Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Associate Dean

I am petitioning to drop of all the winter courses of 2023 as follows: MATH 212, MATH 281, STAT 269, PHYS 212, PHYS 239, and PHYS 250.
The cause of my petition is my poor health, which took a turn for the worse at the end of October 2022, a turn that lasted over a year.
I began my studies at the mathematical-physics department of Queens in September 2022.
Towards the end of October 2022, I developed a rare condition which limited my ability to stand and walk and caused me a great deal of pain. I was prescribed what felt like endless antibiotics, all of which turned out to be unnecessary for this condition. Since I have yet to be assigned a family doctor, each doctor at the walk-in and emergency room would simply proscribe something slightly different, until I finally met a specialist. All these antibiotic weakened me for the months to come.
Despite it all, I managed to finish the fall semester successfully. I registered to the winter semester with an optimistic hope that my physical suffering would come to an end by January of 2024. Unfortunately, not only did my suffering continue, but it increased significantly. On January 20th 2023, I experienced the most painful week of my life. I developed an unusual condition that required many more antibiotics and concluded with surgery on the final days of September 2023. By the end of January 2023, I had recovered enough to study from home and attend classes occasionally. While less severe, my health continued to fail me. The months of February and March were splattered with several, occasionally week long ear infections, and other minor health issues.
Finally, in April, I received the news that my Crohn’s disease, a condition I have had for a decade now, has flared up (the antibiotics are an obvious culprit considering the current research in the importance of the microbiome for Crohn’s). This disease has always been an emotional topic for me, but I’ve been able to keep myself in remission for the last few years using mostly lifestyle changes. I refused to believe, and still cannot fully accept, that my disease cannot be treated without medication. The news that the disease was flaring and its unavoidable symptoms (I lost over 10% of my body weight throughout April without any lifestyle changes) was devastating. It was at this point that I lost hope for the semester (and more) and couldn’t bring myself to continue studying. I would occasionally make some efforts to complete the semester such as sending emails or attending a lab, but would quickly lose the will to follow through.
After the end of the semester, I was struck with the fact that I “failed” this semester, and lost all contact with the university.


The reason I did not drop out of these courses before the drop deadline is due to my previous experience: In the past, I was able to complete my studies despite my poor health. While I have controlled my Crohn’s disease for the last few years using my lifestyle (except the last one), I was very ill before that, and completed high school while barely attending. It was ultimately the mental strain from the ceaseless medical conditions culminating in a decade long enemy rearing its head, combined with the inherent stresses of university, worsened by my inability to properly study, that led to my collapse.

Throughout the last nine years, I paid a heavy price for my physical fragility, but it did not deter my ambition nor my love of studying. The need to excel is important to me, as my studies are fuelled by my thirst for knowledge.

Failing courses that I did not attend due to the above-mentioned health issues, would jeopardize my chances of exceling as I strive to do, and would be inconsistent with my efforts to achieve this success.

I am currently enrolled in five of the six courses I took last year, giving myself more wiggle room. Additionally, I am now restarting taking medication for my Crohn’s disease, albeit very reluctantly. This should help stabilize my health.

Based on the above, I would highly appreciate your consideration to erase the winter semester of 2023 from my file.

Yours gratefully