After Lisa Ladwig began experiencing health problems in her third year as a graduate student in public relations, she claims she was denied the chance to make up the work.Ladwig said she had a 3.5 grade point average when she was first hospitalized in February. She is seeking an appeal claiming she was denied the due process of the University law in the LSU Student Hanbook after she appealed to the Graduate School in July.She appealed to the interim dean of the graduate school, Doris Carver, after she was denied a letter of appeal asking for a retroactive medical withdrawal, a request to leave the University for a semester because of medical problems. Ladwig said she was walking to class when she woke up lying on the curb. Then, she registered with the Office of Disability Services and received an excuse from her classes for her hospital visit.  She was later hospitalized for another medical reason from May 8 to 10, according to Our Lady of the Lake documents. Ladwig said Defleur told her not to worry about school while she was in the hospital and to contact her after leaving. After being released, Ladwig said she received several bad grades, including an F in Jinx Broussard’s public relations class.  “She [Broussard] never tried to reach me after getting out of the hospital,” Ladwig said. Ladwig and her boyfriend Rich Cooper, English graduate student, met with Defleur to discuss her grades, specifically her grade in the public relation’s class. Ladwig said before her second hospital visit she had filed a complaint with Human Resources. She said Broussard personally harassed her, citing several issues.”I got a 93 on a paper in February,” Ladwig said. “She told me in a crowded hallway in May that she had to take points off for some reason, and she changed it to 83.” Broussard said she would not comment on the issue because of the Buckley Amendment, which protects students’ educational information from being released to a third party without permission of the student. Ladwig said she decided to take Defleur’s advice and proceeded to follow the steps to receive a medical withdrawal. “A few days later I got letter from her saying she declined the appeal due to lack of faculty support,” Ladwig said.  Ladwig said she then followed the next process in the Student Handbook and appealed to the dean of the graduate school. In July, Carver sent an e-mail to Ladwig saying she received her appeal. In an e-mail to Ladwig, Carver said “Lisa, I have been collecting relevant information in order that I can review your appeal. I will be in touch with you soon.”One month after, Carver agreed in an e-mail to meet with her to discuss her grades, but Carver sent an e-mail saying, “My schedule for tomorrow has gotten full, and I will likely need to be out of the office on Friday.”Ladwig said Carver then told her the new dean, William Worger, would handle her case, and she would send all the information to him. Carver also refused to comment on the issue and said she could not comment on interaction with students because of standard procedure. Ladwig said Worger’s secretary sent her an e-mail saying the dean had denied her appeal after beginning his job as dean of the Graduate School on Sept. 1. Worger said he made the decision based on all the information Carver gave him. He said he was only responsible for the decision that involved the Graduate Dean’s office. Worger said he could not discuss the details of the situation but said he did not deny Ladwig a hearing or a meeting with him.Ladwig hired Donald Hodge, attorney who graduated from the LSU Law center and former opinion columnist for The Daily Reveille, as her attorney. Hodge said his client must exhaust administrative requirements before she can sue the University for denying her due process of the University law. The Student Handbook states in step two of the appeal process, “Upon receipt of a written request, the Step Two Administrator shall make a reasonable effort to arrange for such a meeting within 14 calendar days from the date that the request was received.”
 
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Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]