The abrupt changes that Hopkins students have been subject to will undeniably pose a challenge to many students' academic success and mental health. As such, making this semester's grades pass/fail will definitely be useful. However, students should be able to opt in for pass/fail grades. Some students had a difficult time adjusting to Hopkins (or just college in general) in their freshman year, and their grades suffered for it. These students have since been working hard to improve their grades, and cannot afford to lose a semester of good grades. They have already lost their research positions (for the time being), the ability to foster close relationships with their professors this semester, any extracurricular activities they were working on at Hopkins, and other aspects of the Hopkins undergraduate experience that would help compensate for their less-than-stellar grades. This is the case for the group of students behind this petition, and there might be other reasons why someone might support pass/fail grades being optional. If this is the case for you, please leave your reason for signing. 

We recognize the necessity in calling for pass/fail grades, however we believe that making this a decision that students can opt in to will prevent adding more stress to any students' lives right now.