Monday, November 15, 2010

I Took a Shot in the Dark


I have come to accept that there is bureaucracy and red tape in the world and some of it is very necessary. But, the vast majority of it is not, and is often counter-productive. My recent experiences as a graduate student here at Ithaca College have reminded me of that more than any other experience my entire life thus far.

As the new semester is fast approaching, the time has come once again to register for classes. Only, when I attempted to do so, I found that there was a medical hold placed on my account and I could not register until it was lifted. Thinking there was just a form I needed to sign, I went to the campus medical center and inquired about getting the hold lifted.

There are certain vaccinations that New York State law requires you to have in order to attend school. And, until this point in my life, those vaccinations had not prevented me from attending grade school or getting my undergraduate college degree. According to Ithaca College, however, one of the vaccinations I received when I was just a baby were not valid.

You can get this vaccination as early as four days before your first birthday. According to my records, I received it on the 4th of February, when my birthday is on the 13th. When I thought about it, I realized that four days before my first birthday would have been the 9th, and that 4 and 9 can look very similar when written. I explained to the person at the medical center that my record should read “9” and not “4” and that this is clearly a mistake since I had been able to obtain education from New York State my entire life before this.

She told me to either get the shot or have blood work done to prove I already did. I was also informed that  I could have either done at the facility. Of course, they could not get me in that day and so I had to wait an additional week before I could get the shot. And when I did, the only person with the power to lift the hold on my account had taken the day off.

To make matters worse, I was not informed that this shot would not be covered by my student medical plan with Ithaca College. This was a medical procedure I did not want to receive, and am fairly certain I did not have to receive. It was mandated by New York State Law and Ithaca College would not allow me to register for classes unless I received it.

So why am I being charged 70 dollars? I received this shot under duress from not being able to register for my classes and continue with my education. At no point did I have a desire to receive the shot, which I made very clear to them at the medical center. Don’t I have a right to refuse medical treatment? I had already gotten this shot for free when I was a year old from a clinic to give the shot to children. This ultimately came across as a petty attempt to get more money from me than I am already paying.