Opinion: Extending the pass/fail option to April 27 would be a much-deserved reprieve for students

Students, especially graduating seniors, worry more about their futures than their classes

Photo courtesy of Nancy LoGuidice

By Nancy LoGuidice | March 24, 2020

My first memory of AU, and one I’ll remember forever, happened on Dec. 3, 2015. I was 16 years old and decided to embark on my first-ever college visit, motivated by my experience exactly four months earlier, when I saw then-attorney general and fellow Kentucky YMCA Youth and Government alum Andy Beshear speak at the famous Fancy Farm picnic. I rode the Metro in from the end of the Orange line (which, now that I look back on it, is a crazy long ride), then hopped on the AU shuttle and felt my eyes become disposable cameras. The moment I stepped on campus, I knew AU was going to be very special to me. 

I will always be able to cherish the first memory I have of my journey as a student at AU, but now, so many of us aren’t able to cherish our last. It’s impossible to describe the feeling that comes with finding out your final semester of college is ending prematurely. It wasn’t “someone” or even “something” that took away the best part of our senior spring; it was simply an act of God, combined with swift, informed and responsible leadership. We can’t exactly blame President Sylvia Burwell for taking action during a pandemic.

With no one to blame, we are left with an empty pit in our stomachs where all the potential for college experiences and memories used to be. A pit we now must fill with online classes. Still, I am incredibly grateful that I can continue to receive my education from AU while in Kentucky. Given the situation, it really is the best of both worlds. However, it should be recognized that classes not necessary for our upcoming careers are not a priority at this moment in time or history. 

Some of us are struggling to find a place to live. Some of us have just lost our jobs and have no idea how we can afford to make it through to the summer. Some of us are sick and don’t have access to healthcare in our hometown. Some of us have things we need to prioritize over our classes. This situation is unprecedented to everyone, which only means that circumstances are unlike they’ve ever been, and students need space to navigate that. 

As usual, AU students are among those leading the charge in regards to student efforts in support of a new pass/fail policy. After Georgetown University made the decision to extend the pass/fail deadline, senior Eric Perless started a petition on March 16 that has now received nearly 3,000 signatures. In the time since the petition was started, George Washington University and many other colleges across the country, such as the University of Louisville and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, have adopted extensions and amendments to their grading policies as a result of coronavirus-related closings. 

Like so many people in the AU community and around the country, the class of 2020 is adjusting to a jarring new normal, which for some includes a loss of income, an unexpected housing displacement or an unclear picture of what the next phase of their lives hold. This, combined with the mounting anxiety we all feel about the pandemic, has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. We aren’t asking for a free pass or an easy way out; we are simply asking to lighten our emotional load during a time when our emotions are taking center stage, and quite frankly, stealing the show. After many years of overachieving, overinvolvement, overperforming, overcommitting and over-Tweeting, it’s time for the class of 2020 to say goodbye. The option to convert classes to pass/fail is the least the administration could do to give us the final semester we deserve. 

It’s hard to not have a last “real” memory as a member of the class of 2020, but I feel grateful for all of the memories that have brightened my time at AU. While I’m disappointed it was cut short, I wouldn’t trade my time at American University for anything in the world. 

The administration can’t bring back our last semester. It can’t bring back the speakers, formals, concerts or graduation ceremonies. However, it can take one small step in allowing us to grieve with our emotional burden in check. Giving us the opportunity to make this choice could ease the load of all students as we struggle to finish the semester during this tumultuous time. 

Nancy LoGuidice is a senior in the School of Public Affairs and is the Director of Student Experience Enrichment in AU Student Government. 

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