University Students Stuck On Campus During MCO Report That They’re OK
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While the majority of Malaysians have been stuck at home since the implementation of the movement control order (MCO), with some of us unable to work and struggling to stay afloat financially, a number of students who were living on their university campus got stuck there instead.Â
Naturally, as a community, we have been concerned about these students living in isolation and far away from the comfort of family. But it turns out, most of them are doing pretty well.
Twitter user @mkhairulazri tweeted asking university students to reply him with how they’ve been coping since the implementation of the MCO, what they’re living conditions are, what they’ve been busy with, whether they’re able to eat and the state of their mental health as well.
The majority of respondents informed him that despite being really bored, they were generally OK.
“We’re OK. Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia University (UTHM) gave us 5 days worth of basic ingredients so we can cook and lots of bread. As you can see in the picture there’s a lot of food because there are eight of us living together. Each person got 1kg of rice, all this is probably gonna last us a few weeks.â€
“University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) student here. We get two meals a day including biscuits, instant noodles, bread and Milo. The WiFi is so fast I got a win streak in my rank (games). The dorms are OK, and my mental state is a bit weak but so far OK.â€
“Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) student here! We’ve got enough food, alhamdulillah. I think we got around RM300 worth of coupons. We’re not allowed to go out at all and the university is quite firm on not letting us go home. As for my mental health, I’m coping well with meds, though I have had a few breakdowns.â€
While most of the students seemed to be coping well, there were some replies with students doing worse than others. A majority of them mentioned that they don’t have as easy access to food as the others and unreliable WiFi for online classes and quizzes.
Some also shared that they feel stressed and helpless, but are doing what they can to get by.
In a nutshell, @mkhairulazri summarises their situation as follows:
- Majority of the students are stronger than we think. Many are still positive and abiding the MCO.
- Most universities are playing their roles to support students such as providing food, internet, and some going the extra mile to provide mental health support too. Even students living off campus are getting help.
- There definitely are some students facing medical difficulties who are not getting the help they need. These students need to be given assistance.
- E-learning and assignments need to be better executed to ensure students don’t get left behind and can continue to study comfortably after the MCO is over.
Check out the full thread on Twitter.
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