BIMM has managed to implement great policies thus far in matters of deadlines, assessments, helping students apply for mitigation, implementing the No Detriment policy and so forth. For this I think we are all extremely grateful – being on a vocational course, where human interaction matters, we were also anxious about online classes, but the classes were well-organized, feedback was always provided, and we made the best of hard circumstances. Not to mention the Hardship Fund which was easily made available for those struggling with lack of necessary gear.

Nonetheless, the pandemic is not going away, and temporary relaxations do not mean that the virus is simply going away. Experts and experience have stated that even those who develop immunity can easily get infected again as the virus constantly changes. London, and other cities where BIMM has a campus, are high-risk cities, with high traffic, a large population density, expensive travel – thus requiring long commuting in high congestion areas. A great return of EU and Overseas students will not help stop the spread of the virus, and many of us do not want to put ourselves and our families to greater stress. This year has been ripe with trauma and difficulties of all sorts. In discussing with EU students, I found many of us simply cannot afford coming to London next year due to lack of work and pay for our families and ourselves during the Coronavirus outbreak. Expensive plane tickets, toxic tenancy contracts, lack of work and medical costs have put a lot of our families in a state of financial instability, not to mention an over-looming state of fear.

This petition doesn’t want BIMM to be Online-only or Online-mandatory – we hope that it can be made Online-accessible. That is, give the option to struggling students to continue with Online modules and assessments – this will not only lift a great burden from a large portion of BIMM students, but, if BIMM locations remain physically open as well, it will also make them more suitable for social distancing, since at the present time, they are not. The London college, whilst wonderful, is quite often crowded, and the classrooms / rehearsal spaces / studios don’t allow for very efficient distancing as it stands.

Many of us and our families are presently in a state of uncertainty. Whilst we understand that there will be losses in terms of playing experience, rehearsals, projects, we’ve been constantly taught to make the best of adversity, as our university has. Many universities in the UK have already made the decision to conduct Online classes – Cambridge University is one example. As it stands, it will be difficult or impossible for many of us to return in September / October, and it would directly imply putting ourselves in financial and physical danger. Online accessible courses would make the lives of both BIMM students studying from home and those on location significantly safer.