The Eastern Michigan University Archives is inviting members of the EMU community to contribute any materials that would assist in documenting the coronavirus pandemic, the political turmoil and racial unrest of 2020. Official communications regarding the events of this year will be collected, but the EMU Archives wishes to ensure that the personal, day-to-day stories and experiences of the EMU community are preserved as well.

EMU students, faculty, staff and alumni are being asked to submit content of any format: photography and video (phone or otherwise), journal entries, original poetry, school assignments, reactions to decisions made on and off campus, recorded Zoom meetings, and all other representations of 2020 are welcome additions to the Archives’ 20/20 Project.

“This collection will document the personal and professional experiences of EMU in a much more intimate way than what you may find in public relations reports and official press releases. This is a chance for everyone on and off campus to have their voices heard, and their stories put ‘on the books’ as part of EMU history,” said EMU Archives lecturer Matt Jones. “In the decades to come, we want to make sure that our account of this tumultuous year is not only accurate, but all-inclusive.”

Contributors can submit digital items by filling out a form online where they and can submit up to ten files at a time. For physical submissions, an appropriate drop off day and time can be arranged by emailing the University Archives at lib_archives@emich.edu.

Guidelines for submitting materials to the EMU Archives 20/20 Project:

• The University Archives will accept journal and diary entries, social media posts, videos, photographs, audio, and all other digital documentation
• The University Archives will accept physical items. Contributors must make an appointment for drop off at the University Archives, within Halle Library.
• Materials should document:
• • Remote learning and its struggles/successes.
• • Displacement from housing in spring 2020.
• • Delayed return to campus in fall 2020.
• • Social distancing, COVID testing, and quarantine
• • The overall effect of the pandemic on the experience of the contributor.
• • Racial unrest in America in the aftermath of the George Floyd and Brionna Taylor killings.
• • Reactions and responses to allegations of police brutality.
• • Apprehensions of returning to campus in a national climate of increased political and racial tension.
• • Hopes and fears surrounding the 2020 elections.
• All perspectives are welcome. The University reflects its greater community and the viewpoints expressed in this collection should perform the same function.
• Materials documenting the experiences of contributors will be made immediately available for researchers upon submission.
• Any contributors appearing in video or audio recordings must sign a permissions form upon submission. Archives staff will contact contributors with emailed or personally delivered permissions forms.
• If submitting social media posts, the EMU Archives requests that you save and submit them as screen shots (JPEGs).