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    #16
    Thank you!
    Pressure makes diamonds....

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      #17
      So I had my Ombuds appointment this morning. He agrees that the way this has been handled is morally reprehensible, legally questionable, and against university policy. He needs to do some digging because he's never encountered a situation like this before, but said that I'd hear from him within a week.

      I was upfront about my diagnosis, my suspicion that some of this has to do with stigma, and the fact that legal action is not off the table if this can't be resolved. He actually wasn't scared to hear the word bipolar... said it runs in his family... and said that the threat to expel me was completely inappropriate and an intimidation tactic, which I'd suspected. He also agreed that legal advice may quickly change my associate dean's tune if it comes to that!

      I am hopeful!
      Pressure makes diamonds....

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        #18
        Thanks for the update. Keep us posted Gossip.
        AJ

        Humans punish themselves endlessly
        for not being what they believe they should be.
        -Don Miguel Ruiz-

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          #19
          That sounds positive Gossip!

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            #20
            As it happens I heard back from the Ombuds before I'd even left town to come home for the weekend. He ran my situation anonymously by someone in the conduct office, and they were apparently horrified by how it's been handled. Apparently this would be very easy to appeal, even on the grounds that process wasn't followed. There are also some legal grounds if it came to that. After taking my three hour highway trip to think things over, I've chosen to take a different route for now, with the Ombuds' help, but we'll see where this goes. I was upfront in my meeting yesterday morning that legal advice/action is not off the table if this can't be resolved. I have a cousin who's a high powered lawyer. This isn't his area of expertise, but I'm sure he'd be happy to refer me to someone if necessary....
            Pressure makes diamonds....

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              #21
              Still waiting (im)patiently. But at this point it's been two months, so I guess another week or two isn't the end of the world, even though it feels like forever when we finally seem to be getting somewhere....
              Pressure makes diamonds....

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                #22
                Sounds like things are moving along for you Gossip. Even slow progress is progress
                uni

                ~ it's always worth it ~

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                  #23
                  The associate dean and the ombuds have a tentative phone meeting to chat about my situation on Monday afternoon. Hopefully after that I'll at least know where we're starting from. Any clarity would help at this point! (but I'm a ball of anxiety and stress over it...)
                  Pressure makes diamonds....

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                    #24
                    I hope the meeting goes well. Keep us posted Gossip.
                    AJ

                    Humans punish themselves endlessly
                    for not being what they believe they should be.
                    -Don Miguel Ruiz-

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                      #25
                      I will, thanks AJ. I also have a half-day practical exam on Wednesday morning, so the whole first half of the week is going to be stressful!
                      Pressure makes diamonds....

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                        #26
                        No news. The meeting was tentative, so it may not have happened. Trying to concentrate on my exam....
                        Pressure makes diamonds....

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                          #27
                          Best of luck with your studying Gossip
                          uni

                          ~ it's always worth it ~

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                            #28
                            Thanks uni!

                            I got an email from the Ombuds on Thursday afternoon. The meeting did happen on Monday, but it left him with more questions than answers so he's been trying to figure out how best to guide me from here. I have a feeling this is going back to the conduct office. Not sure if I said before, but what I'm apparently being punished for is inappropriate conduct towards faculty... towards someone who was mentoring me... but I have no idea what I did or said that would have been inappropriate. The thing that scares me is that I've been discovering that I have some memory gaps from my mania in the fall, and this charge was dropped on me in mid-November just after I'd pretty much recovered. I'm terrified that I did or said something inexcusable toward her during one of the periods that I don't remember! If that's what happened, she knew I was manic (though I was trying to hide how bad it was) so hopefully if I can apologise and explain she'll understand, but they've forbidden me contacting her. That's one of the things the Ombuds is working on. I had to chuckle... in his email the Ombuds said there "seems to be some sensitivity" around my situation. Knowing my associate dean, and knowing that he's actually breaking the law with part of my punishment, I was like "yeah... no kidding!" So I'm still waiting, but like you said before uni, slow progress is still progress.
                            Pressure makes diamonds....

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                              #29
                              Having to hurry up and wait is always hard.

                              How did the exam go?
                              AJ

                              Humans punish themselves endlessly
                              for not being what they believe they should be.
                              -Don Miguel Ruiz-

                              Comment


                                #30
                                I failed it, but it's not the end of the world. They give us the opportunity to resit any sections we failed at the end of the year, and now I know where to focus my studying. If I manage to also fail the resit I may be in trouble, but that shouldn't happen. I have three stations to resit. In a previous year I had to resit eight and I passed them all on the second attempt, so hopefully that trend continues.
                                Pressure makes diamonds....

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