The Empty Campus
A Digital History of the COVID-19 Pandemic at a Public University
This archive captures the work of students, faculty, staff, and administrators at Fitchburg State University to record and document the history of Covid-19 at the university.
Two initiatives are collected here:
(1) a digital archive of photographs and documents submitted via a general call for contributions during academic year 2021-2022. Additional contributions can be made via the "Contribute an Item" link on this site. We are especially interested in expanding our collection to stories and texts, in addition to photographs and documents.
(2) oral histories collected by students in the Honors Seminar in History during spring 2022, which they used to produce reflective podcasts.
Created by students in the Honors Seminar in History, Spring 2022. Transcripts created by otter.ai and have not been edited for errors/accuracy.
Documenting Learning and Living During the Pandemic: Fitchburg State University Covid-19 Digital Photograph Collection
First Day of Class, Fall 2020 SemesterThis photo was taken on the first day of classes in the Fall 2020 semester. It was posted on social media with the caption "First day of classes fall…
Fitchburg State Orchestra Rehearsal, Saima Park, FitchburgDuring a time of isolation when classes went online and venues closed, by wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart and rehearsing outdoors, the orchestra…
My school life during the pandemic
Mask before class
Moving In DayThe image that I choose to talk about is a picture of me and my roommate moving into our Freshman year dorm together. It was taken by one of our…