With COVID-19 forcing many Gonzaga students to move their whole lives home, sometimes to places with limited internet access, uncertainty around study spaces, and other stressors, I think that Gonzaga should change its grading system to have a pass/fail option for the Spring 2020 semester. Moving classes online puts many students at a disadvantage and so to expect the same quality of work from the first half of the semester as the second half is both unfair and unethical. Education is about learning, but it is also about the wellbeing of students, especially at Gonzaga, and so to disregard the latter by keeping the grading scale as only letter grades, Gonzaga is doing a disservice to its students. By giving a pass/fail option, students can focus more on their overall well-being and can worry less about making a certain grade and spend more time on learning the best they can in this unfamiliar, digital environment. Some may say that a pass/fail grading system disincentivizes hard work, but I believe most Gonzaga students will continue to do the best work they can, especially if it means they won’t be punished with a bad grade due to circumstances out of their control. Another concern is that some students prefer to receive a letter grade for transcript purposes, to send to graduate schools or for employment, but an opt-in to pass/fail would allow letter grades to still be an option. In any case, if you believe we should raise our voices against this pressing issue, please take a minute to sign this petition and share it with Gonzaga students, staff, and faculty. Thank you!