Hello All,

My name is Seva Galant. I am a sophomore Health and Exercise Science major here at The College of New Jersey. It is beyond obvious that COVID-19 has been and continues to affect the entire community but I will share some of the difficulties some of us in the community are facing in light of COVID-19.

Let’s start by considering those of us who are not economically stable enough for social distance.

Students were sent home to households where:

An extra mouth can’t afford to be fed because students relied on meal plans and the dining hall at schools.
They have to work in order to pay rent or help pay a mortgage because they unexpectedly lost their dorm room.
You have to take care of a sick family member and have to go to work to pay for their medicine.
You have to self-isolate because you came in contact with someone sick and can't risk getting anyone else sick, including those at work.
How can students worry about classwork if basic necessities like food, water, and shelter are no longer afforded to you because campus living is no longer a possibility? Given the list above it’s evident that students will/are having a hard time focusing and worrying about classwork. These adjustments are difficult enough on their own and with the added stress of full-time school work many of us are drowning.

Those are only some of the problems facing the community. Now I will share the difficulties my friends and I are dealing starting with:

Increased workload.
Canceled practicum/clinicals.
Delayed graduation due to the inability to do those same practicums/clinicals or due to increased class difficulty.
Canceled labs.
Students are facing housing insecurity or even abusive or unsafe living conditions as a result of losing access to on-campus housing. 

This is not a normal or accommodating time for even students that are safe at home: the pandemic is having a widespread, devastating impact on our community's mental health, especially for those with anxiety, depression, PTSD, a history of trauma, and more:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/trauma-and-hope/202003/coronavirus-the-psychological-trauma-and-ptsd-event

Some are already dealing with devastating loss and tragedy.
Many families are also struggling financially in this uniquely difficult situation. 

Some TCNJ students are devoting their time and energy to volunteer efforts, supporting affected family members, creating PPE for first responders, and more, and we should be doing our part in supporting them. 

Despite these extenuating circumstances, the transition to online instruction has led some professors to even increase the course workload – for instance, creating additional assignments to replace an in-person activity, or relying on students to self-instruct via video lectures and online quizzes.

It is not enough to expect the TCNJ faculty to individually handle our concerns as they best see fit, especially when the struggle is so widespread throughout the campus community – with a disproportionately severe impact on our most disenfranchised students.

The option for pass/fail classes is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. Thus, we have made this petition in the hopes that TCNJ will change the grading scale for its students for the remainder of the semester. Here is an idea to consider, but any further assistance from TCNJ administration would be of tremendous help:

A = 80-100

B = 70-79

C = 60-69

D = 50-59

F = below 50

Another consideration is to follow the example of  Rutgers University’s professors and guarantee that students' grades will not drop below what they had when online classes started. It must be understood that this is not a Rutgers policy but it is what some professors are doing to aid their students in this crisis.

We please ask you to recognize that the pass/fail option is not viable for those pursuing further education, as GPAs are weighted heavily in the decision making process for graduate programs, medical and law school, and other opportunities that members of our community are actively pursuing. With certain classes being dropped or made pass/fail, GPA weighting becomes much more of a gamble, and grad school hopes diminish tremendously.

However, the possibility of failure must be maintained and I believe that should be at the discretion of the professor teaching the course using a case by case basis.

We implore you, greater TCNJ community, and administrators, please do not fall into our typical demeanor of following other more established institutions. COVID-19 does not wait for anyone. In times like these, it is most important to determine what is best for you and your community. TCNJ should not, and cannot, wait for another institution to show us how to operate. Our students are important and we should be making every single effort to help them succeed.