Observer Department: News

Speechapalooza 2021: Coming to a screen near you

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Northern Essex Community College’s 7th annual Speechapalooza event will be held virtually for the second year in a row due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It will be held over a span of three days, April 30, May 1, and May 2 on YouTube @ https://youtu.be/3x4ccIZPVJk. Speechapalooza was created in…

Students react to NH’s mask mandate being lifted, NECC officials share school’s plans for fall

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As of April 15, New Hampshire no longer mandates that residents wear masks in public places. While the state has lifted the mandate, NH Governor Chris Sununu said he still encourages people to wear a mask. “A state mandate does not have to be in place for us to know…

PACE progam hosts virtual registraton event

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The most unforgettable and exciting time of the year is here, the start of  the Summer and Fall registration at NECC. The PACE Program held a virtual event for advance registration on April 5, online via Zoom meeting, Program staff were there, available to help students chose classes. Staff met…

The new normal: How remote learning is impacting students’ well-being

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A year into the coronavirus pandemic many individuals are still facing significant struggles.  The pandemic has had a huge impact on the way college students learn, forcing them to transition from a traditional in-person learning style to a virtual method of learning through a computer screen with limited interaction.  …

Coping with quarantine: Students try to persevere despite pandemic

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, “Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming, and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as social distancing, are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but they can make us feel isolated and lonely…

Navigating nursing home woes: How a vulnerable population is affected by the coronavirus pandemic 

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Many families with members in nursing homes have been severely impacted by the pandemic.   “The impact the pandemic has had on residents in the nursing homes that suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia has been great,” says Laura Tanguay of Lowell, Massachusetts.   Tanguay worries a lot about the state of her 88-year-old dad that she has not been able to take out of the nursing…

Does it hurt? A local pharmacist’s vaccine experience

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“The shot itself doesn’t hurt,” Hunter Gouldthorpe said. “What’ll really knock you out is what comes after.”   Gouldthorpe has been working as a pharmacist at the Salisbury, Mass. branch of CVS pharmacy for two years.   Though the high paced work environment is often a source of stress, his position came with an…

COVID curveball: The pros and cons of learning online

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Life changed abruptly for students and faculty members when the Covid-19 pandemic hit last March.   With cases rising around the country, this prompted the precautionary decision for all schools, from kindergarten to college, to go virtual. By mid-March, most school campuses were closed and had transitioned to online classes…

COVID-19 has torn apart the fabric of trade schools, where online learning fails as a substitute

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The teachers and students at trade and technical high schools have been suffering over the past year due to COVID-19 and the implementation of online learning.   Trade schools like Whittier Technical High School and Essex Agricultural High School have been at the tail end of the changes brought on…

Survey shows students coping with a year of isolation, loneliness

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The pandemic has caused a mass amount of change in a small amount of time. Some people may refer to the pandemic as unprecedented. The group that the pandemic has had the largest effect on is students. Kids went from seeing their teacher and friends everyday face to face to…