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2021-10-18Don't Forget Your Mask!
The mask has had a huge impact on our sense of touch and smell. For one, breathing with a mask on was an adjustment. Tuna sandwiches became something to avoid at all costs because of the smell you could be stuck with all day by wearing a mask. There is also something to say about the feeling of a mask around your ears and over your nose. The constant practice of grabbing a mask and putting it around one's ears has become a ritual of protection or habit as we are now bound to this object like that of a cell phone which is now always on our person. The sense of touch also adapted to various kinds of masks that were promoted and the variety of masks that would be marketed for commercial value. The mask, one of the few things that forces us to run back inside the house because we forgot it. The mask, a true measuring stick for how quick we can adapt and change society for better and for worse. -
2020-03-13The 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. -
2021-03-13
On the Fence
South Carolina legislation and its residents have always been on the fence about COVID but when senator Lindsey Graham caught it back in March of this year, reality started to settle in. This was a wake up call to southerns and South Carolinians alike to start taking COVID mandates more seriously. I empathized with Graham but also was somewhat grateful that his sickness would be a lesson to others. -
2021-05-12
Et Tu , Brute?
When Governor McMaster signed an executive order stating that children had to wear mask in schools, the state went bananas. Many began to question whether McMaster's hawk feathers were starting to turn white as many people formed their opinions on what was the correct way to implement health guidelines in schools. I feel like this shows the pushback our governor was starting to have with COVID guidelines since our numbers were the highest in the South along with Georgia the month prior. I also felt like this was funny change of events considering that the governor was the first opt in to South Carolinians not wearing mask when the CDC confirmed it was safe. -
2021-05Reopening too Soon
In many states, the government seemingly ended mask mandates and opened back up in one day. Washington State lifted mask mandates and reopened everything at 100% only to reinstate mask mandates and reduce compacity a few weeks later. This has lead to the meme of everything is on fire but let's just reopen anyways. -
2021-10-05Wide Range of Acceptable Socializing during Covid-19
This meme shows the four members of the "family" in the movie "We're the Millers" reacting to houseguests during Covid-19. The "Dad" says, "My houseguests won't come unless we wear masks!" The "Mom" says, "My houseguests won't come unless we text them our vax cards!" The "daughter" says, "Our houseguests won't come unless we've had a negative covid test in the last 48 hours!" And the son says, "You guys are having houseguests?" The meme represents the wide range of "rules" that people are setting for themselves during Covid-19. Where I live in Utah, there are no official rules right now except that mask mandates are banned in public schools. In public, most people are not wearing masks and very few students are wearing them in schools. This meme, although it describes having houseguests, represents the varying degrees that people are socializing in all venues: at home, restaurants, movie theaters, amusement parks, family reunions, etc. Some people are still very cautious while others are "back to normal." -
2020-04-16The Diary of a Broken High School Senior
I was a member of the class of 2020 at what I believe is the most incredible school imaginable. Perhaps after thirteen years I am far from unbiased, but the sense of community offered by my beautiful, 1,200 student Pre-K through 12th grade school is unmatched. Now, envision a girl who walked this campus with her childhood best friends, siblings, and cousins, and, rather frequently, her mother who made an effort to lead the Parents Association countless years. Overlay a history of homesickness and a global pandemic, and the product is March 2020 me when this blissful chapter of my life was abruptly ripped away, propelling me prematurely towards college at a school I had already decided could never fill the shoes of my high school. This tear stained entry was written on April 16th, when my state governor officially shut down all schools for the remainder of the school year. I had spent the last four weeks with a countdown on my iPhone tracking the days until I could return to school. The countdown had to be adjusted at one point when “coronacation” was extended from one to three weeks. Yet I remained the voice of naive optimism, unwilling to entertain the unfortunate reality that everyone around me had already accepted. This may seem dramatic and theatrical. But this same optimist in me hopes that, should anyone stumble upon my story, they will “respect what [they] cannot know” (Saidiya Hartman). There is much more to this story and my history than could ever be relayed to another person. But with the right lens, great value can be extracted from every story, no matter how many dried tears dot its pages. Hartman, Saidiya. "Venus in Two Acts." Small Axe, vol. 12 no. 2, 2008, p. 1-14. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/241115. -
2020-10-082020 Election
The picture above is a photo that I took of myself after mailing my absentee ballot for the 2020 election. This was something that was especially exciting amidst the difficulties that Covid-19 had caused in the United States and around the world. Due to the pandemic, most in-person voting was not happening that year. Instead, most people mailed in ballots. As a college student, I needed to register for an absentee ballot in order for me to vote in my home state of New Jersey. I remember that I did this while I was stuck at home over the summer. For me, during the summer of 2020, I did not feel as though I was accomplishing anything. Registering for my absentee ballot was one of the only things that I actually accomplished during this time. In addition, there was much unrest in the country, as well as on social media, that motivated me to register as well. As a 20 year old, this was the first Presidential election that I could vote in, which made it especially important for me. During the summer, with all of the unrest in the country, I was interested to see the areas in which I agreed with my parents, and the areas in which we disagreed. In such a disaster of a year, I wanted to be able to say that I had voted in the election, at the very least. It is my civic duty after all. I think that this photo is extremely interesting because it is a true time capsule. I am wearing a mask, which characterizes the Covid pandemic. The filter proudly states, “Just Voted!!!” and “Elections 2020”. There is a joy that is evident on my face; there is something exciting about being able to vote in your first presidential election. Throughout my life, I have learned about elections and have always wanted to take part. In the 2016 election, my high-school peers and I, who were nearly competent citizens, were forced to watch from the sidelines. There is also something particularly interesting about an election in an extremely difficult time. It felt important in a way that regular years might not. -
2020-10-20
"Bennett Walsh resigns as Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent; suit over firing dropped"
This MassLive article reports on Holyoke Soldiers' Home superintendent Bennett Walsh's decision to drop a law suit after Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker had him fired in light of the facility's poor response to the pandemic. -
2020-09-13"Plight of Holyoke Soldiers' Home residents, families becomes political flashpoint in state Senate race"
This MassLive news article discusses how a state senate candidate was using the poor response to the pandemic at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home during his opponent's term in office to gain popularity for himself. -
2020-03
Rural Connecticut: Covid Doubters
I lived in a rural part of Connecticut during the 2020 Covid lockdowns. Despite the widely publicized nature of the pandemic, at least half of the citizens in my town didn't believe the disease was real. There was a real divide over wearing masks and closing down schools/work because many people felt the disease was over-blown, not deadly, or simply wouldn't strike a rural place as hard as a city. While my town didn't suffer as much as places like New York City did, we still had Covid cases and deaths across the county. It was frustrating to live in a rural place during the outbreak, because even though we were "safer," than city-dwellers, nobody took measures to preserve that safety. This mindset continued when vaccines became available, and the latest rage in rural areas is using Ivermectin (horse medicine) instead. -
2020-03-19EXECUTIVE ORDER N-33-20
This is the executive order from California Governor Gavin Newsom that introduced California's shelter-in-place on March 19, 2020. The executive order orders Californians to stay at home and only leave home for necessities (buying food, health care, etc.) or for working in certain industries. -
2021-08-11Sorry, Not Sorry. Vaccines Are Necessary.
In two years of everything under the sun becoming political, it’s not a shock that vaccines are yet another unnecessarily politicized topic. Of course, unlike masks, which were not a part of our daily routine prior to 2020, vaccinations and anti-vaxxers are not new. And honestly, if my two elementary aged kids could be vaccinated I would care a lot less about anti-vaxxers. I think they’re selfish, but for the most part, they’d be hurting themselves (and the immuno compromised that cannot be vaccinated.) But my kids can’t be vaccinated and I have been trying to stay positive knowing next week they’re walking into a classroom with only a mask for protection. I asked my mom “what is their teachers are unvaccinated?” I mean, every unvaccinated person poses a risk - what is the adult in charge is an anti-vaxxer and anti-masker? So it was with complete and utter shock and total relief to get the official word that teachers in the state of CA must be vaccinated. It’s a shame that this seals the fate on governor Newsom’s recall. I don’t love the guy, but I sure as heck want him more than a DeSantis and considering the last time CA recalled a governor, we ended up with the Terminator in charge…well. With Florida’s teachers being threatened with losing their pay over mandating masks, I am relieved to live in a state taking the opposite approach. Call us Commiefornia, I don’t care. Like I’ve been saying for a year and a half, this is a public health crisis. This isn’t about politics, it’s about an invisible virus that is continuing to mutate and spread. And as a teacher, I truly believe it’s my responsibility to do anything to help mitigate the spread. -
2021-07-25Lauren Pease, Oral History, July 25, 2021
Ashley Tibollo interviewed stay-at-home mom, Lauren Pease about her experience with the Covid-19 pandemic. In this interview, they discuss her experience with the lockdown, her worries about the pandemic, and what life was like during lockdown with her foster child. This interview also touches on political protests, virtual learning and her husband's transition to working from home. -
2021-07-24Joseph Dopkin, Oral History, July 24, 2021
Ashley Tibollo sits down with Joseph John Dobkin to discuss how his life has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this interview his discusses how his life at school as a University student has changed. He also discusses how the dynamics in his dorm room and life at home with his family were impacted. At the end of this interview Dobkin touches on political topics, his views on how the pandemic was handled by local and state governments. He also discusses his views on both anti-mask and BLM protests. -
2021-07-24Janine Brown. Oral History, July 24, 2021
In this two-part interview, Ashley Tibollo interviews Janine Brown on how her life was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first part of the interview, Brown discusses how her last year of college was impacted and about her transition to remote teaching. She discusses her fears of the Delta variant, what sources she uses to get her information and what her feelings are regarding government action. She also discusses family life and how she was affected by the quarantine. She ends this part with her hopes for the future. In the second part of this interview, Brown discusses her decision to move in with her boyfriend right before quarantine and what it was life navigating a new relationship amidst a pandemic. She also discusses her pets and how their moods changed as her life changed. She discusses the difficulties of house hunting and the ways that the pandemic has affected the market. -
2021-07-16Arizona governor says schools can't force unvaccinated students to quarantine if they're exposed to Covid-19
This CNN article discusses a recent letter sent out by Gov. Doug Ducey's education adviser, that said requiring unvaccinated students to quarantine after a COVID exposure is against state law because Arizona does not require students to be vaccinated or wear face masks. I am from NYS and this is drastically different than what Gov. Andrew Cuomo is requiring and/or recommending for students in public schools and state universities. It is bizarre how different states and governors are handling the COVID and vaccination situation. -
2021-02-01Why is Arizona worst for COVID-19 nationwide? Here are 7 contributing reasons
This article discusses why Arizona's Covid rate was the highest in the country as of February 1, 2021. Contributing factors included a lack of mask-wearing and cross-border traffic. -
2021-07-13New daily COVID-19 cases in US have doubled in past 3 weeks
The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings. Confirmed infections climbed to an average of about 23,600 a day on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And all but two states — Maine and South Dakota — reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks. -
2021-07-14Summer setback: COVID deaths and cases rising again globally
As life goes back to normal (whatever that means) here in the United States I fear that we are all turning a blind eye to the truth, COVID is not gone. Hand sanitizing stations are no longer being refilled in most places and we can go grocery shopping without masks, restaurants are busy and people are getting back to work. This would all be good news if globally our numbers continued to decline. The truth is that growing variants, like the Delta variant, are causing numbers to rapidly rise. Here in the US we have become so comfortable with life back to "normal" that we have become complacent. We are not yet safe, people are still dying. -
2020-05-24HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 32
Global death rate per 100,000 -
2021-02-02Exotic Pets and Reptile Gain Popularity in Australia
According to the article, Australia is experiencing an increase in exotic pet popularity during the pandemic. With people having more time and resources, the demand for pets, in general, is on the rise. The fear of reptiles exhibited by Generation X is not there in younger generations, so demand for these cool and unusual creatures is on the rise. -
2021-06-24COVID scam awareness sign
When I visited the library today, I noticed in the large assortment of flyers on the community posting board a flyer warning about COVID-19 scams. The flyer is from the California Senior Medicare Patrol, and mentions a variety of different scams related to vaccine distribution that people should avoid. It also provides a hotline phone number. The photo was taken on June 24, 2021. -
2021-06-18Air and land travel suspended to Arequipa, Peru
My mother-in-law has been here since last February (2020). She came for a visit from Peru and got stuck by the pandemic. She's traveling home July 1st, but Arequipa, Peru just initiated another lockdown. There's no land or air travel into Arequipa starting June 21 and lasting at least 15 days. Essentially, she'll get to Lima, Peru, and have to wait until she can travel. We considered postponing her return, but the changes in airfare are prohibitively expensive. Also, I'm pretty sure she's more than ready to get home after such an extended stay. The reason for the lockdown is the high mortality rate in Arequipa. -
2020Working at a Restaurant, Winter 2020
In the wintertime, I work at a restaurant inside a ski resort. This past winter, NYS had just opened up restaurants with very tight restrictions: no more than 4 to a table, close at 10 pm, must order food with alcohol.... and so on. Anyway, as the restaurant floor manager, it was my responsibility to police all these restrictions. Some people were very kind and understanding about the whole situation. They would split up their party of 5 in two groups; one of three and the other of two, and thank us for our willingness to work during this time. Others, however, were not thrilled about the restrictions and argued with us, as if it was our idea to put in place all the restrictions. We had so many people complain about the rules as if we could actually do something about it. Many left or demanded free drinks because of their inconveniences. It was very stressful to deal with this! Be kind to your servers!! -
2021-05-17A new world within a year
From being on campus the last day of March 9th, 2020 to being on zoom classes and forced to get "vaxxed" is like making me want to give up on my education. This is significant because in this new world, they are requiring vaccinations upon students as if we have no say, even some professors I know are not comfortable with being coerced into taking this shot. But we want our old life back and we want to be back on campus, but its so significant because there are so many what-ifs. There will be so much restrictions and requirements if campuses open back up, they will definitely have so many precautions which makes people unmotivated. I miss my old life, bothering my professors during their office hours and going to the library to study, or even going to tutoring. Campus was my only escape, I think its important to me that we shed a light on this because this pandemic shows how, us citizens, really have no freedom when we are being forced to get a vaccination that may make us more sick because it is not FDA approved. -
2021-05-04Devyn Nguyen Oral History 2021-05-04
Interviewee discussed what life is like graduating during the pandemic, working in a small family-owned business and the pushback against COVID safety in Orange County. She describes how the pandemic has brought her family together along with the tight-knit community with similar social values she has created. -
2020Anti-Maskers, Covid Disbelievers, and Anti-Quarantine Memes
COVID-19 quickly became a political rather than a health issue. Conservatives tended to deny COVID's existence as well as the value of vaccines, quarantine and wearing masks. -
2021-05-02Charlotte Botenhagen Oral History 2021/05/02
This was an interview from Jennifer Botenhagen who is a preschool teacher living in a tiny mountain town. This interview details her experience adapting to teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. -
2021-05-08The Difference that 473 Miles Makes
My story is about the differences between two states; Illinois and Tennessee and their handling of the pandemic. -
2021-05-05Broadway Looks to Reopen at 100% Capacity on September 14
This article discusses Governor Andrew Cuomo's announcement that Broadway can reopen at 100% capacity starting September 14. Broadway has been shut down since March 2020. It seems like the ability to go to see a Broadway show may be dependent on whether or not a person has had a vaccine. -
2021-04-25EMS education in Massachusetts April 2021
When the pandemic began in March 2020, the Department of Public Health in Massachusetts sent out a notice that all EMS education classes had to halt until provisions could be made that would ensure the safety of students. By summer of 2020, we could hold courses again to certify EMTs, which was a much needed change. Unfortunately, the requirements have not been easy to contend with, but we have made it work. Medical education is not meant to be remote, it just does not translate well, and the limited time that we had in-person made it difficult for the students to truly get the same level of education as previous providers. Thankfully in April of 2021, things are opening up even more and we are heading back to normal EMT classes. This is going to make things much easier for everyone and hopefully we can keep the restrictions out of EMS education moving forward. -
2021-04-07NC Law proposed would ban Trans Students and Report Them
A new law making its way through the North Carolina legislator would force educators to out Transgender students to their parents. It also would not allow for people younger than 21 to have hormones for transgender surgery or to have surgery or anything like that. -
2021-04-22CA Colleges to Require Vaccine
Numerous times in the past couple of months, we’ve been wondering if CA colleges would require the vaccine. Today it’s official - the answer is yes. To be transparent, this Californian who has friends and family employed by the UC system is extremely happy. I realize there is vaccine hesitation but I am relieved for the safety of students and staff that the universities are taking this step. And it’s not just the UC system, the Cal State system and Stanford are also instituting the same requirement (actually Stanford announced first). The UC system is often a trend setter - if it does something, other universities follow. I’m hoping this will begin a trend, not only in higher education but at the K-12 level. I know, super controversial, but schools already require other immunizations, why not this one? Public health, people! -
2021-04-04ACLU The time to defend trans kids is NOW.
The time to defend trans kids is NOW. If we don't, HB 1570 will set a dangerous precedent nationwide. Tell Arkansas Governor Hutchinson to veto this bill: 501-682-2345 -
2021-04-21James Rayroux's JOTPY Portfolio
--Reflections on the Pandemic Archive-- Looking back over my experience with the “Journal of the Plague Year” COVID-19 archive, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. This opportunity granted me experience that few historians earn, and the remote, asynchronous work schedule allowed me to collaborate with my colleagues in ways that maximized our respective contributions. The breadth and depth of our individual experiences and perspectives tremendously improved our collective process and products. I spent enough time in the Arizona State Archives last year to recognize such collections as historical treasure chests, but I have now participated in processing an archive’s content and navigating the ethical dilemmas those submissions sometimes create. Archivists and curators are the history profession’s truly unsung heroes, and their work facilitates society’s perception of itself. My background in police work and public safety drew me to the archive’s existing Law Enforcement collection. In taking on that subset, I succeeded in reshaping the collection’s parameters to now include stories about police and law enforcement. I wanted to diversify the collection to encompass perspective of both the police and the public with whom they interact and serve. While some overlap exists between the Law Enforcement and Social Justice collections, each remains distinct. Through my contacts and writing, I promoted a Call for Submissions to an international audience of law enforcement professionals to reduce their relative silence within the archive. Within the archive’s content, I recognized that one’s location might shape their pandemic experience, and I created and designed an Arizona-based exhibit to explore that. Further research and discussion with my mentors and colleagues ensured the exhibit illustrated these differences without excluding visitors whose diverse experiences could further enrich the archived and exhibited content. I am proud of my “Arizona’s COVID-19 Pandemics” exhibit, particularly because of its compressed, one-month incubation period. Beyond displaying images, data, and stories representative of the diverse pandemic experiences within the state, the ACP exhibit offers visitors numerous levels of interaction and engagement to became active participants and create their own exhibit experience. Visitors can complete opinion surveys, add a story to the archive, explore additional content related to the displayed pieces, view ever-changing results from pre-defined archival content searches, conduct their own archival search, view collective visitor survey results, and apply to join the staff. The exhibit’s searches will include the archive’s future submissions, which reshapes both the exhibit and the experience visitors may have with it. A more detailed explanation of my ACP exhibit may be reviewed here: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/43037 Because of Dr. Kathleen Kole de Peralta and Dr. Mark Tebeau, I stand prepared to join research, curation, and exhibition teams and immediately contribute to their work products. Despite my gratitude for this experience and the opportunities it presented, I look forward to the day COVID-19 is no longer part of humanity’s daily vernacular. James Rayroux 22 April 2021 -
2021-04-17Police disperse protesters, corral and photograph media
Protests continued Friday night in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright last week. While protesters were dispersed, Minnesota State Troopers corralled media members and photographed their faces and identification. -
2021-04-20George Floyd's family reacts to guilty verdict
Hugs, tears and screams -- watch the moment George Floyd's family got justice for their loved one. Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts and could be sent to prison for decades. -
2020-04-05covid and me
Last year when things got closed in California I got pulled over because i was past a curfew that they set. It was really dumb since I was on my way home anyway. Closing off the roads for a virus is not the way to do it. He let me go with a warning but the whole situation was not needed. I was not speeding or driving bad either. A huge waste of time but other then that nothing abnormal happened to me during covid. Its been super boring but we all have to do our part and keep people safe. After I went home I told my parents about it and they just told me to not drive so lae. In conclusion I learned to not break covid rules since those are the ones the government actually cares about -
2021-04-21Derek Chauvin guilty in death of George Floyd
The jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of all three charges in the murder of George Floyd. Crowds outside the Minneapolis courtroom and at the location where Floyd was killed chanted "justice" and "Black lives matter" after hearing the verdict. -
2021-04-20JOTPY Exhibit: "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics" by James Rayroux
While working as a curatorial intern on ASU's 'A Journal of the Plague Year' COVID-19 archive, I created this exhibit on the pandemic experience within the state. In addition to obvious, overarching realities such as socioeconomic status and immediate access to healthcare systems, I initially believed one of the greatest deciding factors that determined one's experience in Arizona was an individual's residence in either predominantly urban or rural environments. The proposed exhibit had been originally titled "A Tale of Two Arizonas" to pay respect to Charles Dickens and the differing realities experienced here. To test my proposed hypothesis, I went about finding data, stories, and submissions that substantiated or disputed my premise. Within a short time, I had identified four distinct environmental drivers of personal pandemic experiences; to me, that indicated the existence of many more I hadn't yet found or had overlooked along the way. My evidence suggested a minimum of four pandemic locales: Urban, Rural, Border, and Tribal within the State of Arizona and its fifteen counties. The recorded health data and personal experiences demonstrated the naivete of my initial hypothesis, and I retitled the exhibit: "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics." The Exhibit Background section illustrates the vast dichotomies within Arizona in terms of population density and access to healthcare facilities. Given the virus's respiratory nature, these factors seemed especially relevant to driving diverse local experiences. I chose to include a flyer from the Coconino County Health and Human Services' "Face It! Masks Save Lives" campaign. The flyer included a specific line to "Stay Home When Sick" that seemed to illustrate a different public health paradigm than the broader "stay home" orders from Maricopa and Pima county. This section also features an image of Sedona's red rocks and a portion of The Wave to remind visitors of the wide-open rural areas accessible to all, as well as those with cultural significance to the Native American tribes and limited access to the general public. The next section asks a short, five-question survey in which visitors may participate. The Silver Linings piece features a short audio clip of a father and husband discussing some unexpected benefits of the pandemic. Visitors may explore additional Silver Linings stories and submit their own experience. The Tséhootsooí Medical Center piece seeks to illustrate the different pandemic experience on the state's tribal lands. I hoped to inspire some relevant emotional turmoil for the visitors through the piece's visual presentation. I wanted to create a series of waves with quotes from the medical center's healthcare workers. I hoped visitors' attention would be drawn to the large, bolded key words, and that they would first experience the segments out of sequence because of that. After potentially feeling a sense of chaos, they might settle themselves into a deliberate reading of the texts and find their own order within the experiences provided here. This piece allows further exploration of Native submissions and topics, a review of an additional related news article, and a submission prompt that invites visitors to offer guidance to hospital managers. The next piece illustrates the differences between mask mandates in communities across Arizona. In addition to hearing an audio clip of interviews with mayors and a public health official, visitors can explore additional submissions related to mask mandates and submit their thoughts on statewide mandates. The Arizona Department of Health Services provides zip-code specific infection data on its website, and the wide array of known case infections therein further illustrates potential dichotomies across the state. In working to include and represent this data in a consumable way, I encountered inconsistencies with tribal data. The nation's Indian tribes are overseen by Indian Health Services, a federal public health agency, and it does not collect or report data in the same manner as the State of Arizona or its counties. At first glance, the data would seem to suggest that tribal areas had less severe pandemic experiences than the rural and urban areas, which was not objectively true. I wanted to offer the unedited data to visitors, allow them to drawn their own conclusions, and invite them to offer their thoughts on what potential misunderstandings might emanate from these reporting differences. Visitors may also choose to review the foundational data from this piece, as well. I used the following two sections to offer submission prompts about the visitor's overall pandemic experience as a function of their location, as well as what they might have done if placed in charge of their city, county, or state during this pandemic. A diverse Search section allows visitors to explore additional topics of interest to them. 23 hyperlinks offer pre-defined search parameters. An Advanced Search link allows self-defined research, and a Join The Staff link connects visitors with opportunities to work within the JOTPY archive. A final section asks visitors to provide feedback on the exhibit, its content, and the pandemic in general. Both surveys within the exhibit will display overall results to visitors who participate in them. Through this process, I found incredible amounts and diversity of data outside the archive that spoke to these generally localized experiences, but not that much yet within the archive explained what Arizonans had experienced outside the state's urban environments. I created a call for submissions and delivered it to fifty rural entities that might help support the effort to collect and preserve more rural Arizona stories. Between all the local libraries, historical societies, museums, small-town mayors, and county health officials to whom I asked for help, I am optimistic the archive will better represent all Arizonans in the coming months and years. Despite the exhibit having been created, I ensured its internal search features would include future submissions and allow the exhibit to remain relevant long after its release. -
2021-04-20Images and Audio from "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics" Exhibit
During March and April 2021, I created an online exhibit from content within Arizona State University's "A Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive. Entitled "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics," the digital exhibit contained images previously submitted to the archive, along with several copyright-free images I found on pexels.com. I have attached all these images. Listed by their order of appearance within the exhibit, their sources are as follows: 1- "Face It" Campaign flyer: Coconino County Health & Human Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 ) 2- Red Rocks, Sedona: Courtesy of Gregory Whitcoe via Pexels.com 3- Online Learning: Courtesy of August de Richelieu via Pexels.com 4- Tséhootsooí Medical Center staff: Courtesy of FDIHB Marketing Department and Navajo Times newspaper ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/41189 ) 5- Arizona's Mask Mandate Map: created by Sarandon Raboin ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/26267 ) 6- Arizona COVID-19 Infection Zip Code Map: Courtesy of Arizona Department of Health Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42035 ) 7- Woman Shopping: Courtesy of Anna Shvets via Pexels.com 8- Woman on Rural Arizona Road: Courtesy of Taryn Elliot via Pexels.com 9- Masked Woman in Crowd: Courtesy of Redrecords via Pexels.com 10- The Wave: Courtesy of Flickr via Pexels.com (this image is found only in the PDF submission of the exhibit, not in the public-facing exhibit itself due to document formatting technicalities - the PDF version can be found at https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 ) -
2021-04-12‘I want to show the pride’: photo essay of the Two Spirit Indigenous people
Two-Spirit, the term used to describe LGBTQ Indigenous, are fighting to be recognized amongst their own people. Although Indigenous, they claim their sacred circle was broken when colonizers landed on their soil and are now viewed upon with pity. Fighting to regain equal rights, the Two-Spirit community refuses to be marginalized. They work to convince other South Dakota tribes to legalize same-sex marriage and pass LGBTQ hate crime legislation. Two-Spirit member, Monique Mousseau stated, “Our younger generation needs to be acknowledged for who they are. It’s important for them to know that they are who they are and that it’s OK,” Mousseau says. “It’s time to acknowledge we have always been here, and we will always be here.” -
2021-04-18The Beginning of the End!? Corona Culture Spring 2021
These items are a sampling of documents and links to news articles and public event dates that chronicle the reopening of some parts of the United States in spring 2021. One year after the start of the pandemic (the anniversary itself celebrated in various media), Texas and other parts of the U.S. were trying to return their businesses and services to more normal conditions. A community college's plan for reopening its main campus, a news article about a baseball park increasing its capacity (and having a sold out game), a listing of 2021 tour dates for popular musicians, and a town's decision to end its mask mandate all tell the story of people wanting to return to normal living. However, both government leaders and ordinary people could disagree about whether it was good to relax COVID restrictions as the announcement by a local mayor and the decision of a local school board suggests. These items reflect the challenges of returning to Pre-COVID lifestyles because not everyone was united in the belief that it was safe to live normal lives. This illustrates the interesting conflict between holding on to what makes people be or feels safe and those who believe such restrictions are unnecessary now. -
2021-04-11Alarm grows over impact of states banning trans youth treatment
Medical experts and LGBT advocates are sounding the alarm over the physical and mental health risks to the transgender community after at least 19 state legislatures, including Arkansas, have proposed or passed bills seeking to ban trans youth treatment. Proponents of the bills have argued that the legislation is in place to protect children from making irreversible decisions about their bodies. But earlier this week, doctors and LGBT organizations defended treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and warned about a potential increased suicide rate among trans youth if such legislation is enacted. -
2021-04-14California teachers are getting one-time stipends as incentives and hazard pay
As much as there are "reopening schools" supporters, there are about as much hesitant to do so. You might hear the hesitations from concerned parents and children, but school employees experience it as well. Schools are typically crowded and people are in close quarters at almost all times of the day. Although California regulations are to remain 3-6 feet apart in and out of classrooms, it continues to be a difficult challenge. Moreover, such precautions might lessen the spread but they're not guaranteed. This is where aid funds in the form of stipends come in. These stipends are displays of gratitude, used as an incentive and, unfortunately, hazard pay. More than $2 billion will be distributed across 42 K-12 school districts in the San Diego region. Stipends vary, however. There are one-time stipends for Lakeside school district teachers who have taught since October 1, 2020 of $450 to $900. Special education teachers in the same district will receive more, about $500 to $1000. Despite the incentives, there is an ongoing conflict over who is eligible for the stipend (to my personal surprise). One argued that only employees returning to campus are eligible, while there was a debate over whether those teaching since Fall 2020 should even be compensated for. If this were the criteria, it should simply be an incentive to return as the act of “being appreciative” would not exclude any teachers who have and will continue to work during the pandemic. -
2021-04-18Child care services in Illinois are getting prioritized
Northern Illinois University and an Early Childhood Transformation Team developed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker will work together to make getting vaccinations more obtainable. The primary goal for this movement is to make the process simpler. Most of the article refers to those in the child care industry, though. Pritzker intends to make it more accessible. Child care services have been struggling throughout the pandemic, and Pritzker has been trying to turn things around. Federal aid of $1.6 billion was allocated "to expand access to high-quality early childhood education and childcare for children and families across the state." Every demographic is to be included — children of color, children with disabilities, among others. -
2021-04-18What made California’s vaccine rollout so difficult?
The Golden state only recently received news that “50% of all eligible Californians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine." It’s progress and it’s most certainly hope. What gives people even more hope is how they expanded vaccination eligibility to 16 and over as of April 15. Schools are already reopening, but this is good news for those who are still hesitant to return — and for good reason. What made California’s vaccine rollout so difficult? One of the most obvious answers is the size of the state. Its population was recorded to be over 39 million in 2020. Even with an increase in vaccines, with roughly 2.4 million doses in the first week of April alone, it was not enough to accommodate even the 50-64 age group — a population of roughly 7.2 million. Santa Clara County Executive Officer, Jeff Smith, was also quoted to have cited the state's governor for perpetuating the pandemic — that his pandemic approach was “disorganized and petulant.” Although affordable healthcare services is a nationwide pandemic in and of itself, California also deals with fragmented healthcare responsibilities. Distribution is “split up among 58 county governments.” Issues in communication, planning and transportation of vaccines are all major factors impacted by the overwhelming lack of unified leadership. https://twitter.com/CAgovernor/status/1383132361148100609 https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/04/01/as-california-expands-covid-19-vaccine-eligibility-to-all-californians-50-governor-newsom-receives-vaccine-in-los-angeles/ -
2020-10-16School Finance Guidance for COVID-19
Arizona Department of Education fiscal information and guidance pertaining to attendance and absences while students participate in distance learning. The guidance page also includes links to important forms, school finance reports, and other valuable external resources. According to the report, the due date for a financial plan (Budget/AFR) is November 13, 2020. The name of the file is, "Distance Learning Report -Actual". No recent updates appear to have been made. -
2020-10-16Distance Learning Submission- FY2021
Arizona Department of Education authorizes distance learning with the passage of Executive Orders 2020-41, 2020-44, 2020-51. Students that are participating in online instruction "...shall be treated as pupils participating in Arizona Online Instruction for funding purposes." In this context, COVID-19 has impacted, on an economic level, the fabric of everyday life- down to gathering statistical data and reporting student attendance for online education for the purpose of funding virtual education, not brick-and-mortar institutions.