February 13, 2025

“Dear Owen Simons,

“Professor Helen Hale has informed me of a violation of the integrity policy with…assignment[s] in the Foundations of Inquiry class. As a Christian institution of higher education, Cornerstone University seeks to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity, and this incident is a breach of those standards. To uphold our high standards and help you learn from this experience, professors are obligated to report such offences to the Dean’s office… per university policy, Professor Hale will assign you a zero on the assignments in question…”

“Sincerely,
Jonathan Marko, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Ministry, Media & the Arts”
                       


February 20, 2025

Dear Dean Marko,

I received your letter and was so surprised and disappointed. You punished me without giving me a chance to explain myself. I am an autistic person who has very little control of my movement. The only way that I can focus movement to spell or type is to have someone give me supportive resistance on my arm. It is not possible for me to write without that support. Still I write my own ideas in everything I do.

I cannot speak therefore my mom does for me what I cannot do myself. She probably did too much dedicated calling this time since it seems to have caused more problems. I still do my own thinking and writing. Even if my hands are uncooperative, and my really eyes dont even focus on the thing I am trying to look at, and my body runs away when I need to sit and work, still I do my own work. I have academic integrity.

If this way of writing is not acceptable then I will have to withdraw from the university.  I think that the best thing to do is for me to withdraw anyway, since the intense program is too hard for me to keep up, and the ammount of technological assignments is not possible for me to do. I came to Cornerstone University to study religion, which I couldn’t do at community college. It is sad, but I will keep looking for a college that is right for what I need.

Sincerely yours,

Owen Simons