By Tara Rinas
Pulse Staff Reporter
The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has caused many job losses, financial problems and 302,322 deaths worldwide, including 86,599 in the United States and 1,232 in Texas as of May 14, 2020.
The current virus pandemic has impacted me personally in more ways than one. My 87-year-old grandparents reside in Houston, Texas, and have for 60 years. When the lockdown first occurred in response to the rapid spread of the virus, my parents brought my grandparents to San Antonio to live with us during this time.
Houston, Texas, is the fourth largest city in the nation. With a population of about 2.3 million, Houston is not an ideal place for elderly people. About 1.5 million of the Houston population are adults who are not seniors, so when that many people are flooding grocery stores along with the elderly, it can be scary for the older people. As of now, Harris County has the most number of cases and deaths in Texas.
Glenda Dunlap, my maternal grandmother, said she gets melancholy being away from her home for so long.
“I just miss my house and my things. Being able to do my own things when I want, like shopping and cooking dinner,” Dunlap said.
Most college students who go to school away from their homes have been forced to move out of their residence and back to their homes. For some, this distance means going to a different town, city, or even a different state. According to the Houston Chronicle, some schools including Clemson University and the University of Connecticut have stated that refunds will be given for dorm rooms, but as for the rest of the schools, no refunds will be given at this point in time. The amount of money that these universities are refunding ranges anywhere from $2 million to $78 million in total.
Sara Benavides, my roommate and a student at UTSA, had to move all the way back to her home in Kingsville, Texas.
“It’s like my whole life did a 180. I’m back at home, working at H-E-B, not doing anything because I can’t see any of my friends in San Antonio,” said Benavides.
Another inconvenience of this time in lockdown is online learning. Students and professors who have never experienced remote learning have been immersed in the online world with almost no warning. Even though some people prefer the online learning method, being thrown into anything and being expected to keep a straight-A grade is a stressful game. There have been forms of online tutoring sent out, but it still isn’t easy for everyone to adapt to online classes. This period of time has really tested the abilities of students and professors.
Raul Cano, a student at UTSA said, “Switching to remote learning has been a challenge for me. Having a stats class of over 300 is extra tedious when I’m not physically in class able to ask questions.”
The way this virus was spreading so rapidly has forced many students to move back to their homes and many people to lose their jobs. Some college students come from hundreds of miles away from their homes to attend classes, so leaving to go back home during this time isn’t a convenient trip.
Everyone is trying to find their footing during this pandemic, and it is definitely a struggle.
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