In which I tell the Registrar to s*** or get off the pot.

I couldn't very well expect the Registrar to disturb his two-week Christmas break by worrying about my little problems, so instead, I spent two weeks waiting for the Registrar to respond to my request for disclosure. After giving that request, his due consideration, I received the following response the day before the resumption of classes in January:

Dear Marty,

I would like to have a meeting with you to hear your response to the allegations, but it is not designed as a setting in which you have to defend yourself. I do not want to send you the documents that constitute the complaints; my summary establishes the nature of the complaints and I simply want to talk with you about the concerns that have been raised. I hope that you are available in the next day or so to meet. I could meet anytime between 9:00 and 4:00 tomorrow, Wednesday, or between 10:00 and 3:00 on Thursday.

Best wishes,

Colin

 

Wow, it's like he's my best friend now. I don't even have to defend myself; he just wants to talk to me. The problem is, I don't buy it. Call me a hardass, but it's not my job to help him make his case. Either he shows me his case or he doesn't have a case.  I replied the next day:

Dear Mr. Russell:

My sole purpose throughout this affair has been to ensure that I am able to graduate with a teaching certificate along with the rest of my class in 2013. If you are willing to discuss means whereby I can achieve this goal, I will be willing to meet with you. But I have already suffered serious damages to my reputation and employment prospects, not to mention the incredible distress caused to myself and members of my family; therefore, I must be assured of total vindication with regard to all the malicious allegations against me. If the University is not willing to provide a documented list of detailed complaints, including times, dates, and signatures, especially those with regard to the termination of my practicum, then I must insist that all proceedings against me be terminated without delay, and that I be restored to my previous status as a student in good standing. In addition to the immediate restoration of my practicum privileges, this means:

1. An end to being singled out for ridicule and scorn in front of other students by professors including Bush, Metz, and Bell, and in the case of Bush, a public apology for the incident of which he is fully aware and an undertaking to never again conduct the kind of in-class “experiment” which led to the incident.

2. An end to being given low or failing grades for work which would otherwise have merited A’s according to the normal standards of the Education Faculty.

3. The restoration of my sponsorship to the Calgary student teacher’s conference, which was arbitrarily cancelled following initiation of these procedings.

4. Compensation for loss of income due to being arbitrarily fired without cause from my job as a piano teacher in the after-school program at Gordon Bell.

5. Compensation for lost earning power as a result of time which I may need to spend making up for my lost Fall practicum next spring.

I understand some of these demands may fall outside your immediate jurisdiction, but given the treatment which I have already suffered I feel they are the minimum which I can accept at this time. As a practical matter, I feel it might facilitate a speedier resolution to this issue if the Faculty would consider allowing me to transfer to the Access Program. I have already discussed my situation with faculty there and they have responded positively to this idea.

Marty Green