Low-income college students already faced barriers to graduating – the coronavirus multiplied them
“Luis Gallardo’s favorite place to study was the library at the University of California at Berkeley. He preferred to work at night, when it was quiet and the distractions of the day didn’t pull at his mind.
But last week, with the campus closed because of the novel coronavirus, his refuge and the resources that came with it were gone. He spent more than one morning at his family’s kitchen table, staring at his laptop, his thoughts frayed. He was looking after his younger sister, brother and cousin, who were trying to manage their own schoolwork, now online. His mom eventually came home after her shift at McDonald’s and sat down next to him. All the chairs were filled”