You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.

Students at the University of Pennsylvania are petitioning to have final exams switched to online because COVID-19.

More than 500 students have signed a petition that says, “The University of Pennsylvania should move finals to be an online exam for all large lecture based classes. The current transmission rate of COVID is so high that the university has declared that there cannot be social gatherings such as formals and other social events.”

The petition also says many students use forged passes that indicate that they have been tested for COVID-19 recently when they have not.

A letter from Penn to students, however, says academic interactions are safe. “New COVID cases are primarily among students and are linked to indoor social gatherings,” said a letter from Beth A. Winkelstein, interim provost, Craig Carnaroli, senior executive vice president, and Benoit Dubé, chief wellness officer. “There still have not been any documented COVID cases of classroom or workplace transmission.”