An Eastern student has opted not to return to the university.

Jill Manges moved to Arlington, Mass., about a month ago, where she is living with friends.

Manges had a flashback, a symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, while trying to leave her classroom in Coleman Hall on Sept. 5.

Manges was offered a medical withdrawal after a judicial hearing determined she had violated the Student Code of Conduct by disrupting class. She signed the withdrawal Sept. 20.

Her story was covered in the Dec. 26, 2007 issue of the Chicago Tribune.

She had the opportunity to return to Eastern for the Fall 2008 semester – but didn’t take it.

Manges said she plans to attend college in Boston after she works in the area for a year.

“I’m just going to work for a year, start applying for colleges in the fall, and I’ll probably start school in the spring semester,” Manges said.

She does not want to go to college now because of expensive out-of-state tuition fees, she said. By working for a year, she will gain residency in the state.

She did not have any problems with students or faculty at Eastern; the only problem she had was with the administration, Manges said.

Her boyfriend and friends still go to Eastern, but she decided to move to Boston because she wanted to get out of Illinois, she said.

“I’ve always loved the east coast,” she said. “I’ve wanted to move to Boston since December 2006 and, at that time, I just figured I would move there after I graduated from Eastern.”

She said she does not yet know what colleges in the Boston area she will apply to.

She does not know if she will be making trips to Eastern to see her boyfriend and friends because it is time-consuming and expensive, Manges said.

But her boyfriend, Joe Mabus, might also live in Boston after he graduates this semester, she added.

“We’re making it work,” Manges said of the long-distance relationship. “He’s probably going to move out here when he graduates.”

Mabus, senior communication studies major, was comfortable with her move to the Boston area because he knew she would be living with friends, he said.

“They’ve been very helpful while she’s been there – helping her pay bills, helping her pay rent,” Mabus said.

Mabus started a group to address student mental health needs at Eastern. The group started meeting in November.

He said his group has outlined goals it wants the university to address.

“One of the things I like to see happen is this process through Judicial Affairs to be handled as a strictly medical matter,” Mabus said.

He said he has heard from members of the Women’s Studies program and the Sexual Assault Counseling and Information Service that measures have been taken to ensure a situation like Manges’ does not happen again.

Despite what he has heard, he said he would not be comfortable with Manges’ returning to Eastern in fall because change is a slow process.

“If she had come back in maybe two or three years, I think it would have been all right,” Mabus said.

He said he does not want the changes being made at Eastern to stop.

“I want people to know (that) although the student isn’t here, the problem is still here,” Mabus said.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.