UPDATE: Petition goals have been accomplished. Thank you FSU President McCullough, and thank you to everyone who signed.

On Thursday, April 17th 2025, Florida State University students, faculty, and visitors experienced and suffered a horrific mass shooting on campus. Two lives have been lost, and six injured including students. Thousands are forever traumatized from the experience, which took place in the center of campus during its busiest hours.

The same day, FSU announced that classes would be canceled through Sunday, April 20th. Classes are currently set to resume starting Monday, April 21st. We as students feel that this is completely inappropriate and insensitive. Three days is not nearly enough time for anyone to process through what took place.

We are asking FSU to please automatically excuse all absences for the week of April 21st-25th, and mandate that professors provide distance learning options for students during this time.

It is not okay to be asking students, who just experienced such a traumatic moment, to return right back to where it happened so soon. This will cause extreme distress and likely panic attacks for many, which we already saw that it did with FSU’s inconsiderate organizing of item pick-up being held in the very place where the shooting took place, the day after it happened.

We were given a week off school for snow; we can accommodate to students who just nearly lost their lives.