Michelle Obama Says Daughters Are Among College Students Learning at Home amid COVID-19
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Barack Obama gave the virtual commencement speech during Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020.
Count Sasha and Malia Obama among the many students who continue learning at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an Instagram Live conversation on Tuesday, former First Lady Michelle Obama spoke with Jennifer Lopez about the importance of voting, late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and how their lives have changes during the coronavirus pandemic. One of those relatable ways: Obama's girls have not yet returned to campus.
"My girls are studying from home," said Obama, 56. "We're itching to get back to campus, but things are just confusing ... not quite safe."
"I'm just glad that they're staying put, even if they're sick of me," Obama added.
Feng Li/Getty First Lady Michelle Obama (center) with her daughters Malia Obama (left) and Sasha Obama
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Lopez, 51, said her 12-year-old twins are also currently schooling at home.
"I'm hoping they can get back to school soon — I kind of left it open with their schools ... the minute it feels really safe to go back, I'm just gonna send them back," she said.
"They miss their friends, they want to be there," Lopez added. "But for right now, I just feel it a little more safe to keep them home."
Harvard University — where Malia Obama, 22, started her fourth year this fall — began its shift to remote instruction in March.
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Meanwhile, the University of Michigan — where Sasha Obama, 19, attends school — invited students back to campus for in-person learning but also offers virtual class options.
Obama and Lopez's conversation was part of the former first lady's National Voter Registration Day Instagram takeover, which featured appearances from Lopez, Zendaya, Ayesha Curry and others. The "Get Registered & Ready" livestream served as a means of spreading the word about the importance of registering and voting in the upcoming presidential election, which falls on Nov. 3.
In March, Obama spoke to Ellen Degeneres about her family's routine amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Ya know, we’re just trying to, like, structure our days,” Obama told the comedian. “I mean, everybody’s home. The girls are back because colleges are now online. So they’re off in their respective rooms doing their online classes and I think Barack is — I don’t know where he is. He was on the phone on a conference call. I just got finished with a conference call.”
Obama added that this time has been “like no other time in history — particularly for our kids who are so used to being occupied and stimulated all of the time.”
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