Colin is a sophomore at the University of Connecticut,
seeking a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and
another in environmental studies. But he's been knocked off course by
the university's rejection of his request to take a class that includes
summer field work in South Africa.
He
and his mother say university officials told them he is too young for
the overseas course. So he's filed an age discrimination claim with the
university and U.S. Department of Education, which is investigating.
"I'm losing time
in my four-year plan for college," he said. "They're upsetting the
framework of one of my majors."
Michael
Kirk, a spokesman for UConn, would not comment on Colin's case. But he
said that generally, safety is the university's first concern when
travel is involved.
The university
would not let Colin enroll, even after his mother, Jessica Offir,
offered to release UConn from liability and accompany her son as a
chaperone at her own expense, she and Colin said.
Colin was 2 or 3
when he began reading on his own, Offir said, and was up to "Harry
Potter" by the time he was 4. An only child, he has faced trouble before
because of his brainpower. His kindergarten teacher would not allow him
to take books with him at nap time, and he was ridiculed by other
children who fired math questions at him to entertain themselves, she
said.
"You have no
idea what kids like this experience," Offir said.
Colin skipped
two grades in public school and began taking psychology, history and
other courses at UConn when he was 9. He graduated from Stanford
University Online High School at age 11, and soon after enrolled
full-time at UConn.
"I'm actually
like any other student, he said. "The faculty and students have better
things to do than worry about a 13-year-old holding his own."
Over the years,
Colin, who said he is fascinated by natural ecosystems, has traveled
extensively. He has gone sea kayaking off Nova Scotia and Ecuador, hiked
in numerous national parks and, with his mother, has traveled across
the U.S. by car.
"It's important
to have a very wide world view," he said. "Biology is fundamentally
about the diversity of life, with a focus across the planet."
Colin says the
course in conservation work in South Africa would have been critical to
his studies and the rejection has forced him to change his thesis plans.
He said that
once he's completed his undergraduate studies, he wants a Ph.D. in
ecology and evolutionary biology and a degree in environmental law for a
career in conservation science. He intends to earn the two degrees by
age 22.
Carl
Schlichting, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who has
taught Colin in two courses, said he is not only an outstanding student,
but is unusually certain for a 13-year-old about where he is headed
professionally.
"He has very
strong ideas about what he wants to do," he said. "His self-confidence
is very high. It's a very unusual package to see the intellect and
confidence at that age."
To be eligible
to study abroad, students may not be on university probation or academic
probation and must have earned a grade point average of at least a "C''
— no problem for Colin, who's an honor student with a near-perfect 3.9
GPA.
The study abroad
office and faculty member leading the trip ultimately decide who may
go, Kirk said.
Brian Whalen,
president and chief executive officer of the Forum on Education Abroad, a
nonprofit member association of 400 schools, agencies and other groups,
said he has not heard of another case where a college student Colin's
age had tried to study abroad. When accepted into a college or
university, a student generally is assumed to have access to academic
programs, he said.
Although Colin
was barred from the South African field trip course, he will participate
in a National Science Foundation-funded research group that also will
take him to South Africa to study plant ecology.
Colin and his mother say they would be satisfied if the
university ensures that the NSF-funded research trip and a seminar
fulfill the academic requirements of the course he originally sought.
They also have asked that $5,000 in stipend and expenses be reimbursed.
Their lawyer,
Michael Agranoff, said he wants to negotiate a solution. He and a lawyer
for the state have scheduled their first meeting Friday, he said.
Colin says he
would prefer not to have to fight, but he has no choice.
"When people are
drawing lines in the sand, you're going to have to cross them," he
said. "I'm not going back."
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