Slide 3: Thesis Statement
The year 2020 will be remembered throughout the world as one of the worst years of history. The onset of the Coronavirus has wreaked havoc around the world. The year started with the pandemic which continued unabated throughout the year. The contagion has spread increasingly and caused damage in multi-dimensional ways. No doubt that it has left a devastating impact on the political, economic, and social structures of society. One of the major victims of coronavirus was college students. They suffered detrimental impacts in multi-dimensional ways. The pandemic has impacted their education by minimizing the chances for graduation, resulting in the loss of education outcomes and the digital divide. It has also impacted their health, both mental and physical. Similarly, on the economic front, students lost jobs, dragged into poverty due to pandemics.
Slide 4: Minimize the chances for Graduation
The onset of the coronavirus has created difficulty for students to complete their education. There can be many reasons for that but the shrinking of economic resources is the main reason. That is also pointed out by the study of Gallup and Lumina Foundation. More so, the situation is worse for Hispanic and Black students.
Slide 5: Loss of Educational outcomes
Firstly, it can be seen that this covid has severely impacted the learning outcomes for students. Repeated Disruptions undermined the smooth functioning of the educational system and year. Due to lockdowns, the gains that have been made are also reported to be lost due to disruption. Study shows that there was a 70 percent loss of educational outcomes compared to a normal year.
Slide 6: Increased the Digital Divide
Another fallout for the students was the increase in the digital divide in the arena of education. Students belonging from low to middle-income backgrounds and rural areas have faced difficulties adapting to this shift to digital education. Additionally, this worsened the educational outcomes for them and engendered educational inequality.
Slide 7: Negative Impact on Mental Health.
Besides hurting educational outcomes, covid has also affected the health of college students. This has a negative impact on their mental and psychological well-being. This was pointed out by the report of Active mind Inc. again the situation was far more worse for the students belonging to lower class and minority communities.
Slide 8: Engendered and Increased Depression among Students
It can be argued that the pandemic was responsible for causing depression and mental health problems. It can be argued that coronavirus was key to increasing depression and anxiety, especially among students. college students have become isolated during the key stage of their age which further exacerbated mental health problems such as social deprivation, depression, anxiety, and so forth to attack. It has been reported that college students have shown signs of anxiety and depression which has seriously undermined their performance. Increased signs of fear and worries were shown by the students.
Slide 9: loss of Physical Health
In addition to mental health, there was a loss of physical health. Due to lockdown, productive outdoor activities such as sporty, jogging, and running were shunned. Worryingly, the use of phones increased which disrupted sleep resulting in damaging physical health. Muscle weakness, increased blood pressure and asthma were reported among students.
Slide 10: Loss of jobs and employment opportunities
Moreover, the pandemic has hurt and impacted students economically. The first major impact was faced by students who tend to work besides studying. Due to a pandemic, such students lost jobs. Sadly, the employment opportunities were also limited which created multifarious problems for them. As reported in Forbes, 38 percent of the students lost a job or became unemployed.
Slide 11: Made students far more poorer
Due to the loss of jobs, students were further dragged into the poverty circle. They saw their incomes and wages lost. To make the situation worse, they were caught in the problem of student debt. As there was no source of income left, it has become difficult for them to address their loan crisis. As a result, since the onset of the pandemic, they were made poorer as compared to the pre-pandemic era.
Slide 12:
TThose students who do not work also undergo financial instability. For instance, they saw their pocket money declining or coming to a complete halt. More so, as financial instability entered, there was a decrease in the consumption level of the students. They also saw access to other facilities shrinking such as health care.