Student Union
Students Want Campus But Will Leave If COVID-19 Surges
![In a recent Axios poll, 71% of the students interviewed said they would not attend sporting events.](https://gdb.voanews.com/b4db0f2e-d44d-4453-b761-027534a00135_w250_r1_s.jpg)
The party’s on hold, so they say.
Most college and university students are willing to sacrifice social aspects of the college experience because of the coronavirus, according to a new poll from Axios.
Nearly 80% of students said they won’t attend parties, while 71% said they wouldn’t attend sporting events.
And if a severe outbreak of COVID-19 broke out, 67% of students said they would leave campus, while 54% would voluntarily download an app to conduct contact tracing.
COVID-19, or coronavirus, is a viral pandemic that appeared in late 2019 in China and spread around the planet. Most recently, it has surged in the U.S.
Most students — 76% — said they are planning on returning to campus this fall if they have the option, and 66% said that they will attend in-person classes if their university offers them, according to Axios.
“If you are a Marietta College student, I am straight up begging you to avoid COVID hotspots before we return,” Tyler Walker (@tbawalker) of Marietta College in Ohio tweeted. “If you bring the virus back to school with us, our semester will be finished at home. Don’t be the one responsible!”
If you are a Marietta College student, I am straight up begging you to avoid COVID hotspots before we return. If you bring the virus back to school with us, our semester willl be finished at home. Don’t be the one responsible!
— Tyler Walker (@tbawalker) July 14, 2020
Although universities have announced measures to maintain social-distancing protocol, some students and teachers are worried about returning to campus.
“If I were president of a college or university, I wouldn’t let people back on campus unless they could get a COVID test in the days before they move in,” Reilly Cosgrove (@reillycosgrove) of Creighton University in Nebraska tweeted.
I’m ngl if I were president of a college or university I wouldn’t let people back on campus unless they could get a covid test in the days before move in (I know this isn’t practical lmao I just am so scared about August being really bad)
— Reilly is indoors🏡 (@reillycosgrove) July 10, 2020
Most students said they plan to be cautious when returning to campus. Ninety-five percent said they wear masks if unable to physically distance.
For many international students, on-campus housing is their only option. Student Chantelle Houareau asks her classmates to understand that foreign students can’t move home easily.
“Increasing the number of people on campus will increase the chances of people contracting coronavirus and causing an outbreak,” tweeted Chantelle Houareau (@chahouareau) of Lake Forest College in Chicago. “International students HAVE TO be there. You don’t.”
domestic students i am BEGGING you to please stay at home if you can this fall. increasing the number of people on campus will increase the chances of people contracting coronavirus and causing an outbreak. international students HAVE TO be there. you don’t.
— saint chan 👼🏼 (@chahouareau) July 7, 2020
Some universities that offer in-person classes for the fall semester are providing students with personal protection equipment and free testing, as well as mandatory screenings and safety training.
The Texas A&M University system, for example, plans to offer free testing for students, faculty and staff. The plan states that “approximately 15,000 test kits will be sent to system campuses each month.”
“I would not be on campus right now if I did not feel safe. When we follow all [Centers for Disease Control] guidelines, it isn’t scary!” tweeted Abby Seeber (@AbbySeeber) of Valparaiso University in Indiana.
I would not be on campus right now if I did not feel safe. When we follow all CDC guidelines, it isn’t scary! If you are genuinely fearful, I would love to talk through any fears one may have about the coming school year! Let’s talk so we can reach a shared accountability!
— Abby Seeber (@AbbySeeber) July 14, 2020
As of July 14, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, 56% of U.S. colleges and universities said they plan to reopen their campus this fall; 30% are proposing a hybrid model of part online and part in class; and 9% will hold courses fully online.
See all News Updates of the Day
- By VOA News
International students have options to pay for grad school
![Children play outside Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles, campus in Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 2024.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-c0a6-08dcc2504f9d_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. News & World Report tackles the challenges of paying for grad school as an international student with this story giving tips on paying for school. Read the full story here. (August 2024)
- By Tracy Liu
Economics, tensions blamed for Chinese students shifting from US to Australia, Britain
![FILE - Chinese students wait outside the U.S. Embassy for their visa application interviews, May 2, 2012, in Beijing.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-4fea-08dc96d3d82c_cx0_cy5_cw0_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. universities are welcoming international students as the academic year begins. But while the total number of foreign students is steadily growing, the top sending country, China, is showing signs of leveling out or shrinking.
Industry analysts say the negative trend is mainly due to higher costs amid China’s struggling economy, with a growing number of students going to less expensive countries like Australia and Britain, and tense ties between Washington and Beijing.
The number of foreign students studying in the U.S. in 2022-23 passed 1 million for the first time since the COVID pandemic, said Open Doors, an information resource on international students and scholars.
While the U.S. saw a nearly 12% total increase year-on-year for that period, the number of international students from China, its top source, fell by 0.2% to 289,526.
That’s 600 fewer students than the 2021-22 academic year, when their numbers dropped by nearly 9%. The COVID pandemic saw Chinese student numbers drop in 2020-21 by nearly 15%, in line with the world total drop.
While it’s not yet clear if the drop is a leveling out or a fluctuating decline, analysts say China’s struggling economy and the high cost of studying in the U.S. are the main reasons for the fall in student numbers.
Vincent Chen, a Chinese study abroad consultant based in Shanghai, said although most of his clients are still interested in studying in the U.S., there is a clear downward trend, while applicants for Anglophone universities in Australia and Britain have been increasing.
"If you just want to go abroad, a one-year master's degree in the U.K. is much cheaper,” Chen said. “Many people can't afford to study in the U.S., so they have to settle for the next best thing."
Data from the nonprofit U.S. group College Board Research shows that in the 2023-24 academic year, the average tuition and fees for a U.S. private college four-year education increased 4% to $41,540 compared with the previous academic year.
The British Council said three to four years of undergraduate tuition in Britain starts as low as $15,000.
The number of Chinese students in Britain was 154,260 in 2022-23, according to the U.K. Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA, up from 121,145 in the 2018/19 academic year.
Australia’s Home Affairs office said in the 2023-24 program year, China was the top source foreign country for new student visa grants at 43,389, up slightly (1.5%) from the previous year.
Chen said Chinese state media's negative portrayal of the United States and concerns about discrimination have also contributed to the shift.
Bruce Zhang, a Chinese citizen who received his master's degree in Europe after studying in China, told VOA Mandarin he had such an incident occur to him after he was admitted to a U.S. university’s Ph.D. program.
When he entered Boston's Logan International Airport last year, Zhang said customs officers questioned him for more than an hour about his research, and if it had any links to the military, and took his computer and mobile phone for examination.
"Fortunately, I had heard that U.S. customs might be stringent in inspecting Chinese students, so I had relatively few study-related data and documents on my personal computer," he said.
Zhang was allowed to enter the U.S. for his studies in materials science, but the questioning left him so rattled that he has encouraged other Chinese to study elsewhere.
Cui Kai, a study abroad consultant in Massachusetts told VOA Mandarin that experiences like Zhang’s or worse happen for a reason.
"Students who were questioned or their visas were revoked at the customs are usually those who completed their undergraduate studies in China and come to the U.S. for a master's or doctoral degree in a sensitive major," said Cui.
Former President Donald Trump signed Proclamation 10043 in June 2020, prohibiting visas for any Chinese student who “has been employed by, studied at, or conducted research at or on behalf of, an entity in the PRC that implements or supports the PRC's “military-civil fusion strategy.”
The U.S. says China has been using students and scholars to gain access to key technology and, under Proclamation 10043, revoked more than 1,000 visas issued to Chinese nationals and has denied thousands more.
Critics say the policy is costly to the U.S. and is encouraging Chinese students to look to European and other universities.
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
- By VOA News
Duolingo report details the reality of Gen Z international students
![FILE - A Dartmouth Athletics banner hangs outside Alumni Gymnasium on the Dartmouth University campus in Hanover, NH, March 5, 2024.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-e46b-08dcc24fe52c_cx0_cy9_cw0_w250_r1_s.jpg)
A report by Duolingo takes a look at the experiences of Gen Z international students studying in the U.S., Australia and the U.K, The Pie reports.
The report, the site says, debunks "characterizations of them as 'tech-obsessed, attention-deficit and self-centered'" and highlights "their emerging role in shaping global politics and economics."
Read the full story here. (August 2024)
- By VOA News
School with the lowest costs for international students
![FILE - A newly printed U.S. dollar bill is shown at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 8, 2022.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-5bb0-08dba10bf4ed_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. News & World Report crunched the numbers and came up with a list of 20 U.S. colleges and universities with annual total costs at or below $20,184. Check out these best bargains for international students here. (August 2024)
- By VOA News
How to make the most of schools' international student services
![FILE - Students walk down Jayhawk Boulevard, the main street through the main University of Kansas campus, in Lawrence, Kansas, April 12, 2024.](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0aff-0242-b8af-08dca145cc99_w250_r1_s.jpg)
U.S. colleges and universities offer a variety of services for international students.
U.S. News & World Report takes a look at them and details how to best use them. Read the article here. (June 2024)