Dear AUP,

Students of the school are being required to show up to finals during a continuously worsening COVID situation when most of them are across the world from home. This petition aims to show the AUP faculty that students are concerned about their health, their mental well-being, and most importantly, their ability to come home during the holidays, as many have been unable to see their families for months at a time. We students feel that an online final option for students would show the administration's competence during this crisis. We students also think that flexibility during this time is critical and that we must remain able to adapt instead of sticking with a rigid ruleset. 

An online option would allow students who are worried about seeing their families during the break more comfortable while also providing more comfort to students who worry about having to be locked down in France. For many students, finals are slated to happen up to 11 days after school's official end on the 10th of December. This timeline makes it so some students have to stay present in Paris for 11 days without classes which drastically increases their chances of infection.

This inability to provide an online option also degrades students' mental health as the stress of not being able to see family and being locked in a foreign can be too much to bear for many individuals.

All in all: on behalf of many of the students at AUP who have signed this petition, and all those who have not, we kindly ask that the school take our concerns seriously and provide an alternative for those who are worried about their health and those who are not comfortable going into school. 

Best,

Students of AUP