Student’s responsibilities

Responsible students take ownership of their actions by exhibiting the following behaviors. They:
demonstrate academic integrity and honesty. Attend and participate in classes, labs, and
seminars, prepared and on time.

Students have a right to:

 To be free of discrimination because of disability

 To receive fair and equitable treatment
 To receive educational accommodations which are reasonable, necessary, and
appropriate on the basis of the specific disability
 To be accommodated with dignity and courtesy in classrooms and other areas on
campus
 To expect that faculty, staff, and other students will use appropriate language, free
of discriminatory or derogatory remarks regarding disabilities
 To expect that faculty and staff members will keep confidential any personal
information that is shared with them in accordance with FIPPA
 To receive an individualized assessment of documentation
 To receive timely delivery of appropriate services, consistent with the notice
provided by the student
 To be provided with a prompt equitable investigation and resolution of complaints

Students have a responsibility to:

 To self-identify your accommodation needs to AccessAbility Services by applying

and registering with AccessAbility Services
 To provide the required Documentation (/accessability-services/documentation) of
your disability to AccessAbility Services.
 To communicate your needs to AccessAbility Services early in each term (Term
Check-in) particularly if you require sign language interpreters, in-class note-takers,
course material in alternative format, exam accommodations or adaptive technology
equipment as these require extra time to coordinate
 To adhere to the policies, procedures and deadlines for accessing accommodations
and services.
 To participate fully and actively in developing an Individualized Accommodation
Plan and in the accommodations process.
 To check your UWaterloo email account AccessAbility Services’ Online System
regularly for updates and notices from the office.
 To meet curriculum standards once accommodation is provided.
 To contact AccessAbility Services if you need to cancel or reschedule a meeting
with your accommodation consultant
  To maintain contact throughout the term with your AccessAbility Services advisor,
particularly if changes or problems arise related to your disability and/or courses. If
you drop courses for which exam accommodations have been arranged, please
inform your accommodation consultant.
 To use borrowed equipment responsibly and respectfully, returning it by pre-
determined deadline
 To manage your time – class work, attendance and study time. Although
AccessAbility Services provides reasonable educational accommodations, you are
responsible for your academic success.
 To contribute towards a positive, welcoming, and inclusive environment in
AccessAbility Service

To help students along, here is a list of some basic rules that children should follow to
avoid their own failure and to step up as a variable in their own equation of success:

Number One: Be your own advocate. Stake a claim in the classroom by making sure the
teacher knows who you are...in a good way.

Number Two: Ask lots of questions....and show confusion appropriately.

Number Three: Communicate your struggles to your teachers. What is going on that
affects your work?

Number Four: Think of school as your office in training. Are you a good co-worker?

Number Five: Dress for success, but don't panic, you don't have to wear a suit to be taken
seriously.

Number Six: At least do the minimum so you aren't creating gaps that are harder to bridge
later. Better yet, do more.

Number Seven: Sweat a little. School is your brain gym. You have to work out your
muscles, make them a little sore, if you're going to lift a heavier load later on.

Number Eight: Find ways to relate to your reading and writing. What original thoughts
and experiences can you bring to the lesson to make it come alive for yourself?

Number Nine: Be in class. Don't jeopardize your own training.

Number Ten: Surround yourself with other students who can help you. You don't have to
be best friends with everyone you seek advice from, but find friends or acquaintances that
are rooting for you, the best of you.
Self-Pity
Excessive, self-absorbed unhappiness over one's own troubles.

References or Quotes
 The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.” ...
 “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. ...
 “Certainly the most destructive vice if you like, that a person can have. ...
 “All depression has its roots in self-pity, and all self-pity is rooted in people taking themselves
too seriously.

 The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.” ...
 “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. ...
 “Certainly the most destructive vice if you like, that a person can have. ...
 “All depression has its roots in self-pity, and all self-pity is rooted in people taking themselves
too seriously.

9 Ways to Get Past Self-Pity

1. They Face Their Feelings

Mentally strong people allow themselves to experience emotions like grief,

disappointment, and loneliness head-on. They do not distract themselves from
uncomfortable emotions by questioning whether their problems are "fair," or by convincing
themselves they’ve suffered more than those around them. They know the best way to deal
with discomfort is to just get through it.

2. They Recognize Warning Signs of the Downward Spiral

When you focus on everything that is going wrong, your thoughts become exaggeratedly
negative, and those thoughts will negatively affect your behavior if you dwell on them. The
combination of negative thinking and inactivity fuels further feelings of self-pity. Mentally
strong people recognize when they are at risk of becoming caught in a downward spiral
and take action to prevent themselves from living a pitiful life.
3. They Question Their Perceptions

Our emotional state influences how we perceive reality. When you feel sorry for yourself,
you likely focus on the bad things going on in your life, while overlooking the good.
Mentally strong people question whether their thoughts represent reality. They ask
themselves questions like, “Is my luck always bad?” or, “Is my entire life really ruined?”
Such questions allow them to recognize when their outlook isn’t realistic, and to create a
more realistic perception of their situation.

4. They Turn Their Negative Thoughts Into Behavioral Experiments

Mentally strong people don’t allow negative thoughts to turn into self-fulfilling prophecies;
they perform behavioral experiments to prove those thoughts wrong. When they find
themselves thinking things like, “I could never put on a presentation as good as this one,”
they respond with, “Challenge accepted!”

5. They Reserve their Resources for Productive Activities

Every minute you dwell on self-pity is 60 seconds you delay working on a solution to your
problems. Mentally strong people refuse to waste precious time and energy on their misery.
Instead, they devote their finite resources to productive activities that can improve the
situation.

6. They Practice Gratitude

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It’s hard to feel self-pity and gratitude at the same time. Self-pity is about thinking, “I
deserve better." Gratitude is about thinking, “I have more than I need.” Mentally strong
people recognize all that they have to be grateful for in life—right down to the fresh air to
breathe and clean water to drink.

7. They Help Other People

It’s hard to feel sorry for yourself when you’re busy helping those who are less fortunate.
Problems like demanding customers or declining sales don’t seem so bad when you’re
reminded that there are people who lack food and shelter. Rather than ruminate on their
own inconveniences, mentally strong people strive to improve the lives of others.

8. They Refuse to Complain

Venting to other people about the magnitude of your problems fuels feelings of self-pity.
Mentally strong people don’t try to gain sympathy from others by complaining about their
difficult circumstances. Instead, they either take action to make things better, or accept the
situations that they cannot change.

9. They Maintain an Optimistic Outlook

Some of life’s problems cannot be prevented or solved. The loss of loved ones, natural
disasters, and certain health conditions are problems most of us will face at one time or
another, but mentally strong people keep an optimistic outlook about their ability to handle
whatever life throws their way.