Daily Lumina News 042920

Visiting a college campus in person is key for most students, but it's especially useful for students who are the first in their families to apply to college. For them, feeling a sense of belonging on campus is everything.
The pandemic has completely altered this scenario, as college officials now scramble to reach prospective students with virtual visits and Zoom meetings. Can they replicate that face-to-face feeling?

Daniel Rivera-Ibarra will be the first in his immediate family to graduate from college. He hopes to one day open a real estate brokerage firm that will help Hispanic families buy their first homes.
Rivera-Ibarra believes his academic accomplishments serve as an example to other family members that they, too, can achieve their goals. In this essay, he offers his thoughts on the academic and social supports that first-generation college students need in order to survive and thrive.

College campuses can be vital safe havens for LGBTQ students who spent their childhoods in the closet. COVID-19 has upended that safety net, forcing many to leave campus abruptly and return to families who may not know of or accept their identities.
In response, some campus LGBTQ groups and centers are working overtime to strengthen their online presence.

The coronavirus drove the spring term online in a hurry. Now, college leaders nationwide are starting conversations, if speculatively, about the conditions under which they would reopen campuses for the fall 2020 term.
Their plans vary widely, and several acknowledge some degree of online instruction will be needed even in the best-case scenario. Final decisions aren't expected across the board for at least a few weeks, and colleges are already facing pressure to give new students past the traditional May 1 deposit deadline to make their choice.