Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am a student in the Global Development studies major, planning on switching into the Political Science major at the end of second year. I am already enrolled in Professor Cox's Pols 262 (5621) lecture which I am enjoying immensely. I am petitioning to merly change my tutorial group, which would not in anyway hinder my academics as the tutorials have only started this week so I haven't missed any yet. Professor Cox released the list of TA's on Thursday the 23rd of January, and the TA for my current tutorial group is Benjamin Ofosu-Atuahene. I had Benjamin as a TA last semester in Pols 111 and had a really terrible experience. The class room environment was incredibly toxic and an unsafe learning environment for me. During my time in tutorial three different people broke down in tears (including myself) due specifically to Benjamins actions, or lack of action to mediate classroom argument. I found myself fearing to go to this tutorial every week and it deeply impacted my learning. Because the tutorial groups of 262 were only finalized in week 3, I was unable to switch this before the add/drop period. I am petitioning to switch my tutorial to section 5624 (Monday at 8:30am) with a different tutorial instructor. This class involves us working closely with out TA's to perform a self guided research project, and I would not be able to have a positive learning experience working closely with Benjamin due to my past experiences with him. Please consider my petition to switch tutorials, as remaining in my current one would jeopardize my mental health and ability to succeed in this course.

Thank you for your consideration.
~Emma Palmer