Student Union
- By Nada Alturki
Young Saudis Grapple With Life-Altering COVID-19

Ethar Fahad, a young legal specialist in Saudi Arabia, was dumbfounded when COVID-19 infected her family.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” said the 26-year-old, whose mother and sister caught it before she did and all fell seriously ill with the fever and lethargy, the standard symptoms of COVID. “We were joking around about it ... but then we started to fall down, one after the other.”
Saudi Arabia shut quickly and broadly in April in a nationwide lockdown. Only essential businesses were open, and citizens were prohibited from going beyond their neighborhoods.
“We felt very uncomfortable at first. We were very upset,” Fahad said about the isolation and lockdown. “We couldn’t really handle it anymore after three or four months. It was too much.”
In late June, a 24-hour curfew was lifted, and residents were allowed out of their homes only between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The number of confirmed cases in Saudi Arabia since the virus first spread to the country is at 358,102, with 5,930 deaths to date, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
But cases receded, and the country has reopened to citizens slowly in phases since June.
Young Saudis have found their lives and careers much changed. Some have resorted to lower-paying and lesser jobs, such as driving for Uber or the courier service Mrsool, or delivering groceries.
“Everyone tried to have a side job,” Fahad said. “Everyone started looking into new jobs. People started closing up their businesses, especially start-ups.”
“Whatever they can, just to make ends meet,” she said.
AlJohara Al Homaidan, 23, said the office where she worked as a paralegal has been hurt by the pandemic.
“As a local private law office, we had direct relations with the Ministry of Justice and other governmental institutions to handle our work,” she said. But after months of lockdown, ministries shut down, too. “We lost a lot of clients.”
Economic support from the government to citizens was reduced, while the Value Added Tax (VAT) was increased to 15% from 5% in July. VAT is charged on goods purchased within a country.
“That was a shock to everyone. But at the same time, it was totally understandable to balance out the budget,” Al Homaidan said about the tax increase. “I think they did that to help the government economically.”
Like elsewhere, young Saudis have put their lives on hold as the pandemic continues.
“No one [is] buying houses. No one is buying cars. The economy was paralyzed for a while,” said Farhad, the legal specialist said. “Now it’s getting back slowly, but I think it has affected lots of families, especially the middle class.”
According to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics, the unemployment rate in the country rose to a high of 15.4% in the second quarter of 2020, while the economy suffered a 7% decline.
“I think not only the government got affected but also local business owners,” Al Homaidan said. “Especially restaurant owners or bakeries or coffee shops. They got affected pretty badly and a lot of small businesses had to shut down and some had to sell their businesses across Saudi Arabia, which is really devastating. They just simply couldn't afford paying their employees.”
Nora Alfard, 26, a creative copywriter and coffee shop owner, lost work as a copywriter and saw business at her coffee shop drop off.
“I felt this calm fear of ‘holy s--- what am I going to do?’ to ‘We’re going through a pandemic, so no one really knows what to do,’ ” she said as she watched the uncertain global response to the pandemic.
After the hustle and bustle of a booming Saudi economy and prominent social scene before the pandemic, Fahad said she found it difficult to manage her isolation days. She said she now finds herself connecting with the people who truly matter.
“I used to have very busy days before quarantine. Now I feel really calm,” she said. “I took it slowly. I enjoyed every little thing.”
She said the time alone has inspired her art, however.
“Art bloomed! I can only speak from my own perspective, but boredom makes wonders,” Alfard said.
Saudi Arabia is further along than other countries in controlling the virus because of the enforced lockdown and government funding was directed to the medical sector. Tents were erected as testing sites. Treatment was quick and focused.
Also, the government created apps to help Saudis cope with staying at home and the illness.
“So if you’ve had an emergency and you needed an ambulance, you can simply order one using these apps,” Al Homaidan said.
Other apps showed the concentration of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in any given area. Many restrictions have been lifted, allowing residents to freely go out to restaurants and movie theaters, and resume life as usual — but all while wearing a mask.
“We can’t deny that every economy is suffering in their own way,” Alfard said. “In Saudi, I believe we’re adapting to the new normal.”
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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