With over a million people infected and almost 64,000 deaths in the United States alone as of May 1, the Coronavirus pandemic is one of the most influential and world-shifting events to happen in recent history. To help members of the Pace community document and cope with this incredibly difficult time,  Pace University Archives has partnered with the Libraries and launched the “History is Now” project. The project was launched on Monday, April 27.

“The main goal [of this project] is to record how Pace, as an institution and community of individuals, experienced the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and the various ways we found to cope with it,” said University Archivist Ellen Sowchek.

According to Sowchek, the project was thought up when a colleague of hers mentioned how they were keeping a journal of their life under the pandemic during a virtual library staff meeting.

“As an archivist, I recognize the significance for historians of such first-hand accounts and the importance of collecting them once they are created,” Sowchek said.

According to Sowchek, the only time that Pace has undergone a similar project was after the 9/11 crisis, but the two projects differ in a few ways.

“[The 9/11 project] was focused primarily on our experience as an institution,” she said, “but this is the first time [the university is] initiating a project through an actual time of crisis ad expanding it to include a collection of personal accounts.”

Any member of the Pace community (students, faculty, staff and alumni) are welcomed to contribute to this project and almost any sort of contribution will be accepted. These contributions include but are not limited to drawings, poems and journal entries, photos and videos.

“How a faculty member adapts to this situation may be completely different from a student or staff member, so it is important that all stories be told,” Sowchek said.

Despite only launching less than a week ago, University Archives have already received a few submissions and contributions and hope to receive more as time goes on. Sowchek would like the materials that are contributed and collected to represent the entire university community and all three campuses.

The project is also open-ended, so people can donate at any time that they like. According to Sowchek, it is important, once people return to campus and a sense of normality is brought back, to also document the community’s post-pandemic experience.

People who would like to contribute to this project can submit their contibutions to Sowchek via email, at [email protected]. For more information, they can visit the Archives homepage or the project’s homepage.