Items

• 2020-06-05

  What is Zoom Fatigue and what it means for students

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  College student during Covid-19

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

  Full-Virtual Work in the Middle of a Pandemic

  This document was created and shared by myself and some coworkers in the History department at my university, St. Mary's. This document was the result of a project we were all assigned to work together on regarding researching the African-American community in West San Antonio, Texas. The work was not easy. Being separated from each other meant coordination and collaboration were very difficult, and actually accomplishing much in the way of actual work was slow going, with few of us actually being able to work together at the times the others were available. Not helping in any way was the fact that working remotely left us with almost no oversight from our supervisor, who was also in charge of several other projects in the department. Our research also took many different forms before settling on the one it ended up in, and it suffered most greatly from most of the workers assigned not being in the city we needed to be in, not having access to any traditional resources like proper records or non-digital resources that might have gone into the detail that we needed, and of course being unable to properly help each other. Despite this however, when we finally were able to coordinate a time to collaborate and work together, we surprisingly were able to unearth the aspect shown here, the resurrection of the Keyhole Club by noted Jazz musician Don Albert, famous for being a fully racially integrated nightclub during a time when such a thing was unheard of, and was challenged. Despite some serious challenges of our own, my coworkers and I were able to emerge successful after all and provide some much-needed information to the assignment.
• 
  2020-09-01

  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.
• 
  2020-11-16

  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.
• 
  2020-08-11

  Out of Lockdown and Sadness, Joy and Hope Spring Eternal

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

  Social Events in a Pandemic Year

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

  Oral History with an Anonymous Teacher

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

  THE HIGHER RISK GROUPS

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

  Memes for COVID-19 that Spark Joy

  I, like many people my age, find not only humor but relatability in memes. They take the stress of issues that are exacerbated by the pandemic and help make us chuckle at it. I picked these three after looking at many, many others, because I related to them quite a bit.
• 
  2020-08

  Puzzles at home

  I was very fortunate to have been able to stay at home in Sydney this year, remotely attending my university in Melbourne via zoom classes and pre-recorded lectures. While I was grateful for this form of continuity I desperately missed Melbourne and the friends I’d made there. Spending days slowly working on this puzzle was both a way to pass the increasing amount of time I spent at home as well as way to feel a little more connected to the city I was missing.
• 
  2020-04-15

  stmarysstulife Instagram posts from Student Development & University Programming Council

  These two posts are from the @stmarysstulife account. The Student Development and University Programming Council (UPC) made Tik Tok videos to the Full House "Everywhere You Look" song and the @stmarysstulife posted them. I think they posted this to show we're all in this together at St. Mary's and there are multiple people we can go to for help and support.
• 
  2020-10-31

  Dorm list upgrade: Masks are the new essential item to bring to college

  My dorm list for my first year of St. Mary’s consisted of the usual: bed sheets, towels, and-masks? The new normal of college is needing as many masks as you can get. The picture attached are 50 masks I had to buy, and I couldn’t even buy them at a store since they were sold out. Masks becoming the new college essential is a complete change and was unheard of a year ago. What's more interesting is masks becoming a new way to express yourself. While some students like myself choose disposable masks we have others who are showing off their school pride with their St. Mary's masks as well as masks that showcase their interests and hobbies.
• 
  2020-10-26

  Signage at St. Mary's University

  These are signs from around the office of one of the campus programs. Their importance is of course that they are about social distancing and prevention against the virus. I am a member of a group at high risk to the virus. Precautions help prevent the spread of the virus, which is now at it's highest in the United States,
• 
  2020-03-13

  Plans Drastically Changed

  I was on exchange in Edinburgh in the first half of 2020, and due to return to Melbourne at the end of June. As borders began to close and Australian government travel advice changed, it became apparent that I'd have to return home some months early. This text exchange with my mother is the first time I flagged my intention to leave early, and captures the rapid pace at which events and plans were changing. HIST30060
• 
  2020-10-21

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

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

  Responding to the COVID-19 crisis as a foreign exchange student: Ximena Barbagelatta

  This is an oral history with Ximena Barbagelatta conducted by Victoria Villaseñor. Ximena Barbagelatta is a foreign exchange student from Lima, Peru studying at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX.
• 2020-10-14

  New Methods of Storytelling Through TikTok

  This is a social post made by a student affected by the pandemic in the social media app TikTok. It gives a contemporary storytelling method of a student who is not experiencing normal school experience. It gives a fascinating approach of a student’s life experiencing online school due to covid.
• 
  2020-10-21

  COVID Graduation

  Here’s a photo of my cousin I posted on Instagram. She just finished nursing school in Mexico. She’s a single mom, has a full time job and is graduating with honors today. I’m so happy for her finally living her dream. Like many around the world, COVID has affected her graduation.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Carly's Quarantunes

  This is a playlist of songs I've listened to during quarantine and an explanation about each of them.
• 
  2020-10-19

  Interview with St. Mary's University IFC President, Eduardo Lopez

  This is an interview I had with Eduardo Lopez over Zoom. He is the Interfraternity Council President at St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas. I interviewed him from Providence, Utah while he was living in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 
  2020-07-09

  Covid-19, Education and Making Choices

  The Covid-19 pandemic has forced almost everyone to make decisions, some small and some drastic. The following is a reflection of how my studies as an international student at the University of Melbourne, Australia were affected by the pandemic. The date is 9 July 2020. Covid-19 cases have been on the rise in Melbourne in the past two weeks. This trend seems specific to Melbourne as the rest of Australia seems to have the situation under control. I receive an email from the University. The email announces that the studies for the second semester (July to November 2020) will take place entirely online. The majority of semester 1 (March to June) had also taken place online. But students were hopeful that a return to face-to-face teaching would be possible given the relatively low number of cases of Australia up to late June 2020 (when the second wave started). As an international student, I must make a choice. To stay in Melbourne or to fly home. I need to do so quickly, since incoming flights to Melbourne had already been suspended, and there is no guarantee that the same might not happen to outgoing flight. In my case, returning home seemed the obvious choice. I would rather have stayed in Melbourne (a city I love!), but alas at least to return means to be closer to friends and family during these times. I write this in October 2020, the semester is almost over, and the number of daily cases in Melbourne has now dropped significantly (to single digits), after months of strict measures. For much of the rest of the world however, there does not seem to be an end in sight. Submitted as part of the HIST30060 Making History subject at the University of Melbourne.
• 
  2020-06

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

  The object is a post from St.Mary's University Linkedin account. The account posted pictures of seniors picking up their diplomas from campus. Amidst the first few months of COVID-19, many changes occurred, especially in academia's traditional spaces. A huge tradition and milestone for students was the spring 2020 graduation. Many Universities, including St.Mary's, held virtual commencement ceremonies that included words from faculty and a program that listed every graduate's name with their major and any awards or affiliations. To provide students their physical degrees, many schools mailed degrees to students, but St.Mary held an event where students and their families could come to campus and pick up their diploma. Hosting an event like this for students and their families was significant because not having a traditional graduation ceremony was a significant loss for those working towards walking the stage. St. Mary's University has a diverse student body of international and first-generation students. All students dream of walking on the stage to get the rewards of their hard work in college. This was not just a loss for students but also family members looking forward to a significant moment. To give students and their families the rewarding celebrity moment, St.Mary's staff and faculty hosted a diploma pickup with safety precautions.
• 
  02/01/2020

  Registering for School During COVID-19 for a Veteran

  Registering for my Masters program”2020” was a bit more difficult and time consuming than usual. During Covid-19 “Lock-Down” I could not walk into offices to take care of business like I normally do. Communication was directed through E-Mail, and video calls. First of all, I am not a big fan on emails. I have never considered it an official form of communication. I myself being in the military, and traveling the majority of the year, was subject to scrutiny about not responding to emails when I was traveling around the world. At the time, many places in the world did not have WIFI, and by the time I had arrived from my trips, deadlines had passed; not like I was going to make any kind of meeting while I was on the road anyway. The digital highway is not convenient for me for many forms of communication. Applying for Federal Aid was normal, that has been an online process sense the beginning of my college career but addressing my VA school benefits was another story. Contacting VA coordinators and councilors meant that communication drastically slowed down. During Covid-19, offices were closed, office workers were moving their offices home, and the VA was rapidly changing the process of doing business with its members. This meant that I could not meet with a benefits counselor in my hometown but get a response e-mail from them that would lead me to a national pool of counselors. Applying for school benefits and having the process approved took approximately 5 – 6 months, 4 maybe 5 months too long. I can only guess that the entire system has been compromised because of the Covid pandemic, and the slow to respond, “email effect.”
• 
  2020-10-04

  Life of a College student during the COVID-19 pandemic

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

  COVID-19: Investigating My Positive Aspect

  At a time in history where there were only a few cases of COVID-19 in the world, I, a college student, was applying to be a mentor for a math-science Honors program and my university. I was once a participant of this program, and to give back to it and help high school students navigate this program and their futures would have meant the absolute world to me. I was completing the second round of the hiring process when it was announced that the remaining of the spring 2020 semester would be held online. It was from this point on that I knew this pandemic was going to change my future plans. At the time, however, I did not see it as a "big deal" because in my mind I was thinking that once this virus is controlled and everything is relaxed, things would go back to normal. Obviously, that was not the case. Shortly after, the university required everyone that was able to go home to do so. Approximately a week after that it was announced that the summer program I was planning on working for over the summer would have to be cancelled. Within the span of a month the routine that I grew accustomed to and the plans I had were completely altered, almost like a punch in the gut. That is not where the story ends, though. I am studying to be a civil engineer, and my uncle is a civil engineer who owns his own business in my hometown and is self-employed. So, I was given the opportunity to intern at his business. I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Within the two months that I interned there, I gained a great deal of knowledge and experience that I would not have otherwise acquired. I learned nearly every aspect of the job, from programming materials, on-site job inspections, to the steps required by government officials and engineers alike to even begin a job. Considering I just completed my freshman year, I went into the internship knowing practically nothing about real engineering work, as I had only taken the basic required classes. Two months later, however, I can confidently say that I learned more then than I would have learned sitting at home all day. It also gave me a great opportunity to see whether or not civil engineering is the career path that I want to go down, which I can confidently say now that it is. The opportunity to have the experience over the summer is what I would consider to be a positive outcome arising from quarantine and having the summer program at the university cancelled.
• 
  2020-09-29

  Being Assaulted during Covid-19

  I would like to share my story for future generations that look back on the chaos that took place this year. I also wanted to give a different perspective of the different effects quarantine had on people like me. This is my story about dealing with my Sexual Assault during a pandemic.
• 
  2020-04-16

  Long distance letters

  This photo is a birtday box my friend sent me from Maryland to Florida. We originally planned on celebrating together because we'd be at school still, riding out the end of our freshman year of college, but with all Florida universities being shut down in early March, we were forced to move out of our dorm and return to our homes. This image is important to me because with the craziness and uncertancy of the future, we went back to our roots and stayed in contact the old fashoned way, letters. While we still talked on the phone and texted, waiting to get your next letter in the mail was exciting and fun. In this particular box, I was sent a shirt that my friend tye-dyed herself & a couple of letters about different things she'd been doing (or not doing) and just letters about life. Even though we were apart, being able to write and send momentums made us all feel closer.
• 
  2020-01-01

  The Unfolding of COVID-19

  To provide a historical context from the perspective of a college student.
• 2020-09-17

  Covid University:I:The Chat Box

  The pandemic forced us all to take online classes. We all miss the traditional classroom setting. But we all remember how awkward it was to ask questions. One thing about zoom is you can ask a question or make a comment in the chat box. This is a feature I hope get added to the in person class experience. It adds so much to the productivity and the curiosity of student. Being able to just add a question into the chat log, then the teacher peeks at it and answers when they have time or if its immediately relevant. No classroom disruption, no being shy, just unadulterated curiosity.
• 
  March 23, 2020

  RIT during a COVID-19’s Monday

  At the beginning of close down in RIT, I was taking a walk around the campus to see if there is any place open. It feels extremely weird to see such an empty walkway during Monday with only a few international students, where normally there will be hundreds of students walking through to get to their classes or other building at this time. Plus, it was rainy that day, which made the whole scene feel more sad.
• 
  March 16, 2020

  Students Stocking Up for the Quarantine

  This was the last day we spent on the same campus. At the time we didn’t know it was going to be goodbye. We were all trying to stock up on what we needed for a couple weeks to spend some dining dollars [on campus cash equivalency]. Clearly as RIT students we had our priorities in order. One of my friends had a basket full of Monster Energy Drinks, and the other had armfuls of boxed pasta.
• 
  April 6, 2020

  Empty Chairs on an Empty Campus Where My Friends Used to be

  A photo taken behind the Liberal Arts hall at RIT on a walk home from the only open post office on campus. The chairs were positioned in a circle by an unknown person. All but one of the chairs is cast in the shadow of the building. There was no one in the area, or on the campus for that matter, not that I saw. I do not know how long the chairs were positioned like that. I took this photo because I thought it was a powerful image that needed to be captured. The circle of chairs indicating a social gathering on a sunny afternoon juxtaposed with the completely empty campus.
• 
  2020-07-01

  Alabama students throwing 'COVID parties' to see who gets infected: Officials

  As covid cases explode across the U.S., especially in the southern and western portions of the country, young people in Tuscaloosa, Alabama are doing something unthinkable. They are hosting covid parties. While authorities thought this was a rumor upon first being notified, further investigation showed it was really happening. Unlike previous generations who held "chicken pox parties" in an effort to expose their children to the disease while they were young and less likely to suffer complications (prior to a vaccine being available) the covid parties do not appear to have any purpose other than entertainment. People are hosting parties and inviting people known to have the disease. Everyone then puts money in a pot and the first person to come down with covid gets the pot.
• 
  2020-04-16

  Humans of Covid-19 AU: Ani Jordens

  “I’ve been feeling fully immobilized by this pandemic. I’ve noticed many people jumping into new interests and hobbies, and I'm just struggling to work out: who am I outside of work? What hobbies do I have? What are my interests? I just don't know! I’ve been observing my friends and family who have lost the jobs and livelihoods that gave them a sense of purpose. An important part of self-esteem is drawing it from multiple sources. If all of your eggs are in one basket and it gets taken away, then you will have a massive drop in self-esteem. But right now, people have lost multiple sources of self-esteem, which puts intense strain on mental health. Perhaps we need new structures and more supportive systems. The working-at-home thing has revolutionized able-bodied peoples’ lives, and could be used in a really productive way post-pandemic to make careers more accessible to people with a disability. Hopefully we learn something from this.” Instagram post on Ani Jordens, a university student, and her experience during the pandemic, which was created by a psychology student living in Melbourne who was interested to hear about how COVID-19 was impacting on different peoples’ lives.
• 2020-06-01

  The impact of Covid-19

  The photograph reflects the true life in our school campus. Covid-19 causes a huge impact to campus life
• 
  2020-04-27

  Return back to school after COV-19

  Students are returning back to University after almost 4 months of school closed.
• 
  2020-03-16

  Food Hoarding Then and Now Thoughts

  A post in which a university student reflects on the historical precedents and potential of current events. The accompanying caption reads: "As a History student, I can’t help but think that we will look back at what is currently happening in the world and we will feel gravely disappointed in ourselves for the selfishness many seem to have during this pandemic. For those who know me, you know I love to study propaganda and food has always played an extremely important role in propaganda and I couldn’t help but think of these two posters while hearing about everything that is happening right now. The authors of @humansofny have compared COVID-19 to a world war, calling it this generation’s world war. This will be the defining conflict of our generation and we have the power to determine how we appear one hundred years from now. We can choose to hoard essentials that everyone needs, or we can try to make sure everyone gets enough. Please. Be responsible when you shop. Be selfless during times like this. We are only as strong as our weakest link and in times like these we must do everything to protect that weak link in our society. Be kind. Be patient. We can get through this together."
• 
  2020-05-26

  Universities aren't planning cuts to tuition to compensate for online classes during COVID-19 pandemic

  Article regarding the call for a reduction in university tuition for the upcoming school year/term from the Canadian Federation of Students and student governments across the country and the refusal of many major universities to do so. The universities rationale is that the quality of education will not be effected by the move to predominantly online/distant classes and that they are fulfilling all their obligations. The article outlines the decisions of each of the major Canadian universities including Dalhousie, McGill, the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa, Carleton, Queen's, the University of Winnipeg, the University of Alberta, and the University of British Columbia.
• 
  2020-05-27

  Make-do Standing Desk

  Studying from home meant that I had to find a lot of materials around my house to create my workspace, whereas I usually study in the university library or in cafes. This image shows my precarious standing desk I created one day when I had been sitting down too long!
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  2020-05-25

  A refund from ANA airline due to coronavirus

  Due to coronavirus, many international students face a difficult time about back to their countries, since many airlines are canceled because of the limited airline and policies that are changed easily.
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  03/25/2020

  How quickly things change

  This is two announcements concerning the status of the Utas Libraries; the one on the left is an announcement by a teacher which says that said the Morris Miller library was still open for picking up books, actually going into the library had been suspended by that point. Later that same day the University published an official statement that announced the total closure of the library. This was in keeping with government restrictions and guidelines, many libraries had been closed. This article also helps display the difficulty that some students have been experiencing in acquiring sources for their study have been made more difficult, especially since browsing is impossible, as a student can't go into the library and search the section of the library for relevant resources. This source also shows a way that educational institutions attempt to help students by scanning resources so that students can access high-use materials.