Items

• 2021-08-28

  End of pitching in

  At the beginning it was different. April and May of 2020 was not the later, divisive and hate-filled environment that would allow the Covid virus to flourish, not the largely “every-man-for-himself” climate whose popularity grew to mirror the surge of the pandemic itself. Back then, everyone was hunkering down, the streets were empty, and Santa Monica was more like the city I had seen in pictures from the 1940's. The light even seemed different. Despite the specter of certain death, or at least alongside it, was an almost relaxed feeling: we were all in this together, against a common (if mysteriously deadly) enemy, and there is nothing we could do. Well, except stay indoors, and avoid contact with other humans at all costs. I know that during WWII, Santa Monica hummed with activity, with defense plants working three shifts, and Clover Field roaring with warbird take offs and landings almost continuously, and in the Spring of 2020, Santa Monica was still largely of the “we did it once, we'll do it again” mindset—everyone had a job to do, and it was actually an easy one: all you had to do was to keep to yourself. Loose lips may not sink ships anymore, but uncovered ones (especially in public) could spew a deadly toxin—the origins and makeup of it almost completely unknown—and leave devastation in its wake. This feeling couldn't, and wouldn't, last long; humans being what they are. With a national figurehead in a leadership position that was unable to understand complexities, and that largely and specifically promoted failure, the home front grew distrustful of the concept of a “common good”. Citizens quickly grew weary of making sacrifices, of doing without the niceties to which they had become accustomed. Under the guise of individual freedoms, all suffered. “It will all just go away very soon”, we were told, and eventually it did. Not the disease. Our American way of life.
• 
  03/28/2020

  David Lee Oral History, 2020/03/28

  David Dale Lee spoke with his daughter Harper Lee on March 28, 2020, regarding the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 on his professional and personal life. David is a semi-retired professor of history at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. David primarily discusses the impact of the pandemic on his teaching and research projects, but he also touches on changes to personal life, particularly shopping and connecting with friends via Zoom. David also reflects on other crises that have shaped his life.
• 
  2021-11-29

  Zaragoza Team Leader Interview with Sanaa Abid

  This is an audio interview of Zaragoza director Sanaa Abid. She gave a behind the scenes looks into how the student orientation was organized working with other campus facilities to ensure a safe program for students and parents. She offered insight as her roles from a new student, a student leader, and a student director. From this interview, we are able to gain a better understanding of what the directors did during Zaragoza and how they accommodated to Covid-19. Students were able to still have an experience that allowed them to connect with other students and their families while still having a safe experience. From this interview, we can tell that the St. Mary’s Community came together to understand the different actions that were taken to ensure the program ran smoothly. Furthermore, Sanaa offered her unique experience from attending Zaragoza as a new student prior to Covid, a first time Zaragoza leader during 2020, and finally as Zaragoza Director during the summer of 2021.
• 
  2021-11-21

  Veteran Resident Assistant: Covid Campus

  The covid-19 pandemic has changed the college experience for all students. It changed the way we work, study, socialize, etc. How we adapt and adjust to attending university during the pandemic differs per person and their previous experience. For Andrea Moreno, an experienced resident assistant, the pandemic still left things uncertain. However, her unique experience and “normal” first year experience allowed her to remain as a resource for residents. Despite the move to online during Spring 2020, Moreno still reached out to students to check-in. Andrea Moreno also said that the Office of Residence Life even served as a resource for student staff like herself. Although the pandemic changed many things about the college experience, St. Mary’s University office of Residence Life and student staff (resident assistants) still manage to serve the campus community.
• 
  2021-11-04

  St. Mary's Wind Ensemble Dia De Los Muertos Poster

  This is a poster put up by the university to advertise the upcoming Dia De Los Muertos performance by the band. This would the first real performance by the band since the beginning of COVID. While it would be outdoors, it represents the beginning of the return to normal for the Rattler band.
• 
  2020-03-14

  Oral History: Sarah Uhlig

  During this interview, I am talking with my classmate Sarah Uhlig about our experience in the program of Empower: Ecuador, since we were both on it together. The main purpose of this interview was to get an insight into what it was for another student like me, to have missed a trip to Ecuador due to COVID-19. Just to clarify, this was not any trip. This was a missionary trip for which we were preparing ourselves to go for most of the semester. As the trip was canceled, we recognized that the program was much more than just traveling to Ecuador. Rather, the program was about our personal lives and the way in which we relate to others around us that are in different seasons and circumstances in life. Another very important thing, was self-reflection into how we were utilizing our gifts and field of interest to not only serve others but be present with others. Many things were learned from this course and Sarah, will be sharing with you her experience despite the challenges and messiness that COVID-19 brought.
• 
  2020-08-12

  Lunch Time

  With the closing of schools, many students no longer had access to a warm and healthy lunch provided by the federal government. Kids from lower income families often rely on school to provide them with at least two meals a day, but because of COVID-19 they no longer could eat certain breakfast like oatmeal and lunch such as, carne guisada, that they have been used to consuming. In order to address this problem, schools began setting up times for parents to come and collect food for their kids three times a day. Ultimately, due to lack of personal time, parents were picking up breakfast, lunch and snacks for three days on Friday.
• 
  2021-02-26

  Illinois to open federal mass vaccination site at United Center

  Parking lots of the United Center will soon host a new mass vaccination site for Illinoisans. Gov. JB Pritzker says the site will have the capacity to give 6,000 doses of vaccine per day. The home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks will open as a vaccination site on March 10. But, construction is already underway. This will be one of the several community vaccination centers led by the Biden administration. Doses will come directly from the federal government instead of taking vaccine away from the allotment for the state and the city of Chicago. Leaders explained seniors will have exclusive access to appointments before the site officially opens. However, FEMA hasn’t set dates for those appointments at this time. Reporters asked how Pritzker could guarantee this facility would create easier access for those in need compared to wealthy Chicagoans. “In the city of Chicago, in Cook County, and across the state, we’ve all made and are continuing to make efforts to attract people of color to people who are most vulnerable to making those appointments, giving them access wherever we can. Having a site in a location like the United Center makes it more easily accessible,” Pritzker emphasized. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said rideshare service Uber will provide 20,000 free rides to help people get to the site. Information about scheduling appointments for vaccinations should become available in the coming days. “With this new site, we’ll now be able to take our vaccination success to a whole new level and bring to bear the historic and inclusive recovery that is soon to come,” Lightfoot explained. Getting Black and brown residents vaccinated Still, the state has a significant issue getting Black and Latinx Illinoisans vaccinated. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin explained a recent study showed minority neighborhoods in Chicago had a vaccination rate of 5%. The majority-white areas of Chicago currently report 13% of the population vaccinated. Durbin says the United Center site should help. “The faster we can get people vaccinated, the more quickly we can escape the grip that this pandemic has had on our nation for so long, the less likely we’re gonna see mutations and variations which we have to fight in different ways,” Durbin added. The Springfield native said the federal government could provide more help with vaccine distribution bypassing the American Rescue Plan. President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve the $1.9 trillion package with specific portions going to mass vaccination sites and $1,400 stimulus checks. Pritzker noted things are getting better in the long battle with COVID-19. “Someday not too far from now, we’ll be at the United Center not for a life-saving shot, but for a game-winning shot,” Pritzker said.
• 
  2021-02-09

  Artists Reimagine How Covid-19 Will Shape the Art World

  This Wired piece by Lydia Horne starts off with a really interesting point about the viewer relationship with art as social distancing before Covid and the distance in museums and galleries for the artwork’s protection. It is more than just considerations about virtual auctions and virtual viewing - the way that the art itself translates is something that many artists are struggling with. The article also speaks to the ways that artists are redefining themselves and their work. The changing structures and changing methods reaching an audience or sharing work, some artists are using the pandemic to explore possibilities to reshape the art world. For example, non-profits and community-based models instead of the traditional gallery model.
• 
  2021-08

  Zaragoza Orientation Program

  This orientation program shows the different accommodations that have been made to ensure a safe experience during Zaragoza days. Prior to the pandemic, the events scheduled for students would be held in person so that students would have the opportunity to interact face to face and make new connections with other students. However, the Zaragoza days held in August 2021 integrated both in person and online orientation events. This program shows that some of the scheduled events were held on Zoom during different sessions. This was to ensure that students were provided with safe and easy access to learn more about being and undergrad at St. Mary's while not completely limiting their orientation experience by still holding in person events that adhered to Covid-19 guidelines.
• 
  2021-08

  The Zaragoza Project: A Covid Experience

  For this item, I wanted to highlight the differences in the Zaragoza student orientation for incoming freshmen and transfer students. This is a program that happens at the beginning of every school year. My class, entering St. Mary's in Fall 2019 was the last class to have a normal experience prior to the pandemic. However, since the pandemic, many operations have had to change to ensure the safety of those involved. The Fall 2020 Zaragoza experience was entirely over zoom. With the school now transitioning back to in person teaching, Zaragoza leaders had to the opportunity and challenge to create a Zaragoza experience like never seen before that provided safe interaction among all students and parents. These screenshots specifically showed a rushed project that needed to be approved in a short amount of time that accommodated both to the universities expectations while following the state's guidelines.
• 
  2021-11-03

  Oral History: Clare Acosta

  Through this oral history, Clare Acosta and I develop a conversation about both the Community Engagement office work and the program of Empower: Ecuador. The conversation was specifically focused on the before and after of COVID-19 and also what was learned from the process. It is a very deep conversation that I really enjoyed and know that Clare also did.
• 
  2020-07-25

  A Different Online Meeting

  Athletics has always been a big part of bringing together a school's community. It's an important aspect for not just the athletes but also the supporters. The complete cancellation of sporting events can be a jarring disruption to a school's morale and spirit. The rising of popularity of esports and competitive videogames though has been helpful in keeping people connected. Though physical, in person sports have been cancelled, classmates can still keep in touch with each other through their school's team by playing and watching the school's online games. The St. Mary's esports team has provided a way for people for people with similar interests to meet without actually ever seeing each other in person. A placement on the team isn't even necessary. Videogames have been an important outlet for me in the pandemic to keep me mentally happy. The closure of many places and the inability to see certain people in real life has made me rely on them instead.
• 
  2020-10-20

  Northeastern Virtual Indigenous People's Day 2020

  Article regarding virtual Indigenous People's Day.
• 
  2021-09-10

  HIST30060 Group-chat shenanigans

  Lockdown shifted the nature of community dynamics in our local area. We live in a peri-urban region on the outskirts of the Yarra Ranges; as such, neighbouring properties are separated by large swathes of Australian bush. This can be isolating at times; it’s very different to suburban living. Our street (which spans about 7kms) and adjacent streets have a WhatsApp group chat named ‘Fireguard’, which allows residents to share information about fire safety, planned burn-offs and emergency warnings. However, during lockdown the chat was increasingly used for the purposes of socialisation. Suddenly, distant neighbours began sharing jokes and engaging in conversations about lockdown living, through the chat. The chat became a site of social interaction that the members of our area probably didn’t realise they needed, until they did. We eventually decided to create a separate chat for general/social purposes only, the title ‘WHICHBIN’ constituting a friendly inside joke about one particular chat member who never fails to ask, “which bin?” she needs to put out for collection each week.
• 
  2021-05-06

  HIST30060 Practicing religion during lockdown

  Through discussions with my grandmother, I reflected on an interesting intersection between the impact of the lockdown on both older Melburnians and faith communities. My grandmother is a practising Buddhist; a key annual ritual that was unable to be undertaken in 2021 was the commemoration of my grandfather’s death anniversary, typically observed by preparing food and inviting friends and relatives to our home for a ceremony (known in Buddhist ethics as sharing ‘merits’ with the deceased to send them good fortune). As this gathering was not permitted, my grandmother shared ‘merits’ with my grandfather by instead donating to a charity; I think that such as example highlights the mediation between religious practices and natural sciences, in the context of this health crisis. Pictured is the receipt from my grandmother’s donation; sharing her wealth by committing this good deed was important to her during this time.
• 
  2020-09-14

  Virtual Pow Wows - A result of Covid -19

  Every year as a tradition Tribes of Native Americans gather to celebrate through song and dance at events known as Pow Wows. These events reinforce long-honored traditions, the most important being unification. The Pow wows allow for the togetherness of the people and the connectedness of the tribes. Covid -19 brought an abrupt halt to that for hundreds of indigenous tribes across the U.S and Canada. As a result, the only way to share some of these meaningful traditions was to offer a virtual option. While not the same it did allow for some of the singing and dancing competitions to take place. The long-term after effect though is that not having the in-person Pow Wow resulted in a significant loss of revenue for those tribes that were hosting the event. Pow Wows bring in significant revenue from vendors and non-indigenous spectators. This loss has had a trickle-down effect on the indigenous communities making it more difficult to endure the pandemic. As a parent of a Northeastern student, not having the ability to have my daughter physically share in the in-person powwows is disappointing. Pow wows are more than just celebrations they are an opportunity to connect with your identity and heritage-which is vital for the younger generations.
• 
  2020-06-30

  Resident Assistants: When Residence Halls Re-Open

  After being sent home during Spring 2020 the Office of Residence Life changed the way it functioned. With that, student staff like resident assistants also had to change how they did their jobs. Creating community, health and safety checks, and engagement opportunities were all completed virtually. As many discovered, going to college via zoom came with many difficulties. What about when campuses were opening back up? What about the uncertainties regarding the growing pandemic after Spring 2020? In preparation for Fall 2020 and anticipation of re-opening residence halls, policy changes were made. Students were also asked to join the "Protect St. Mary's Pledge", a commitment to holding ourselves and our community accountable, ensuring we take the necessary precautions and follow policy. The Office of Residence Life and resident assistants were at the forefront of enforcing these new policies and keeping dorm halls safe. Resident assistants played a significant role in trying to make campus and residence life a bit normal again by creating community and engaging with residents, this time while taking covid-19 precautions. In a time of great transition and uncertainty, resident assistants served as student health ambassadors and vessels for the University's mission and policies.
• 
  2020-03-20

  How To Be a Resident Assistant During Covid-19

  This is a pdf of the resident assistant job description when St. Mary's University decided to go virtual. The described duties of the resident assistant showcase how St. Mary's Residence life was trying to serve students regardless of being off-campus. The job description really shows the sense of community that exists on campus and persevered virtually. As a freshman during Spring 2020, I along with many others, never expected to be sent home. I also never expected an institution to care so much about the well-being of its students especially when the whole world was in chaos at the time. However, as seen here, even student staff like resident assistants reached out and made themselves available to their peers. Resident assistants had 1:1 conversations with residents at home designed to check-in and share resources. Even the resident assistants themselves were required to have one-on-one meetings with their supervisors also to check-in. While student staff was trying to facilitate community and safety virtually, they too were being taken care of by residence life.
• 
  2021-08-21

  Every story matters – Continuing the Heritage 2021

  Continuing the Heritage is a wonderful event that St. Mary’s puts on for its students and staff. It allows all members of the university to participate in a day of service, offering over 30 volunteer opportunities to join on that day. CTH not only brings the student community together but also connects the students to the city of San Antonio and its community. Even with Covid, when everything went remote, St. Mary’s still found ways to make CTH happen and found opportunities for students to volunteer remotely. This year was my second time participating in CTH and I really enjoyed it. The first time I did it was freshman year and I worked with No Graffiti SA and this year I helped in the library at Locke Hill Elementary School. Both times were very fun and rewarding as I got to not only volunteer with friends but also be able to spend some time giving back to my community even during a pandemic.
• 
  2021-11-02

  Bunnings Sausage on Cup Day

  Melbourne Cup Day, 2021. My family has always made time for good food and good drink during the races. Today, though, started with a barbecued sausage in white bread from Bunnings. The return of the community fundraiser sausage sizzle at Bunnings hardware stores has been the subject of memes and jokes throughout yet another long winter lockdown: it is, so the joke goes, the best symbol of freedom we have. The sausage sizzle has a peculiar cultural import in Australia. In recent years, the election day tradition of fundraising has been called the “democracy sausage”, a signifier of the national democratic culture. The “freedom sausage” seems to be in the same category. After months at home, it is the simple things like browsing pot plants and lumber that are most appealing. Only select Bunnings, apparently, were approved to resume sizzles this weekend, so I was glad to take advantage of it. Submitted for University of Melbourne HIST30060, Semester 2 2021.
• 
  2021-08-30

  Jewish Melbourne - Yiddish Choir on Zoom

  The 'Mir Kumen On' Yiddish Choir, affiliated with the Jewish Labour Bund Melbourne, migrated to Zoom at the beginning of the pandemic and returned there at each lockdown and, depending on the how restrictions affected singing indoors, during non-lockdown periods. Holding choir sessions over the internet isn't easy, for example, participants are required to be on mute during songs so that there isn't lag, overlap, and interruption issues. Therefore while singing, one can only hear the pianist, Tomi Kalinski, who runs the sessions. But it's still an absolutely enjoyable time, seeing everyone and singing the soulful Yiddish songs, even if it's only to yourself. There have been some benefits too: with the online platform, Yiddish lovers from around the world have been able to join our little Melbourne choir, including from France and Scotland. The weekly zoom choir sessions have definitely lightened some of the darkest periods of my lockdown experience.
• 
  2021-10-29

  Kehilat Kolenu Online Services - Jewish Melbourne

  During the lockdowns and COVID restrictions in Melbourne, Jewish communities found ways to connect. Especially important are the Friday evening services for Shabbat. Kehilat Kolenu, a Humanistic Jewish organisation held zoom meetings in place of their usual Kabbalat Shabbat services. Especially during the loneliest, most isolating periods in my lockdown experience, these zoom meetings where I could hear the songs of my culture helped me feel spiritually and socially reconnected. HIST30060
• 
  2021-09-30

  Pro-Vax, Pro-Union Anti-Fascist Poster - Jewish Melbourne

  In the wake of the anti-lockdown riots that gripped Melbourne in September 2021, the Campaign Against Fascism movement disseminated the phrase Pro-Vax, Pro-Union, Anti-Fascist. Inspired by this, Link/לינק, a zine associated with the Jewish Labour Bund in Melbourne, posted a poster to their Instagram account, of their take on this messaging, including the shouting man from early twentieth-century Bund posters. The poster was also physically published in the zine's second edition in October 2021. HIST30060
• 
  2021-09-29

  COVID-19 Fears at a Melbourne Residential College

  This is a screenshot of a student social media communication made at a Melbourne residential college during a potential COVID-19 outbreak. This post is an embodiment of the unique fear experienced within Melbourne residential colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nature of living in a residential college during large COVID outbreaks, that being in very close proximity to a large number of people, carried a significantly greater risk than those living in conventional households. The implications of a close contact identification or confirmed case, had the possibility to trigger mass testing and isolation. Alongside this heightened risk, came great fear for many. This post gives unique insight into these unique fears felt by those living in Melbourne residential colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Note: For confidentiality reasons, identifiable information has been redacted from this screenshot. HIST30060
• 
  2021-11-01

  Yiddish Cabaret Postponed in Jewish Melbourne

  Melbourne's state of rolling lockdowns through the second half of 2021 played havoc with the performing arts industry. 'Durkh A Modnem Gloz' ('Through A Strange Lens'), staged by the Kadimah Jewish Cultural Centre in Elsternwick, a Yiddish cabaret performed by Galit Klas (with English translation surtitles created and operated by me) was an event that had to be rescheduled multiple times. As seen in the first image, the original performance dates were listed June 23-27, but was postponed to July 21-25 due to insufficient rehearsal time, thanks to the lockdown ending 10th June. With a new lockdown coming into effect on Thursday 15th of July, new dates were again required. In the Facebook post on the 21st of July (screenshotted and posted here), the Kadimah Jewish Cultural Centre officially announced the postponement. These new dates were set for August 4-8, but the opening night was the only show performed as Lockdown 6 was announced and came into effect on Thursday 5th. Now with that lockdown finally over, will ‘Durkh A Modne Gloz’ finally get the full season it deserves? (Uploaded as a part of my university studies: HIST30060)
• 
  2020-05-03

  HIST30060 Zoom Church

  This photo was taken in May 2020, when Melbourne restrictions prevented religious gatherings from taking place. I attend Westgate Baptist Community church in Yarraville in the western suburbs of Melbourne, and it had transitioned to zoom for its church services by this point. On the day this picture was taken, we were meant to organise our own bread and wine for the ritual of communion. It was strange to source these elements on our own and even stranger to just pass them to each other instead of being given them by the pastor. It probably took some sense of gravitas and 'specialness' out of the ritual. At the same time though, it was evident that in a very precarious, unprecedented time, this community was really hanging on to such rituals for some normalcy and comfort in a sense of the divine's presence. We would not be back to in-person services until February 2021.
• 
  2021-07-24T14:50

  Chicken feeding as a lockdown activity 2021

  In July 2021, while on one of my afternoon walks, I discovered this local lockdown activity of chicken feeding. A local household was offering people the chance to feed their very friendly and excitable chickens. I am unsure when this activity first started as I do not usually walk the way that would take me past them. However, it was an amusing and relaxing thing to be able to do amidst the chaos of a global pandemic. The chickens were really very cute, despite not the brightest creatures I've ever known. I have visited them with my family regularly ever since that first time and have noted that other people, often local children, have also relished the opportunity to interact with live animals. In a small way, I believe the chickens have brought the neighbourhood a little closer together and given local children the opportunity to interact with animals they would not normally get a chance to. Sadly, due to old age and the presence of urban foxes the number of chickens has decreased and only one of the original trio remains (as of October 2021). However, she has a new friend now and is very keen to establish her authority. The sign and container of dry food has been removed but we often bring them other food- they are particularly fond of sowthistle.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Community Engagement: Transitioning to Zoom

  Previous to COVID-19, everything related to community engagement was hands-on, face-to-face, and in-person. However, right after spring break in 2020, everything changed because of COVID-19, and new ways of interacting with the community and each other were used. To demonstrate this I uploaded for this item a screenshot from the Instagram page of the Community Engagement Office of St. Mary's University. Almost none of us were used to zoom and in a couple of weeks zoom turned into the number one platform used by businesses and schools as a means of communication and our community engagement was not the exception. One of the activities that were made during COVID-19 was a Netflix Party through zoom with many students engaged through the network. As a personal experience, I was part of a group/class called Empower: Ecuador that was very focused on personal relationships and community building, and transitioning to zoom was not easy. However, we were able to culminate our semester and encounter new ways to connect with each other through zoom and other social platforms in meaningful ways while keeping each other safe from getting sick. It was a matter of caring for each other so deeply that connecting in person was no longer an option, but our intentionality to connect and interact with each other grew in many other creative ways to achieve the goal of community engagement despite all the difficulties that we were all going through.
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  2020-03-24

  Closing My Street Library (HIST30060)

  (HIST30060) This is a photo of the closed sign my Mum and I put on our street library after we found out about the pandemic in 2020. It reads: Dear Street Library Patrons, Our library will be closed as of Tuesday 24 March until further notice due to scientific findings that the coronavirus was detected for up to 24 hours on cardboard. Our community safety is my priority <3 I look forward to re-opening soon! We made the street library in 2019 so the community could share our love of books. People could take a book, read it and, if they wanted to, put their favourite book back in. It made us sad to close the street library but after the lockdown was over we started it back up again!
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  2021-10-07

  Positives of the pandemic

  This is a photo of a community garden at a park very close to me. Although this project existed before the pandemic, it has flourished much in this time to become a beautiful large garden with many different plants. I think this reflects some of the positive effects of the pandemic, as for some people, it gave them the chance to focus on things they might not normally have. Community engagement and connection in this way has provided hope for many people during this time.
• 
  2021-10-27

  Economic Student Support

  The Student Emergency Fund at St. Mary's was part of an economic relief through the CARES act; where students got financial support via the university. I personally used this fund to help pay for school and basic necessities, like food and bills. It was a relief that students, like myself, were able to obtain this financial support throughout the pandemic and it's still available for all students.
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  2021-08-14

  "Ways to Connect Despite Social Distance: Empower Ecuador"

  When being part of the program Empower: Ecuador at my school, we were preparing ourselves to travel to Guayaquil, Ecuador to be present with the families in the community. The families in the community were called our neighbors. Prior to traveling and meeting families in person, each person from the class was given a bookmark with a picture of a neighbor and a brief description of who they were. We were supposed to pray for the person selected and have him/her in our hearts until we meet them in person. Due to COVID-19, we were never able to meet these people whom we felt very close to and it was very sad. Therefore, we were tasked with the beautiful idea of writing letters to them about our prayers and best wishes for them in times of trouble. After a couple of months, I received a message through Messenger, and to my surprise, it was the person I wrote the letter to. She was thanking me for the letter and for how happy she felt when she received it. Also, she shared the desire to get to know me more through social media. It was a beautiful moment and proof of how we could connect with each other despite the social distance. To express this story I am sharing a screenshot of a conversation through Facebook (messenger) with a neighbor from Guayaquil, Ecuador. She is telling me that she received the letter I sent and how grateful she is for it.
• 2020-03-21

  Gardening During the Apocalypse

  I can't think of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shut downs and lock-ins, the stay-at-home orders without thinking of my brief foray into gardening. My husband and I bought our house in northwest Baltimore in April 2019. Our little duplex sits near the end of an unbelievably picturesque street in a fairly affluent neighborhood known for its garden communities and HOA-hosted wine and cheese parties you have to pay to attend. The neighborhood is surrounded by much poorer neighborhoods and heavily-trafficked streets, the direct product of red-lining in Old Baltimore. While the Original Northwood neighborhood is much more diverse - demographically and economically - than it was when it was first established in the 1930s and 1940s, my husband and I, as some of the only residents under 40, still felt like we didn't necessarily fit in with our older, more well-to-do neighbors, despite absolutely adoring our little home, which had been lovingly renovated and reimagined by its previous tenants. Come March 2020, however, the noise from the crowded streets, the surrounding neighborhoods, and from our own neighborhood, died down substantially. Our streets and its surrounds have always been a great place to go for a walk, but now every day people were strolling by in ones and twos, sometimes in small family units. Everyone needed to get out of the houses they were now cooped up in, and I was no exception. Much to my mother's chagrin - and likely to my neighbors' embarrassment - I did not inherent my mother's green thumb. Because I am a millennial I found an app that identifies plants and set about rooting out weeds, pruning the flowers the previous tenants had not intended for me to neglect, picking up the endless stream of leaves from our several 100+ year old trees, digging up more weeds and debating with my husband about whether we should start an herb and vegetable garden or put in a patio in the little garden area that connects our front and back yards. I did not become proficient at gardening. I am much better than I was, however, at identifying the truly astonishing diversity of plants in my own garden and in my neighborhood by scent and even touch. I learned that the dried and withered allium stalks pull effortlessly out of the ground after they die, that African violets also give way to a gentle scooping from the earth, and that thistle, of course, will still try to prick you as it attempts to cling to the soil. I learned that those thin but tough shoots of elm and oak born from the seeds and acorns the squirrels missed not only grow rapidly, but are extraordinarily difficult to rip from the earth. And no matter how much seemingly-delicate clover one claws at, its roots will always remain beneath the surface, as virulent in a day or two as when one earlier tore at it in complete dismay of its sheer stubbornness. I did not become proficient at gardening. But I did relish the feeling of cool, damp earth underneath my hands, even in my fingernails, the crunch of dry leaves, the slick sliding of wet leaves, the red, angry weals left on my hands from those stubborn oaks. I felt accomplished as I pulled lovely, but ultimately threatening African violets and wild raspberry from underneath the spreading cover of the hostas, and as I pulled wild mint, lemon, and rosemary for tea and cooking. I told myself I'd use the ramps (a species of wild onion that smells and tastes sort of of like a combination between garlic and scallions) in a soup, as a college roommate of mine had done, but I forgot to harvest them in time. From what I recall, summertime is best, particularly late summertime. The other thing I remember about this time spent in my garden, hands in the dirt, sweat on my brow, bug bites inflaming every available inch of skin, is the new sense of connection I felt with my neighbors who stopped to wave hello, nod and smile at my gardening efforts. Neighbors who I hadn't gotten to know before the pandemic which now prevented us, due to fear of contamination from contact with other people, from truly getting to know each other still. But somehow, the simple act of being out in my garden, doing this simple, repetitive toil, made me feel like I was participating in a ritual, an activity that linked me to the less unsavory past of the community, and to neighbors who otherwise might have remained alien in a plague environment that seemed to bring a new apocalypse with every week.
• 
  2021-10-09

  The Challenges of Performing Arts During the Pandemic

  This is a short audio file that talks about what challenges I faced during the pandemic, including a performing arts that was shut down the day before opening night and then a successful fundraiser that raised $25,000.
• 
  2020-03-13

  The Fight for a Show

  When the global pandemic hit, we were just a day away from putting on a theater production that we had worked on for a year and over 10 weeks of rehearsal. As a board, we thought of every possible way to keep a show, so that it wasn't shut down. I went and measured the venue, the local Veterans Hall to see how many seats we could have in the hall, if they were six-feet apart. We looked at requiring mask or limiting to just family. We met with local public health officials with different options on how to keep our show. But, the final decision was that it was in our best interest to cancel the show. The concern was that with family coming in from other areas, that Best of Broadway could be responsible for bringing Covid-19 to Susanville, and we were not willing to take that risk. When we cancelled, we figured we just needed to reschedule the show a couple of weeks. That, in and of itself was challenging. But the idea of a possible lawsuit or worse causing harm to others was a real possibility. As the Board President, I had to announce via Facebook and Instagram that the show was cancelled. It was terrible. A very sad day for our Broadway family. This post was from one of the husbands of our performers. His words of encouragement was reassuring. Most people responded in a sympathetic and understanding way.
• 
  2020-03-28

  Catch a Jesus Virus and Let it be Contagious

  My boyfriend and I found this church's billboard during the first week of shutdown in March 2020. We were driving around with nothing to do since everything was closed and found this sign too funny to not stop and take a picture.
• 
  2020-03-23

  Introverts vs. Extroverts during Lock Down-A meme

  I am an extrovert. I get my energy from people. I love people. I surround myself with a lot of people. The three months leading up to the pandemic lock down I had been surrounded almost every day by almost 200 of my closest friends, people I call my family because we worked together on a theater production called Susanville Best of Broadway. When the pandemic hit, the show was cancelled and then even my work sent everyone home. I was home with my kids. And it was very quiet. We are a very active family involved in many local community projects. I have meetings every week and they have sports. All of sudden, we were home. And if I saw someone I knew while out in public (the grocery store) it was weird. I didn't know if I could hug them (I didn't) and would just awkwardly wave from a distance. It was terrible. In fact, my girls struggled and would still have friends over. I made them limit it to just one friend, but even then, we struggled. This meme really got to me. I remember hearing friends say how their life didn't change at all because they were already homebodies. The idea of being home was actually very stressful. I ended up working at my work, because being home all day to work was not very much fun. I learned a lot about myself during that time. Most importantly, I need people in my life.
• 
  2020-03-18

  The Show that Almost Was

  After Susanville's Best of Broadway show was cancelled just a day before its opening night, Susanville's local online news editor Jeremy Couso reached out to the Best of Board members to see if he could publish an article about our show, the show that never happened. He and his wife attends the performance for a media night and he happened to have a video of the show. For a small production, the youtube video of the performance has had just under 900 views as of October 9th, 2021. I directed Wizard of Oz with a dear friend of mine, in a one year shot to direct. Watching the video of the show that didn't happen is honestly very sad and hard to do. We become family with the cast and to not reach the finale is painful. But the show must go on, and in 2022, Best of Broadway will take the stage again.
• 
  2020-10-20

  A Public Performance in the Middle of the Pandemic

  For the last few years, I have coordinated an event called, Dancing for a Brand New Me. It is a fundraiser event that is designed to not only bring about awareness to domestic violence in Lassen County, but it is a fundraiser to help pay for the the mortgage of the shelter for victims. Last year was the 7th year that local "Susanville Stars" were partnered with local professional choreographers to dance three dances before judges similar to NBC's Dancing with the Stars. Our local stars are usually very active community members who spend about 5-6 months learning the dances, but they also fundraiser to get sponsors. It becomes a fun, healthy competition to see who can out dance and out raise funds with each other. Most of the choreographers have participated in the event for many years. It has become a community favorite, selling out tickets both nights the third weekend in October. In 2020, we had to come up with four different plans on how we would perform, because of the pandemic. Our plans included only performing a livestreamed show to relocating our event outdoors. Normally, the event is performed in the local Veterans Hall that is equipped with stage, lights, and sound. In September 2020, I wrote a proposal to public health outlining in detail how we would manage the event. It took weeks for public health to get back to us. But what they approved was that our event could be held at the local High School football stadium, we had to mark off 6-foot distance, require mask, and have screenings at the gate. We had hand sanitizer stations and we were instructed two things: limited seats (200 people) and whatever we did, when we live streamed to not show the audience. The article that I attached talks more about the event than the obstacle it took to put on the event. It is incredibly difficult to move sound equipment in and out of a football stadium every day for a week. It is hard to do a staged performance when you are surrounded by a dirt track. It is hard to have your dressing room be the football locker room. It was very difficult to make all of the modifications and changes that we did. But we did it. And it was an amazing event. Even though we weren't supposed to, we have about 400 people in the audience each night. Most did not wear mask and most were sitting very close to each other. Even one of the public health officials sat in the audience not following the "rules". The event raised over $25,000! Just two weeks after our event, many of the Halloweeen events led to a Covid-19 outbreak in our community and the cases rose rapidly. Prior to Dancing for a Brand New Me 2020, we had zero cases. After Halloween 2020 our cases skyrocketed for a small town. I saw that we happened to just squeeze in one performing arts event just in time before things got bad. I feel like we were lucky and it was probably why the event was so well attended. I have the newspaper article and my proposal attached.
• 
  2021-10-06

  Sharing Experience, Cochrane Times, October 6th 2021.

  2.) This is another photo within the Cochrane Times dedicated to documenting Canada’s first Orange Shirt Day; this was an article from the October 6th paper. The text underneath the photo reads: “Sharing Experience, Residential school survivor Jenny Clark shares her story with those gathered near the McDougall Stoney Memorial Church ahead of a ceremonial walk to Morley on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30.
• 
  2021-10-06

  Cochrane Times October 6th, 2021 (1)

  1.) This is the FrontPage paper for the Cochrane Times newspaper on October 6th, 2021. The front page’s photo content is as follows: “Members of the Stoney Nakoda First Nations and guests on the land make their way down Highway 1A from the McDougall church to Morley in a somber ceremonial walk on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day, September 30”
• 
  2020

  International Discussion

  This conversation was interesting to me because it is an example of how the internet has been able to give people an idea of what the pandemic has been like in other parts of the world. It also presents a strategy some leadership enacted to control the spread of the virus.
• 
  2020-06-04

  Small Town, Big Affairs

  The challenges of both COVID-19 and the lockdown illuminated the disproportionate burden black and brown communities have been facing with jobs, communities, and police. In the midst of the profound trauma of George Floyd's death, many communities had to come together to address what parameters were they enforcing for both the health and safety for its member. Many protest like the one shown in Anderson, South Carolina took place May-August of 2020 to demonstrate how a growing pandemic forced individuals to think about others' vulnerabilities--specifically those inflicted from police brutality.
• 
  2021-10-08

  Covid Vaccination Efforts

  In the age of Covid, misinformation and disinformation runs rampant and we must meet this challenge with unconventional methods. The use of wrestling events to convince people to get vaccinated demonstrates a gendered response to the problem. What does a 'masculinized' approach say about rural and/or Appalachian culture? Is it now considered weak to comply?
• 
  2020-04-08

  Keeping Concerts Alive

  The pandemic forfeited any chance of attending that concert or planned music festival. Although online meetings weren't anyone's favorite, the switch from in-person concerts to Instagram and Facebook live concerts was a success. These quarantine concerts were able to keep the public entertained in their homes while keeping the spirit of live music alive.
• 2021-10-06

  The Desperate Cling

  When the pandemic hit the small town I resided in March of 2019, the aftershock evoked a hopelessness that was unexpected. Growing up learning “stop, drop, and roll,” I presumed catching on fire was going to be much more problematic than pathetic trauma that has consumed my generation. In seventh grade, my school spent the day watching planes hit the towers on 9/11. Then that night watching the strength of my single mother dwindle while recording the news on VHS tapes. I believed my resilience created from the past had prepared me to get through this pandemic. I was much less resilient than I had anticipated. I worked as a barista in a grocery store and had seen the hatefulness and treatment this once friendly town provided. Before moving to this small town I would visit in the summer and found it difficult to understand how perfect strangers could treat each other like lifelong neighbors. The cloud that had fallen upon this town was shocking. 6am when the grocery doors opened I would watch what seemed to be half the town race with carts, baskets and bags to the designated “hot spots.” (Toilet paper, rice, beans, and bread) I watched as my co-workers were interrogated by their neighbors over product. My coffee kiosk was quiet compared to what it had been and that gave me time to observe the change in demeanor from my co-workers as well. The emotional exhaustion of their own fears along with half of the town coming in to dump their fears and baggage onto them as well; The physical exhaustion of working 60-70 days, pushing product and covering shifts. It was a mad house. It was hard to see the toll on such a warm and friendly town. Customers, co-workers, strangers would indulge dark, inappropriate and ugly opinions I had never expected, especially not in this sleepy town. I could feel the darkness and fear of other steeping into myself. It became difficult to be patient and interact with others. By the end of the day I would be so emotionally spent from pushing myself to be a courteous light for a beacon of all that sadness. I was bitter for this, finding it difficult to cling to my hope in humanity. I wasn’t anticipating this type of reaction from society when faced with such a colossal disaster like the world had reacted after 9/11. So in a way, I think I was resilient to the events but I was unprepared for the worlds reaction.
• 
  2020-06-04

  Hawaiian party at home!

  Triggers Hawaiian Party Our experience through Covid and the lockdowns have greatly affected every aspect of social life from 2020 through 2021, this is a photo of Alan Montgomery (left) and Jake Montgomery (right) getting ready to celebrate Triggers (the dog) adoption and birthday via Hawaiian theme. Usually, we invite lots of friends and their pets to Trigger’s birthday/adoption day, but due to the virus, we kept it very small with just three other people and 2 of Trigger’s favorite playmates. Due to the severity and potential for spreading the virus we all wore masks at least until the drinks and food were delivered, needless to say, this pandemic has been very difficult for everyone, and having a small social gathering like this felt very good and in someways reminded me of how things were before Covid-19 created such chaos in peoples lives. The devastation of life and liberties at the time of this party greatly increased, and many small parties or gatherings were looked down on by not just friends and neighbors but the federal government and media as a whole. Parties like this were very difficult to metastasize due to the lockdown and extreme potential for spreading the deadly virus. This little Hawaiian party for Trigger might at first seem silly but it was our way of coping and normalizing during the lockdown and in some ways, it helped my friends and family feel a strong sense that things would eventually return to normal. This party was pre-vaccine so the risks were high but everyone tried to be very careful, washing their hands and face with soap and water and wearing masks through the duration of Triggers birthday. In many ways, this photo represents the determination and willpower my friends and family were willing to go to in order to carry on life as usual and to never surrender their liberties even when such a deadly and contagious virus was hurting so many, all while facing obscurity by others at the time.
• 
  2021-10-05

  PTA during Covid-19

  I have been volunteering in the PTA for the last 13 years. Two of these years occurred when I was the PTA president at my daughter's middle school during the Covid-19 pandemic. Once the pandemic started and Utah moved all schools to online in March 2020, PTA had to adjust. We cancelled all of our meetings and delivered the end-of-year teacher gifts to the teachers’ and staff’s homes. The next school year (2020-2021), the students returned to school but had to wear masks and large group activities were cancelled. PTA held our monthly meetings outside or via Zoom (once it became too cold to hold them outside) and we cancelled our assemblies. The school district required PTA to individually wrap treats/food that we provided for the teachers. Rather than the potluck-style lunches that we had always provided, we needed to cater the lunches which tripled our costs. We went from a budget of $700 for teacher lunches/treats/gifts to $2200. We made significant cuts in other areas in order to make this adjustment. The pictures above show treats for the teachers from 2021 that are individually wrapped and a partial list of teacher addresses and driving times when the PTA delivered presents to the homes of teachers and staff in 2020 because they were working from home. It took about eight volunteers, each with a 1 1/2 to 2 hour route, to get everything delivered.
• 
  2021-02-25

  Volunteering at the University of Arizona Vaccine POD

  The University of Arizona ran a drive-thru and walk-up vaccine POD for six months in 2021. During that time they provided more than 240,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Southern Arizona community. I volunteered at the POD for 10 shifts between February 2021 and May 2021, helping with traffic control to get as many cars safely through the stations, with observation to ensure everyone was okay after receiving their vaccine, and with registration to help get information all ready for the nurses giving the vaccine. It was great to be a part of the solution and helping people protect themselves and other community members. One woman, while waiting to get her shot, told me how excited she was to be able to hug her grandchildren again. She started crying because she was so relieved to see her family and feel safe doing it. It was a great atmosphere at the University of Arizona and everyone was working together for each other. Something I will never forget and that I'm proud to have been a part of. The photo is from my first shift in the observation area on the Mall, waiting for the POD to open and line cars up for observation post-vaccine.