@EstebanElizond0 believes @Yale students are using coronavirus to lower standards. Yale Professor here (opinions my own, etc). My Yale students are doing nothing of the kind. Yale students are working harder than ever. Universal pass/fail isn't about lowering academic standards.

It's about recognizing that there are things more important than individual grades. Scholarship is important but so is family and community. So is fairness. And the playing field, never level, is more uneven than ever right now.

Don't you dare suggest that I am dropping standards because, as a faculty member, I would rather be putting my 20+ years of expertise to helping with the current problem, rather than deciding on the difference between a B+ and B in a semester which doesn't count to GPA.

Or that I am any less of a scholar because I suddenly find myself with 3 full time jobs and am running my professional life from the spare bedroom in 10 minute increments, and that's not easy.

My academic standards are so high, if you were at the top of the Empire State Building, you'd be maybe just scraping a C-. That doesn't change with a different grading system. Academic excellence isn't just about the grade.

Many students are doing just fine. But many more are not. Students in 20 time zones. Students in war zones. Don't you dare tell me I am lowering standards for students by recognizing that studies may not be the most urgent thing now their entire family's out of work.

None of this mentions the unmentionable. That none of the arguments around pass/fail so far discuss what happens when students, faculty, and family members fall sick. What happens then?

Hopefully we recover quickly. #washyourhands . The standards will still be there. Right now, academic excellence means focusing attention where it's needed most.