Tuesday 10/13/20

Michigan State’s Independent Voice

On course despite COVID Students struggle with budgeting during COVID-19 ‘College students are the ones really suffering here’ MSU Students discuss financial impact of the pandemic with PAGES 4-5

T U ES DAY, O CTOB E R 13, 2020

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Editorial: Board of Trustees candidate Rema Vassar can bring change to Michigan State

By The State News Editorial Board feedback@statenews.com The Nov. 3 general election determines Michigan’s electoral college votes for president, its pivotal U.S. Senate seat, its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, its state legislature and its state Supreme Court justices.

Make a plan to vote.

Michigan State students — if you need more convincing — two seats for the university’s Board of Trustees are also on the ballot.

You know, the people who set tuition rates and provide oversight for the administration.

We can’t let 2020 drown out MSU’s role in the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history.

Larry Nassar is serving what is effectively a life sentence for sexually abusing more than 500 girls and young women while employed as an MSU physician and team doctor for USA Gymnastics. For many, teal flags and ribbons continue to hold more significance than pride in green and white.

Throughout the past few years, we watched the Board of Trustees support John Engler as university president, whose appointment was met with student outrage. We watched them fumble with the healing assistance fund.

Of the two incumbents, Brian Mosallam is seeking reelection, while Joel Ferguson opted to retire, endorsing Democratic candidate Rema Vassar in his leave.

We heard heinous comments leave the mouths of various members, with little to no repercussions.

Ferguson continuously defended ex-MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, calling her a “fighter” and saying that “she’s not gonna get ran out of there by what somebody else did” in a Staudt on Sports interview January 2018. Simon resigned from her position later that week.

In the same interview, Ferguson downplayed the severity of Nassar’s abuse, and said “there’s so many more things going at the university than just this Nassar thing.”

It’s time we see some changes.

The board failed survivors.

It failed students. It failed everyone who has ever called themselves a Spartan. They lied, hid and held documents hostage, refusing to release over 6,000 documents that share the stories of Nassar’s survivors.

This is why we endorse Vassar to fill one of the open

Photo courtesy of Rema Vassar

Your role on the board is to do what is best for the university, but the university is nothing without its students. spots. With a background in education, Vassar understands how to best serve students.

Given that her daughter is an MSU student, she has reason to support the university and serve the larger Spartan community.

Racking up endorsements from the United Auto Workers and Ferguson, Vassar received the party’s nomination Aug. 29.

With a focus on students — all students, as opposed to her Republican counterpart Pat O’Keefe, who said on his website he “believes the voices of conservative students at MSU have been silenced for too long” — Vassar is the best one for the job.

We have some thoughts on her Democratic counterpart.

Mosallam, do better. Release documents to the attorney general’s office so their investigation isn’t stonewalled.

Then, maybe we’ll consider.

We know MSU holds a special place in your heart. From the football field to the fourth floor of the Hannah Administration Building, you have made this university a big part of who you are. But you had an eightyear term, in which the last few years circled and orbited

One copy of this newspaper is available free of charge to any member of the MSU community. Additional copies $0.75 at the business office only.

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T H E STAT E N EWS

around a cycle of terror and trauma, hurting survivors more.

He might be one of the better options, and his track record isn’t as flawed as some of his colleagues, but the bare minimum isn’t enough. It never was, and it never will be.

Saying you support survivors and apologizing isn’t enough to heal them from the trauma and pain they endured at the hands of someone working at this university.

Your role on the board is to do what is best for the university, but the university is nothing without its students.

We understand and agree: You’re not all bad.

We appreciate you stepping in with Dianne Byrum and motioning to terminate John Engler at the start of 2019. We appreciate your apologies to survivors, though they are not ours to accept.

But once again, doing the bare minimum is not enough.

If your actions reflect those of a good board member, we need to raise the bar.

Just a few weeks ago you spoke about how you were the only board member that wasn’t tone deaf about the Nassar situation — is that your only redeeming quality?

If the bar to be a good trustee is where you’ve currently placed it, we have miles to go.

We want more from our Board of Trustees.

If you truly want to make MSU better, do it. Stop defending yourself. You had the opportunity to finish the business you so proudly claim you need to. Now is your chance for a redemption arc. We want to see it from you, so do it.

Your qualifications should stretch beyond just being the least bad of an overwhelmingly bad board.

So for now, Vassar alone has our endorsement. We believe she can bring the change we want to see in the Board of Trustees.

The State News Editorial Board is composed of Editor-in-Chief Evan Jones, Managing Editor SaMya Overall, Campus Desk Editor Karly Graham, City Desk Editor Kaishi Chhabra, Culture Desk Editor Devin AndersonTorrez, Sports Desk Editor Jayna Bardahl, Copy Chief Mark Ostermeyer, Audience Engagement Editor Sophia Kalakailo, Multimedia Manager Tessa Osborne, Photo Editor Alyte Katilius, Staff Rep. Wendy Guzman and Diversity and Inclusion Rep. Di’Amond Moore.

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TUES DAY, O CTO B ER 1 3, 2020

Vol. 111 | No. 5

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 Volunteers help distribute food for the Great Lansing Food Bank at the Olivet Baptist Church in Lansing on Oct. 10.

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T U ES DAY, OCTO B ER 1 3, 2020

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SPOT L IG H T

‘College students are the ones r

MSU students discuss financial impact of th

By Wendy Guzman wguzman@statenews.com

“My personal struggles honestly, is where’s the money gonna be coming from. Am I going to be finding a new job soon, or if I’m gonna get hired, when I’m gonna get hired and just worrying about whether or not I’m going to be evicted from my place because I can’t keep up with the rent.“ Julian Stainback Journalism and media and information senior

Seven months into a global pandemic, the beginning of a potential national recession and another online semester at Michigan State University, pre-nursing sophomore Shanel Baxter decided to quit her job.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an economic toll on many Americans, college students in particular have found it difficult to maintain employment and a steady income to pay for their tuition, rent and other expenses.

“I feel like a lot of employers right now aren’t really respecting the fact that kids have school,” Baxter said. “And I think a lot of adults are equating online classes to having a completely free schedule.

And that’s not the case. So, I quit because I need to go somewhere that’s going to respect that my academics come first.”

As a person of high health risk for contracting COVID-19 with an academic focus, Baxter found it difficult to continue at her job and opted to quit altogether, despite the need for income.

According to a population survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12.5% of 20- to 24-year-olds were unemployed in September 2020, compared to last September’s 6.3% unemployment within the age group. The 18 to 19 age group had 15.4% unemployment rate. “(This age group is) the highest unemployed, and that means that they will not be able to spend,” economics and international relations Professor Lisa Cook said. “That’s the beginning of the cycle. You want people to consume. …

People who aren’t necessarily saving for a house or for purchases, will probably spend more. So, students are always spending money.”

College students tend to spend more money than they’re taking in, spending a higher fraction per dollar than older or higher-income people, Cook said. The decline of college student spending is a big loss for the economy.

Baxter has been trying to put away all the money she earns and is saving money by staying home with her parents for the semester, but she still has to worry about paying off her tuition herself.

“I think a lot of people are trying to work to pay for tuition, which is really stressful, because, you know, it’s hard to pay for something so expensive when you don’t even make a living wage,” Baxter said. “A lot of people are saying, ‘Well, you should just take a semester off,’ like a lot of people don’t understand some kids have scholarships, and you can’t really afford to take time off because that’s where I’m at right now.”

Recent MSU graduate Silvia QuintanaDiaz was in limbo this spring, unsure if she was going to be able to pay for her last class to finish her second degree.

Julian Stainback, a media and information and journalism major from Detroit, Michigan, on Oct. 8. Photo by Lauren Snyder

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T HE STAT E N EWS

TU ESDAY, OCTO BE R 13, 2020

really suffering here’

he pandemic with budgeting “In your lifetime you’ve already experienced two major financial and economic crises and it, frankly, is unacceptable.

We should be doing a better job. Policymakers should be doing a better job. We have some work to do.

We’re aware, and adults are trying to figure it out.”

Julian Stainback, a RHS employee, in his uniform on his last day of work before the furlough begins on Oct. 8. Photo by Lauren Snyder

As a non-traditional student, QuintanaDiaz’s aid package ended once she completed her first degree, so she was not receiving any financial aid when looking to complete her credits for her second major in the summer.

“I was just freaking out because, obviously, the pandemic, and I can’t really ask my mom for money because I’m a first-generation as well, and she has five kids, so there’s only so much she can do,” Quintana-Diaz said. “And obviously, I couldn’t take out a loan from the school because I technically met my requirement for my first degree, and I couldn’t work because of the pandemic and so then I was just in a really difficult situation trying to figure out how to pay for my class.”

Through communication with her adviser, Quintana-Diaz reached out to MSU’s College Assistance Migrant Program, a program that assists migrant and seasonal farmworker students with academic, social and financial support for them to complete their first year of college.

She had been involved with the program her freshman year and was not expecting them to be of any help to her, but they were able to cover some of the cost of her final graduation requirements.

For this reason, she advises students not to be afraid to research and to reach out to groups at the university for assistance.

MSU increased its financial aid by 4%, according to the 2020-21 budget.

Pre-nursing sophomore Catie Henkelman was furloughed from her summer job before it even began, putting her in a difficult place financially as she began the fall semester.

“I think a lot of college kids really bank on their summer jobs to financially support them through the school year, and this summer obviously looked a lot different,” Henkelman said. “So, I did not have my summer job this year and that’s affected me greatly. I had to ask for more from financial aid. I had to ask for more from my loan to even pay for tuition this year.”

Henkelman had to apply for additional financial aid, which required her to

submit pay stubs and tax information to prove she needed it. She was able to receive a general grant from the university, but it only helped her pay a portion of this semester’s tuition.

In response to the pandemic, the university created new opportunities for students to receive some financial relief.

MSU implemented the Support our Spartans Student Emergency Needs Fund for COVID-19, composed of internal and donor funds handled under the Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Services to further assist students.

Additionally, MSU received $29.8 million in federal funds from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund established by the recently enacted coronavirus relief bill, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27 as the third federal stimulus package in response to the pandemic.

Many college students were ineligible to receive the $1,200 stimulus check in April because they are claimed as dependents on their parents’ tax return, to the disappointment of many students.

“While that wasn’t a whole lot necessarily for everyone, college students are the ones really suffering here because we’re still paying tuition,” Henkelman said. “We’re still paying for rent when we weren’t even living in apartments.

Just because we’re being claimed by our parents does not mean they’re financially supporting us. So, I think that that’s also extremely important because my parents are not paying for my college at all, I’m 100% supporting myself. And so the stimulus check could have paid a month’s rent or paid for a month of groceries.”

According to MSU Financial Aid, the university received the coronavirus relief bill funds in two installments of approximately $15 million each, with the first being used to “provide emergency financial aid grants to students for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the novel coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and childcare expenses.”

With another stimulus likely not coming until after the election, Cook

Lisa Cook Economics and international relations professor

believes people are going to continue holding back their spending.

“Everyone’s going to be holding back, you all probably will too,” Cook said.

“With the unemployment for this month, you don’t know if you’ll be able to go back to work.”

In late September, MSU Residential and Hospitality Services, or RHS, furloughed over 700 student employees on short notice.

Journalism and media and information senior Julian Stainback worked as a front desk representative in South Neighborhood for two years before being furloughed.

He was unable to get out of his apartment lease in East Lansing when fall classes went online but had to continue paying off his rent at a location he no longer needed to live in because classes were online.

“I was kind of disappointed because my job helps take care of at least twothirds of the rent, so it leaves me with me looking for a job outside of campus if they are even hiring,” Stainback said.

When he was furloughed, the university provided him with a list of off-campus employers.

“My personal struggles honestly, is where’s the money gonna be coming from,” Stainback said. “Am I going to be finding a new job soon, or if I’m gonna get hired, when I’m gonna get hired and just worrying about whether or not I’m going to be evicted from my place because I can’t keep up with the rent.”

The financial implications of the pandemic are going to continue affecting college students for potentially another year, and Cook said students should be prepared.

“Students should think about how they’re going to manage a (potential) recession that might go for another year,” Cook said. “In your lifetime you’ve already experienced two major financial and economic crises and it, frankly, is unacceptable. We should be doing a better job. Policymakers should be doing a better job. We have some work to do.

We’re aware, and adults are trying to figure it out.”

S POT L I G H T

COLUMN

Amid a pandemic, what’s next for a graduating senior?

“What if I don’t find anything? What if I graduate and still don’t have a job? It isn’t easy to think about.”

By Joe Dandron jdandron@statenews.com I sat at a table in East Lansing’s main drag: Grand River Avenue. Four or five friends and I are discussing the future, jobs and other things over beers and burgers at The Peanut Barrel.

One friend, a good one of mine and my former roommate, discussed thousands of dollars in signing bonuses. We argued over who might be the highest-paid staff member at the university.

But deep down, I couldn’t help but wonder what was next for me.

I was a journalism student sitting among business and pre-med majors. This has nothing to do with those who I sat with, they chose fields they enjoy and will very likely succeed in — but I couldn’t help but gulp down the fear of uncertainty with my drink.

My professional future is scary. My field is sparse for jobs — even more so for internships. Hundreds of students like me — some younger and better at this craft than I — all hunger for major markets.

What if I don’t find anything? What if I graduate and still don’t have a job? It isn’t easy to think about.

Sometimes the possibilities of other fields run across my mind, yet I love what I go to school for and the places it has taken me.

But … what if?

That question flashed across my mind. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, haven’t I? Parents who didn’t go to college, one of six kids, I’ve constantly worked to stand out as a small fish in damn near a massive pond.

What's concerning is that more layoffs are likely within this field at ESPN, the Disney-owned titan that many think has to be invincible to a crumbling economy, right? Wrong.

Maybe. Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy wrote on Oct. 7 that more layoffs

T U ES DAY, OCTOBE R 1 3, 2020

Joe Dandron State News Reporter

could be coming at the company.

Millions are struggling to find jobs, just like me, not just in my field either: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12.6 million Americans are still unemployed.

I sense a pressure I haven’t felt before when my roommate attains a job offer from General Motors as an engineering student. I get these are different fields, but others relate to me. Many can’t find jobs, let alone internships as graduating seniors nonetheless.

But what about when I leave this place?

Graduation is in the spring.

I applied for an internship at The Washington Post on Wednesday. The waiting game starts.

This isn’t a pity thing.

There are much larger issues our nation and people face.

I’ve put myself in a position to succeed out of college in this field, or at least I’ve tried. I wouldn’t change a thing about any of this.

I sit at my desk in the early morning hours still, wondering what is next.

Uncertainty, accepting an internship that inevitably could be taken away from me is something I saw happen to friends and acquaintances, people I care about. I was lucky enough to retain my internship last year and work through summer.

Uncertain employment is not limited to the field of journalism — my roommate had an engineering internship whisked from his grasp last summer, only to work on an assembly line for four months making $11 an hour.

But next time I look, it's for the real world. I’m graduating from this safespace in May, uncertain what is next.

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CAMP U S

How these students got ‘the most bang for their buck’ in remote internships

By Sara Tidwell stidwell@statenews.com Journalism senior Darin Baydoun worried about getting the required internship credit to graduate. And when his plans to study abroad and work for his father were uprooted, anxiety spiked.

Nearly last minute, he was pulled to work six months for Boss FM in June. He’s worked from the comfort of his home the whole time, virtually, both due to the fact that there is a global pandemic and the Photo courtesy of company is based Darin Baydoun in Atlanta.

He started as an editor, then transitioned to managing social media promotion.

Despite the last-minute changes, Baydoun said he is pleased.

Working from home has been calmer than the typical newsroom atmosphere and has allowed him more freedoms to balance his education and personal life as well, he said.

Baydoun said it’s important to be persistent when searching for internships and not let rejection deter you from your goals.

“There’s going to be places that are

open,” Baydoun said. “There’s always people going to be looking for work.

An internship is an internship, at the very least it’s a low-end thing. From a fellow journalism major, listen, this wasn’t the first internship I initially thought I would’ve done, but you have to start somewhere. Get that real work experience and that graduation credit, slap it on your resume and say, ‘I did it!’ and you can keep moving up from there.”

Carl Grondin is a junior double majoring in social relations and policy and philosophy.

He was an intern over the summer for Rise Free, a non-profit, nonpartisan political organization that works to get out the voting knowledge to the younger generation. Now Photo courtesy of he works as a Carl Grondin fellow for them, an intern who is in charge of other interns.

Throughout the school year, Grondin said Rise Free has been extremely lenient toward their academic schedules and proper mental health hygiene. He is required to work a maximum of 20 hours a week.

“With everything going on through COVID and virtual MSU, being stuck in a bedroom 24 hours a day, seven days a week — it’s been hard on my mental health and well-being, but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Grondin said.

During his freshman year, Grondin was a law clerk at a law firm in Troy, Michigan. With the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule, it was four hours of driving round trip. Grondin said that he enjoys working from the comfort of his bedroom from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. or from midnight to 8 a.m. if he wants to.

Grondin said it’s important to go into the internship application process with an open mind. Unpaid internships and paid internships both work for graduation credits, and paid internships always find you in the end.

Journalism senior Joe Freihofer spent his summer in Oklahoma as a videography intern for FC Tulsa, a soccer team that competes in the United Soccer League.

Three days a week, he attended official team training and caught shots for social media videos and promotionals for upcoming Photo courtesy of games. Halfway Joe Freihofer

through the season, he decided to do a stand-up in Spanish, and they loved having someone who was fluent in it on camera, so Spanish content production became his new task once a week.

Freihofer journeyed on his Spanish speaking engagement for the first time in high school as a hobby. Once he came to MSU, he wanted to drop it.

However, the universe wanted otherwise.

Through his Dominican professor, Freihofer began volunteering at local, less fortunate elementary schools where the students only spoke Spanish in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

They would bring them necessities like mittens and winter jackets and play with them at recess. The sensation of seeing the kids react to someone like him, a white male, speaking fluent Spanish gave him a powerful connection.

His study abroad trip in Spain the summer before his junior year is what brought him back in.

Freihofer said, for those looking for internships, to not let their spirits get down too easily.

“Countless teams and publications are still looking for remote positions, as well as in-person states with less workplace restrictions,” Freihofer said in a text. “Take whatever opportunity you can get, because the stories we tell

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T HE STAT E N EWS

TU ESDAY, OCTO BER 13, 2020

“Go for it.

You can still get so much out of an internship right now.”

Hannah Boyd MSU alumna

as journalists during this crazy time could be the difference maker and our defining moment when standing out from the rest.”

MSU alumna Hannah Boyd virtually teaches ninth and 12th grade English at Grand Blanc High School through the MSU internship program.

Boyd said after school, they have 30-minute open office hours for students to come in with questions or ask for assistance. Students will stick behind most times just to talk to their friends, she said.

Boyd said she knows applying for internships is scary and overwhelming, especially virtually.

“Go for it. You can still get so much out of an internship right now. ... You just have to go with the flow, which I know sounds cliche but it’s true,” Boyd said.

CU LT U R E

International students adjust to online learning, face time differences while away from family

By Jacob May jmay@statenews.com Wake up. It’s 4 p.m. Attend meetings for the various organizations you’re a part of.

Don’t forget to attend class at 1 a.m. Not to mention, everything is online. Finally, around 6 a.m., you get to lay your head to rest. Now, repeat this cycle every day, because it’s part of your life as a Spartan.

You probably don’t consider this normal, but for sophomore Nikunj Agarwal, it’s his only option as an international student. Agarwal is living over 8,000 miles from campus in Bangalore, India.

On top of his nocturnal schedule, he has been sick for the past two weeks, which he said is unrelated to the fact that he’s up all night and sleeps through the day.

“In a normal week, when I’m all good, my sleep schedule is really messy,” Agarwal said. “I literally function in the same time as you do, to be honest.”

When he wakes up at 4 p.m., the day is just starting back in East Lansing. He creates his schedule based off of Eastern Standard Time but lives nine and a half hours ahead, in Indian Standard Time. While his family — along with the majority of India — is sleeping, Agarwal is working, often until 6:30 a.m.

To him, this is just a way of life that he’s gotten used to, but those around him warn that it’s unhealthy.

“My parents have more anxiety than I have, looking at the way I stay and the way I do things because they’re very worried about my health,” Agarwal said. “They complain, saying, ‘Nikunj, it’s not healthy to stay up all night and sleep all day because you’re messing with your body clock.’”

To his parents’ credit, they could be right. According to Zen Zhong, a counselor at MSU’s Counseling & Psychiatric Services, or CAPS, a sleep schedule like this could be a health detriment. He said that sleep deprivation can impact both physical and mental health, as well as learning.

“A disruptive schedule or routine as a result of sleep deprivation can result in overwhelming stress, difficulties with concentration, or unproductive learning,” Zhong said in an email.

Although Agarwal moved back to India when classes were canceled this spring, he still sees difficulty with his classes, saying he’s been more anxious about school this year than in past years, mostly due to an increase in workload.

He also said that the time difference makes him stressed.

“What if there are technical

“One of the advantages of having everything online, of course, you don’t have to move between classes, which gives you more time to do homework, study for exams, ask questions, even attend office hours with professors.”

Francisco Campos Iannacone Civil engineering junior Civil engineering junior Francisco Campos Iannacone poses for a portrait near the Red Cedar River on Oct. 9. Photo by Annie Barker

difficulties and the professor doesn’t believe me when I’m given an online exam?”

Agarwal said. “Do I lose marks because of that particular perspective, or do I just keep quiet because I know nobody can help me at this point of time? Or what do I do? I’m really confused. Just having time difference. Imagine, I’m having exams this week, I’m sick and I have an exam at, say, 4 a.m.”

Bangalore is also one of India’s hardest-hit areas for COVID-19.

According to Covid19india.org, the Bangaluru Urban District has reported more than 250,000 cases.

Despite this, Agarwal said he wouldn’t feel safer being on campus.

“It’s a big no, with N-O in capital letters, I don’t,” Agarwal said. “It disappoints me, the way students think of coronavirus, at this point of time. They think it’s a time to be really jolly and to have gettogethers and just party it on.”

Agarwal recognizes the loss that he’s facing while staying home. He said that many international students don’t get to attend online events, such as those put on by the University Activities Board, due to time differences. He said he’s going to miss winter; something he can’t experience in Bangalore.

Besides these, he’ll miss a connection to the MSU community.

He described interaction with his professors as a two-sided coin. On one side, they’re more accessible, on the other, they too are dealing with difficulties related to the pandemic.

“There are these professors who are much more available than they would have had been in any given time, in terms of office hours, in terms of time to talk about research

opportunities,” Agarwal said.

“There are a set of professors who are preoccupied because they themselves are at their own houses. They’re really occupied with things in their personal life.”

Zhong said that isolation and limited social interaction are themes he’s heard while speaking with international students.

“Experiences of cabin fever during the quarantine period — as some of its symptoms overlap with depression and anxiety — and increased distress may trigger other mental health concerns,” Zhong said.

In contrast to Agarwal, junior Francisco Campos Iannacone is an international student who is in East Lansing. Campos Iannacone is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He’s thankful that he doesn’t have to deal with time differences, but being an international student in the United States has its own challenges.

“I haven’t seen my parents for half a year,” Campos Iannacone said. “Because of the pandemic, I was supposed to go back to Argentina, but I was afraid I couldn’t come back to the United States because of any changes in the visa.”

His brother is also a student at MSU, and they were able to secure off-campus housing, but they haven’t been home since March. In July, international students were threatened by a policy that would have sent those that attended allonline universities home but was quickly rescinded due to backlash from many universities, including MSU. He said he’s no longer worried about a change to his visa, but commented on the changes proposed in late November, which would limit most international students to

four years of study and limit students from certain countries to two years.

“Yes, people would be affected,” Campos Iannacone said. “I think the primary reason is, you’re supposed to be in college to know what you want to do for the rest of your life.”

He said that it often takes time for students to figure out what they want to study, or they may want to double major, which could take longer than the time allotted in the proposed visa changes.

“You should have the freedom to get an idea of what you want

to do for the rest of your life,” Campos Iannacone said.

Along with xenophobia, uncertainty about the future is one of the other themes that Zhong listed, specifically uncertainty due to visas. These include concerns over F-1 visa duration and H-1B visa changes.

Campos Iannacone, much like Agarwal, said he misses everyday interactions the most.

He also misses walking to different buildings on campus between classes, saying that this time is good for destressing.

“You cannot see someone’s expression right now because

it’s all through Zoom, and nobody has their cameras open,” Campos Iannacone said.

Although Campos Iannacone misses interaction, he sees a bright side to the online format.

“One of the advantages of having everything online, of course, you don’t have to move between classes, which gives you more time to do homework, study for exams, ask questions, even attend office hours with professors,” Campos Iannacone said. “In terms of schoolwork, I don’t see it as more difficult than previous years even though classes are harder when you’re a junior or senior. Actually, it decreased because some of the things you would normally get in person can’t be taught online.”

Zhong said that there are many behaviors that people can develop to maintain mental health and wellness. These include having a structured schedule, focusing on things within one’s control, exercising, limiting social media use, and goal setting. CAPS has shifted to virtual services and created additional resources, including a virtual care kit.

“It is normal to feel stressed out, overwhelmed, uncertain during these unprecedented times,” Zhong said. “Please do not hesitate to reach out to CAPS services if additional support is needed. Additionally, students can access our CAPS Crisis Line 24/7 at 517-3558270, prompt ‘1’ for crisis.”

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Houses/Rent

Houses/Rent

Apts. For Rent

AUG 2020-2021 HOUSES. Lic. 3,4,5,6,7,8. Excellent Locations.

Top Conditions.

Extensive Updates. Call or Text: 517-4903082.

2021 Houses. Licensed for 3-8.

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1 BR. home, best for single. Feels like up north. Close to shopping and bus routes. Pets ok with fee. $850. Available August 1, 2020. email: faes@comcast.net 2021 AUG houses available. Lic 2-6 people. www.gutowrentals. com or call 517-749-4767

LIC FOR 4. Close to campus.

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