2020-04-13 by The Michigan Daily

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Monday, April 13, 2020

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Low-income, rural area students experience increased difficulty accessing the internet Following transition to remote learning, some populations lack technological resources KRISTINA ZHENG Daily Staff Reporter

When the University of Michigan urged its students to return home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Education junior Nicole Afton moved back home to Kent City, Mich., a rural town with limited access to Wi-Fi and consequently, reduced access to remote learning. “Kent City is a super rural town, so I’m really limited in Wi-Fi options, and I didn’t have Wi-Fi at my house,” Afton said. “I had to buy Wi-Fi myself. I am also unemployed from my jobs. I have two, and I can’t work at either of them because they’re closed, so it was a financial struggle for me to figure out how I was going to buy Wi-Fi at home.” Like Afton, many students from low-income families or rural areas returned home with more challenges than when living on campus. Purchasing reliable access to the internet without a source of income from on-campus

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jobs was at the forefront of many students’ struggles. As a result, companies like Comcast are providing free Wi-Fi networks across the nation

for low-income families trying to work from home. However, students from rural areas still face connection issues. “Comcast, Spectrum, all of

those providers were all offering free, and I called them and got denied because Kent City is so rural,” Afton said. “So I tried their options, and I was denied because

Students, faculty discuss state policies

Orders from Governor Whitmer, COVID-19 crisis spur questions regarding individual liberties JULIA FORREST Daily Staff Reporter

LSA senior Jacob Chludzinski has spent the last few weeks hunkered down in the comfort of his family home in Clinton Township, Mich., keeping up with schoolwork, finalizing plans for after graduation and enjoying family time. “Although the current situation is unfortunate, I am glad I have the opportunity to be safe at home with my family,” Chludzinski said. “The main shift has been trying to become accustomed to the ‘Groundhog Day’-type routine we are all in. It is important to stay active and motivated, but these conditions have made it hard.” Chludzinski is one of the millions of Michiganders confined to their homes due to a statewide stay-athome order implemented by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on March 10 that has recently been extended until April 30 in response to the spread of COVID-19. Michigan has been hit particularly

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hard, where the virus has infected more than 24,000 residents and killed more than a thousand. Detroit is considered to be the latest hotspot of the coronavirus, with the third-most cases and deaths in the United States. Whitmer, like most other state governors, made the emergency declarations at the request of public health officials, who say aggressive social distancing is crucial to saving lives as it prevents health care systems from becoming even more

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overwhelmed. However, the declarations have made Chludzinski, a member of the University’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative-leaning group advocating for limited government, and others wonder how individual liberties are being balanced with state interests in times of emergency. “I understood Governor Whitmer’s initial declaration,” Chludzinski said. “My initial reaction understood

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that we were entering a time where individual liberties would be compromised for the greater health and safety of our nation. However, it became clear almost immediately that the vagueness and uncertain timeline of several restrictions would lead to many constitutional questions.” Whitmer’s executive order limits gatherings, traveling and bans all nonessential workers from going to work. In the recent extension of the order, Whitmer has now mandated that nonfamily gatherings and vacation travel are strictly prohibited. The extension further regulates how essential business ought to run in order to promote everyone’s health and safety. Whitmer’s orders have limited the way Michiganders can exercise certain liberties. This has led some to question what the long-lasting effects of the pandemic will be on the way we think about states’ rights versus federal power and individual liberties versus these powers.

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