Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Arts and Science Faculty,

I am requesting to drop ENGL 200, a 6.0 credit for the Fall/Winter of 2023-2024, after not doing well on this required course due to mental health issues.

I started working with Tahany Okby and Anne-Marie Sawula through Queens University in the fall of 2023 to help me work on my struggles with my current binge eating disorder. I have cycled through different eating disorders for as long as I can remember and felt it was time to get the help I needed. What I did not realize was that this journey would require me to face a variety of past struggles with my eating disorder, mental health, physical health and experiences with sexual assault. I was told that facing my assault was going to be vital to help me progress in treatment, which is something I started to work on with my psychotherapist, Charlotte Londry, who used to be a mental health counsellor at Queens University during my first year but I continue to see. I underestimated the toll this recovery process would take on me, so I started to revisit unhealthy eating habits as I was so focused on my body, which eventually depleted both my mental and physical health that it became difficult to focus on much else; it felt all-consuming. As I attempted to work through my rape, it only amplified my feelings of helplessness in both my eating disorder and what had been done to me, furthering my spiral. This went on for months as I started my treatment and diagnosis process in the fall semester until about March, which seemed to be my breaking point.

I was experiencing a lot of distress and feeling so helpless in every situation I tried to tackle; I had fallen behind academically, started to isolate myself from family and friends, and did not take care of my physical health. I felt stuck, and instead of reaching out for help, I shut down internally, feeling an overwhelming numbness and all-consuming sadness that wouldn’t relent. Because of this, I stopped ED treatment and stopped seeing my psychotherapist. I decided to take time to separate myself from my issues and flaws and just focus on what I could control. That time away helped me get back up and catch up in ENGL 200 the best I could. However, I was still struggling academically, so I contacted Cristina Cardelus, my accessibility advisor, who helped me get academic accommodations I would’ve benefited from throughout the year. Still, my pride made me believe I could get through my hardships alone, with no support as I typically do, which I know now was foolish. Unfortunately, I continued to struggle down a dark path because I had a hard time reaching out for mental health support, thinking that avoiding my issues would make them disappear. I tried to commit my rapidly depleting energy to ENGL 200, but after experiencing this never-ending feeling of helplessness and self-doubt, I could not put my best foot forward for this class and, as a result, failed it.

I want to assure you that my academics have always meant a great deal to me, and being at Queens has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so my disappointment in myself for dropping the ball on this class is immense and not something I ever plan on experiencing again. I am requesting the ability to drop this course so I may retake it and put my best foot forward this time around with the proper support I have already started to acquire to help me this time around. Please.

Thank you for your consideration,
Supreet Miglani