Letter
to the Editor
Pregnant students should not get breaks.
Someone
has to state the obvious in response to
your June 19, 2003 editorial on pregnant
students.
Getting
pregnant is not unexpected, nor is it unavoidable.
All students are held to the same standards
academically as they must for the grade
and degree to mean anything. To dilute the
degree by allowing exceptions is not fair
to those who do all expected of them.
Attendance
in class is part a requirement to pass classes.
Pregnancy can be terminated - or better
yet - avoided through the use of contraception
or abstinence. There is just no excuse for
unexpectedly getting pregnant. If you aren't
ready for the consequences of pregnancy,
maybe you shouldn't be having sex. The university
is not responsible for those students who
get pregnant.
Those
who get pregnant have no one to blame but
themselves. A semester is only four months
long, as opposed to a pregnancy, which is
9 months. A pregnant student does not need
to drop classes because she discovers she
is pregnant. She could complete the semester,
then if she chooses, she can take the next
semester off without harming her grades.
But, to seek special treatment in terms
of permitting more absences than other students
are permitted is pure selfishness.
In
that case, perhaps the university should
let those who bike to school to be late
to class without penalty or allow drug addicts
to pass without completing their assignments.
Maybe those who are simply stupid should
be allowed to graduate so the university
has better graduation rate. All these are
as absurd as special treatment for pregnancy.
If
special treatment is given for one group,
special treatment must be given to every
group who seeks it. That is a slippery-slope
which would lead to the dilution a degree’s
significance. A university education isn't
merely about grades, it is about maturing
and making decisions that shows evidence
of growing up. Getting pregnant and then
demanding special treatment is not evidence
of good decision making or maturity.
Try
taking responsibility for your own actions
for a change and stop demanding that others
give you special treatment. Cal State Long
Beach is here to set the standards, not
to bend them for every person who has a
problem meeting them.
Ed
Ober
Political Science Major
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