Items

• 
  2020-09-13

  Standup

  A comic strip about Covid-19
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  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.
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  2020-09-13

  United We Stand & Patriots March for America

  Yesterday, several hundred self-proclaimed patriots gathered at the Capital for the United We Stand & Patriots March for America. Throughout the program, speakers condemned Black Lives Matter as a terrorist movement and demanded Gov. Waltz resign for mandating masks to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Speakers included MN House Rep. Jeremy Munson and Rep. Eric Lucero. Throughout the event, there were several verbal and physical exchanges between rally goers and a group of counter protestors in support of Black lives. Two counter protestors were arrested when trying to bypass a State police perimeter for their bicycles. Pro-Trump rally goers cheered-on as multiple police officers piled on the counter protesters for arrest. They are currently being held in police custody with gross misdemeanor charges and likely will not be released until Monday.
• 2020-09-13

  Covid Procedures

  While this pandemic was spreading, we had to take some drastic procedures so that it doesn't become more of an issue than it is. From basically March to August we had to quarantine ourselves indoors. Everyone over-prepared for it thinking that they would need 10 boxes of toilet paper. In September people stopped following the quarantine rule and started going about the day just like they used to. For the students, they had to do remote learning. They had to do calls instead of actually showing up to school. If people would go anywhere outside of their houses they would have to wear a mask, and stay at least 6ft apart from other ppl who are not your family.
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  2020-09-13

  QAnon Knows No Borders, even in Nova Scotia

  This article details a far-right political conspiracy and its existence in Nova Scotia.
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  2020-09-13

  An election without rallies or baby-kissing: New Brunswick vote a pandemic first

  This news article describes the impact of COVID-19 on the New Brunswick provincial election.
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  2020-09-13

  Homemade Air Purifier

  I live in California, and during this pandemic we have also been dealing with devastating wildfires. The pollution from these fires has been very concerning for me. Noticing that all the air purifiers were sold out and me wanting to save money, I found a "lifehack" to make a homemade one with a box fan and air filter. It worked like a charm and was more effective than most luxury models. While I no longer have to deal with the smell of wildfires in my apartment, the constant hum of this contraption is a constant reminder of how climate change is destroying California.
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  2020-09-13

  Tweets from Inside a Prison 09/13-09/19/2020 by Railroad Underground

  These images show the Tweets of an incarcerated person utilizing a contraband cell phone to let the outside world know about prison conditions during the pandemic. This week he talks about #BlueLivesMatter, police shootings, and violence, self worth, parenting from prison, fighting for justice, trauma, reading, meditation, protests, Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, and district attorneys.
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  2020-09-13

  My Corona Experience

  An essay I have written that describes my experience during the pandemic.
• 2020-09-13

  Music Education During a Pandemic

  Music has been a big part of my life ever since I was young. I picked up the violin in second grade, and my involvement in the music industry has only grown since then. This year is my senior year as a music education major in college; however, in light of the pandemic, I am anxious about what the future holds for music. Music class is very different from other classes that students may have throughout the day. While it is more feasible for a math or science class to be completely online, with live-streamed lessons and online assignments, these concepts are not so easy for a music class. With a large ensemble, it is almost impossible for the teacher to actually hear their students play in an online format. Many schools are using Zoom, which is great for the virtual classroom, however it tends to have a significant audio lag. Due to this problem, music ensembles cannot actually all rehearse at one time. Many music teachers have dealt with this problem by requesting that students mute themselves and then play along to a pre-recorded track that the teacher will prepare for them; however, with this barrier, the teacher will never be able to hear their students play all together, which is a crucial part of an ensemble rehearsal to assure that everyone is fully understanding the music. Not only are large ensemble rehearsals affected by these restrictions, but also the elementary general music classroom. In elementary general music, singing is a crucial part of the curriculum. At a young age, students need to be able to start singing so that they are able to start developing a knowledge of pitch and rhythm. At this stage of brain development, it is crucial for students to be able to have this aural experience in person. However, in many areas of the country, singing in a public space has been completely banned. This causes a big problem for music educators because there are so many concepts that they cannot teach without being able to sing with their students. I am in no way stating that the measures being taken in light of the pandemic are unnecessary; I believe that COVID should be taken very seriously and completely understand why it is that these restrictions need to be put in place for educators everywhere to keep the staff and students safe. However, it is frustrating to know that some people are blatantly not following guidelines, which is causing a delay in reopening schools, and because of this, an entire industry is being affected. So many musicians work off of the profit they get from live concerts alone. However, absolutely no concert halls will be able to reopen until we have this disease under control. During the time of the pandemic, I worry for what is going to happen to the music industry, and how this is going to take a toll on music programs all over the country.
• 
  2020-09-13

  Sad State of Affairs

  I saw this article on facebook and was completely saddened by it. Those two officers were doing nothing to deserve being shot in their vehicles. And then to read that protestors were blocking the entrance to the hospital, possibly preventing ANY emergency traffic from getting in was even more disheartening. I can't even begin to think how to explain this to future generations... So. Much. Useless. Hatred.
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  2020-09-13

  “Quack conjurers” and Snake Oil: Drawing Parallels Between Defoe’s Plague Year and Public Exploitation During The Age of COVID-19.

  This story is a short essay for my graduate literature course, analyzing parallels between Daniel Defoe’s Plague Year and our current experiences in the pandemic of COVID-19. It is important to me because I believe these parallels illustrate the importance of putting our faith in reliable information, and learning from the mistakes of the past rather than repeating them.
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  2020-09-13

  Hermit HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 63

  Covid controversy, NYC