COVID Chronicles
Living Through a Crisis
Engineering, science, economics and policy students
at Colorado School of Mines share their stories
All COVID Chronicles Submissions
Paradelle in Quarantine
By Wenli Dickinson
Paradelle in Quarantine I cover my mouth when I sneeze and cough, I cover my mouth when I sneeze and cough, Wash my hands and use 70% isopropyl alcohol, Wash my hands and use 70% isopropyl alcohol, Wash my hands and mouth, when I sneeze, cough, I cover and use my 70% isopropyl alcohol. I maintain a distance of 6 feet from everyone, I maintain a distance of 6 feet from everyone, Avoid large gatherings of people, Avoid large gatherings of people, Avoid of everyone, 6 feet from gatherings, I maintain a distance from large people. I stay home and wash my hands, I stay home and wash my hands, Stock up toilet paper and refresh the CDC website, Stock up toilet paper and refresh the CDC website, The CDC website refreshes my hands, I stay, stock up home, and wash toilet paper. I maintain a refreshing sneeze and cough, wash up my toilet paper from people, home, I cover the CDC website’s ... READ MORE
Fake News – Injecting Disinfectants
By Madeleine Johnson
Fake News - Injecting Disinfectants encourages the viewer to look beyond media portrayals of the pandemic to understand a fuller picture of what is going on in the world. The drawing is intended to make the viewer realize that there is more to the pandemic than what the news is covering. The title of this piece draws attention to how the pandemic has been politicized and encourages the viewer to listen to health officials rather than to politicians. READ MORE
Reflections from Abroad and Within
By George Goldade
Land of rising sun An exciting foreign land Full of potential After a year of searching, writing, and applying for the perfect study abroad program, I was Tokyo bound. Exhilaration surged through my bones as I boarded my flight towards a foreign country. Studying abroad had been an aspiration of mine since freshman year of high school, and at last my efforts had come to fruition. After conquering demanding degree requirements and arduous transfer credit approvals, Japan posed an exciting challenge. I was a fish out of water. Language was my biggest barrier, and also my greatest tool. Immersed, I began to learn the basics. I learned to order food and ask for directions. When I learned to read, even the labyrinth of subways began to make more sense. Unbeknownst to me, my life in Tokyo was about to be overturned. Media sources across the globe began publishing articles about a virus emerging in China now known as COVID-19 and forewarned a global crisis. Despite its ... READ MORE
Virtual Adjustments
By Chloe Soejima
Going into online learning I knew that it was going to take a lot of commitment to stay on top of academic work, especially without the benefit of physically being on campus. Since communicating in person wasn't going to be an option, it was going to take a whole lot of messaging, video chatting, and emailing to make sure I was learning and performing at the best of my ability. I think I can say that I was prepared for that transition, given most of my courses at Mines have had virtual components. What I didn't expect was how much I took regularly seeing my friends for granted. I can at times be introverted, but quarantine has proven to me that humans are at the core, social creatures. I quite honestly had to learn how to actively find ways to interact with my friends - even a short Zoom conference would alleviate bucketloads of anxiety I didn't know I had. In the midst of all uncertainty, I needed interaction to stay sane - it just required some new techniques. READ MORE
This World?
By Emma Wertheimer
Imagine a world where everything that you thought was permanent got taken away. Imagine being a senior and having your graduation taken away. Imagine being a professor and having your physical classroom taken away. Imagine being a son and having your father stranded in a different country because the airports are shut down. That’s this world. In this world, a college senior sits at her dining room table at home. She’s been talking to her mother and brother, who come and go from the house, armed with hand sanitizer. Her runs have turned into escapes, where she can remember what it feels like to go somewhere, to do something. Her dinner times have turned into events, where she can remember what it feels like to go out. Her bedtimes have turned into a time of dread, where she can’t remember what a restful night feels like. Some evenings, the senior Zooms with her friends, and she can hardly believe that all they are separated by is one screen. In reality, though, they are ... READ MORE
Takeover the Anthropocene
By Shania Jo Runningrabbit
At the start of the global pandemic, Italy was one of the first countries to have the coronavirus spread at an unimaginable pace. This had an immense impact not only on the people living there but the natural environment throughout the country. After weeks of people avoiding the streets and waterways, the canals throughout Venice began to finally clear up for the first time in decades and native animals and vegetation began to blossom. This artwork colorfully highlights the parts of Venice that were brought back to life during the pandemic while the other areas of the piece are much more anthropocentric and lack any color and biomorphism. The lack of people is representative of the strict lockdown laws that were set in place across Italy with only nature consuming most of the space in the piece. READ MORE
Six Feet Apart
By Amit Rotem
The purpose of the piece is to hold a mirror to irresponsible behaviour during quarantine. The two subjects are definitely not practicing safe social distancing. They make a playful show of pretending to be by standing apart and holding two yardsticks between them as a very explicit gesture. Nevertheless, in the overlaid scene, they are seen standing closely, taping together two yard sticks. Obviously, the game with the yardstick was performative, but insubstantial. Many people display concern for the epidemic, but their actions fail to reflect meaningful concern. READ MORE
New City
By Amira Ramirez Gonzalez
This piece displays situations that people and animals might be experiencing during this novel time. The smoky buildings show cases of families spending time together, arguments, individuals enjoying music, and people, pets, and even plants isolated. Outside, nature re-explores the streets humans have paved. Contrast, linearity, monochromacy, and rough texture suggest this is a blurry time period where we may not know how long it will take for things to go back to normal or how different this "normal" might be. READ MORE
Nature’s Second Chance
By Zoe Logan
The damage that humans have done on the Earth is evident in the fact that the quarantine orders that have caused a sharp decrease in pollution and an immediate return of nature to places prior dominated by man. The piece Nature's Second Chance contrasts the struggle between nature and man's pollution through the contrasted formal elements between the buildings of Venice and the water canals through them that have regained clarity and life. The piece is an expressionist take on the canals in Venice, with a stark contrast between the muddy, empty buildings and the organic, brightly saturated river filled with fish swimming towards the ocean in the distance. READ MORE