The open letter was sent to the Vice Principal of Learning and Teaching contains over 200 signatures, including Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP.
An open letter has been sent to the Vice-Principal of Learning and Teaching, Professor Moira Fischbacher-Smith, by the University of Glasgow Greens demanding that blanket Good Cause is reinstated for the coming exam diet.
The letter argues for a return to the No Detriment policy that was implemented from 15 March right through to the summer exams, which removed the need to submit Good Cause as the Covid-19 pandemic was “extremely challenging” for all affecting: health, finances, ability to study and increased anxiety due to the global situation.
As the UofG Greens state in their letter “The pandemic hasn’t gone away, so why has your [the University’s] support for students?”
They plead that a return to the original policy, which provided a safety net for students during an uncertain period, would offer “some much-needed respite and will allow us some breathing space with assessments where needed”.
The basis of the letter’s argument is that the current situation is just as bad, if not worse, for students than in March “due to limited access to study spaces and materials, technical challenges of learning online and working from home, or the mental health pressures of isolation and lockdown”.
The letter has amassed over 200 signatures so far, including Green MSP Patrick Harvie and Green Hillhead Councillor Martha Wardrop. The letter has also been signed by university societies: Glasgow University Politics Society, Glasgow University Student Tenants Union and Glasgow University Conservative and Unionist Association.
Speaking to The Glasgow Guardian on the broad range of support for the issue, Joseph Holland the Vice President of Glasgow University Conservative Association said: “Naturally some things matter more than politics so when the Greens asked us for the support we couldn’t have been more on board. Reinstating the original No Detriment policy is just one small way which students can be supported through what is an even more testing exam period than usual.”
If you would like to read and put your name to the UofG Greens open letter petition, you can by clicking on the link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScoUVdiZxZgv9fE1wJ4kVJxVFThMzT_zdvuxSKN_RXdtEaP3g/viewform
