The Jack Eason Podcast – Episode 016 – Gary Robbins on Student Loneliness

Gary Robbins is a science and technology writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune. As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) started to spread through the United States, Gary took a closer look at the impact on University and College students.

This is not the first time Gary penned articles concerning students, but the discoveries he made related to loneliness and how students are handling the epidemic is telling.

In the midst of the pandemic, Gary took to Reddit to hear how students were venting. Through interviews, he heard their frustration over making plans to deal with continuing education, changes in living situations, and maintaining their relationships.

He wrote a long story in which he gave readers a sample of what college students were saying. Students expressed their feelings over the disruption and loneliness caused by the sudden change in their situation as a result of the spreading outbreak. You can read the article on The San Diego Union-Tribune website – titled ‘Mood turns gloomy as University of San Diego students prepare to move out of dorms.’ (Source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2020-03-13/the-mood-turns-sad-as-university-of-san-diego-students-prepare-to-move-out-of-dorms )

Another interesting article by the journalist is ‘The novel coronavirus has emptied out most of the nation’s colleges, and they might not reopen this fall,’ also on The San Diego Union-Tribune website. (Source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2020-04-27/covid-19-inflicts-turmoil-on-colleges-and-universities )

Jack Eason and Gary Robbins continue their conversation on the impact loneliness have on the lifestyle and health of the average American, while discussing some possible solutions.

Gary Robbins has been a journalist for more than 30 years and currently covers science, technology for The San Diego Union-Tribune. He joined the paper in April 2010 after working for 25 years at the Orange County Register, where he was a science editor.

Robbins was born and raised in Maine and attended Northeastern University in Boston, graduating in 1978. He served as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT during the 2000-01 academic year, and a Science Writer Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts in June 2001.