100 signatures reached
To: President of the College, Provost, Class Deans, and Department Chairs
Petition to make academic work optional for the remainder of the semester
The following proposal is meant to mitigate the pressure placed on Smith students during this crisis:
-We ask that all assignments starting from the week after spring break onward be made optional. This is meant to close the gap between students who are currently able to prioritize academics, and students who are now forced to take on drastically different roles.
-We ask that our semester grades are based only off of the first half of the semester, before the transition to remote learning.
-Students who wish to improve upon their grade from the first half of the semester may complete optional assignments to receive a passing grade. These assignments should be reasonable given the circumstances, i.e. not comparable to the workload typically expected of a Smith student.
-Students may submit optional coursework for evaluation by their professors, but this is entirely up to the individual student. Students who opt not to do this work for any reason will not be penalized.
-All finals are to be cancelled.
-That department chairs and the provost hold faculty accountable to these changes, rather than merely giving recommendations.
Additionally, students should be allowed to opt not to participate in online instruction at all. Our plan for this is the following:
-Students should have the opportunity to drop this semester without financial penalty, with this semester’s tuition credited towards the fall.
-Alternatively, students may accept an incomplete this semester, and make up work when the campus reopens. This would be especially helpful for students working on special studies, theses, seminar papers, and any projects that require access to the archives.
Why is this important?
Students and their families are being affected by COVID-19 on multiple levels including:
-Many students and their family members have contracted COVID-19 and the recovery time for the illness would entail those affected missing two weeks of class at minimum.
-Many students are already grieving unexpected losses and are preparing for the likelihood of more, under circumstances that disrupt normal grieving rituals. We do not know who we will lose, but we know that we have already lost our chances to say goodbye.
-Many students and their families are facing sudden unemployment and are grappling with unstable housing and financial circumstances; conversely, other students are now having to take on work to provide for themselves and their families, giving them less time for school.
-With the closures of schools and daycares, many students are now caretakers for children, siblings, and other family members.
-Many students are living in abusive home situations that they can not escape.
-Many students do not have a quiet workspaces available in their homes and can not do work in cafes/libraries because of social isolation requirements
-Despite the college’s (much appreciated) efforts to provide technology resources, students are learning with vastly different technology resources. For example, students in rural areas are struggling to get internet access, or have internet that is too slow to properly use Zoom or other video conferencing platforms.
-Students with learning disabilities are not being adequately resourced, and some cases simply cannot be adequately resourced through online learning.
-The virus has affected students’ ability to access medications/counseling services
The current pass/fail system overwhelmingly favors students who are minimally affected or unaffected by the above circumstances
