covid-19

covid-19, Education

Forbidden Recreation

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As a result of the guidelines set forth by Santa Clara Country in response to COVID-19, Stanford took drastic measures to limit the temptation to break social distancing rules. A salient example is outdoor recreation: beach volleyball nets removed, outdoor gyms fenced up, indoor gyms and hiking trails closed, and most interestingly, modified basketball courts. I took a walk around campus and found that Stanford either tied-up the net, boarded-over the rim, or removed completely the hoop altogether at nearly every basketball court across the university. Described as “very fun w/ a sprinkle of deep!” in an Instagram comment, this photo series serves as a visual collection of some of…

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A mask is left on the ground outside of Arrillaga dining hall. (Noah Cortez, Peninsula Press)
covid-19, Culture, Education

Fall Quarter in Quarantine

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I have been quarantining at Stanford since March. For the past 9 months, I’ve watched campus adjust to the strict COVID-19 measures set in place by Santa Clara County and settle into the new normal that will continue into the foreseeable future. As an MA Journalism student focusing on visual communication (photography, documentary film, VR/AR journalism), my approach to photography follows a structure that is well-reported and straightforward. I have been documenting life on campus since March through photos – this specific photo series documents Stanford life as of November 2020. Some photographs in this short photo collection depict changes Stanford enacted back in March, while others highlight recent developments….

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Tents and belongings along the banks of the San Lorenzo River, a popular location for Santa Cruz’s homeless to find shelter. (Daniel Wu / Peninsula Press)
covid-19, Housing + Development, Social Services

Coronavirus and winter make it harder to solve Santa Cruz’s homelessness problems

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One day in March, Jeffrey Jerozal got caught in a rainstorm. The sudden coronavirus lockdown put Santa Cruz’s businesses and residents on edge, and wherever Jerozal tried to take temporary shelter, he was met with hostility. A scuffle ensued, the police came, and the homeless man was taken to a hospital, wet and shivering. “It’s a damned state to get hypothermia in Santa Cruz,” he said. Experiences like Jerozal’s are common in a beach town that promotes its legacy of tolerance — “Keep Santa Cruz Weird” is the slogan on T-shirts — but hasn’t been able to solve a persistent problem with homelessness. As city officials, nonprofits and activists struggle…

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covid-19, Culture, Education

Girls Leadership Nonprofit Works to Lessen COVID-strain for Girls of Color

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Senator Kamala Harris embodies many firsts. She is the first Vice President-Elect who identifies as Black, South Asian, a woman, and an ardent fan of Mary J. Blige’s “Work That.” But for a statistically significant number of Black and Latinx girls in the United States, she is not their first leadership role model— and that’s a good thing. As Harris was blazing the campaign trail in August, a non-profit based in her hometown released a study that shows Black and Latinx girls are considerably more likely than their peers to identify as leaders. They are also more likely to have role models in their lives who identify as leaders. The…

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covid-19, Culture, Food, World

San Francisco’s only Chamorro Restaurant Persists Amid Pandemic

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SAN FRANCISCO – At Prubechu’, on the corner of 18th and Mission booming reggae music, bursts of laughter, and a sunny outdoor patio make diners feel as if they’re in the Pacific. When the music fades and sounds of bustling city traffic take over, general manager Shawn Camacho is filled with pride to bring a piece of his Guamanian home to the Bay Area. Smoked, charred, coconut, salty, and sour flavors paired with aromatic ingredients, like onions and garlic, are key elements in a Chamorro dish. Chamorros are the indigenous people of Guam and the Northern Marianas. Barbecue ribs, chicken, and brisket are at the center of their fiesta plates…

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Dede Boies runs Root Down Farm, an organic poultry and pig operation in Pescadero that sold out of Thanksgiving turkeys in just hours this year.
Agriculture, covid-19, Politics

Good Sales Give California Turkey Farmers Something to be Thankful for

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Root Down Farm sold out of turkeys just two hours after posting their holiday order form online this November. That marked a record speed for the Pescadero, California organic farm. Given the unpredictability of the pandemic, they hadn’t known whether turkey sales would be better, worse, or the same as usual, said the farm’s owner, Dede Boies, who raised about 200 turkeys this year. Boies noted that a change in the ordering procedure might have affected the speed of sales—Root Down posted their order form later this year than in the past, perhaps giving customers a sense of urgency when it went up. But either way, Thanksgiving sales remained strong…

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