Items

• 
  2021-02-25

  Longing to go Outside

  Like people, my dog seems to miss going out to public spaces (like an out door mall, hiking, the patio of a restaurant, even the Pima Air and Space Museum) and getting attention from all the humans that pass by. He too is missing out on the social experiences that he used to enjoy before the pandemic.
• 
  2021-02-14

  My Story: I Got COVID-19 Because of ICE

  I am sending a diary style writing where I share my experience during the pandemic. I focus on the issue of ICE during the pandemic. Before the lockdowns, my uncle was detained by ICE and was deported during the pandemic. My uncle has been living in the US for 25+ years and Mexico, my uncle's home country, has changed a lot since he last lived there. For that reason, I went to Mexico to take him home. This made me get COVID.
• 
  2021-02-25

  Floral Heart Project comes to Milwaukee on March 1 day of COVID-19 mourning

  Originally an art project, the Floral Heart Project has morphed into a memorial for those that have died of COVID-19. The project is going to Milwaukee on March 1st to install a heart-shaped floral wreath at the Museum Park Center.
• 2021-02-19

  Looking back at 2020 - A COVID 19 infested year

  As a student in my last semester in Brooklyn college, I was looking forward to an easy semester with electives since I was done with all of my major classes. However, a downfall for me was that there was a very interesting internship which I wanted to proceed with but couldn’t because the program was no longer available because of budget issues that were caused by the corona virus. This internship was going to provide me with an insight of what my career will look like but that never happened. As an employee of the city of New York, I was still required to work in some form. For example, instead of coming to work physically we transformed our workplace to “zoom” meeting where our work would be done in 2-4 hours and we would still get paid for 8 hours. I saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of since I heard other employees who requested to still show up physically and were dropping like flies with the corona virus, one after another. However, mid-year, around June or July, employees were required to help out in other agencies such as the 311 center because of the increase of food shortages and other aid citizens needed. Eventually, in September we were allowed to go back to work physically – something I was looking forward to since I was more comfortable being where I knew the place and the people. Mentally and physically, COVID 19 prevented me and many others from staying physically active which led to me gaining unhealthy weight. It was a nonstop binge of eating and just sitting down. Granted, there were opportunities to go out for a walk or work out in the park – but those were chances that I wasn’t going to take because I knew I have a mother with underlying conditions which I had to do everything to prevent her from getting the virus. One thing that I did learn to do during these times is to cut and trim my own hair. Also, this was a perfect time for me to enhance my skills in freehand sketching since thats something I'm good at. Nevertheless, COVID 19 was an experience like no other that everyone had to grow through, and we continue to just learn and grow from it.
• 
  2021-02-19

  The Delta Flight Museum Will Become Georgia’s Largest Covid Vaccination Site Next Week

  The state of Georgia has announced that they are partnering with Delta Air Lines to turn the Delta Flight Museum into a vaccination center. The center will be one of four major vaccination centers in Georgia. Vaccinations will be offered through drive-thru and walk-up.
• 
  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.
• 
  2020-10-07

  COVID-19: A Barometer for Social Justice in New York City

  From the article: A recent study by researchers at Harvard University found that mortality ratios for Black and Latinx communities in the United States were 3.6 and 2.6 times higher, respectively, than the mortality ratio for non-Hispanic Whites,1 a stark gap also reported in New York City (NYC).2 Other similar patterns have been found in NYC over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mortality rates for the Latinx and Black populations are 242 per 100 000 and 226 per 100 000, respectively, both more than twice those for White and Asian American residents.3 Surveys conducted by the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy and others tell an even more alarming story. The gaps in mortality rates are just the tip of an iceberg of long-standing public health–related inequities among people of color in the United States. These discrepancies threaten all US citizens—wealthy and poor alike—and they have been exacerbated by the coronavirus.
• 2021-02-18

  One-time covid vaccine

  It is an article about an innovative vaccine from COVID that is not two-phased, but one-phased.
• 
  2020-03-12

  Such is life in Covid Time

  On February 21st, 2021, one of my professors—while on an exceedingly off-topic tangent during a lecture about Medival Spain—flippantly remarked that in the age that we currently live in, there is now such a thing as “BCT” (“Before Covid Time”) and “CT” (“Covid Time”). According to him, we are currently living in both the year 2021 AD (or CE) and the year 1 CT. Our life as we know it, in the eyes of my professor and Julius Ceaser, is measured and marked by the birth of Jesus Christ and the contagious disease known as Covid-19. And just as it was for the birth of Jesus Christ, it exceedingly easy to pinpoint the exact moment when such a shift in time, from BCT to CT (at least in the United States), had occurred. It was the second week of March. Or, to be more exact, the 12th of March, the day when everything changed for a college student such as myself. On March 8th, 2020 (both AD and BCT), I had awoken as an average American college student in my dorm room. I had just gotten back from a spring break study abroad trip to the country of Cuba, and I was excited for classes to start back up the following day (and continue for the rest of the semester). Nothing was out of the ordinary. Life was continuing as we knew it. Covid-19 was an intangible construct at that point in time, some unseen nightmare way off in the distance that could not reach us. Nothing we needed to worry about, especially as young college students. There were hardly any reported cases yet if any in the United States. Everyone used to say, “oh, that Covid thing? Yeah, it’s just in China. Or Spain. Or Italy,” and then they would go about their day, not giving it any more thought. It was hardly even anything newsworthy. When I was in Cuba that first week of March, the only news we ever received (when we got signal or wifi, which was not often) was about the election, nothing Covid related. People even made jokes about it. That was just how life was in BCT, even a week before everything changed. Hell, even a few days before. On Monday that week, everything was normal, college life as I knew it continued—I saw my friends, got my meals in the ever so crowded dining hall, and went to classes with the max capacity of students. On Wednesday, the college Instagram meme page had posted a Covid update for the first time—there was a confirmed case not too far from campus—yet things continued as usual. However, on Friday, March 12th, 2020, almost a week after I had been partying it up in a packed club in Cuba with absolutely no awareness of the elusive plague that thrived halfway across the world, the shoe suddenly, and finally, dropped. I had shown up to my “Basics of Math” class to find that there were only five people (other than me) in attendance, and not even six hours later, we were given three hours to pack up and leave campus (pictured, me in the midst of packing up). I did not know it then, but we would not be allowed back on campus for another five months, almost 160 days in total. It is no exaggeration when I say that from that moment on, I felt as if I were a Depression Era family, evicted from their home, with all their belonging out on their lawn, with no knowledge of where to go from there. Even though I had my childhood home to go to, I felt, for lack of a better term, “out on my butt.” It was as if I was displaced, uprooted, cut adrift, and lost. I had not even unpacked any of my belongings when I arrived back home. I lived out of my haphazardly packed—and it was haphazard; I had packed up my dorm room in a sweat-inducing and crazed rush—suitcase until it was time once more to pack up and go back to college five months later. And my physical being was not the only thing that felt disoriented. Just as I imagine it was with most other college students during this time, the 2020 spring semester was one of my worst academically performing semesters to date. Although now, almost a full year later (entirely in Covid time), I am most adept at zoom life and the socially-distanced way classes are held, at the time, absolutely not. With every single one of my classes now on Zoom or some virtual variant, it became most difficult for me to adjust to the new way of things. Not even the professors knew what they were doing. Everyone was struggling. And it certainly did not help that my house had now taken on the most distracting nature ever to date. My sister, my mother, and my father were quarantined with me at home. That particular combination of people and location was about as conducive for my studies as it would be if I were studying amid an active circus. Not even when I was in class could I be completely unbothered. With no desk in my room, which I shared with my sister at the time, I was forced to partake in class and do my assignments while sitting next to my mother taking business calls, my sister playing on her Nintendo switch or watching a tv show, and my dad listening in on his own classes or playing the drums. It was a breeding ground for distraction. I would go as far as to say that I was lucky I even got the grades I ended up with that semester. It truly was an abysmal time. Although I certainly do not have to tell anyone that. Life as a college student during CT had proved most difficult. And it still has not entirely let up. Although for the 2020 to 2021 academic year we have thankfully been allowed back on campus, student life has not yet reverted to how it once was (for better or worse). Classes now have a capacity limit (with socially distanced desks, six feet apart), the dining hall tables now only sit two, we have to make reservations for every meal (to limit how many people there are at a certain time), you are not able to frequent any dorms other than your own, masks must be worn at all times, some classes are held over zoom, or even outside, off-campus travel is prohibited, and there are only specific entrances and exits you can use for every college building. College life—a time which was always regarded as the free-est time of one’s whole life—is now the most massively regulated. And all I can say to that is, “c’est la vie.” Such is life in “Covid time.”
• 
  2020-11-05

  Echoing Empty Galleries

  This photo, taken at the Detroit Institute of Art, is a glimpse of the drastically different pandemic-era museum experience. Upon entrance to the museum, guests are masked, tickets are bought online, temperatures are checked, and then one can wander the silent, empty galleries. Diego Rivera’s monumental Detroit Industry Murals are even more awe-inspiring when drifting around the cavernous hall distraction-free, with only sentinel machines keeping one company. Presently, Rivera’s personal history of political conflict and pandemic-related loss ring especially true. Although museum visits have adapted, one can still experience a powerful connection to art, in a new, maybe even improved way.
• 
  2020-04-05

  New York Through the Pandemic

  I am uploading pictures during the pandemic that I took. It shows how empty the streets/bridge were that are normally crowded with thousands of people and cars.
• 2020-09

  Socially Separated Sandwiches

  During the fall of 2020, a local homeless shelter was unable to offer beds to people in need during the COVID pandemic due to space and resource restrictions. It was hard to witness these organizations meant to help people also need extra love and help during the pandemic whether it be for medical, physical, or financial reasons. In response to the need, my church was able to step up to make sandwiches that the shelter could hand out to the people living on the streets that they were unable to serve at the time. We wore masks, took extra safety precautions, and socially distanced in an assembly style line outside in the church parking lot where we made packages of chips and sandwiches. While working together to make the sandwiches for the homeless shelter, I was reminded that we are still a community even when we cannot be together in the same ways we were before the pandemic. Finding pockets of community in the turbulent pandemic has been a blessing and chance for me to truly appreciate those around me and think of different ways that I can reach out to the community and be a part of it despite the circumstances. Distance did not have to mean silence and stillness. People were able to help in any way possible. If they were unable to help make the sandwiches, they prayed for the mission or donated money for the supplies. People shared what they could and came together when it mattered the most. This story highlights how even in times where we stayed apart to remain safe, we were still able to come together in another way to support each other. Communities didn't have to disappear during the pandemic, and this is just one example of their power to persevere in dark times.
• 
  2020-05-28

  Street Art - political critique and social engagement

  This article, written by Jana Fedtke for PopMatters, describes instances of worldwide street art as political critique and social engagement during the pandemic. Examples of street art shown include stencil work. The author explores the ways in which street art relay information about how government agencies have handled spreading information and health care and in turn, how street artists depict social engagement with pandemic procedures.
• 
  2021-02-10

  Resist COVID Take 6! public art campaign targets misinformation, encourages vaccination

  The grassroots public awareness campaign Take 6! has started an art-focused COVID-19 awareness campaign. Their goal is to raise awareness of COVID-19, the safety measures against it, and the importance of getting vaccinated.
• 
  2020-05-31

  High School Graduation-- Covid-19 Edition

  May 31, 2020 Senior year, something that every student looks forward to the second they enter high school. It’s supposed to be a time for celebration, big life steps, and most importantly, spending one last year with the kids you grew up with. Starting senior year in the fall of 2019, everything seemed laid out before me, it was just a matter of finishing college applications and deciding on a college, worrying about who might be my prom date, and whether I would be starting goalie for my varsity lacrosse team. All those worries disappeared when schools got shut down March 13, 2020. At the time only for two weeks, given that Covid-19 was really beginning to hit the United States. My friends and I thought nothing of it and were hopeful for a return to school to finish out senior year. But weeks went on, and one-by-one, everything began to be canceled. First, it was lacrosse. Next, it was the permeant switch to online school. And last, perhaps the worst of all, the cancelation of prom and graduation. When it truly hit that the end of senior year had been taken away from us, I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I sulked around for a long time, and even began to feel like I was losing friends. Flash forward to May 31, 2020, and I’m sitting in the back of my Dad’s truck, which was decorated in my school’s colors of green and black. I sat in my graduation cap and gown all by myself with my parents in the front of the truck. The community had come together to celebrate the Class of 2020 in the only safe way they could think of—a parade. We waited in a parking lot to drive by my high school one last time. Most of my classmates were there, sitting on top of cars, looking through sunroof windows, or sitting in the back of trunks. It was heartbreaking to see all of my friends split apart, all waving from our cars. Friends who I was only really friends with in class smiled and waved, all of us wishing the other well, and dying to give out a hug. As we began to drive through the neighborhoods leading up to the high school, the streets were lined with so many people (all socially distanced and with masks), holding signs and screaming for us. I didn’t cry until I saw my favorite teacher, who saw me and also started to cry, saying she got the letter I had sent her, thanking her for being my support throughout high school. It was such an overwhelming feeling of sadness and joy. When we finally made it to the high school, we all parked and waited to drive by the entrance one more time where they would call our names, as if we were walking across stage. The picture I am submitting is a moment when we had stopped, and I was standing there crying looking out at the high school and all of my classmates. The picture I feel captures how so many were most likely feeling in that moment. Knowing there was so many you didn’t truly get to say good-bye to, but so thankful for the opportunity to see each other from a far. Covid-19 took away so many things for so many people. Graduation was something I had been looking forward to for years. But to see the community come together for us high schoolers in such a confusing time is something I will never forget.
• 
  2021-01-03

  Teachers Not Heard

  Parents of the high school I worked at for twenty-five years and where my husband and many friends are still working purchased this billboard to display the message of discontent for one month about how unhappy they are that their students are being subjected to online schooling. The school district named on the billboard has chosen to keep kids physically out of the district's high schools after the winter break due to the immense surge of Covid cases in Arizona. The billboard is disturbing to see since it implies that online learning and the teachers' efforts instructing the students online are not working, and students are failing. A few parents think that the teachers are not doing enough to teach their children and that their children are better off being physically in a classroom environment regardless of the exposure risks to Covid. The parents who posted the billboard do not realize that the teachers teaching online want to be back in their classrooms as much as students but that they want to be safe from unnecessary and potential exposure to Covid. Many teachers have health issues that could become fatal if they were to contract Covid; many teachers live in blended households where they take care of older family members at high risk of exposure to Covid. Many teachers and school employees have children at home learning online while they are teaching, and those teachers have to juggle being a professional and parent at the same time. All of the school district teachers are doing the best job that they can teaching online, juggling family issues for those with their own families sequestered at home. The teachers remain silent towards the public outbursts, such as the one posted on the billboard. Teachers are trying their best to be professional online and personally during this pandemic and refrain from lashing out at the cruelty of those who appear to be a privileged minority posting discontentment on a public billboard.
• 
  2020-05-04

  New Mexico Invokes Riot Law to Control Virus Near Navajo Nation

  This article discusses the use of a rarely used Riot Law Act to help diminish the tension between the Navajo reservation and the small towns bordering the reservation in Gallup, New Mexico. The upsurge in cases on the reservation resulted in accusations that the Navajo brought the virus into Gallup and its suburbs. The tribe has fired back that Gallup citizens are refusing to follow social distancing mandates and as a result, Gallup has one of the highest case rates in the nation. This report relates to the JOTPY archive as it an example of the friction COVID-19 has created between the local government and tribal reservations.
• 
  2021-02-05

  Antibody test in 5 cities nationwide 0.91% antibody possession in Tokyo (February 5, 2021)

  This news covers the antibody rate in Japan, specifically in main cities like Tokyo, Osaka, etc. Because the rate of COVID-19 increased A LOT because people are still outside not taking social distance rules, I did expect the percentage to be higher, and it was. In trains, it is packed with people, and Japan is very analog in terms of remote working. A lot of companies still do not allow remote working plus do not change the time that the employees need to clock in and thus everyone commutes around the same time. Plus, because its winter and its cold, the trains and just local restaurants cannot open windows the whole time. Video translated by me. The antibody test conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in five cities nationwide to check the infection history of the new coronavirus found that 0.9% of people in Tokyo have the antibodies. It has increased nine times from half a year ago. Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Tamura: "There is considerable variation in numbers among local governments. Many people are infected and there is no herd immunity." Last December, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare conducted antibody tests on approximately 15,000 people in Tokyo, Osaka, Miyagi, Aichi, and Fukuoka. Using two types of tests, those who are confirmed to have the antibodies in both tests are judged as "positive". As a result, it was found that 0.91% in Tokyo, 0.58% in Osaka, 0.14% in Miyagi, 0.54% in Aichi, and 0.19% in Fukuoka had antibodies. In the survey conducted in June last year, Tokyo was 0.1%. 厚生労働省が全国の5都市で新型コロナウイルスの感染歴を調べる抗体検査をした結果、東京都では0.9％の人が抗体を持っていることが分かりました。半年前の9倍に増えています。 　田村厚労大臣：「かなり自治体でばらつきが出ている。多くの方がかかって集団免疫という話では全然ない」 　厚労省は去年12月、東京・大阪・宮城・愛知・福岡で約1万5000人を対象に抗体検査を実施しました。 　2種類の試薬を使い、両方で陽性が確認された人を「陽性」と判定しています。 　その結果、東京で0.91％、大阪で0.58％、宮城で0.14％、愛知で0.54％、福岡で0.19％の人が抗体を持っていたことが分かりました。 　去年6月の調査では東京は0.1％でした。
• 
  2021-02-04

  Reusing the old ward for coronavirus patients Chiba Cancer Center (February 4, 2021)

  This is a news of using old medical hospital that is not used for COVID-19 patients’ areas because hospitals are being packed with COVID-19 patients. This will definitely help hospitals that are overloaded. However, I am surprised that they have not started this earlier, when japan was hitting the first wave of COVID-19. Personally, Japan does take a lot of time to initiate something like this (MY PERSONAL OPINION) so maybe they had some sort of reason why they didn't do that initially. Video translated by me. Reuse the unused wards for people infected with the new coronavirus. It is the old ward of the Chiba Cancer Center that begins accepting patients. It was not used because a new ward for cancer was opened in October last year. In Chiba prefecture, the prefecture was becoming more overloaded, such as the occupancy rate of corona beds approaching 70%. They we will start accepting elderly people with mild symptoms from the 5th, gradually increase it, and finally accept about 70 people. 使っていない病棟を新型コロナウイルスの感染者のために再利用します。 　患者の受け入れを始めるのは千葉県がんセンターの旧病棟です。 　去年10月に新しい病棟ができたため使われていませんでした。 　千葉県内ではコロナの病床の稼働率が7割近くになるなど医療が逼迫（ひっぱく）していることを受けて、県が準備を進めていました。 　症状が軽い高齢者を中心に5日から受け入れを始め、段階的に増やして最終的に70人ほどを受け入れるということです。
• 
  2020-12-29

  Mural to honor front-line workers in Sacramento, California

  News outlet KCRA3 has shared a new mural called "Essential Heroes" by local artist Madelyne J. Templeton. The mural located at 12th and G Streets in Sacramento, California. The mural represents community sentiment of respect and honor for medical workers during the pandemic.
• 2021-02-01

  Are 85-year-olds superhuman?

  Many of the experiences shared in this archive come from younger, more computer savvy participants. But what of octogenarians? Sharing their struggles is important. Perhaps more than any other group, living with COVID carries a different and more existential weight for those in their 80s. My sister and brother-in-law are life-long New Yorkers both 86, still living on the same cavernous Upper West Side apartment they have lived in for the last 50 years. They represent a subset of New Yorkers who are determined to continue living as they have always lived until they die. They still go to work, go to openings, go to the theater, go to lectures, and eat out almost every night. They sit on Boards of Directors and attend galas on a regular basis. They are also incredibly vulnerable health-wise and so set in their ways that getting them to change their way of thinking is impossible. And so we--their families-- have struggled with getting them to appreciate their vulnerabilities. Are we more worried than they are? I wonder if they are more accepting of the inevitability of death as we grow more fearful. All I know is that I cringe every time I hear that my brother-in-law has summoned his enormous car from the parking garage and driven across town to visit a friend, parked in another garage, and then repeated the journey back. Or my sister, who refuses to believe that Instacart exists, wheeling her little cart to the Fairway market, with her mask soaked through with bright red lipstick. It will be interesting to gather and compare the experiences of the very old, to explore COVID through different eyes!
• 
  2021-01-31

  Phoenix Municipal Stadium to Serve as Valley's Second State-Run Vaccination Site

  Already more than a month into Arizona's vaccination program, the state has just announced its second vaccination site for the Phoenix area, one of the largest metro areas in the US. The rollout has been slow, with only a little more than half of one million people having received the vaccine as of 30 January, 2021.
• 
  2021-01-31

  Venturing Outside My Comfort Zone

  I moved to Ohio shortly before the pandemic hit, and quickly felt both trapped and lost when stay-at-home orders went into effect. I did not have enough time in the state to learn my way around, and actually grew somewhat agoraphobic, convinced something bad was going to happen if I left my neighborhood, which was the only place I felt familiar with. Throughout the entire summer, I rarely left the ten-mile radius around my house. As the summer ended and I recognized how fearful my life had become, I reached out to a therapist and began meeting with her virtually every couple of weeks. She encouraged me to venture out in the safest way I could, exploring the nature around me and getting more comfortable in Ohio. Autumn came and I chose one park a week, going on short walks and hikes, and I fell in love with the colors Ohio offers in the fall. Pictured here is one of my favorite adventures I’ve been on, Cuyahoga Valley National Park outside of Cleveland, where I got to see the most gorgeous fall colors. While the world is still frightening at the moment and we still have to be safe in public spaces, I was able to feel more at home here by connecting to nature.
• 2021-05-01T12:30

  Covid statistics

  In the world there are currently 99.4 million cases and 2.13 million deaths. It's insane that in a little under a year so much damage has been done. The ratio of cases to death doesn't seem too bad if you think of it as numbers. But each number is a person, a person with friends and family who lost their life. In California there are 3.19 million cases, cities like LA with dense population are hotspots for cases. Living in California and very close to LA comes with lots of rules that others states have eased up on. It's hard to grasp the fact that so suddenly we are living through a pandemic. A lot of people have taken this time to improve their life and self but it has also messed up so many peoples lively hoods and metal health. Everyone's adapted to Covid after all this time and things are slowly going back to the original way. Before the first shutdown it was terrifying to think of what the future holds but now its become normal. Its going to feel strange going back. At the end of the day everyone is just trying to keep themselves safe and okay.
• 
  2020-06

  A College Student Surviving the Pandemic

  I chose my Target employee card from when I worked there over the past summer in my hometown, Venice, FL. I chose this object because it represents to me the pandemic when everyone was at their worst, during all the main lockdowns. I keep it in my wallet because I still somehow have an employee discount. But every time I pull it out, I am reminded of that scary summer of when no one knew what was going on or what was going to happen.
• 2021-01-14

  Vaccine Clinic and Personal Vaccine

  I work at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. My role is usually in education with a background in pre-hospital emergency medicine. Because of my background as a paramedic, I was asked to work in the vaccine clinic for the hospital staff as an observer. My position was to keep an eye on the hospital staff for 15 minutes after they received their Covid vaccine, just in case there were any reactions. Thankfully, my shifts have been very uneventful due to the safety of the vaccine. It was fascinating to talk with the staff when they came back for their second dose, as I was given insight into their experiences with the first dose. This meant that when I went in for my first dose in mid-January, I fully knew what to expect. I received the Moderna vaccine. About four hours after getting the shot, my arm felt quite sore. By the night of the vaccine, my shoulder was throbbing, but it was manageable. For the price of some shoulder pain, the opportunity to receive the shot during the first wave was well worth the discomfort. I get my second dose in early February, so I will see then if I feel as crummy as some of my friends and co-workers have after the second dose.
• 
  2021-01-22

  Life Goes On

  This image is what the city looks like at about 350 in elevation at around 2AM. The city lights are clear, the air is cool, and you catch your breath as you reach the top. There are rocks you lean on just as you begin to realize how peaceful it is, and more importantly, how much you needed this. This was me, one spontaneous night during quarantine. Because we were aware there wouldn’t be any people there at this viewpoint at 2AM, it was an open area, and because our sleep schedule was beyond our ability to control, going here was the best idea yet. We have been unintentionally forced to become part of a system we are simply not accustomed to: online school. Being a junior high school student during this, for obvious reasons, has not made this adjustment easy. Being bombarded with homework assignments, quizzes, tests, due dates, etc. my stress levels have been at an all time high. My mind is constantly running in circles and I had felt as though I would never get a break. But, this specific night, sitting there in silence made me realize, “This is my escape.” There is so much peace in the world if we choose to acknowledge and it is most important to know that life moves on. We struggle in school, we live in a coronavirus prone town, we feel drained from the repetitive days. But life goes on. And the most crucial part about that is that it goes on to so many more better things that we are not ready for.
• 
  2020-06-03

  Black Lives Matter Rally in Calgary Alberta

  This is a photo I took during one of Calgary’s Black Lives Matter marches in the Summer of 2020. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, people took to the streets all over the world, not just America – In Calgary Alberta in particular, the death of George Floyd forced Canadians to critically look at our own law enforcement and state institutions, which were borne out of Canada’s colonial past. Not pictured in this photo would be the flags of numerous Indigenous nations, in particular the Mohawk nation – as in Canada and in America, the Black Lives Matter Movement synthesized itself with the cause of Indigenous sovereignty, as a means to combat white supremacy. During these marches, people who were antagonistic of the BLM movement stated that these marches were a threat to ‘public health’ as they believed protestors were marching mask less, this is not the case as evident in this photo. Organizers and random protestors were handing out masks, hand sanitization stations were set up with food, water and wipes. Signs were provided from the organizers to each marcher, if one did not bring their own. During this event, there was limited police presence as they maintained their distance from the large body of protestors which covered several streets. From what I recall what happened, I went with my friend Quinn, we showed up and found a place in the large crowd and listened to several speakers in the center of body of protestors (You can’t see it in this photo but it is directly center, behind the foliage). After the several speeches which took place, the organizers lead the people through a march downtown, to city hall. To my knowledge, there weren’t any instances of violence or confrontations with police – however I do remember there would be some agitators who would appear every now and then to yell at the protestors, or carry racist signs – I didn’t see this in particular, but saw photos of people doing so. This photograph would be beneficial to the social justice collection as it depicts the black lives matter movement of Calgary Alberta, Canada as fore mostly a window into the unique Canadian experience and similarly to how protests were conducted during a pandemic.
• 2021-01-22

  Covid Exposure

  We have a night nurse (NCS) come over to take care of my 3 month old sister. One night we were eating food when the night nurse came down and said that she had bad news. She said that she tested positive for Covid but still decided not to wear a mask when telling us and came really close to us. We had to tell her to put on a mask and go because she asked if she should stay regardless of having Covid. This was a week before Christmas so of course it ruined all of our plans and didn't have anyone over. A couple days later after she confirmed she had Covid, we went to get a rapid test, and a normal test in both of my nostrils with a total of 4 swabs and i was very much against it. They all tested negative. We then got tested again a week later with again another 4 swabs. We had a total of 9 swabs so far because i also got one in early quarantine. They felt like they were stabbing at my brain and one time gave me a gushing bloody nose. Luckily we still tested negative but Christmas wasn't as good all because our night nurse didn't tell us that she had an exposure (which she new about for days before telling us). After a couple weeks she tested negative and came back.
• 2021-01-22

  Symptoms of COVID

  In Quarantine I have had numerous friends who have had or experienced symptoms related to COVID-19. I myself have also had my fair share of symptoms. The weekend before quarantine, me and my family went on a long awaited trip to Disneyland. COVID-19 had made it's way to the USA but it had not yet become an international crisis. When I came home from Disneyland, I felt fine and went to school. On the third day of the week I felt very sick and stayed home. It was the day that it was announced school would shut down so I didn't have a chance to retrieve any of my things from my locker. My entire family got sick and my friend brought my stuff that I would need from school. We all experienced a bad cough and other symptoms related to the coronavirus. Sadly however, due to there being no testing for COVID available, we never knew if we really had COVID or not.
• 
  2021-01-07

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 90

  Charge on Capitol
• 
  2020-06-21

  6 Feet Closer to my Fridge

  This picture represents my past few months because it has brought me closer to my kitchen. I used to always go out to eat for all my meals, but because of quarantine, I have spent more time in my kitchen. This has led me to doing my own grocery stopping and experimenting with different recipes and even improvising with whatever is left in my fridge. I think it really shows my Junior year because it symbolizes a different lifestyle where I have to do more on my own. I feel like online school taught me how to depend on myself more than my teachers and school resources, in a good way. Despite all the struggles this pandemic has brought many people, there were also many opportunities for growth and to learn new things (general and about yourself).
• 2021-01-20

  COVID and Kindergarten

  For years, I had been counting down the days, week, and months to late-August, 2020. This was supposed to be when my daughter, who turned five in April, 2020, would finally start Kindergarten. But most importantly from my perspective, this was the glorious moment when my kid was old enough to go school for free! What kept me sane through all those years of paying the exorbitant cost of babysitters, nannies, day cares, and preschools was the promise that one day my wife and I wouldn't have pay what could easily amount to a house payment for the privilege of having jobs, working on a graduate degree, and having children all at the same time. As you can probably guess, COVID-19 made achieving my dream significantly more difficult. In July, my family and I moved from California to Arizona so I could start a PhD program here. A positive side-effect of this move, I assumed, would be that the local public school would offer in-person instruction to those who wanted it. After all, Arizona is a more conservative state than California. When our local school bailed on their plans for in-person instruction beginning in August, I decided that we would move heaven and earth to find a school that was willing to stand firm against public pressure and fear-mongering to do what, in my view, is in the best interest of students -- offer in-person instruction for those that want it. After countless emails and phone calls, I finally found a good school -- Leading Edge Academy in Gilbert -- where my daughter could attend in-person and we wouldn't be charged tuition. My daughter has been attending in-person at Leading Edge ever since. She's learned a lot, has socialized with other children, and hasn't contracted COVID-19. While COVID-19 is certainly a serious and scary disease, my view is that those who are opposed to an in-person learning option during the pandemic should be honest about what they are actually advocating: sacrificing the education and well-being of children (not to mention the well-being and finances of parents) to make things a bit safer for a very small percentage of the population for whom the virus poses a significant health risk -- most of whom are elderly and have the option of remaining safe at home. Also, many of these people have already received a COVID-19 vaccine or will be receiving one soon. I know this view is shared by countless other parents who have gone to great lengths to enroll their children in in-person learning. I feel terrible for many parents who have wanted an in-person learning option for their children, but have had to tolerate Zoom learning because they are not in the same privileged position my family is in.
• 
  2021-01-20

  The Bed of Growth

  My bed has been a significant part for the past 10 months. It's where I had my sleepless nights, a place where I cried, a corner that held my dreams, and most importantly a place of comfort. Throughout this pandemic, my bed has given me comfort that I couldn't get from my friends due to distancing. It's been my new happy place, a place where I resort to when I undergo stress. I've done lots of growing and thinking during this time, mostly in the late hours of the nights while everyone was asleep. Going through this pandemic has been hard on my teenage mind, but it has helped me become a better person. Though this pandemic has been hard on the whole world, it's changed the way I think and the mindset that I've gained throughout the past year is something I wouldn't give up.
• 2021-01-20

  Rules and procedures

  I haven't gone back to school yet so there aren't many rules to follow. The first rule is to wear a mask around people and social distance. There used to be a curfew but that didn't last long. The last rule is we aren't allowed to have big gatherings.
• 2021-01-20

  My feelings about covid procedures

  I'm not against it if it's keeping us safe, which it is. If waiting just a little longer or a little farther from strangers saves people, I'm down. It obviously does. People who choose not to wear masks and endanger not only themself and their family, but, others too. Sure masks aren't 1000% affective, but, It sure is better than not wearing one. It makes me laugh so hard, seeing those types of people. Not only mad but angry. How can little kids know to wear a mask than a grown adult, choosing not to and some using the fake excuse of being "excused by the doctor" or "religious purposes" It is so confusing just how these people can be like that. Anyway, a little bit more of rules and social distancing isn't bad at all, knowing why.
• 2021-01-28

  the beginning

  The day before quarantine, I was with my friend and we had both just gone to a birthday. we knew about the virus but not about social distancing and masks. my dad had called me and told me to stay away from anyone. I was confused on why but when I went to Northern California, I realized that the cases in LA started to spike rapidly. from that moment forward, I wouldn't be seeing anybody for the next five months. when I went up there in November, there were few cases. Maybe 50. so when we went out to get food, groceries, or anything like that, I realized nobody really bothered to wear a mask. of course my family still did but we ended up getting weird looks from other people for wearing one. it was really strange.
• 2021-01-19

  The Rules That Did Make Sense and the Many That Didn't

  There were a lot of rules and regulations that we had to follow to stop the spread of COVID. Most of them were simple and made sense. Others, didn't... The rules that made sense were simple. Wear a mask; wash your hands often; stay six feet away from others; don't gather in large groups. The rules that had to do with which businesses were allowed to be open, seemed a bit arbitrary... For example, restaurants could open, but bars couldn't unless they served full meals. Retail stores could open with a limited number of customers allowed in at one time, but zoos couldn't. It was perfectly fine for you to wait with 10+ other people outside of a store, but to go to a zoo which was also outdoors apparently meant certain death. The rules that annoyed me the most were the ones regarding school closures. In California, it had been made practically impossible for schools to open. The worst part was that my school was in LA County, by 500 feet! I remember that in April, I went to Carpenteria with my dad and one of his friends. My friend was there too and we were standing about 4 feet apart without masks on. A lifeguard came up to us and started to get kind of mad. The strange thing was that the sign in the parking lot said, "No lifeguard on duty." Overall, the regulations weren't to bad for me, but I was to annoyed with our governor killing small businesses to remember that.
• 
  2020-03-01

  Skating through Quarantine

  One of my favorite things that has kept my sane during the pandemic is my roller skates. They are hot pink with light up wheels and the best investment I have made in quite some time. For awhile I would go on long walks with my dog, but after so many days of trying to find new places to walk I was tired of that being my only activity outside the house. After I got my roller skates everything changed. I fell a lot learning how to ride them, but after some time and practice I got the hang of it. I would go to different parks, try different paths and see different views. Plus it was good exercise too.
• 
  2020-05

  The Sound of Silence

  The experience I am sharing focuses on my sense of hearing. Work has shifted away from office buildings and into our homes and, as a result, downtown urban areas emptied. This was especially true in mid-May of 2020. The one time I was in my city's downtown, it was uncomfortably quiet, and the negative reaction I had in the moment caught me off guard. Covid19 put me in a constant state of anxiety, and this is one more example of how seemingly small differences in a familiar environment can turn us upside down.
• 
  2020

  Places of Silence

  Places of Silence Artists’ Statement The cataclysmic situation caused by the Covid-19 has created a new reality for people. Society faces disastrous effects of unprecedent pandemic: losses of the human lives, loneliness, luck of personal interaction, anxiety, feeling hopeless. Visiting our favorite places, we were struck by the scarce silence of the streets, abandoned buildings, gardens. We saw the familiar places from entirely different perspective - they were silent. Spacious grounds, the ocean coast, paths in the sand were without the usual addition - a man. Our ongoing project “Places of Silence” reflects our personal experience in this new reality. Another aspect of the project is depicting the sublime beauty of landscapes surrounding us. We feel that looking at nature brings a balance and hope, as well as leads to the self-reflection, understanding oneself, and one's responsibility to other people. The project consists of ten large scale mixed media paintings on canvases and more then eighty works on paper. We have chosen paper as the integral material for the series. The origin of paper is directly related to nature. Its texture and brittleness reflect the amazing vitality and fragility of the nature. We applied black acrylic paint on the traditional oriental rice paper creating the palette of different hues and then attached small pieces of paper to the canvas the same way as if we would be using paint. Dense layers, lumps of liquid mass soaked in water, monochrome colors, an endless gradation from black to white allow us to create rich Earth like surface for our landscape works.
• 
  2020-12-22

  Santa Fe Tourism During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Santa Fe, New Mexico is a popular tourist destination because of its art scene, culture, cuisine, historical sites and landscape. It brings in an average of two million visitors each year. However, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic those numbers have drastically dropped in 2020. TOURISM Santa Fe has created a webpage that provides visitors with current information on New Mexico's COVID-19 restrictions, rules, and policies.
• 
  2020-12

  2020 just doesn’t make sense

  Perhaps it’s the fact that there’s always been some kind of plague in the 2nd decade of every century since the 1300s that we’ve been ravaged by disease this year. 2020 is such a nice, round number to graduate high school in. I was looking forward to getting away from my helicopter parents and flying free into the city, but as usual, the universe held other plans. Instead of travelling abroad for my first semester of university, I was put in a hotel with hundreds of other students that were looking to do the same. Now, it was a pretty nice compromise; having a room in a 4-star hotel beats any dorm. If anything ruined me this year, it was myself—we received unlimited bus and subway transport which was just so inviting, just tempting me to waste my time exploring. What kind of university student gets to lounge around on a king sized bed every day? Apparently this one. The first few weeks went pretty steady; I took neat notes and went to class, but I started spiraling much faster than usual. By “usual” I mean the last few weeks of the semester is when I would typically begin to slack off a bit. I want to blame my not-so-epic downfall on the allure of public transport and my lovely hotel bed, but it all came down to myself using those things as a distraction from the crushing weight of our ongoing situation. People tend to find uplifting stories or find out new things about themselves during times like this, yet I managed to fall deeper into a pit that I didn’t know I was already in. I can’t do any of the extracurriculars I had planned to do, nor can I even dream of going on to dental school like I had envisioned for the future. There’s so much going on that my head is muddled, yet somehow clear at the same time. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s the point: nothing about this year makes sense.
• 
  2020-06-02

  Organized clean up efforts on Fordham Road

  Destiny Ramos and Amin Razzaque organized a clean-up effort on E. Fordham Road after a night of looting and destruction. It's pictured on Tuesday, June 2, in the Bronx. (Esha Ray/New York Daily News)
• 2020-12-16

  Our Thanksgiving During Covid

  My Thanksgiving this year was different in many ways. First it was a lot shorter and we ate outside instead of inside. We were all at separate tables based on our household. It was not as fun being separated but we were still able to talk. There were less family members this year than we have had in the past. Sometimes my moms side of the family comes for Thanksgiving but they couldn’t this year because of Covid. We usually all serve our own food from big platters in the kitchen but this year my mom and dad served everyone their plates full of food and brought them outside to everyone at their tables. It was so cold outside and very windy which was hard and normally we would be inside at our dining room table, where it’s warm. Thanksgiving this year was the same because we made the same kinds of food and had a ton of leftovers but there were a lot of things that were different too.
• 2020-12-16T13

  Thanksgiving in a Pandemic

  This year's Thanksgiving was like no other. What is usually a day full of family and friends, became a day of distancing. I was not able to see all of my family, but thankfully my mom, dad, and brother were still there. We tried to keep our traditions, like making the turkey, baking pies...etc, but covid was really wrecking my parade. During dinner we tried to space ourselves out, but it didn't last for long. We decided that we had to take a break and just give one another something as simple as a hug. Even though my whole family wasn't there, we still ended up having a great time. At first it was hard to find things to be grateful for, just because of this hectic year, but by the end, I had a whole list put together. Even throughout this...interesting day, me and my family still found the joys in being together, and staying healthy.
• 
  2020-08-13

  Fires With Family

  With social distancing measures out in place when having gatherings, it is difficult to spend time with family and friends. During the pandemic, my distant family members and I decided to light a fire in the firepit located in my backyard with 6 feet in between us. We talked about what each of us have been doing during quarantine and ate delicious food made by others. This fire pit was used multiple times during the pandemic but for the same reasons. The only downfall of using this firepit for visits is that it can only be used in the warmer weather. I feel as though this photo is a necessity for a covid-19 collection. It shows what families go through to be near each other in this part of the country/world.
• 
  2020-12-15

  Graduate Entrepreneurship

  Siena is a prime example of students who are graduating from Universities and are faced with the struggle of finding a job during the pandemic. As a direct response to the lack of job opportunities, Siena has been able to create her own business, despite her film major, in up-cycle fashion. This archival entry presents a realistic and current solution for the generation graduating during the Pandemic, Evaluating their creative ability and applying it to be a possible source of income. Although Siena is still working to make this a sustainable income, she has had the luxury over quarantine to persistently pursue her business. Siena also explained that because she has been pursuing this craft and attempted to make her way within this business she feels as though she has never actually graduated and she has not receive the stereotypical school to work force opportunities.
• 
  2020-06-17

  Final Time Seeing Family

  During the beginning of the pandemic which was considered to be the worst of it, my grandfather had passed away after years of battling dementia. Only a select few could attend the wake and funeral. My aunts and uncles as well as the grandchildren attended. It was very difficult keeping the 6 foot distance between one another during such a sad moment in time. This photograph is my family and I after the funeral. You'll notice that none of us were wearing masks at this point. This photo captured the very last time I ever saw my family all together in person. This photo shows how bad the virus got over the last couple months in the South Shore of Massachusetts.
• 
  2020-11-27

  Virtual Gaming With Family

  The pandemic has been hard for all close families. Mine was not able to see each other much at all due to quarantine and most of my family members having major health problems. Due to the fact that my family was not able to spend time together in person, my cousins and I decided to play games over Zoom together. My laptop was very helpful with doing this and was a necessity to keep in touch with family members.