Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

I am appealing to drop a course after the academic deadline for the following courses: ASTR101 (Fall, 2016) and SOCY122 (Fall/Winter 2016), as well as a credit standing (CR) in MUSC171 (Fall 2016), and aegrotat standing (AG) in PHIL157 (Fall 2016), GNDS 125 (Winter 2017) and MUSC 102 (Winter 2017) due to extenuating circumstances.
There were three major circumstances which significantly affected me during the school year. First, was that I was struggling with mental health, namely depression. These issues were present before university, but became worse with the stress of living on my own. I was not eating or sleeping for days at a time. My concentration was extremely low, and unable to be sustained for average amounts of time. I started seeing a counsellor at Queen¿¿s student wellness centre late November, and was prescribed sertraline starting late January by a doctor in health services.

From the middle to the end of first semester, I had a friend who was very emotionally unstable, and only relied on me for support. I was often called by phone in the middle of the night to come over and make sure they were safe. I took them to the emergency ward of the hospital three times in two months because they thought they had overdosed on drugs, or were cutting themselves severely in front of me. These visits usually lasted 4-6 hours as we waited for a doctor to see us, and then I would stay with them the rest of the night if they were not admitted. The entire ordeal took up a lot of time and energy, and I was too drained to put the effort I could have into my studies. My days and nights revolved around the friend without any rest for my own problems, and my depression worsened. The brunt of this fell onto the philosophy and astronomy courses, which were both having their final assignments around that time.

The day before I moved to Queen¿¿s, I was sexually assaulted. The effects of this still go on today, but it was originally repressed and then became suddenly overwhelming in November, which prompted me to go to counselling. One of the reasons for this was a sociology assignment on victims of sexual assault which I tried and failed multiple times to complete. After receiving permission to change topics, it started to become easier, but the night terrors and flashbacks persisted¿¿I was often without sleep, and unable to concentrate. It snowballed as the workload became bigger and more overwhelming. I completely shut down, and did not leave my room, even to see friends. I became much too anxious to go to lectures or tutorials, because there was a chance of me experiencing a vivid flashback around other people, and I didn¿¿t know how to handle that. The person who committed the assault also tried multiple times to re-enter my life in the second semester with apologies or promises to confess to authorities, and that would set back my progress in recovery and academics each time.

Presently, my medication dosage has been increased as per doctor¿¿s orders, and I am experiencing positive benefits now, helping with my ability to concentrate, sleep patterns, and emotion regulation. I am currently repeating PSYC100 this summer (2017) to improve my mark with the aim of being admitted into the psychology BAH program. I am committed to summer school for the summer of 2018 as well, with the support of my family, to make up for the credits missed in first year. I will continue meeting with a counsellor and taking medication on a regular basis going forward. I have taken extra measures to ensure I do not come into contact with the assaulter again, and I have also formed a close support network to help me cope with the reality I now live in. My parents are helping me develop a more organized work schedule, and working closely with me over the summer to better balance my academic studies with other factors in my life. We are discussing my course load for next year.

Sincerely,
Julia