edu/Academics/Programs_of_Study/Theatre/. This program offers dynamic learning opportunities in acting, stagecraft, scene design, stage make-up, costume design, play analysis, and more. This curriculum meets the targeted requirements for the first two years of a bachelor’s degree program at a college or university.
• 
  2021-03-17

  #JOTPYSilver from Dr. Terilyn Johnston Huntington

  That time when the internet was out at my house and my office was closed, so I held class in the back of my minivan in a parking lot at my university. #JOTPYPhoto
• 
  2020-03-17

  Taking my plants home for a month

  On March 17, 2020 I drove to the university campus where I work to retrieve materials from my office and to rescue my plants. The WHO had just declared the pandemic. My university administration had sent an email in the late afternoon saying that the campus buildings would be closing for a month starting at midnight that same day. So I rushed to campus to grab some essentials. It was surreal to enter my office and pack it up when just days before things felt normal but there was a growing sense of dread. I saw this artwork in my office - I keep it to help me remember that hard times can be turned around through a shift in perspective. It cheered me up as I packed up my plants. I posted about it, saying that I was packing up my office for 'a month at home'. I've been working from home and teaching from home for over a year now. Campus remains closed to non-essential activities. My plants have taken over our unused guest room in the ensuing year. When I look at this I am viscerally reminded of that day and how much uncertainty there was - and naiveté about what we were in for.
• 
  2020-12-04

  Kamala Harris is Elected First Woman of Color to Become Vice President

  Kamala Harris will become the first woman and first woman of color to become Vice President. She is also the first graduate of a historically Black university in the White House. Kamala graduated from Howard University with a political science and economics degree in 1986. Her sorority sisters from Alpha Kappa Alpha celebrated her victory in Philadelphia after her Presidential ticket won the state.
• 2021-03-10

  Doing my Part

  In March of 2020 I am sure basically everyone's life took a spin and changed in some sort. With much fear around the Covid-19 virus going around and with little to no information and data behind it, many people throughout the world were very fearful of the virus. With basically everything shut down I lost the job that I had since I was 16. Being in college, I needed to make some sort of income. With everyone using delivery services such as FedEx, UPS, and Amazon to get their supplies, I decided that I could do my part in giving a hand to our fellow Americans during the pandemic. In my hometown, Amazon opened up a new distribution center shortly before the pandemic started. With the surge of everyone using amazon to get supplies the demand for jobs at amazon was high. Being a 21-year-old healthy man I decided to do my part and pick up a part-time job while still in school. This was a great experience for me because I was able to see how the operations behind such an impactful business work and do my part to help my fellow Americans get through the pandemic.
• 2021-03-04

  Education

  When PM Johnson announced the lockdown my secondary education sadly ended without me knowing, my grades were decided by teachers then corrected by a computer - it then turned out the computer was wrong and our year was given our original grades. What a thing to put 18 year olds through, I was dissapointed to say the least that this was allowed to happen and it turned out the government knew about the computer failure and still did nothing. However, the lucky ones of us lived on, staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives. Now at university, which has predominantly been online, has been great. Staying online means that I am not interacting with people and not potentially spreading the virus so I hope this way of learning continues for a long time! Overall, the pandemic has meant I have been given the holiday of a lifetime, been allowed to still carry on my education but in a safe way and allowed me to reflect on how I use my education.
• 
  2020-04-12

  Living in a pandemic

  Losing opportunities and losing family makes us think about many emotions and things that should be cherished.
• 2020-03-10

  The Pandemic

  One of the main ways the Covid-19 pandemic affected me was the sudden change of in person learning to online learning . In early March of 2020, in my second semester of Freshman year students were told that the universty would be switching from in person teaching to online teaching. This change was very sudden, and it affected the whole dynamic students had with how they attended school, and how their work would be done. The pandemic caused many students and professors to completely change their school life around. This caused some students to struggle with their grades, and attendance was also affected.
• 
  2020-03-18

  Covid in Jax

  Covid took away the freedom to hangout with friends.
• 2020-01-01

  Surviving 2020 & COVID-19 Pandemic: Life As A College Student

  As the ball dropped on New Year’s Day I embraced and kissed my boyfriend in excitement of what would await us in 2020, if only I knew. As we said our goodbyes to our friends we drove home on a side road to avoid the frantic traffic of drunk drivers and people rushing to get home. All I remember is driving in front of my boyfriend’s car and then waking up to him sobbing over me. My car lights were on, sunroof open, glass shattered everywhere, my blood stained on my wheel and purple bruises on ribs. Long story short I was smashed into by a drunk driver, my car flipped, rolled, and was finally crushed into a tree with me inside while my significant other watched it unravel before his eyes. This was my beginning to 2020 and I wished and hoped that it would only be better from there on but I was horribly wrong. On March 11th of 2020 I received an email from my university stating that it would be closed and urged all students to return home for the remainder of the semester. As many college students saw this as an extended spring break at the time we were all happy since it basically meant more partying. After week one passed of receiving the email I quickly realized that being isolated would be my downfall and it sure was. By the end of the Spring semester I had failed a couple classes and was desperately trying to crawl out of a depressive episode. Since I am, or rather struggling to be a nursing student still, failing my Anatomy and Physiology I class sent me into a spiral of what ifs and how my GPA would recover from these failed courses. The realization of retaking these courses in order to save my future and using my only two chances of “erasing” my unsatisfactory grades crushed me. I was shattered by this reality but continued to push myself through Summer term to ace these courses, I studied day and night sacrificing friendships and days out for an A. As Summer came to an end Fall came and I barely passed the classes online because I struggled to adapt and truly retain the material meanwhile peers in my class were either completely giving up or cheating their way through the online, remote exams. To add the cherry on top, I was battling my university’s Housing Board in order to cancel my dorm agreement because many COVID cases had been recorded in my building and my roommates still went out to clubs while not wearing masks. As the months passed and semesters came and went, I felt my sanity slipping and today I still sit in fear of my future. I struggle leaving my apartment due to the fear of exposure to COVID and accidentally passing it onto my only parent who suffers from lupus. This pandemic has truly crushed me and unfortunately it seems that I will be spending the remainder of my college life and 20s in this chaotic, barren, and lonely society where we only see each other screen to screen.
• 2021-02-23

  How Covid-19 effected me

  Around March 2019 I was a freshman in college. At this time I was attending an HBCU in North Carolina 10 hours from where I live. Around this time Covid was relatively new and we didn't know much about it. About mid March the whole school received an email that we all had to pack up and leave campus by the following week and for some people that was easy because they lived either in North Carolina or in a close distance. After finding put this information I had to contact my parents and let them know of the situation. My family isn’t poor but we are not rich either so the finical stress that was put on them to call off of work and try and get some type of rental car big enough for all of my things without paying a bunch of money because we didn't have that to spend and rental companies already knew that this time was coming so of course they used it as a way to get more money my raising all the rental prices. So fast forward I come home and now were doing virtual school which was okay I really missed campus and my friends and class was so much more boring staring at a computer screen all day all the stores were closed it honestly felt like the world around me just completely stopped grocery stores closed no tissue or paper towels it was just everything happened so fast but I’m so grateful for my parents for coming to get me because they could of easily made me stay with a relative but they sacrificed a lot to get me home and I really appreciate it so much
• 
  2021-02-20

  Life Frozen, Caught in a Web, Safety Arrested

  It was an August afternoon, the sidewalks I walked were abandoned. I passed this safety light on DePaul University’s campus, which based on the spider web delicately entwined within, had not been touched in some time. A bug is trapped in the middle by a force they couldn’t see, till it was all too late. This bug and I were clearly friends. My life, like theirs, had been frozen in place. Everything I aimed to do, suspended for another time. Helpless to do anything, and worst of all, even seeking safety and refuge in friends and family, made a risk.
• 
  2021-02-19

  Vaccinations on campus

  ASU is now vaccinating people on campus. Members of the ASU community receive an email when they are eligible. I am eligible and have tried making an appointment twice, but the appointments are always full. After you get a vaccine, employees are supposed to upload a copy of their vacine to an ASU website.
• 
  2021-02-15

  Getting My BSN in COVID Land

  The start of the semester was like that of any other except last semester I managed to secure an internship for the summer of 2020. Nursing school was already a difficult major to be in and I really didn’t think that it could get more difficult than that of junior year. I truly didn’t know what was to come. I will never forget being at clinical and hearing everyone mention the start of the virus. COVID-19 was on the backburner when it came to the most interesting topics of January 2020, but it would soon prove to be the most prominent in the upcoming months. I distinctly remember shadowing a nurse in the ICU one day and hearing the nurses discuss what was going to happen. “It doesn’t seem like it is coming here but trust me it is and when it does, we will need all the healthcare workers we can get.” This was a statement from one of the nurses that I will never forget hearing. At the time I didn’t fully believe the things that I were being rumored and didn’t think that we would ever be where we are today. As February and March arrived, COVID came to be part of everyone’s lives. Turning on the news, checking your timelines, and most day to day conversation held the topic of corona virus. Before we knew it, our lives changed completely. Our clinicals and classes were held remotely, you couldn’t leave your house without a mask, and we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to attend our internships. One thing that worried a lot of us was working while the virus cases began to spike. I knew that I would continue working as I was if not more than usual. Over the course of my internship I watched as COVID began to impact all the healthcare workers I was surrounded by. Safety precautions in the hospital setting were changing and at first, a lot of people were afraid to come in for their illnesses for fear of encountering a positive COVID patient. As time went on people became less and less afraid to come seek help at hospitals. With a large influx of patients coming in I could see nurses, aides, and doctors among others all begin to take the toll of the virus. This wasn’t necessarily due to exposure but more so that our exhaustion kicked in. Health care providers were and still are working countless hours to help in high census situations. The most frustrating aspect of quarantine has been watching people be noncompliant with mask requirements and stay at home orders. I wake up for work everyday and risk the wellbeing of everyone in my home including myself to help take care of those who need it. As the media has portrayed us as frontline workers, it felt slightly misleading while some of the public wasn’t contributing to lessen the blow of the ongoing problem. I started my internship to gain experience for my career. I didn’t know that I would grow accustomed to death and grief as fast as I have in the past year. COVID has shown me what it means to work hard and what struggles I can encounter in my career before I have even graduated and hold my diploma in hand. I currently work on the same unit I held my internship on as it has been converted into a COVID care unit. I go into work and experience exposure situations day by day but wouldn’t change my career for anything. The corona virus has taught me so much about what it means to be a nurse and take on healthcare as a career. In a few months as I graduate I will be prepared to take on whatever challenges it may have.
• 
  2020-10

  Keep Trucking Along

  In the beginning of the year 2020 no one knew just how historical this year was going to be. As a high school senior, senoritis was really kicking in and graduation was in sight. One day, in my global studies class, on the news, we heard of this crazy virus going around in China. I remember thinking, “Oh, it’s fine. It won’t affect me in anyway.” Little did I know there was a whole storm of challenges, obstacles, and battles coming my way. At first, I thought I was just getting a nice two-week break from school and we would be back, and everything would be fine. That two weeks has tuned into over 150 days of lockdown and a completely changed way of life. Every single person all over the world was affected someway by this virus, which is crazy to think about. Nearly everyone struggled with mental health and life changes throughout this time. I did as well, and although my mental health was at its utmost low during the Covid-19 pandemic, and is still recovering as the virus is still taking its toll with a new strand and heightened cases, I want to bring attention to an even bigger struggle I dealt with during this unpredictable, utterly horrible time period: the loss of my best friend. On October 26, 2020 my grandmother passed away at the glorious age of 90. My grandmother had health issues for the past five or so years of her life, but her state started to rapidly decline in August of 2020. At this same time, I was preparing to leave for my first semester as a student-athlete at Duquesne University. Leaving my family, my friends, my hometown, and my significant other was already so difficult but adding on the fact that leaving and knowing that it would take away my last moments with my grandmother was a pain I never thought was possible. I chose to still go and start off the semester since my grandma was moving around hospitals and I could still call her and see her on weekends if I wanted to go home and do so, and it was what she wanted me to do. I talked to her right before leaving for school. With the pandemic, she was only allowed two visitors everyday between the times of 2 and 5pm. So, with the majority of our family living around the hospitals, we had to all schedule times each day so everyone could get a chance to talk to her because of the one visitor limit in the hospital rooms. And I will never forget talking to my grandmother through my face mask about college and hearing how excited and proud she was for me to be where I am in my life today. Only a few days after that conversation, my family and grandmother made the decision for her to go into a hospice facility. This hospice facility was far more strict than the hospitals. My grandmother was allowed no visitors in her room. The only way we could talk to her was over the phone. We are extremely lucky that she was given a room with a window. My family would go and stand at her window so we could see her and more importantly so that she could see us while we talked on the phone with her. I came home for a weekend or two to talk with her through her window and got to see her in her chair with her favorite blanket smiling at all the accomplishments and stories I wanted to share with her. Once her health was at its lowest and her long, well deserved time here was nearing an end, me and my two siblings got to go into her room and say our goodbyes. The next morning my mother got a phone call that my grandmother had passed away. Losing someone, especially someone so close like my grandmother was to me, is the hardest thing in life. But with a global pandemic on top of it … the difficulty and feelings of it all cannot be explained. In the end, I know my grandmother would want us to keep living our lives and “keep trucking along” as she used to say. So that is what we did. Knowing now that she is at peace, out of pain and that she does not have to deal with this crazy world situation in her unstable health condition anymore, gives me and my family closure and security during this time of uncertainty and fear. And I will always know she is right beside me, pandemic or not, watching over me and cheering me on each and every day.
• 2021-02-04

  I Don't Want It

  Did you go get your vaccine yet? Did you have a hard time scheduling? I'm trying to get my grandparents scheduled. Are you experiencing any symptoms? Is this your first or second dose? We will be able to meet in person soon for class now that the vaccines are rolling out... All the talk around school (Zoom) the past couple of weeks has been the vaccine. It's crazy to me that my classmates and professors (some of society's most educated individuals) ignore the fact that there are some people who don't want to be vaccinated for a number of reasons. I know that my colleagues know about the issues of distrust between the medical community and people that look like me. I, personally, don't want the vaccine because I have suffered from serious medical issues due to taking FDA approved medicines and doctors never disclosed the long-term effects and over-prescribed. I have to deal with the effects of this for the rest of my life. I don't trust medicine just because the government says it's ok to take. My personal experiences in addition to the numerous instances of medical abuse on the black body (the entire foundation of the study of gynecology, Tuskeegee, Henrietta Lacks, etc) have me refusing the vaccine. I don't have anyone around me that wants to be vaccinated or that talks about it so positively until I log on for class. But, I am also the only black person in any of my classes. I stay silent when the vaccination talks come up because I don't feel like my classmates care. They are trained to research and think critically. They know the history of abuse. Yet, they are totally blind to the fact that their assumptions that everyone will get vaccinated and the world will go back to normal are wrong. Being the only person that looks like me, I don't even want to try to defend my viewpoint because at the end of the day, I'll just be the angry black girl. When trying to move forward in life, especially in academia, you're often forced to be the silent black girl.
• 
  2021-01-08

  Where Campuses Reopened, Covid-19 Cases Spiked. Where Colleges Went Remote, They Declined.

  This article compares the responses taken by higher ed institutions during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-09-01

  Covid-19 Archive Assignment for History of Global Pandemics

  This was an assignment students completed in History 1215: The Origins of Today: History of Global Pandemics.
• 2020-01-19

  Third Semester Teaching during COVID-19

  I teach a few medical-based courses at Northeastern University. We are now in our third semester during the COVID pandemic. Working with the university, we have been able to keep our courses in-person which has been critical for the students to be able to practice the skills required to be healthcare providers. The students wear full PPE (facemasks, eye protection, medical gowns, and gloves) to enable them to work closer than 6 feet with each other. This, along with the university's robust testing procedures allow the students to come in for classes. Thankfully this is the case, as these are skills and experiences that cannot be properly learned in a remote setting. Our students feel safe, and appreciate the university working with us to be able to provide the in-person experiences during this pandemic.
• 
  2021-01-24

  International Students

  For international students, there are concerns about accessing the vaccine abroad. The UK has plans to make the vaccine available to students who are there on international student visas with the Department of Health and Social Care stating, “international students will ‘be able to access these vaccinations, just as they are able to access healthcare’”. Students who had plans to study abroad are also planning on getting vaccines in their home countries before continuing their plans. Most potential international students see no reason to postpone their plans to study abroad. https://www.studyinternational.com/news/international-students-uk-covid-19-vaccine/ https://www.studyinternational.com/news/covid-19-vaccine-international-students/
• 
  2021-01-24

  Vaccine Requirement

  Some colleges are considering requiring the COVID vaccine as students will return to in-person classes in the coming semesters. Universities site precedent in requiring other vaccines as a reason for why they would require the COVID vaccine especially considering the global and deadly nature of the virus. Some concerns over requiring the COVID vaccine is the slow nature of the roll-out with students being at the back of the line for receiving the vaccine. Another concern for requiring the vaccine is the lack of resources on the part of college campuses. Colleges lack the resources so making it a requirement puts a strain on both the student to receive the vaccine and the college to administer. https://www.inquirer.com/education/college-coronavirus-vaccine-requirement-2021-students-20210110.html https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/12/10/covid-vaccine-required-school-college/6495727002/
• 
  2021-01-20

  The Impressive Archive

  This submission details my own thoughts about the Journal of the Plague Year and why I believe it is important.
• 
  2020-08-29

  Senior Year in NYC: The Monumental Moments - Welcome to College!

  Our orientation leaders enjoyed a nice formal gathering (safely) after they spent a week preparing and welcoming our incoming freshman class (Class of 2024). They are so excited to represent their school and still live a somewhat normal college life celebrating their achievements. **Fordham University, SOCI2200
• 
  2020-12-03

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #3

  When this professor’s students hold up signs for him on camera in their Zoom classroom, he is more excited to see their faces for the first time after they had kept their cameras off all semester.
• 
  2020-12-04

  Connecting Past COVID-19: #2

  The professor of this class is not sure whether her students’ cameras are off intentionally or if she had made a mistake. She is subsequently surprised by her students holding “We love you” signs, saying she loves them back and asking to take a screenshot.
• 
  2020-12-16

  Suffolk Masks

  Everyone has a mask these days and they are all so unique or plain. Suffolk created their own mask along with a few other styles that students could buy. It is easier to recognize suffolk students when wearing these masks. It is cool to see Suffolk step up and be a part of the pandemic and create new things for their students. Us athletes got a separate mask, seen in the second photo, it is called a gaitor. A lot of the athletes would wear them walking or at practice/in the gym. It separates the athletes from the regular students. Suffolk wanted to be a part of this history so they created these masks. These objects are important to Suffolk’s history through the pandemic and how they chose to help their students out. This is also significant in the year 2020 because everyone was designing their own masks and it was cool to see how all of the colleges and universities came together to create their own masks and contribute to today’s history.
• 
  2020-12-13

  What Effect Does A Pandemic Have On a Relationship?

  As this interview is part of a collection exploring relationships and the exploration of sexuality during the Covid-19 pandemic, I really wanted to get to know some more about what it’s like to have a relationship altered by the pandemic. Luckily, I knew just the people. I reached out to two of my best friends on campus and asked if they’d be willing to speak about their experiences, which they agreed to. I already had an interview set up with a friend who went through a whole relationship (began dating and broke up) during the pandemic, but I felt it was important to explore multiple different types of relationships. This interview to me shows something about my generation living under Covid, as it shows how many of us felt like we were stripped of the indepence we gained when we left for college, and how we now have to navigate living at home again. In the case of these two, they also have to navigate being intimate and romantic with each other in this situation.
• 
  2020-10-27

  Suffolk Votes 2020

  Many colleges and universities around the United States encourage students to be politically active and to exercise their right to vote, but Suffolk University decided to go a step further. Throughout all SU’s social media during the election we saw posts sharing information from deadlines, to social distancing practices while voting in 2020. This screenshot from Suffolk Universities Instagram account shows one example of how the university encouraged voting. What is not shown here is the fact that Suffolk University took the initiative to cancel classes on Election Day, November 3rd, 2020, so that faculty and students could volunteer at polling places and/or vote in-person. After the election, Suffolk University continues to encourage students to engage with the political process both locally and federally.
• 
  2020

  Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health During COVID-19

  The University of Toronto has developed a free course entitled Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health During COVID-19, in order to equip Canadians with tools to manage our mental health, before it manages you. The course is designed to teach students about anxiety as it presents itself throughout our daily life, from the consumption of news, to the way it is discussed with our children. Understanding how our brains react to crises, students would be more prepared to manage their own mental health.
• 2020

  My NU.in Experience

  Covid caused my NU.in experience to be different than it was supposed to be. I was supposed to go abroad and experience the world in a new way. I found out in February that I was accepted into the NU.in program. I was excited yet apprehensive because of the great opportunities that had just been placed in front of me. I decided to attend Northeastern in late April so I knew that I would not be going abroad. As September approached, I grew increasingly nervous, I moved into a hotel, twenty minutes from campus, and had to follow a bunch of safety precautions. I did not expect my first semester of college to go the way it did. I never expected to be wearing a mask or be so worried about what I touched. I never imagined that I would have to be tested for a disease once every three days. I quickly grew to find my new normal at the start of the semester after finishing my initial quarantine. I made socially distanced friends over zoom calls and we met up for lunch but stayed six feet away from each other. This was how I met many of my friends. I decided to keep a journal to document everything that was happening during these difficult times. At the end of the day once I had taken my mask off and washed my hands I would write about my day and how it was different from what I had once done. Dining was an interesting experience to navigate. Only a certain amount of people were allowed into the dining hall at a certain time so there were usually long lines to get into the dining hall to eat. At first, all the dining halls were takeout only. As the semester progressed, sit down options were allowed. To allow for social distancing, signs were posted on the tables to tell students how many people were allowed to sit at each table and there were people around to enforce these rules. While waiting in line to get food, everyone has to stand on a marker on the floor indicating six feet of distance to be safe and everyone is required to keep their masks on. These experiences have shaped my time in Boston. I have been able to have a safer experience during my first semester of college thanks to Northeastern’s guidelines. I have also been able to watch out for myself and others because I know that I am being tested and those that I am around are also being tested on a regular basis. Overall, being on a college campus that is so conscientious about Covid has helped shaped my understanding and has helped me be safer as well.
• 
  2020

  The Pandemic Shown Through Spongebob

  This particular screenshot of an episode shows Squidward looking through his blinds at Spongebob and Patrick as they seem to be enjoying themselves and having fun. So, the reason why I decided this best expressed my experiences during the pandemic is because it shows mine and many others efforts to stay-at-home to lessen the spread of COVID-19. I remember the first time when the pandemic affected me. I was a member of the Ventura College History Association and we were having a meeting around mid-March of 2020. There were rumors that the college was gonna shut down due to the pandemic worsening, even some of my professors warned us about the potential of having to switch to online classes. So, during the meeting, the advisor of the association received an email stating that the college was indeed gonna close the campus and switch to online classes. This was the moment when I first realized how serious the pandemic was getting. So of course from this point on, many people and I have been adhering to the guidelines and restrictions that have been placed to stem the tide of the outbreak. Meanwhile, those who ignore the guidelines go outside and sometimes don’t take the necessary precautionary measures like mask wearing or social distancing risk getting infected with COVID-19 and risk infecting others who may be at a higher risk of the disease. I’ve personally only met with friends about twice during the whole duration of the pandemic when it was a bit safer to finally hang out with them, albeit with social distancing and mask wearing of course. Now with the rise in cases going up exponentially, especially as the United States is entering winter which could potentially increase the spread of the disease, we have been issued a new stay-at-home order here in our region of California. But again, the cycle of those adhering to the guidelines and those who don’t has been repeating again.
• 
  2020-12-02

  A New Part of Our Weekly Schedule

  This is a screenshot of the confirmation email for the scheduling of my COVID-19 test at Northeastern University on December 2, 2020. When applying to colleges in late fall of 2019, I would have never thought that I would be getting COVID-19 tests every three days and that it would be part of my weekly schedule in college. Northeastern University's motto throughout this pandemic has been "protect the pack." If everyone does their part by getting tested every three days, wearing masks at all times, and practicing six feet social distancing, we will get through this and remain on campus for the entirety of the semester. At first it was a little odd and inconvenient having to get tested so often. However, after the first month it was completely normal. It is something that I can do to make sure that my campus is healthy and to protect the fellow student at my university.
• 
  2020-12-01

  College Daily Screening App

  This a screenshot from the Veoci App. At Florida Gulf Coast University, students are required to fill out a survey each morning before coming onto campus. The questions in the survey are presented as followed: 1. Do you intend to come to campus today? 2. Are you a student-athlete? 3. Are you experiencing any NEW symptoms that are causing you to feel unwell today? (If yes, a list of symptoms is then displayed) 4. Have you tested for Covid-19 and/or received results that you have not yet reported to FGCU? 5. Have you been in close contact with someone who has confirmed positive for Covid-19 or with someone who is awaiting results for Covid-19? After filling out the survey, based on the student's answers they will either receive a big green checkmark that indicates that they are permitted onto campus, a yellow caution sign and warning that if you are not feeling well enough to then stay home, or a red circle with a line through it and a message that the student is not allowed on campus and must quarantine.
• 2020-03

  Schooling During the Pandemic

  With the pandemic going on school has been quite different and this is more of a general outlook of how that is effecting me personally, because I can't speak for everyone else. When COVID really first started hitting us in March, I packed up all my things almost out of no where because my school (FGCU) suggested that we all go home for the semester and changed all of our classes to online meetings. When it first happened I suppose that it wasn't a huge hit to my education because the semester was already pretty much over and we only had a month or so left. However, when summer came and I had to do two more challenging classes over six weeks I started to realize how much I actually appreciated going to classes in person. Especially with Physics, which was very difficult to learn and comprehend in six weeks all while being taught online. Even more challenging was the virtual labs which in of itself is ironic. Nonetheless I was able to pass physics (barely), and now fast forward to present time we're in the Fall semester and not too much as changed. I understand what we are doing, but it is honestly quite annoying when you're trying to pass all of your classes, especially being an engineering major like me. For example, just now as I'm writing this I'm supposed to be in a class, but for some reason I can't connect to the zoom meeting and neither can anyone else. Thankfully my professor records all of our meetings so I can watch it later but regardless it is pain because finals are this week and I'm more worried about my calculus and engineering classes. I really find it more challenging to pay attention to a class when it's online compared to when I'm actually there in person, maybe that's just me but I couldn't imagine I am the only one who agrees with that.
• 
  2020-09-25

  College Friends in a Pandemic

  My first few weeks of college consisted of going to restaurants with new friends and exploring the city outside (masked, of course.)
• 
  2020-11-20

  International Student on Coping with COVID-19

  In this interview, I, Hailey, interview Briana who is an international student in London, UK. She talks about how her coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, anxiety and sadness have shifted due to COVID and the nature of the virus. She gives some great tips for staying mentally healthy during such a tough time, especially for international students, or student very far from family.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-11-13

  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.
• 
  2020-09-01

  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

  Working Full Time as a Mother and Student During a Pandemic: Interview with Ashley Trayler

  The interview is with Ashley Trayler, a senior undergraduate student majoring in Criminal Justice and Psychology. Ashley is not only a student but a mother of a two-year-old named Adrian. In the interview, Ashley discusses her life before the pandemic, which involved taking care of her son and working full time at a call center. Once the pandemic hit, Ashley was impacted by job loss, facing financial obstacles, and being a college student transitioning to virtual school. Ashley has made many sacrifices to adapt to obstacles that have come her way caused by COVID-19, but she has remained strong by taking herself and prioritizing her health to be the best mother, student, and person she can be.
• 
  2020-04

  A Different Kind of Adventure (But an Adventure all the Same)

  I wanted to use this collection of photos to highlight the change of attitude and environment for friendships pre-Covid and during Covid: In the first three photos my college friends and I are out and about a major city and public transportation, giving no second thoughts on sanitary factors. For us, an adventure meant exploring the city limits and beyond. In the next photos, taken after most of us returned from our respective universities and finished a serious quarantine. We finally reunited, though barely leaving our home limits, after being locked inside for weeks, it felt like an adventure; Despite the need for much caution and unfamiliar form of socializing. We cherished each other’s company in this new way of hanging out. Finally, the last photos were taken later in the summer. Out of quarantine but still amid a pandemic, we found adventure were found in something as ordinary as grocery shopping or trying something different like eating fast food in the trunk of a car.
• 
  2020-09-09

  Freshman Year of College During a Pandemic

  The first semester of college can be an extremely challenging time for incoming freshman students in a "normal year," nevertheless during a pandemic. The first semester of college holds so many changes- living on your own, financing money, attending more rigorous classes, making new friends, exploring a new city, and so much more. In a regular year, students can easily adapt to these changes, especially making new friends and exploring a new city, as there are not many gathering restrictions. This year, freshman have had to determine new ways to meet people and how to have as normal of a freshman experience as one could. These adaptations can be seen in many shapes and forms. For me, I decided that I needed to be even more social than I normally would be in a year without a pandemic, leading me to foster resilience. I decided to start conversations with people who I rode the elevator with, people walking around campus and people in the hallways/lobby/common spaces of the Westin. These forms of communication led me to meeting many new people and finding a solid group of friends of whom I enjoy spending time with. After meeting people that I truly connected with and who the conversations flowed naturally with, I would make further plans with them to meet up again. At the beginning of the semester, this was a difficult task because Northeastern prohibited us from entering any room other than our own, so we needed to find new places to hang out. Oftentimes I found my friends and I exploring the city, watching TV in the common rooms, shopping on Newbury Street, and going out to dinner together. This proved to be quite expensive. The many challenges in which incoming freshmen faced this semester have led to many freshmen, including myself, fostering resilience. We have seamlessly adapted to the overwhelming hurdles in which we faced with positive mindsets and optimism. Overall, this unique semester has given me some of the best moments of my life, despite the ongoing pandemic! My story of my first semester of college proves that the one can make the most of their time throughout the pandemic if they respond with optimism and adaptability! The photo included in this archive pictures my new friends and me exploring the city on a warm fall night!
• 
  2020-11-16

  St. Mary’s Graduation Planner

  College can be very difficult, and it is very common for it to be harder for freshmen. Now add the stress of a freshmen along with a global pandemic; it can be very difficult for freshmen to stay on track. St. Mary’s University, however, is combating this by mailing and handing out graduation plans booklets to all freshmen. These booklets contain a handy graduation plan along with a planner and schedule imbedded inside the pages. Personally, I’ve found the book to be extremely useful in my studies and greatly encourage others to use it during these difficult times. Over all, I thought it was very comforting for the university to do this when the pandemic has left a lot of freshmen feeling unsure and lost.