UVA Demands End Classes Now

Jim Ryan and the Board of Visitors

Read the End Classes Now FAQ.

The University of Virginia must End Classes Now.


  • Pass all students, with credit awarded in the classes we are currently enrolled in, and graduate second-semester Fourth Years

  • Partially refund tuition, room-and-board, and other fees

  • Pay professors, grad students, TAs, and any other students receiving benefits from the University for the rest of the semester

  • Require only that absolutely essential employees report to work and financially support the rest so they may stay home as all public health directives suggest

  • Make the University’s resources available to the city of Charlottesville and the state of Virginia to help treat the local population


Online classes are no substitute for traditional learning. Lots of students do no’t have reliable access to the internet or a quiet place to study, and many may have to work now that they’re at home. But more importantly: a pandemic is hitting the United States. Soon people we know will start to get sick -- students, professors, administrators, grad students, TAs, campus workers. And the peak of the effects of this pandemic will be hitting hospitals in the coming weeks. No one should be expected to focus on doing well on finals when they should instead be taking care of themselves and their friends and family.

Instead of trying to throw together online courses, the University of Virginia should lead other public institutions by mobilizing all of its resources towards supporting students and workers during this crisis. Already, Governor Northam has cancelled elementary, middle, and high schools for the duration of this school year. Continuing with online classes through May gives the UVa community the impression that we can continue with business as usual. But very quickly, more than a million people could die and unemployment could reach levels higher than during the Great Depression.

That’s why the University of Virginia must End Classes Now and support students and workers during these unprecedented and turbulent times.

  • Pass all students, allowing them to proceed when we return to our studies, and graduate second-semester Fourth Years

  • Partially refund tuition, room-and-board, and other fees

  • Pay professors, grad students, TAs, and any other students receiving benefits from the University for the rest of the semester

  • Require only that absolutely essential employees report to work and financially support the rest so they may stay home as all public health directives suggest

  • Make the University’s resources available to the city of Charlottesville and the state of Virginia to help treat the local population


End Classes Now!

---

What are the next steps you can take?

Spread this petition around. Post it on social media. If you are a student, share it with classmates via Zoom (politely, once in a private message), and email it to your professors or TAs (and offer to talk with them about it!). If you are a professor, please talk to your peers about the need to end classes. If you’re employed by the University, organize with your coworkers. We cannot win a public-health-first response from UVA unless students work with professors and campus workers.

Still have questions? Read the End Classes Now FAQ.

Solidarity,

Young Democratic Socialists of America at University of Virginia

To: Jim Ryan and the Board of Visitors
From: [Your Name]

The University of Virginia must End Classes Now.

Pass all students, with credit awarded in the classes we are currently enrolled in, and graduate second-semester Fourth Years

Partially refund tuition, room-and-board, and other fees

Pay professors, grad students, TAs, and any other students receiving benefits from the University for the rest of the semester

Require only that absolutely essential employees report to work and financially support the rest so they may stay home as all public health directives suggest

Make the University’s resources available to the city of Charlottesville and the state of Virginia to help treat the local population