ASLUSH

The Church holds a very specific role in society. For many, it becomes routine to wake up on Sunday morning and attend the 9:00am church service in person, where you will be dressed in the appropriate formal attire one wears to church, shake hands during the sign of peace, drink the blood of Christ during the Holy Communion, but what happens when a global pandemic prohibits participating in that usual ritual? This oral history explores how these issues have evolved during 2020-2021.

A multitude of groundbreaking events have happened this year: a global pandemic, the BLM movement, and a historic election, to name a few. Throughout all of this, the media has determined what stories are told: what makes the final cut, and what has to take the backseat. Without journalism, especially photo and video journalism, this past year would not have been what it was. Without first looking at the media, and more importantly, at the stories we choose to prioritize in times of hardship, we cannot begin to fully comprehend the events of those times, because the media acts as a window into the minds and values of society. This oral history explores the role of the media over the past year and a half.

This oral history covers student voice at Miss Porter's School amidst the ongoing conversations between Administration and Students about how many aspects of the school are handled and discussed. The focus of this oral history is on how mental health is discussed and handled with students and administration.

A high volume of Asian immigrants began arriving in Farmington during the 1960s, though there were Asian immigrants in the area prior. After 9/11 the number of Asian immigrants in Farmington increased greatly due to the economic collapse of NYC's Chinatown. From 1990 to today the population of Asian immigrants in Connecticut has grown by nearly 75%. Asian immigrants in Farmington primarily hail from China and India, but there is a wide range of nationalities represented within the populous. Most Chinese immigrants in Farmington were previously residents of Guangdong, a coastal province in southern China.

A high volume of Asian immigrants began arriving in Farmington during the 1960s, though there were Asian immigrants in the area prior. After 9/11 the number of Asian immigrants in Farmington increased greatly due to the economic collapse of NYC's Chinatown. From 1990 to today the population of Asian immigrants in Connecticut has grown by nearly 75%. Asian immigrants in Farmington primarily hail from China and India, but there is a wide range of nationalities represented within the populous. Most Chinese immigrants in Farmington were previously residents of Guangdong, a coastal province in southern China.

A high volume of Asian immigrants began arriving in Farmington during the 1960s, though there were Asian immigrants in the area prior. After 9/11 the number of Asian immigrants in Farmington increased greatly due to the economic collapse of NYC's Chinatown. From 1990 to today the population of Asian immigrants in Connecticut has grown by nearly 75%. Asian immigrants in Farmington primarily hail from China and India, but there is a wide range of nationalities represented within the populous. Most Chinese immigrants in Farmington were previously residents of Guangdong, a coastal province in southern China.

For most of the school year here on Porter's campus, students were strictly confined to their own little bubble. Porter's has always been a kind of bubble, but this past year, the clear walls of that bubble turned cloudy. However, there were a few people outside of the Porter's students and employees that kept us connected to the rest of the town. They were the firefighters and police officers who came to campus whenever we had a fire alarm go off or would do drive by parades for the children on campus. The firefighters and police officers of Farmington have always been significant figures within thee community, likewise to the rest of The U.S. where first responders and welfare workers play an active role in maintaining not only the safety but also the integrity of their communities. In a year where belonging and togetherness felt stripped from all of us, and extra pressure was put on safety workers to keep their communities safe, what was it personally like for the firefighters and police officers?

Exploring student voice and mental health at Miss Porter's School.

How often do you talk about incarcerated persons and the prison system in your daily life? If your experience is anything like ours, probably not frequently. The COVID-19 pandemic and the events of 2020 have deeply impacted the United States prison system and correctional facilities. We don't hear about it, due to a lack of news coverage and awareness. COVID has changed the lives of prison workers and inmates, all over the country. Here are the stories of two different criminal justice workers, one from Connecticut and one from Texas, each with their own unique experiences within US prisons throughout COVID.

We discuss how the jobs of Criminal Justice workers changed with COVID, early release of prisoners with COVID, how informed inmates are, and living conditions as well as mental and physical health of those incarcerated.

In the past year and a half, amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic and national social justice movements, our sense of commonality and community across the U.S. took a hit. Firefighters are often seen as significant community figures within their districts, especially is small towns, and play and an active role in maintaining not only the safety but also the integrity of their communities. In a year where belonging and togetherness felt stripped from all of us, what was it like for the firefighters?

To capture the year 2020, it is crucial to acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic, which had taken the world by storm, closing almost everything and initiating a world-wide quarantine. Throughout this pandemic, the Connecticut community has relied heavily on healthcare professionals for COVID-19 testing and vaccination, as well as for assistance with other healthcare needs. In a time when Connecticut residents have relied so heavily on healthcare workers, many are left wondering what their perspectives have been. We decided to interview two healthcare professionals who are closely associated with research and testing involving COVID-19 in order to get their perspective on the extreme professional and mental toll the pandemic has taken on them throughout this past year.

To capture the year 2020, it is crucial to acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic, which had taken the world by storm, closing almost everything and initiating a world-wide quarantine. Throughout this pandemic, the Connecticut community has relied heavily on healthcare professionals for COVID-19 testing and vaccination, as well as for assistance with other healthcare needs. We decided to interview two healthcare professionals who are closely associated with research and testing involving COVID-19 in order to get their perspective on the extreme professional and mental toll the pandemic has taken on them throughout this past year.

To capture the year 2020, it is crucial to acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic, which had taken the world by storm, closing almost everything and initiating a world-wide quarantine. Throughout this pandemic, the Connecticut community has relied heavily on healthcare professionals for COVID-19 testing and vaccination, as well as for assistance with other healthcare needs. We decided to interview two healthcare professionals who are closely associated with research and testing involving COVID-19 in order to get their perspective on the extreme professional and mental toll the pandemic has taken on them throughout this past year.

Ella Warner explores a peculiar object from the nineteenth century -the human brain.

Helen LaPointe, Margot Queenan, Natalie Yarnall, Rain Zhou, and Sabrina Zottola explore what caused the British colonists to start a revolution and what that might mean for America today.

In this episode, Laura Herscovici explores song book, Slave Songs of the United States, published in 1867 and collected by William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison. When Americans hear echoes of these slave songs in pop, jazz, blues, rock n' roll, and beyond, they must remember that behind layers and layers of different interpretations are the songs of enslaved people.

In this episode, Lauren Schramm explores the work of American impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Her refused to comply with French traditional standards and determination to explore the “new frontiers” in art is part of the real American dream: to create something new that defies standards and contributes to the construction of a new way of life, beneficial to everyone.

In this episode, Haley Bloch and Amanda Taglich explore how those at American society's margins, such as European immigrants from poor backgrounds, African Americans, and other people of color, struggled for acceptance and influence in mainstream media despite deep-rooted racism and xenophobia. To be alive during the twentieth century was to experience a flood of different voices, all influencing the social and cultural landscape for decades to come by expressing their ideals and passions through their music.

In this episode, Maya Bondar and Violet Cue explore how music helped shape teenage culture in America during the twentieth century. As Bondar noted, "music is also often representative of the time. Artists are usually influenced from pop culture at the time so analyzing the music can provide a picture of what youth culture was like then."

In this episode, Julia Cunningham and Sophie Schaeffer explore how music can push a nation forward. They explore the question, "when America isn't the somewhere it's supposed to be, how do we move forward?" They find one answer in the words of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

In this episode, Alice Fang and Julia Gardow examine four songs and wonder what they reveal about the twentieth-century American experience? Put another way, what do the songs tell listeners about what it was like to be alive in America during that century?

In this episode, Paulina Azzu and Sabrina Liu explore the influence of jazz on the evolution of music in twentieth century America. Also, they discuss how music brought comfort to millions as the country experienced national tragedies like World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II.

In this episode, Samar Shafi and Angela Yuan examine the transformations in 20th century music in a chronological order and discuss how those transformations correlate with rising modernist ideologies.

In this episode, Audra Regan and Anoushka Yashavant discuss the powerful insights music provides into a time, place, and community. Beginning in the 1930s and ending in the ‘70s, they examine a collection of songs that exemplifies the rapid change and turbulence of twentieth century America. From blues to punk, the wide range in both sound and message showcases not only the evolution of modern music, but the shifting ideologies and social sentiments of the era.

Ruth Torrence and Amy Wang explore the interplay between politics and music in twentieth century America.

Mara Farell and Leela Rosaz Shariyf examine how the music of people like Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, and Bruce Springsteen, gave the youth of America anthems to represent their new anti-war pro-unity beliefs. These songs have stood the test of time, and their themes not only shaped the lives of people in the late 1900s but also retain their relevance in our lives today.

Why are we so afraid of people who are different from us? It is dangerous to hide how diverse our society is, because how will we learn more about others? Alizeh Raza and Shamreethaa Seeniraj use music to explore these and other questions about the United States in the twentieth century.