Should the fourth quarter be pass or fail? In my opinion, yes, it should be. This is an easy question to answer: desperate times call for desperate measures, and this is a desperate time. The Coronavirus pandemic is something so unpredictable and so out of the ordinary that there is no “if this happens, we do x, y and z.” Both students and faculty are navigating the situation day by day. We have no answers, and we have no previous event to look back at for solutions. 

Taking this into account, I believe it would be unfair not only to students, but to faculty as well, if we try to move forward as if everything were normal. In a time where all we can do as individuals is adapt, I think our systems have to adapt as well. 

Classes online are different. We’re lucky we live in a time where they are a possibility; however, they just don’t compare to what we are used to. In a world of online learning, technological issues are inevitable. Say a student’s audio glitches and the student misses important information–by the time the audio returns to normal, the teacher has probably moved on. Sure, the student can ask the teacher to repeat what they said; but what about when this 9happens for the second time, the third, or even the fourth? At this point, the hour of time allotted to the online class is mostly students either hearing information multiple times or students missing crucial details. Depending on how each student’s Wi-Fi at home is functioning that day, some of us may be placed at a disadvantage. 

Another factor to consider is the emotional side: none of us have ever experienced something like this before. We are all living in a time of uncertainty while simultaneously being isolated from many of our loved ones. 

School is important. Learning is more important than almost anything. But I know that a lot of things are more important than grades. During this quarantine, whether it’s through our online classes, watching the news, or simply thinking about the current situation, we are all learning how to adapt. I feel that grading a small portion of what we have all learned throughout this is unfair to us all.