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Date is exactly
2020-06-14
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2020-06-14
Solace in the Smell
This is a story about how hand sanitizer kept one woman hopeful during the pandemic. "Sanitation theater" was a coping mechanism used by individuals, businesses, and organizations used to convince ourselves that we were safe. So much of what we needed during the pandemic, was respite from the dread and insecurity. So much was unknown and so much felt out of control. The smell of the hand sanitizer produced by my local distillery instantly evokes the emotions I felt at the height of the pandemic -
2020-06-14
Road Trip to Mexican Wine Country During a Pandemic
The news article references Mexico's crumbling tourist economy due tot he COVID pandemic. As a close neighbor of Baja California, Mexico living in San Diego I was able to see the changes first hand by visiting Mexico throughout the summer. As travel was limited all around the world, having family members living in Mexico allowed me to first hand experience how the pandemic had affected a region who's economy is dependent on tourism dollars. I witness wineries, restaurants, and hotels desperate for business but who had installed very modern safeguards similar to what the United States was doing to combat the pandemic. Masks and social distancing were enforced at all locations around the Valle de Guadalupe, near Ensenada. In some cases, added steps such as mandatory shoe and hand washing was installed prior to be allowed onto the premises. Overall it was a nice weekend and my family was able to forget the pandemic that surrounded us if for a brief while. -
2020-06-14
A Distanced Graduation
The image above shows the window of the Peaks Island Library, where the town celebrated their graduating seniors with a “Congrats class of 2020” sign. Surrounding the banner are the names of the high schools the students attended. Since the shutdown began just months before my class was set to graduate people all over the state have been putting up signs and decorations to give us a celebration. We had virtual commencement speeches, videos, lawn signs, balloons, and free pizzas that in a way made the year more special than a normal walk across the stage. -
2020-06-14
Column: Hawaii’s early inmate release a health success
Corrections facilities across the nation has considered releasing inmates early to slow the spread of the corona virus. While the public has had mixed feelings about this idea Hawaii has been successful in creating a process to examine and individually decide on early release for its inmates. The mainland US has had numerous outbreaks inside of its prisons and jails and Hawaii was trying to prevent this. As the article explains, early release is not only beneficial to the inmates and employees but also to the larger community. It also touches on the impact systemic racism has had on creating the largest prison population in the world. -
2020-06-14
Dogs in Quarantine
Although its mostly been humans that are being affected by the quarantine and coronavirus, our pets are also feeling the struggle. Parks both human and dog alike have been closed to enforce social distancing guidelines, leading to some sad dogs. Here's hoping that as summer starts a little bit more time outside is in store for everyone. -
2020-06-14
Mining Company Mishandles Coronavirus Among Its Workers
The safety and health of workers is at the top of a long list of concerns as countries across the globe try to reopen safely while still combatting the pandemic. In Mexico, Don David Gold México has been hiding information about the status of its workers and has been stifling any discussion about the status of workers as it relates to the coronavirus. Workers are demanding that the government step in to handle the situation, starting with tests for workers -
2020-06-14
Black Lives Matter, but Flint still doesn't have clean water
I grew up in Michigan, and I still feel connected to the struggle residents in Flint face for clean drinking water, and in general the environmental health violations that get overlooked every day in the name of private interests. I saw this Tweet in my feed, and I'm not sure how to process it. Yes, Flint still doesn't have clean water and it's a problem, but for me this is another facet of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Police reform & brutality are one component, yes- but the overarching umbrella of racism and the negligence of a healthy municipal water supply are connected to that fight. -
2020-06-14
Pandemic: The Big Fight for a Small Nation of Bhutan
It talks about how the small nation of Bhutan is fighting the pandemic and the challenges it is facing as a small state sandwiched between India and China. It shows how the pandemic revealed not only the flaws of the nations economy but also the society. -
2020-06-14
Arizona State University Mental Health Resources
A month or so ago, Arizona State University sent out some of these magnets to online students. The magnet advertises ASU's "360 Life Services" which allows students to connect with counselors and explore different resources to allow students to cope, especially during this time. We stuck this magnet on the side of our fridge. I'm grateful to be a student at a university that cares about the mental health and well-being of its student body, and that has the resources to provide students in need with help. This is particularly important during these times, and especially makes me think about students with inadequate access to healthcare and LGBTQ+ students, people of color, and other minority communities whose mental health has likely been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic. -
2020-06-14
Full Time Job Working From Home
This is my makeshift desk that my boyfriend made for me amid the pandemic. Having worked at a school and being out for the summer, I had to find a job over the summer in order to pay rent, bills, and student loans. I was fortunate enough to find a job working for a company in Salt Lake City. Due to the pandemic, the hiring and on-boarding process was completely virtual. Trainings were conducted through Adobe Connect and the company provided the monitors and the computer, as well as the mouse, keyboard and headset. We've been informed we will not actually have to go into the building until at least the end of the year. Working from home is an adjustment from what I'm normally accustomed to. I'm not used to sitting for a long period of time or having the convenience to be able to work from home. There are perks that are really nice, in terms of not having to travel or worry about getting infected with the virus. I'm enjoying my job, though like all jobs, there can be rough days. -
2020-06-14
Foreign Affairs Subscription: "The World After the Pandemic"
I've had a Foreign Affairs magazine subscription since my freshman year of college, when I took an international relations class. I've enjoyed reading Foreign Affairs ever since. This is the latest edition of the magazine that arrived in the mail yesterday. Some of the latest discussions regarding the pandemic that I've seen taking place in the context of foreign policy, is how COVID-19 will forever change the world, like 9/11. I found the cover art to be very poignant and powerful. It's a ticking bomb with the rendering of what COVID-19 looks like on a microscopic level as the fuse. I don't think I've fully comprehended the ways in which COVID-19 will forever change the world, and I'm not sure it's possible at this moment in time. The cover of this Foreign Affairs magazine is really powerful in its representation of the crisis. -
2020-06-14
Preparing for the Public Again: Supplies Needed for Reopening Oklahoma Business in Phase 3 During COVID-19
Starting June 1st, Oklahoma Governor Stitt's Phase 3 of Oklahoma's reopening began. The Richey Insurance Agency of Blanchard, Oklahoma has still not opened partly due to the company's employees being in the vulnerable categories. One of the other reasons is the difficulty in obtaining much needed cleaning supplies and the creation of new office protocols to maintain CDC suggested safety measures. Being a small independent business in a rural area, we are not given strict corporate or state regulations to enact. Instead, we are reliant on state and CDC information as well as our own ingenuity of how to best observe these suggestions. Some of the items that we've recently obtained include: plexiglass barriers for two desks, new easily cleanable office chairs, automated hand sanitizer stations, 70% isopropyl alcohol for spray bottles, bulk bottle of hand sanitizer, brightly colored tape for marking distancing locations on the floor, emergency masks, emergency gloves, and document exchange trays. All of these items are newly purchased and weren't necessary before COVID-19. The barriers will help maintain sanitary work spaces and create social distancing gaps. The chairs are especially important because they are replacing the previous cloth chairs. These new chairs' entire surface is either vinyl or metal, making it easier to clean after every customer. The social distancing rules will be a maximum of four customers in the office. This is approximately one third of its usual heavy customer points normally. All of these changes are based on a downward progression of COVID-19 cases to prevent our employees from unnecessary risk. Right now, three of the employees work from home and will continue until the office is officially open. Currently the new COVID-19 cases are on an upward trend in Oklahoma, with 225 new cases on Saturday June 12th, the single largest day since the beginning of the outbreak. With numbers like these, Phase 3 seems to be more of risk than we had planned. Much of the ramp up to open will be stalled until Oklahoma numbers show a significant decline. Personal story submitted for the #ruralvoices collection. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580. -
2020-06-14
Message of Hope Left on Control Box Near a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Memorial
On June 16th I took a picture of a message that is on a control box for the traffic light on Main Street in Blanchard, Oklahoma. The message is located near a memorial statue that was dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Tony K. Burris for his valor during the Korean War. The message of hope was first spotted in early April when the lock downs of COVID-19 were well underway. The message of hope reminds the local residents that hard times have been witnessed before and like those times, "We Will Get By." The message is located on the North East corner of the intersection between State Highway 76 and U.S. Highway 62; many people drive past this prominent intersection daily. The message itself appears to be spray painted with a stencil. Since the message's arrival, no one has attempted to remove it - despite a strict city stance towards graffiti. This message seems to resonate with locals for the sheer fact that it has remained in its location past several public events in the general area that normally would've caused a reaction to have any other graffiti removed. The framing of the sign, the flag, and the statue in the same photograph really resonates with me. This is the way rural people see and feel the sense memory of past sacrifices, the resiliency that resides in hope. -
2020-06-14
Local Business Defeat
This is a picture of our venues calendar in May. All of the white out spots that you see are dates which couples either chose to cancel/postpone their wedding, or our venue staff was forced under mandates to tell them they had to reschedule. It has been a very messy battle that included two law suits and endless disappointment on our venue's end and especially on the couples end. COVID-19 is robbing people of their mile stones and we are so ready for it all to be over. This is also a good example of how detrimental COVID-19 has been on small businesses. The amount of money they have lost makes it extremely hard to stay afloat. -
2020-06-14
Bhutan Under COVID-19 Pandemic.
this story will tell about how Bhutan is fighting against pandemic and it will tell views of different person on pandemic in Bhutan.