When Jessica Presedo’s grandfather passed away last year, she had to choose between her grades and attending his funeral.

Presedo, a junior double-majoring in math and Spanish at Binghamton University, informed all of her professors about her loss and found that some were more sympathetic than others.

‘One of my professors has this policy where if you’re not in class the day he returns a quiz, you automatically get a zero on it,’ Presedo explained. ‘So I got a zero on it because I had to be home for the wake and the funeral. And because I wasn’t in class, I wasn’t able to take the quiz for that day, so I got two zeros, and [the professor] wouldn’t even give me the opportunity to try and do anything else to fix it. It was disheartening.’

In another class, Presedo was forced to take a zero on a homework assignment. She had told the professor that she would complete it and e-mail it to him on time, but he told her that in order to get credit, she would have to hand in the assignment in person.

After hearing Presedo’s story, members of BU’s Student Assembly have set to work to pass legislation that will allow students leniency in making up assignments and exams after the death of a loved one.

Although it has not yet been formalized, the new legislation would allow for a minimum time period for mourning students to be exempt from attending classes and handing in assignments, according to Daniel Rabinowitz, vice president for academic affairs.

‘There needs to be a minimum period of anywhere from 72 to 96 hours of not showing up to class, not showing up to labs and not showing up to take exams, and then a week and a half period of being able to make up tests, quizzes, labs and assignments,’ Rabinowitz said.

Rabinowitz, a senior double-majoring in math and industrial and systems engineering, has been charged with writing the new policy, which he will then present to BU administration.

According to Ryan Yarosh, spokesperson for BU, there is no formal University-wide bereavement policy currently in place.

‘It works on a case-by-case basis,’ Yarosh said. ‘Students can talk to professors or their deans about their specific circumstances.’

According to Kaitlyn Flatley, who is an assistant in Rabinowitz’s office, this is a major problem for many students like Presedo. She has been working on the legislation since the beginning of this semester.

‘Although many professors are understanding as this kind of tragedy arises in a student’s life, there are often times where a student does not receive the leniency they may need, even for a day or two at a time,’ said Flatley, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law.

Rabinowitz said he, too, was inspired to work on the legislation because of student complaints.

‘If the professors choose not to give you a few extra days to get your work done, if they are just not accommodating, there are no guidelines in place that they either need to follow or can turn to,’ Rabinowitz said.

Flatley said she does not foresee any resistance from administration in instituting a bereavement policy.

‘This is clearly the right thing to do,’ Flatley said. ‘I know that some faculty members are concerned about students lying about losing a friend or family member,’ she said.

she added that this should not be an obstacle if students are able to provide documents proving the loss of a loved one.

‘This is the only foreseeable objection and it can clearly be addressed,’ Flatley said.

Rabinowitz estimates that, if all goes well, the new policy will pass sometime from the middle to the end of next semester.