Thousands of American pensioners are retiring on college campuses

“Are we alone within the universe? That’s the core query we’re making an attempt to reply right here,” Meenakshi Wadhwa, a planetary scientist with ties to NASA, tells her spellbound class. As she explains that to reply this “we have to return to Mars to gather rocks”, one scholar scribbles notes whereas one other holds up an iPhone to take a snap of the slides. In some ways this lecture corridor at Arizona State College (ASU) is like every other. A gaggle of eager ladies sit attentively within the entrance row; the lads are unfold out within the again. However the listening to aids trace at how uncommon this class is.

Mirabella, a 20-storey “college retirement group” on ASU’s campus, is residence to over 300 pensioners. When it opened its doorways in 2020, the senior-living facility was almost totally subscribed, regardless of the pandemic. Most residents are having a ball. They get a college cross, which permits them to attend the identical courses and cultural occasions as college students, however with the distinct good thing about not having to take exams. Golf buggies can drive them across the sprawling campus, although many are nonetheless match sufficient to mountain bike.