Mrs.Lucysnow
Valued Senior Member
STORRS, Conn. – Even at 13, Colin Carlson believes he's running out of time.
Colin is a sophomore at the University of Connecticut, seeking a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and another in environmental studies. But he's been knocked off course by the university's rejection of his request to take a class that includes summer field work in South Africa.
He and his mother say university officials told them he is too young for the overseas course. So he's filed an age discrimination claim with the university and U.S. Department of Education, which is investigating.
"I'm losing time in my four-year plan for college," he said. "They're upsetting the framework of one of my majors."
Michael Kirk, a spokesman for UConn, would not comment on Colin's case. But he said that generally, safety is the university's first concern when travel is involved.
The university would not let Colin enroll, even after his mother, Jessica Offir, offered to release UConn from liability and accompany her son as a chaperone at her own expense, she and Colin said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_prodigy_study_abroad
I think they should allow him to go.
If he's old enough to deal with university then he should be old enough to go on an overseas field trip.
Is the university correct in excluding him from access based on his age even though they have him enrolled?
What considerations are there in such a trip that would prompt the university to exclude him from the trip?
Colin is a sophomore at the University of Connecticut, seeking a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and another in environmental studies. But he's been knocked off course by the university's rejection of his request to take a class that includes summer field work in South Africa.
He and his mother say university officials told them he is too young for the overseas course. So he's filed an age discrimination claim with the university and U.S. Department of Education, which is investigating.
"I'm losing time in my four-year plan for college," he said. "They're upsetting the framework of one of my majors."
Michael Kirk, a spokesman for UConn, would not comment on Colin's case. But he said that generally, safety is the university's first concern when travel is involved.
The university would not let Colin enroll, even after his mother, Jessica Offir, offered to release UConn from liability and accompany her son as a chaperone at her own expense, she and Colin said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_prodigy_study_abroad
I think they should allow him to go.
If he's old enough to deal with university then he should be old enough to go on an overseas field trip.
Is the university correct in excluding him from access based on his age even though they have him enrolled?
What considerations are there in such a trip that would prompt the university to exclude him from the trip?
