Suspended for sickness

Could it be justifiable for IU to kick a student out of school for disrupting class by having a heart attack? What about punishing a soldier returning from Iraq who has a terrifying flashback during a biology lecture? What about a student suffering the same sort of flashback from a sexual assault? It wouldn’t happen here. There would be outrage. There would be lawsuits. It wouldn’t happen because our administration fundamentally recognizes that to punish a student for an unavoidable medical crisis is outrageously discriminatory.\nThough the editorial board members have much faith in the evolved nature of IU’s administration, we can’t say the same about Eastern Illinois University. Jill Manges, a student at EIU, discovered just how backward her administration really is when she suffered a panic attack during class in early September. Manges suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to sexual abuse she experienced eight years ago. The reports state she felt the attack coming on and tried to leave her French history class but was unable to make it out before she collapsed on the floor screaming and sobbing for 10 to 15 minutes.\nThe administration’s response to her disruptive episode was swift and stern. By the time she returned to her room from the hospital, Manges had a message on her voicemail from the judicial affairs office advising her to seek counseling. Six days after a series of judicial hearings, during which Manges was continually reminded of how much of a disruption she had caused, she received an ultimatum: be suspended for a year without a tuition refund or take a voluntary year of medical leave with a tuition refund.\nThe university crafted the ultimatum to save its own skin, which is positively disgusting. If she had refused to take the medical leave and the university proceeded to suspend her, it would surely have been sued, most likely under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under suspension, however, she would not have gotten her tuition refunded. Therefore, she was given no practical choice but to take a voluntary medical leave and get her tuition back, thus forfeiting her case.\nThis should not happen now; we do not live in the 1950s. The scientific community recognizes that post traumatic stress disorder and other such mental illnesses are diseases and not choices. To punish a student for having a painful mental episode in class is the same as punishing an epileptic for having a seizure. Though no legal action can be taken against this decision, we hope that enough bad publicity will force the administration of EIU to make a serious effort to bring its policies out of the dark ages.\nOn a closing note, the editorial board wants to let you know that if you’re having serious personal difficulties, there are people on campus to help you. Talk to your professors, go see a counselor at the health center (your first two sessions are free) and talk to a student advocate. They’re all here to help you succeed.