University of California Santa Cruz - UCSC

Some Lecture Notes Mostly from Cabrillo College [spring 2003, Cabrillo, - Calculus 5C - "D"] no note-taker. DSPS acted like it was no big deal that I didn't have a note-taker. [Physics 4A -"W"] I had no help with the homework. The instructor insisted that I attend laboratory though I not only could not participate, but was told repeatedly by the other students, I was in the way, I was worthless etc.. After four weeks of this treatment by my fellow students I dropped the class. [fall 2003, Cabrillo, - Organic chemistry 12A - "A"] Good note-taker. Notes were well organized and easy to read - note-taker was "A" student. I had no help with the homework, but completed most assignments. My grade is a relection of the fact that on the final, I received the third highest score in the class. [Spring 2004 Physics 4A - "C", Organic chemistry 12B - "B"] The note-taker for 12 B was the same woman as in 12A easy to read notes. For Physics 4A the notes were acceptable, the activities in the Physics Learning Center (PLC) were okay though some were hard for me with no balance. I had no help with the homework and did not complete most assignments. The homework for Organic Chemistry was never complete - not once. [Summer 2004, Cabrillo, Calculus 5A - "A"] the notes were good. The note taker was one of the top students in the class. I had no help with the homework, but managed to complete most assignments. [fall 2004, Cabrillo, Calculus 5B - "C"] The notes tended to be hard to read. They were really scattered. I find out later this guy is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity - either way he was an inapropriate note taker. I solved an itegral using trigonometric substitution when the instructor thought it could only be done using partial fractions. I was able to do that because a friend did all of the writing and I was able to think about each step. [Spring 2005, Cabrillo, Calculus 5C - "C"] The notes were okay. I asked her to write down the homework problems the instructor worked on the board. she never would despite my repeated asking her. The time I spent on the homework was horrible. It seemed all I had time for was poorly composed homework sets. I had no time to study for the midterms (3) or the final. My grade is a reflection of the lack of time I studied for the midterms and final. [Fall 2005, Cabrillo, Physics 4B - "C", Differential equations - "W"] I spent so much time with Physics 4B homework that I did not have time to do homework for Differential Equations and dropped the class for the first time. Between lab and homework, I barely had time to think. I took to sleeping in my clothes, skipping showers, sleeping in my truck etc.. [Spring 2006, Cabrillo, Differential Equations - "W", Physics 4C - "C"] notes were passable. First lab assistant dropped out of school. Second lab assistant did not include me in the lab write-up, but always gave me a copy of stuff. and wrote down procedure and data in my lab notebook. I dropped Differential Equations again. I never had time to do the homework. [Fall 2006, UCSC, Chemistry 163A (Quantum Theory) - "W"] The notes were okay, not great and I had nowhere to study or rest. I dropped the class. [Spring 2007, Cabrillo, Differential Equations - "C", Linear Algebra - "W"] I was getting 'ground down' by the homework in Differential Equations, but the note taker for Linear Algebra was totally irresponsible. He'd skip class and it was my problem. The quality of the notes was really poor and it was my problem. I asked him to do a better job and he told if I didn't like it he'd quit. Sometimes he didn't give me the lecture notes until the following week and, again, it was my problem. I finally dropped the class. [Fall quarter 2007, UCSC, Chemistry 163A (Quantum Theory) - "B-"] AB's notes were excellent. She went out of her way to get me copies directly after lecture. The notes were always clean and well written. I was able to focus on the reading in the book. Referring to the notes when I wasn't quite sure what the book was saying. I scored a 79 on the midterm (the class average was 59), due in part to AB's high quality notes. The homework was a drag, but I was used to spending long hours by myself. [Winter quarter 2008, UCSC, Chemistry 163B (Thermodynamics) -"C"] JS had a tough act to follow (AB's notes), but she did really well. The notes were always clean and well written and she made some real effort to get them to me soon after lecture. DRC did their best to prevent this from happening, but most of the time we were able to meet face-to-face. I am totally appreciative of the quality of the notes and her comitment to getting them to me. The homework was a drag. Writing is really difficult for me. [Spring quarter 2008, UCSC, Chemistry 163c (Statistical Mechanics) -"W"] the note-taker was a total flake. Her notes did not include stuff the instructor wrote on the board. I emailed her repeatedly, asking her to do a better job. DRC attacked me for being dissatisfied with the job she was being paid to do. DRC went so far as to tell me there was nothing wrong with her notes, but I had another student's notes and was able to tell them they did not know what they were talking about.

I was told by the head of DSS, in 1984, how she was arranging for laboratory facilities for disabled students. We could have a separate, but equal education. I remember how enthused she was about educational apartheid for disabled people. Needless to say, I was not thrilled with her excitement about finding ways to further segregate disabled students from their peers. At Cabrillo College an elevator was installed to make the second floor of the second floor of the Physics building accessible from the cafeteria parking lot, where the physics lecture halls, the physics lab and the Physics Learning Center (PLC) are. But the bathrooms are on the first floor. This means that a disabled student in the PLC has to go out the door, around the building, wait for the elevator, go down a floor, go back around the building, use the bathroom then repeat all the previous steps in reverse. I knew it was taking me a sizeable chunk of time, but had no idea how much. One day I was feeling fast, so I timed it - seventeen minutes. Disabled science students need a bathroom on the second floor of the physics building. Cabrillo College exemplifies compliance with the law, but the spirit of accessibility got lost. When I have writing assistance, I always do better then I can by myself. For example: I solved a calculus problem using trigonometric substitution in 2004, when the expectation was to use partial fractions. The instructor didn't believe it could be done the way I did it until I showed him a step-by-step breakdown of how I had done it. When he saw I hadn't made an error, he was very impressed. Another example: When I took Chemistry 163A (Quantum theory) at the University in fall 2007, I scored 79 on the midterm (the class average was 59) for a couple of reasons. The reason I lost 8 points on the first problem is due entirely to my difficulty in writing. There was a formula for determining the angular rotation of a particle which I did not include on my equation sheet, because writing is so difficult for me. I needed that equation for the first question and could have used some help to write my equation sheet. ` I have included a sample created by the computer program I bought to overcome my writing problems. My handwriting is embarassing, but illustrates what I am saying. I scored well on the Quantum Theory midterm, because I had a physics person to talk to and ask questions of. I was able to have the time to think about and ask him questions as they occurred to me. Paul used a white board to illustrate what he was saying.

Observations It is easy to be angry about the issue of TBI ssurvivors and "Higher Education", and allow mt anger to color my writing, but that would detract from the reason I am posting this. I am not dreaming up stuff that did not happen. I am not interested in vengeance. I want to change this system so that TBI survivors have an opportunity to be something. I have 24 years experience with a university, college and the same university. In 1984 I brought, what I assumed was news, my treatment, to the head of DSS. Read about her inaction by clicking denial-of-service (close the window that opens to return to this page). I am smart enough and willing to work hard to do well in my classes, but I need help writing. I get the definate impression I am being blamed for being disabled. I have gotten no help writing - ever. Instead I receive resentment for insistence on being treated like a person of worth. Is my experience unique? I don't think so. Every disabled student I have ever asked has similar experiences. Please use the "Navigation and Comments" button at the bottom of this page to send me email about your experiences. We have to change this system. Why do they do it? Maybe because it is so easy when people do not know what they are doing? I have no idea of why someone would intentionally deprive a fellow human of access to education? Before, and after, I became disabled, I always did the very best job I could. I looked at any task I was doing as a challenge to do my best. Pride in a-job-well-done, is not what I have encountered. I can't conceive of why anyone would want to do this to me. I have trouble believing that it took me so long to realize what they were doing and, have done, to me. Four withdrawals listed at Cabrillo, three withdrawals at UCSC. This does not list all the classes I wanted to take, but I did not, because I did not have any chance of passing that class without accommodation and a zero possibility of doing well - sobering odds. Based on my academic record, my lecture and lab experiences, I have to wonder, "Why does/did DSS, DSPS and DRC want me to fail?" I can only hypothesize why. Their actions speak volumes louder then their excuses and rationales. If you have not done so, please look at the upper 2/3 of this page.

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