Student Union
Young People Tire of Coronavirus Stereotypes
Darla Veitch, a 19-year-old student attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is not the stereotypical college student, gathering in crowds at the beach or in bars.
The farthest she strays from home, she said, is her backyard.
“The last time I went out was probably three months ago, to Home Depot to get some plants to put in our garden,” said Veitch. “Very crazy.”
Images of parties and bars frequently paint a picture of young people who are ignoring social distancing guidelines, like wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic. As students have returned to college campuses, cases have risen.
But not all young people are mingling at parties without wearing masks.
Veitch said she is taking online classes because she expected the pandemic would not let up anytime soon.
“It’s been very boring,” said Veitch. “I spend a lot of time...well…all my time indoors with my family. Occasionally my boyfriend visits me.”
He sits two meters away with a mask, and has precautionary testing. He results have been negative.
“For nine months, I haven’t been able to hug my boyfriend or my friends or go on campus. And I know I’m taking this extremely seriously. I definitely think with the climate of politics and what’s going on in our country, I feel very useless because I can’t go out and do something about the events I’m seeing because I don’t want to put other people’s lives at risk,” she added.
Being cautious on campus
Coleman McJessy, a junior at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, says that he and most young people around him are social distancing, not partying, and always wear masks.
“Masks have become a way of life. I don’t know the last time I’ve seen someone have to get reprimanded by a professor or by campus security for not wearing a mask,” the 20-year-old said.
McJessy lives in a dorm with roommates and gets tested twice a week. The university offers the testing for free. Anyone on campus for any reason is required to participate.
People are also required to wear face coverings outdoors and indoors in shared, but not private, spaces.
On October 5, Trinity had no active cases on campus. But one week later, 47 active cases were confirmed among students, out of around 2,100 members of the student body.
While McJessy says he and his friends stay on campus mostly, they take extra precautions off campus and are more strategic when making plans.
“If I go to Target to get food, I make a list, go in, and go out. You don’t really do anything just because it’s a spur of the moment thing because you want to make a plan to do the activity whether it’s going off campus or on campus,” McJessy said.
“And [you ask], ‘How safe is it going to be? What’s the chance of getting the virus?’ I think those are questions that are in the back of everybody’s mind,” he added.
Theo Carter, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, also tries to stay indoors as much as possible despite living alone in a dorm on campus.
“I spend a lot of time in my dorm,” Carter said. “I typically go out once a week to get groceries...I probably stay indoors around 80% of the time.”
Frustration with peers
Young people following pandemic regulations express frustration at peers who do not.
“It’s very frustrating and very hard. Because I also want to be going out and partying, but feel a responsibility to not do that so that I don’t endanger myself and others,” Carter said.
“Everything on the news is telling you to stay inside, but you go around and see everyone else ignoring mandates and they’re not social distancing,” Carter said.
Like many adults, some students on campus are not wearing masks and social distancing, he said.
“They’ll wear them under their chin or just hold them. Just walking around campus, they don’t really wear them at all,” Carter said.
As of October 13, the University of North Carolina-Charlotte had 287 confirmed positive cases, 243 among students. There were 17 on-campus active cases.
“Of course, it’s hard to be young now and you want to party and hang out with friends, but they are also educated enough to follow the guidelines of this pandemic,” said Veitch, who said she’s unfollowed some friends on social media after seeing them ignore social distancing.
College administration plays a big role, said McJessy.
Trinity has done “a really good job of creating rules that can be followed and that aren’t unreasonable, such as a testing protocol so that we know when somebody is sick and how to adjust our schedules for that. And a strict no-tolerance policy,” he said.
“My campus is almost entirely a residential campus, so it’s very easy, if there is loud music and lights blasting from a dorm, for campus security to knock on their door and see what’s going on,” he added.
‘We’re not fully to blame’
Veitch said she understands why people are pointing fingers but that young people shouldn’t be fully to blame.
“While we’re pointing the finger at young people, we have adults going to indoor rallies and super spreader events that have now resulted in the White House being completely covered with this horrible virus. It’s a little hypocritical,” Veitch said.
On September 26, President Donald Trump hosted more than 200 people in the White House Rose Garden to announce his nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Images of the event showed most attendees did not wear a face mask. After the event, more than two dozen people were reported to have contracted the coronavirus, including the president, first lady Melania Trump and several aides.
President Trump received treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is now back on the campaign trail. His doctor says the president tested negative “on consecutive days.”
Being responsible
Veitch said she bears a responsibility to others.
“I have elderly friends and adult friends who are 50-plus years old that I can’t imagine if something happened to them because of my negligence,” she said.
“I think it’s extremely important for young people to set the standard for behavior, especially because we are the future for this country and this planet. I definitely think we should take more responsibility,” she said.
“I think there is a lot of cynicism about college kids and I don’t think that’s necessarily granted by the numbers, at least by my personal experience here. I do wish that there would be a more complete understanding of college students,” McJessy added.
See all News Updates of the Day
International students navigate financial challenges to pay US tuition
Navigating the complexities of higher education is challenging for many, but for international students, the financial hurdles can be particularly daunting.
Faced with skyrocketing tuition and fees, limited access to financial aid, and the instability of scholarships, many international students struggle to sustain their academic dreams.
Funding problems can lead some students to withdraw their college applications, as Alpha Daramy Sesay of Sierra Leone did. He abandoned his dream of studying journalism at the University of Maryland.
"I've applied to almost three universities in the past two years, and the board members were thrilled with my purpose statement and approved my application unambiguously," Sesay told VOA News. "However, I was unable to register due to the funding bottleneck, and the deadline for these offers has just lapsed."
Sesay had meticulously planned his move to the U.S., even stopping his scholarship search when a family member promised financial support. When Sesay was admitted to his dream school, however, the family support fell through, leaving him scrambling for scholarships that didn't cover all expenses.
Reflecting on his ordeal, Sesay advises future international students to seek scholarships and consult with school advisers early to avoid similar setbacks.
Talia Popovski, senior director of International Student Services at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida, suggests starting at a community college to save on tuition costs.
"Primarily, we have international students pursuing associate degrees," she said. "This is a major way for them to save money compared to going directly to a university."
Popovski emphasized the benefits of community colleges as pathways to universities, with many international students pursuing associate degrees before transferring to earn their bachelor's degrees. She also highlighted the role of on-campus work in alleviating financial burdens, suggesting institutional work-study programs as options.
According to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a nonprofit dedicated to international education and exchange, international students are ineligible for federal work-study positions, necessitating discussions with advisers about employment eligibility. Popovski also mentioned that universities offer part-time jobs through their human resources departments, including paid internships, which provide additional financial support for education.
Student secures honor scholarship
Guilherme Lucas Mannarino, who received his associate degree from Valencia College, turned down 32 esports scholarships to study in Florida.
"I came to the United States [from Brazil] when I was 18 years old," Mannarino recalled. "I rejected all the scholarships that I acquired through esports, playing Fortnite."
Mannarino, who majored in finance at Valencia College, exemplified proactive planning in overcoming financial challenges.
Despite declining the esports scholarships, Mannarino secured an honor scholarship at Valencia College covering 50% of his tuition. He attributed his financial stability to planning ahead, staying on top of his academics, and acquiring an on-campus job.
To supplement his income, he conducted workshops advising Brazilian students on esports scholarships, allowing him to cover living expenses by finding roommates through social media.
"I was able to find a roommate on social media before coming to the U.S., which is a great way to save money," he said. "A year later, we had another roommate, which made my living costs cheaper, which is honestly the best way to save money in the U.S."
Tips for overcoming financial hurdles
Kadiatou Sow, from Conakry, Guinea, is studying at Saginaw Valley State University in University Center, Michigan.
"Managing the high cost of tuition and living expenses while studying abroad involves a strategic approach," Sow said. "I prioritize securing scholarships and grants tailored for international students to alleviate tuition expenses and sometimes cover living costs. Supplementing this with part-time work both on campus and in the local community provides a steady income for daily necessities."
She encourages fellow international students to balance work and studies effectively, understand visa work-hour regulations, and seek university support for financial aid options.
"Seeking guidance from university support services and staying informed about financial aid options are essential strategies for navigating these challenges successfully," Sow said.
Three ways international students can overcome financial hurdles:
1. Community college enrollment: Begin with an associate degree at a community college to save significantly on tuition costs before transferring to a university for a bachelor's degree.
2. On-campus employment: Explore institutional work-study programs and university job boards for part-time employment opportunities that complement studies and provide financial support.
3. Proactive financial planning: Save money before arriving in the U.S., seek scholarships tailored for international students, and explore paid internship opportunities to supplement income.
While financial obstacles are daunting, international students can achieve their academic aspirations through strategic planning, diligent scholarship pursuit and leveraging on-campus resources, advisers say.
By adopting proactive financial strategies and staying resilient, they can successfully navigate the challenges of financing their education abroad, ensuring a path to academic success and personal growth.
- By VOA News
Indian newspaper offers tips for US-bound students
Telangana Today, a newspaper in India, offers a list of tips and resources for students planning to study in the United States.
Among them:
- Prepare for your travel to the U.S., making sure to gather all necessary documents, including your passport and visa.
- Be sure to attend orientations.
- By VOA News
Michigan State international students get their own space
Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, is setting aside a space in the International Center for international students.
Nidal Dajani, vice president of the school's International Student Association, said that the club plans to use the space to host events and hopes to collaborate with other student groups.
- By Dylan Ebs
International students find community during Pride Month
For LGBTQ+ international students, Pride Month, observed in June, is a unique time to reflect.
They hold on to multiple identities — both their LGBTQ+ identity and their cultural background — but coming to terms with them is not always easy.
For graduate student David Zhou, these identities can feel conflicting as transgender rights in China remain a controversial issue and spaces for LGBTQ people close. Zhou, 25, is transgender and pursuing an education in the STEM field at an urban university in the Midwestern United States.
VOA is using a pseudonym for Zhou’s first name and is not naming his university to protect his identity due to safety concerns back home in China. Zhou is not open about his transgender identity to his family.
During Pride Month, Zhou said he attended multiple LGBTQ+ events in his community and is surrounded by a supportive group of LGBTQ+ students who can relate to his experiences. But he’s not open about his identity to everyone on campus and said he doesn’t disclose his preferred pronouns to everyone to avoid transphobic comments.
“I feel like I have to make some judgments of the character of that person to see if they’re a good person to disclose [my identity] to,” Zhou said.
Zhou’s Pride Month celebrations included attending local markets with LGBTQ+ vendors and hanging out with his LGBTQ+ friends.
“They normalized being trans and for a long time I feel like trans identity is, should I say a vulnerability, brings me fear and worrying about discrimination, but having those events are helpful because it allowed me to see that queer people could just [live] openly,” he said.
At social events where few international students are present, Zhou said it can be tough to fit in.
“There's a lot of times like when they were talking about things I kind of, don't really understand, mostly because I kind of lack some background experience or knowledge,” he said.
Zhou said he is not aware of specific groups for LGBTQ+ international students at his university, but said international students are more prevalent in graduate programs and therefore find representation in organizations for LGBTQ+ graduate students.
In China, transgender individuals must obtain consent from an “immediate family member,” even for adults hoping to transition, which critics say limits the autonomy of transgender individuals while supporters say the policy protects doctors from violence by upset parents.
Struby Struble, a former coordinator of the University of Missouri LGBTQ+ Resource Center, told NAFSA: Association of International Educators in 2015 that LGBTQ+ international students face a “double barrier” on campus.
“With their international student friends, they feel isolated because they’re the LGBT one,” she said. “But then among the LGBT students on campus, they feel isolated because they’re the international one.”
Nick Martin, associate director of the Q Center, Binghamton University’s LGBTQ+ student support office, said when international students tour the center, there’s often a sense of hesitation as they enter a type of space that may not be present in their home country.
“I compare that to a year in after they've come into the space, they've again, maybe come to some of our events, they've got more connected,” he said.
Martin said graduate students have a unique interest in the Q Center as they may use the office for research and advocacy purposes that align with their studies.
“For older students, there may be hesitancy in a different way, but I think it's more in the vein of they want to do some of the advocacy work,” he said.
Martin said he thinks about how both his office and BU’s international student office can support students who come from countries with few — if any — protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.
“It's been a learning process of what those students really need, but I think I've kind of learned that a lot of students are just looking for the safe space that we offer,” Martin said.
- By VOA News
International students discuss US campus culture shock
International students at De Anza College in Cupertino, California, talked about culture shock in an article in La Voz News, the student newspaper.
"It felt like a major culture shock. Everything was so different, from academics to mannerism," said a student from Mexico.
Read the full story here.
