Items

• 
  2020-03-20

  How To Be a Resident Assistant During Covid-19

  This is a pdf of the resident assistant job description when St. Mary's University decided to go virtual. The described duties of the resident assistant showcase how St. Mary's Residence life was trying to serve students regardless of being off-campus. The job description really shows the sense of community that exists on campus and persevered virtually. As a freshman during Spring 2020, I along with many others, never expected to be sent home. I also never expected an institution to care so much about the well-being of its students especially when the whole world was in chaos at the time. However, as seen here, even student staff like resident assistants reached out and made themselves available to their peers. Resident assistants had 1:1 conversations with residents at home designed to check-in and share resources. Even the resident assistants themselves were required to have one-on-one meetings with their supervisors also to check-in. While student staff was trying to facilitate community and safety virtually, they too were being taken care of by residence life.
• 
  2021-11-01

  my unplanned graduate studies journey

  My story happened precisely a month after our national lockdown in Saudi Arabia, which was in March 2020, at that time I was applying for a scholarship to continue my higher education degree anywhere in the West, either in The UK or The United States, so my dream began to almost vanish after applying for one of the UK universities and they asked for an IELTS score, though I told them IELTS centers were shut down in Saudi Arabia at that time, unfortunately, they just assumed I had no other alternative rather than sticking with that condition! no exceptions! no mercy in another word you could say! though I have provided them with a very recent IELTS score very close to the overall score they asked for, I even begged them and asked them for any alternative test they could provide me since I explained to them the situation that no IELTS / TOFEL venues were open! , they just put me down and made me search for another option, which was Pitt one of the top PA or even nationwide universities to provide with accredited graduate Master of Library and Information Science. luckily when I applied they pre-accepted my application and they gave me an option which I never thought about it as a way of such a good university as Pitt would accept it, since that kind of online test was newly launched. so I fought a lot to get that offer letter to provide it to the scholarship provider as I had little hope to meet that condition of having the offer letter on that particular short notice deadline and the very deadly period of the peak of the global disaster of covid19. I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FROM THE DEPTH OF MY HEART, 1- PITT ADMISSIONS STAFF FOR PROVIDING ME THAT ALTERNATIVE OPTION OF PROVIDING THEM WITH AN ACCEPTABLE ONLINE ENGLISH TEST. 2- DUOLINGO FOR BEING THERE FOR US AT THAT HARD TIME! 3-MY SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDER FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE MY FURTHER STUDIES IN ONE OF THE TOP UNIVERSITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
• 
  2021-03-01

  Amenities Fee - HIST30060

  Despite not having been able to attend my university campus for the prior year and not being able to attend it in the coming year as a result of lockdown restrictions, I was still forced to pay an amenities fee to the university. This meant that I had restricted access to the amenities that I was still paying full price for. This combined with losing my job made the payment difficult to make.
• 
  2020-08-11

  Fresh Look at the Outdated Classroom

  Online was the new way of providing lessons, assigning classroom activities, and laying out information for students across all ages. Sites like google classroom, canvas, blackboard, and seesaw suddenly became teachers and professors only way of providing students with a "classroom". In the first picture we see an example of an elementary school platform, in the next image is a middle school layout, and the final image is of the new college format. All three platforms provided students with a visual way to remain in contact with their educators in a time where we couldn't meet. They were our way of adjusting to the new situation we were all stuck in. However, despite providing us with the benefits of being connected without having to meet in person, there were still a few shortcomings. Because of the lack of in person class we couldn’t form connection with each other. That was a struggle for kids and teachers/professors alike. There remained a barrier between each other.
• 
  2020-03-12

  A Permanent Break

  This image shows how much almost everyone underestimated the pandemic. It also highlights the uncertainty it brought. Most thought we were just getting one extra week of staying home. We would be heading back to campus after that so we were grateful for the extra vacation time. Little did we know that there would be no end in sight for this pandemic for almost two years. No one knew how long it would last or exactly how much it would affect our everyday lives. Procedures constantly changed as institutions tried to figure out the best way to respond to this unprecedented situation. I think this image would spark student memories of the reaction they had to similar school announcements. Many people were on vacation and came home to a total shift in society like panic buying. My family was in Mexico at the time and in the middle of the vacation the hotel switched from open buffet and people roaming to encouraging people not to interact with others. Before my family left my stepdad had bought some nonperishables to store. I didn't know why he did this and thought this was silly and just a habit from his Red Cross responder days. It turns out he was correct in predicting people would flock to the stores once institutions started practicing preventive measures. This image is just one of the many that demonstrate how people's lives began to change during this time.
• 
  2021-10-15

  HIST30060: From Year 12 to First-Year University

  I interviewed my younger sibling, 'F', and transcribed the audio. They completed Year 12 in 2020 and then began university in 2021, which I believe is a significant transitionary time especially in the context of Covid to document. Their experiences in using different media forms for online classes is insightful and provides an interesting comparison. Additionally they provide insights into changing interests, socialising online, and reflecting on the world around them. They reflect on how they believe the nature of people has changed in relation to each other in an isolated but connected world, which I believe will be an interesting and informative insight for the future to gain an indepth understanding of the Covd-19 era from the perspective of the youth.
• 
  2021-08-17

  I have to do WHAT to my syllabus???

  This is a screenshot of my theology class syllabus including the newly included "face mask policy." I think this is important to include because even though all professors need to include the same information about mask policies, there are some who have just included what needed to be and other who have mentioned it in other areas of their syllabus. It's also interesting to see that this could be the first major change made to some of the professor's syllabi in some time. I submitted this item because it's a part of people's reaction to this pandemic and it heavily influenced changes in our "first-day of class routine." Coming back to school in-person after a whole year online, it was interesting to see how professors were now sharing more personal details about why they are being more careful, checking that students are wearing masks correctly, and some professors being more strict or lenient with the food/drink policy.
• 
  2021-09-15

  Puerto Rico es la jurisdicción de Estados Unidos con más estudiantes de escuela pública vacunados

  Puerto Rico es la jurisdicción de los Estados Unidos con más estudiantes de escuelas públicas vacunados contra el COVID-19, con más del 85% de los estudiantes elegibles inoculados contra el coronavirus. “Puerto Rico está liderando al país en vacunar a nuestros jóvenes”, sostuvo el secretario del Departamento de Educación federal, Miguel Cardona. El funcionario detalló que, de acuerdo con datos del Departamento de Educación local, el 86% de los estudiantes de 12 a 15 años ha recibido, al menos, una dosis de la vacuna contra el COVID-19. Mientras, el 92% de los estudiantes mayores de 16 años recibió ya una dosis de la vacuna o está completamente vacunado. En el caso de los docentes, Cardona señaló que más del 96% de los maestros está vacunado. “Estamos muy complacidos con los esfuerzos en torno a la vacunación en Puerto Rico”, expresó. A diferencia de los estados, en Puerto Rico la vacunación contra el COVID-19 es compulsoria para todos los estudiantes mayores de 12 años, de escuelas públicas y privadas, así como de educación superior. Solo están exentos de cumplir con este requisito aquellos alumnos y empleados de centros educativos que padezcan alguna condición de salud que no le permita ser vacunado o por consideraciones religiosas.
• 2020

  Finding Time

  Over the last five or so years, I've been dreaming about some event that would stir up some excitement in New York City, preferably some good event, but an event nonetheless. Never did I dream that it would actually come true, unfortunately in the form of a worldwide pandemic. Why couldn't it be something more fun, like aliens (although it seems like we might be getting there)? While the pandemic didn't bring anything exciting per se, it brought some change with it. When it began to be taken more seriously last year (2020), when all the shutdowns began to occur, I saw a major change in my day to day life. From being laid off of work, not being able to go to classes in-person anymore, and not being able to see any friends in person either, the normal, repetitive life that I had gotten so used to had disintegrated within just a couple weeks, if not shorter. It forced me to look at things in a different light, and as I was forced to be by myself for most of it, as we all were, I felt as if I needed to find some positivity and motivation in the few things I could do and had control over. I finally had time to focus on myself and made sure things like my physical/mental health and education were a priority. I took up cycling, as it was one way for me to be active and remain safe because it's not really something you need to do with others, and that opened the world up to me, especially with how empty the city was. Even my quiet pocket of Queens got quieter as barely anyone was outside, so while it did feel a bit post-apocalyptic out sometimes, it also gave me a sense of peace and freedom. Also, with having so much more time at home and not having to commute, I took advantage of online-learning to really give myself as much time as I needed, instead of the previous sense of rush and urgency I used to feel when it came to assignments, and actually turned my grades around pretty drastically. While the pandemic has been horrific on most fronts, by working my hardest to make the best of it, I've been able to better myself as it's given me time to enact real self-care. Something I've never taken the time to do before.
• 
  2021-09-20T19:35:00+00:00

  Faris Danan and Hridaya Patel COVID-19 Interview

  This object shares both of our experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic
• 
  2021-09-13

  New banner over 5th and Mill

  One month after classes began on campus, this new banner was put up in downtown Tempe. It encourages the community to get vaccinated.
• 
  2020-09-16

  Vanderbilt Covid Testing

  This photo is a screenshot of an email that I received during the Fall 2020 semester at Vanderbilt University. Throughout the semester, I received many emails that looked exactly like that one. The email is proof of a negative Covid test result, which every Vanderbilt student had to receive each week during the fall semester in order to remain living in their dorm. If a student tested positive, they would be taken from their dorm into quarantine housing. For some context, in March of 2020, all Vanderbilt students were sent home early due to the coronavirus. From March onward through the summer, Vanderbilt students worried about their fate as students. Would we be allowed to return to Nashville in the fall? Would we be subjected to more online “college”, trapped in our childhood bedrooms? This anxiety physically ate away at me, keeping me in a constant state of unease. When we finally heard that we would be coming back to campus, it felt as though an immense, invisible weight had been released from my shoulders. We were told, however, that there would be restrictions to college life. At that moment, I did not care an ounce. I would happily take any variation of college, as long as I would be able to live on campus. One of my major stressors entering that year was that we would be kicked off campus a second time. Callous students loudly proclaimed that this was inevitable, there would be no way that we would last this upcoming year. Comments like this brought the anxiety right back to the pit of my stomach. As a student who was going to be living on campus, what would I do if I was kicked off? Where would I go? I did not even want to think about that as a possibility. But that was the energy that charged the air at Vanderbilt that year: there was a fear and a deep distrust that Vanderbilt would stay open. One of the key differences between this year and other years at Vanderbilt was the weekly Covid testing (In the spring semester, the Covid testing was twice weekly). Students were required to enroll in times in their schedule when they would trek over to the Rec, or the large gym on campus, to spit in a tube. At the beginning of the year, I would go with my friends during our allotted time. We soon learned, however, that it did not really matter when you went, as long as went sometime during the week. While this was in some ways comical, to walk into the Rec center, with pop music blaring, and spit alongside your college peers, there was something stressful about it as well. It was like constantly turning yourself in; if you did have the misfortune of having Covid, you had willingly given yourself over for the school to come and take you away. Especially at the beginning, fear of Covid was rampant. Even if you felt fine, a scratchy throat may seem like your doom. At the beginning of the semester especially, waiting for the emailed results felt like eternity. And we all knew what would happen to people who tested positive, or those unfortunate enough to be contact traced: they were shipped off in a golf cart for everyone to see, and were banished from the rest of campus. But this was worth it, all of it was worth it for us. The stress of getting tested and the fear of being quarantined was a miniscule price to pay for being able to be on campus, with our friends. It was an escape from our summers of restriction. Or at least, it was for me. And for that, I give Vanderbilt tremendous credit for opening and following through successfully with the covid-testing of all the students each week.
• 
  2021-08-25

  ASU vaccine promotion banner

  Classes at ASU started last week, since then, this banner has been hanging over the intersection of Mill and 5th in downtown Tempe. It reads, "Welcome Sun Devils, Forks up sleeves up." This banner is meant to encourage people moving through the area to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
• 
  2020-12-01

  How history got me through lockdown

  A story I wrote about using history to keep a sense of perspective and gratitude through Melbourne's long lockdown in 2020. Coming against a background of university job losses and policies disfavouring humanities degrees I also wanted to let historians know that their work is important and has relevance.
• 
  2021-08-03

  Returning to Campus Fall 2021 at KSU

  This email document's Kennesaw State University's approach to addressing the delta variant of COVID-19 through encouraging vaccination.
• 
  2021-06-02

  COVID 19: An Influence for Positivity

  The text document describes how COVID gave me an opportunity to reinvent myself. The live recreation of a famous meme is an example of how I tapped into my creativity, living a more fulfilling life
• 
  2021-05-26

  The microscopic tick

  A mask is like a microscopic tick We can't see it, but we can feel it, ick As I peel (the microscopic tick) off my face I'm repulsed I declare an appeal, “senit!” the microscopic tick has succeeded in form of fear It's won the battle Yet Covid is still here As I look on the ground (all around) the microscopic ticks are swarming in the air the dirty masks lay there… Breathless, weightless, thoughtless, penniless with an unconscious stare microscopic tick!
• 
  2021-05-04

  Devyn Nguyen Oral History 2021-05-04

  Interviewee discussed what life is like graduating during the pandemic, working in a small family-owned business and the pushback against COVID safety in Orange County. She describes how the pandemic has brought her family together along with the tight-knit community with similar social values she has created.
• 
  2020-03-13

  The stolen year #REL101

  When covid-19 first arrived, I was a senior in high school getting ready to graduate. At the moment, I'm writing this; I am currently in college, finishing my freshman year. When I first heard about covid 19, i did not think it was going to affect me because, at the time, the government was telling us that it wasn't a big deal. But that later turned out to not be true when everything shut down on March 13th. Even after the virus proved to be much deadlier than previously thought the most of the government still pushed that covid 19 was not a risk or that it would just simply go away. At the time, I can remember being confused because people were clearly dying. Yet, the government was urging people to act like everything was normal. After that day, the world changed forever. Nothing was the same, not even school. After March 13th, my high school went entirely virtual, with the plan being to come back after two weeks. Still, eventually, those plans like prom or even a regular graduation were canceled. I remember this time of my life being kind of hard because everything was shut down, and the world seemed to fall into chaos. Around may is when I would say things reached the height of the chaos of 2020. In May of 2020, George Floyd died when it seemed like the world went up in smoke. There were protests and riots, a lot of which I think stemmed from both the death of George Floyd and tension resulting from decades of racial tensions. As a black person myself, at this time, I felt anger but seeing as though there was still a virus and violence on the streets, I did not go to any of the protests.
• 
  2021-04-22

  CA Colleges to Require Vaccine

  Numerous times in the past couple of months, we’ve been wondering if CA colleges would require the vaccine. Today it’s official - the answer is yes. To be transparent, this Californian who has friends and family employed by the UC system is extremely happy. I realize there is vaccine hesitation but I am relieved for the safety of students and staff that the universities are taking this step. And it’s not just the UC system, the Cal State system and Stanford are also instituting the same requirement (actually Stanford announced first). The UC system is often a trend setter - if it does something, other universities follow. I’m hoping this will begin a trend, not only in higher education but at the K-12 level. I know, super controversial, but schools already require other immunizations, why not this one? Public health, people!
• 
  2021-04-21

  James Rayroux's JOTPY Portfolio

  --Reflections on the Pandemic Archive-- Looking back over my experience with the “Journal of the Plague Year” COVID-19 archive, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. This opportunity granted me experience that few historians earn, and the remote, asynchronous work schedule allowed me to collaborate with my colleagues in ways that maximized our respective contributions. The breadth and depth of our individual experiences and perspectives tremendously improved our collective process and products. I spent enough time in the Arizona State Archives last year to recognize such collections as historical treasure chests, but I have now participated in processing an archive’s content and navigating the ethical dilemmas those submissions sometimes create. Archivists and curators are the history profession’s truly unsung heroes, and their work facilitates society’s perception of itself. My background in police work and public safety drew me to the archive’s existing Law Enforcement collection. In taking on that subset, I succeeded in reshaping the collection’s parameters to now include stories about police and law enforcement. I wanted to diversify the collection to encompass perspective of both the police and the public with whom they interact and serve. While some overlap exists between the Law Enforcement and Social Justice collections, each remains distinct. Through my contacts and writing, I promoted a Call for Submissions to an international audience of law enforcement professionals to reduce their relative silence within the archive. Within the archive’s content, I recognized that one’s location might shape their pandemic experience, and I created and designed an Arizona-based exhibit to explore that. Further research and discussion with my mentors and colleagues ensured the exhibit illustrated these differences without excluding visitors whose diverse experiences could further enrich the archived and exhibited content. I am proud of my “Arizona’s COVID-19 Pandemics” exhibit, particularly because of its compressed, one-month incubation period. Beyond displaying images, data, and stories representative of the diverse pandemic experiences within the state, the ACP exhibit offers visitors numerous levels of interaction and engagement to became active participants and create their own exhibit experience. Visitors can complete opinion surveys, add a story to the archive, explore additional content related to the displayed pieces, view ever-changing results from pre-defined archival content searches, conduct their own archival search, view collective visitor survey results, and apply to join the staff. The exhibit’s searches will include the archive’s future submissions, which reshapes both the exhibit and the experience visitors may have with it. A more detailed explanation of my ACP exhibit may be reviewed here: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/43037 Because of Dr. Kathleen Kole de Peralta and Dr. Mark Tebeau, I stand prepared to join research, curation, and exhibition teams and immediately contribute to their work products. Despite my gratitude for this experience and the opportunities it presented, I look forward to the day COVID-19 is no longer part of humanity’s daily vernacular. James Rayroux 22 April 2021
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-03-27

  Donating PPE

  Université du Québec à Montréal donated PPE to hospitals at the beginning of the pandemic.
• 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

  A Digital Hermit and Surviving Covid

  For billions of people around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a major disruption in their lives. Jobs either put you at risk, go online, or cease to exist. People's schedules change dramatically as they confront new challenges like working from home. However, for a much smaller subset of people of whom I am a part, life during the pandemic has changed very little. I am what one could call a digital hermit. Even before the pandemic started, I was the kind of person who already had all my groceries delivered with Instacart, and spent a vast majority of my time cloistered in my apartment on my computer. While I was at NDSU, I would leave my apartment most days to attend class, but even that was not universally true. During the summers I took on extra courses in order to complete my undergraduate degree faster, and it just so happens at NDSU that most summer classes were online. That meant for me that during the summer I spent not just most of my time, but all of my time in my apartment, going weeks or potentially months without seeing anyone else in person. When Covid hit and everything transferred online, I was particularly prepared to survive that situation. While most people began to whither away from lack of contact, or perhaps too much close quarters contact, I was in my zone. I survived socially by communicating with friends daily over Discord, a popular program not unlike Slack for hosting private chat rooms including both voice communication and text channels. Discord is primarily focused on video games, and that is indeed how me and my friends spent our time. Transitioning to online classes was only difficult to begin with due to most professors I had being unfamiliar with online teaching tools, while I was well-versed in maintaining a schedule, checking assignments, and doing what needed to be done to more independently manage my school time. My experience surviving prolonged isolation even before the pandemic via the wonders of digital technology and the internet reflect the means by which many people had to adjust their lives and the ways this era of history will be remembered. Digital archives such as this have enabled the collection of stories and other data to study in the future from disparate locations and backgrounds, this one written by me in the comfort of my own bedroom. Collaboration between professionals using Slack and other platforms is a more serious reflection of me and my friend's private Discord server, over which I rule as a tyrant by imposing at this point 58 arbitrary and often contradictory rules. While I have survived isolation as a digital hermit, it is important to remember that I do so because of all the people who cannot do the same. I am incredibly fortunate to be attending college and surviving just fine without working a job, which the same can not be said for many other people. Even something as basic as getting groceries for me is reliant on underpaid, underappreciated, and certainly exploited Instacart employees, who put themselves at risk so that I can get the Oreo cookies I crave and they can keep a roof over their heads. Me and my friends can keep ourselves entertained by jumping in the Discord server and cracking some skulls together from all over the country in the video game Vermintide 2, but we also acknowledge that many people do not have it so easy. For me, the end of lockdown is more daunting than the beginning. I have enjoyed my time as a more socially acceptable recluse, and yet there will come a time in which I will need to go back out into the world to attend classes and other important events in person. Whether that time comes sooner rather than later, I will continue to be a digital hermit, though perhaps one who gets some fresh air more often.
• 
  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.