It is recommended and sometimes required to get excused absences from the Dean in certain circumstances in order to assure an absence can be excused. Currently, the Dean’s office can only handle and verify situations and deaths if they involve the student or their family members. These excused absences are not given if they include issues outside of the family, even for close friends or significant others. 

The goal of this petition is for the excused absence policy to be changed to include illnesses and deaths of friends and significant others. No one should have to deal with losing someone close to them and then immediately having to go right back to doing work. It just isn’t right. Please consider signing this petition for not only those who are experiencing a loss right now, but for those who have already had to push through sometimes nearly unbearable situations without the help of the Dean’s office. You never know what could happen, and it is incredibly unfair to students to be unsure if they are going to be excused from class after the death of a significant other or friend.

Thank you, and please spread this to anyone you can.