Last semester, it was decided by the administration that high school students in the Pleasanton School District needed to take finals. During this pandemic, mental health has become a bigger issue, and adding this additional stress and anxiety, made it even more of a struggle for a majority of students. On top of that, learning over zoom has proven to be more difficult for a lot of kids, making school (which may already challenging for some) even harder. Furthermore, forcing kids to take finals when they may mot be able to attend school in person because of their health concerns due to COVID-19 is of questionable educational value both in the short and long term. Additionally, the students that were able to go back, were not offered this choice until late March and the in person learning is still extremely limited, with only two days in the classroom while still having to be on a zoom. This doesn’t offer the same type of learning environment that many kids still need and/or want. Ultimately, finals would be harmful to many students’ grades, mental health, and futures. We hope that you will hear our voices and cancel finals for the second semester this year.