Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools, both public and private alike, have been forced to close their doors. One of those schools is the Maine College of Art, more fondly known to its students and faculty as MECA. I understand this pandemic is unexpected and out of our control, and I understand that the school has closed for our health and safety, but I also understand that we the students pay thousands of dollars for things like the use of materials such as litho stones owned by the school that are very expensive to purchase, kilns and firings, ceramic glazes, throwing wheels, power tools, 3D printers, a laser cutter, a CNC router, industrial printers, free printing, woodworking tools and facilities, metalsmithing facilities, industrial sewing machines, and foundation studies supplies, plus 24/7 studio access for processes that you cannot do in your home, like ceramics, metalsmithing, painting, printmaking, and woodworking, as well as others. How are the students meant to gain valuable instruction in these very hands-on areas through a computer? We are not paying thousands of dollars to be forced out of the dorms and into learning at home online, where many students don’t have the technology or internet access available to be able to complete the work. The least that President Laura Freid and MECA can do for their students in this devastating time is to reimburse us the tuition and fees for what we have paid to attend from March 7th through May 15th, the end of the semester and give the students the credits they have been working so hard to earn. If you’re a student at MECA, or any other art school, a parent, alumni, community member, artist, or anyone that resonates with how expensive college is and the struggle of trying to gain a comprehensive and fulfilling art education online, please sign this petition and help us demand reimbursement.