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On the first day of the spring semester, University of Texas at El Paso student Veronica Camacho returned home from class, removed her clothes and placed them in a plastic bag. She showered and systematically sprayed down her belongings with Lysol. Then she went into her mother鈥檚 room and helped her out of bed.

Camacho has kept up this hour-and-a-half routine since the University聽 returned to a mix of online and in-person classes last fall.

鈥淚 went from class to coming home, worrying 鈥楧id I bring something home? Did I make her sick?鈥欌�� said Camacho, the sole caregiver for her mother, Debbie Camacho, who has Type II diabetes and is considered at high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19.

For student caregivers like Camacho, the return of in-person classes amid the surging omicron variant has meant renewed stress and uncertainty.

On the morning of Jan. 18, the first day of UTEP鈥檚 spring semester, President Heather Wilson sent an email welcoming employees back to campus. 鈥淲e value in-person education,鈥� she wrote, 鈥渁nd we鈥檙e starting the semester as planned.鈥�

In a in the University of Texas system, UTEP announced classes in person despite a rise in omicron infections throughout El Paso 鈥� a new strain of COVID-19 that Wilson described in the email as 鈥渕ore contagious鈥� and 鈥渁lso less serious鈥� than earlier variants.

While evidence is mounting that omicron is less likely to cause hospitalizations among people who are fully vaccinated, it can still cause severe illness and death.

鈥淎t UTEP there鈥檚 an attitude of 鈥榦h well, if you’re healthy, then yeah you’ll get sick, but you’ll get better within a couple of weeks, so you’ll be fine,鈥欌�� Camacho said.

鈥淲hat about those teachers and students and employees that don’t have that? Who aren’t that strong immune wise?,鈥� she asked. Camacho uses a cane to walk as a result of a knee injury, and her asthma and high blood pressure put her in at-risk categories under federal guidelines. 鈥淚t’s just really dismissive, ableist culture here.鈥�

Students who are disabled or at risk are 鈥渟cared,鈥� Camacho said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really scared.鈥�

When asked to comment on the concerns of caregivers, UTEP officials on Monday sent a statement that was similar to Wilson’s earlier email to staff and said “we have asked the faculty to be flexible and work with students who are sick or who are staying home because someone in their household is sick, so that those students can keep up with their classes.鈥�

In her email to the campus community, Wilson acknowledged challenges for these students. 鈥淧retty much everyone knows someone who has been impacted by this disease,鈥� Wilson wrote, 鈥渁nd a lot of Miners have vulnerable family members whom they are trying to protect.鈥�

For Camacho, 43, the university鈥檚 return to in-person classes signals a lack of cultural sensitivity toward its students, many of whom live with family members who, like Camacho鈥檚 mother, could be at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

鈥淟et鈥檚 face it, it’s El Paso,鈥� Camacho said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a predominantly Hispanic community, where that’s part of our culture: We take care of our elderly.鈥�

鈥淎nd,鈥� she added, 鈥渋t鈥檚 mostly the daughters.鈥�

Nationally, 14% of undergraduate students are caregivers to adults, according to a .

That number is even higher for Black and Latino students, about one-third of whom care for another adult. Nearly seven in 10 of those students, including Camacho, hold part- or full-time jobs in addition to school.

Caregivers are disproportionately women. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that , while 56% of student caregivers are women, , a national nonprofit that advocates for the rights of older Americans.

Research has shown that for caregivers, particularly female , affecting their professional and educational opportunities.

UTEP humanities instructor Diana Martinez said she saw many of her students, whether caregivers or not, struggle with the return to in-person classes last semester, and has observed that struggle reflected in the enrollment breakdown of her own classes and those of her colleagues: While her online course is full, with 35 students, her in-person class is just half that number.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 mainly because a lot of students are not feeling safe coming back to school,鈥� Martinez said.

鈥淲hat teacher doesn鈥檛 want to see their students and talk in class, to have that human connection?鈥� she said. But, she added, 鈥淚 really want the students to feel safe.鈥�

On the second day of the semester, Camacho left her creative writing classroom and soon found herself pressed against the wall, fighting off claustrophobia as students, masked and unmasked, crowded the narrow hallway of the Business Administration Building 鈥渓ike a swarm of bees,鈥� she said.

At that moment, it wasn鈥檛 just COVID-19 that concerned her. She worried a student could accidentally kick her cane out from underneath her and send her sprawling, prolonging her knee or back injuries.

Camacho鈥檚 limited mobility and the demands of caring for her mother have allowed her to register with UTEP鈥檚 Center for Accommodations and Support Services, she said. CASS pairs qualifying students with advocates to help them obtain certain academic and testing accommodations, depending on their needs.

Camacho鈥檚 greatest need has been additional excused absences. If it were up to her, she would take only online courses to help avoid catching COVID-19 and transmitting it to her mother. But that hasn鈥檛 been possible with her coursework requirements, and in both the fall and spring semesters, she registered for two online and two in-person courses.

Though Camacho鈥檚 CASS advocate was able to help raise her allowed absences from UTEP鈥檚 standard three to six absences per semester, this didn鈥檛 prove to be enough. With the return to in-person classes last fall, her GPA dropped from 3.5 to 3.0. Professors were supportive and flexible, she said, but one still took off points when her absences exceeded the allotted six.

It was Camacho鈥檚 mother who encouraged her to return to college after two decades away.

鈥淪he said, 鈥溾�楲ook, I want you to go back to school and I can afford to take care of us right now,鈥欌�� recalled Camacho, who dreams of writing novels centered around queer characters.

To protect her mother from COVID-19, Camacho has considered taking this semester off. Though she鈥檚 been unable to formally switch to all online classes, she鈥檚 in the process of asking professors to allow her to attend class remotely on an informal basis.

鈥淏ut I’m torn because I really want to finish my degree. And if I鈥檓 being really honest, I want to try to get my degree before something happens and I lose my mother. I want her to be able to see me graduate, and it terrifies me that she won’t be around.鈥�

Ren茅 Kladzyk contributed to this story.

This story was updated with a statement from UTEP officials.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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