Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard, Associate Dean (Studies),

I'm writing this appeal to drop the course ENGL 486 after the academic deadline due to the negative impact depression has had on my mental health and subsequently my ability to complete class work.

I've experienced bouts of depression throughout my four years at Queen's - which I've been medicated for - but this semester was particularly difficult for me. I've been involved in extracurricular activities throughout my time at Queen's and have often relied on those activities to motivate me in my academics. This year I've been a part-time student so that I could be involved in my extracurricular on a full-time contract. Let me make it clear, the onset of this most recent bout of depression wasn't due to the stress of balancing my commitments or time management - things that are in my control. At the beginning of the academic year, I was completing assignments on time and was able to stay motivated in class. I've been seeing Dr. Stephen McNevin in the Psychiatry department at Student Wellness Services on a weekly basis all year to help me manage my depression, and for the most part, I was staying on track at the beginning of the year.

This semester though, the very extracurricular activities that motivated me in previous years, completely consumed me and made me plunge into a deeper depression than before. This semester, and especially after Winter Reading Week, my involvement in the extracurricular turned extremely negative because of a negative relationship that developed with a co-worker. I was being blamed for things that were out of my control and my failed attempts at improving the situation broke my spirits. I've had to suffer the past few months feeling defeated every day I came into work. These feeling of helplessness and depression have, in turn, seeped into my academics as well as my personal life. During this time, I struggled to find the motivation to leave my bed, let alone leave my house. I'd sleep through alarm after alarm, missing classes for weeks, and when I attempted to do any readings I'd give up after a few pages. Most recently, I failed to complete an assignment for class because I couldn't bring myself to find the motivation. To further complicate things, relationships in my personal life began to crumble and made me feel alone and isolated.

Throughout this period, Dr. McNevin prescribed me a new medication that has taken me time to feel the benefits from. Though I feel more motivated with the end of the semester approaching, I fear it is too late to catch up on the months of material that I've missed in the class - which has a final term paper as well as a final exam. I'm taking one other course this semester, which is a full year course carried on from Fall, and I'm confident that I¿¿ll be able to finish the final assignment for that course. However, the stress of catching up in ENGL 486 is daunting and I hope you seriously consider my appeal to drop the course. I plan on returning next year to finish the requirements for my degree as a full-time student and have already made plans to begin the readings for those courses during the summer so that I don't fall behind again due to unforeseeable circumstances. I plan to continue seeing Dr. McNevin and I'm hopeful that with a fresh start next year I'll be better prepared to deal with these types of situations.

Thank you for considering my case.

Jacob Rosen