From pandemic to protests, the Class of 2024 has been through a lot: NPR
Hundreds of demonstrators crossed the barricades and joined pro-Palestinian protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who had been given a May 6 deadline to leave the post.
Josh Reynolds/AP
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Josh Reynolds/AP
Hundreds of demonstrators crossed the barricades and joined pro-Palestinian protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who had been given a May 6 deadline to leave the post.
Josh Reynolds/AP
Four years ago, Kaylee Northcutt graduated from Tullahoma High School in Tennessee at the top of her class. But instead of strutting across the stage in front of her proud parents, she was relegated to the front seat of her mother's car as they drove around the football field, and soon received her diploma. I picked it up and drove home in her car.
There were no smiling selfies with her best friends, no class parties, no lavish awards ceremonies to celebrate high achievers like her. Instead, she gave a shout-out on Facebook.
At the time, it was COVID-19 that stole her moment. This time, as Northcutt prepares to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, unrest on her campus threatens to steal her second chance away in spectacular circumstances.
Kayleigh Northcutt's high school graduation ceremony was canceled due to the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Now, she worries that her MIT graduation ceremony will be canceled as her protests against the war in Gaza continue.
Tovia Smith/Tovia Smith
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Tovia Smith/Tovia Smith
Kayleigh Northcutt's high school graduation ceremony was canceled due to the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Now, she worries that her MIT graduation ceremony will be canceled as her protests against the war in Gaza continue.
Tovia Smith/Tovia Smith
Tensions have been rising on campus for months over the war in Gaza. In April, student protesters formed an encampment on MIT's Kresge Lawn. become increasingly violent A confrontation ensued.before dawn on friday, police in riot gear began destroying tents and arresting students who were refusing to leave. MIT President Sally Kornbluth called it It is a “last resort” to keep the campus “physically safe and functional for everyone.”
protesters swore return, safety concerns are growing for the school's joint graduation ceremony scheduled for May 30th. From universities across the country, columbia university to University of Southern Californiahas already canceled school-wide ceremonies due to similar riots.
Northcutt says she's hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. “For once in her life, I would like to actually cross the stage,” she said, adding that her parents had long ago made plans to attend from Tennessee.
“My parents have already booked my tickets and hotel, so it's kind of hard having to tell them I'm not graduating.”
But if the Class of 2024 has learned anything, it's to expect the unexpected.
Students still scarred by 'stunted and weird' freshman experience
They begin college completely removed from the bedrooms and kitchen tables of their childhoods, meeting classmates only in 2D via Zoom and trying hard to form real connections with their peers and professors. did. By the second semester, many students had physically returned to campus, but officially registered student pods were still limited to six people.
MIT seniors Mikayla Brich and Nicole Harris remember how difficult it was to attend virtual classes and make friends as freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Tobia Smith/NPR
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Tobia Smith/NPR
MIT seniors Mikayla Brich and Nicole Harris remember how difficult it was to attend virtual classes and make friends as freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Tobia Smith/NPR
This is the scar of the Class of 2024. The academic challenges of online learning have been exacerbated by the social stress of pandemic distancing.
“Our freshman year was so stunted and weird that I feel like I only have 10 friends in our grade,” explains MIT senior Mikayla Britsch. Sitting in one of her last classes this week, Britsch and classmate Nicole Harris recalled the bad times of COVID-19.
“It was doubly difficult,” Harris said. “I remember feeling extremely stressed trying to meet new people, but also worried about how I would adjust to classes at MIT.”
“Yeah, I’m still traumatized by that,” Britsch laughs.
Challenges will continue, including two tumultuous presidential elections, racial discrimination following the police killing of George Floyd, and the turmoil since the current Israeli-Hamas war.
That is particularly difficult for this class, which has endured more than its fair share of the burden.
“I went back to my dorm and there was like a swarm of state troopers here,” Northcutt said, recalling an attempt to clear the encampment earlier this week. “That was actually kind of crazy.”
Student protesters demanding the divestment of universities from Israel have set up encampments over the past month on dozens of campuses across the United States, including MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
hide caption
toggle caption
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
Student protesters demanding the divestment of universities from Israel have set up encampments over the past month on dozens of campuses across the United States, including MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
Protests create new fears and new friends
Marylyn Myers, an MIT senior who is Jewish, said fear and division are even more acute than during the pandemic.
“COVID-19 has been tough from a social perspective,” she says. “But the hostile environment that currently exists is even worse.”
Myers says it's painful to watch classmates stick to opposing sides.
“People were kicked out of research groups, I was surrounded by protesters, and I felt that many of my colleagues were saying horrible things about me and attacking me personally,” Myers said. She no longer feels safe on campus.
Jamil Delawar, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said his experience camping behind the barricades was a positive one. “I’ve made a lot more friends here than I have in the last three years,” he admits.
Tobia Smith/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Tobia Smith/NPR
Jamil Delawar, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said his experience camping behind the barricades was a positive one. “I’ve made a lot more friends here than I have in the past three years,” he admits.
Tobia Smith/NPR
Other students who protested, chanted, studied, ate and slept together inside the camp's metal barricades described the past few weeks as a positive experience. , perhaps a sign of the depth of their rift.
“Honestly, I’ve made far more friends here than I have in the last three years,” MIT fourth-year Jamil Delawar said while sitting inside the camp earlier this week. He says he was really happy to meet so many like-minded students. “Honestly, it's really, really beautiful.”
Another senior, Omar Dahle, said he found a new community and, with it, new hope. Dahle, a Palestinian Muslim from Jerusalem, says he opposes “the creation of an Israeli state” and finds it reassuring to connect with others who do the same.
“These moments will stay in my heart forever, because for the first time in a long time I saw that a better future was possible for my people,” he says. “It's not a distant dream.”
Unique lessons on resilience and perspective for graduates
Meanwhile, students not participating in the protests fear that the ongoing violence will disrupt their graduation ceremony.
Several graduation ceremonies have already been suspended, including Northeastern University's undergraduate ceremony last week. arrested after approaching the speaker's stage holding a Palestinian flag.
Northeastern graduate John Cohen said he was most upset to see protesters painting their hands red, a controversial symbol that he interprets as celebrating the murder of Jews.
“This was crazy and I honestly felt terrible,” says Cohen, who is Jewish. “You work hard and then you have to sit there and watch people waste your time. That's not okay.”
Despite Generation Z reputation Emotionally fragile, PessimisticCohen was quick to add that all the disappointments and curveballs of the past four years have only made him stronger.
“I was generally a little more optimistic,” he admits. “But right now, I'm just trying to do my best and see what life throws at me. That's the only thing you can do.”
Resilience is definitely one of the lessons that the Class of 2024 learned the hard way. The same goes for perspective. One student says: “It's unfortunate that there won't be a graduation ceremony, but it's nothing compared to the war that's on the minds of many students right now.”
Summarize this content to 100 words
Hundreds of demonstrators crossed the barricades and joined pro-Palestinian protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who had been given a May 6 deadline to leave the post.
Josh Reynolds/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Josh Reynolds/AP
Hundreds of demonstrators crossed the barricades and joined pro-Palestinian protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who had been given a May 6 deadline to leave the post.
Josh Reynolds/AP
Four years ago, Kaylee Northcutt graduated from Tullahoma High School in Tennessee at the top of her class. But instead of strutting across the stage in front of her proud parents, she was relegated to the front seat of her mother's car as they drove around the football field, and soon received her diploma. I picked it up and drove home in her car. There were no smiling selfies with her best friends, no class parties, no lavish awards ceremonies to celebrate high achievers like her. Instead, she gave a shout-out on Facebook. At the time, it was COVID-19 that stole her moment. This time, as Northcutt prepares to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, unrest on her campus threatens to steal her second chance away in spectacular circumstances.
Kayleigh Northcutt's high school graduation ceremony was canceled due to the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Now, she worries that her MIT graduation ceremony will be canceled as her protests against the war in Gaza continue.
Tovia Smith/Tovia Smith
hide caption
toggle caption
Tovia Smith/Tovia Smith
Kayleigh Northcutt's high school graduation ceremony was canceled due to the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Now, she worries that her MIT graduation ceremony will be canceled as her protests against the war in Gaza continue.
Tovia Smith/Tovia Smith
Tensions have been rising on campus for months over the war in Gaza. In April, student protesters formed an encampment on MIT's Kresge Lawn. become increasingly violent A confrontation ensued.before dawn on friday, police in riot gear began destroying tents and arresting students who were refusing to leave. MIT President Sally Kornbluth called it It is a “last resort” to keep the campus “physically safe and functional for everyone.” protesters swore return, safety concerns are growing for the school's joint graduation ceremony scheduled for May 30th. From universities across the country, columbia university to University of Southern Californiahas already canceled school-wide ceremonies due to similar riots. Northcutt says she's hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. “For once in her life, I would like to actually cross the stage,” she said, adding that her parents had long ago made plans to attend from Tennessee. “My parents have already booked my tickets and hotel, so it's kind of hard having to tell them I'm not graduating.” But if the Class of 2024 has learned anything, it's to expect the unexpected. Students still scarred by 'stunted and weird' freshman experience They begin college completely removed from the bedrooms and kitchen tables of their childhoods, meeting classmates only in 2D via Zoom and trying hard to form real connections with their peers and professors. did. By the second semester, many students had physically returned to campus, but officially registered student pods were still limited to six people.
MIT seniors Mikayla Brich and Nicole Harris remember how difficult it was to attend virtual classes and make friends as freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Tobia Smith/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Tobia Smith/NPR
MIT seniors Mikayla Brich and Nicole Harris remember how difficult it was to attend virtual classes and make friends as freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Tobia Smith/NPR
This is the scar of the Class of 2024. The academic challenges of online learning have been exacerbated by the social stress of pandemic distancing.
“Our freshman year was so stunted and weird that I feel like I only have 10 friends in our grade,” explains MIT senior Mikayla Britsch. Sitting in one of her last classes this week, Britsch and classmate Nicole Harris recalled the bad times of COVID-19. “It was doubly difficult,” Harris said. “I remember feeling extremely stressed trying to meet new people, but also worried about how I would adjust to classes at MIT.” “Yeah, I’m still traumatized by that,” Britsch laughs. Challenges will continue, including two tumultuous presidential elections, racial discrimination following the police killing of George Floyd, and the turmoil since the current Israeli-Hamas war. That is particularly difficult for this class, which has endured more than its fair share of the burden. “I went back to my dorm and there was like a swarm of state troopers here,” Northcutt said, recalling an attempt to clear the encampment earlier this week. “That was actually kind of crazy.”
Student protesters demanding the divestment of universities from Israel have set up encampments over the past month on dozens of campuses across the United States, including MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
hide caption
toggle caption
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
Student protesters demanding the divestment of universities from Israel have set up encampments over the past month on dozens of campuses across the United States, including MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Stephen Sene/Associated Press
Protests create new fears and new friends Marylyn Myers, an MIT senior who is Jewish, said fear and division are even more acute than during the pandemic. “COVID-19 has been tough from a social perspective,” she says. “But the hostile environment that currently exists is even worse.” Myers says it's painful to watch classmates stick to opposing sides. “People were kicked out of research groups, I was surrounded by protesters, and I felt that many of my colleagues were saying horrible things about me and attacking me personally,” Myers said. She no longer feels safe on campus.
Jamil Delawar, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said his experience camping behind the barricades was a positive one. “I’ve made a lot more friends here than I have in the last three years,” he admits.
Tobia Smith/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Tobia Smith/NPR
Jamil Delawar, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said his experience camping behind the barricades was a positive one. “I’ve made a lot more friends here than I have in the past three years,” he admits.
Tobia Smith/NPR
Other students who protested, chanted, studied, ate and slept together inside the camp's metal barricades described the past few weeks as a positive experience. , perhaps a sign of the depth of their rift. “Honestly, I’ve made far more friends here than I have in the last three years,” MIT fourth-year Jamil Delawar said while sitting inside the camp earlier this week. He says he was really happy to meet so many like-minded students. “Honestly, it's really, really beautiful.”
Another senior, Omar Dahle, said he found a new community and, with it, new hope. Dahle, a Palestinian Muslim from Jerusalem, says he opposes “the creation of an Israeli state” and finds it reassuring to connect with others who do the same. “These moments will stay in my heart forever, because for the first time in a long time I saw that a better future was possible for my people,” he says. “It's not a distant dream.” Unique lessons on resilience and perspective for graduates Meanwhile, students not participating in the protests fear that the ongoing violence will disrupt their graduation ceremony.
Several graduation ceremonies have already been suspended, including Northeastern University's undergraduate ceremony last week. arrested after approaching the speaker's stage holding a Palestinian flag. Northeastern graduate John Cohen said he was most upset to see protesters painting their hands red, a controversial symbol that he interprets as celebrating the murder of Jews. “This was crazy and I honestly felt terrible,” says Cohen, who is Jewish. “You work hard and then you have to sit there and watch people waste your time. That's not okay.” Despite Generation Z reputation Emotionally fragile, PessimisticCohen was quick to add that all the disappointments and curveballs of the past four years have only made him stronger. “I was generally a little more optimistic,” he admits. “But right now, I'm just trying to do my best and see what life throws at me. That's the only thing you can do.” Resilience is definitely one of the lessons that the Class of 2024 learned the hard way. The same goes for perspective. One student says: “It's unfortunate that there won't be a graduation ceremony, but it's nothing compared to the war that's on the minds of many students right now.”
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/10/1250385288/class-of-2024-college-graduates-campus-protests-mit-students-gen-z From pandemic to protests, the Class of 2024 has been through a lot: NPR
