The coronavirus outbreak is leaving many college students across the country out of a job or even a place to stay as schools shut down.
Several students, faculty and staff in Newark are banding together to help where they can - offering financial support through a Facebook group.
Two UD professors, Anu Sivaraman and Suresh Sundaram, have been doing this for years and hope to join in and make a difference.
Sivaraman and Sundaram teach in UD’s marketing department and have been offering personal aid to students for 16 years, even in the absence of a global crisis. Sivaraman tweeted Wednesday asking anyone in need of grocery or rent money to reach out to them for help.
“We typically help students out or whoever needs it on a one-on-one basis but this time, since everything is closed, we tried to reach out through social media and it’s our personal money and in most cases we don’t have any requirements or a serious writing process or anything like that.”
Sivaraman says two students reached out Wednesday asking for help.
She says she wants to give students a chance to finish their education, so they may in turn find a job and help their own families.
Sundaram said they never expect repayment from those they help.
“Bottom line it was a lot of our faculty and people that we knew that helped us through a number of things when we were grad students. Our goal is to essentially pay it forward.”
Students or families in need can reach out to the professors on twitter @bluehenprof and @bluehenmr, or join the Newark Area Mutual Aid Group on Facebook, where more professors and students alike are offering aid.
