This year has been turbulent and full of surprises, which is something everyone can agree on. With the pandemic leading to months of quarantining, the election and all of the craziness that surrounds it, and with the sudden shut down of campus on November 16th- there is one thing that has been made clear which is that students are struggling. This is likely not news to you, however, although students, professors, and the campus have all acknowledged the struggle students are facing, not much has been done to decrease the stress that students are under right now. Many students are struggling with simply having a safe, quiet work space to complete assignments and focus in our online classes. Balancing class, homework/papers, an average of 18 hours a week of an intense internship, dealing with the pandemic, jobs, housing, etc. is not something anyone could have been prepared for going into this semester. While it is appreciated how accommodating professors have been with deadline extensions and removing some required work from their classes, it is still obvious that what students are handling right now, is just about too much. With so many assignments still needing to be completed before the end of the semester, many students are not able to take care of their mental health due to the workload that is still required for social work students on top of all their other responsibilities. 

This is what we ask from professors: 

If there are assignments that you have not introduced yet to students, please remove these assignments from the current curriculum as students are struggling with their current assignments, let alone, new assignments.

If there are assignments that could be altered to make it easier for students to complete, please do so appropriately. An example could be changing a 7-9 page paper into a 2-3 page paper. 

If there is anything you can do to further support your students, please do so.

Students all around the world are struggling right now and it can feel impossible to actually do anything about the struggles. As a social work student, if there is one thing I have learned it is how to advocate. I am advocating on behalf of the social work senior class, to please listen to our needs right now. Social work focuses on the importance of self care, however, right now many students are struggling with basic self care such as showering, eating, and sleeping. Lets come together as a community to show that we care about our student’s needs and are willing to listen to their concerns. I ask that if you are a student and you read this and it resonates with you, please sign. I ask that if you are a professor and you read this, please consider how your course and assignments could be negatively impacting you students and what you could do better, to help your students end the semester with their mental health intact.

Thank you.