100 signatures reached
To: Grinnell College
End Covid-19 Induced Discrimination
- Make the rest of the semester optional, including finals
- Allow students to request their grade for a class be based on the first half of the semester
- Students receive credit for all classes in which they are currently enrolled as long as they have a D or above
- Students are allowed to improve their course grades with supplemental assignments
(With help from https://tinyurl.com/rtkwmza)
Why is this important?
Errol Blackstone, a current student at Grinnell College, said it best: "We all know that crises like the one we are facing affect marginalized people more harshly and COVID-19 has created large inequity in the education that Grinnell College has promised us." Grinnell itself states that "[b]ehaviors designed to intimidate or hinder others from accessing the benefits provided by the College are strictly prohibited." However, current Grinnell policy hinders hundreds of students from being graded based on competence rather than circumstances. It places a burden on students from marginalized groups who already carry the weight of injustice on their shoulders. We are living through the crises we study and leaning on the science that was once constrained to two-hour labs. Now is not the time to force pedagogical learning when our lives are our classroom. Our responsibility is to ourselves and each other, not our transcripts.
Thank you,
The Grinnell College Community
