By Mickey Hutchings
In campus news, the Academic Policies and Procedure Committee voted down a pass/no credit option for final grades Monday. According to The Appalachian, this vote is just a recommendation to Provost Heather Norris who will have the final say. Pass/no credit allows students to decide if their transcripts will show a final letter grade for a class or simply whether or not they passed or failed. The option was introduced during the pandemic as students and faculty were adapting to new learning and teaching styles, like remote and hybrid education. Contrary to past semesters during COVID-19, the pass/no credit option still hangs in the balance for students as the last day of classes is quickly approaching on April 28th.
In local news, after a cancelled prom in 2020 due to COVID-19, Watauga High School seniors will have one this year. To lower density, only seniors were invited to the April 24th dance, and no outside guests will be allowed to attend. The Watauga Democrat reports that masks are required at the dance, the event will be divided into five different sections to maintain social distancing, and the free tickets will be distributed via a no-contact system.
In national news, Derek Chauvin, the former police officer responsible for the death of George Floyd, was found guilty on all charges yesterday after a 10-hour jury deliberation. Chauvin could be facing decades in jail after he was charged with second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The New York Times reports that Chauvin’s guilty verdict is a “rare rebuke of police violence” as case after case revolving around instances of police killing Black people have gone without charges or convictions. Chauvin now awaits sentencing where the amount of prison time he will serve will be decided.
And now for your afternoon weather report courtesy of Boone weather dot com. Expect cloudy and cold weather to follow us throughout the day with wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour as we move into the evening. There is a freeze warning for Watauga County in effect from midnight tonight until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Today’s high is 50 degrees and the low is 26 degrees.