Daily Lumina News 010622

Food pantries have become common features of campus life. Now, colleges are beginning to recognize another basic student need: affordable, safe, reliable transportation.
While only a few institutions currently provide or facilitate low-cost access to transportation—typically through subsidies for bus, subway, or light-rail rides—such benefits are likely to grow as recognition of “transportation insecurity" continues.

Last semester has been described as something of a limbo for many college students: fewer COVID-19 health restrictions and more in-person classes and activities. But it all happened under the cloud of a stubborn pandemic.
What was it like to be on a college campus as the Delta variant surged? Students from across the country share moments from the fall that have come to epitomize this unusual time.

Faced with unimaginable circumstances and challenges, Mika Thibeaux demonstrates what is possible when a college goes the extra mile to support its students.
That support—from arranging various reinforcements outside of school to providing connections to outreach programs and community resources—enabled Thibeaux to stay on track for graduation. Today, she is paying it forward.

When it comes to what borrowers want and expect from their student loan servicer, higher ed policy experts say there are a lot of mismatches.
A new report offers recommendations for improvement, including clarifying the servicer's role and simplifying where as well as how borrowers get information. Such reforms, argues the report, could yield long-term benefits for both student borrowers and society.