Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Hello,

Thank you for considering my petition request. During this semester, I have experienced severe chronic migraines, which have been detrimental to my academic performance in ARTH 215. Over the past few months, my migraines have become progressively worse, and more frequent - as I often experience migraines and related symptoms for more than half of the days each month. It is also important to note that these migraines are tied to my stress levels. During this same period, both of my parents have been recovering from invasive cancer treatments, resulting in significant caring responsibilities. The stress of this experience has been incredibly psychologically challenging and has had long-term impacts on my stress level.

When I have these migraines, I experience massive obstructions to my vision. These obstructions often take up more than half of my eyesight and mean that I am unable to effectively read, write or use my computer. I cannot know when I will experience these obstructions and how long they will last, making it very challenging to find adequate accommodations or manage my time to complete my coursework. When I am able to attend class and experience a migraine-related obstruction to my vision, I am unable to absorb the lecture content or read the slides. This is detrimental to my grades in courses like ARTH 215, which just use lecture slides as a visual aid and don't have complete lecture notes on NoteQ. This has made catching up on missed work and engaging with course content difficult. For example, I had to miss several classes before my second test due to my migraines and missed key information on which artwork she wanted us to cite that was not available on OnQ or NoteQ - this saw a 20% decrease in my mark in Test 2 from my mark in Test 1.

The pain of these migraines is also debilitating and severely impacts my ability to attend class and do coursework. I am entirely unable to concentrate in lectures and or focus when completing readings when I have a migraine because of the pain I experience. This extends to my completion of assignments, especially those that are completed online, as the blue light exacerbates my symptoms. In ARTH 215, I experienced a terrible bout of migraines while doing the primary assignment in the class, a formal analysis. This assignment required that I visually analyze a painting and write up my findings. The convergence of my vision and pain-related symptoms was detrimental to my academic performance in this assignment, which had massive ramifications on my standing in the course.

These migraines also cause me to experience extreme fatigue and brain fog. In the periods before, during and after I experience a migraine, my energy level becomes very low. It is very difficult for me to do anything because my brain and body become so drained. This is detrimental to my ability to complete my coursework in a way which reflects my knowledge and commitment to the course. In ARTH 215, where both of my weekly lectures begin before 10:00 am (8:30 and 9:30, respectively), the extreme fatigue I experienced made it very difficult to attend class and concentrate while in class.

Finally, to help alleviate the symptoms of my migraines, it is necessary for me to disconnect from electronic devices and sit in quiet darkness for several hours. The nature of this process means that I often am unable to engage with lectures, readings and assignments in the way I would like to. This alone breeds more stress (resulting in cyclical migraine symptoms) as I feel myself falling behind, and it has been exacerbated by the uncertainty of the ongoing strikes over the past few weeks. Without a TA in the course ARTH 215, I have been unable to receive prompt feedback on what I may have missed due to my health, which I need to include in my assignments.

Over the past few months, I have taken several measures to mitigate the effects of these migraines. I have consulted my doctor and received preventative medicine and a head CT scan. Unfortunately, this medicine has not been effective in alleviating the effects of my migraines.

Overall, the chronic migraines and related stress I have experienced over the Winter 2025 semester have been highly damaging to my academic performance in ARTH 215. As such, my low mark does not reflect my ability or commitment to its content.

Thank you for taking the time to read this petition; I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,
Annabelle Macdonald