Poll reveals Virginia students’ mental health challenges brought on by pandemic

More than 80 percent of Virginia college and university students are stressed about their academics and other pandemic concerns as they prepare for a different fall semester.

That’s nearly three out of every four students who participated in a poll taken by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia that also revealed that 76 percent of those young adults faced mental health challenges dealing with school impacts from the virus.

A graduating senior at Southwest Virginia Community College told the authors that she decided to cut her hours at her job at Walmart to limit exposure to the virus to her 8-year-old daughter, drastically affecting her income while trying to home-school her child due to the public school closure. She also said the spin-off effects of the pandemic have resulted in hardships in finding daycare while trying to complete the work necessary to graduate.

Other concerns voiced by the students include unreliable internet or lack of necessary technology to complete their course, cuts in available spending, and some even saying that have little or nothing to eat due to finances and the pandemic.

(PHOTO: UNSPLASH)