In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, students have been especially hard during such a critical time in their lives. While efforts to continue the semester online through digital learning have been diligent and appreciated, it is clear that from a student perspective, it is unfortunately extremely difficult to gain real any benefit from this form of learning. The impacts of learning and interacting on a college campus are vital to students, and we ask officials to reopen campuses in the fall.

We as students signing this petition fully understand the potential risks of a return to campus and are willing to take full responsibility for any consequences that may result. As we anxiously await a cure or a vaccine, we believe that learning to live despite the virus is a crucial step for the nation and should begin with colleges where students possess an extremely low risk of fatality, and also low risk of transmitting the virus to vulnerable populations, as most students live amongst one another on or off campus. We believe that a return to campus is necessary to restore the devastating mental health impacts this pandemic has posed on our generation, as well beginning to facilitate a return to a degree of normalcy.