Our latest littlest litigant won't be attending UNC-CH this fall, not after a judge denied an injunction that would have forced the university to admit him:
A high-school senior who scored a perfect 1,600 on his SAT won't start his freshman year next week at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after a judge denied an injunction that would have forced the school to admit him.
Mark Edmonson was admitted to UNC-Chapel Hill in April, but he lost his spot in the freshman class in July after finishing the school year with a failing grade in one class and earning several C's and at least one D in other courses.
Edmonson, 19, of Greensboro, sued the university last week in Orange County Superior Court for a spot in the freshman class, claiming breach of contract.
What Mark wanted was a temporary injunction so that he could be a proud Tar Heel while his lawsuit against UNC was proceeded. No go, said the judge. This article provides us with more insight as to Mark's senior year woes:
After the first meeting, Mark Edmonson sent an e-mail to Herb Davis, associate director of undergraduate admissions, that described his senior grades as "abysmal."
He said he performed poorly because he had become "disillusioned with the high-school experience."
Edmonson's mother said her son struggled with calculus and had a difficult time adjusting to a change in medications.
Her son did better by the end of his senior year, she said.
Uh-huh. "Disillusioned," you say? Why? Why would a perfect 1600-SATer, early-admitted to the college of his choice, get depressed during senior year? Coasting, I can understand, but "disillusioned" is for the kid who worked hard, yet didn't get what he wanted. That doesn't apply in this case. Mark should have been psyched to get the senior year work done and get the hell out of high school. Instead, it sounds like he barely went to class.
Hope Mark saved the receipts for all those Carolina-blue sweatshirts. His mom can return them all and get her money back, while he "ponders" his future:
...Edmonson, a National Merit finalist who recently incorporated his own Internet computer services firm, has no college plans this fall, his mother Barbara said Friday.
"He can work part-time on his business, he can get a part-time job doing something else, but he will not be starting college as we thought he would," Barbara Edmonson said. "There's no place to go."
Um, other colleges? Surely, there's someplace; even a community college would be better than just sitting around, and he can bring up his GPA.
Edmonson's mother worries the media attention has hurt her son's chances of finding another college choice.
"He's been, honestly, just crucified. The general feeling is just so negative that I'm not sure what he can do or where he can go," she said. "I can't imagine any admissions person in the area, at N.C. State or Duke or anywhere, even looking at him."
Suing a university for refusing to admit you after your grades tank, when you've earned the top score on the SAT, tends to draw media attention, Mom, and that's not what the problem is here, anyway. The other schools aren't going to look at Mark until he (a) buckles down in a less-prestigious educational environment (I'd give up on NC State or Duke, at least for a while) and shakes this "disillusionment," and (b) drops his lawsuit against UNC.
Why would a university want to admit a student who is going to massively underperform AND get litigious on them?
Posted by kswygert at August 26, 2003 11:42 AM