2020 Pandemic Edition (4/20/20)

We thank all who are on the front lines of this pandemic—from nurses, many of whom are NHTI graduates, to grocery store workers, some of whom are NHTI students. Our journal’s president, Zac Chait, is an EMT, helping patients affected by COVID-19 and other illnesses access the urgent medical care they need. Thank you to our students, contributors, NHTI, staff, faculty, and administrators, doing their best during difficult times. We are grateful to connect with readers, to share stories, art, and music as so much human connection has moved online. Contributors published include those living in NHTI’s residence halls on the south side of campus, while the north side of campus has become an auxiliary care facility, and those who’ve returned to live with family in New Hampshire and elsewhere, as you will read. We send well wishes to you and your families. We will continue to accept submissions to add to our 2020 Spring Special Pandemic Edition. To SUBMIT, please use our link on The Eye’s home page. Please keep in touch and be well!

Embrace the Change by Ariel Switser

            2020! A fresh start, or so we thought. Many dreamed of a new year filled with endless joy, success, and even a new building block. However, as we celebrated the end of what we thought was a rough year, we were about to be struck with an even worse year. Life as we knew it was about to change. For better or for worse? Some see this year as the worst year of their lives, and others see this year as an opportunity.
We started the year 2020 with suspicions of World War III occurring. Then Australia was faced with devastating bush fires. The waters spilled in Indonesia, leaving many fleeing from their homes. The death of many people’s idol left them speechless. Fear rose across the earth, leaving us to wonder what could possibly get worse? Little did we know that while all of these devastating events took place, something underlined them all, something more deadly and devastating. The outbreak of the coronavirus, (COVID-19).
Jumping from one person to the next, spreading like the bush fires in Australia, destroying the lives of so many in its path. Hopping from continent to continent, country to country, city to city, unknown where it may go next. Maybe your local supermarket, maybe your hometown, where many of your loved ones live, and maybe from your mailbox to your front door.

Music in Time of Pandemic by Jim Black

NHTI alumnus, summer academic advisor, and advisor to the campus student music club Jim Black writes:

I am an amateur composer (classical music sounding), and I just finished a piece based on a work by a local Concord artist.  It's for various instruments and was created on my computer, which simulates the instruments fairly well.  My goal is to have the piece played by members of a local orchestra.  Though it was inspired by a local artist and her views of the rooftops and steeples of Concord, the piece evolved over time to reflect the current and future situation of the Concord community.  I was hoping to have it performed in concert (though that may be a long shot) as a way to welcome the community back to its prior vitality and energy, and the music reflects that optimism by starting off serene then becoming jubilant and energetic, which is how both the Concord community and the college can be in normal times.  I am also the composer of the music for NHTI's commencement anthem entitled "Our College, Our Dreams."
These are strange times, and times like this often promote creativity.  It did for me. Readers can access this music at http://soundcloud.com/jim-black-music. Have a listen!

Spring Semester: Stranger Than Fiction

by Brian Melendy (3/20/20)

The truth is definitely stranger than fiction, and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, self-quarantine has taken a toll on us all. Living in an age of technology overload, misinformation, and poor terminology such as “social distancing (a phrase that is misleading), these times are trying indeed.
One disturbing issue, other than dying alone and being stored in a trailer like discarded goods, is what is happening to this already polarized country. The first quarter of 2020 has been surreal. The President of the United States, a former reality TV star with a sarcastic mouth, has gotten into a social media war with some guy named after lunch meat from the Iranian government.
Movie star Gwyneth Paltrow manufactured and sold candles that smell like her vagina. The continent of Australia was consumed by wildfires, which destroyed the environment and killed many indigenous animals and tribal peoples. Some woman, to raise money for the Australian relief effort, sold 10,000 nude pictures of herself.
Some dude in China ate a bat and supposedly started a worldwide pandemic known as a Novel Coronavirus. Some people think that it was a man-made virus, while others think it was caused by cell phone towers.
Soon after a semi-national shutdown, many people stopped purchasing Corona Extra and Corona Light beer, both completely unrelated to the virus. The first people to complain about lost wages were the super-rich: cruise-liners, airlines, Hollywood, and Disney. Other industries changed their tactics, such as shoe manufacturers making masks and other personal protection equipment. Many healthcare workers began to get sick and die due to exposure, while the major governments of the world started placing blame on one another.
For a while there, the most popular movie on Netflix was Outbreak, and then it was the ridiculousness of  Tiger King. Toilet paper became the new currency. People jumped from skyscrapers to their death in New York City. Stocks plummeted and unemployment skyrocketed. Fake news got faker, and conspiracy theories abound.
The global carbon footprint was reduced, the lakes, rivers, and air became cleaner. Mother Nature flourished and spring seemed to come just a bit sooner. The baseball season was canceled for the first time since its inception. All learning institutions went online, and we all became experts at video conferencing. Everyone at the grocery stores dressed like bank robbers.
COVID-19 has provided a new lens through which we can look at issues such as loneliness, isolation, anxiety, depression, and paranoia as well as study ideas like universal healthcare, climate change, and compassion toward our fellow human beings.

Essential People by Nellie Peterson

During the pandemic we celebrate the essential workers that put their lives on the line every day for us: the men and women that work as policemen, firemen, paramedics, nurses, doctors, and hospital staff. I want to take a moment not to discount these people but instead to celebrate the essential people in our lives that are all around us that do not get recognition. These people are Clark Kents every day, but when times are tough, they become Supermen and Superwomen. They are our families, friends, people that just care about other people and their well-being. Here at NHTI we have such people that walk among us every day and never ask for anything in return.
When I walk the halls at midnight, I get greeted by such a Clark Kent. He is going all around South Hall disinfecting the elevator, wiping down the railings to the stairs, and cleaning the door handles. He comes out when everyone is fast asleep in their beds, during a time few would even see him. This essential person is someone we see every day, he is a friend to some, a boyfriend to another, he is peer to many others. Most important, he is essential in the lives of more people than even recognize him. Did you receive some bags of food during spring break?
The pandemic started right before spring break and yet superwoman was still there. She put herself at risk to go get us food when it was difficult to even find food in the stores. Many people were panicking while she was still caring for those around her. She could have stayed home and read a good book, slept in, or done daily tasks, and yet instead she chose to come in and care for the students of NHTI. As the pandemic raged on and more people got sick, she checked on the students daily and did all she could to see they would be all right during this time. She is someone that people look up to and call friend to those around her. She is superwoman 365 days a year. Another superman or superwoman is a person we all call best friend.
This super person is different to everyone it is a personal superhero in our lives. It is a person we call best friend. This person is someone that stays in contact with us every day and makes sure that we are all right. This person keeps a ritual going of sorts that helps us keep a grasp on normality. It is our family member that reads the Bible with us and prays. It is our closest friend that says hello and smiles to us and walks with us to get our food at the same time each day. It is our mom that arranges and calls on Easter morning to have video Easter lunch with us.
There are so many supermen and superwomen that walk among us. Do you recognize these people or other superheroes? I want to challenge you to look around you and see how many of these people you recognize. More importantly, follow their examples and be a superhero. The next time you see a superman or superwoman, let them know how much we appreciate them, how much it means that they care so deeply for those around them. These people give us hope and inspire us to dream every day. Thank you to all the dedicated, loving, caring people in our lives that make this difficult time a time of hope.

Quarantine Reflections

by Richard Nowlin (4/19/20)

                Being in quarantine requires a special mindset. This mindset is aided by training in mindfulness. When we started this term, things were vastly different. Coronavirus was an illness in China 8,000 miles away. As the term rolled on, we saw it get closer and closer. By the time spring break got here, it had as well. Going to school and work was replaced with staying at home. These journals required a fresh look, and what should have been an easy task was changed into something different. In a lot of ways this class writing prompt became the very way the assignment needed to be completed. The prompt was listed as “Journal on Giving Your Unconscious Insight a Boost.”
                For me this was the chance to really look at things from a farther viewpoint. I asked myself how I was going to complete the assignment when the biggest thing that bothered me during the day was the difference between two press conferences. As the weeks went by, I spent a few minutes a day just letting the idea of the prompt flow through me. I would see a glimmer of a way to write about how things were going, but it would not firm up into a solid page.
                I could go back to a situation from my short internship, but it would ring hollow as I was writing more on the time since that ended. My journal would show the lack of honest effort in the moment. I could write on the challenges of trying to find that post-college job while being stuck in the house. This was too broad and could be written by anyone in the class.
                In the end, the best thing was to write on how the prompt relates to the new normal. The idea in the end came from the frustration I felt when I saw people, who by nature espouse a view of being pro-life, being hypocrites when it came to the very idea of needing to stay home to ensure that people can live. The idea that people that could very well die by being exposed to a virus that effects the lungs are not being protected by those who claim to be pro-life, scared me to the core. The only way I was able to relate to their feelings was to spend time letting the concept rest in my unconscious, by stepping back and trying to see things from their point of view.
                When the forefathers of the nation sat down to write the document that would be a statement of why they no longer felt they could be ruled by a king 2,000 miles away, they saw the dangers of a government that could run their lives without their say. The people of today, marching to be able to return to work and to their daily lives see themselves in the same boat. They feel their lives are being run by a person who sits in an office and does not need to see their daily life. Well, I may not agree with their views, but nonetheless I need to agree they have the right to voice their opinion. The only question I have is would they feel the same if one of the victims was a member of their family.

Editor-in-Chief for Pandemic Edition: Brian Melendy

Eye Staff: President Zac Chait, Vice-President Hope Davids, Treasurer and Systems Manager Rachel Pitt, Editor Kathryn Shaw, Editor Denise Lesnick, Editor Richard Nowlin

Thank you to all of our contributors! Be well.