Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean and Faculty administrators,

I have submitted an appeal in September 2016 because my father's victimization has affected my academics greatly at the time. I thought my situation would get better as it has been a while since the incident, however I am feeling increasing distress and anxiety that I am unable to get myself out of bed everyday. I am always sleepy and dizzy that I only went to two of my classes so far, and ignored the others (PHIL 329 and PHIL 351). I received an email from professor Reyes, my French 150 professor, last week stating that I had missed a test but he will still give me the chance for make up. I was doing very well in the course and I did not want to fail another one so I went to see him last Wednesday March 1st. He asked me the reason that I had been absent for so long, and I told him the distress I am experiencing. He contacted health-counselling services with me, and I was able to speak with Arunima. She advised me to drop PHIL 329 and PHIL 351 because I did not attend any classes and it would be unreasonable for me to catch up on the first half I have missed. She believes that my professors from those two courses would not likely to give me any accommodations as they are ignorant of my situation, and I did not attend any classes. She also told me to see an academic advisor regarding the specifics on what to do next. I booked an appointment with Laurie the same day, Tuesday March 7th, and discussed the situation. I learnt that the last day to drop courses was Friday March 3rd, but I was in avoidance that I did not even think about what to do.

I would first like to appeal to drop PHIL 329 and PHIL 351 from my courses this semester, even though it is past the deadline for drop. Next, I would also like to appeal to drop PHIL 335 from fall 2016. I did not complete any of the assessments for that course due to the same circumstance, and I did not search for any assistance at the time. Furthermore, I would like to drop CHEM 211, and to receive a CR on CHEM 212 from fall 2015. I did not appeal for these two courses in my previous appeal application in September 2016 since I thought they were beyond the deadline and I had to submit a separate application for the two, and they would be reviewed separately. My father was assaulted in July 2015, and we have been petitioning to various institutions to preserve our rights. Since my father does not speak fluent English, I am his representative in contacting all the involving authorities and institutions. I am also responsible for submitting required documentation. I feel so stressed and sad all the time that I was unable to function normally, so I did not complete a lot of the required work for my courses.

I will provide letters from involving institutions to support my appeal, and counsellor Arunima of health counselling at LaSalle also knows the details of my situation and can provide information when needed.

Thank you very much.

Truly,

Laura MoZhu Li