EASTON, Pa. (AP) -- Talk about grade inflation.
Graduate
student Megan Thode wasn't happy about the C-plus she received for one
class, saying the mediocre grade kept her from getting her desired
degree and becoming a licensed therapist - and, as a result, cost her
$1.3 million in lost earnings.
Now Thode is suing her professor and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, claiming monetary damages and seeking a grade change.
A
judge is hearing testimony in the case this week in Northampton County
Court. Lehigh and the professor contend her lawsuit is without merit.
Thode
took the class in fall of 2009. Her instructor, Amanda Eckhardt,
testified this week that she stood by the grade, saying Thode failed to
behave professionally and thus earned zero out of 25 points in class
participation, bumping her down a full letter grade.
"I ... believed she received the grade she earned," Eckhardt said.
The
C-plus prevented Thode, an otherwise A student, from going on to the
next class and advancing in her professional therapist studies,
according to The Express-Times of Easton. She wound up getting a
master's degree in human development instead.
Her
attorney, Richard Orloski, argued Eckhardt targeted Thode because she
is an outspoken advocate for gay marriage. Eckhardt testified that while
she believes marriage is between a man and woman, she would never allow
her personal views to influence her treatment of students. She said
Thode had outbursts in class, did not participate appropriately, was
emotionally unstable and failed to heed a warning letter.
Stephen
Thode, the plaintiff's father and a longtime finance professor at
Lehigh, testified on his daughter's behalf and said her participation
score was highly irregular.
"I have never
heard of a case, not just at Lehigh, where a student achieved a zero in
class participation where they attended and participated in every
class," he said.
Northampton County Judge Emil
Giordano is presiding over the nonjury trial and will issue a ruling on
Thode's lawsuit after testimony concludes.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
