School can be stressful enough without factoring in family health issues, and one student from Sheridan showed a few days ago just how frustrating it can be to juggle both.
Kylie Ricciardi, a student over at Sheridan College took to Twitter on March 5th to express frustration with one of her English professors when she handed in an assignment 2 minutes late. The issue for the late assignment being the fact that she had to take her dad in for chemo treatment that day. While you would think a professor would be sympathetic, her professor was everything but.
Apparently not only did Ricciardi get a zero on her assignment but the professor noted that it "wasn't her problem if a family member is sick," along with this email:
Naturally, the situation blew up on Twitter considering how many people felt the email she received was inappropriate and rude. Sheridan College's official Twitter account ended up responding to the Twitter thread the next day:
Hi Kylie – We are sorry to hear about your dad’s illness. We will send you a direct message to follow up.
While you would think the situation would get wrapped up there, Kylie responded yesterday to concerned Twitter users asking for an update on the situation, proving that not much has really been done as of yet:
all that’s happened so far is them asking for screenshots and what happened - apperintly the head dean will be in contact with me in a day or 2 to see if i can get my assignment marked, prof switched, or withdraw & get my money for the class back (if a prof switch isn’t possible)
Many current and past students of Sheridan shared their frustration as many wondered why the initial deduction hadn't just been 10%, a usual rule in universities across the board rather than a flat-out zero. Others wondered how it could be possible to not accommodate somebody who is going through something as upsetting as helping her father through chemo:
i go to Sheridan & find this so out of line. Idk about your specific program rules but usually they’d just be able to take a percentage off depending on how many “days” late it was. In this case 2 minutes is legit nothing so i find it ridiculous that they aren’t accepting it..
This is awful 😪 I go to the university of Guelph and they literally allowed me to do my exam after I missed it without notifying anyone because of family issues, that is the kind of treatment you should be receiving from a post-secondary institution. keep on keepin on girl 💗
While we all wait to see how this turns out, we can only hope that it falls in Kylie's favor and that Sheridan teaches their faculty how to manage such situations properly.
**UPDATE:
Since yesterday, Sheridan College has been able to switch Ricciardi into a different class with a new professor and have had her assignment re-graded.
The Rockyview General Hospital is pictured in Calgary, Thursday, March 20, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
B.C. Green Leader Emily Lowan following a media availability in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kevin Light