Students at Cal State LA and their families in the campus’s surrounding communities – who already struggle to overcome obstacles related to finding affordable housing or being the first in their families to attend college – are now grappling with the ripple effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
Some of the impacts include: Having shows and other productions that they have worked on for months canceled in a matter of minutes. Taking online classes when they don’t have proper workspaces or the Internet at home. And forgoing commencement on campus, where they would have celebrated years of hard work and juggling work, classes, and family obligations to achieve their degrees.
More than 2,800 people in Los Angeles County have died of the COVID-19 virus as of June 13, and there have been 72,023 confirmed cases, including 1,617 in unincorporated East Los Angeles, 1,125 in Boyle Heights, 1,050 in South Gate, 919 in Compton, 903 in El Monte, 755 in Huntington Park, 696 in Pico Rivera, 610 in Florence-Firestone, 560 in Montebello, 479 in Bell, 282 in Alhambra, 266 in El Sereno, 221 in Monterey Park, 223 in La Puente and 219 in Eagle Rock, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s website. As of earlier in the week, two cases have been confirmed at Cal State LA.
