To whom it may concern,

The University of Illinois students especially at the Springfield campus are saddened, depressed, anxious, and disheartened that we were given only a couple of days to move all of our belongings out return home. Many students are returning home to an environment that is not conducive for learning and success. There are a plethora of students who will be required to take care of younger siblings and older relatives due to the school cancellations. Some students are returning home to deal with a lack of internet, books, food, and resources to succeed in school. While other students must now get jobs to help their parents put food on the table. Having to pack up your whole life in a matter of days, return home, manage the struggles of home life, all while trying to finish the school is not good for a college students mental and emotional well being. Some students have never taken online classes before and are now being forced to take ALL of their classes online with very few having access to libraries or funds to pay for online tutoring. On top of that a vast majority of students at U of I Springfield are first and second generation college students who don't have parents capable of assisting them with picking classes, and helping with homework in difficult classes such as Organic Chemistry or Statistics. The U of I students are petitioning to receive passing grades for this semester. Not an A or B but a passing grade so that we can focus on staying healthy and readjusting to life back at home. If the main goal of this quarantine is to stay healthy why put a college students health at risk by adding on the stress of moving, online classes, home life, and the cancellation of graduation. We hope you consider this option as other schools have decided this would be beneficial.