Document Your COVID-19 Stories

By Hazel Scott/ASU

In times of anxiety and adversity, Alabama State University Archives is retreating to an age-old human practice - storytelling, combined with online multimedia tools, to document the COVID-19 effect on the ASU family.

The University invites students, faculty, staff and alumni to take the time to document this unique period by submitting their personal experiences

digitally for preservation and to share it with the rest of the ASU community.

“We have launched this digital project to document as complete a picture of life on our campus as possible.  We depend on the participation of the ASU family to help grow our collections and share their stories,” said Raegan C. Stearns, ASU associate archivist. “We want to be sure that COVID-19's effect from an Alabama State University perspective is well-documented.  Just like students are able to search the archives' collections to see what campus life was like 100 years ago, future generations of researchers will expect to see how we are currently adapting.”

Participants are encouraged to document their experiences in one day, maintain a daily diary for several weeks or create a reflective weekly journal by utilizing an array of mediums, but not limited to, digital photos, audio, video, text and visual documentation (i.e., scans of artwork). The submission can include multiple formats.

“We are accepting material documenting any aspect of how life has changed during the pandemic, such as sharing digital artifacts related to campus or their community,” Stearns said. “Some may have been journaling day-to-day experiences and could consider sharing.  Others might want to reflect on how this has affected them now that they've become more accustomed to the ‘new normal.’  This is a unique situation and we know that everyone's responses will be different.”

Stearns noted that since there is no deadline for submitting the stories because COVID-19 is an ongoing event, individuals may submit material as many times as necessary.

“However, we do require names to accompany submissions for administrative purposes, but you can indicate if you would like to remain anonymous to the general public,” Stearns added.

Submissions are also open to those outside of the ASU family.

“The archives' primary mission is to document the experiences of those associated with our campus. We also are responsible for documenting the African-American community of Montgomery, as well as Alabama as a whole,” she said.

To  preserve your story for future Hornets and scholars,  submit  via the ASU Archives’  website at http://www.lib.alasu.edu/archives/covid-19-stories.html. For questions about your submission prior to entering it, visit  COVIDarchives@alasu.edu.