Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Queen’s Arts and Science Personnel,

Due to the adjustment of post-secondary studies as well as leaving behind home, I’ve had many struggles with my current classes and it has taken a toll on my mental health.

Being away from home has caused many feelings of anxiety which have manifested in a panic attack during in dining hall and an overall sense of panic when trying to sleep.

Last Monday, I had a panic attack in an on-campus restaurant where I had stepped outside to cope with. Although it did not last for more than 15 minutes the overall emotions of uncertain fear had remained for the rest of the night after trying to fall asleep for several hours. This had made classes harder the morning after, finding it hard to focus. This ability to not give my full attention has built up stress when handing in assignments due to the lack of confidence in my learning.

The growth of my anxiety this month has contributed to lack of sleep, being irritated when communicating with others and tension in the neck and shoulders.

Prior to and after this event I have been going to classes very tired and unfocused on the material no matter the undivided amount of attention I am giving to my instructor. I have communicated with my family doctor on how to handle my situation and have been prescribed anxiety medication which I am waiting on the preparation of. I have consistently been attending TA Office Hours and tutorials but with the limited amount of time a TA can give with an individual student I found it hard to figure out different concepts on my own.

Additionally
I am asking to switch into these courses for an opportunity to start with the basics and not rush with what I am learning and making sure that I can allocate the time to understand. I was aware that MATH 120 would be a more theoretical and complex course compared to MATH121, however with my mental distress I was not able to identify earlier that I would need to be in MATH121 to better suit my goals.