WEBVTT 00:00:02.951 --> 00:00:04.981 I believe we are recording. 00:00:06.831 --> 00:00:08.021 Looks like it. Great. 00:00:08.511 --> 00:00:13.471 My name is Mary Rubin and today is Thursday, August 20th 2020 00:00:13.471 --> 00:00:15.521 and I am interviewing Scott Galloway. 00:00:16.721 --> 00:00:18.931 Hi my name is Scott Galloway, 00:00:18.931 --> 00:00:25.281 I’m 22 and I am as of right now a History grad pursuing a master’s degree. 00:00:27.201 --> 00:00:28.021 Great. 00:00:28.531 --> 00:00:32.771 Can you tell me about your spring semester prior to COVID-19 related changes? 00:00:34.041 --> 00:00:34.811 Sure. 00:00:35.231 --> 00:00:41.961 So on December of 2019 I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in History, 00:00:42.191 --> 00:00:43.621 and after that 00:00:43.621 --> 00:00:51.261 I was already interested in my grad program for the UCF’s History MA program. 00:00:51.810 --> 00:00:57.760 So I took myself a little bit cautiously moving forward into spring 00:00:57.760 --> 00:01:02.790 so I took a— I applied to be a non-graduate degree seeking student, 00:01:03.410 --> 00:01:07.410 which is a very unique place to be as a grad student. 00:01:07.650 --> 00:01:11.940 But I just took a regular grad course, Intro to Public History, 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:16.730 I think HIS5067 I think off the top of my head, with Dr. Cheong. 00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:22.190 And so when we first had it before the COVID-related changes happened, 00:01:22.730 --> 00:01:27.150 we were usually meeting in-class at Trevor Colbourn Hall in the second floor 00:01:27.150 --> 00:01:31.510 and mostly physical discussions. 00:01:32.150 --> 00:01:38.450 And my daily life was kinda the same as my undergrad, 00:01:38.450 --> 00:01:41.000 besides a little bit more of a hefty reading. 00:01:41.820 --> 00:01:44.100 I didn’t really have much changes. 00:01:44.650 --> 00:01:49.200 A little bit busy with grad assignments. 00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:55.440 What about the living situation, social life and work 00:01:55.440 --> 00:01:57.430 prior to COVID-related changes? 00:01:57.800 --> 00:01:59.140 Yeah, no problem. 00:01:59.220 --> 00:02:02.140 So, for my— can you repeat those three? 00:02:02.410 --> 00:02:06.130 Yeah, living situation, social life and work. 00:02:06.490 --> 00:02:10.490 So for living situation I had just moved out of my undergrad— 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:13.360 for my first two years were at Towers, 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:18.920 and then my third and fourth— my third year actually was Plaza on University, 00:02:18.920 --> 00:02:21.990 and I wanted to move out after I grad. 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:26.620 So, December I graduated, I moved out of Plaza on University 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:32.870 and I moved into a townhouse nearby on McCulloch. 00:02:33.030 --> 00:02:36.590 And so, I was already in like a housing situation, 00:02:36.590 --> 00:02:38.530 I already signed for a year. 00:02:38.980 --> 00:02:42.040 My parents are in Melbourne, 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:46.180 and they usually send me money to pay for my living arrangements. 00:02:47.850 --> 00:02:50.590 Living in this townhouse where I am now, I've been— 00:02:52.170 --> 00:02:55.720 I haven’t had a situation where I couldn’t pay rent. 00:02:57.210 --> 00:03:03.030 My social aspect of my life was very enclosed, 00:03:03.030 --> 00:03:07.030 I wasn’t very party or an extrovert, 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:12.040 but I did go out quite frequently, going out with friends. 00:03:12.820 --> 00:03:14.710 You actually see me at the breezeway, 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:18.820 I was very involved with the gaming scene with the Smash Knights 00:03:18.820 --> 00:03:22.820 and the other video game community there. 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:26.380 And what was the last one I’m missing? 00:03:26.510 --> 00:03:27.140 Work. 00:03:27.290 --> 00:03:30.000 Work. I never actually worked, 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.190 but I did volunteer at some point in the spring. 00:03:34.690 --> 00:03:39.920 That definitely stopped after the COVID situation. 00:03:41.460 --> 00:03:45.460 So can you tell us what changed once COVID-19 became very prevalent? 00:03:45.750 --> 00:03:50.110 Yeah, so when COVID hit, for me it was on spring break, 00:03:50.110 --> 00:03:54.390 we were on spring break, for me I was still in the townhouse, 00:03:54.390 --> 00:03:59.980 and I was sitting on my couch just kind of relaxing for a little bit, 00:03:59.980 --> 00:04:01.830 taking a breather from grad work. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.070 A lot of it was people were moving back home, 00:04:07.070 --> 00:04:10.520 a lot of the friends that I had were going out of the state, 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:12.310 before it got really bad. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:16.409 My grad program was very— or least for Dr. Cheong, 00:04:16.409 --> 00:04:21.869 she was very keen on looking at the information surrounding the Coronavirus. 00:04:22.709 --> 00:04:25.509 And it felt a bit of a freefall, 00:04:25.509 --> 00:04:28.059 there wasn’t really a lot of clear answers going out 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.229 in the initial few days during that break. 00:04:31.799 --> 00:04:34.629 I think by the end, I think going into April, 00:04:35.869 --> 00:04:43.119 for my class we’d done this thing called, well now it's called everything, Zoom, 00:04:43.119 --> 00:04:45.429 was starting to come out and I thought that was a little strange 00:04:46.718 --> 00:04:53.368 And now we went on meetings on Zoom at a certain time. 00:04:54.098 --> 00:04:57.598 For me I had a roommate, he’s an undergrad, 00:04:57.598 --> 00:05:03.928 and from what he told me, he seemed to have classes at recorded times, 00:05:03.928 --> 00:05:07.058 so he didn’t have to go to the classes at the same time, 00:05:07.058 --> 00:05:10.748 they were just recorded class lectures. 00:05:13.118 --> 00:05:15.948 That was it for what changed. 00:05:16.068 --> 00:05:20.068 Actually, what did change for me was I became very secluded. 00:05:21.308 --> 00:05:24.188 It’s kind of a funny statement for me. 00:05:25.318 --> 00:05:29.798 In gaming, two games came out— Doom and Animal Crossing. 00:05:30.358 --> 00:05:34.358 And everyone I know was either playing that, or Animal Crossing or Doom. 00:05:34.718 --> 00:05:38.718 They kinda just stayed in their home, and just kinda like 00:05:38.718 --> 00:05:40.978 played and became kind of secluded. 00:05:40.978 --> 00:05:43.748 Hibernation I think is what the better term is. 00:05:43.748 --> 00:05:45.898 A lot of people I know hibernated. 00:05:47.790 --> 00:05:52.490 I definitely regretted not buying a Switch before everything went remote. 00:05:52.490 --> 00:05:55.330 Yeah, the biggest thing for me was I’m a— 00:05:55.330 --> 00:05:59.650 at heart, I love video games, and digital technology, and that. 00:05:59.650 --> 00:06:01.960 And a lot of what I saw was a lot of people— 00:06:02.880 --> 00:06:06.880 there was like a record spike in people engaging in video gaming. 00:06:07.130 --> 00:06:10.850 Cause you’re now at home, you have no grad— 00:06:10.850 --> 00:06:12.350 you don’t have any coursework to do, 00:06:12.350 --> 00:06:15.470 you don’t have any work-related stuff cause people were getting laid off. 00:06:15.710 --> 00:06:18.740 I knew a guy who was at Subway, downtown Orlando, 00:06:19.140 --> 00:06:23.450 and he recently got the job there that semester and then he had to leave. 00:06:24.096 --> 00:06:25.906 And he had no job, he had to go back home. 00:06:26.346 --> 00:06:30.226 So, it was a lot of people that tried to rely on digital media 00:06:30.226 --> 00:06:32.496 to get away from their situation. 00:06:36.246 --> 00:06:38.346 Did you have all the technology that you needed 00:06:38.346 --> 00:06:41.576 to successfully finish that class online? 00:06:43.306 --> 00:06:44.966 For Dr. Cheong’s class we did. 00:06:45.596 --> 00:06:52.906 Luckily for me I had a webcam due to my Spanish classes when I was an undergrad. 00:06:53.086 --> 00:06:54.826 So I had a webcam already set up. 00:06:54.826 --> 00:06:58.946 The internet here was decently adequate enough. 00:06:59.266 --> 00:07:03.086 I think the only worrisome thing was that the internet was cutting out 00:07:03.086 --> 00:07:04.976 every so often in the Zoom meetings. 00:07:06.896 --> 00:07:12.726 I think I remember one time I was late because I couldn’t join, 00:07:13.196 --> 00:07:15.896 and Zoom was a little bit difficult for me. 00:07:15.896 --> 00:07:19.896 But I think I was blessed, that I didn’t have anything, 00:07:19.896 --> 00:07:23.066 I didn’t like have any situation like that, that came up. 00:07:23.893 --> 00:07:27.343 How did your professor handle those kinds of situations with students? 00:07:27.836 --> 00:07:29.346 Dr. Cheong took it really well. 00:07:29.346 --> 00:07:32.656 I think she did pretty well in handling it. 00:07:32.656 --> 00:07:35.736 I knew she already was just following the situation in China 00:07:35.736 --> 00:07:37.536 before it even hit the states. 00:07:37.536 --> 00:07:39.406 So, she already was preparing. 00:07:40.586 --> 00:07:45.366 For the History program I also assume that we were doing as much as we can, 00:07:45.366 --> 00:07:47.036 from a student’s point of view. 00:07:47.036 --> 00:07:50.676 I did however find it a little bit odd 00:07:50.676 --> 00:07:55.986 that we were dropping assignments that we couldn’t actually do. 00:07:56.216 --> 00:07:58.076 For example for Dr. Cheong, 00:07:58.076 --> 00:08:02.786 we had to do a veteran’s legacy program, talking about veterans. 00:08:02.786 --> 00:08:06.896 And we couldn’t do that paper, so we had to drop it. 00:08:08.083 --> 00:08:12.083 So that was a little bit of a disadvantage. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:16.680 We had the history program— at least for me, on my end— 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:21.320 had to drop things, to help people because we just couldn’t do it anymore. 00:08:21.543 --> 00:08:23.113 It was ineffective. 00:08:25.580 --> 00:08:28.270 Did they get replaced with assignments that could be done? 00:08:30.970 --> 00:08:34.970 No, they were not replaced, from my knowledge, I think. 00:08:36.330 --> 00:08:38.030 Yeah, they were not replaced. 00:08:38.030 --> 00:08:41.740 Instead we just focused on our other assignments that were due. 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:44.960 So we just kinda— I think it was mostly based off 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:48.030 a lot of people had different situations all around the board. 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:50.900 There was no way of giving a replacement in that short amount of time. 00:08:50.900 --> 00:08:53.044 Cause by the time the Coronavirus hit us, 00:08:53.044 --> 00:08:58.094 and the whole lockdowns occurred was in like, 00:08:58.095 --> 00:09:00.325 at the end of March and the beginning of April. 00:09:00.325 --> 00:09:01.043 And already, 00:09:01.043 --> 00:09:03.930 that’s like a short amount of time to start replacing things for the course. 00:09:03.930 --> 00:09:08.220 So I think they just kinda let us deal with it. 00:09:09.800 --> 00:09:11.687 You mentioned playing games in the breezeway, 00:09:11.687 --> 00:09:15.366 were you able to keep up playing with those folks? 00:09:16.536 --> 00:09:22.706 No, a lot of them I knew— a lot of them I liked to catch up on 00:09:22.706 --> 00:09:24.966 when I walked through the breezeway after my class 00:09:24.966 --> 00:09:27.266 and usually I stayed on campus for a good while, 00:09:28.082 --> 00:09:30.012 prior to going to class. 00:09:30.353 --> 00:09:33.733 A lot of them I just don’t, I actually have not seen since March. 00:09:34.613 --> 00:09:37.303 Which is kind of sad for me that I haven’t seen them. 00:09:37.303 --> 00:09:38.803 I still talk to them online, 00:09:39.163 --> 00:09:42.103 but that’s the only communication I have with them. 00:09:42.343 --> 00:09:45.193 Some people just have gone completely dark, 00:09:45.193 --> 00:09:50.083 and I have no physical communication with them. 00:09:50.083 --> 00:09:51.713 So it’s all been digital. 00:09:53.929 --> 00:09:55.968 What would you say was the most significant impact 00:09:55.968 --> 00:09:58.478 that COVID-19 has had on your life? 00:09:58.989 --> 00:10:00.417 Significant impact… 00:10:01.087 --> 00:10:03.957 For me, I think the biggest one was grad. 00:10:03.957 --> 00:10:09.787 Definitely graduate and thoughts about the future for my— the economy. 00:10:10.104 --> 00:10:13.518 For me the grad program really put a damper on things, 00:10:13.518 --> 00:10:21.038 because I need to take the GRE to get into or apply for the history program. 00:10:21.438 --> 00:10:24.548 And I was unaware that they were waiving it. 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:29.479 So that was a little bit difficult, and a big impact on me. 00:10:30.626 --> 00:10:36.346 And what still makes a big impact too was I had an internship in the summer 00:10:37.012 --> 00:10:40.402 that was gonna pay, working in downtown Orlando. 00:10:41.304 --> 00:10:45.404 And that was cut off because of the Coronavirus. 00:10:45.729 --> 00:10:48.029 So a lot of the Coronavirus was significant— 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:54.896 like the biggest impact for me was a lot to do with the economy. 00:10:55.524 --> 00:10:59.102 What do I get to do as a history major with this degree 00:10:59.102 --> 00:11:04.237 in a world where our economy has gone down because we’ve gone all digital, 00:11:04.237 --> 00:11:06.054 and people are being laid off. 00:11:06.054 --> 00:11:09.464 And only now are we starting to like, come back in. 00:11:09.624 --> 00:11:11.884 So for me it’s mostly economical. 00:11:14.876 --> 00:11:17.186 Do you have anything else to say about your summer? 00:11:21.612 --> 00:11:24.412 I think one thing I did learn from this is that 00:11:24.906 --> 00:11:28.906 it has put a significant amount of focus on digital. 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:34.389 My MA thesis is something I really want to do something on digital media, 00:11:34.389 --> 00:11:39.376 because right now a lot of students and a lot of people 00:11:39.876 --> 00:11:42.706 are noticing how ineffective and very effective 00:11:42.706 --> 00:11:46.673 certain teachers and people are with their technology. 00:11:47.499 --> 00:11:49.948 I already had that feeling when I was an undergrad, 00:11:49.948 --> 00:11:52.358 but it’s only significantly magnified now, 00:11:52.823 --> 00:11:58.393 where we need to understand how to conduct things online. 00:11:59.273 --> 00:12:04.773 For example, my digital— my orientation just recently had technical difficulties, 00:12:04.965 --> 00:12:05.965 and you know, 00:12:06.057 --> 00:12:10.057 you have to know that’s now gonna be a common thing, 00:12:10.057 --> 00:12:13.202 and now teachers have to teach from home. 00:12:13.202 --> 00:12:16.722 Which means that you need to be familiar with Zoom, 00:12:16.722 --> 00:12:18.321 you need to be familiar with your students, 00:12:18.321 --> 00:12:23.871 now there’s no longer a case of going physically, 00:12:23.871 --> 00:12:25.328 you have to do things digitally. 00:12:25.328 --> 00:12:28.588 And so, the biggest thing, for summer, 00:12:28.588 --> 00:12:33.788 for me was just understanding that now you must get in digital. 00:12:36.094 --> 00:12:39.208 Be digitally aware, and digital tech savvy. 00:12:40.341 --> 00:12:42.501 That’s what I hope to do for Dr. Murphree as well, 00:12:42.501 --> 00:12:46.661 because I know the older you get the less stuff you want to learn 00:12:46.661 --> 00:12:49.721 and things seem a little foreign, y’know. 00:12:50.271 --> 00:12:55.047 I think the biggest thing about for our generation and for the generation below me 00:12:55.487 --> 00:12:58.167 is they can— they’re born in it, 00:12:58.167 --> 00:13:02.957 and they’re able to do things that I think I could never dream of doing. 00:13:02.957 --> 00:13:07.447 So I hope that this, the best that we can do with this situation, 00:13:07.447 --> 00:13:11.227 the best they can and understanding that there’s some opportunity here 00:13:11.227 --> 00:13:13.867 to make the best out of the darkest. 00:13:15.631 --> 00:13:16.351 Awesome. 00:13:16.885 --> 00:13:20.885 I think that’s very prevalent, and will be highly needed. 00:13:20.885 --> 00:13:23.884 So… You mentioned Dr. Murphree, 00:13:23.884 --> 00:13:26.504 can you tell me a little more about him? And the- 00:13:26.651 --> 00:13:31.271 Sure, Dr. Murphree— hi Dr. Murphree if you’re watching this. 00:13:32.137 --> 00:13:33.465 Dr. Murphree is— 00:13:33.875 --> 00:13:39.295 Dr. Daniel Murphree is a history professor at University of Central Florida. 00:13:39.295 --> 00:13:42.298 He teaches Native American history, 00:13:42.298 --> 00:13:47.281 and also teaches the Professionalizing History Major, HIS3600, 00:13:47.281 --> 00:13:50.391 which is what I will be interning for this semester. 00:13:50.721 --> 00:13:52.771 He is a very— 00:13:54.972 --> 00:14:00.022 probably the best professor I’ve had that has had a very significant impact on me 00:14:00.022 --> 00:14:02.182 as a history major in my undergrad. 00:14:03.019 --> 00:14:08.389 He does what he can to support the students he has in that major. 00:14:09.095 --> 00:14:13.915 He sets up a lot of the students to do volunteer work at museums, archives, 00:14:13.915 --> 00:14:15.515 the whole shebang. 00:14:16.015 --> 00:14:20.935 Tries to get everyone different varieties of history, 00:14:20.935 --> 00:14:25.755 and to get people involved in what your history major entails. 00:14:28.278 --> 00:14:31.658 Thanks, and you also mentioned that your orientation was online. 00:14:31.888 --> 00:14:33.198 Can you tell me more about that? 00:14:33.198 --> 00:14:34.935 Cause I went through one that was in person, 00:14:34.935 --> 00:14:37.635 so I can’t even imagine what you went through for… 00:14:37.784 --> 00:14:38.484 Sure. 00:14:38.714 --> 00:14:44.044 So my orientation for my MA was online, a Zoom meeting. 00:14:45.016 --> 00:14:49.016 We’d got the Zoom meeting invitation about a day before it actually occurred. 00:14:49.016 --> 00:14:51.256 But we already knew that it was going to be on that day, 00:14:51.256 --> 00:14:54.306 we just didn’t get the Zoom meeting until a day before. 00:14:56.785 --> 00:15:00.785 It was a lot of focus on having your webcam on and just kind of listening, 00:15:00.785 --> 00:15:03.641 there wasn’t really a lot of talking besides asking questions 00:15:03.641 --> 00:15:05.281 besides the speakers. 00:15:06.436 --> 00:15:08.836 A lot of it was very awkward because I was y’know, 00:15:08.836 --> 00:15:11.686 at home and here we are at orientation. 00:15:13.436 --> 00:15:17.306 It was very… What’s the word— 00:15:17.306 --> 00:15:19.566 not engaging, in that like, 00:15:20.941 --> 00:15:26.221 I felt like physically I would’ve been very more engaged. 00:15:26.933 --> 00:15:29.753 Obviously I was engaged because it was my grad orientation, 00:15:29.753 --> 00:15:35.323 but I knew if I was physically there I’d be 100% focused. 00:15:35.601 --> 00:15:36.724 For example, 00:15:36.788 --> 00:15:40.608 I got an email from someone, and I had to quickly do that, 00:15:40.608 --> 00:15:44.488 so I just looked over and I typed it out really quick and then I sent it. 00:15:44.631 --> 00:15:47.891 I wouldn’t have done that if I was in a physical orientation. 00:15:48.357 --> 00:15:53.047 So it was very easy to get distracted, I think that’s the best thing I could say. 00:15:53.625 --> 00:15:57.045 A lot of people were very skeptical about webcams, 00:15:57.045 --> 00:16:00.805 I knew a few people weren’t using their webcams and such 00:16:00.805 --> 00:16:02.975 so that was a little bit strange. 00:16:05.709 --> 00:16:07.169 That’s very interesting. 00:16:09.466 --> 00:16:13.366 How has COVID-19 influenced your decision around fall semester? 00:16:15.155 --> 00:16:16.265 I thought about taking— 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:20.029 the temptation’s there to take a year off, or take a leap year, 00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:21.432 or take a leap semester off. 00:16:21.432 --> 00:16:24.232 It was like the first thing that came to mind. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.885 I think for me early on I almost thought about doing it, 00:16:28.885 --> 00:16:31.333 and then as we move closer and closer 00:16:31.333 --> 00:16:35.073 I just figured may as well just kinda brace yourself to go through it. 00:16:37.004 --> 00:16:41.154 I think it’s very tempting to take that semester off 00:16:41.415 --> 00:16:47.115 because the COVID pandemic can be very intimidating, 00:16:47.115 --> 00:16:51.585 but I assume that’s why a lot of people keep their ear to the ground 00:16:51.585 --> 00:16:55.185 on what UCF is doing and what the nation is doing. 00:16:55.409 --> 00:17:00.029 So I thought that UCF was doing a good job in controlling it 00:17:00.029 --> 00:17:04.089 so I figured okay well, my grad classes are online, 00:17:05.627 --> 00:17:09.627 I mean I’m usually a guy that is online most of the time, 00:17:09.627 --> 00:17:11.487 so I figured it’s not that bad. 00:17:11.879 --> 00:17:15.879 But I know from my understanding that a lot of people are different than me 00:17:16.269 --> 00:17:17.889 in terms of their learning experience, 00:17:17.889 --> 00:17:23.473 and they learn better in a classroom and with physical textbooks in front of them. 00:17:23.473 --> 00:17:27.153 So I can definitely see why some people may have taken it— 00:17:27.153 --> 00:17:29.993 I chose not to, because I did not want to skip a year. 00:17:31.968 --> 00:17:33.568 You mentioned UCF’s response, 00:17:33.938 --> 00:17:35.858 can you tell me more about your thoughts on it? 00:17:36.848 --> 00:17:42.128 I thought the response was adequate I think until the spike, 00:17:43.241 --> 00:17:48.941 the spike about in mid July or so when we had the biggest spike I think. 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:53.208 I thought UCF was doing an adequate enough job. 00:17:54.502 --> 00:18:00.912 UCF, for me, couldn’t apply to many other universities due to their size. 00:18:01.439 --> 00:18:03.529 So when I saw that their size was— 00:18:03.529 --> 00:18:07.669 UCF is like, off the top of my head about 00:18:07.669 --> 00:18:10.099 70,000 students in the world. 00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:13.629 But not even counting faculty, I’m not sure faculty’s in that number, 00:18:13.629 --> 00:18:16.185 but it’s still a significant amount of people. 00:18:16.185 --> 00:18:20.185 And so I assumed we were gonna err on the side of caution. 00:18:20.408 --> 00:18:23.489 And I think they’re doing an adequate enough job, 00:18:23.489 --> 00:18:26.059 and the spike hit and that’s like when I thought, 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:28.450 “Okay, the plan is now scrapped, 00:18:28.830 --> 00:18:30.699 because now we have a huge spike here, 00:18:30.699 --> 00:18:32.809 and now I have no clue what UCF is doing.” 00:18:32.809 --> 00:18:35.119 Because the moment that spike hit I said, 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:37.259 “Okay, what are we doing different, 00:18:37.259 --> 00:18:41.089 because now the whole being on campus thing is going to be a lot, 00:18:41.089 --> 00:18:44.189 a lot more difficult than what they assumed.” 00:18:45.116 --> 00:18:49.116 So right now I think they’re doing a little bit online, 00:18:49.116 --> 00:18:53.116 but I think they’re doing a decent amount of job, 00:18:53.116 --> 00:18:54.806 in what they have to do. 00:18:55.361 --> 00:18:58.131 I understand that this is a first time thing, 00:18:58.131 --> 00:19:02.111 a pandemic doesn’t hit us every 5 years or something like that. 00:19:02.111 --> 00:19:06.111 So we’re not readily prepared for that especially with our size. 00:19:06.401 --> 00:19:11.121 I imagine they’re doing an average job at it, 00:19:11.121 --> 00:19:13.091 I think they can probably improve on some things. 00:19:13.091 --> 00:19:18.191 Probably the enforcing of mask-wearing and such. 00:19:19.930 --> 00:19:23.080 Do you anticipate being on campus at all this semester? 00:19:23.780 --> 00:19:25.729 I anticipate maybe like once or twice. 00:19:25.729 --> 00:19:29.359 I actually did come to campus a few times in April and May. 00:19:30.459 --> 00:19:35.889 I didn’t— I’ll say I didn’t wear a mask because it was so late it was like 6pm 00:19:35.889 --> 00:19:38.072 I usually went on there and no one was out. 00:19:38.905 --> 00:19:40.995 It was very— what’s the word— 00:19:40.995 --> 00:19:46.845 not awkward, but very sobering to see the whole campus just dead. 00:19:47.035 --> 00:19:52.645 And I see a few pictures online and it looks dead, 00:19:52.645 --> 00:19:56.355 before back in like July it looked very dead. 00:19:56.355 --> 00:19:58.585 But I think now a lot of people have moved in, 00:19:58.585 --> 00:20:03.345 and I know a lot of people for housing had just moved in that’ve been tested. 00:20:03.345 --> 00:20:05.545 And I think a lot of people are there that are 00:20:06.941 --> 00:20:08.315 y’know, trying to go out. 00:20:11.280 --> 00:20:15.280 Are there any questions that you’d like to answer that I haven’t asked? 00:20:19.068 --> 00:20:22.546 I think a question I did was like, coping. 00:20:22.924 --> 00:20:27.004 I think a lot of people downplay the coping mechanisms a lot of people do. 00:20:27.004 --> 00:20:30.424 I mean, for me it was video games, 00:20:30.424 --> 00:20:31.989 I always cope with video games. 00:20:31.989 --> 00:20:35.909 So I just kinda laid low and played on my computer, 00:20:35.909 --> 00:20:40.199 my playstation or whatever video game console I can name these days. 00:20:41.029 --> 00:20:43.339 A lot of people had different types of coping, 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:44.554 I know my friend 00:20:45.571 --> 00:20:47.651 he went home and he just wanted to be with his family, 00:20:47.651 --> 00:20:49.267 that was his way of coping. 00:20:50.025 --> 00:20:54.025 There was some people that were making videos online, 00:20:54.025 --> 00:20:55.535 that was their way of coping. 00:20:55.977 --> 00:20:59.527 There’s a lot of different ways people handle the COVID situation, 00:20:59.527 --> 00:21:03.807 and I’m really interested in how they cope with it. 00:21:03.807 --> 00:21:06.277 Because everyone’s different with how they cope, 00:21:06.277 --> 00:21:11.047 it’s the same with like if someone close to you in a family had passed away. 00:21:11.950 --> 00:21:13.490 I can’t imagine— 00:21:15.105 --> 00:21:17.875 another question I did want to answer is 00:21:17.875 --> 00:21:21.355 how did my family feel about the COVID situation. 00:21:21.355 --> 00:21:28.875 And I hadn’t seen my parents for months, almost. 00:21:29.385 --> 00:21:32.595 Cause I was so scared that I was asymptomatic, 00:21:32.595 --> 00:21:35.795 and I could give them the virus without even knowing. 00:21:35.795 --> 00:21:37.555 So I couldn’t even go home. 00:21:38.645 --> 00:21:43.375 I actually hadn’t seen them since about like, 00:21:43.375 --> 00:21:45.975 my birthday which is on February 1st. 00:21:45.975 --> 00:21:48.275 And I had not seen them until July. 00:21:49.004 --> 00:21:52.144 So that was the longest I’ve ever not seen my family. 00:21:53.292 --> 00:21:57.032 And when they did come in July they were in masks. 00:21:57.774 --> 00:21:59.651 Which really impacted me cause I was like 00:21:59.651 --> 00:22:03.411 “What? I can’t even do any physical contact, 00:22:03.411 --> 00:22:05.571 I can’t kiss my mom on the forehead,” 00:22:06.231 --> 00:22:07.091 I couldn’t do it 00:22:07.091 --> 00:22:11.681 because I could give her a virus that I didn’t know was possible. 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:17.120 So I was very worried for my family. 00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:26.150 My aunt, she’s a nun over in Tampa I think or Ft. Lauderdale, 00:22:26.150 --> 00:22:27.240 I don’t remember. 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:32.500 But she also had a case where in her monastery 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:38.500 there was a priest or nun that got the coronavirus and died. 00:22:39.270 --> 00:22:40.977 And I was very worried for my aunt. 00:22:42.396 --> 00:22:46.246 So it was a lot of stress on that front of, 00:22:46.593 --> 00:22:48.090 “Are my parents going to be okay? 00:22:48.090 --> 00:22:51.813 Is my extended family going to be okay?” 00:22:52.367 --> 00:22:53.891 And a lot of people are different. 00:22:54.247 --> 00:22:56.177 I couldn’t, I didn’t want to stay with my family 00:22:56.177 --> 00:22:59.737 because I had a fear of being asymptomatic 00:22:59.737 --> 00:23:02.867 and not giving them the virus. 00:23:06.154 --> 00:23:08.514 Yeah, I know it’s been very stressful. 00:23:10.194 --> 00:23:12.926 Coping mechanisms are definitely different across the board. 00:23:15.644 --> 00:23:16.544 I’m sorry— 00:23:16.716 --> 00:23:20.286 Oh sorry, I noticed another thing too when we talked about digital things. 00:23:20.931 --> 00:23:24.931 My parents started opting-in for digital shopping too. 00:23:26.116 --> 00:23:30.116 Getting their toilet paper online, getting their groceries online, 00:23:30.565 --> 00:23:32.305 delivery food online. 00:23:32.702 --> 00:23:35.842 So a lot of delivery systems were in place. 00:23:36.805 --> 00:23:40.805 I forget the name— not Yelp— 00:23:40.805 --> 00:23:43.305 what’s that delivery service? 00:23:43.305 --> 00:23:44.205 Uber Eats. 00:23:44.205 --> 00:23:45.329 That’s what it was, Uber Eats. 00:23:45.329 --> 00:23:50.430 There were a lot of Uber Eats in the COVID crisis. 00:23:50.408 --> 00:23:51.588 There was a lot of Uber Eats. 00:23:51.588 --> 00:23:55.778 And I think like Publix has a system that deliver food. 00:23:56.478 --> 00:23:59.701 So a lot of deliveries. 00:24:00.233 --> 00:24:03.330 Did you or your family face any of the shortages? 00:24:04.173 --> 00:24:08.173 I definitely felt the toilet paper shortage up here. 00:24:08.821 --> 00:24:09.970 Because we were— 00:24:09.970 --> 00:24:13.381 me and my roommate, we had toilet paper left over 00:24:14.731 --> 00:24:16.361 and I was just like, “Oh god,” 00:24:16.361 --> 00:24:19.341 because when we went to Publix every week there was no more toilet paper 00:24:19.341 --> 00:24:25.293 and I was going, “I cannot live without this toilet paper, 00:24:25.293 --> 00:24:28.158 because I’m not going in the bathroom anytime soon.” 00:24:29.296 --> 00:24:35.616 That was the only shortage I think that I felt in the virus pandemic. 00:24:37.976 --> 00:24:40.256 Oh, and then like nonperishables. 00:24:40.256 --> 00:24:43.160 Like whenever we went to Publix there was like 00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:46.706 no pasta, no potatoes, no rice. 00:24:47.537 --> 00:24:51.587 So there was a very big shortage on those nonperishable foods. 00:24:54.538 --> 00:24:56.122 It’s almost hurricane season now. 00:24:56.122 --> 00:24:59.628 Do you think that we’re gonna face some of the same shortages? 00:25:00.108 --> 00:25:01.350 I think we are. 00:25:02.188 --> 00:25:03.938 I always prepare for the worst, 00:25:03.938 --> 00:25:08.188 so I’m just gonna assume we’ll get hit by an Irma. 00:25:08.751 --> 00:25:11.411 I think water shortages gonna be pretty big. 00:25:12.226 --> 00:25:14.837 I think a lot of nonperishables are gonna be big. 00:25:15.730 --> 00:25:19.980 Luckily for Orlando we’re kinda in the middle of the peninsula, 00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:22.750 so at least we have that going for us. 00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:27.940 I’ve been here- I’ve been in Orlando since three years ago. 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:33.028 I’ve been hit by two hurricanes, Irma and I forget the other one. 00:25:34.378 --> 00:25:37.615 But, every time I’ve gone here and I’ve stayed here it’s been fine. 00:25:37.615 --> 00:25:40.485 Usually you just prepare yourself for the worst. 00:25:40.745 --> 00:25:45.265 I know UCF has the supply, the— what is it— 00:25:45.265 --> 00:25:47.131 Knights Pantry that gives out food, 00:25:47.131 --> 00:25:50.308 and they supply the garages to put your car in 00:25:50.308 --> 00:25:52.218 to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere. 00:25:52.597 --> 00:25:56.117 So yeah I think hurricane season might be a little bit impactful 00:25:56.117 --> 00:25:59.517 on how shoppers go about their grocery shopping. 00:26:00.130 --> 00:26:03.430 And I already stocked up on water, so I’m good. 00:26:03.857 --> 00:26:06.957 I think a lot of people might’ve already stocked up on supplies 00:26:06.957 --> 00:26:10.177 because of the coronavirus that they might already be overprepared. 00:26:10.509 --> 00:26:12.809 I don’t think anyone will be underprepared. 00:26:12.809 --> 00:26:15.319 But that’s my hope. 00:26:16.115 --> 00:26:19.035 Yeah, and I said that hurricane season was starting soon, 00:26:19.035 --> 00:26:22.155 but I was actually referencing that there’s a hurricane out there now. 00:26:22.155 --> 00:26:24.140 So yeah— 00:26:24.140 --> 00:26:25.580 Yeah, I’ve been looking into that. 00:26:25.730 --> 00:26:28.330 I believe it is due around here around Monday, 00:26:28.330 --> 00:26:30.110 which is the first day of classes for fall semester. 00:26:30.110 --> 00:26:33.590 So it should definitely be interesting to see what occurs. 00:26:34.087 --> 00:26:34.787 Yeah. 00:26:34.877 --> 00:26:37.518 Yeah. Any last thoughts? 00:26:41.341 --> 00:26:44.891 I think last thoughts are for the students who’re watching this. 00:26:46.371 --> 00:26:49.991 I think a lot of us are going to be in a dark time right now, 00:26:50.837 --> 00:26:52.237 in this pandemic. 00:26:52.852 --> 00:26:56.852 And I just want to assure you guys that you’re gonna get through it, 00:26:57.021 --> 00:26:59.301 you’re gonna get through the worst. 00:27:00.491 --> 00:27:03.591 Just prepare yourselves, and kinda just get through it. 00:27:03.591 --> 00:27:05.791 And for those of you watching this back 00:27:05.791 --> 00:27:07.981 or are far away from the pandemic, 00:27:07.981 --> 00:27:11.271 and it’s 2025 or something. 00:27:12.954 --> 00:27:16.864 I hope this can be a learning experience for people, 00:27:18.221 --> 00:27:19.313 for future pandemics 00:27:19.313 --> 00:27:23.193 and how we handled things as both humans and as students 00:27:23.193 --> 00:27:26.203 and teachers and faculty. 00:27:26.534 --> 00:27:30.444 So, y’know, it’s only— 00:27:30.444 --> 00:27:34.354 it’s just going to get better. It’s not— what is it, 00:27:34.827 --> 00:27:36.817 “The dawn comes before the dark,” or something like that, 00:27:36.817 --> 00:27:38.916 some Dark Knight quote that I can’t quite remember. 00:27:38.916 --> 00:27:41.366 But y’know eventually the sun is going to rise. 00:27:41.366 --> 00:27:44.757 And hopefully you get through it, 00:27:44.757 --> 00:27:48.817 and I pray that people do get through this. 00:27:49.215 --> 00:27:52.485 Cause I know it’s a stressful time and it’s very unique. 00:27:52.485 --> 00:27:54.375 A very, very unique time. 00:27:56.590 --> 00:27:57.500 Definitely. 00:27:57.849 --> 00:28:00.929 Well, thank you for sharing your experiences and your thoughts. 00:28:01.268 --> 00:28:03.308 I really do appreciate you taking the time. 00:28:03.525 --> 00:28:04.355 No problem. 00:28:04.580 --> 00:28:08.170 And, would you be okay if we do a follow-up interview, 00:28:08.170 --> 00:28:10.500 in perhaps 6 months or a year? 00:28:10.751 --> 00:28:11.541 Sure. 00:28:11.818 --> 00:28:13.138 Awesome. Great. 00:28:13.138 --> 00:28:15.398 Well I am going to turn off the recording now.