Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Dean Stephenson,


I hope this letter finds you well. In writing this letter, I am formally appealing to drop LLCU213, HLTH315, PSYC351, and PSYC353 from my academic transcript due to a series of extenuating circumstances over the past academic year that exacerbated symptoms related to my disabilities and have, consequentially, hindered my quality of life and abilities related to my academic success. ??
In the first few weeks of my third year, I was experiencing a significant amount of anxiety due to being reintroduced to in-person lectures for the first time in close to five years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This alone made it incredibly difficult to wake up every morning and go to my lectures, let alone attend my lectures and be able to lend my full attention to the material without having panic attacks. Due to being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder with panic attacks for quite some time, I felt hopeful that I could adjust with the tools I had obtained from healthcare professionals in the past and overcome the anxiety I was feeling.

At 6:25am on a Sunday in the second week of classes, I awoke to a call from my best friend as she was actively overdosing. I quickly came to realize that it was a suicide attempt; an event I could have never predicted to be a reality in a million years. Without going into much more detail about the event, I will just say this: as much as some individuals may experience in their lifetime, it often takes only one event to feel as though the world around you is bleak. I think watching my best friend overdose was that event for me.

In the months that followed, I experienced severe bouts of clinical depression accompanied by daily severe anxiety. Being a student who, admittedly, has a slight disposition for perfectionism, this anxiety was especially present surrounding classes that were predominantly in-person as I began to fall behind as the anxious-avoidance cycle took ahold of my academic success. As a result of this, I was only able to manage the classes that had recorded lectures or were reading-based with a moderate course load. Unfortunately, the classes I listed above were the ones I simply could not manage.

In speaking with my family, therapist, professors, and academic advisors, we unanimously agreed that, alongside my newly-filed academic accommodations, it was in my best interest to only complete the courses I felt able to complete and appeal to drop the ones I could not manage at a later date.

After taking much needed time to heal, finishing my third year, working with healthcare professionals, and meeting with my academic advisors to discuss future steps, I am feeling significantly more hopeful about the future. I can now wholeheartedly say that I am excited to learn all that I can at Queens and graduate in a way that I will be proud of- a way without fearing the world around me.


Thank you for taking the time to read through this letter. I hope my words were able to convey my position in the past year and outline my excitement for the future.


My very best,
Julia Eubanks
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