San Jose State University has transferred the rest of the semester online. Students should have all their classes passed for the Spring Semester with a credit/ no credit as a result of the coronavirus disease pandemic, also known as COVID-19, which has caused a lot of problems. COVID-19 has terribly disrupted the learning process for students this semester (Spring 2020). Classes can no longer complete their learning objectives in time as previously thought. Furthermore, there is no reason to have classes that REQUIRE in-person interaction online (such as classes in STEM, theater, and art classes that require in-person interaction). As a result, all students should at San Jose State University be passed for all their classes with a credit/ no credit this semester because having classes online will be of a huge inconvenience and disadvantage that can lead to unnecessary failure.

Many students are not able to learn in an online environment to the full extent. Having classes online can unintentionally lead to students failing even more. This can greatly delay graduation for graduating seniors to the next semester or next year and lead to more retention for many, if not, all students. During normal times, we would have been able to get through our classes. However, these are not normal times, and taking classes online places a huge burden on students who are not familiar with the online class environment and can lead to failure as previously mentioned. San Jose State University is not a 100% online school, and this is not what we signed up for when we paid our tuition and selected our classes. We, the students, do understand that necessary action had to be taken for us to continue our education; however, many of us believe that passing all students this semester is the better action to be taken in order to ensure that we thrive as scholars for a better future of this generation and the next to come. A credit/ no credit will also serve as compensation for all the inconveniences that the students have had to endure during this hard time because it is not reasonable to expect students to perform optimum work through an online setting at this time. A credit/no credit would furthermore set the bars even higher for future academic years.

In-person classes, especially with instructors who are also tremendously affected by the situation, delay our ability to learn as students. For example, the homes of students can be disruptive environments because they are not the ideal place to study. There are students who do not have internet in their house to even stream videos through zoom. And for many of those who do, they are not even guaranteed to have an internet that is speedy enough for the zoom classes. Some instructors are requiring that all students have videos turned on during zoom. This is a complete breach of privacy in our own homes. Most of the instructors have never taught an online class because, and the students should not suffer those consequences. Furthermore, it puts a huge burden on the instructors to keep up at a pace that they have never been at before. There are students who do not even have laptops or good enough phones to utilize zoom. We are generally unable to utilize public Wi-Fi as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students are currently unemployed because of this pandemic. We also have students who do not live in a safe environment and/or are homeless. They were previously able to study in school, libraries, and coffee shops. Now, everything is closed. Continuing classes through an online environment are very detrimental and lead to even more stress to the students because they now have more things to worry about during this time of great stress, worry, and despair, which leads to extremely dangerous conditions of mental health. So, not only do we now not only have to worry about our physical health and the health of our families, but we have to also worry about our mental health. As of now, online classes honestly seem like more of a problem than a solution for SJSU students. All students should be passed for the semester with an A letter grade or pass for their own good, for the good of their respective futures, and for their sanity. Failure to give students a credit/ no credit will lead to delay in their degrees, which leads to a further delay in the progress and development of the current generation's attention to the university.

We truly appreciate and thank the university staff, faculty, and workers for handling this extremely stressful situation fast and efficiently as they can; however, we believe that the previous resolution was not in our best interest because it is negatively affecting our mental health. The solutions outlined in this petition are in the best interest of the students of San Jose State University and quite possibly for students at other schools too. This is not the voice of one person alone. This is the voice of many students and faculty. We ask that you please, consider this decision.

Thank you for your time. Stay safe, positive, and strong!

Voices of SJSU Students and Supporters