20 10 239 https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/files/original/256a8ccbf7ee663de0d3d892111b529d.pdf dfe5c930c99cf1c20eda54cead86d828 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rutgers Responds Subject The topic of the resource Rutgers University responses to the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, beginning in March 2020 Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Audrey Truschke Description An account of the resource This archive collects some key moments in the responses of Rutgers University, especially the Rutgers administration, to the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 through Fall 2020. This has been a period of unprecedented austerity measures from Rutgers, prioritizing the wealthy and advantaged while laying off hundreds of the most vulnerable of the Rutgers community. Rutgers has faced criticism for its decisions from many corners, including from its own faculty and students, many of whom argue that the administration's approach to the pandemic is heartless, lacking in leadership, and inappropriate for a state university that is supposed to prioritize education. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Rutgers to lay off all writing adjunct professors in 2021 Bob Makin Bridgewater Courier News President Jonathan Holloway called for a new way forward on labor-management negotiations during his first address to the Rutgers University Senate on Friday, the same day the writing department on the New Brunswick campus announced the lay off all adjunct professors. While Holloway said he has made it clear to his senior management team to approach negotiations from the standpoint of collaboration, near full state appropriations recently granted have not compensated for a significant drop in revenue lost to the pandemic, according to the university. “Although the restoration of the proposed cut to the state appropriation is helpful, our fiscal situation is still dire with the dramatic loss of tuition, housing, dining and other revenues,” university spokesperson Dory Devlin said. David Letwin, center, of the Part-Time Lecturers Faculty Council-AAUP-AFT spoke at the March4RLivesRJobsRSchools through downtown New Brunswick on Saturday in opposition of the forthcoming layoffs of 100 more adjunct professors at Rutgers University. Throughout the spring, the university also lost significant revenue from stalled scientific research and canceled elective medical procedures, according to financial records. As a result, most university staff members have been furloughed monthly since July. Since April, the university also has cut about 1,000 jobs, including more than 300 adjuncts across its three campuses. David Winters, vice president of PTLFC-AAUP-AFT Local 6324, the Rutgers union representing about a third of the university's 3,000 part-time lecturers, said Holloway addressing collaborative labor negotiations the same day 100 more layoffs were announced was not surprising. “Holloway appears to be acting consistently with his history as provost at Northwestern, where he was part of the core strategic group that fought successfully against an adjunct organizing drive by SEIU local 73 in Chicago,” Winters said. On Saturday, several hundred Rutgers faculty, staff, students, and other community members participated in a protest of the layoffs and several other issues for which the university recently has come under fire. At a rally that preceded a march, David Letwin of the Part-Time Lecturers Faculty Council-AAUP-AFT said, “The administration decided to throw out of work as many as 100 dedicated, underpaid, vulnerable teaching faculty who are carrying out the core mission of this university under extraordinary circumstances at a time when finding similar employment is nearly impossible. And PTLs are not the only ones facing this situation. Other vulnerable Rutgers employees, often of color, have already lost their jobs.” “President Holloway is this how you treat what you have called your ‘beloved community?’” Letwin continued. “We are angered, but we are not surprised. This summary termination reflects the administration’s top-down, you-are-disposable, we-are-all-powerful, and we-can-do-what-we-want-when-we-want-to-anyone-we-want-without-any-consequences attitude.” March4RLivesRJobsRSchools through downtown New Brunswick also aimed to reduce university tuition and fees, stand for racial equity, stand for climate justice, settle all union contracts, and save Lincoln Annex School. The elementary school of predominantly Latino students is slated for demolition soon to make way for an $805 million expansion for the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey that includes a tax-free replacement school on Jersey Avenue. Despite the protests, Holloway does deliver hope, members of the university community said. In his senate address, he also said, “Any negotiator who is driven by a desire to win is not paying attention to the fact that we are all on the same team. In my conversations with labor leaders, I have said the same thing: we need to find ways to work together.” Email: bmakin@gannettnj.com Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper article Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rutgers to lay off all writing adjunct professors in 2021 Subject The topic of the resource Rutgers-New Brunswick to lay off all writing adjunct professors in 2021 Description An account of the resource Newspaper article about the announcement that the Rutgers-New Brunswick writing program will lay off 100% of their adjunct professors in Spring 2021 term. Rutgers-NB later pulled back from this decision, under union pressure and perhaps due to practical considerations about who, absent adjuncts, would teach all of these writing classes. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bob Makin Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived my central jersey Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available my central jerseyS Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 29, 2020 Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New Brunswick, New Jersey layoffs New Brunswick Rutgers University https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/files/original/133b57490768d724f8b79f64f8a88e64.pdf a122c2127c640f8d050422eb0abaab3c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rutgers Responds Subject The topic of the resource Rutgers University responses to the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, beginning in March 2020 Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Audrey Truschke Description An account of the resource This archive collects some key moments in the responses of Rutgers University, especially the Rutgers administration, to the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 through Fall 2020. This has been a period of unprecedented austerity measures from Rutgers, prioritizing the wealthy and advantaged while laying off hundreds of the most vulnerable of the Rutgers community. Rutgers has faced criticism for its decisions from many corners, including from its own faculty and students, many of whom argue that the administration's approach to the pandemic is heartless, lacking in leadership, and inappropriate for a state university that is supposed to prioritize education. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 5 Professors Sue Rutgers, Saying It Shortchanges Women on Pay The five women say they are paid tens of thousands of dollars less than men with similar qualifications. The university says it is “committed to pay equity.” “We should know that within our academic community, principles of economic justice will be safeguarded,” said Nancy Wolff, a professor at Rutgers University. She and other women at the school claim they have been paid less than their male counterparts. “We should know that within our academic community, principles of economic justice will be safeguarded,” said Nancy Wolff, a professor at Rutgers University. She and other women at the school claim they have been paid less than their male counterparts.Credit...Bryan Anselm for The New York Times By Jillian Kramer Oct. 15, 2020 Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the faculty of Rutgers Law School in 1963, the same year federal legislation aimed at abolishing wage disparity between women and men became law. But Justice Ginsburg, who was the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and who died last month, was paid much less than her male peers. So, she and other female faculty members mounted a legal challenge against Rutgers, New Jersey’s flagship university, winning a settlement that earned the women substantial raises. More than 50 years later, some women claim they are still being shortchanged. On Wednesday night, in the latest battle over equal pay in higher education, five female tenured professors accused Rutgers in a lawsuit, filed in State Superior Court, of paying them far less than their male counterparts. Two of the plaintiffs are distinguished professors, a title given only to faculty members who have achieved the highest levels of scholarship. One, Nancy Wolff, has published two books and written more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. Another, Judith Storch, has presented at more than 150 research seminars and won multiple awards. And a third, Deepa Kumar, is a world-renowned scholar of Islamophobia and race. All of them say they are paid tens of thousands of dollars a year less than male peers with similar qualifications. “We as professors are working so hard to inspire our students, to expand the knowledge base, and to work with our communities and policymakers to solve social problems,” said Professor Wolff, who teaches public policy, “and we should know that within our academic community, principles of economic justice will be safeguarded.” University officials said that they would not comment on the lawsuit. But the school, in a statement, said it was “committed to pay equity” and was reviewing the way it paid professors but had been hampered by the pandemic. “Creating a new and complex faculty pay equity program that accounts for the variety of disciplines, individual schools, and titles at a university is challenging even in the best of times,” the school said. The complaint comes days after Princeton University agreed to pay more than $1.2 million to women on the faculty after a federal investigation revealed that they were being paid less than male professors. Similar equal pay challenges have been lodged recently against universities across the country, including Northern Michigan University, the University of Arizona and the University of Denver. Professor Kumar, who teaches journalism and media studies, was hired in 2004 along with four white men and women who, at the time, earned about the same — and in some cases, lower — salaries than her. ImageProfessor Deepa Kumar said it was “emotionally draining to keep having to prove that you are equivalent to your white peers and your male peers.” Professor Deepa Kumar said it was “emotionally draining to keep having to prove that you are equivalent to your white peers and your male peers.”Credit...Lauren Justice for The New York Times Over time, they were given bigger raises and today, according to the lawsuit, Professor Kumar earns about $25,000 less than other full professors in her department. She said she had tried repeatedly to negotiate pay raises, but it had been “very difficult and very time consuming.” “It is also emotionally draining to keep having to prove that you are equivalent to your white peers and your male peers only to be told that you are not on grounds that are at best flimsy,” she added. Professor Storch, a distinguished professor of nutritional sciences, said she earned more than $46,000 less on average than all the distinguished professors in biomedical science. “I was stunned when I saw the data,” she said. Donna Ginther, an economist at the University of Kansas who studies wage inequity, says her research shows that the pay disparity between women and men grows as women move up the ranks in academia. “The longer women are in their careers, the more the gap grows,” Dr. Ginther said, “and that suggests something is happening with respect to how their contributions are valued.” At Rutgers, a study commissioned in 2018 by the university’s faculty union showed that when adjusted for rank, women who are tenured earned on average about 2 percent less than men. Because women make up only 30 percent of full professors and 20 percent of distinguished professors, the study also examined pay discrepancies among faculty members of different ranks. When rank was eliminated, women’s pay lagged more than 7 percent on average to men’s salaries, according to the study. As a result of the findings, Rutgers and its faculty last year reached a pay equity agreement that established a formal process to allow any faculty member to request a salary adjustment. Reviews are supposed to be completed within 90 working days and the university must notify applicants of any delay. Professor Storch, citing her pay discrepancy, made her request last Nov. 18. On Aug. 19, she was told that her case was still under review. She said she had not heard anything since. The other four plaintiffs have also filed pay equity requests but have not had their cases resolved, according to the suit. The faculty union formed a committee, in part to help professors concerned about their pay make their cases to the university. Of 81 requests the committee confirms have been submitted to Rutgers, none has been decided. Women made 48 of those requests; men submitted 33. The lawsuit comes amid a pandemic that has ravaged university budgets and caused faculty and staff members to rejigger their work schedules. Some of the plaintiffs in the Rutgers case said the school had blamed the outbreak for its inability to respond to pay equity requests. The university, in its statement, said the challenges in addressing the pay issues were “magnified after having to divert our personnel resources to responding to the immediate issues presented by the Covid crisis, including preserving jobs and benefits after the shutdown was ordered and telecommuting for employees, as well as a variety of health and safety concerns for everyone who works at Rutgers.” Image A study by the Rutgers faculty union found that women faculty members earned on average two percent less than male colleagues with similar credentials. Credit...Bryan Anselm for The New York Times Professor Kumar said she estimated that she would have earned more than $300,000 in additional salary at Rutgers if she had been paid at the same rate as colleagues with similar credentials. Professor Wolff said she would have earned $500,000 more in wages. “What that means is that I have indirectly given a half a million dollar subsidy to the university to pay higher wages to my faculty equivalents, who are primarily white males,” she said. Kim Churches, the chief executive of the nonprofit American Association of University Women, said the issue of pay equity was even more urgent during the outbreak, with studies showing women in academia bearing more household responsibilities than their male peers. “This issue of where we are in higher education is just bursting into public view,” Ms. Churches said. The Rutgers professors challenging the university’s pay structure said they hoped to achieve systemic changes. “When I was asked to join this, I said that the only reason I was willing to do it is because it would advantage people who do not have the job security to do what I am doing,” Professor Wolff said. “And that is exactly why we have tenure: So that when we see wrongdoing, that we can stand up and say that this is not right.” Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5 Professors Sue Rutgers, Saying It Shortchanges Women on Pay Subject The topic of the resource New York Times newspaper article on how 5 female professors have filed suit against Rutgers University, seeking equal pay for women. Description An account of the resource New York Times newspaper article on how 5 female professors have followed in the footsteps of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in suing Rutgers University for equal pay for women. Rutgers is in severe breach of a contract provision by which the administration is required to consider pay adjustments based on equity. The lawsuit also alleges that Rutgers is in violation of New Jersey state law because of pay inequities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jillian Kramer Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available New York Times Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 15, 2020 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource online newspaper article Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New Jersey discrimination equity lawsuit Rutgers sexism University https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/files/original/bc88ede6b4dfe9ce9850fddbdebb1c2d.pdf 9b5c66f4d555f17a78fc4e6e36d535b6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rutgers Responds Subject The topic of the resource Rutgers University responses to the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, beginning in March 2020 Language A language of the resource English Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Audrey Truschke Description An account of the resource This archive collects some key moments in the responses of Rutgers University, especially the Rutgers administration, to the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 through Fall 2020. This has been a period of unprecedented austerity measures from Rutgers, prioritizing the wealthy and advantaged while laying off hundreds of the most vulnerable of the Rutgers community. Rutgers has faced criticism for its decisions from many corners, including from its own faculty and students, many of whom argue that the administration's approach to the pandemic is heartless, lacking in leadership, and inappropriate for a state university that is supposed to prioritize education. Email A resource containing textual messages and binary attachments sent electronically from one person to another or one person to many people. Email Body The main body of the email, including all replied and forwarded text and headers Takeaway: We expect that you will receive an email from Vivian Fernández, Senior Vice President for Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness, telling you that the university will break our union contract and “withhold” the pay increases we fought so hard last year to achieve in our new contract. We’re writing to you today to give you the facts about the salary freeze—and talk about what we, as a union of faculty and grads and part of the Coalition of Rutgers Unions, can do. Dear Audrey, Today is the last day of the Barchi Administration, with faculty and staff salary increases cancelled and grad workers’ raises frozen unilaterally across the university during the most challenging of times. It didn’t have to end this way. For faculty, the cancelling of increases based on merit (up to 10%) will lead to significant income losses over a lifetime of earnings. For grad workers, frozen salaries when other work is not reasonably available is an insult added to the injury of lost research productivity and no guarantees of extended funding. Other staff are losing the first decent wage increases they have seen since the 2008 financial crisis, the last time Rutgers declared a fiscal emergency. Others have been laid off entirely, leaving them without necessary income and health insurance during a pandemic and leaving some of their children without tuition remission they depend on. Many of you may have seen that Rutgers has imposed a furlough program on not-yet-unionized Rutgers employees, known as “non-aligned” employees. The Coalition of Rutgers Unions has been attempting for more than a month now to negotiate a work-sharing program that would have saved the University more than $100 million if enacted in a timely manner while keeping all faculty and staff whole via enhanced unemployment benefits provided by the CARES Act. Rutgers' unilateral action toward nonunion workers is particularly egregious given that the University took too long to act. If they had acted six weeks ago, when we first proposed work-sharing, nonunion workers could have been furloughed during a time when they were fully eligible for CARES Act support. When the CARES Act expires at the end of July, these workers will be lucky to get any additional support. Rutgers said in their communication yesterday that they “have already entered a work-share furlough program with two of our unions, and hope that other unions will follow suit.” The Coalition of Rutgers Unions would like to ask: What has Rutgers been waiting for? Why has it left tens of millions of dollars in CARES Act funding on the table by delaying an agreement with our unions? Why did it refuse to meet with our Coalition collectively to negotiate an agreement after its fiscal emergency declaration, opting instead to have substanceless meetings with 19 unions in 21 days? Why did it waste valuable time attacking some Coalition unions and threatening layoffs, instead of negotiating an agreement that was beneficial to all involved? At a time when the Barchi Administration should have been protecting the most vulnerable among us—grad workers, part-time lecturers, custodians, dining service and other low-wage workers, researchers, health care providers, international students, and scholars—they instead were looking after their own bottom line. When we should have been working together to protect our communities, they were too busy protecting credit ratings and hoarding the rainy-day funds accumulated through our labor and increasing tuition. Not one among us would have faulted President Barchi for expressing compassion and choosing progressive spending to help us all through this pandemic. The State University of New Jersey, which is still the Rutgers moniker, should be at the forefront of progressivism in aiding our communities and our economy. Instead, layoffs, funding cuts, and wage freezes have ruled the final days of this callous administration. The lawyers and accountants who dominate Rutgers management have shown themselves unfit to lead and must go. The “responsibility center management” budget model that punished the Camden campus for admitting and supporting the poorest students of New Jersey must also go. Board of Governors chair Mark Angelson promised at the last governors’ meeting that “a new day is coming.” Let us all hope so. On the last day of the Barchi administration, Rutgers AAUP-AFT has filed grievances against the current management’s inaction on ANY of the 100-plus pay equity cases filed by members dating back to the start of this academic year in September 2019. Not one of us has received a final decision. We do know that Jackson Lewis, a notorious anti-union law firm, is advising the administration on the pay equity program. AAUP-AFT will also be grieving management’s inaction regarding the completion of the merit evaluation process that should have led to a raise for faculty tomorrow. Department Peer Evaluation Committees completed their part, as did Department Chairs, in a timely manner. After that, management told Deans and Chancellors to hold up on making any further decisions on our merit raises. That was two months ago. Management’s defense is that we don’t need to know the amount of the raise if they intend to never pay it! Finally, we are joining with all of our partners in the Coalition of Rutgers Unions in filing separate grievances on the withholding of raises due to our members July 1st. These grievances will go directly to arbitration, and a neutral party will determine if President Barchi and his team were technically justified in withholding the raises. We are all ready for a new day and hope to work with Chairperson Angelson and the new administration to realize a more progressive and equitable Rutgers for our students, our colleagues, and our state. In solidarity, Todd and Becky Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Coalition of Rutgers Unions Todd Wolfson, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT Rebecca Givan, Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT Rutgers AAUP-AFT Facebook page: https://facebook.com/RUaaup/ Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @ruaaup Subject Line The content of the subject line of the email Barchi Regime Ends in Disgrace From The name and email address of the person sending the email Todd and Becky, Rutgers AAUP-AFT aaup@rutgersaaup.org To The name(s) and email address(es) of the person to whom the email was sent Audrey.truschke@gmail.com Number of Attachments The number of attachments to the email Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Barchi Regime Ends in Disgrace Subject The topic of the resource Rutgers AAUP-AFT email on the last day of Robert Barchi's tenure at president of Rutgers University. Description An account of the resource Rutgers AAUP-AFT email on the last day of Robert Barchi's tenure at president of Rutgers University. The email outlines the Barchi administration's steps to deny faculty contract-negotiated raises, lay-off hundreds of workers, and refuse to agree to a union-proposed furlough program that would alleviate pressure on the most vulnerable in the Rutgers community. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Todd Wolfson, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT, Rebecca Givan, Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Audrey Truschke Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 30, 2020 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource email Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New Jersey Barchi finances layoffs Rutgers University https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/files/original/3ac2f626b9ee5ed4b6c5238a3d0b4555.jpg b85a5792532db28fdfe74284ee3ff1db Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Covid-19 Caution Fatigue Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived iStock Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available https://web.musc.edu/about/news-center/2020/07/28/covid-19-caution-fatigue-coping-strategies-cancer-patients Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource First Days of the Pandemic Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Oral history accounts of the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Description An account of the resource Oral history accounts of the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fall 2020 Archiving COVID-19 class, students and instructors Language A language of the resource English Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <div>“The First Days” of a Nurse</div> <div></div> <div><span class="gmail-Apple-tab-span"> </span><em>I interviewed my mother who is a registered nurse at a hospital and a surgery center in New Jersey. Many of the questions I had asked her related to her experiences as a professional nurse, working in a hospital during a crisis. </em><br /><br /></div> <div><em>She discusses the stresses and emotions involved, as well as the difficulty of the world changing around her. Interestingly, she also includes comparisons of the life of healthcare under COVID-19 as well as HIV (which struck when she first became a nurse). Overall, she explained the stress of a changing world, trauma of loss, and the resilience and professionalism of our healthcare workers. </em><br /><br /></div> <div><span class="gmail-Apple-tab-span"> </span>In the early days of the virus, she recalls the fear of COVID-19, and how it came from its mysterious nature (i.e the “unknown”). She talked about the numerous changes that she and her hospital had faced from the rise of the virus. From things as simple as “not carrying a pocketbook to work anymore,” to things of great magnitude like not allowing critically sick patients to see their families. She brought up how wearing masks and gowns were always common, as people who are sick or contagious are common in her operating room. However, the swift and sudden strike of COVID-19 made it extremely stressful on keeping everything together during the first days. <br /><br /></div> <div><span class="gmail-Apple-tab-span"> </span>She also includes her ideas on how the healthcare world functioned well as a community in the face of such danger. It was remarkable to hear how things such as studies and methods were constantly being shared among each other for the sake of handling the virus better. It truly showed the care, resilience and duty that each healthcare worker holds to such a great degree.<br /><br /></div> <div><span class="gmail-Apple-tab-span"> </span>Mrs. Tedesco also compares the “first days” of COVID-19, to the “first days” of HIV. She discusses the commonalities and differences between the two viruses and how a seasoned and novice nurse reacts to such instances. She discusses how the themes of making the patient feel safe and appreciated were just as important and common back then. She also points out the seriousness of HIV, but admits that COVID-19 was increasingly difficult due to it’s “crash-course” nature, and how everything needed to be learned immediately for the sake of many sick people.</div> <div><span class="gmail-Apple-tab-span"> <br /></span>Mrs. Tedesco also refrains from discussing the impact of COVID-19 on herself, specifically. She refrained from admitting what scared her, or what made her uncomfortable. She constantly put her own concerns aside and put all her sympathies towards the people she was tasked with taking care of. Her concerns or the safety and treatment of her patients came before all else. Aidina Wise discusses the use of “war metaphors” and COVID-19. She dislikes the comparison, as war implies the “all bets are off” mentality, while healthcare should involve less ruthlessness of an approach. I find myself disagreeing with her, as this approach is very clear. People like my mother stop at nothing to ensure the proper care for the patients. “All bets were off” in this sense, as all was to be done to take care of sick people. She and her colleagues used this ruthlessness to not give it an inch, no matter the person or situation.<br /><br />It was reassuring to know the care and determination of our healthcare employees. It is understandable that what they go through can never be grasped by the majority of people, including myself. However, it is appreciated nonetheless. Hopefully, future historians will firsthand hear the bravery of these remarkable people. </div> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A nurse's perspective on COVID-19 Subject The topic of the resource The perspective of a nurse during the first days of a declared pandemic (March 10-March 12).  Description An account of the resource The perspective of a nurse during the first days of a declared pandemic (March 10-March 12).  Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alexander Tedesco Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 10th through March 12th, 2020.  Language A language of the resource English Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource First Days of the Pandemic Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Oral history accounts of the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Description An account of the resource Oral history accounts of the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fall 2020 Archiving COVID-19 class, students and instructors Language A language of the resource English Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <em>On October 4, 2020, I interviewed Paula A., my grandmother, about her experiences during the first days of the pandemic, specifically around March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. Paula is a New Jersey resident in her late 70’s. While she was watching the news frequently in early March and following what was happening with the virus, particularly in New York, she assumed that the virus would be kept under control in America. She had believed that we had the best doctors and the most up to date medicine, and therefore was not very concerned with the idea of the virus becoming widespread as it did in other countries. This mentality quickly changed as schools, like Rutgers University, announced that they were going online, as well as churches shutting down.</em><br /><br />     Paula mentioned that the closing of universities and specifically churches, which in her whole lifetime had never been closed, forced her to recognize that Covid-19 was going to be a very serious issue with large impacts. While in the beginning of March she was not worried, anxious, or scared about the coronavirus, by mid-March she was very concerned. Her concern, just like the spread of the virus, progressed very rapidly. She noted that while the public was being told not to worry about things like having to wear a mask at the very beginning of the pandemic, she thought it would a good idea to have some for her and her family. She had heard on tv that there was a shortage of masks for healthcare workers. She was a seamstress and had materials, so she donated them in mid-late March to an organization that made masks for healthcare workers. However, while donating she recognized that it would be a safe, smart decision to have masks, even if homemade. Thus, she started sewing masks for herself and her family. Little did we know that masks would be required in essentially all spaces and environments for months to come.<br /><br />     As soon as Paula became aware of the severity of the pandemic, she became very frustrated and angered by President Trump downplaying it. She continued to watch the news every day, and made distinctions between federal and state responses to the pandemic. She remembered frequently listening to reports early on from the Governors of New Jersey and New York, Governor Murphy and Governor Cuomo, because they followed scientific guidelines put out by the CDC. In comparison, she only watched President Trump on the news when Dr. Fauci was present and would be speaking, because the president totally disregarded those scientific guidelines. Paula understood that this pandemic had a certain sense of urgency, because this virus can affect all groups of people. She recalled the announcements of the covid-19 pandemic and the AIDS/HIV epidemic of the 1980’s. While she felt sympathy for those impacted by the AIDS/HIV epidemic, she considered the covid-19 pandemic more worrisome at first thought because it has the potential to affect every human being, rather than a targeted population. It is this great sense of urgency that angered and frustrated her when she found out that President Trump downplayed the pandemic, and that there continue to be people who refuse to wear masks out in public. She considers these people and President Trump selfish, ignorant of reality, and as having a total disregard for others. <br /><br />     In the months since these first days of the pandemic Paula’s concern has grown, but not necessarily for herself. Paula was even hospitalized in early June, during the pandemic, and was still not as concerned for herself as she was for others like essential and healthcare workers! She had thought that she had coronavirus during this time, as she could not breathe, had pneumonia (a common occurrence for people who contract the virus) and had to be put on oxygen and moved to the ICU unit in the hospital. Despite this, and the fact that she is part of the age group that is more susceptible to the virus, she tested negative several times for the virus and was out of the hospital within a week, which her doctors said was a miracle. While this may seem like it could cause worry and fear for someone, Paula recalls feeling that she was receiving the best care at the hospital and was more worried for those who have to go out and come into contact with others frequently, as this would leave a person more exposed to the virus. <br /><br />     On a personal level, Paula considers herself very fortunate, especially being that she still is able to spend time with her family. She believes the reason she might be less concerned for herself than others is because her family is very cautious, follows social distancing guidelines, wears masks as much as possible, and those in her household are more cautious than she is. On a broader level, she is concerned about the lasting effects of the virus and the future of the country, in terms of the president, our economy, people’s jobs, and the psychological impact of young people in school. She believes it will take years for life to get back to some semblance of normal, but what that normal will be is unknown to both her and others. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Fast Progression to Being Concerned: Oral History Account Interview with Paula A. Subject The topic of the resource An account about my grandmother, Paula A's, first days of the pandemic. Description An account of the resource The interview was conducted over the phone with my grandmother, Paula A, in early October 2020. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nicole Arena Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Paula A. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Nicole Arena Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Interview- early October 2020 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Paula A. gives permission to be interviewed, and for that information to be used on this Omeka website. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Interview Narrative CDC Essential Workers First Days Healthcare Workers homemade hospital Mask New Jersey New York City Rutgers school Trump https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/files/original/182add033140fb8f3cfd2e12e7936528.mp4 9a716a121f2ba72c83e567a24194e5b0 https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/files/original/f07a3d6f3c36ea599eb0ab0ef73b60a0.mp4 ee813dbb488ff74a350b5b7c9dc9ebd6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource First Days of the Pandemic Oral Histories Subject The topic of the resource Oral history accounts of the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Description An account of the resource Oral history accounts of the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fall 2020 Archiving COVID-19 class, students and instructors Language A language of the resource English Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Text Any textual data included in the document Oral History Link http://zoom_0.mp4/ Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Alexander Tedesco Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Mrs. Tedesco Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Account of G.T Subject The topic of the resource The first days experience of an operating room nurse. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alexander Tedesco Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 2020 AIDS First Days healthcare HIV nurse Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource First Days Records from Rutgers Students and Instructor Subject The topic of the resource Material Related to the experiences of students and their professor during the Early Days of the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in March 2020. Description An account of the resource Material Related to the experiences of students and their professor during the Early Days of the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in March 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document The “First Days” of a Teacher<br />Alexander Tedesco<br /><br />On March 10th 2020, I was a 5th year student at The College of New Jersey. It was the finishing semester of my Master’s in Education. Student teaching was a serious commitment, as it was 8 AM until 3:15 PM most days. Afterwards, I would normally have a three hour class waiting for me later that evening. In other words, I was teaching 40 hours a week in a Trenton public school, while also having to attend class four out of those five days. In the simplest words, I was a full time teacher, as well as a full time student. I enjoyed my life, as I loved my students dearly and was invested in my classes as both teacher and student in many amazing ways. It still bothered me to see my friends go out every night, as I stayed behind either too busy or too exhausted to come along.<br /><br />Then it simply all stopped.<br /><br />The morning of March 10th was no different from any other day. I woke up and put myself together for another day of teaching. These days, conversations of my 4th grade students drifted from innocence to dark concern over this unknown COVID-19. Trying to be a responsible adult, I would typically brush these conversations aside. Before the 10th I would say “The virus is only in China.” Days later it was upon the west coast. Soon after, right in the middle of Mercer county. I would make jokes about “The Ides of March” being upon us (such a history teacher thing to say), and the “dark days upon us.” I was never serious, and my students knew it.<br /><br />That evening existed different from no other. I made dinner, hit the gym, and prepared myself for yet another day of my busy lifestyle. I checked my email before I went to sleep. An email from my cooperating teacher explained that school was cancelled for the remainder of the week, and that I was to be off until Monday. He finished the email as so: “Envoy the break as well as the peace and quiet, but if you’d ask me, I’d say get ready for a long couple of months.” I was thrilled to have a break, as I was definitely overworked. However, with the death and destruction to come, how dare I to have ever welcomed so horrible. If only I had known. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource How a teacher became educated on COVID-19 Subject The topic of the resource The perspective of a teacher during the first days of a declared pandemic (March 10-March 12). Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alexander Tedesco Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 10th through March 12th, 2020. Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant New Jersey Description An account of the resource The perspective of a teacher during the first days of a declared pandemic (March 10-March 12). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource First Days Records from Rutgers Students and Instructor Subject The topic of the resource Material Related to the experiences of students and their professor during the Early Days of the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in March 2020. Description An account of the resource Material Related to the experiences of students and their professor during the Early Days of the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in March 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document <p>3 October 2020<br /><br />What Was Coming.</p> <p>When the World Health Organization declared the 2020 COVID-19 Epidemic, I was not expecting it to reach me in any personal, direct way.  I was prepared to make some concessions in order to “normalize” efforts to slow or prevent the spread of COVID-19, but I never expected that as many people would be infected or lose their lives as has happened.  Thinking back on the early days, I was far more naïve than I should have been.</p> <p>As things began to be canceled, I remember wondering if people were overreacting.  When we saw Italy go into lockdown, it did not seem real.  When classes were canceled, it felt like I was watching a movie.  I feel like we, as Americans, were watching COVID-19 spread like watching a movie and then suddenly our lives changed.</p> <p>March 8^th was the last time that I ate in a restaurant.  I remember that my parents and I were walking around the Woodbridge Mall and we saw some folks with dust masks dangling around their necks.  At this point, CDC guidance, as far as I remember was that only people who knew they were sick should wear masks.  This seemed reasonable, since I remembered that back when I was in the Army, going to sick call for a sore throat and being told to wear a mask to avoid getting anyone else sick.  The people who did wear masks as a prophylactic seemed, to me, to be overreacting.  We walked by a store where an art class had just finished and a few children were scuttering out, carrying their projects.  Maybe they were painting mugs, but I cannot remember what they were holding.  I remember that whenever we came near anyone else, we sought to keep some distance between strangers and ourselves.  I remember there was this “weight” in the air of the mall.  We felt as though people were beginning to be afraid of being close to strangers, and I remember discussing that the malls would be in trouble, with my parents.</p> <p>March 9^th, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency.  I remember my bosses telling me to prepare to work from home for a few weeks and the next day, my university make the decision to temporarily suspend in-person instruction.  I remember not paying much attention in class the evening of March 9^th, as we all had the COVID-19 tracker up on our screens.</p> <p>March 10^th, Rutgers decided to cancel all classes for the rest of the week, which started spring-break a few days early.  Students in dorms and university housing had to vacate, and we were told that after spring break, classes would resume in a virtual format for a few weeks.  I remember being very confused by this decision.  I remember thinking that if the idea were to have people quarantine, why would they send students away from campus back to their families?    It seemed like an odd decision to give them a couple days to vacate, instead of either kicking them out immediately or asking them to shelter-in-place.  March 7^th I was watching COVID-19 on the news, and March 10^th I was living in a changed world; a world of uncertainty, conflicting agendas regarding how to deal with the crisis, and confusion.  March 11^th, 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 an epidemic, and nearly seven months later, I feel like it is still March 11.</p> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource What Was Coming Description An account of the resource Donald Koger, a 36 year old Army Veteran reflects on his memory of the days surrounding the March 11, 2020 declaration by the World Health Organization of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Donald Koger Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 3, 2020 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Donald Koger Language A language of the resource English Relation A related resource https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/items/show/11 https://archivingcovid19.libraries.rutgers.edu/items/show/65 Subject The topic of the resource Personal account of the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource First Days Records from Rutgers Students and Instructor Subject The topic of the resource Material Related to the experiences of students and their professor during the Early Days of the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in March 2020. Description An account of the resource Material Related to the experiences of students and their professor during the Early Days of the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly in March 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document March 2020 has been a month full of surprises. News regarding an outbreak of a deadly virus was circulating in almost every tv news channel. I am certain that at first, many people, including myself, underestimated the urgency and seriousness of this disease that would later develop into a worldwide pandemic. During the first days of March, I purchased a plane ticket from Newark to San Francisco scheduled for the first day of spring break. I envisioned it would be an excellent idea to spend the scheduled spring break vacation with my mother. Her flight was scheduled from Istanbul to San Francisco. Little did we know that our plans would undergo a drastic change. Approximately, about a week before my flight, I decided to exercise at the golden dome gym for an hour before my night class. When I entered the gym, the lady at the front desk told me that all facilities in the golden dome were temporarily closed. I asked her if it was because of the coronavirus. She replied “yes”. At that point, I realized that the situation was only getting worse. There were rumors in my classroom about classes resuming online for the remainder of the semester. Frankly, I thought this was out of the question. The morning after, I called my mom on the phone to find out about the trip details. I also mentioned the severity of the virus referred to as COVID-19. I wasn't sure if traveling in such circumstances was a good idea. Of course, I was worried about myself, but I was more worried about my mom. The first and most important information I received about the virus was that it is more serious for the sick and elderly. My mom was aged, and just the thought of her remaining inside a packed airplane for 8 hours straight was horrible. I did not even want to imagine what she would encounter. After a couple of days, I received a crucial e-mail from Rutgers notifying me that classes were to be held virtual until April 3. I immediately called my mom. After I told her about the news, she worriedly expressed that she is willing to cancel her flight from Istanbul to San Francisco. In return, I told her that I would try to change my arriving destination from San Francisco to Istanbul and so I got to work. As the virus was spreading continuously and nonstop, airlines and airports were very busy. Two days before my flight, I got on the phone for hours with airline personnel. I explained my situation and asked the company to help me out by changing my destination.The person on the other line was sympathetic but helpless at first. I explained to him that I needed to change my destination urgently and that I was willing to pay the price difference. I had to make multiple other phone calls to other individuals periodically. The other personnel was the supervisor. She couldn’t solve the problem so I had to wait for the next day. On the last day before my flight, I called the airline company once more, and spoke on the phone again with the first personnel that I called. The personnel was calling me from Istanbul’s time zone and I was in the Eastern Standard Time zone so I could only speak until 3 PM. The personnel told me that my flight destination would be changed first thing in the morning. I panicked because tomorrow was the day that my flight to San Diego was originally scheduled and if the destination were to remain unchanged then the money I spent on the ticket was gonna go to waste. I woke up the next morning and swiftly grabbed my phone to check my emails. The airline company finally emailed me about my ticket. The email confirmed that my destination was successfully changed. However, when I saw the time when my flight to Istanbul was I panicked. My flight was departing in 2 hours and 45 minutes and I was still in bed. I quickly got out of the bed, dressed up grabbed my passport and left my house without packing my belongings. I can't even recall the level of stress and anxiety that I went through on the day of my flight. Thankfully everything worked out accordingly. I made it to the airport on time and made it to my destination safely. Since mid-March, I have been in Istanbul. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Adventurous First Days Subject The topic of the resource First Days Assignment: Can Eker Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Can Eker Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Can Eker Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October