Items

• 
  2020-10-22

  Trump Wants a vaccinne for this

  Covid and Yossarian, A comic strip about Covid-19
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  2020-10-22

  Turtle Baby Boom

  As an animal lover, one of the best things about the pandemic was the many stories of animals in the wild and in zoos breeding more successfully. Turtles around the globe were able to return to traditional nesting sites without the interference of tourists and beach goers. National Geographic published this article about nesting turtles in Florida. Some say the pandemic made a big difference in nesting success, others are less convinced. They also point out that the pandemic has caused increased poaching due to economic hardships. Finally, the article also sheds light on the ongoing problems turtles face due to climate change.
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  2020-10-22

  Illinois College Football Team Fights Against Racism

  The Tweet declares that the University of Illinois, The Fighting Illini, are in support of social justice. The college football team is supporting the Black Lives Matter movement by wearing black decaled insignias on their helmets with the Black Lives Matter fist symbol on the back of the helmet. The fist is a powerful gesture associated with the social justice protest. The video also states that football is just a game and social justice is a real world priority. A college football team and university realizing the fight against racism and social inequalities is more important than their institution is a significant event in the fight for social justice. Of course not all fans or comments think it is appropriate for the team to wear these symbols but all movements will have discourse in their pursuit to fight for social justice. This statement to display these images are closely related to how far the protests have come in the fight for social justice.
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  2020-10-22

  Adjustments to How Athletes Warm-Up

  The object is a photograph of the Auxiliary Courts in the St. Mary’s University Athletics Center. To ensure the social distancing of athletes while they warm up to enter the weight room green and red tape have been placed on the courts. The first team entering the facility in the morning will use the space around the green tape and sanitize on their way out, the second group will use the red tape area to warm up and the rotation will continue.
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  2020-10-22

  Coworking spaces could gain new clientele.

  Coworking spaces could gain new clientele due to the pandemic and interest from employers.
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  2020-10-22

  Education and the Coronavirus: Updates for opening in California.

  Text story. I found it while surfing the internet and reading about how they were going to determine to let schools open back up in the state of California.
• 2020-10-22

  Traveling During the Pandemic

  I have always enjoyed traveling like so many other people like to do. Having worked for the airline for many years, I have traveled to many airports throughout the world. During this Covid-19 pandemic I was apprehensive about traveling and obviously very nervous to get on an airplane and to be in a airport where there are people from all walks of life, not knowing if any one of those individuals had been exposed to the virus. However, I hadn't seen my family that lives in Michigan in over a year and my mother was turning 85 years old and I decided that if I was careful, I should be okay. So I started planning for my trip. My next dilema was transportation. How would I get there? I coud drive, but, realistically that really wasn't an option. It would take 3 days to get from my house to my parents house and that would mean stopping at restaurants and hotels along the way. How many people would I be exposed to? On a daily basis, the television news media reports Covid-19 numbers and deaths and on this one particular day as I was watching the news, this doctor who was traveling back to his hometown of New Orleans had come down with the virus. They interviewed him in his hospital bed and this is what he said, "I had a mask on, I had gloves on, I did my normal wipes routine ... but obviously, you can still get it through your eyes. And, of course, I wasn't wearing goggles on the flight." At that point, fear and sadness definitely took over. I remember thinking, "will I ever see my family again?" The days that followed I saw on the news that airlines were taking every precaution possible and were very strict regarding mask wearing. I made the decision to book my flight. Unfortunately, there were no nonstop flights from Phoenix to my destination. I had to make a stopover in Chicago for several hours before arriving to my final destination. I have to admit, I was not looking forward to this flight nor was I looking forward to being at the Chicago airport for several hours before boarding my next flight. A couple of days later, my son and I were off to the airport to catch our flight with masks and goggles on and our supply of lysol wipes. I had not been to the airport in almost a year. I did not know what to expect. We were both impressed with the protocal that had been put in place at the airport. No one was without a mask and social distancing was in place. So far so good. When we boarded the aircraft we were given a baggie with bottled water, a cookie and a alcohol wipe. The boarding announcements always included to keep your mask on for the entire flight, making sure the mask covers your mouth and nose. There was no onboard meal or drink service. This was definitely a big change but I certainly agreed with their protocal. As I looked around the flight, I could see that everyone was adhering to the rules. I have to admit that wearing a mask for 3 1/2 hours and wearing googles was not very pleasant but I knew it was not an option for me. The last thing I wanted to do was to expose my family to this terrible virus. There were times when I looked over at my son, his goggles would be all fogged up. The seating arrangement on the flight was actually very nice. All of the middle seats were empty and my son and I had the entire row to ourselves. When we arrived at Chicago O'Hare airport we didn't know what to expect. I know how busy Chicago O'Hare airport is and I was nervous. There are always people that hate rules and like to buck the system and I was sure that I would see people strolling throughout the airport with no masks on. I felt though that as long as we had our masks and goggles on we should be safe. We had a long walk from our gate to the next gate. We noticed that most stores and most restaurants were closed and you could see that people were trying to keep their distance as they were walking through the halls of the airport. We boarded our next flight and the same protocals were in place. We arrived in Michigan and my family was waiting for us outside in their vehicle at the pickup area of the airport. We hugged them dearly and got in the car and took off our masks and goggles and enjoyed our vacation with them. After our vacation ended, my son and I self-quarantined at our house for 2 weeks and we were just fine. My son and I were exposed to a lot of people when we were traveling and I feel that if we would have let our guard down by being careless and not wearing our masks, I feel one of us, or both would have come down with Covid-19. It was uncomfortable wearing the masks and goggles the entire day, but in the end, it was well worth it. In my opinion, if people would just use common sense and wear their mask when they are in public and wear it properly I think we would definitely see the covid numbers go down and perhaps go away. Closing down the economy is not the right answer but following the proper protocal is.
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  2020-10-22

  Volunteer in vaccine trial dies

  Like most people this day and age I get my news primarily from social media. I also watch the news (both FOX and CNN, just to get some sort of truth) but I was stopped in my tracks when I saw this story. I would have expected a downfall in vaccine trials to be reported by CNN or a democratic news outlet but this came straight from the republic horse’s mouth – Fox news. On the topic of vaccines, it seems that most republicans are not only eager for a vaccine but ready to get one, many democrats are a little more stand-offish about it. I stand somewhere in the middle; I look forward to a vaccine but want it backed by science not only the president. This story by FOX news talks about a volunteer in vaccine trials and how they died. It doesn’t discuss if the volunteer was administered medication or a placebo but it still make me wonder about a potential vaccine and its effectiveness.
• 
  2020-10-22

  Governor Chris Christie

  I thought this story was important to preserve. Most politicians who follow President Donald Trump hold him up on a pedestal. In their devoted eyes the President can do no wrong. I was not surprised when Governor Chris Christie contracted COVID, I felt like it was just a matter of time for most of them after the President contracted it. The surprising part was his reaction and revelation after the entered the recovery phase. I was surprised to hear him admit that not wearing a mask was a mistake. I’m assuming that he felt immediate regret because COVID landed him in ICU. He also went on to urge people to wear a mask and protect themselves. This story makes me hope that other diehard Republicans will realize the importance of masks.
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  2020-10-22

  Spain and France Reach 1 Million Cases

  Both Spain and France reached 1 million COVID-19 cases this week. Spain was the first country in Europe to reach a million and France followed only a day later. This came as a result of the spike in Europe's cases in the past few weeks.
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  2020-10-22

  Graph Shows Huge Increase in Europe's Cases

  This graph shows the average 7 day increase in COVID-19 cases in Europe, North America, and Asia. Europe has seen a dramatic resurgence in Coronavirus cases in the past few weeks.
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  2020-10-22

  Epoch Times found in Mailbox

  The front page literally only covers China and Covid-19 conspiracies. The Falun Gong own and run the Neo-Conservative paper. This and the Shen Yun dance trope appears to be apart of the continuous push to reach non-chinese North Americans.
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  2020-10-22

  No Hocus Pocus Door to Door

  The Mayor of Columbus, MS, Robert Smith, and his office issued a public notice on October 22, 2020 that there should be no door to door trick or treating. In place of door to door trick or treating the city and fellow organizers have planned events for trick or treating throughout the city. This action is helpful and thoughtful for all citizens involved. It allows the citizens to remain safe in their homes if they so wish or it gives citizens the opportunity to celebrate Halloween during the pandemic. Of course social distancing will be practiced for all Halloween events. This is important for children to celebrate a fun holiday while practicing social distancing. Also important to realize the safety and health conditions for others that are at high risk for Covid 19.
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  2020-10-22

  Museum Awareness and COVID-19

  I have been recently researching digital archives and their effective helpfulness in the midst of crises and pandemics, such as COVID-19. While discovering new sources for research, I came upon a community that is treasured by society yet sufferers immeasurable when neglected, museums. From what I have put together in following archives and museums, there is a difference and the difference is impactful: People interact with archives while museums interact with people. Archives can be easily engaged through any format and do not struggle to adapt to a rapidly evolving society. Museums and their charm center on one core energy source, in-person engagement, interaction, and display. Museums attempting to permanently shift to online have the risk of fading into another informational website (Advertising is a dense fog). The attraction is the ability for people to see artifacts and art in person. I personally love museums and I know that without them, history seems to lose some of its luster as well. I found this website, American Alliance of Museums: COVID-19 Resources and Information for the Museum Field, while searching through museum resources and listening to museum and art directors discussing the future of their work. It is a tool for anyone from a visitor to a museum director in staying connected to updates on openings and closures as well as how museums are encouraged to keep up with their audiences. Though a permanent solution isn’t found to the situation or even COVID-19 for that matter, I have found that the need to keep moving forward is not just surviving, but living. This resource created by AAM might be the catalyst for museums to evolve into online forms successfully; that would be joyful news in difficult times. I have saved this link to a web page saver, Wayback Machine, so it can be accessed at any time even if the page is removed or recreated. Thanks for reading!
• 
  2020-10-22

  Extending Telework Email

  When this email was sent out to faculty and staff, we had been working from home for about three weeks. Several members in my department were struggling with navigating technology off campus, and our workflow was a little out of sync. One major change for staff was not having access to two computer screens and adjusting to using laptops as well as extra steps used to access the necessary programs off campus. Some duties simply could not be preformed remotely, things like printing labels, processing books, DVDs, and CDs. However, working from home allowed time to tackle other long-term projects that had been placed on the backburner. Things like updating eBook links, adding terms that allow for items to be easily searched for, and staff had opportunities to attend webinars that aligned with changes libraries across the globe were adapting due to COVID.