WATCH: Quarantine depression? Students sound off on shutdowns, mental health crisis.
Campus Reform's Addison Smith talked to students in Maryland and D.C. about the new round of school lockdowns.
Many students expressed the various challenges that online school poses, including mental health and the quality of education.
To kickoff 2022, many colleges and universities nationwide announced the reversion to remote learning this month, with many also imposing Covid booster mandates and other heavy-handed restrictions.
Campus Reform’s Addison Smith traveled to Maryland and D.C. to ask students about the school closures and what the potential downsides accompany them.
Many students were heavily critical of the transition back to online, with one George Washington University telling Smith, “I definitely think with the vaccine requirement and the booster requirement and the mask mandate, that they should definitely be staying open.”
Others detailed the problems that come with remote learning.
”We’re getting our master’s right now with speech pathology, so we need to like, get more hands-on experience,” one said.
”It’s just very hard to learn when you’re just laying in your room... There’s no engagement,” another expressed, with many others citing similar sentiments.
Students then addressed the mental health crisis that has taken rise during the pandemic.
”[Locking down] definitely also affects mental health... especially for people who like, have a problem with like depression and isolation,” one student said.
A November study found that, amid the lockdowns, 48.1% of university students reported increased levels of depression. In 2019, 11.8% of young people (18-24 years old) had serious thoughts of suicide. In 2020, that number rose to 25%.
According to The Hill, the annualized suicide rate for young Americans (ages 18-24) is six times higher than the rate for Coronavirus deaths in the same age demographic.
Students agreed that the lockdowns play a role in these devastating numbers.
”Especially at this age... you’re meant to engage with people. You’re not meant to stay locked in your room,” a student responded, with another saying that such dramatic screen time from being locked down makes it “very easy to get into like a shell.”
Watch the full video above for the rest of their responses.
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