By Ashley Hockney

If students get the flu during this cold season, they may be forced to decide if going to class sick is better than facing the consequences of an unexcused absence. 

Adam Shepherd, a marketing sophomore, had a problem with this decision when he came down with the flu on a Monday night and was running a 102-degree fever. That Tuesday he visited the University Health Service, hoping to be excused from class.

“I asked for a note for missing class on Tuesday, and they said they couldn’t give me one because they can’t determine if you’re sick enough to go to class,” Shepherd said. “All they would give me is a yellow slip, but my professor wanted an actual doctor’s note, and he wouldn’t accept it.”

According to Greg Moore, director of University Health Service, the yellow slip Shepherd referred to is only a documentation that a student was at the clinic on a certain date. It does not necessarily excuse you from class.

Depending on the professor, a student may be referred to university regulations for the definition of excusable absence.

The University Senate defines this as “significant illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the student’s household (permanent or campus) or immediate family. The instructor shall have the right to request appropriate verification.” However, the rule does not specify what is a “significant illness” or what is “appropriate verification.”

“When we say documentation, we don’t mean something from the student health center,” said Kaveh Tagavi, the academic ombud. “We want you to document your claim.”

Moore said doctors at the University Health Service are permitted to write class excuses, but for many illnesses it’s difficult to decide whether a student is too sick to miss class.

“The student has to decide if they’re sick enough (to miss class). Most of the time, they’re the only one that knows for sure,” Moore said.

The ambiguity of a significant illness in the regulations was intentional, Tagavi said.

“When the Senate wrote the rule, they intentionally used the words ‘serious’ and ‘significant,’” Tagavi said. “Where is the cut-off point, I don’t know. We didn’t mention it because we couldn’t mention it…for some a fever of 102 may be more serious than another of 104.” 

If a student feels they were denied an excusable absence, they can meet with the ombud.

“(This situation) is really rare,” Tagavi said. “Most professors are reasonable, most people are reasonable, most students are reasonable.”

The rules in place were created to deter students from skipping a test or class and using a doctor’s excuse to eliminate the consequences, Tagavi said.

Shepherd said he believes refusal to give a doctor’s note in a case like his could add to problems with spreading illnesses on campus.

“I understand that they’re worried about students taking advantage, but if the student doesn’t have a fever, and they’re not sick enough, they shouldn’t get a note,” Shepherd said. “But if you’re at 102 degrees, why on earth shouldn’t you get a note… (On the day I had to go to class) all I did was infect people.”

Still feeling sick, Shepherd went to a different clinic that provided him with an excuse to miss two following days of class.

“The doctor was stunned that I had to go to class and she was so mad that she was going to have her superiors call the health clinic and complain,” Shepherd said.