Southwestern University has always been an educational institution that has focused on a well-rounded and engaging approach to learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced professors and students to quickly adapt to an entirely new style of education. As students, we have experienced professors and staff who work tirelessly to provide the same caliber of quality education as before the switch to online learning, and their efforts have not gone unnoticed by students. However, it is important to recognize that even as individual professors have mitigated the changes that online classes have on the quality of education, this semester is not normal. Southwestern prides itself on education for tomorrow and creating a 21st-century thinker. Today, Southwestern students are facing extreme amounts of psychological distress, from individual struggles to a ravaging global pandemic. Students are stressed, and an overwhelming, unengaging workload has led to a seemingly unavoidable gap in knowledge. The quality and passion usually put behind classes has suffered, and while students often feel as if they are putting in 110% effort, the results can be discouraging when compared to a "normal" semester.

Based on the lowered quality of education in these unprecedented times, SU students believe that classes for the Fall 2020 semester should have the option to  be graded as Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit based on individual needs.