[ziari]

Before we jump to conclusions...

Undergraduates were forced off campus a few weeks ago.

Imagine yourself in the shoes of an international student who left New Haven in a hurry. You're now required to attend online lectures at 3:00AM local time. Five nights a week.

You don't have a reliable internet connection in your country. You lost your job when you left campus. You're missing out on office hours. You can't collaborate with classmates in the United States. You need to take care of at-risk relatives at home. You're in a state of heightened anxiety during a lock-down. Don't even think about taking a nap! Your next discussion seminar (with mandatory attendance) is in fifteen minutes... at 4:30AM!

Now, is it really so unreasonable to ask the administration to relieve some of this pressure? We should empower students to seek knowledge without sacrificing their health and family obligations.

[viklove]

Relieve pressure, sure. Free pass? What? I mean they still need to do the coursework. The school should refund their tuition and room/board, and allow them to complete the semester later.

[ziari]

Pass/fail grades are not factored into GPA calculations at Yale anyways. The idea behind a "universal pass" system is that it completely eliminates grades for the semester without leaving that section of the transcript empty. It's more akin to a participation trophy than an unmerited gold medal.