Montana college student flunks math, sues school

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press


A Rocky Mountain College art student who flunked and dropped math classes required to earn a degree is suing to force the school to allow her to substitute two non-math courses so she can graduate.

Hannah Valdez's disabilities prevent her from passing two basic math courses — including algebra, calculus, statistics or trigonometry — that are part of the Billings college's general education requirements to graduate with a bachelor of art degree, she said in her federal lawsuit.

Valdez's disabilities include Asperger's syndrome, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyscalculia, which is a mathematics learning disability, her attorney, Donald Harris, said Tuesday.

"They don't understand her disability," Harris said of Rocky Mountain officials. "The stress and anxiety that Hanna feels when she is trying to be successful with math classes affects her other studies, as well."

Rocky Mountain admitted her even though college officials knew her SAT score for math placed her in the bottom 5 percent of all students, the lawsuit said.

She attempted to pass two math courses before requesting to substitute the classes in April 2012, which the college denied.

The college permits a course waiver or substitution in circumstances such as unavoidable conflicts or course cancellations, and it is common in other colleges and universities, Harris said.

She filed a lawsuit in state court, claiming negligence by the school and discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The lawsuit was transferred to U.S. District Court on Nov. 4.

In it, she said she has gone into substantial debt and will incur significant damages if Rocky Mountain prevents her from graduating with a degree because of her mental disabilities.

Barbara Vail, Rocky Mountain's interim academic vice president, said the college values Valdez as a student, takes seriously its obligations to provide access for students with disabilities, and is doing everything it can to help her graduate.

She said the attorney representing the college, W. Anderson Forsythe, plans to file a request to delay the lawsuit while they work out a solution in which Valdez would be tutored by associate math professor Robyn Cummins, who is trained in teaching people with disabilities.

"We are hoping to try and work with her through Professor Cummins to help her meet her requirements," Vail said.

But waiving those requirements is not an option, she said.

"We're very serious that a degree from Rocky means something," she said.

The school has offered Valdez extended time on exams, permission to record lectures, free tutoring and note taking, and to substitute the second of the two required math classes with a course on logic, Forsythe wrote in a court filing Monday.

Harris questioned the usefulness of the math courses for Valdez's career plans of becoming a graphic artist.

"Nobody will say these general education classes are essential to a degree in art," he said.

[FBD]

"Nobody will say these general education classes are essential to a degree in art," he said.

Fuck you, I said that on day #1 when I got to college and realized that it wasnt "college," it was high school 2, and you had to do all of the same exact shit over for another 4 years that you JUST did the last 4, except "more grown up-like."

I agree with this, in a certain sense. College should be about specialization, not a re hashing of the shit you should have learned in high school.

As such, if you're getting a degree in Art, fuck math.

If you're getting a degree in physics, why the fuck do you need to be taking english classes?

Its because GIVE US YOUR MONIES, that's why.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The bitch knew that the math course was required going into this, she's the one at fault :hand:



BOO HOO! I failed teh maths but I still think I should be able to graduate because I'm special! :(

Fuck off you whiny entitled bitch. :roll:

[FBD]

no different than yelling at the tv when a stupid new rule is enforced in a game and you wonder why the detriment to the game in the first place.

except this fuckup involves a trillion in student loan debt.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

What does the student loan amount have to do with the price of tea in China? :-s

This story is pretty simple:

A) Bitch voluntarily goes to a school to get a degree where math is a required course

B) Bitch then fails and drops the required course, knowing she needs this course to graduate

C) Bitch then thinks she's so special that they should change the rules for her

D) School says the rules are for everyone, bitch doesn't like that answer, still thinks she's more special and sues the school

This story perfectly shows what's wrong with the youth of this country. Don't like the rules, whine and cry about it and then try and sue someone because you have been wronged.

[FBD]

You're forgetting that which set this situation up. I'm not arguing that the student should be able to sue the school for a degree, that is asinine. What I *am* doing, is talking about the bullshit that precipitated events like these.

If college wasnt the administrative racket that it has become, if it wasnt the rehashing of high school that it has become, if "everybody and their retarded nephew" didnt HAVE to have a college degree and no amount of subsidy should be spared to make sure they have a slip of paper saying they know something...

Then poor suzie here wouldnt be bitching about not meeting degree requirements - she passed high school, didnt she? That should mean basic maths are completed. If you're going into a field where advanced math is required, then absolutely, you need to be able to pass that shit. But if she's going to be making fingerpaintings of trees for a living, who gives a shit if she knows trigonometry? Likewise, if I'm going to be an experimental physicist, why should I have to be able to write complete bullshit for 10 pages about some stupid f'n topic I have no interest in - as part of my requirement to obtain a degree in physics????

[Teh One Who Knocks]

And I'm not arguing about whether what these schools require for graduation make sense, I'm saying this chick is a twat all because she KNEW before hand what the requirements were and still she's crying foul over the whole thing.

She's a fucking idiot and needs to be put out of her misery for the betterment of society before she has a chance to breed and make more stupid people.

[DemonGeminiX]

Gentlemen, when you choose to play the game that others set up, you choose to play by their rules. It doesn't matter if you think that game is fair. That's just how life is.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

There are 2 arguments here, one its true they make you take unnecessary courses that have nothing to do with your major, and it is BULLSHIT.

The other is, she knew going in what was required, fuck her and all her easily trumped up "disabilities" Even if they are legit the requirements were set before she got their and she knew full well what was required.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

That being said is why I went to a trade school :wank:

[FBD]

slightly ot, but good


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PprP5TCZBRI

[Acid Trip]

There are 2 arguments here, one its true they make you take unnecessary courses that have nothing to do with your major, and it is BULLSHIT.


High Schools do the same thing. You are required to have X amount of English/Math/Science/etc credits to graduate.

If a shitty piece of paper (HS Diploma) requires Math why shouldn't the next level of paper require it?

[Goofy]

I flunked German.......... i wonder if i can sue my old school :-k Hey, maybe i could sue Germany for not speaking English :tup:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

High Schools do the same thing. You are required to have X amount of English/Math/Science/etc credits to graduate.

If a shitty piece of paper (HS Diploma) requires Math why shouldn't the next level of paper require it?

I feel high school should try to round you and expose you to everything, you dont HAVE to take Calculus in high school you can do 4 years of basic math.

In college they should be honing your skill (toward your major), feel free to take other classes if you want, but why do I need a history credit for a Computer Science degree

[Acid Trip]

I feel high school should try to round you and expose you to everything, you dont HAVE to take Calculus in high school you can do 4 years of basic math.

In college they should be honing your skill (toward your major), feel free to take other classes if you want, but why do I need a history credit for a Computer Science degree

They do, but they also know that a well rounded individual is more valuable than one that is not. That's why a Bachelors (basics + specialized classes) is more valuable then an Associates (specialized classes only).

Besides, traditional college is just high school version 2. Anyone who fails freshman/sophomore level classes in college wasn't paying attention in high school because it's the same f'ing material.

[DemonGeminiX]

Actually, an Associates degree is predominantly common core, at least it is here in GA. I got my AS at a junior college first then I transferred to a 4-year to get my BS. When I got to the 4-year, I didn't have to take any core classes, they were already taken care of.

[Acid Trip]

Actually, an Associates degree is predominantly common core, at least it is here in GA. I got my AS at a junior college first then I transferred to a 4-year to get my BS. When I got to the 4-year, I didn't have to take any core classes, they were already taken care of.

It depends on what your associates is in. A "general ed" associates is the same as the first 2 years in college. A specialized associates degree (like in IT) is way different.

When Porky said "trade school" that immediately made me think of a specialized associates. Rarely do trade schools give out general ed associates because there is no "trade" attached.

[FBD]

They do, but they also know that a well rounded individual is more valuable than one that is not. That's why a Bachelors (basics + specialized classes) is more valuable then an Associates (specialized classes only).

Besides, traditional college is just high school version 2. Anyone who fails freshman/sophomore level classes in college wasn't paying attention in high school because it's the same f'ing material.

This is one big part of the problem that makes almost half of your time spent in college a complete fucking waste of being there!

[Hal-9000]

:-k

let's see....one semester tuition fees for math vs lawyer fees to get out of math



yep, you failed :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

It depends on what your associates is in. A "general ed" associates is the same as the first 2 years in college. A specialized associates degree (like in IT) is way different.

When Porky said "trade school" that immediately made me think of a specialized associates. Rarely do trade schools give out general ed associates because there is no "trade" attached.

My AS was in Mathematics (specialized) and it covered only the initial sequence of Calculus, Linear Algebra, and a watered down version of Probability and Statistics that 4-year schools wouldn't accept in transfer. I had to take a separate Probability and a separate Stats class to get my BS.

Here in GA, they're no such thing as 'specialized Associates', they're called Certificates, and compared to the equivalent Bachelors, obtaining them is not nearly as hardcore as what you would have to take if you were going for the Bachelors in the same discipline. And not all disciplines are represented. They're more like Trades that businesses look for. It's like the difference between a Statistics class in high school and a Statistics class in college. They're worlds apart. You get the basics in your specialized field with the Certificate, but not much more. In a Bachelors, they throw everything at you and expect you to get a C or better to earn the degree. Now, there's a tad bit of common core in the Certificates that you get from Trade/Tech schools, but mostly it has to do with what you would deal with in a job setting. There's no English Literature classes or anything like Philosophy or History or Sociology, etc etc etc. You still have to get the basic math and algebra, the basic English composition out of the way, then they give you the watered down version of your specialized courses, say, if you were going for a Certificate in Electronics, you'd do a class in Linear Circuits, but you wouldn't have to do any of the calculus or differential equations that Electrical Engineering BS majors have to do in their corresponding Linear Circuits class.

At least, that's the way it is here in GA.