To touch your skin, to feel your face
Mar. 19th, 2009 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aproclivityI am going to fucking kill someone. So, after the shit storm with aid yesterday, I finally get a response from SFS about all of this shit. I'm sticking this bitch under a cut to save pages. It's bad.
Tood morning Kimberly,
I'm sorry I was unable to talk with you yesterday. We are currently in letter frenzy mode for the incoming class.
I wanted to take a minute to expand on the information TJ gave you.
A ninth semester of aid can be awarded on an appeal basis. The general circumstance is a documented medical leave. The student must grant a health center employee written permission to communicate to our director details of the student's situation. We will also need an email from you explaining the circumstances of your withdrawal. The information will be reviewed by our directors and the student will be notified regarding her future financial aid eligibility.
We recommend that you speak with your academic advisor regarding your options. It is imperative that you work with a plan for completing your graduation requirements within the remaining semesters of aid eligibility. A degree audit communication was sent to you in July regarding your attempted credits and the number of completed credits you have earned.
Our hope is that you are able to complete the semester in good health and good spirit. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Best,
Taryn Dunaj
Assistant Director
Student Financial Services
This was in response to my email sent two weeks ago and yesterday:
Ms Blasidell,
I am attaching the conformation that the email went through, as well as a copy of the
email that was written for the sake of convenience and saving your eyes. The conformation
is a bit difficult to read.
My name is Kimberly Boyd, and I'm writing today in the interest of starting the process
of extending my financial aid beyond the five semesters that I was guaranteed upon my
entry into Mount Holyoke. While on paper, it make look as if I had simply slacked off or
some such thing on my class load here, I believe that there are extenuating circumstances
that should allow me to have my aid extended, even after reducing my work load again this
semester.
In Fall of 2007, I believed that I was experiencing symptoms of a retinal detachment in
my left eye, and because I was here on campus, I went over to receive treatment and a
diagnosis from the Mount Holyoke Health Center. Despite the flash of light and floaters
that had appeared in my vision, the health center told me that I had a migraine, and they
prescribed medicine and bed rest, despite the fact that at that point, I didn't have a
headache. Three weeks later, I went to the emergency room because I had lost half the
vision in my left eye. I discovered that I did indeed have a retinal detachment, which at
that point had become acute and surgery needed to be preformed to have a band placed
around the eye.
The recovery time for a retinal detachment that requires surgery is a long one, during
which time I had double, blurry vision and couldn't read. I didn't take medical leave
because it was close to the end of the semester, instead taking medical extensions for my
classes. Despite my best intentions, I found myself only completing two classes, and
needing to withdrawal from the third.
In January of 2008, I discovered that the changes to my vision were going to be
permanent. The length of time my retina was detached and the way in which it finally
pulled away damaged my macula, causing monocular double vision in my eye, which made
using both eyes impossible. As such, I went through a period of adjustment that required
me to relearn very basic things such as depth perception and a retooling of my entire
learning style where I needed to adjust from being an able bodied student who could read
my assignments the night before and write a paper in hours to someone who had their
reading time quite literally cut in half. It was a hard time for me, and because of that
I found my course load too much and needed to withdrawal from a class in order to
function better both as a person and a student. Despite these challenges, my grades from
the Spring Semester of 2008 where quite good, my completing the semester with a 3.433
GPA.
In the Fall of 2008, I thought that everything was going quite well, but I had a program
with a language class and needed to withdrawal from it in an effort to save my sanity and
my GPA.
I began 2009 with the intention of taking five classes this semester and six next in
order to complete my requirements so that I would be able to graduate within my five
semesters of aid. Sadly, this was not to be. On Friday, February 27th, I woke with the
same symptoms that had originally brought me to the health center. I had large floaters
and flashing lights in my good eye. I saw the Doctor on Friday who informed me that I had
suffered from another retinal detachment, but that he could fix it with laser surgery. He
did, which is very disheartening to think of how easy it would have been to repair the
first time. However, while I will not need to worry about losing the vision in my right
eye as I have done in my left, the floaters that were created when the vitreous leaked
from the detachment had further impaired my vision. I am currently down to half of the
vision I had a week ago, and a quarter of the vision I had upon entry into Mount Holyoke.
I know that I cannot keep up with the work from my five class course load, which includes
three 300 level seminars, and a 200 level seminar. I have met with Dean Whitmal, who has
advised me to take three classes, and appeal to the academic board to have one of the
classes taken pass/fail. I know that I can do this, but it all comes down to the
financial aid piece. I love MH, and the most important thing in the world for me is to be
able to compete my degree here. I've wanted to attend Mount Holyoke since I was eight
years old, and can't imagine not walking across the stage next year.
I am fully aware of how hard things are going to be in this trying economic times, but
given my situation, I think that I deserve this special consideration.
Thank you, ~Kim Boyd
All and all the letter is much nicer then it should have been, given the circumstances. I'm just so frustrated and tired by this whole thing. Everything this has cost me and they couldn't even take the fucking time to read my god damn email in the fullest, or take the time to review my case. The email is filled with things that are wrong. I only have five semesters, and if I take medical leave then I end up fucking needed to take 11 classes within my alloted aid time. There's no way anyone can do that, especially me with all of this. I'm so tired of my life sucking. I just am. I'm trying to respond in an email that's not bitchy and angry but so far it doesn't seem to be working. God, I forgot how hard it is to read shit when typing below a cut. Every time something like this happens, like with Yu last semester and Dean Whitmal and everything, it makes me feel as if I'm losing my eye all over again. What is the point now, really? What is the point of anything..
Tood morning Kimberly,
I'm sorry I was unable to talk with you yesterday. We are currently in letter frenzy mode for the incoming class.
I wanted to take a minute to expand on the information TJ gave you.
A ninth semester of aid can be awarded on an appeal basis. The general circumstance is a documented medical leave. The student must grant a health center employee written permission to communicate to our director details of the student's situation. We will also need an email from you explaining the circumstances of your withdrawal. The information will be reviewed by our directors and the student will be notified regarding her future financial aid eligibility.
We recommend that you speak with your academic advisor regarding your options. It is imperative that you work with a plan for completing your graduation requirements within the remaining semesters of aid eligibility. A degree audit communication was sent to you in July regarding your attempted credits and the number of completed credits you have earned.
Our hope is that you are able to complete the semester in good health and good spirit. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Best,
Taryn Dunaj
Assistant Director
Student Financial Services
This was in response to my email sent two weeks ago and yesterday:
Ms Blasidell,
I am attaching the conformation that the email went through, as well as a copy of the
email that was written for the sake of convenience and saving your eyes. The conformation
is a bit difficult to read.
My name is Kimberly Boyd, and I'm writing today in the interest of starting the process
of extending my financial aid beyond the five semesters that I was guaranteed upon my
entry into Mount Holyoke. While on paper, it make look as if I had simply slacked off or
some such thing on my class load here, I believe that there are extenuating circumstances
that should allow me to have my aid extended, even after reducing my work load again this
semester.
In Fall of 2007, I believed that I was experiencing symptoms of a retinal detachment in
my left eye, and because I was here on campus, I went over to receive treatment and a
diagnosis from the Mount Holyoke Health Center. Despite the flash of light and floaters
that had appeared in my vision, the health center told me that I had a migraine, and they
prescribed medicine and bed rest, despite the fact that at that point, I didn't have a
headache. Three weeks later, I went to the emergency room because I had lost half the
vision in my left eye. I discovered that I did indeed have a retinal detachment, which at
that point had become acute and surgery needed to be preformed to have a band placed
around the eye.
The recovery time for a retinal detachment that requires surgery is a long one, during
which time I had double, blurry vision and couldn't read. I didn't take medical leave
because it was close to the end of the semester, instead taking medical extensions for my
classes. Despite my best intentions, I found myself only completing two classes, and
needing to withdrawal from the third.
In January of 2008, I discovered that the changes to my vision were going to be
permanent. The length of time my retina was detached and the way in which it finally
pulled away damaged my macula, causing monocular double vision in my eye, which made
using both eyes impossible. As such, I went through a period of adjustment that required
me to relearn very basic things such as depth perception and a retooling of my entire
learning style where I needed to adjust from being an able bodied student who could read
my assignments the night before and write a paper in hours to someone who had their
reading time quite literally cut in half. It was a hard time for me, and because of that
I found my course load too much and needed to withdrawal from a class in order to
function better both as a person and a student. Despite these challenges, my grades from
the Spring Semester of 2008 where quite good, my completing the semester with a 3.433
GPA.
In the Fall of 2008, I thought that everything was going quite well, but I had a program
with a language class and needed to withdrawal from it in an effort to save my sanity and
my GPA.
I began 2009 with the intention of taking five classes this semester and six next in
order to complete my requirements so that I would be able to graduate within my five
semesters of aid. Sadly, this was not to be. On Friday, February 27th, I woke with the
same symptoms that had originally brought me to the health center. I had large floaters
and flashing lights in my good eye. I saw the Doctor on Friday who informed me that I had
suffered from another retinal detachment, but that he could fix it with laser surgery. He
did, which is very disheartening to think of how easy it would have been to repair the
first time. However, while I will not need to worry about losing the vision in my right
eye as I have done in my left, the floaters that were created when the vitreous leaked
from the detachment had further impaired my vision. I am currently down to half of the
vision I had a week ago, and a quarter of the vision I had upon entry into Mount Holyoke.
I know that I cannot keep up with the work from my five class course load, which includes
three 300 level seminars, and a 200 level seminar. I have met with Dean Whitmal, who has
advised me to take three classes, and appeal to the academic board to have one of the
classes taken pass/fail. I know that I can do this, but it all comes down to the
financial aid piece. I love MH, and the most important thing in the world for me is to be
able to compete my degree here. I've wanted to attend Mount Holyoke since I was eight
years old, and can't imagine not walking across the stage next year.
I am fully aware of how hard things are going to be in this trying economic times, but
given my situation, I think that I deserve this special consideration.
Thank you, ~Kim Boyd
All and all the letter is much nicer then it should have been, given the circumstances. I'm just so frustrated and tired by this whole thing. Everything this has cost me and they couldn't even take the fucking time to read my god damn email in the fullest, or take the time to review my case. The email is filled with things that are wrong. I only have five semesters, and if I take medical leave then I end up fucking needed to take 11 classes within my alloted aid time. There's no way anyone can do that, especially me with all of this. I'm so tired of my life sucking. I just am. I'm trying to respond in an email that's not bitchy and angry but so far it doesn't seem to be working. God, I forgot how hard it is to read shit when typing below a cut. Every time something like this happens, like with Yu last semester and Dean Whitmal and everything, it makes me feel as if I'm losing my eye all over again. What is the point now, really? What is the point of anything..
