Daily Archives: May 13, 2020

Opinion, Slider, Uncategorized

Opening my eyes: A student’s experience in quarantine

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Being required to stay under quarantine has opened my eyes as to everything I took for granted outside of my house. Typically, I strain myself by playing PC games late at night, with friends, until the early morning and then sleep through the day. The concept of day and night is fleeting, as even my younger sister and stepbrother have been staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning.

The grim feeling of obedience to stay inside has me craving the outdoors. Any kind of change involving usually despised exercise, would bring hope to the idea that quarantine is soon over and that I can see my friends again in real-life. Until then, I need to fight eye strain, find something to occupy myself, and motivate myself to continue with my education.

The most difficult part of this quarantine hasn’t been the strain to stay inside, but the strain to stop neglecting my schoolwork. If I have in-person classes, at least I have a sort of constant reminder every time I go to campus. This wouldn’t be an issue if my PC served as only a work PC, as every time that I log on, I get bombarded with messages from eager friends, awaiting the next day’s worth of video games.

Just the other day, I had several friends ask to play at once. There was a new update for “Battlefront II”. My friend who is currently deployed in Japan just got sent on a week’s leave due the pandemic and I had my daily crew of online friends (friends who also, unfortunately, have been neglecting schoolwork) that I always play with.

The virus also has me toying with many more creative ways to occupy my time. Several friends and I have looked into the creation of a YouTube channel.

I myself have been speaking more commonly with my online friends from Europe, as I have no reason to be awake too early or too late. They have gotten me more into plastic modelling and doing more research about history. Just the other week, I looked through the entire Norwegian archives regarding Infantry during Operation Weserübung, over 10,000 individual photos, last week. It caused so much eye strain that I had to turn my computer to night mode during just the daytime so that I could view even more. I still have over 30,000 images to look through, they will all likely take me a week each, so I will most likely get them done after the semester is over.

My hunt through the Norwegian archives was however, triggered by unfortunate circumstances; a friend of over 4 years recently broke things off with me due to an argument about historical accuracy. It got really heated and we got into a massive fight that wound up with him cutting me off completely from his life, and a bit of the New England Reenactment community. This was an event I saw coming, as we typically would have confrontations such as this one. I think that COVID-19 has brought the bad side out in a great many of us, but the good side in many others as well.

My parents and stepparent are all currently working, with two of them considered essential, my mother, a child psychiatric counselor, and my father, a lineman working for Verizon. I am very grateful that they are all able to still work from home or in-person and provide a place of shelter for myself and the rest of my family.

My mother has been beyond careful to make sure that herself and the apartment are as clean as possible, especially after returning from work, where there is currently a breakout of the virus among staff on the other side of the hospital.

Whatever this quarantine results with, and whenever it ends are both irrelevant to me. I just simply want it to end and I want to go back to normal life. I want to go back outside, go for a bike ride, or just longboard at night again with my life-long friend. I want to resume my education without any online constraints, and to not live in fear with either of my parents bringing home the virus to me and the rest of my family, as they continue to make society operate as it should. If there are any lessons for me to learn, they involve thankfulness to my family, an increase in work ethic for myself, a higher appreciation for the outdoors, and the many skills that I have re-learned.

Opinion, Slider

Tips for coping with anxiety

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These troubling times have taken a toll on our mental health. Being forced to be home hasn’t been easy for anybody, but it is exceptionally hard for those with disorders. It feels like things aren’t ever going to clear up but trust me, somewhere down the line there will be better days.  
As a person with a disorder I understand how easy it is to get stuck on things we can’t control, but if we take it one day at a time, we can overcome it. These thoughts come and go but the only way through is through.  
These are the ways that I work through anxiety: 
  
1. Breathing exercises: 
If you feel yourself dissociating from reality close your eyes and breathe slowly.  As you’re breathing in, touch your fingertips and count to three. Repeat this exercise until you feel better. 
 
2. Go on a nature walk or a drive: 
Social distancing does not mean you can’t go outside and enjoy the fresh air. Sometimes all your mind and body needs is some air and vitamin D. Go put on your headphones and enjoy the little joys that we have in life. However, remember to observe the six feet and mask rules. 
  
3. Exercise: 
Working out is a very efficient way to work through anxiety, depression...etc. Luckily, there are many workout challenges online (thanks to YouTube) that can be done right at home. There are many ways to work out whether it’s riding a bike, dancing, Zumba and the list goes on. Get that cardio in today! 
  
4. Drink tea: 
Tea is proven to bring anxiety levels down. So, whenever you feel your heartbeat thumping, head to the kitchen and start boiling the water! This is my favorite one because I get to try all sorts of tea, but the one that seems to do its justice with me is Chai. 
  
5. Reach out: 
Sometimes all we have to do is speak to those we love. If that is not possible then reaching out to teachers and people who care about us in general can be a big help. As corny as it is, “High School Musical” was right, “We’re all in this Together”. 
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NECC students aren’t waiting around: Innovative services flourish during pandemic

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On March 24 at 12 p.m. Gov. Charlie Baker asked the whole state of Massachusetts to stay at home and not go out in public unless absolutely necessary.

Massachusetts residents, along with almost the entire United States, have been advised to stay at home for over a month, and wait till COVID-19 starts to slow down.  

“Waiting around really isn’t an option for me. My first job is temporarily closed, but I still needed money for weekly and monthly expenses,” said NECC student Cole St. Jean via Zoom interview.  “So I really had no choice, but to immediately start looking for another job at the worst time.  Luckily, I discovered an app called Instacart, and I’ve been working for them ever since.”  
Instacart is a grocery pick-up and delivery service that is used across the United States and Canada.  Employees receive a shopping list of items from the customer through the app.  Then they pick up the items from the grocery store and deliver them to the customer’s address.  The employees then receive payment and any tips through the app. Prior to the pandemic, Instacart was already a successful company that was slowly gaining traction throughout the United States and Canada.   
Another company that has experience an increase in consumer demand is DoorDash. DoorDash provides customers the ability to order and have takeout delivered to their address by an employee from company partnered restaurants via the DoorDash app.   
Companies like Instacart, DoorDash and video conferencing services like Zoom, have seen their success skyrocket due to the on-going pandemic.  
“Most of the people staying home, have really been trying to leave the house as least as possible.  But when they do leave the house it’s usually to run essential errands or get takeout or go to the grocery store.  With delivery service apps like DoorDash and Instacart, people can just safely order and receive their groceries and meals, while helping to lower the total amount of people going out in public,” said NECC student and DoorDash employee, Noah Beaulieau via Zoom interview. 
Another essential worker is NECC student Emily Costa, who works as a fry-cook at the 99 Restaurant, in Haverhill, Mass.  
 “I think these delivery services are a really good thing, because you’re keeping restaurants open, while also keeping the customers safe with contactless delivery,” said Costa via Zoom interview. 

The on-going COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of challenges and obstacles, but it has also brought opportunity for NECC students as well as for most of the country. 

It has given people more time to spend with their families, allowed for more time to focus on schoolwork, brought even more time for passions and hobbies, and for some essential workers, even some time to focus on their jobs.  As long as we stay positive and make the best of our situation, we will keep thriving and soon enough be back to enjoying normal life.  

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Education behind the screen: Students reflect on remote learning

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As quarantine continues and the world seems to be on pause,  education also continues.
Although students are no longer allowed to physically attend schools until the upcoming fall or possibly longer, students are still required to do online schooling, assignments are posted on websites such as Blackboard, Google Classroom, and video calls are made on Zoom. 
Some students are completely fine with the current change and have adjusted well while others are struggling to stay focused.
As a student who is used to attending public school, Naima Bogran, 14, upcoming Hunking graduate had some opinions about online school.
“It has been stressful and weird that I’m alone when I’m doing school work. Zoom hasn’t helped, I’ve been on one Zoom call and we didn’t even talk about school work,” she said.
Bogran also mentioned how a Zoom call with teachers doing a lesson while posting less assignments would be an improvement.
Apart from the education students are missing out on milestone ceremonies and events such as prom, graduations and annual trips. Bogran says “I am very annoyed and upset everything got cancelled. I didn’t even get to go on any field trips or say goodbye to my friends and now we are all going to separate high schools. There would be no point for them to do any graduation virtually because it would be sad.”
As students are learning to process this unexpected turn of events educators are also facing some struggles as well.
Professor Lisette Espinoza who teaches English Comp 102 at Northern Essex Community College, shared some of her experiences during this quarantine.  She mentioned how difficult it has been to adjust not only for her but for her students knowing how important face to face learning is, while online learning has limitations.
She communicates with her students on many platforms whether it be through Zoom, email, call or text. “I try not to be strict during this time because we’re all humans and adapting, as teachers we should be motivating our students and accepting their flaws and learn to be patient,” she said. 
Espinoza also talked about how important structure is and how she tries to provide that during her teaching while still
being flexible to the needs of her students.
Opinion

Staying safe and healthy during the virus crisis

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It is a difficult time for everybody. 
With the world seemingly gone to fire overnight and many states in the country still on mandatory stay at home order, there seems to be a barrage of complicated and often conflicting information, about what to do to keep both you and your family safe during this time of uncertainty.
If only there was a place where all the important safety protocols were listed out, oh wait you are reading it. 
First and foremost the best thing you can do, unless you’re an essential worker; Stay at home! It is said time and time again on the news and in every important article you will read. 
The best way to slow the infection rate it is simply, to give the virus less people to infect.  According to the world health organization (WHO) this virus seems to be so infectious, because it can live up to 14 days on a sterile surface, instead of the average 2 days from an illness like the flu or pneumonia. 
This is why the stay at home order is both so important and seems to be so long.  It’s made that way for a reason. 
What about when you have to go out?  The WHO has an answer for this too. The two best things you can do is to social distance, and wear a mask. 
Wearing a mask is mostly meant to help protect others. One of the biggest ways this virus can spread is when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes, this allows the virus to spread through the air.  However.  If you wear a mask, it will trap the microbes that allow the virus to spread, and decrease the infection rate.
What will protect you is social distancing,  and it’s as easy as staying a minimum of six feet apart from people when you see them,  and to only go out for necessities like shopping for food, water, and toiletries.  Ok so, you are social distancing, you say, and you only go out for the most important things. 
Well you’re already doing a better job than many people! 
Remember knowledge is power, so the best way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe is to educate yourself about this virus.  The WHO says that this virus most severely affects infants, the elderly, and people with underlying respiratory ailments. 
And although you might not have any of those,  you are still at risk, and you will be putting others at risk if you aren’t being safe. 
For the NECC community it has been hard to switch to online learning, however the switch is only temporary, and it is necessary for the safety of you and your loved ones.  Just remember, this is not a permanent change to life, and eventually though it may take months or even years to get back to complete normalcy  don’t lose hope because we will defeat COVID-19.  And life will go on.
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Students share how COVID-19 has changed their lives

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2020 has already been quite a year. Many disasters have happened along the way, and most importantly this COVID-19 pandemic.
No one expected this, especially at this large of a scale. As a Northern Essex student not only has my academic life been affected greatly but my personal life as well. My mother has lost her job temporarily, but as a necessary worker at Market Basket,  me and my sister still have to go to work, which worries my family greatly, especially since a family member has passed due to COVID-19.
Life as an online student has also been very difficult to maintain, and being able to focus on work without an actual classroom has been difficult. And a full house with younger siblings poses as a big distraction.
Many students seem to be facing the same problems such as Nishel Hernandez, 19, Biology major, “My mom is a nurse and we are worried that she will get sick and all of us have to be careful getting home from work. It is very difficult to stay away from your family members who still work because of the quarantine, we are all cooped in one home.”
As an essential worker Hernandez works at Bj’s and faces many difficulties when it comes to customers as well, “ Well at work a lot of people are scared to come near me and don’t want me touching their things…it’s been extremely busy where many of us have been working 12 hour shifts.”
 While some may be bored at home, many employees who are currently working during this pandemic are very stressed and worried.
Beyond the workspace as a student Ilianaa Serumaga 18, General Individualization major, also finds it difficult to stay motivated, as she rather be in a real class room setting.
However she says she felt as if it hasn’t had the biggest impact on her life. “Personally I don’t think the virus is affecting me seriously but going to work has changed. When you come in you have to be buzzed in, they take your temperature and give you masks to wear.”
Her mother is in the health field and takes social distancing very seriously to avoid getting sick because she would be in jeopardy of losing her job. Her father has now been working from home and due to her brother working in the restaurant business he is currently not employed. As far as online school is going she too has felt overwhelmed as she noticed the increase in workload and has found doing school work difficult to complete at home. 
Editorial

Graduating in a pandemic

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Another spring, another slew of college graduations.

It’s a tale as old as time itself. Except this year, it’s different. There will be no gathering with our peers, throwing our hats in air, and then celebrating together afterwards.

Instead most of us will be tuning into a “virtual’ graduation on our computers; that is if most people even bother with it. But that’s just how it is to be graduating amid a pandemic.

Seniors this year aren’t going to be afforded the celebration that those that walked before them enjoyed. Instead they will be under a metaphorical house arrest when we should be walking across the stage.

They will get their diploma in the mail, instead of handed to them by their dean.

They will be drinking alone, instead of one last time at the local bars they enjoyed with their friends as upperclassmen. There will always be a hole in their life experiences where their college graduation should’ve been.

To add insult to injury, seniors are also graduating and matriculating to what likely will be a recession economy due to the Coronavirus.

Graduating students that join the job market during a recession make less than peers that graduate and join a more favorable job market for 10-15 years, according to a study conducted by Stanford.

SO not only will graduates of 2020 be robbed of a precious memory, they will also likely be screwed because of this pandemic for the next decade or so.

High school seniors are also being derived an opportunity to celebrate a 12 year journey that a lot have been together on the entire time. Not all of them will go on to attend college as well.

But at least for some of them they will have a chance to finally walk across a stage to receive a diploma.

The people that are trying to do something to soothe the pain felt by graduating seniors are former president and former first lady, Barack and Michelle Obama. The Obamas are to give a virtual commencement for the entire country on May 16 at 8 P.M., according to Time Magazine. This was a nice gesture by Obama, whose speeches serve as a cup of ice water on the scorched jumbled speech we have grown accustomed to hearing from the current Commander-in-Chief.

Yet, it doesn’t stop one from feeling disappointed with how the end of this school year turned out for everyone.

From the bottom of my heart, to anyone graduating this year I am sorry for how this turned for you. Better times are ahead. Hopefully.

Editorial

Pandemic robs student athletes of a season

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Almost all of the college sports seasons were either suspended, if they were already in play, or cancelled, if they had yet to start, by mid March.

This had many far-reaching implications on many people, academic institutions, and corporations that relied on these sports for either entertainment or revenue.

Many estimate that Vegas casinos and other avenues of gambling lost over 100$ million dollars with the cancelation of the Men’s basketball tournament, also known as ‘March Madness’, which was consistently one of the biggest gambling events of the year.

The event’s cancellation could be a huge blow to a legal sports gambling industry still in its infancy. Many schools that do not field a football, or at least a division 1 FBS football team, relied on revenues from their more popular winter and spring sports to support sports that don’t generate as much revenue, or may even be operating in the red.

This may cause some schools to trim down some of their smallers sports or cut them out altogether. This would have a drastic effect on the faculty employed in those sports, as well as the athletes that compete and have scholarships for those sports. More on the latter of these two later though. Many sports stations and streaming services that had secured the rights to broadcast these sports are losing out on millions, if not billions, collectively.

The aforementioned march madness tournament is one the biggest television events of the year while also spanning several weeks. It brought both revenue and ad money that just can’t be replaced with anything else, especially with professional sports being on a hiatus too.

Despite all these hardships that have been previously mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, they only touch upon lightly the people that I feel for the most: the Student-Athletes that were robbed of a season. Right away eligibility issues arise. The NCAA, the body that governs most collegiate sports in America, is notorious for making boneheaded decisions of which the logic that guided them there is unclear. To give them credit though, they did decide that all spring athletes would be able to be given an extra season of eligibility to make up for this lost season. But some athletes might not be able to take advantage of this.

For one, they may have already had jobs lined up for the upcoming year upon graduating. Also, not all athletes are on scholarship. Many of them are ‘walk-ons’ people who do not receive financial rewards for their athletic contributions.

For this group it doesn’t make financial sense to stay another year on their own bill. All of this isn’t to mention the winter sports athletes that were robbed of the ending of their season. Imagine being a senior. You know your next few games are all do-or-die games.

Everytime you step foot on the court, it could be the last time you’re doing it competitively.

You hyped yourself, knowing that from here on out you’re going to give it your all and…. That last game just never comes. That must be devastating, as most of these student athletes are not being granted an extra year of eligibility.

To all the student-athletes of the winter and spring sports, you have my sincerest condolences. I am truly sorry that this pandemic robbed what little precious time most of you have left to compete in the sports you all respectively love. It doesn’t compare to the people who are dying, but it really is a tragedy in and of itself.

News

Pulitzer Prizes announced

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This year’s 104th Pulitzer Prizes announcement, which has honored excellence in journalism and the arts since 1917, was initially scheduled for April before being postponed until May 4 and delivered virtually.

In the past the announcement has come in late April and since 1984 Pulitzer winners have received their prizes from the president of Columbia University at a luncheon in May in the Low Library but because of the ongoing pandemic Dana Canedy, administrator of the prizes, gave the announcement via livestream on the Pulitzer Prize website.

According to pulitzer.org, the event has been live-streamed on the Pulitzer site since 2015, but because of Coronavirus the livestream this year will hold much more significance.

“It goes without saying that today we announce the Pulitzer winners in deeply trying times,” said Canedy streaming from her living room. “Ironically, the first time the prizes were presented was June 1917, less than a year before the 1918 outbreak of the Spanish Flu pandemic. In difficult times the Pulitzers may be more important than ever.”

Among this years’ prizes was a first in the new category for “Audio Reporting” which honors “audio journalism that serves the public interest, characterized by revelatory reporting and illuminating storytelling,” according to pulitzer.org. The first winner in the category was the staff of NPR’s “This American Life” along with Molly O’Toole of the LA Times and Emily Green freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd” on the Trump Administrations “Remain in Mexico” policy.

Another winner this year was Barry Blitt, contributor to the New Yorker for his cartoons depicting policies and personalities in Trump’s White House. And these prizes have been awarded only a few short days after Trump took to Twitter to declare “Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters be stripped of their “Noble” prizes for critical reporting about him,” according to nydailynews.com.

Trump called for journalists to return their Pulitzers, which he called “Noble” prizes, misspelling the Nobel Peace Prize and confusing two of the world’s most prominent awards. “He later claimed that he intentionally used the word “Noble” to emphasize how improper it was for the journalists to be honored,” as he seeming tried to explain away an apparent gaffe as a less than stellar play on words, according to nydailynews.com.

“Despite relentless assaults on objective truth, coordinated efforts to undermine our nation’s free press and persistent economic headwinds, journalists continue to pursue and deliver essential facts and truths to keep us safe and protect our democracy….One thing we know for sure is that journalism never stops,” said Canedy.

Among other winners this year for journalism are Anchorage Daily News for Public Service, staff of The Courier-Journal for Breaking News Reporting, Brian Rosenthal of The New York Times for Investigative Reporting, staff of The Washington Post for Explanatory Reporting and staff of The Baltimore Sun for Local Reporting among many others.

 

 

 

Campus Life, Home Page Featured News, Home Page News Bytes

Parenting through a pandemic: NECC offers support group to caregivers

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As any community college, Northern Essex has its fair share of students with diverse needs and various non-school commitments. Now, thanks to a new student interest group, busy moms and caregivers will have a place to unwind on campus every Thursday, (when the campus was open from 12:30-1:30 p.m. on the Lawrence campus in room L144.).

Now that the campus is closed the group has moved to using Zoom meetings to connect.

At the head of this group is Susan Redditt who’s an intern from the Salem State Masters in Social Work Program working with Janel D’Agata Lynch, the coordinator of civic engagement, service learning and community resources.

Redditt said she got the idea for the group from Stephanie Haskell, student life coordinator. Redditt is a non-traditional student and like the other members of the group, she has two children, ages 21 and 26.

By her side is Marlenne Astacio, from Lawrence, a public health major. Astacio is a mother of a two year old. Along with raising her child and being a student, Astacio is working an internship with the civic engagement, service learning, and community resources department.

Susan Benoit, from Lawrence, a sleep technologist major, is another co-facilitator of the group and also a mom to a 3 year old.

In the first three weeks of the group’s meetings the goal was to create a space where students that are also moms or caregivers can go to relax, vent, and share parenting stories. According to the members, the group serves as a place where they can share pertinent information that helps them understand their children better. During one meeting the group discussed routines and rituals and how they can help create a balanced sleep schedule for them and their young ones.

The moms discussed the difficulties of trying to be a “perfect” parent and how that’s especially difficult when you’re a new mom without prior experience. One mom said, “You don’t have training, you just [parent] and hope for the best!”

Members are also encouraged to give presentations, like one mom’s presentation on Feb. 27 on bruxism, or teeth grinding, in children. She took the opportunity to educate the fellow moms about the prevalence of this issue and also to vent about how she loses sleep due to it.

The group also offers “real food” supplied by Redditt. There are options available besides just chips and snacks, a luxury for busy moms that also attend college, as they don’t always get the opportunity to feed themselves, according to the group.

In the future, the group wants to continue to be a safe space where moms and caregivers can meet with fellow students that face the same challenges as them. They want to eventually have the group meet two times a week and, if they can, they’d like to be able to provide child care during the meeting times. The group also makes time for self care for the moms, during one meeting they applied face masks for a “spa day.”

In the face of COVID-19 the members have moved to an online platform of support using Zoom meetings to connect and talk about the fears of parenting during a pandemic. Members say they appreciate having the extra time to spend with their children at home but they’re also afraid to bring their children outside.

Another member got support from the group in the new challenge of supplying their child’s therapy with only virtual help from their therapist.

For more information, contact Susan Redditt at sredditt@necc.mass.edu.