The ongoing public health crisis has left many Carleton students in unsure territory. Whether it be lost jobs, the shifting travel bans leaving them stranded, illness or just the stress of an ongoing global pandemic and economic crisis, all students are under significantly more stress than they otherwise would be.

The University's response has been admirable under the circumstances and they have stated that they are committed to supporting the Carleton community. However, there is lacking a unified approach to continuing the semester, leading to a patchwork of solutions department by department, professor by professor. This results in further unnecessary stress on students and faculty.

We suggest some of the following potential measures:

- Ending ongoing requirements meant to gauge engagement in courses such as; attendance, assignments due on a weekly basis, etc. These simply add to the stress of an already overwhelmed student body.

- Pushing due dates for large assignments or tests to the end of the exam period. The ability for students to study has been greatly diminished by the scramble to prepare for this emergency, secure their income and get home.

- Offering a pass/fail option for all courses to mitigate the impact of this crisis on student's GPAs

These suggestions should not be taken as exhaustive and there should be continuing input from departments and student support services across the university.

As the rest of the province, country and world begin to hunker down to weather out this crisis the administration of Carleton University is in a position to make this much easier for students, staff and faculty. We think, as students and members of the Carleton Community, it is obligated to do so.