Ex-student sues U. after dismissal

Former University psychology graduate student Devera Foremanye is suing the University for allegedly failing to give her the special treatment she required because of her heart condition. Foremanye, who is diagnosed as having a cardiac dysfunction which is aggravated by stressful situations, was dismissed from the University's Graduate School of Education in January 1990 after failing a required examination for the third time. In July 1990, Foremanye filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, which claimed the University failed to provide her with proper "academic adjustment to enable her to compete successfully during examinations." The U.S. Department of Education found her charges groundless and Federal Court Judge John Padova dismissed her suit last February. Yet, Foremanye continues to press the issue. Last fall, Foremanye appealed Padova's decision to dismiss her case on the grounds that it was filed too late after the alleged discrimination occurred. Foremanye claims in her appeal that the two-year statute of limitations on her lawsuit could only begin after the Department of Education had handed down its decision on her complaint. University Associate General Counsel Neil Hamburg disputes this claim, and has called into question the overall legitimacy of the case. "This doesn't begin to approach a legitimate case," Hamburg said last week. "In addition to it being a frivolous case, she filed it late." Foremanye's lawyer disagrees. "The test-taking was not appropriate for her," said Foremanye's lawyer Errol Green. "What would have been required was for her to take the test without comprising the integrity of the test." But, the Office of Civil Rights for the Department ruled in February 1991 that Foremanye had not advised the University of her need for special academic treatment prior to taking the tests, "apart from suggesting that certain test situations were stressful for her." The Civil Rights Office report stated that the University had allowed Foremanye considerable leeway in delaying her doctoral program, by granting her repeated leaves of absence. "We also note that the University, over a period of approximately seven years, responded to each request made by the complainant to modify or delay her program," the report said. During her seven years in the Education School, Foremanye was granted two leaves of absence, one lasting as long as a year. According to her lawyer, Foremanye spent her semesters away from school recuperating from her illness. "Her doctor advised her to take some time off – she obviously had to put aside her educational pursuits," Green said last week. The University maintains that Foremanye never submitted any documentation of her medical condition, and that claim was supported by the Department of Education's report. But Green disputed this assertion, saying that when Foremanye "applied for acceptance into the program she did give out documentation of her medical problems." Green added that race was a factor in Foremanye's dismissal from the Education School. Foremanye, however, did not sue on those grounds. "It was an underlying current," said Green. "It may have driven the University not to accommodate her needs." Hamburg rejects the allegations, calling the claims "completely frivolous." "I think that this case is a waste of judicial time, Mr. Brown's time and University legal time," he added. Foremanye's case is slated for oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on March 10, but Hamburg said it may not be heard at that time.