Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Johanne Bénard,
I am appealing to drop PHYS 212 (Winter, 2017).
Over at least the past 2 - 3 years, I have been dealing with extreme anxiety, depression, and addiction, which have greatly affected my ability to focus on school. Around this time last year, I finally started to come to terms with the fact that trying to help myself was not working, and the amount of anxiety had reached a point I had never felt in my life. I started to see a counsellor over the summer, and switched programs from a Physics major/Math minor, to a Film/Math medial. My first term classes went exceedingly well, and I had stopped going to see my counsellor, with the mindset again of I can do this on my own, just like I have always done. Unfortunately, this did not continue into second term, with most days spent alone, I would feel extremely overwhelmed anytime I would attempt to catch up with my classes, causing me to become more anxious, which would cause me to be even more frightened to actually show up to class after missing so many, and so on, all of which unfortunately stem from my addiction problem. It wasn't until about halfway through the Winter term that I realized I hadn't made the progress I thought I had, falling right back into my old habits, and while trying to study for PHYS 212 I had what I would considering to be my first major panic attack. This is the moment I finally realized I needed to stop lying to everyone about how I was doing, including myself. After opening up to my parents, they joined me to speak with an academic counselor (Vicky Andrews) to sort out a new plan for my academic career, one with an easier course load, and one that no longer requires me to have completed PHYS 212, a course I have been struggling to complete (having failed it in the Winter 2016 term with the plan to retake it this year). Since sorting this out, I have been seeing several different doctors (Student Health Services, my family doctor, etc) to see all of my options going forward, while having the counselor I was speaking with write a referral for this appeal letter.
As I mentioned above, I have just recently started my attempt on my road to rehabilitation. As of May 8th 2017, I will be seeing Dr Adam Newman, a drug abuse specialist in Kingston, I will continue to see him throughout the summer and into next year, and with my parents (who are also here in Kingston) finally being up to date with my mental health, they are also doing their best to motivate me to get better. While I know this isn't my first attempt, I feel like my past failure over the last year has finally shown me how much I do need help, and I cannot deal with all of this on my own any longer. I have been very sheltered about all of this until now, most likely because I had never talked to a doctor or counsellor before regarding my own mental health until now, with most of my friends and basically all of my family thinking I was doing better mentally and well in school, and they did not know that was a lie. I am still very much wanting to continue on the path I have been doing in Concurrent-Education, and since switching to a Film based program I have found a whole new world of motivation. I am appealing to drop PHYS 212 as due to my mental health I have barely participated in the course, and now that I have sought help not only with my mental health, but also with a new academic plan that no longer requires PHYS 212, I am hoping to remove this course all together.
Best regards,

Joseph Pugh