Items

• 
  March 13, 2020

  unbeknownst emptiness

  I worked/attended CUNY Hunter College during the start of the pandemic. On March 13, 2020, we were informed that we would not be returning to work until further notice, and I believe that a majority of late-night classes/activities were cancelled. As a result, my friend/coworker and I walked around the near-empty campus. We ended up sneaking into an empty lecture hall, ate some snacks, and chatted about the future. I took a photo of our feet up on the seats as a sort of fun memento, to show how crazy it looked to see ourselves amongst the empty hall, and when a coworker asked where we are, we sent them that. The photo meant almost nothing at the time and was just a casual photo I took amongst many in my every day. Looking back now, it holds nostalgia as well as dread. I think the emptiness shows what was to come, and how terrifying it would be, and just how impactful the pandemic was on our lives. I have not stepped foot in Hunter since then, so that was truly my last time being in that school. It makes me sad and makes me think what the future would have held had these events not happened.
• 
  March 13, 2020

  Life After COVID-19

  A comic poking fun at the ‘social distancing’ aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The image is shown comparing self-isolation with a family of cave people discussing what times were like before COVID-19. In dark times such as this pandemic, the little things that make people smile are always worth it. Political cartoons and comics allow for not only distribution of information, but also a chance to stop worrying and have a laugh instead.
• 
  March 13, 2020

  Journal of a Plague Semester

  On March 13, 2020, at 3:55PM, Catherine O'Donnell asked the question that generated Journal of a Plague Year. Within 5 minutes, Mark Tebeau & Richard Amesbury replied, and we were on zoom within 10 minutes. Within the next hour, Mark Tebeau had registered with Omeka.net and implemented the first iteration of Journal of a Plague Year, using Omeka Classic via the hosted Omeka site (at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media.). Even though we all recognized the importance of the moment, the title reveals how ephemeral she thought it might be.
• 
  March 13, 2020

  Military Changes

  During this time of social distancing and restraint of large gatherings, my brother was graduating from Army Basic Training. I, along with my parents and many other family members, made the trip from Dickson, Tennessee to Fort Benning Georgia. We went to watch his graduation ceremony and spend the few days he was allowed leave with him. However, the night before we were to leave we received word that the ceremony was cancelled and we wouldn’t be allowed to see our soldier as of that time. After hours of waiting to see what might change we finally were notified that the ceremony was still canceled but we were allowed to see our soldier and bring him off base. After traveling down to Fort Benning we got to watch his ceremony on our laptops and were then allowed to go pick up our soldier. We spent the remaining day catching up and doing as much as we could in as little as possible. Finally the end of the night came and we were headed back to our hotel when my brother got a a call that said he had to go back to base. Furious but helpless we had no choice but to bring him back. Once again because of the coronavirus precautions, and President Trump declaring the virus a pandemic that day, we had no clue when we might see him again. The next morning we got our final notification that we could go on base and spend the day with our soldier but he wasn’t allowed to leave and it would be his last chance to see us. We then went on base and spent what little time with him we could. That night we said our goodbyes and started home. My brother is now somewhere in the middle of the woods with the rest of his platoon in isolation. We have had little communication with him but he said that they will be spending five days in the woods, going back to the barracks for a shower, and right back into the woods for five more days. His base is now on lockdown and no civilians are allowed to enter. After this whole mess and scramble to see my brother I’m just happy we got to spend what little time with him we did.