Equal is just not the same as fair in Yale's policies

By Joey Ax

At the end of their third term, many Yale students apply for acceleration credits. Some plan to take a term off to travel, others hope to graduate early, and still others simply accelerate to better their chances of getting into seminars.

My roommate wanted to accelerate two terms, but he forgot about the deadline. After realizing his error, he handed the form in the next morning, accompanied by a petition to the Yale College Committee on Honors and Academic Standing for permission to activate his acceleration credits despite having missed the deadline.

In his petition, my roommate offered an explanation for his tardiness. He had been spending almost 20 hours a day for four days working on a final project for an advanced computer science class. Lack of sleep and preoccupation with his project caused him to lose track of time. This excuse was not satisfactory (as my roommate himself admitted in the letter). However, it was certainly better to have forgotten about the deadline because of academic reasons than because he was playing video games all day.

Whether or not his excuse was legitimate, my roommate asked the Committee to make an exception. His family has had financial difficulties, he explained, and he hoped to take a semester off next year to work in order to pay for tuition and to reduce his debts. Without working, he might not be able to complete his degree at Yale.

In the letter the Committee sent denying his request, the chairman wrote, "The Committee on Honors and Academic Standing has an obligation...to maintain fairness and equity in applying the regulations concerning the deadlines for the submission of forms that have such an important bearing on the academic progress of all Yale College students." This justification was far from satisfying, and it sets a frightening precedent for many students in similar situations.

First, there is a difference between fairness and equity. To deny all petitions for exception would be to act equally but not fairly. There are surely some petitions that are based upon merit and others that contain more spurious reasoning. Fairness dictates that my roommate's request should have been granted, given the serious nature of the consequences that resulted from a denial.

These consequences bring me to the second reason for which the Committee's response fails to give an adequate rationale for the rejection. My roommate did not ask to accelerate so that he could lie on a beach. Without the credits, his future at Yale is in jeopardy. By denying his request, the Committee may have also denied him the chance to complete his degree. The chairman points to the "academic progress of all Yale College students" as a justification for the rejection. But making justifiable exceptions for certain needy students does not impair the academic progress of "all Yale College students." The denial has harmed my roommate's academic progress far more than an exception would have. The chairman acknowledged that his decision was harmful, when he recognized that his letter brought "painful news"—an admission that would seem to undermine his entire position.

Finally, the basis of the Committee's decision lies in a needlessly hardline interpretation of an unnecessarily strict rule. The chairman's letter offers only one explanation of the decision, saying that "members [of the committee] noted that the Acceleration Form itself is quite explicit...no extension of the deadline is possible." There are two problems with this justification. First, every rule has exceptions. My roommate screwed up; that he admits. But any student who presents a valid reason for permission to accelerate despite a mistake should be granted credits. I refuse to believe that because someone hands in a form 16 hours past deadline, the possibility of acceleration magically disappears. Second, the mere existence of a rule does not mean that it is right. If a government makes an unjust law, that law can and should be challenged. Similarly, the rule that stipulates no exceptions should be examined.

When a student hands in his class schedule late, he is fined. Why not implement the same type of system for acceleration? Such a change would undoubtedly aid Yale students while at the same time demonstrating that the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing truly does have the "academic progress" of all students at heart when it makes its decisions.

Joey Ax is a sophomore in Morse.

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