<p>Sorry I missed the height and weight - i thought I had read it in one of the earlier pages but then couldn’t find it. If she’s 5’4" and “just under” 100 pounds then she is alittle under the norm. As long as there is no indication of an issue then it makes sense as a parent to discuss with the counselors if putting on the weight would come about in a harmful way (eating lots of high calorie junk food) as opposed to working on healthy body mass for the sport. I think the OP just needs to read the medical file to find out why the D was admitted to the program. It is possible that one of the requirements for the athletic department is that the athletes be within the “normal range” which is a 40 pound spread for someone 5’4" and I do believe that some people are at both ends outside of the spectrum by a few pounds that would be considered 'healthy." </p>
<p>Be careful with the assumption here. Talking about medical records is not the same as seeing and sharing. </p>
<p>What a patient says about medical records should not be considered fully divulging unless the write-up from the doctor is read. Interpretation is everything. </p>
<p>The school may have told the D that it is not a eating disorder, but there is nothing stopping a medical assessment from being preventive as well. This is similar to a patient having a particular low hormone level. Nothing may have shown to be an issue yet, but placing on hormone therapy to bring the levels up can easily be in order to prevent the onset of a problem. </p>
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<p>And also there does not need to be some specific written policy, outside of an assessment of being unhealthy, i.e., too unhealthy, as to be a risk. This could be similar to the Star Trek trick question of whom was the most powerful person on the ship. Everyone thinks Kirk or Spock. It was actually the doctor, McCoy aka Bones. McCoy could relieve anyone of duty, even the captain, for a medical reason, whatever medical reason. </p>
<p>Momofthreeboys, but that rule just means the boat would have to carry deadweight to make up the difference. It doesn’t mean Coxswains have to weigh 110 pounds. </p>
<p>The online BMI charts I looked at for a 19 year old put her at the first percentile. As in 1%ile. She’s certainly an outlier. On the other hand, I have known families with happy, healthy children who didn’t even make the growth charts. Some of them were premies. </p>
<p>The best way I see forward is get her records, have her personal doctor review and get his assessment. He may give the answer of how to approach the college without ever having a confrontation with the college. And he may even see exactly what concerns the college and agree with them. </p>
<p>Until that independent assessment is made, you will be confronting the school without the knowledge you need to have a real discussion. </p>
<p>And, if it were me, I would have her doctor call and talk to them, not you. They cannot just dismiss any concerns he has to some generic policy. He knows what medical questions to ask and they will give him the medical rundown, as they speak the same technical language. </p>
<p>Middkid, I have a phone date with D3 tonight. More will be revealed.
OT: Guessing your alma mater from your screen name. D4 is applying to Middlebury this fall. How long have you been out of school and were you a happy Midd kid :)?</p>
<p>@awcntdb, putting our pediatrician in touch with the college is another potentially good idea. He has cared for her since she was a tiny preemie and knows her entire history. I am glad that this happened over the weekend so I’ve been forced to review options and not act prematurely in one way or another.</p>
<p>Twenty-eight years, so I don’t have any in-depth recent insight. I know a lot has changed. I’m not sure that Middlebury was the best school for me, but that has much more to do with me than the college. I probably should have taken at least a year off after high school in order to fully appreciate the higher education experience.</p>
<p>My current predominant impression of Middlebury (gut feeling only) is that they’re a little full of themselves.</p>
<p>If the school wants to cover their butt, there sure as heck better be a specific written policy, if they want to kick a student out for health reasons.</p>
<p>^^ Not sure what you mean, as a simple one sentence generic health statement is all that is needed and it does not have to specific to any condition at all. Plus, there is also an implicit agreement, as well. </p>
<p>By the fact that freshman needs to get a medical checkup and send in those records prior to attending, means that the college can dismiss a student for any deviation from those records, which it deems abnormal AND is the result of specific behavior by the student and poses a health risk for the student. </p>
<p>A case-in-point is drug addiction is also a health issue and no one would claim schools cannot kick out a drug addict, even though he is never caught with drugs. It is the behavior and physical issues with the student that would be the cause of the dismissal. </p>
<p>The weight of the coxswain is a touchy subject - not too light and not too heavy is where coaches want a coxswain. They don’t want to have to carry ballast so they want them at the minimum and not to have to carry deadweight ballast…they don’t want them too heavy because that is extra weight the other rowers have to pull around. Weight is not the most important credential for a coxswain, but it IS one of the credentials. Clearly I raised boys, but my BFF’s D was a coxswain for her college team, so we’ve had discussions about this. Her D was tiny but sturdy so battled the “high end” of what coaches want. </p>
<p>They may assume an eating disorder based on weight. Colleges, including one Ivy we know and one artsy LC, do send kids home based on weight, with the assumption they are not eating enough or purging. Again, I would consult a lawyer now. It would be worth the money for an hour consultation. This is basically discriminatory against a young woman who is naturally thin.</p>
<p>And weigh-ins and forced eating may very well create an eating disorder. That is why I think it is fairly urgent.</p>
<p>^^ They have that protection already, even without an explicit new statement outside of the college application and enrollment agreements. </p>
<p>On the college app, one must disclose any medical / health conditions that could affect your attendance or performance, as a member of the community. If a student shows up with something, which was not disclosed that is grounds to dismiss for providing false information. </p>
<p>And if a student develops a habit, say junior year, which makes them a danger to the community, i.e., a danger to other students, such as making one’s roommate worry about his safety or the community to worry about one’s ability to care for oneself, those are also grounds to dismiss. A student is not in a vacuum and a personal issue could easily be grounds for a “community concern” dismissal.</p>
<p>Additionally, such a clause is already part of the college enrollment agreement, i.e., that they can dismiss you for anything they deem you do that negatively affects the environment of the college.</p>
Sure, but that “anything” has to be reasonable, not arbitrary. Being at the lowest end of the BMI index would hardly qualify, I wouldn’t think. It certainly doesn’t harm anyone else.</p>
<p>@nynightowl - You have gotten some very good suggestions on here, including having her physician talk to the school. If that fails, I would seriously consider having an attorney call and inform them that, short of a finding of a real medical issue (which they apparently have not found despite intrusive testing), they are discriminating against her and you will consider taking action. I find their behavior so far outrageous.</p>
<p>Arbitrary as defined by whom is the problem. The college gets to decide that.</p>
<p>Without the full medical records, it is presumptuous to think BMI is the reason. They may be looking at something else and using a change in BMI, as the prescription to remedy.</p>
<p>EDIT: If there is not other medical issue other than BMI, I would not even try to approach this from a reasonable or arbitrary angle because what the college is doing may very well be reasonable for 98% of the population of students. And they may also have data to back them up. Not worth the the fight. </p>
<p>The issue here is really the specificity, which applies to the DD. Approaching the college on the grounds that you can show your daughter is an exception is a much stronger position than telling them their standards are unreasonable because their standards could very well be absolutely reasonable, just not for your DD. It is much easier to get someone to make an exception than to make them question their entire policy. Your goal should be to get your DD squared away and comfortable first. </p>
No, a court would get to decide that, if it is disputed. Of course if they don’t challenge the school then the school is deciding.</p>
<p>And it isn’t presumptuous that BMI is the problem based on what has been presented here. Of course if the information here is incomplete or wrong, then the whole discussion is mostly off base. We can only take the OP’s information as accurate until she finds out otherwise.</p>
<p>Agreed, if that is the ultimate endgame. However, it only gets to court if the college decides all along the way that its grounds are reasonable. </p>
<p>Maybe our goals here are different - I think the goal here should be to avoid courts and contentious confrontation if the DD can be shown to be a valid exception to the existing policy.</p>