TO THE EDITOR:
I am a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill; the proposal to shorten the drop/add period will not affect me personally, but I’d like to share my experience and advocate on behalf of future students of this University.
The current length of the drop/add period is a small part of University policy that can provide a drastically positive benefit for students’ mental health and ability to manage their time.
As young people, most students are still learning what they can and cannot handle in terms of workload.
To punish students by altering this extremely valuable learning period is unfair to say the least, and surely contradicts the idea of the University being a place for safe and supported learning in and out of the classroom.
I have personally used the current drop/add period in the wake of family hardship; it pains me to think that future students that must augment their schedule will be penalized due to a non-academic matter.
This decision is targeted at students; students will be the most affected.
I hope that you all consider student voices deeply and sensitively as you decide on this proposal.
Ann Soltan ’13 Environmental studies
American studies
