Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I am petitioning to late drop courses from the Winter 2023 semester, in hopes of removing them from my transcript in order to improve my overall GPA. I am requesting to drop the following courses:
• DRAM300B – Theatre History & Literature
• DRAM306 - Drama Performance Canada
• DRAM319 - Special Studies: Diversity in Stand-up Comedy
• DRAM323 - Practical Concerns in Directing
• ENGL276 - Literature and the Environment

Throughout the 2023 Winter semester, I faced a combination of physical and mental setbacks due to a slew of extenuating circumstances and unforeseen personal and physical issues beyond my control. I unfortunately did not drop the course by the Week 8 drop deadline because I wanted to try and persevere through my situations and attempt finishing the semester strong. Sadly, I was unable to do so. I am requesting to drop these five courses as my illnesses caused me to struggle with in class attendance and work load completion.
In January 2023, I began the semester with a combination of emotions. I felt eager and excited to succeed academically and complete my Bachelor of Arts degree, but I also felt intense and debilitating anxiety caused by an ongoing physical issue and mental health related problems.
The circumstances that have led to this outcome include a plethora of mental and physical issues within my personal life. As someone who struggles with mental disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Generalized and Social Anxiety disorder, and severe clinical Depression, it was to my detriment that I was also diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at the beginning of this school year. Due to the combination of these illnesses, I suffered immensely throughout the school year. I was not only struggling to submit assignments or attend class, but I was struggling with such overwhelming negative feelings that prevented me from doing everyday things. For most of this school year, I found it nearly impossible to get out of bed each day. Along with these mental setbacks, I was also dealing with an ongoing physical health issue that was at the root of my mental health related setback.
Throughout this entire term, I dealt with debilitating abnormal menstruation cycles that threw me into severe pain on a daily basis and into an intense depressive episode. These irregular periods consisted of menorrhagia; heavy and prolonged menstrual bleeding, that lasted from January 2023 to the end of June 2023. This prolonged bleeding, along with the other slew of painful period symptoms, sent me into a physical regression. I was constantly physically exhausted by even the smallest of tasks. The act of simply getting out of bed and walking to class would drain me to the point of exhaustion. During this time, I did everything I possibly could to remedy my situation. I ensured I was intaking high doses of iron on a daily basis, eating protein and iron rich foods, and taking appropriate medication such as Midol and Advil to help somewhat soothe the physical cramping and back pain. My six-month long period not only caused extreme fatigue, but it caused a combination of unbearably painful cramps and migraines. My cramps were so intense that if often made the simple daily task of standing up straight too unbearable. Alongside my cramping and back pains, I suffered from chronic menstrual migraines that made daily life extremely difficult. Although I did everything I could to try and mitigate the pain on my own such as eating healthy, taking supplements and pain medications, it never seemed to be enough to help me through. Due to the extreme physical pain, I was limited in terms of what I could do on a daily basis, and these aches and limitations lead me to a very dark depressive episode.

During this period of time, I reached out for help to countless doctors and scheduled appointments to speak with doctors at various locations such as Student Wellness, walk in clinics, and my family doctor back home. On multiple occasions at Student Wellness, I was not met with any sort of compassion, care, or a sense of urgency. After describing my situation, I was told told by doctors that “this sort of thing just happens to women sometimes” and was informed by the doctor to come back in a few months time if I was still experiencing this problem. Although I was disappointed with how the appointment went, I decided to take their advice and schedule a new appointment for a couple months in the future. At the next appointment, I was finally given some advice and got a referral get an ultrasound. Although the wait list was quite long and the ultrasound did not lead to any answers, on June 6th, 2023, I was finally able to get an ultrasound to rule out some causes.
Unfortunately, these incidents prevented me from being the best student I can be. These physical and metal health issues caused me great stress and because of their debilitating impacts, I was unable to attend class and finish off my semester. I am greatly disappointed with how my Winter semester went deeply saddened that my physical and mental well-being has set me back. To have these courses dropped from my transcript would lift a great weight of stress and anxiety from my shoulders and allow me to proceed in pursuit of my degree and graduation with a stronger example of who I am as a student on my transcript.
I am a dedicated student who is committed to my studies and excited by the prospect of learning on a daily basis. I am hopeful and excited to complete my academic career here at Queen’s University, I would be extremely grateful if these courses were dropped from my transcript in hopes that the rest of the courses on my transcript showcase my intention as a student.
Going forward on my physical and mental health journey, I was able to regularly attend doctor check ins throughout the rest of 2023 and did additional testing to find a solution to my prolonged bleeding and abnormal cycle. I currently have a strong support system of family and friends, along with a team of doctors and therapists who have been able to aid in my healing. To overcome these barriers I’ve been faced with, I have undergone the procedure to implant an IUD that has helped me to regulate my symptoms.
Should I be granted this request to have these courses dropped, I will continue on my journey of maintaining my physical and mental wellbeing while continuing to pursue the completion of my studies. I also plan to reach out to Student Wellness at Queen’s in order to create an extra layer to my support system in Kingston. Along with maintaining a strong mental health, I will continue to be in contact with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services and set up an appointment whenever needed.
To support my petition, I am happy to provide any additional documentation such as letters from my doctors.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
All the best,
Francesca Amato