Does anyone know the answer to this student loan question. I have a disability. I have been in school a while. I filed a discrimination complaint against my university last year.
They retaliated. It got nasty. They are now cutting me off from any more loans. Yet another school I applied to (as back up) is fully funding me. They are both public institutions and the funding sources are the same. I don’t want to leave as I like my program. Yet may have no choice. Any thoughts?
Hello MooseandSquirrel…Welcome to OPM! This is a very tricky question…that requires the knowing the facts of your situation. What was the resolution for the discrimination complaint? Who did you pursue it with? Just internally with the school or an outside agency? Discrimination is one complaint, but retaliation for a discrimination, even if the original discrimination complaint was unfounded, can amount to actionable discrimination standing alone. You really need to speak to your attorney and/or the agency that investigated your previous complaint. You might consider adding retaliation as new complaint. Again, I definitely think you can use the benefit of legal advice…I know for a fact that schools and employers are willing to return someone to status quo (i.e. giving them back their old job) as restitution…however, it all depends on the specific circumstances.
Did I mention that I was an employment lawyer in my former life (that ended last Friday)? Anyhow, I can’t really give you legal advice, but can only say that sometimes their is an option, however, it depends on the specifics of your situation.
First, welcome to OPM I hope you enjoy your time here. There is a great bunch of people here.
Secondly, That is absolutely shocking that your school can do that. I would think that they can’t do that. Have you contacted the people who give the loans, stafford or whoever that gave the loans before and tell them that the school has taken away your money due to this lay problem?
I know schools have something to do with loans but I didn’t think they can do what they did to you. How awful. I would contact the newspapers, radio and TV stations in yoru area and see if they can help you.
I am really sorry for you and hope everything works out for you. Perhaps it woudl be better to go to the other school while things are progressing with your case. That way you won’t get behind in your education. That wouldn’t be fair.
Have you filed a discrimination lawsuit or just a complaint with the school. You have legal grounds to sue the school. They can’t do that and they have clearly retaliated against you by cutting your loans so you CAN’T go to their school, which means they don’t have to deal with the discrimination issues if you aren’t there.
SUE THEM. I HOPE YOU WIN AND WIN BIG AGAINST THEM. Go get them,
Amy B
Quote:I would warn you to use this tool very carefully. It is true that most institutions shy away from bad press. Because of this fact you can often use this threat of bad press/publicity as leverage (a reason for the institution to back down and behave), but once you gone through with the threat, you’ve lost that leverage. If you haven’t even filed a formal complaint with the school or a lawsuit, I would strongly suggest holding off on the threat or promise of bad press until later stages. I think it is too premature at this time.
I know schools have something to do with loans but I didn’t think they can do what they did to you. How awful. I would contact the newspapers, radio and TV stations in yoru area and see if they can help you.
Not knowing the specific circumstances, I can’t comment intelligently, but I can’t help myself, I have things I want to say. First, I second Iwant2bmd’s suggestion to seek legal advice if you haven’t already. The details of your situation and knowledge of your rights and your chances of getting them will probably have to guide your decision on what to do.
Some questions to ponder:
Are the faculty and staff in your program supportive? In other words, is the just the courses, or the people, that you like where you are now?
Do you have reason to believe the “backup” school that seems to want you pretty badly will support you fully in regard to the sorts issues that caused you to have to complain in the first place?
If you like the place were you are, and it’s just a problem with higher administration, it might be worth pursuing ways to stay. If you only like the coursework, and you don’t feel there are many people on the campus backing you, it might be worth moving on. Being someplace where they want you and will go to bat for you is not something to take lightly, and I like to reward places that do that for me.
This may not preclude you from pursuing your complaint so that this university can’t keep doing whatever it did. But it may save you from putting your whole life on hold while you do so. Sometimes things like this take an awful lot of time and energy, and life is so very short.
I’m talking through a very large hat here, because of course I have no details on the reasons given for withholding your aid, your enrollment status, the nature of your complaint, etc. Oh, and I’m not an attorney, and my knowldege of accommodation of various disabilities is very limited. I deal very peripherally with accommodating visual impairments (mostly by making sure we have accessibility software on certain library computers), and that’s it.
I wish you great good fortune and happiness and hope that one day you can look back and laugh at anyone who was foolish enough to get in your way on this long road.
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I would warn you to use this tool very carefully. …[snipped]… I think it is too premature at this time.
I agree. From what you’ve posted here, it seems as if you would consult legal counsel and make sure you have exhausted all avenues of formal appeal before calling in the press. For one thing, if your goal is to stay in this program once the dust settles, calling in all sorts of bad press can sour relationships with people who are currently on your side. The time-honored adage, “Don’t poop where you eat,” applies here.
I didn’t suggest they threaten the school before going to the press, but do you think that is something that can be done to make the school backdown?
Don’t you think by them yanking MooseandSquirrel’s loan money that they don’t believe they have anything to worry about?
And doesn’t the ACLU handle cases involving the disable and discrimination?
AmyB, It was ME who was suggesting that he threaten the school before going to the press. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. I understand that you were just telling him to contact the press just to make his complaint known and maybe try to get some help. My first piece of advice was that he should really try to exhaust his administrative remedies before doing so - making sure that he’s gone as far up to the food chain and trying to get this thing fixed. If he’s already done that, I suggested that going to the press might be something he should consider and mention to the university if all else fails. My comment was that I’ve seen this done successfully in my line of work (employment law), because large institution usually do not want bad press. Sometimes it does give them incentive to work with you and back down. If you give them bad press - well then, they won’t like it, but you’ve lost that leverage of “going to the press.”
Anyhow, as far as what the school thinks regarding yanking his loan money, it’s hard to tell what the school is thinking. It’s even harder when I have no idea about the specifics of the situation. For example, maybe MooseandSquirrel’s disability requires him/her to go to school part-time…and they are yanking the aid because he is part-time. Now, that’s just a hypothetical situation that doesn’t make it seem super unreasonable…however, it may be an entirely different set of circumstances where his aid was yanked maliciously. That’s why Mooseandsquirel should consult with an attorney, who could possibly represent him. It’s possible that the ACLU may be interested in this case, but there is also other non-profit groups, such as legal aid. Many times there are local and federal governmental agencies that devote themselves to discrimination.
Good luck, MooseandSquirrel!
oops, sorry, I wasn’t meaning you were saying I suggested it…what I was meaning was I didn’t suggest it, but maybe I should have suggested it.
Thanks for the support. I have taken the matter as far as I can on campus. What a joke that turned out to be. Such as allowing the main person accused, act as an investigator in the case and only looking at “evidence” presented by the accused. They cut me out of the loop totally. You know how when a problem is small and you approach the lowest rung on the ladder in a spirit of good faith to address a problem? Well that is what I did. Unfortunately the university didn’t choose to approach this matter in good faith and made the issue adversarial from the start. That is when the retaliation started (and continues) The stratgey is that of a bean counter, 9 out of 10 times if we harrass the student enough they will go away. I’m the exception they weren’t counting on. I would love to hire a lawyer, but these cases are handled hourly, unless its a class action (or so I have been told). I have proof. I have two boxes of documents that support my allegations. But I have no money. Most people with disabilities live at or below the poverty line and that is why entities like this school get away with pulling this crap. If told you everything that happened, it would make your hair stand on end.It is easy to say ‘they can’t do that.’ They can if no one stops them. The arrogance factor at this school is high. If you have any additional input, please share. I will take all the help that is offered.
PS I’m still going to medical school
Is there a Legal Aid office in your area that can help you, or can you summarize your case for the ACLU to see if they’ll pitch in?
How confident are you that the other school would treat you better? You deserve to be treated well. Complaining and filing a grievance or even a lawsuit is something I think you would do for future students, if you chose to. But staying in a toxic environment is probably bad for you and if it were me, I’d prefer to do business with people who are not assholes. It is possible to think that if they run you off, they’ve “won”. But I think if you get a great education somewhere where people know how to act, YOU’VE won.
So, that’s my take on it: if there is an avenue of complaint you can afford to take, take it. But either way, get out of that dump.
I’m basing this on gut, since there are no details here, and of course you’ll want to make your decision based on YOUR gut. Good luck to you.
I couldn’t agree more with Samenewme (Denise).
There are many legal resources out there for people. Set up an appointment with your local ACLU or Legal Aid office…also, as a person with disability, do not forget to get in contact with legal organizations for persons with disabilities - there are many organizations that devote themselves to protecting the rights of the disabled…they can put you in contact with the legal resources to do so. Of course, as a last resort, there is always the possibility of pursuing a discrimination pro se (representing yourself).
Finally, I really think Denise made a great point about questioning whether or not, you really want to continue your educational career in a place that you perceive to be unsupportive and taken actions to sabotage your educational future there. I understand fighting this on principle and, by all means, if you believe that you have been discriminated against, you owe to yourself and others similarly situated to preserve your rights and see this through. But that doesn’t mean that you have to torture yourself and subject yourself to this kind of mistreatment during your studies that may make or break your chances at medical school. It’s just not worth it. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
Iwant2bMD and Denise
Alas you two have summed up my dilemma. I wish I could be more specific with the info. But posting personally indentifying info on the 'net is tricky. If I stay I may file for injunctive relief pro se, but I have to do some research first. This is so disappointing because I really wanted to go to school where I am.
I agree you’re wise to keep your details to yourself. The quality of Internet advice I’ll give you probably won’t be greatly enhanced by the addition of details.
Seriously, good luck, whatever you choose to do.
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Iwant2bMD and Denise
Alas you two have summed up my dilemma. I wish I could be more specific with the info. But posting personally indentifying info on the 'net is tricky. If I stay I may file for injunctive relief pro se, but I have to do some research first. This is so disappointing because I really wanted to go to school where I am.
Denise,
I know you already know this, but I want to say it just in case, it has nothing to do with the quality of your advice or those who were nice enough to offer it on OPM. My concern is that if I found this site, it is entirely plausible that others where I go to school have found this site also. Therefore personally indentifying anything could make my day to day existence more difficult. Your advice and the others who posted has been appreciated and for what you had to work with quite astute. Thank you.
Don’t worry; you weren’t hurting my feelings at all. I understand why you’d want to keep personal details private, in case people you know come strolling by. This is especially true if you’re still hoping to work things out where you are. And I think it’s also wise to keep personal details private from strangers.
My real point was that, though I’m talking through my BEST hat here, I AM talking through my hat. In person, I have a dangerous tendency to sound like I know what I’m talking about when I don’t, and I’m always worried that will carry across to the world of Internet bulletin boards.
My very best wishes to you!
Denise
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Denise,
I know you already know this, but I want to say it just in case, it has nothing to do with the quality of your advice or those who were nice enough to offer it on OPM. My concern is that if I found this site, it is entirely plausible that others where I go to school have found this site also. Therefore personally indentifying anything could make my day to day existence more difficult. Your advice and the others who posted has been appreciated and for what you had to work with quite astute. Thank you.
I think it’s wise to keep your personal information somewhat protected on the internet, particularly when you are a party to something contentious as seems you are. Internet or not, any communication in which the person on the other end does not have significant legal experience ANDthe full set of circumstances is going to be uninformed. I mean no offense in this and incude myself in the group of uninformed, but just to caution you. You will find comraderie on the internet (in places such as here) and kind and caring people who truly feel outrage and injustice in your story. Common sense tells them that this shouldn’t be done and can’t be done. Unfortunately, the law’s conscience and idea of justice is not always so clear. It is a tricky thing. I wouldn’t trust it and neither should you. You have to be careful to preserve your rights. It’s not as intuitive as people would think.