Our semester has been completely changed by the international pandemic known as Covid-19 or the Coronavirus. On March 11th Governor Andrew M. Cuomo made the decision to move all SUNY, as well as CUNY, courses online affecting more than 700,000 students across 90 campuses.

This was a significant decision made by the Governor to put the health and safety of the SUNY students, staff, and faculty first. We, the student body, are thankful to the SUNY system as a whole for doing their part to support the community during this pandemic.

This abrupt transition to "distance learning" has brought along many concerns for students, families, and faculty. One main concern is the inequality of online learning. Not every student has the proper tools and resources required in order to succeed in an online learning environment. Lack of adequate Wi-Fi, stressful home situations, and worry over vulnerable family members are but a few of the situations students are finding themselves in. The grades that once identified student outcome can no longer apply to this online forum. Each student's situation is different, whether they have to care for their family at home or are financially struggling due to the entirety of non-essential workers being mandated to stay at home.

It is clear that health and safety are a top priority. Focus from coursework has been dramatically shifted. In light of this, many schools such as Carnegie Mellon and MIT have already implemented an alternative grading system, while others are in the process of petitioning for a transition.

We ask that SUNY Polytechnic Institute offer the option of pass/fail grading. Students at the end of the semester can choose to keep their letter grades on their transcript, or they can choose a grade of pass or fail that would still count towards their degree completion. We, as students, thank the SUNY system for prioritizing our health over all else and hope that you will take into consideration this petition.