Items

• 
  10/19/2020

  Rosie Bryant Oral History, 2020/10/19

• 
  12/09/2020

  Chontay Littlewolf Oral History, 2020/11/22

  Chontay Littlewolf was raised in the Chippewa Valley in Wisconsin; she currently resides in Fargo, North Dakota. In this interview Chontay shares her experience living in North Dakota during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as her experience as an essential worker at Starbucks during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chontay gives her perspective on how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted her communities which include her friends, family, neighbors, and Native American tribe (Ho-Chunk Nation). Chontay also discusses her thoughts on how the Covid-19 pandemic could have been handled better by everyone, ranging from individuals to governmental leaders. Chontay reflects on mental health, physical health, the economy, media and the actions of the government in this interview.
• 
  05/18/2020

  Stanton Webster Oral History, 2020/05/18

  An oral history interview with Stanton Webster who discusses his background opening a distillery in Knoxville, Tennessee before the pandemic. He discusses how his business reacted to the COVID-19 Pandemic and his efforts to keep employees paid while finding new revenue streams. In this business-focused interview he also illustrated how a small group of local business banded together to navigate the pandemic and government funding pitfalls. He also discusses family life and changing roles in the home.
• 
  2020-10-01

  Marcellus Morris, Community Organizer and Diversion Counselor

  Marcellus Morris is a community organizer and diversion counselor in Hempstead, NY. Through Reign 4 Life and other initiatives, he works with at-risk youth toward
• 
  2022-04-28

  What Musk's free-speech Twitter could unleash

  This is a news story from Axios by Ina Fried. This is about the ramifications that could happen with Elon Musk's Twitter buyout. The author is worried about both election and COVID misinformation becoming more common on Twitter again. Other things added to this list include: sharing of manipulated media, impersonating others, increase of spam content, hateful conduct, and forms of violence being allowed.
• 
  11/09/2020

  Zion Smith Oral History, 2020/10/18

  C19OH
• 
  2021-01-24

  COVID-19 Vaccination Is Free For All Indonesians

  Straight from the Indonesian COVID-19 website, it was published on December 19, 2020 that citizens would be given the vaccination for free and without any conditions. This goes for people who do and do not have health insurance. Since the vaccines hadn’t arrived yet at the date of publication, they also emphasized and encouraged that everyone should continue taking precautions (i.e. wearing masks, washing hands with soap). In addition to this publication, Indonesian news source Kompas reported similarly the day prior. President Joko Widodo (through a representative) confirmed that the vaccine would be free for all Indonesian citizens. The Jakarta Post had also confirmed this information. These articles were personally translated.
• 
  2020-09-11

  Prisons and Jails Are Rolling Back Free Phone Calls

  When Covid-19 hit the US many things shutdown including the nation's prisons. Of course they kept taking in people for incarceration but they no longer allowed visitors. This made connection to the outside world through phone calls even more important. What many people don't know is that each phone call an incarcerated person makes costs money, a lot of money. In the beginning of the pandemic many jails and prisons offered free phone calls, in the case they were even allowing phone calls (that's another story) but as the pandemic has continued for nearly eight months phone calls are no longer free or reduced cost. This is an undue burden on a population that is facing high unemployment.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Buy a Corona, Get a Free Toilet Paper Roll

  The photos show the antinomy of what the media said people should do (not go out, quarantine) vs what people actually did (go out, pictures were taken at a bar). It highlights the irresponsibility but also the humor found in the middle of uncertainty. This was taken in a bar that had a very special, special- Buy a Corona, get a free toilet paper roll. At this time toilet paper was hard to find in stores, and in this point in time, I needed it. People also were not buying Corona beer because they believed it was related to the COVID pandemic. Please note that after this night, I did quarantine and realized how serious the situation was. I do not reccomed going out during a pandemic.
• 
  2020-06-24

  Toronto wants to offer free hotel rooms to people with COVID-19 who can’t isolate at home

  "Toronto officials want to be able to offer free hotel rooms to people contagious with COVID-19 but unable to isolate in their own crowded homes." "Toronto virus hotspots include low-income areas where many people live in crowded circumstances and don’t have room at home to self-isolate."
• 
  2020-05-21

  "DELAWARE NATION TAKING EXTRA PRECAUTIONS WITH FREE COVID-19 ANTIBODY TESTING FOR TRIBAL OFFICE AND CASINO EMPLOYEES"

  "Due to the public health concerns of COVID-19, Delaware Nation is taking the necessary precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees who serve our casino patrons. Inside the Administration on Aging building within the Delaware Nation tribal complex, free antibody tests were voluntarily given to casino and tribal employees since the casinos and tribal offices are near reopening."
• 2025-01-30

  Tourism Story for the COVID-19 Archive - Question

  An answer to the question posed by Arizona State University's HST 643 class asking where I would travel and why. If I could travel anywhere, I would visit my mother's home village of Lamasquère in Southern France. It is a small village about twenty kilometers southwest of Toulouse, where my mother spent most of her childhood and early adulthood. My mother does not have fond memories of Lamasquère and her family, but I would like to visit at least once. The last time I traveled to Europe or anywhere far from where I live was in 2017 to visit my grandparents for a second time before they eventually passed away. In Lamasquère, I would see my mother's family house (if still standing) and the cemetery where her ancestors rest. Since the village is rather small, I would also visit nearby Toulouse and take photos of my trip (nature, architecture, interesting things, etc.). I don't have a social media presence and don't document my life in a journal.
• 2023-01-22

  COVID Restrictions and Visiting Mom.

  My mother has special needs and since 2014, lived in a townhome with three roommates, facilitated by Penn Foundation, a behavioral healthcare provider. I lived only 10 minutes away, and once a week I would visit her on my days off. I would bring fast food or pizza and we would watch movies together in her room. When the pandemic began, Penn Foundation - like most other healthcare facilities - imposed tight restrictions for the safety of those under their care. As a result, I was unable to visit my mother for half a year, and after restrictions were loosened, our visits were relegated to sitting on her front porch eating and talking. Due to a deterioration in her condition, she was moved to a nursing facility. We never got to have another movie day. The pandemic had changed the way I visit my mother forever.
• 
  05/03/2021

  Kyle Sauley Oral History, 2021/05/03

• 
  11/24/2020

  Amy Burgoyne Oral History, 2020/11/24

  C19OH
• 
  11/20/2020

  John Verdon Oral History, 2020/11/20

  John Verdon was born and raised in Lansing, Iowa. After attending college, John had a long and successful teaching career at Waverly Shell-Rock High School in Waverly, Iowa. John Verdon is currently retired and resides in the town where he was born and raised. In this interview, John Verdon illustrates how COVID-19 affected his life, his family, his friends, and the small midwestern community he lives in. He discusses the rising number of COVID cases raging across the United States, leadership response to the pandemic, how individuals that he knows responded to the virus, and what impact COVID-19 has on our future.
• 
  2020-05-18

  Don’t Let COVID-19 Halt a Well-Child Visit

  A blog post from Banner Health discussing the importance of well-child visits, even during COVID restrictions.
• 
  2020-04-25

  Story of my isolation

  Isolation in Russia
• 
  08/17/2020

  Carol Knauff and Catherine Allgor Oral History, 2020/07/31

• 
  05/12/2021

  Roxanne Kirby Oral History, 2021/05/12

  C19OH
• 
  2021-02-21

  Living through COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of a young 75 year old

  Never thought I’d live through a quasi twilight experience in my life time. From being totally free to roam around to try my hand at different social, educational, and faith filled interactions to staying home, sheltering, social distancing, sanitizing, and using technology for daily living within one year was a marathon of changes. I’ve lived an exciting and challenging 75 years. There have been many twists and turns in my life which is what makes me think is the reason for my young can do spirit. The Covid 19 experience is yet another one of those twists that I never imagined. In a matter of weeks our country was practically shut down. The challenge of not being sure who to believe regarding the pandemic was disconcerting. I had just lost my husband and went from living in a beautiful neighborhood, El Dorado Hills, with lots of friends and a wonderful husband at my side who could always help me keep things in perspective. I sold my house and went to live with my daughter in Sacramento. My daughter, Monica, was so generous and tried to make me feel at home and never complained about my “intrusion”. Then when things were getting a tiny bit better for me, Covid rears its ugly head. The news media reported how the Covid pandemic started. But wait, then the news reported the way it started was not the way it was reported. No one knew the best way to protect anyone. It was new and devastating. People were getting the virus from mild to severe symptoms. Many people were in need of respirators and many died regardless. Conspiracy theories were popping up. With all of this confusion people were getting more and more angry. Watching, hearing, or reading about the events around our country were discouraging. Protests and riots were happening. My immediate neighborhood was never in danger of rioters but the down town area in Sacramento was affected. Were we ever going to heal as a nation? Would we be able to trust again? What could I do about anything? I kept my eyes and ears open to whatever I could do to improve our situation. I could no longer visit the elderly in the rest homes by bringing them spiritual comfort and friendship. The rest homes were one of the first hardest hit with Covid. I used to take Holy Communion once a week and would try to make conversation with the patients. It was good for them but it was also good for me to be in a position to bring a little joy into their boring lives. Service to others is a value I cherish. A friend of mine said she started to help making the mandated masks that we are to wear whenever we go outside. It was a great opportunity to help others, keep myself busy, and feel I was contributing to fellow man. The Sacramento Face Mask Project gave me the opportunity to serve again. A group of people donated the materials. Other groups cut the material to standard sizes, while another group delivered and picked up the finished masks. I was able to sew about 200 masks (see pictures). I never met with a person to show me how to sew the masks so I looked on line (something new to me) and figured out how to fold, sew, and press the masks. These masks were put into plastic bags, left outside my door, and picked up by another person. That person would also leave me another supply of materials to make more masks. The finished masks were given at no cost to organizations like the Veterans Administration and other institutions. Our project ended early January since masks are now available for purchase almost everywhere. Wearing face masks is essential but so is hand sanitizing, and social distancing. As a practicing Catholic I went to Mass every day. We social distanced, 6 feet apart, sanitized as we walked into the church building and signed in so that if there were someone infected we could be informed to quarantine ourselves or even get tested. The governor of California eventually closed all churches. We eventually opened for a small limited number of persons in the church building together with the protocol of social distancing, sanitation, mask wearing, and signing in. Opening up for indoor Mass or services again was prohibited. A federal mandate was given in January so places of worship are now able to resume as long as the protocols are followed and a certain percentage of the capacity is enforced. To live my faith and receiving Holy Communion on a daily basis is a privilege I hold dear. It does for my soul what food does for my body. Going to church is important to me but so is being part of a community. Zoom enters my world. I resolved to be “techy”, learn more about how to use technology. It was a steep learning curve but I approached it valiantly. My daughter, granddaughters, and other family members help me navigate the web. The trick for me was to “just do it”. I experiment and did not give up pushing buttons, or keys. Zoom is now a part of my life. I meet with friends and relatives about five times a week through Zoom, Duo, telephone conferencing, internet, email, messaging. I do most of my bill paying by phone or internet. I buy products and gifts through Amazon. Almost all business is conducted by phone or internet. If I don’t know how to do it I just “do it” by calling the company or by asking my daughter, son, or friends how to do it. They walk me through it and it gets done. It’s not always easy or smooth. Scheduling a Covid 19 Vaccination was a long process. After the first targeted group, first responders, was met the next tier was the 75+ yr olds. I’m obviously in that category. Kaiser Permanently got their share of vaccines but not enough. I called several times but they were no longer taking appointments until they got another batch of vaccines. “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” seemed to be the message. I tried two counties and other hospitals that were providing the vaccines. I couldn’t get an appointment for different reasons. Finally my doctor gave me the link to be able to sign up for an appointment. I am one of the people who welcomes the vaccine but there are those who are not comfortable with the vaccine and oppose it. Respecting differences is something I think we are learning to do or at least realizing that it must remain optional. Flexibility of mind is as important as elasticity is for the body if we want to stay young. Greatly limiting our family interaction is heartbreaking. Visiting, hugging, and just hanging out together whenever we want is almost impossible without great risks. Our holiday gatherings and birthday celebrations are kept very small or non existent. Not being able to see our elderly and/or sick family and friends is very sad for all of us. I’ve always been a part of my three eldest granddaughter’s lives. They range from 8-17. I have not been able to visit my fourth granddaughter who is now two years old. She doesn’t know me except through video and Duo phone calls. I am almost a stranger to my youngest granddaughter. I have the hope that after I get vaccinated and our situation improves I can fly safely to visit her in Idaho. We never stop growing. Things are not just black and white. Finding the truth or the best solution for a community takes flexibility. We hear each other. We work together. We take chances. We risk. We admit our failings but we don’t give up. It’s never too late to improve. This world wide pandemic experience has allowed many of us to discoverer our priorities. There are so many aspects in our lives that have been affected by the pandemic that it would take books to describe how deep and wide this affects us all. My immediate surroundings that I’ve described here in this little essay is not all that has affected me. I have friends in other countries that have even less ability to help themselves. I am connected to them. I grieve for them and for us, but I won’t give up.
• 
  04/11/2020

  Talitha Brandel-Black Oral History, 2020/04/11

• 
  2020-05-16

  Last Class Announcement PSC100

  Hi, Rebels. Thank you for your hard work these past five weeks. I have my grades inputted, and I will submit them to UNLV in 24 hours. I am here if you have any questions. I also have some announcements that I think may interest you: Contribute to the Covid-19 Archive: A favor – if your KNPR paper dealt with coronavirus, would you please upload it to the Covid-19 Archive? I encourage you to upload other things that relate to you as a person and Las Vegas. Do you have pictures of an empty Las Vegas? Have you been journaling about how much this sucks? Have you made art inspired by the pandemic? I'm part of a project trying to collect these stories. I encourage you to upload a bit of your life. Tag anything class related with #psc100 and #unlv. I'd like you to include the tag #mlphelps in anything you upload to trace your activity to me. (Don't worry if you do it wrong, real people will review and fix your entry) Please upload your KNPR paper/journal/picture/poem/art/anger here: https://covid19.omeka.net/contribution COVID-19 Testing: Testing for coronavirus is available and free. You do not have to have symptoms or health insurance to get tested. Visit UNLV Medicine's COVID-19 Triage Questionnaire website, Text ''covid'' to 702-744-9722, or call 702-583-4408. I tried out the website before sending it out, and it seems pretty easy. Political Science Club: In Fall 2020, the department of political science will be sponsoring a student-led and student-created Political Science Club. We are now gathering interested members. This club will exist to provide a community for our majors and friends. Anyone is welcome. Join here: https://groups.google.com/a/unlv.edu/forum/#!forum/political-science-club In closing, I offer my sincerest congratulations to our graduating seniors. Look at how far you've come and how much you've overcome! The world is dark and hard, but we've trained you to be a rebel. Be the light. Congratulations again. Phelps #mlphelps
• 
  12/14/2021

  Anonymous Oral History, 2021/12/14

  Anonymous is a person who, in his senior year of university, was hit by covid. Anonymous goes into detail on what went wrong with the pandemic, how new sources are at the biggest fault, and how it affected his personal life when looking for a job, and interacting with family and friends who both do, and do not want to be vaccinated, and self-isolating with many precautions despite Wisconsin having very few mandates.
• 
  2022-05-09

  Brett Reinert Oral History, 2022/05/09

  Brett Reinert is from Springdale, Arkansas. He works at a toner company as a deliverer. He delivers copier toner for a small business in Northwest, Arkansas. Brett talks about his home state of Arkansas and how the state government reacts differently to the pandemic. Brett and his family take the pandemic very seriously and made sure that his two grandmothers are not exposed to it. Brett also talked about his observation of the changes around him as many restaurants in the state started to require a proof of vaccination to eat in. And the changes with the requirement of masks felt weird to him. Although there were changes, he has seen what the pandemic brought to his life and the people around him, he hopes that people will take the pandemic seriously if we experience another one in the future
• 
  05/12/2020

  Kasie Meyers Oral History, 2020/05/12

  Interview with Kasie Meyers by Jack Halls. In this interview, Kasie Meyers discusses how COVID has impacted her role as a nurse and the changes she and her colleagues face. She also discusses her journey as a student and how covid has impacted her studies, she touches on her role as a mother and the difficulties that have been heightened because of the pandemic. She expresses how her relationships with friends and family have changed and also discusses her view on the government and its handling of the pandemic.
• 
  2021-03-14

  Alex Smith Oral History, 2021/03/14

  Self-description: “I’m an artist, writer, musician, and an off-and-on again activist, lecturer, worshopshop leader. I’m coming out of Philadelphia. My work revolves around concepts relating to Afrofuturism; for lack of a better term: superheroes and the conceptual nature of superheroes and the idea of the vigilante and the people’s champions and heroes can walk among us. I use [aesthetics and the immersive ideas of] from science fiction, cyberpunk, solarpunk, biopunk, and Afrofurturism to empower people of color, queer people and to project us into the future and our ideas and culture into the future as well. I use different mediums to do that, my bands Solarized (a sort of noisy punk rock band) and Rainbow Crimes (indie rock, but a little crazier and noisier than many excursions into that). I have written a short story collection called ARKDUST. And I do collage work and soundscapes and curate events like Laser Life, which was a queer sci-fi reading that me and my friends in a collective that I’m in called Metropolarity put together. That’s my praxis right now: a little bit of everything. I view my work as if I’m creating for 18 or 19 or 20 year old Alex, who probably needed some queer Black sci-fi in his life. So, I’m projecting these aspects of myself back to the past to not just nourish my community, but to nourish myself.” Personal website: alexoteric.com Other biographical details: Vegetarian, experiences depression, Pew Center for the Arts Fellow, during COVID is the first time in his life he’s had Health Insurance. Some of our discussion touched on: Using art to project hope and remaining hopeful during the pandemic. Afrofuturism as a part of the fabric of activism, how it is imbedded in culture and impacts queer and POC culture. How Afrofuturism exceeds an “aesthetic revival” of representation of Black people in the future and the kind of work that needs to be done to ensure those futures. Deciding to cancel a show he was organizing in the early days of the pandemic to protect the presenters and audience members. The everydayness of people dying because they don’t have healthcare access or can’t afford medicine* outside of the times of COVID-19; racism, sexism, and transphobia in the healthcare system.Corporate interests and their influence on policy. The unreasonable imperative that artists take the pandemic as an opportunity for productivity when many are out of work. It is hard to make art without fuel and without food. Witnesses barriers in the healthcare while caring for his partner after a stroke 5 years ago, the importance of medical bureaucratic literacy in a “Kafka-esque system”. Excitement about getting the vaccine. The pandemic in geopolitical context. Isolation in practice: Safety precautions and research prior to traveling for a funeral. Hope for “science married with activism”. Scholars in the humanities and social sciences need to be more visible, speak in lay person’s terms, do advocacy, and get in the streets. “Nothing is safe unless it empowers.” Other cultural references: Netflix, Zombie Movies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Black Panther, Teenage Bounty Hunter, Elon Musk, GoFundMe. A specific reference is made to the need for his sister’s sickle cell anemia medicine in this interview. She dies a few months later. The GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/memorial-fund-for-elizabeth-graham?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer
• 
  04/30/2020

  Matthew Schneider Oral History, 2020/04/30

  This interview was completed for a class project at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. The project was to contribute to a COVID-19 database while also working on a university database to show the importance of rapid response collection. The class was a research methods course called History 486 taught by Dr. Cheryl Jimenez Frei.
• 
  2020-04-02

  Article re: blue shop towels for masks - Scituate, MA

  Business Insider article describing discovery that blue shop towels provide significantly better filtering as liners inside masks
• 
  2021-11-29

  Pat and Caleb Linder Oral History, 2021/11/29

  Pat Linder and Caleb Linder are father and son from Ellsworth, Wisconsin. They both are employees of McGough Construction. In this interview, Pat and Caleb discuss how Covid-19 has affected their lives at work, at home, and in their community. They talk about their experiences working in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the George Floyd protests as well as Covid-19 has affected the hospital in which one of them currently works and the changes they need to make because of the pandemic. They discuss their feeling and thoughts on the vaccine, how the media portrays the pandemic, and what they do to stay safe while living through the Covid-19 pandemic.
• 
  2023-03-30

  Dancing In The Face Of Uncertainty

  My family and I were shown immense grace as the world endured the heart wrenching sorrow of the COVID-19 pandemic. May those whose lives were stolen by the coronavirus live forever in memory, and rest in eternal peace. At the onset of my second Freshman semester, the chatter among friends included ignorant musings such as: "what would happen if we got it?”, and my favorite, “the virus would NEVER come to the island.” Before Costco lines evoked Walmart on Black Friday, and up-to-the-minute death tolls became the linchpin of our media diet, the Bayonne Bridge signified a seemingly impenetrable chasm safeguarding Staten Island from a quarantined cruise ship in February 2020; because obviously airborne particles don’t pay tolls, right? A strange sense of wonder and excitement overtook the CSI campus on March 11, 2020: the day Gov. Cuomo announced CUNY & SUNY schools would “pause” in-person instruction. I'll never forget hearing the announcement on radio before walking to class for the last time until September 20, 2021. As I drove down Loop Road, a group of students (presumably upperclassman) cheered while blasting music on the Great Lawn. If those students truly were upperclassman, their dancing in the face of uncertainty would spite the commencement celebration they would never receive. I suspect a webpage and some pre-recorded speeches is an inutile stand-in for sitting among thousands of graduates on that very lawn. In tandem with devastation, panic, and uncertainty, the pandemic thrust society into a hard reset. So much of life is spent planning, yearning, and working towards the future - all of which are meaningless novelties to a hellacious virus. To survive the pandemic, besides evading COVID by way of masks, social distancing, and grace from above, each of us had to sift the remnants of our livelihoods to make out what our “new” present would look like. I thrived through the pandemic with music blasting, self-reflection, and a sense of liberation. Family bonds grew stronger, passion projects were completed, and for the first time in a decade, my life felt tranquil. I am repulsed by the fact that while millions took their final breath, businesses shuttered for good, and anxiety tormented the world, I found inner peace reminiscent of my childhood summers. Eerily, I vividly recall sitting in the basement of 2N during a 8am Geology class wishing for, “all this crap to end”, and lamenting, “why didn’t I go to SNHU or some college online?” I guess someone got their wish, and dragged humanity down with him. My father was the only non-essential worker in the house; he didn’t get that fancy paper from the state which supposedly let you free if cops pulled you over. We spent the first full day of lockdown scouring local stores for the coveted (and effective) N95 masks. At a time when the CDC told people to not wear masks so medical professionals had supplies, we were on a mission to guarantee we had protection for the long haul. My family recognized that the “pause” would not be a 1 to 2 month patty cake. My father was adamant his Window Cleaning & Power Washing business would collapse from the indefinite closures of his commercial clients. Our first purchase was the last 3-pack of Milwaukee N95s with those gaudy exterior respirators from homespun Garber’s Hardware. The ever-jovial gentlemen behind the counter adamantly said something to the effect of, “we’re gonna be here ’till they tell us to shut them doors.” 3 masks wouldn’t cut it, so we continued down the way to ye olde Sherwin Williams; where the employee had no suspicion we needed a 20-count box of 3M's finest for anything other than some recreational spray painting. Mask wearing wasn’t en vogue just yet. Those masks were needed when my Uncle could not get out of bed at 1:30pm the following Saturday. He worked the night prior, Friday the 13th, at his second job as a bouncer in Manhattan. On Saturdays he would saunter out of bed by 10:45 the latest; but here he was: frozen in bed, voice hoarse, and coughing like a smoker. I threw on the 95 and nitrile gloves just to speak to him from the hallway. That day was also the first time I ventured out in full biohazard regalia. I still remember the condescending scowls at my neighborhood’s second rate deli counter. The treatment advice the CDC hotline provided was to load up on Extra Strength Tylenol and guzzle water like there was no tomorrow. Thankfully my Uncle did see tomorrow and recovered in about 5 days. While my Dad and I kept our distance as my mother tended to the patient, we realized there must be a fruitful pastime besides burying our eyes in CNN coverage all day. My father, perpetually seeking the next project, came to the realization that, in plain english: we needed a pool table. When I was 6 years old, my father built a pool table out of wood when he was working for a contracting firm that operated in what is now Brooklyn’s Industry City. At 9 feet It conveniently sat atop our giant dinning room table. It was a gorgeous deep blue with every authentic accoutrement short of nicotine-reeking cloth. The table lasted about 8 months until my mom wanted her dining room back, fair enough. For a long time that table felt like a fever dream. After the it departure it was seldom mentioned; the balls and commemorative Coca-Cola cuestick sat dormant in the far reaches of our old home. The biggest hurdle to this project was space. The only feasible location was the unfurnished room in the back of our basement. The room experienced iterations as a screen-print emulsion lab, woodshop, actual chocolate factory, punching bag area, and video recording studio. After countless YouTube tutorials, including a Filipino gentleman building an unleveled table where all balls rolled to one side, we ventured to Lowe’s “Indoor Lumber Yard” to rekindle the magic of 2007. We sourced only the finest un-warped 2x4s and the purest synthetic wood crafted by the hands of man: Unfinished MDF Board. The 97 inch composite wouldn't fit down the basement stairwell, so we asked the one employee not running from us to cut it down the middle. Our makeshift table now presented two unique considerations: first, the board had to be precisely glued back together, and second, did you know commercial lumber dimensions are several inches off the actual product size? And in case you were not aware, “real” pool tables are made of slate. Breaking ground on March 19th, we used our decommissioned 20-year-old kitchen table as legs for our new creation. The board’s overhang allowed pockets to sit freely (no ball return system needed). On the days I had online class, my father intended to go downstairs “for about an hour” in the morning, before getting stuck in a jam by lunch, and working until dinner. I would assist in between classes, and when I was free, we’d get caught up in the room for hours on end. With Music Choice and MTV Classic the soundtrack of our toil, my Dad and I measured “tournament standard” dimensions - only to be slightly off, argued about what the heck a 142 degree cut really is, and savored the aromatics of wood glue and contact cement. The room was coated in sawdust, with scrap wood scattered neatly about. I was finally involved in my dad’s carpentry prowess after years of staring at his convoluted tools. Have you heard a Mitter saw in action? The grinding of the spiraling blades drown your ears with the screams of a motorcycle whizzing through a tunnel. I’d wince in fear that the time would come when the blade’s “SHING” would be followed by an agonized scream. My dad made mention of how woodshop teachers were always missing an appendage. He even shared horror stories like the time the blade guard failed to engage on a circular saw, skid free, peeled the side of his boot, cut through floor tiles, and sputtered wildly until it sliced the power cord. When I did schoolwork upstairs while listening to SiriusXM (another pandemic coping tool) I regularly heard my dad belt obscenities en español louder than both of our blaring radios. The table was declared playable at 8pm on Monday March 30th. I know this because the music on tv tuned to a channel recording CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE (I DVR’d many movies during lockdown). The table is not 100% complete, and has some quirks which challenge you to be a better player. We practiced and played on that table at least an hour a day everyday until in-person classes began to cloud my schedule. Under lockdown, my family spent days and nights hanging out in the backyard, barbecuing and laughing loudly, before we capped the night with rounds of pool. In homage to the California Spring Break shelved by the obvious, I burned a best of California Hip-Hop Mix CD to play on our old stereo that found new life in the pool room. As New York overcame the epicenter phase, the laid back qualities of spring carried into the summer and fall. Everyday felt like a celebration of life. People were out in parks and open spaces, roads were traffic free, and in my case, I was able to hold the people I love closer. I wish everyone could have experienced the “new normal” as I did - with their own sense of peace. Don’t get me wrong, I have loved ones who no longer walk this earth because of the pandemic, and myself and my entire family experienced onset and lingering side effects from both the vaccine and the coronavirus. I do not think I would have survived contracting COVID as I did in May 2022 if I was not vaccinated. I look back at my lockdown experience so fondly because I choose to focus on the joyous moments in the midst of global tragedy. Perspective is key. Perhaps I was forsaken the “true college experience”. I know for sure I was afraid of COVID. I only stoped wearing my N95s after having them for 12 hours straight while coughing phlegm from the virus. I feel a sense of sorrow and shame when people tell me the lockdown screwed them mentally; regardless of whether or not they lost someone. But what did I get out of the pandemic? A furnished room, an unbroken streak of Straight A’s, an endless summer with those close to me - and at what cost? I’m still the same shoddy pool player after three years of practice. What the lockdown gave me, more than anything, was the one thing that is unequivocally fleeting in this life: time. Maybe in hindsight, those revelers on the Great Lawn had the right idea.
• 
  2022-04-11

  COVID-19 Testing

  This is an Instagram post by medrite_springfieldnj. This is a PSA welcoming people to get free COVID testing. It says that no appointments necessary and walk-ins are welcome. Since the start of the pandemic, rapid testing and PCR tests have become more available and free of charge in many places. The reason many of these are free is due to state and federal governments subsidizing the costs of the tests, in addition to people volunteering to help them get done.
• 
  2020-08-28

  A flier advertising free Covid-19 shots in Sacramento.

  This event offered Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson vaccines, free Uber rides and Spanish and Hmong interpreters. The event was sponsored by the NCNW Sacramento Valley Section and La Familia Counseling Center.
• 
  04/25/2021

  Lou Fraise Oral History, 2021/04/25

  Dr. Lewis Fraise details his service as a geriatric doctor during the Korean War and Vietnam War. He mentions his service in both Washington D.C. and Korea and continues to break down how the Coronavirus actually infects one's body and the response of the government as the pandemic ensued. Dr. Fraise criticizes the actions of Donald Trump and states that the spread of more medically-accurate information would have led to a better outcome in terms of the early stages of the pandemic.
• 
  10/06/2020

  Sa'Ra Skipper Oral History, 2020/10/06

• 
  2020-12-03

  [GoTo」自粛キャンセル　13日までに申告で無料(2020年12月3日) - Cancellation of self-restraint of "Go To" Free of charge by declaration by 13th (December 3, 2020)

  In order to reduce the risk of elders, Tokyo Governor is asking elders to cancel their trip and will make canceling fee free. However, like I have said in previous stories, Japan can never enforce rules on citizens. It has to be “we would like you to do it”. I doubt a lot of elders will cancel because using Go To travel allows traveling fee to be reduced, and some would definitely think that it's a waste to not use the government’s money. 東京都は高齢者たちが自粛の呼び掛けに応じて「GoToトラベル」の旅行を取りやめる場合、13日までに申し出ればキャンセル料は無料になると明らかにしました。 　東京都は65歳以上の高齢者や基礎疾患を持つ人たちを対象に「GoToトラベル」の東京発着の旅行を17日まで自粛するよう呼び掛けるとしています。キャンセル料などに関する政府から都への回答によりますと、17日までに出発する旅行については13日までに申し出ればキャンセル料はかかりません。一方、キャンセルされた事業者に対しては解約された旅行代金の35％を国が負担するということです。また、小池都知事は1日に菅総理と会談した際、高齢者らへの「GoToトラベル」の利用自粛の呼び掛けについて、全国規模で行うことを検討するよう求めていたことも明らかにしました。 　その東京都では2日に新たに500人の感染が確認され、重症の患者は59人になりました。また、都は50代から90代の男女5人が死亡したことも発表しました。このうち4人は高血圧などの基礎疾患があったということです。 The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced that if elderly people cancel their "Go To Travel" trip, the cancellation fee will be free if they apply by the 13th. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is calling on elderly people aged 65 and over and people with underlying illnesses to refrain from traveling to and from Tokyo on "Go To Travel" until the 17th. According to the government's response to the city regarding cancellation fees, there is no cancellation fee if you apply by the 13th for trips departing by the 17th. On the other hand, the government will bear 35% of the canceled travel fee for the canceled business operator. In addition, when Governor Koike met with Prime Minister Suga on the 1st, he said that he had requested that elderly people consider refraining from using "GoTo Travel" on a nationwide scale. In Tokyo, 500 new infections were confirmed on the 2nd, and the number of patients with severe symptoms became 59. The city also announced that five men and women in their 50s and 90s had died. Four of them had underlying illnesses such as high blood pressure. Video translated by Youngbin Noh
• 
  2020-12-13

  無料コロナ検査に行列→有料クリニックが人気に　NY(2020年12月3日) - Procession for free corona inspection → Paid clinic becomes popular NY (December 3, 2020)

  新型コロナウイルスの感染が再び拡大しているアメリカ・ニューヨーク州では、検査の行列を避けたい人たちの間で有料のクリニックへの注目が高まっています。 　検査を受けに来た女性：「多くの具合が悪い人と一緒に行列に並ぶリスクを避けたい。（簡易テストの費用が）250ドルはすごく高いけど、皆、早く結果が知りたいし、賢いビジネスだと思う」 　新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大が続くなか、ニューヨーク市内では無料の検査を受けるまで数時間、外で待つ場合もあり、行列を避けたい人たちの間で有料のクリニックへの注目が高まっています。ニューヨーク州では2日、前日に確認された新規感染者が8973人に上り、4月24日以来、最多となりました。クリスマスや年末に向けて感染者のさらなる増加が懸念され、クオモ知事は多くの市民に検査を受けるよう改めて呼び掛けています。ニューヨーク州では検査が無料のため、その数は一日で最大約22万件に上っていて、病院には大勢の人が詰め掛けています。 In New York, USA, where the infection with the new coronavirus is spreading again, there is increasing attention to paid clinics among those who want to avoid the inspection line. Woman coming to the test: "I want to avoid the risk of waiting in line with many sick people. (The cost of a quick test) is very high, but everyone wants to know the results quickly and is smart. I think it's a good business.” As the infection of the new coronavirus continues to spread, in New York City, it may take several hours to wait outside for a free test, so people who want to avoid lines are paying more attention to paid clinics. In New York State, the number of newly infected people confirmed the day before was 8973 on the 2nd, the highest number since April 24th. Concerned about a further increase in infected people towards Christmas and the end of the year, Governor Cuomo is calling on many citizens to be tested again. With free tests in New York, the number can reach up to about 220,000 a day, and hospitals are packed with people. Video Translated by Youngbin Noh
• 
  2020-11-17

  Campus Offers Free COVID-19 Testing

  In preparation for the holiday break, St. Mary's University is now offering its community free COVID-19 testing on campus. The test is a self-performed saliva test and it yields results within 36 to 48 hours. Located in front of the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center, it is in a central campus location and easily accessible.
• 
  10/17/2022

  Sachiko Mortia-Mulaney Oral History, 2020/10/17

  This is an Oral History interview with University of Cincinnati student Sachiko Morita-Mullaney. Sachiko discusses her experience as a student at the University of Cincinnati. She brings up her identity as a Japanese-American woman and how that has affected her personally during the pandemic due to anti-Asian racism. She also talks about her small online business, and the different ways her and her family’s employment have been affected by Covid-19. Sachiko, a Political Science major at the University of Cincinnati, is very informed about the government’s response to Covid-19. She shares her opinions about healthcare in the United States and how racism and classism have affected the United States’ response to the coronavirus. Finally, we talked about the future and the quality of the US response to the coronavirus.
• 2020-04

  Missing out on important Life Experiences, stuck at home.

  When my high school, Hamilton High, postponed the return of school for a few weeks due to the rising COVID-19 cases here in the United States, I wasn't all too bummed about missing an extra few weeks of school. I didn't consider how deadly the virus would be, how many lives it would take, and how many life experiences it would steal from me; all I knew was that I got to be at home doing whatever I wanted for an extra few weeks. I thought I was free, free from my usual life obligations, free from stress, free from all the problems the average teenager goes through. Little did I know that that was the start of mine, and many others, living purgatory. As the days passed by, seeing the cases rising and the deaths rising left me contemplating about how short life really is, what was I doing with my life, was I living my life to the fullest. I realized that any day I could wake up, not knowing it would be the last day of my life. Not only that, but as the return date to school pushed further and further back until finally, they announced that the rest of the school year would be canceled. That means that I would not have a traditional graduation, nor would I be able to attend prom. With COVID cases on the rise seemingly every week, I realized that most college campuses would be either closed or highly limited, and with a pandemic ongoing there wouldn't be much of a chance for social interaction, or going to classes in person, or really just living the college experience. I feel like I was deprived closure from high school, and my first year of college wouldn’t be the fun freshman college experience that most other people have. Fortunately, my friends and family have been safe from the virus, which I am very grateful for. However, I still can't help but feel slightly sorry for myself and other teenagers who are missing out on their freshman experience.
• 
  2001-03-02

  what I have done with all the free time the virus gave me

  My document talks about what I have done with all the free time the virus gave me
• 
  2020-08-10

  San Francisco Announces All Phone Calls From County Jails Are Now Free

  San Francisco has stepped out to lead the nation in criminal justice reform by cutting the cost of phone calls and commissary items from its jails. They cite the change as especially necessary during the Covid pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Free Time

  Since I had a lot of free time with the lockdown, I cooked more and made lots of food and desserts. I made pies, cakes, and cookies. This is important to me because during the pandemic it is something that I did will my time and enjoyed.
• 
  2020-06-17

  Dear Black Graduates: Life Advice from Your Neighbors

  Everyday Boston video featuring advice from Black community members in Boston, giving advice and motivation to recent graduates during the pandemic Video caption: Our love/strength letter to Black graduates of BPS and beyond, featuring congrats and life advice from older members of the Black community in Boston.
• 
  05/15/2020

  Julie West Oral History, 2020/05/15

  This is an Oral History interview with Julie West by interviewer Anjelica Oswald from May 15, 2020. Julie West speaks about being physical ed teacher, being a city council member, changes in her day to day life, and running a non-profit organization charity. This interview was recorded as part of The Covid 19 Oral History Project, a project of the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute associated with The Journal of a Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive.
• 
  2020-06-26

  Judge Orders ICE To Free Detained Immigrant Children Because Of COVID-19

  Excerpt from article: Citing the unrelenting spread of the coronavirus, a federal judge has ordered that all children currently held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for more than 20 days must be released by July 17.
• 
  03/26/2020

  Little Free Library

  In response to worries about shopping and access to food/paper goods, the Middlebury Little Free Library, which normally holds books, was switched over to a Little Free Pantry, where people could donate or pick up grocery staples.
• 
  04/19/2020

  Loeb Classical Library - Harvard University Press International

  In light of the Pandemic the Harvard University Press decided to allow Schools and Institutions access to the Loeb Classical Library for free, Yay! This is very useful for people whose institutions apply; people studying classics who cannot access libraries are able to instead use E-Books. Yet there are some interesting elements regarding this. Firstly it is restricted to Schools and Institutions who contact the Harvard university, which means that people doing independent research during this time cannot do it, while I can understand the reasoning behind it, I also feel as though there is a certain elitism; students and members of institutions are able to access these resources while people who may want to while they are in quarantine and isolation are unable; now is the time when have the least money to spend and the most time to fill, yet unless they are part of an institution given by permission they cannot read these classical texts. The second more interesting part of this is disconnect between the quote by Horace that they led the tweet with "May I have a goodly supply of books and food to last the year" and the limitations that they set on the free-period. The Harvard University Press decided to have it last 2 months; while I do not think that should be criticized for opening their library for free, I also find amusement in the 10 month gap between Horace and the policy - they could have found a better quote.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Land of the Free, Home of the Protestors

  On April 27th, groups of protestors congregated on the main public square in the City of Orange. This man was one of the earlier ones, coming with a sign on a paper plate that read "Land of the Free." He wore a facemask and kept his distance from everyone else.
• 
  2020-04-20

  Sweet Lorraine's Jazz Club Closed, Free Meals for Musicians, New Orleans, LA

  Animated signage outside of Sweet Lorraine's Jazz Club tells the public they are closed due to the pandemic and offering a free meal to musicians once a week.