Friday, March 18, 2005
The last straw? I wish
I've just been kicked out of a course I've already completed.
I would say this is the last straw, except that there will probably be many more straws before I go back to America in three months. There are only a few things that make me yearn for this year abroad to be over. Katie Price is one. The University of Aberdeen is another.
I checked my email yesterday and received an email saying that due to my poor attendance in my Film & Literature class, they "can only assume" that I am "not interested in continuing the course" and will be "withdrawn immediately." Except the course ended last week. And I just turned in a massive essay for it. Aside from the fact that I didn't miss that many classes, it should be noted that I was on the register right until the end, so the effort to get me kicked out (probably by my advisor) didn't begin until after the course ended.
Why did I come to the other side of the planet to go back to high school? To me, so much of the point of university as opposed to high school is the freedom to make these choices yourself. It's my decision whether or not I can afford to miss any given class, or whether I'm putting in enough time and effort to succeed in it. I put in the time for this course, it just so happened that more of it was spent in the library than in the classroom. I still got more out of it than pretty much any film class I've taken at UW. Why is that not okay with these people?
As it stands, I'm not going to receive credit -- from AU or UW -- for a course I completed start to finish. Now I have to appeal and try to explain myself and maybe they'll let me back in the class, except it's already over, so what was the point of any of this?
Dear AU: I'll let you know if I'm "not interested" in continuing a course. OTHERWISE, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE. Love, Eric.
I would say this is the last straw, except that there will probably be many more straws before I go back to America in three months. There are only a few things that make me yearn for this year abroad to be over. Katie Price is one. The University of Aberdeen is another.
I checked my email yesterday and received an email saying that due to my poor attendance in my Film & Literature class, they "can only assume" that I am "not interested in continuing the course" and will be "withdrawn immediately." Except the course ended last week. And I just turned in a massive essay for it. Aside from the fact that I didn't miss that many classes, it should be noted that I was on the register right until the end, so the effort to get me kicked out (probably by my advisor) didn't begin until after the course ended.
Why did I come to the other side of the planet to go back to high school? To me, so much of the point of university as opposed to high school is the freedom to make these choices yourself. It's my decision whether or not I can afford to miss any given class, or whether I'm putting in enough time and effort to succeed in it. I put in the time for this course, it just so happened that more of it was spent in the library than in the classroom. I still got more out of it than pretty much any film class I've taken at UW. Why is that not okay with these people?
As it stands, I'm not going to receive credit -- from AU or UW -- for a course I completed start to finish. Now I have to appeal and try to explain myself and maybe they'll let me back in the class, except it's already over, so what was the point of any of this?
Dear AU: I'll let you know if I'm "not interested" in continuing a course. OTHERWISE, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE. Love, Eric.
