CASE HISTORY

I was initially admitted to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) for the Fall 2004 semester.
During that semester, I was implicated in an incident on campus involving the possession and use of
marijuana, and, as a student, was required to face disciplinary charges by the University’s Office of
Student Conduct. On January 25, 2005, I had a disciplinary hearing with members of the Central Judicial
Board and was found responsible for violating the Code of Student Conduct. The subsequent sanctions
imposed were suspension, withheld pending good behavior, which consisted of my participation in the
Drug Testing program for two years, as well as the completion of a Substance Abuse Intervention
program. However, I had a positive drug test in the Spring 2006 semester, and was thus suspended for
the following semester (Fall 2006). Additionally, an expulsion withheld indefinitely was also imposed
upon my reenrollment, as well as the extension of my participation in the Drug Testing program to last
until graduation. In light of these events, I concluded that I would not be able to complete my studies
until I dealt with my drug abuse problems, and thus did not reenroll the following semester.

During the next five years, my battle with drug addiction continued to consume my life, which led to
even more problems such as depression/anxiety and other psychiatric issues, which only aggravated the
situation. I was not fully invested in my recovery at that time, so in 2009, my parents sent me to live
with my mother’s family in the Philippines. Living in relative poverty, I realized how fortunate I was to
live in America, and was inspired to better my life. As such, I developed a newfound desire to continue
my studies and reenrolled at UMD for the Spring 2011 semester when I returned to the US. I also
checked myself into a drug rehabilitation clinic, which included psychiatric treatment as well, and
completed their intensive outpatient program during the summer of 2011. In rehab, I learned about
addiction, acquiring various tools and methods to combat it, but we also learned about the fact that it is
an ongoing disease, similar to diabetes and even cancer. Although I ended up failing a drug test in the
Fall 2011 semester due to mitigating circumstances (which I resolved with Ms. Tamara Saunders), I was
still suspended for Spring 2012. Despite the suspension, I was determined to graduate from college, and
took classes at Prince George’s Community College, while continuing to seek psychiatric/drug
rehabilitation treatment through a private psychiatrist.

However, I faced yet another obstacle to my success when I lost coverage on my parents’ health
insurance plan. Because I turned 26 in October of 2012, I was no longer eligible for coverage and could
not afford to pay for my medications and continue seeing my psychiatrist. As a result, I would again
retreat into depression and self-medication. I was able to complete the Fall 2012 semester, but started
to use again during the semester break, and it is only in hindsight that I am able to correlate my relapse
to the sudden discontinuation of psychiatric treatment/medication. Therefore, at the time, I felt that I
could still handle school and registered for Spring 2013, but quickly realized that I would not be able to
continue to remain focused and chose to withdraw from the semester. Despite my lack of insurance, my
parents enrolled me into an outpatient rehab again, paying the full cost of the program. Since starting
rehab last March, I remained clean from drugs until the incident which has led to this recommendation
of expulsion which I am earnestly trying to appeal.

Drug addiction is one of the hardest mental health problems to treat, and I have, for the past ten years,
been trying to overcome this destructive and unpredictable disease. I know that I have been given many
chances to complete my education here at UMD, but I hope that this case history will provide some
insight into the reasons for my continued violations and show that the disease of addiction, in
conjunction with depression/anxiety disorder, should be considered as mitigating factors in my case.
Overcoming these diseases over the past ten years has been the most mentally challenging, despite
seemingly easy to actively (physically) control, I have faced throughout the past ten years. I have been a
student here since 2004 and am in the last semester of my undergraduate career, and it is one of my
most significant aspirations to graduate from this prestigious university.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On October 21, 2013, I was apprehended by University of Maryland police officers MPO Forbin and MPO
Santana after suffering a seizure on the 2 nd Floor of McKeldin Library and taken to the Prince George’s
Hospital Center in Hyattsville, MD. Because I was incoherent upon the arrival of the officers, my memory
of the events prior to my arrival at the hospital remain vague, thereby constraining my recollection of
those events to what it states on the police report in regards to my actions at the time of the incident.
The report alleges that I was “conscious and speaking”, and later indicates that I was cursing at the
police officers. While I do not doubt the validity of the officers’ accounts, my lack of memory of the
incident makes it difficult for me to concede that I consciously said and did the more violent/disruptive
actions stated in the report. I have never been an aggressive person, especially not towards law
enforcement officers or other authorities, and always try to be as cooperative as possible in these types
of occurrences. Further, despite having been found in possession of heroin, it is also stated in the report
that a “check of [my] belongings showed a prescription bottle for BUNA in [my] book bag...a drug used
to help drug addicts get off of addictive substances”. As such, my previous issues regarding drug abuse
should be considered pertinent to this case.

ARGUMENT

The main argument for my appeal is the hearing board’s definition of “mitigating circumstances” and
“aggravating” prior offenses resulting in the harshest recommended sanction of expulsion. Parts 12 & 13
of the Code of Student Conduct (Code) discuss the sanctions that may be imposed for violating sections
(a) through (m) of the Code, with the stipulation that there be no “specific and significant mitigating
factors...[such as] the present demeanor and past disciplinary record of the offender”. In the board
opinion of my case, the recommended sanction was expulsion, with the explanation that “there were no
mitigating circumstances to [my] behavior and that [my] prior offenses were aggravating”. However, it is
my past disciplinary records which I believe should be regarded as “mitigating circumstances”.
Additionally, Annotation #15 in the Code specifically states that “the language concerning ‘mitigating
factors’ is broad enough to give decision-makers considerable leeway to ‘do justice’, depending upon
the facts in each case”. Lastly, Part 14 of the Code allows for “the imposition of...lesser penalties as may
be appropriate” in regards to “repeated or aggravated violations”.

Although my past disciplinary record shows continued violations, I believe that my compliance with
other required sanctions should be considered as significant mitigating factors to my case. The Case
History section above defines some of the specific steps I have taken to combat my drug addiction in
response to those violations, such as completion of a Substance Abuse Intervention program, pursuit of
psychiatric treatment for mental health issues, participation in drug rehabilitation programs (including
taking medications which help to inhibit addiction, i.e., buprenorphine or BUNA). A close examination of
my disciplinary file with the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) also establishes my determination and
persistence to remain a student for the betterment of my life. Assistant Director Tamara Saunders, has
stated in previous sanction notices that she “recognize[d] that [I] have tremendous potential as a
student at the university” and “having worked with [me] since 2005, see[s] [my] desire to address [my]
addiction and graduate from the University of Maryland”. It has been ten years since I was first admitted
as a student here at UMD, and despite the myriad challenges I have faced that have hindered my
progress as a student, I will have successfully completed the BA program in Economics at the end of the
Spring 2014 semester. In light of these facts, I assert that there were, in fact, mitigating circumstances
and that the board’s recommendation of expulsion is too harsh.

CONCLUSION

As such, I ask for a review of the assigned sanction of expulsion, as I believe a lesser penalty would be
appropriate in my case. I believe that Annotation #15 of the Code is applicable in my case and that my
present demeanor and past disciplinary record both show mitigating circumstances. I would, therefore,
like to request the sanction be reduced to a disciplinary reprimand and that I be allowed to remain a
student in Spring 2014 for my final semester.