2008 Woodie Awards
Disheartening
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 2 next >
What is disheartening? Disheartening is being accused of plagiarism in the second week of your Introduction to Fiction English class and it STILL BEING AN UNRESOLVED ISSUE, THANKS TO THE APPEAL, THE APPEAL TO THE APPEAL, AND OF COURSE, THE RE-APPEAL TO THE SAME COMMITTEE AS THE FIRST APPEAL AS THE RULING OF THE SECOND APPEAL.
Disheartening is when the procedural guidelines for student appeals are so convoluted you can barely follow them, let alone hope to resolve things quickly.
Disheartening is continuously calling several Deans for seven weeks (and counting) only to be told either to call one of the other Deans, or that the requested Dean is busy right now, and that I can leave a voicemail.
Disheartening is the "preponderance of evidence" standard Union uses when determining a student's guilt, rather than the reasonable doubt standard used by the American justice system. In essence, it is fair to say that this takes the metaphorical, let's say, 90-10 split to about a 51-49 split. Damn.
Disheartening is appealing to a committee that presents the case to you as if you've already been found guilty, and the procedure at hand is a mere formality.
Disheartening is waiting to wait an entire week after that appeal just to find out what you already expected, nothing good.
Disheartening is the amazing lack of recourse for students accused of academic dishonesty. (Let's hope the appeal to the appeal comes through). Does it seem odd to anyone else that an appeal to an appeal does not warrant a face-to-face meeting with the proper authority?
Disheartening is writing longer appeals letters than you do assigned papers.
Disheartening is having to resort to writing a newspaper article in order to make sure that your story is as outrageous as you think it is, and that you're not just crazy.
Disheartening is being damn-near twenty-one years old and still having to get your parents to call the school in order to get an appropriate person on the phone to speak with.
Disheartening is when the procedural guidelines for student appeals are so convoluted you can barely follow them, let alone hope to resolve things quickly.
Disheartening is continuously calling several Deans for seven weeks (and counting) only to be told either to call one of the other Deans, or that the requested Dean is busy right now, and that I can leave a voicemail.
Disheartening is the "preponderance of evidence" standard Union uses when determining a student's guilt, rather than the reasonable doubt standard used by the American justice system. In essence, it is fair to say that this takes the metaphorical, let's say, 90-10 split to about a 51-49 split. Damn.
Disheartening is appealing to a committee that presents the case to you as if you've already been found guilty, and the procedure at hand is a mere formality.
Disheartening is waiting to wait an entire week after that appeal just to find out what you already expected, nothing good.
Disheartening is the amazing lack of recourse for students accused of academic dishonesty. (Let's hope the appeal to the appeal comes through). Does it seem odd to anyone else that an appeal to an appeal does not warrant a face-to-face meeting with the proper authority?
Disheartening is writing longer appeals letters than you do assigned papers.
Disheartening is having to resort to writing a newspaper article in order to make sure that your story is as outrageous as you think it is, and that you're not just crazy.
Disheartening is being damn-near twenty-one years old and still having to get your parents to call the school in order to get an appropriate person on the phone to speak with.
Be the first to comment on this story