Hi all,

Thank you for your continued support - and thank you to those of you who have reached out privately to me to ask how you can help. This will likely be the last update for a while, as I have submitted the petition and am waiting for the University's response.

As such, I am providing in this update both the text of the email I sent to the University, as well as the emails and faculty to which it was addressed. I encourage those of you who have the time and emotional bandwidth to join with me in advocating in the interest of the health of Carleton's student body.

I sent the following email to covidinfo@carleton.ca, provost@carleton.ca, vpstudents@carleton.ca, and cusa@cusaonline.ca. I am hoping that our student union will advocate on our behalf in these matters. They have been surprisingly quiet throughout this campaign.

The email:

"Esteemed faculty,

I am writing to make you aware of a petition that has been circulating among Carleton students on social media. The petition in question, found at http://chng.it/2RbjKJm7 calls on Carleton to follow in the footsteps of an ever-growing list of universities in Canada (like the University of Toronto, the University of Alberta, McGill University, and the University of Ottawa) in giving students the option to be graded on a pass/fail basis this semester. At the time of writing, the petition has amassed in excess of 2,000 signatures.

We are living through a global event which has disrupted everyday life to an extent not seen since the mid-20th century and students are facing a myriad of challenges due to the rapid progression of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fast and sudden transition to online teaching has left many students facing tremendous uncertainty in their academic lives. Many students are also facing economic and health challenges in the form of layoffs, uncertainty around housing, and other situations destructive to mental and physical health. In the interest of prioritizing the welfare of students above the academic desire to assign a letter grade to learning, I am imploring the University to implement an optional pass/fail policy for all faculties.

As stated by the other major universities referenced above, online evaluations are not representative of all students’ learning. Many students struggle with learning disabilities, mental health issues, and other barriers to learning which are exacerbated by the transition to online teaching. Professors are overwhelmed with requests for accommodation and many professors have simply opted to move evaluations online without implementing any major changes to said evaluations to reflect changing circumstances. Friends of mine with ADHD, for example, have been unable to reach the PMC and have not been accommodated by their professors. The current state of affairs is, therefore, unequitable; some students are facing disproportionate barriers to their learning and are not being accommodated.

The petition’s support by thousands of Carleton students is demonstrative of the tremendous anxiety felt by the student body. By implementing the suggested policy, Carleton would stand beside other major Canadian institutions in sending an unequivocal message: the student body’s health is more important than assigning letter grades. Moreover, by giving students the choice between a pass/fail and a letter grade, the University would ensure that no high-performing students (such as myself) are harmed by the transition to a pass/fail system.

The University has the opportunity to take a stand on behalf of its students. Anything less will pose a serious threat to the health of the student body. I implore you to consider implementing an optional pass/fail policy. Our next step, as students, will be to reach out to the media in hopes that Carleton can be convinced to prioritize people over metrics.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

[my name]"

Again, thank you for your support. We can make this thing happen.