College & COVID
âThereâs so much beautiful work thatâs come out of thisâ: College art students in the COVID era
How visual and performing artists are channeling their experiences into new and original expression.
By Jules StruckUpdated April 8, 2021, 9:39 a.m.
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MassArt student Bobbi Colburn wearing a face mask she created.Bobbi colburn
It took a pandemic for illustrator Vicky Chen to find art in a lopsided cake. Sheâd never been much of a baker, but when all of her courses at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design moved online last year and she moved back home to Winchester, baking became another way to keep her hands busy.
In a pandemic economy, the high costs of college are even higher
One-third of undergraduates to consider leaving college last year, many because of money pressures.
By Mary MangualUpdated April 8, 2021, 9:35 a.m.
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Zachary Steward had to leave school for financial reasons and is working two jobs to afford to return.Jakob Menendez
Zachary Steward sees himself building a career in law, public policy, politics, or social work, fields where he could support marginalized communities. âSo often Iâve seen that those who either look like me, or other racial and ethnic minorities, or minorities in general, they just arenât seen,â says Steward, who is Black. âAnd if they are seen, they arenât listened to enough, and itâs disheartening. And itâs sad. And itâs maddening.â
What college students like me have learned during the COVID year
For more than a year, weâve been lurching through the seismic changes on campus and off. Itâs been difficult, but there have been hopeful moments, too.
By David ParadelaUpdated April 8, 2021, 9:28 a.m.
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Adobe Stock images; Globe staff illustration
As someone who attended Boston-area schools for most of my life, I thought I had a good grasp on student life in this city. But as I joined the first Zoom session for one of my Emerson College graduate classes in March 2020, I realized how unprepared my classmates and I were for the strangeness of waiting for our professor to learn how to screen-share. After a while, this perplexity turned into fatigue. One year later, it feels more like Bill Murrayâs character trapped in
College & COVID
It wasnât supposed to be this way: The unrelenting stress of being in college during a pandemic
One study found that 18- to 23-year-olds seem to be experiencing pandemic-related stress at higher rates than any other adult age group.
By Katie PowersUpdated April 8, 2021, 9:40 a.m.
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Adobe Stock
Scattered due dates, isolating with roommates, and Zoom office hours have replaced the energizing hustle and bustle college students had come to expect prior to the pandemic. Even for someone as self-disciplined as Helen Ruhlin, a senior at Simmons University studying journalism, taking classes entirely online has been a slog. âKnowing thereâs a laundry list of things you canât do because of a pandemic is just so stifling mentally,â she says. Without in-person interaction with her professors and classmates, sheâs finding coursework less engaging.