Page 16 - IB July 2021

COVID-19

USP students study inside their bubbles
USP’S REGIONAL STUDENTS

STRUGGLE TO STUDY

BUT HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ON GOING HOME

By Leila Parina The students say the restrictions were also taking a toll on
their health, as they could not move outside for fresh air or to
Regional students studying at the University of the South see their friends.
Pacific’s Laucala campus in Fiji have had another difficult se- Students have similar strategies for coping during this time.
mester. The COVID-19 outbreak which began in April this year Coralie Pitamoki is a second-year student from the Solomon
and has claimed over 150 lives has shown no signs of slowing Islands. She resides off-campus with five other female stu-
down, causing many of USP’s regional students—most who dents and says they usually go shopping every fortnight and
haven’t been home since the start of 2020—great concern. cook and eat together.
Students from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu To manage her food resources, Choi says she eats twice
and FSM have now completed the first semester of this year’s a day, usually eating “brunch” and dinner which mostly is
study, and wait earnestly for announcements on arrangements noodles, biscuits or tinned fish. She has a big meal whenever
for semester two. she is able to chip in and cook with her friends.
For many students, the shift in learning mode was difficult Students have not only shared food and basic items, but
to adjust to. “I am a student who learns more from face-to also have relied on each other for emotional support. They
-face mode when studying…and since COVID-19 happened, it say the USP campus has been supportive by giving students a
has been difficult since the study mode is online and I also de- food voucher to use at the Campus Uni Mart.
pend on the school resources and facilities,” said Christopher Earlier this year, the USP Vanuatu Students Association told
Sigrah, a student from the Federated States of Micronesia. Fiji media that their allowances had been late, and this had
Two female students from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands caused some students to be in arrears on their rent payments.
agreed, saying they prefer to learn physically alongside The students we spoke to said they were not given enough
others. On-campus students who rely on the school Wi-Fi to assistance from their governments. “They [the Vanuatu Gov-
conduct their learning faced extra difficulties, as Wi-Fi can ernment] did not give any COVID-19 packages but they only
only be accessed in certain areas on campus. helped those who had tested positive to COVID… they gave
This became a problem whenever the USP Halls of Residence them bags of food,” says a student from Vanuatu. She also
management called for full restrictions on movement due to said the confirmed positive students were USP students living
suspected cases on campus and the students were confined to off-campus.
their rooms. “In my room there isn’t good network connec- Similarly, Choi said the Solomon Islands government had not
tion, so I relied on the school Wi-Fi in the campus. I also had given any COVID-19 allowance, which they were expecting.
a faulty laptop, so whenever they allowed us to study in the Last year students received a special allowance, but despite
labs it was good,” says Yougin Choi, a Solomon Islands business the situation being much worse in 2021, no Solomon Islands
student. Continued on page 31

16 Islands Business, July 2021