Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Everyone is saying lawyer up like it's the author's only option, but it's not, and likely bad advice. Here's the order of operations I would take:

1. Mea Culpa

Talk to all of the faculty (dean of students, etc) and do your best to get people on your side. You need the petty person on the other end to reverse their decision, and having a lot of administration on your side, and more importantly, expressing (fake) remorse makes it easy for these jobsworth asshole(s) to fulfill their God complex. I'm actually convinced that this would have the highest probability of success. These Dolores Umbridge types adore getting to be the ones issuing mercy to the sinners.

Additionally, informing staff of the expulsion will help bring awareness of this abuse, and spread the word and prevent this from happening to other students.

While you perform your mea culpa groveling, record everything, which can be used as ammo later.

2. Agree to the (illegal) terms

Blackmailing you into slave labor is obviously illegal, but no terms have been laid out, so I don't see any harm in agreeing to them. Best case, they reverse the decision with the expectation that you'll do something (which you can then phone in or do a token exercise of), and worst case they outline terms which are the perfect ammo for negative publicity or a lawsuit.

3. Transfer schools/credits

I don't actually know what is involved in transferring schools or how expulsion factors in, but the reality is that you are effectively already expelled. Try and figure out the feasibility of saving what is salvageable at a school that is less insufferable.

4. Negative publicity

This story is easy to believe, sell, and consume- i.e. perfect ragebait. Start emailing every news outlet you can think of. Post on all social media. If it gets high enough, and probably not even that high, the weight of the negative publicity can easily outweigh the narcissists that started this, forcing a reversal.

5. Seek employment

If you have any employment cards in your deck, I'd consider playing them. If everything else fails, then at least you're financially secure and gain experience.

6. Lawyer

The combined weight of all of the above will assist a lawsuit, even prior to taking any legal steps. Note that all outcomes of a lawsuit that aren't "total win" are effectively a loss (of time, money, energy, and mental health), so I'd hesitate to take this course at all.




No one is suggesting to sue. The suggestion is to get advise from a professional, i.e. a lawyer rather to listen to random people on the internet. A lawsuit may or may not follow.


That's true, but it's difficult to envision any scenario where a lawyer supplies the exact advice needed to trigger a reversal outside of threats/suing/arbitration. Maybe if you get a good one I guess, but that is a gamble on its own.

A lawyer supplying helpful information like "Ok, this expulsion was triggered by the Department of Admin, which is overseen by John Smith, who has the power to reverse this decision. Schedule a meeting with him or find office hours to plead your case. I shouldn't get involved outright because it will escalate your situation and be received poorly." is less likely than "I can write a threatening letter and we'll see where it goes". A hammer hammers.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: