Coronavirus Coverage
COVID-19 is changing everything from elementary education, to city tax revenues, trade and foreign relations between superpowers and how we diagnose and treat a patient who walks in the open doors of a hospital emergency ward. Because universities are centers of knowledge and community resources, particularly those in the Jesuit tradition, we’ve turned to experts in the LMU community — faculty, alumni and staff members — to bring to bear their observations, analysis and experiences in the global health crisis.
Sean Kennedy ’86, LLS ’89
In May, an LMU Loyola Law School suit was rejected that would have forced the release of more juveniles in detention who are at risk for the coronavirus. Sean Kennedy, director of the LLS Center for Juvenile Law and Policy, explains why the decision is a failure of juvenile justice.
Sung Won Sohn
The rapid, global onset of the coronavirus pandemic slammed economies around the world. Sung Won Sohn, LMU professor of finance and economics, discusses signs of hope in a stark U.S. and California economic forecast.
The Shuttering of Olvera Street
Olvera Street, a major L.A. tourist draw and Mexican and Mexican American heritage center, faces a deeply cloudy future due to tourism’s collapse during the pandemic.
Tom Plate
U.S. relations with China — from the COVID-19 crisis to democracy protests in Hong Kong — may shape the November 2020 presidential election. Tom Plate, LMU professor and Asia expert, talks about foreign policy disputes and pragmatism in dealing with a superpower.
Fernando Guerra and Brianne Gilbert
When the Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles surveyed L.A. residents this spring about Mayor Eric Garcetti’s leadership in the COVID-19 crisis, the center documented overwhelming support across the board.
Shira Shafir ’99
The coronavirus has caused more than 80,000 deaths in the United States in just four months. Shira Shafir ’99, professor of epidemiology, warns that as in the 1918–19 influenza epidemic a second wave of infections in the COVID-19 crisis could cause more deaths than the first.
The Coronavirus and Catholic Schools
The coronavirus has upended every aspect of U.S. education. Kevin Baxter M.A. ’01, chief innovation officer of the National Catholic Educational Association, discusses the pandemic’s impact on Catholic schools.
David Offenberg
The COVID-19 shutdown has slammed the film industry, causing delayed movie releases, closed theaters and widespread unemployment for workers. David Offenberg, an expert in entertainment finance, describes the devastating impact on financing, creation, production and employment in a crucial L.A. industry.
Lessons From the Virus Wars
A century ago, the 1918 flu ravaged the world’s population. There was no vaccine and quarantining was essential. Carla Bittel, an LMU historian, talks about the lessons the world learned that may help today.
Troubling Calm
In the COVID-19 era, what was has changed, what is now seems uncertain, but will be may be ours to decide. L.A. writer Lynell George ’84 writes about life during a pandemic.
Hope’s Thin Thread
“Where is your hope?” often feels like the hardest question to ask in the COVID-19 crisis, let alone answer.
L.A.’s Financial Prognosis
Ron Galperin holds the office of Controller of the City of Los Angeles, a post to which he was first elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017. As controller, he is the paymaster, auditor and chief accounting officer for the City of Los Angeles. He earned a law degree from the LMU Loyola Law School […]
Does service to the community have to stop during the COVID-19 crisis? Patrick Furlong, interim director of the LMU Center for Service and Action, talks about how to serve the community while on lockdown.
Chilembwe Mason ’98, M.D.
The COVID-19 crisis is now straining health services in several U.S. regions. In the third of our series on the pandemic, Chilembwe Mason, M.D., who is an emergency medicine physician in Bronx, New York, describes the overwhelming needs he is facing on the front lines.
Stan Johnson
“I don’t want to be anywhere where there’s no pressure,” says Stan Johnson, new head coach of the LMU men’s basketball team. “That’s not fun; pressure is a privilege.” Johnson talks about the recruiting challenge during the COVID-19 crisis, when face-to-face contact with student athletes and their parents is out of the question.
Thomas V. Cunningham
The COVID-19 crisis is already straining health services in several U.S. regions. In the second of our series on the pandemic, Thomas V. Cunningham, a bioethics director with Kaiser Permanente and lecturer with the LMU Bioethics Institute, describes the impact of trauma and stress from the virus on medical professionals and staff people.
Kate Pickert
COVID-19, a global pandemic, has created a U.S. health policy crisis. Kate Pickert, who covered healthcare as a reporter, talks about the impact of a lagging governmental response on the medical community and health agencies.