Randolph-Macon College during COVID-19: Stories of the Pandemic

The Flavia Reed Owen Special Collections and Archives of the McGraw-Page Library is collecting the stories of this unprecedented time in modern history. We know the COVID-19 pandemic is having a tremendous impact on our students, faculty, and staff, and we want to preserve these experiences of the Randolph-Macon College community for future generations. We invite you to share your story of how this pandemic has affected you.

Your story may take whatever form you choose. It could be a video diary, an essay, an audio recording, blog posts, social media posts, photographs, or a project or assignment you created for a class. 

Some prompts, which could provide ideas for reflection, are:

For students:

• How did you feel when you learned that you would be able to live on-campus this fall?
• What has been the most challenging thing about attending College during the COVID-19 pandemic?
• What has the situation been like where you are living? Have you been quarantined? Were you living on-campus or at home? What are the unique challenges of your situation?
• Have you participated in any campus activities such as clubs, sports, etc. during the pandemic? How have the activities been different?
• Have you or has anyone close to you been sick?
• If you have not been on-campus, what do you miss most about being at the College?
• Are you a senior? Talk about what it has been like having such a different final year at R-MC.
• Are you a first-year student? Talk about what it has been like starting College in the midst of a pandemic.
• What worries you most looking forward?
• Is there anything you are grateful for right now? Any positive experiences you have had or witnessed that make you feel hopeful?
• What does it mean to witness history? Do you feel that you are witnessing history now? What methods are you using to capture/preserve/participate in/archive the history you are witnessing, or how do you think you can do this?

For faculty/staff/administrators:

• What has been the most challenging or surprising thing about the College's transition to online and hybrid learning?
• What did you think would be your greatest challenge, and what has proven to be? Is anything easier than you anticipated?
• The emotional and psychological toll this is taking on students is tremendous. Talk about the challenges of witnessing and engaging with this, while at the same time handling your own changed circumstances and stressors.
• What do you miss most about being in the classroom/on-campus with students?
• How are you staying connected with your colleagues?
• Is there anything you are grateful for right now? Any positive experiences you have had or witnessed that make you feel hopeful?
• What does it mean to witness history? Do you feel that you are witnessing history now? What methods are you using to capture/preserve/participate in/archive the history you are witnessing, or how do you think you can do this?

This guide is adapted from "Documenting the Pandemic: Muhlenberg College during COVID-19" by Susan Falciani Maldonado, retrieved from https://libraryguides.muhlenberg.edu/covid19 on 24 April 2020.