<p>My graduation date has been moved to 5.5 years instead of 4 because my college will not accept summer classes. I'm attaching a letter from a psychiatrist and doctor. Here is my letter, and I would appreciate any help at all:</p>
<p>I am writing to request a change to an academic policy in light of the extraordinary circumstances I have encountered. I respect and understand BC's policy to require students to attend for eight full semesters, however, because my circumstances, I feel that this policy has become detrimental to my well-being and discriminatory for my incurrence and development of a psychiatric disability during my first year at Boston College which has since been resolved.</p>
<p>I entered BC as a freshman in Fall 2012, and during this time I was sexually assaulted by another student. I had also come from very far away, and BC's environment was a large adjustment for me. This had triggered a debilitating depression. I was taking medication during this time that exacerbated my poor condition. These circumstances led me to withdraw or fail classes during this semester.</p>
<p>When I had initially appealed the decision to withdraw me, I did not include the sexual assault. I had not yet psychologically dealt with the trauma, and there was no way for me to know or understand how the event had affected me. However, after the withdrawal, I took the measures I could at the time to fix what I believed was preventing my success, which was stopping the medication that made me lethargic.</p>
<p>I enrolled in the Woods School within Boston College for the next semester, Spring 2013, to make up the deficiencies. The closest and most affordable school I could attend at home was San Francisco State, but the enrollment period for this semester is during August, months before I was withdrawn from BC (in December). There was no way for me to attend a school at home.</p>
<p>During this semester, I continued to live in my dorm and was essentially doing everything that a fully enrolled student would be doing. Although I was not enrolled in the Arts and Sciences, I had been enrolled in Boston College for the full semester. I was doing significantly better in my classes and took a course load that was not as challenging. During this time, I encountered several BC students who had told me that the male who sexually assaulted me was selling drugs. In a separate instance, a student confessed that there was a rumor of this individual sexually assaulting another female at the college.</p>
<p>Regardless of the factuality of these statements, hearing these things triggered the trauma. I became very terrified and essentially had a psychological breakdown. I spent the last few weeks of my school year in a very poor psychological state, terrified to leave the dorm and not realizing that I had been sitting in the same spot for weeks. My roommate then told my resident director she was concerned about me, and she then drove me to emergency counseling appointments. I then filed a report with BCPD and had to get tested for STDs. My last semester consisted of dealing with this traumatic event with hardly the ability to eat and concern for my basic safety rather than attending class, and there was no way for me to make up the material.</p>
<p>After all of this, I had spent a year on BC's campus without attaining any credits due to this traumatic event, a large amount of money for a year of a school that was already difficult to afford, and extra stress about the incident and credit deficiencies. My family and I were also not aware that enrolling within the Boston College Woods School would not count as a semester of schooling.</p>
<p>I returned home, and I did my best to look for a school where I could finally make up these deficiencies. However, SFSU was not accepting students. The other school in my city, USF, would only allow me to take two classes. Therefore, I had to involuntarily wait another semester to make up my deficiencies. I decided to enroll in classes at City College, a local community college, but BC will not accept these credits. I went to counseling to help with the stress I encountered, worked a part-time job, and also did an internship. It was very difficult to involuntarily take a leave of absence from attending classes at a four-year, and I felt very isolated. However, I persevered through this difficult time.</p>
<p>I was finally able to enroll in classes and complete the deficiencies in Spring 2014, so it took 2 years to complete a semester's worth of credits due to circumstances out of my control. The time that led up to this was also very stressful. During this time, I also had to seek help from a psychiatrist because I was under significant stress. It has been very difficult to excel in school under so much stress, however, I have done my best. I have also had to spend money on 2 semesters at BC, and 2 at home, while being told it will only count as 1.
Because the time extended from my graduation date was involuntary, I think that the summer is an important time for me to make up the credits I could not during the aftermath of the traumatic event from my second semester. It would also help financially.</p>
<p>I have been enrolled in 10 units this past summer: Drawing I, Calculus I, and History of California, and if these will not be accepted for credit, then it is very unlikely that I will be able to attend BC despite the tremendous time and energy I have put into this school, and this is very devastating to me in addition to the difficulties I have encountered. I think that I have shown an ability to persevere by enrolling in classes every semester despite experiencing a sexual assault, working a part-time job, and attaining an internship. I have also learned a great deal about the resources available to prevent a similar experience from occurring again. At this point, I have felt more ready than ever to take on the challenges of college, but if I cannot regain at least a semester so that my graduation date is 5 years instead of 5.5, then BC will become a financially impossible option, and this will mean that I will be unable to attain my college education anymore due to the aftermath of the sexual assault being penalized against me.</p>