20th of January 2021
by Beatriz Gomes
Since the 12th of January of 2020, we entered a different reality. The world was forced to change habits, ways of working and living. People are still learning how to live in these conditions. Unfortunately, university students are disregarded throughout this pandemic.
Portuguese universities expect their students to adapt easily and keep producing the same amount of work or more with the same quality, with little to no help from universities.
“Being alone in a new city, made me feel alone and anxious and I considered quitting university.” says Beatriz Almeida, 20, studying Foreign Languages English and Spanish at the Institute Polytechnic of Bragança. During lockdown, there was a 50% increase in students asking for help regarding anxiety and depressing feelings compared to last year, according to a study made by the universities of Coimbra, Emory, and Iceland about the effect of the pandemic on Portuguese students, promoted by the Sucesso, Mente e Saúde (SMS) project.
“There was a lack of information coming from the university. We only got to know how classes were going to work last minute.” says João Paz, 21, studying in University of Coimbra, “We’re being forced to do exams in person without knowing how many cases we have in the university.” Students who are part of risk groups don’t know if they can do exams online. “I did my first exam two days ago and the class was filled more than what’s legally allowed and, because of letting the air flow, the door and all the windows were open with no heating inside the classroom which made it practically impossible to be inside”. Winter in Portugal can be rigorous, and students feel the university does not provide them with the right working conditions during these trying times.
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