Contribute to the COVID-19 Archive
Contribute to the COVID-19 Archive
About
What Should I Submit?
Contact Us
Contribute to the COVID-19 Archive
A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE POINT AND THE FITCHBURG STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
COVID-19 has transformed our daily lives. Share your stories and experiences (audio, text and images) of how this pandemic has impacted you. Part of our responsibility as the student newspaper is to document the perspectives and experiences of the campus community, and the surrounding community. During these uncertain times, we hope to ensure that your experiences are not lost or forgotten. Add your story to this unique moment in history.
This project is an initiative by The Point, Fitchburg State University’s student newspaper, to gather stories and reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic as the Fitchburg State University community, and the residents of northern Worcester County, experience the impact of the pandemic.
About
The staff of The Point has been working hard to cover the experiences of the campus community in the midst of this pandemic and provide essential information to our readership.
As part of our role as student journalists we are spearheading a unique initiative – a COVID-19 archival collection that will be housed in the Fitchburg State University Archives.
This collection will consist of materials submitted by members of the Fitchburg State Community as well as members of the larger Northern Worcester County community.
We would like to ask you to contribute stories about your experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic to the archive. You could write a short reflection and submit a word document. You may prefer to record your story (or interview someone) in an audio file. Consider snapping a picture that shows how COVID-19 has changed the world around you and submitting that.
Think about how historians later may use this information to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on our community.
As student journalists, we always want to ensure that the stories of our community are not lost or forgotten and that our experiences and the experiences of our friends, family and community, are documented and remembered.
Feel free to share this link with others, and to encourage others to share a story, or two.
What Should I Submit?
Share your story.
Think about how your life has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Have you had new or unusual experiences? Perhaps you just want to reflect on the way the world is now, or how you have learned to do things differently. If you want to simply share a picture that you feel captures your experience, feel free to do that as well.
You can share someone else’s story (with their permission, of course). Do you have a younger sibling, or an elderly relative that wants to share their experiences?Interview them. Ask them questions and record their response. Help them to document their voice .
Are you a first-responder, health care worker, grocery store clerk, or another essential worker? Share a picture, or a short story. Share both.
Written reflections don’t have to be long stories. If you want to submit 100 words, please do. If you want to submit 10,000, you’re welcome to do that as well.
If you are recording audio please review the audio recording tips and guidelines below.
Audio Recording Tips and Guidelines
If you are submitting an audio recording, please read the following tips and guidelines.
Start the recording by saying your name, your age, your city and if you are student, faculty member, or staff member of Fitchburg State University, or if you are a resident or employee within Northern Worcester County. If you’re interviewing someone as an oral history, do the same for them.
The recording session:
The location you choose to record audio should be a quiet place where you will not be interrupted by other people.
Turn off distracting background noise such as radios, televisions, or fans. Pick a spot that will not pick up a lot of outdoor noise, like sounds of traffic.
Perform a quick test recording and listen back to that recording to make sure everything is working as it should.
Contact Us
If you have questions about the COVID-19 Archive, please contact The Point at [email protected].
