Hello, my best friend with excellent stats is having a really difficult time. He got a one-day suspension in his sophomore year, and now he is mourning and regretting everyday for what he did. He admits that his action was not a mistake, an intentional one. His dream school has been one of the Ivy League schools (I won’t mention the name), but he thinks he doesn’t have a shot because of his blemished record. I can see he’s trying so hard to forget what happened and move on, but as the deadline for ED gets closer, his agony seems to become insufferable. Let me explain what happened (In fact, I was an accomplice, but I don’t care because I am not interested in big name schools like him).
Our math teacher for sophomore year and my friend were hostile to each other; Since the teacher (I will call him Mr. X) did not give a 100 to my friend (I will call him Y) even though Y was the only one who really participated in the class and got 100s on all hw, quizzes, and tests, Y hated him so much (actually everyone in the class hated Mr. X and the guy got fired in a year because of his incapability.) Mr. X often frowned whenever my friend Y asked him questions. I can clearly see Mr. X hated Y. Since Mr. X was such a bad English speaker, did not fully understand his material, and was seen as an immature adult, almost everyone in my class didn’t pay attention to him. On the other hand, a lot of my classmates asked Y for help, so I think Mr. X was jealous of Y. Perhaps all of this is quite implausible, but it really did happen. Despite Y’s perfect test and quiz scores, Mr. X never gave Y a grade Y deserved. Mr. X always blamed on my active participation. ?
Y’s hatred toward Mr.X grew day by day, and one day Y stole a quiz on the teacher’s desk when Mr. X was away. Y and I went to the restroom with a few other close friends to see the quiz questions. To be honest, I couldn’t understand why Y behaved that way, but I guess Y was extremely mad on that day before class. Another thing that I don’t understand is that he didn’t steal it for himself, but for his friends. In fact, he didn’t need to steal it because he is so good at math. I am sure he could solve all the problems so quickly. I guess Y just couldn’t manage his anger on that day. Other classmates knew that Y picked the quiz from the desk, so a lot of them followed us to the bathroom. A few minutes later, we got caught by another math teacher, were sent to the principal’s office. Four kids (A,B,C,D) and I just got zeros for the quiz. However, Y, who was the best math student, got a one-day suspension for his action. On the day Y got a suspension, he cried so much on the day. I don’t think he had any intention to cheat b/c he was so good, and in fact other kids usually tried to look at his tests and quizzes. Y says he just wanted to take a revenge on the teacher. However, the principal took Y as a “theft” instead of a cheater. The idea of taking revenge on teacher may sound extremely ridiculous and reprehensible to many grown-ups. Y says that every night, the incident haunts him even though he tries not to think about it. "I often see other kids and teachers making fun of me in my dream. He always seems to regret for the action. Because of the incident, Y couldn’t do a lot of things he wanted to do such as Student Council officer. He says he has learned that challenging a teacher is never right no matter what.
My friend is so depressed these days. I try to cheer him up, but he has heard from so many people that Ivy League schools only want ppl with perfect records, which really suck for him. GOD! I wish I were his GC and could help him! The good thing is that our school’s GC and Y are so tight. “It was just a silly mistake. It can sometimes happen for everyone” That’s what the GC said when Y got suspended. The veteran GC at my school told Y that there is a solution.
Y has been my homeboy since we were in Kindergarten. I don’t want to let my friend commit suicide or do other destructive things. Prolly he doesn’t want to remind himself of the day of the suspension, but since our school reports disciplinary actions, it will be reported no matter what. He is such a hard-working student and always does his things. I have copied so many assignments from him, but I have seen him copying other peers’ hw just twice during hs. He certainly didn’t cheat, so I don’t think he has a problem with academic integrity. Or perhaps he does have a problem b/c he doesn’t mind showing his work to other peers. Do you think Y’s disciplinary action is forgivable? Would it seriously hurt his chance of getting into his favorite school? If the GC’s explanation is good, would it successfully appeal to the Admission Officers? I think he wants to apply ED there. I need sincere and detailed reply. If there’s a hope, I would tell him what he can do, but if there isn’t, I wouldn’t.
Gosh! It’s a really long story. I want to help him out… Actually, I need to.