Overview
The DHSS Time Capsule documents the experiences of students during a particularly stressful year. We built a website in which audio recordings and written testimonies from students are saved and shared. This would be useful for most years, but our focus on the year of its creation, 2020, is especially valuable. This past year has been particularly difficult for students, as they have been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and their schools’ response to it. Documenting this historic year from this perspective can illuminate the state of the institutions upon which we rely, strategies taken by students to adapt, and the state of students’ mental health.
The website was made using WordPress, and contains responses to surveys and audio interviews. The survey responses had the greatest reach of people, while audio interviews provide personal details and emotional context. Each interview has an accompanying transcript.
Our primary focus was on the RIT community. Survey responses involve a number of different students at different points in their collegiate career. The interviews highlight more detailed information and shed light on unique experiences. Hard of hearing students, recent graduates, as well as survivors of the COVID-19 virus were interviewed and their experiences can be found on the website.
The Team
Mike Lipari – Project Lead, asset management
Responsibilities:
- Project management
- Creation, maitenence, editing, and publishing assets
- Establishing team objectives and deadlines
- Monitoring and evaluating team progress
- Conducting interviews
Chelsea Aleong – Project Analyst & Social Media Coordinator
Responsibilities:
- Preparing and maintaining documentation
- Social media coordination
- Project evaluation
- Outreach
- Web development
Forest Ciminelli – Narrative Director
Responsibilities:
- Collection & dissection of time capsule narrative
- Defining the themes and tones that support the project’s creative vision
- Web development
- Maintaining communications with faculty advisors
Juan Cintron – Infrastructure lead
Responsibilities:
- Defining and leading web development initiatives
- Resolving server issues
- Public relations
- Communications