Written by Michael Palomba
The coronavirus is, at least at this point, affecting all of our daily lives in one way or another. One of the most affected groups, however, is college students.
As a college student myself, I’ve had to make a lot of changes to my daily life, and my friends have as well.
The first and arguably most extreme change is adjusting to a fully online course schedule. At the beginning of the semester, many of us picked in-person classes over online classes for a reason. For me, I have a much harder time applying myself to a class that does not meet in person, and I’m sure I am not alone in that.
In addition, the way some teachers are handling the transition to online is having a major impact on students. While I haven’t had this happen yet, a friend of mine has a professor that completely canceled the second test for the class. My first reaction to that was “well what about the people who did poorly on the first test and were relying on the second test to boost their grade?” My friend did excellent on the first test so that wasn’t a concern for him, but I’d imagine that was not the case for everyone and others are seriously panicking as a result.
Now, moving away from the academic aspect, living situations for many students have been abruptly changed. At San Diego State, students were informed with very short notice that move-out was being expedited and they were expected to be out by Wednesday. There were exceptions for those who needed to remain, but all exceptions had to be approved by the school.
I have an apartment off campus and live in San Diego full time, so I wasn’t directly affected by this, but I have friends who were.
Another way that I and many others have been affected by this situation is regarding employment. Shortly before the outbreak, I had a job lined up to work as a bank teller. However, with everything going on, they are no longer hiring. This is the case for many businesses and workers alike. College students are losing jobs and losing income as a result. And with many of us paying rent, food, and other expenses out of pocket, that is a serious concern.
Unfortunately, there is not more much that can be done to get us out of this pandemic. Social distancing is being strongly encouraged at all levels of government, “stay at home” orders have been issued across the state, and testing kits/sites are becoming more plentiful by the day.
In addition, Americans are expected to receive a round of checks in the near future to help get through these troubling times. The best we can do now is adhere to local guidance, keep our hands washed, and hope this situation blows over soon.
