Special Collections Research Center

COVID-19 Mason Community Impact Project

 

 

The COVID-19 crisis has affected nearly everyone on the planet in some way. For the nearly 45,000 members of the George Mason University Community on Mason’s four distributed campuses and tens of thousands of Mason alumni, COVID-19 has changed the way we teach, learn, work, and interact with our community, family, and friends. The restrictions and obligations imposed on all of us by this disease are inconvenient at best and traumatic at the worst. The effect of this disease upon its victims is devastating. Yet, we all continue to try to make the best of a truly horrible situation.      

And, like other major institutions, George Mason University’s future will be defined by how its people handle today’s challenges.  How is the COVID-19 crisis affecting you, your family and friends, your work or study, and your connection to George Mason University? What would you like for future generations to know about what is happening to members of our community right now?

The University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center is actively collecting materials which document the effects of COVID-19 on our university community. We are asking members of the Mason Nation to consider helping us build this collection by preserving a record of their personal experiences regarding the COVID-19 Crisis.  

George Mason University students, faculty, staff, and alumni can help in this effort by taking part in the COVID-19 Mason Community Impact Project (CMCIP).  Participating in the CMCIP is as simple as completing the brief form found at https://library.gmu.edu/covid-19.

About the form:

    • On the first page of the form, you will be asked to include your name, Email address, and to complete series of agreements by clicking one of two radio buttons for each.
    • You will then be asked a few questions regarding your relationship to George Mason University.
    • There will be four (4) “fill-in” questions pertaining to your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can answer as many as you like, or you can answer none of them if you prefer to simply upload a contribution.
    • Finally, you will be given the option to describe and upload a digital file pertaining to your experience during this period. We welcome any digital formats (photos, video or audio files, pdf or doc).
    • If you interview other people in the course of your documentation, we will also need their permission so that we can preserve and share the recordings with future researchers. (Permissions can be revoked at any time upon request). Please have any friends, family members, or community members fill out the form if you wish to record with them. If we do not receive releases from all participants we cannot preserve the materials. But only one person will need to attach the files to the form -- co-creators can simply fill in their personal information along with a description of the materials. 
    • Please reach out to us if you have any questions, concerns, or need technical assistance. You can contact Bob Vay at rvay@gmu.edu or Liz Beckman at ebeckman@gmu.edu.
    • Submissions will not be available to the public immediately. After they are processed by SCRC staff, they will be available in a digital exhibition available at a future date.

Again, you can make your contribution to this archive by following this link:
https://library.gmu.edu/covid-19. Thank you!