(U-WIRE) NEW YORK — When disabled New York University graduate student Mike Donnelly’s medical condition worsened last semester, he asked two of his professors for help in completing course requirements. Little more than a month later, administrators called him to a meeting and expelled him.
Donnelly, who was diagnosed with chronic depression nearly 10 years ago and has been registered with NYU as a disabled student since 1999, was expelled from the Graduate School of Arts and Science after one semester for failing to meet the academic requirements of his program, university officials said.
Although NYU officials followed the letter of the law in accommodating Donnelly’s condition, his expulsion raises questions about whether university policies and federal disability laws sufficiently explain the assistance educators must provide for disabled students.
Donnelly, 41, doubts that his academic record was the real reason for his expulsion and is now ardently pursuing a lengthy and complex appeals process weeks after his removal from the John W. Draper Interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Humanities and Social Thought, a specialized program within the graduate school.
Donnelly, who is considering filing a lawsuit against NYU, said he believes Draper administrators wanted to kick him out because of the inconvenience of accommodating his illness.
“[The Draper program] doesn’t understand mental illness at all and is prejudiced against people with psychological disabilities,” Donnelly said.
University spokesman John Beckman, the only NYU official willing to speak to Washington Square News about the case, refuted Donnelly’s accusations of prejudice, contending that mentally ill students have successfully completed the Draper program in the past.
“The university rejects the accusation categorically,” Beckman said. “I’m not going to go into the specifics of Mr. Donnelly’s medical history, but I can say that there have absolutely been students who suffered from mental illness who were students in Draper and went on to complete the program.”
None of the six administrators and professors directly involved in Donnelly’s case would comment to WSN on Donnelly’s accusations, citing privacy concerns and Donnelly’s unresolved appeal.
“We can’t begin fighting this out in the papers,” said Jim Matthews, vice dean of the graduate school. “[Donnelly] has filed appeals with the department, and this is not a good time to be playing things out in the press.”
After his condition worsened as a result of a stressful schedule and the death of his grandfather, Donnelly said he told his professors about his disability and requested accommodations that are allowed through the Americans with Disabilities Act. Donnelly asked that he be given “incomplete” grades on his transcript. Draper policy allows students one year to complete unfinished course work.
Under the disabilities act, students with illnesses like chronic depression must be provided with “reasonable accommodations” by professors when their condition impedes class performance.
After Draper confirmed that Donnelly was registered with the Henry and Lucy Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at NYU, he was given temporary incompletes in two classes with the understanding that his final papers, originally due Dec. 16, 2002, would be due Jan. 13, 2003.
Donnelly submitted his papers and received a C in Introduction to Literary Cultures I and a C+ in Introduction to Global History for the semester — grades that warrant an expulsion from Draper, a program that does not allow more than one mark below a B.
Professors did not give Donnelly sufficient assistance in classes last semester, and options such as incompletes and academic probation were better alternatives, he said.
“Given that Draper already understood I was under an enormous amount of stress, was extremely depressed and had a death in the family, there was absolutely no reason they could not have given me a longer extension if they felt the work I did while I was ill was unacceptable,” Donnelly said.
In late January, Draper administrators scheduled a meeting with Donnelly, at which they told him he was being expelled because of his academic performance. Shocked by their decision, Donnelly responded that he would appeal the expulsion through “all available means.”
Insisting that Donnelly was physically threatening them, Draper Director Robin Nagle and Associate Director Robert Dimit called NYU Protection Services, at which point Donnelly left the meeting voluntarily.
Donnelly, who is 6-foot-3 and weighs more than 200 pounds, said his physical appearance and medical condition unnecessarily intimidated the administrators.
“They see this big guy who’s being treated for depression and think that, therefore, he must be insane,” Donnelly said. “I think the fact that they called Protection Services really shows how prejudiced they are.”
A report filed with Protection Services the day of the meeting stated that Donnelly became “disruptive” during the meeting but left on his own, a Protection officer confirmed.
At the meeting, Donnelly said administrators told him that he would be prohibited, by force of Protection Services if necessary, from attending the Draper classes in which he had already enrolled for the spring semester. However, Donnelly continued attending class and was never removed.
Donnelly, whose undergraduate grade-point average was nearly 3.6, then submitted requests for grade changes to his professors that were denied because of alleged absences, late assignments, including a final paper, and subpar work, he said.
“Your final piece did not even minimally meet the standards of a graduate seminar paper,” wrote Shireen Patel, Donnelly’s literary cultures professor, in a letter to Donnelly dated Feb. 6. “You missed at least three classes (over 20 percent of the course). I cannot change a grade unless there has been a clerical error in its calculation.”
Donnelly claims he was absent for only one class in each course, for his grandfather’s funeral, and was denied access to attendance sheets in both classes to confirm the dates he was absent.
Donnelly’s worsened depression over the course of the semester may have played a role in his class performance, Donnelly’s psychologist told Associate Director Dimit.
“I know that [Donnelly] had several trying experiences during the past two months, which, in addition to his chronic depression, could have helped bring about the incompletes,” Dr. Thomas Caffrey wrote in a December e-mail to Dimit.
Regardless of how often Donnelly missed class, absences and lateness, even on extended deadlines, should be excused if they are the result of a disability, according to a letter from the Moses Center written on his behalf.
“When the student is unable to meet the extended deadline (due to disability-related problems), an incomplete is granted and a reasonable date is set for completion,” the letter stated in part. “Consideration for absences when the disability is exacerbated” should also be given, it stated.
Donnelly, who is now taking cross-listed Draper courses in the Steinhardt School of Education, requested that Moses Center official Yolanda Cacciolo send the letter about his condition to his current professors.
Donnelly said he is considering suing NYU for discrimination but has not yet hired an attorney.
He faces an uphill legal battle if he decides to sue the university, disability-law experts said.
Requirements for “reasonable accommodations” are vague and have become problematic, said Craig Gurian, a lawyer who specializes in public-accommodation discrimination in New York City.
“‘Reasonable accommodations’ is this slippery term,” Gurian said. “It’s not like it’s a black-and-white situation.”
Because of the sometimes-unclear nature of disability law, there is doubt that Donnelly’s case would hold up in court, Gurian said.
“It certainly sounds like what [NYU] did was harsh,” Gurian said. “But I think a lot of judges would say they accommodated him by giving him the extension and that’s that.”
Stereotypes against the disabled are common at universities, Gurian said.
“I think there’s a lot of heat and venom against people with disabilities,” he said. “I think it’s a big problem, especially in educational institutions.”
