Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,
I am appealing to drop the following courses from my transcript: Biol 205, Chem 211, Chem 212, and Math 121A (Fall, 2013) and also appealing to drop Math 281 (Winter, 2017).

During my first year at Queen's University in 2012, I entered a very toxic relationship. This relationship, which was both physically and emotionally abusive, greatly impacted my mental health. I felt emotionally and mentally strained; I could not concentrate on my studies since I was easily discouraged and unmotivated. Furthermore, I experienced suicidal thoughts which paralyzed me in many of my courses. I also self-harmed during that time period. Additionally, during that same time period, I was trying to deal with the passing of my best friend. Eventually, I made a decision to leave Queen's University mid-semester during my second year in fall 2013 without writing my final exams. I felt hopeless, depressed, lost and stressed. I felt that it was safer and the best decision for me to be as close as possible to my mother seeing as I had lost a lot of my close friends as a result of the abusive relationship and felt extremely alone. I did not want to get out of bed or talk to anyone. These grades that I achieved during fall 2013 are not due to a lack of effort and hard work but as a result of my very unhealthy and unstable mental state. While I was enrolled in these courses, I encountered numerous break downs, panic attacks, and depressing thoughts. For these reasons, I was not in the right mental state to think clearly and even consider appealing these courses within the one term deadline. After leaving Queen's University, approximately one year later, the relationship ended. A few months following the break up, I decided to give Queen's University another chance. I came back in fall of 2015 and decided to take a smaller course load in order to ease myself back into the student life without overwhelming myself and without accidentally reminding myself of what happened previously. I found that I still struggled a little bit with anxiety and depression but I was able to successfully complete the school year with decent final grades.

Previously, I had also appealed to drop Math 231 which I took during the fall term of 2016. However, I did not fail that course and actually ended up failing a course (Math 281) the term after (winter 2017) while I was in the process of writing this appeal and starting to fight back my mental illness. The anti-depressant pills that I had started to consume near the end of the winter semester did not initiate any immediate improvements in my mentality and as a result, I failed the course. I struggled with motivation and concentration all throughout the semester and in all my courses. However, this course was the most affected by my mental state and does not reflect my true efforts and potential. The reason I want to drop Math 281 instead of Math 231 is simply because I feel that it is the smarter decision to retake and improve my grade in Math 281 since I failed the course and I did not fail Math 231. Also, I realize that I cannot simply ask to drop all courses that I do poorly in as well, seeing as there are many other courses that were also affected by my mental health, such as Stat 269 which I also took during the winter semester of 2017 and barely passed. To this day, I am still struggling with depression and panic attacks. I still find it hard to find motivation and focus. What's worse is that I find it even harder to speak to my friends or doctors about this. I feel confused and embarrassed. I continue to have panic attacks and still find it extremely hard to find motivation to do absolutely anything. As a result, I was wondering if it would be possible to drop Math 281, instead of math 231, from my transcript seeing as I am retaking the course this semester.

Since receiving my grades at the end of the fall semester in 2016, I was determined to find a way to change my life for good and to fix my mental health. The first step I took was to let go of social boundaries, and finally speak to my family doctor about my issues. After speaking to my doctor about my symptoms and my past experiences, my doctor prescribed an anti-depressant for me. It took a while to gain up the courage to actually start consuming the pills, but I eventually was able to. Unfortunately, this was not till right before my winter 2017 exams when I realized I could not put this off any longer. However, I am afraid that the pills did not have a positive impact on me since I still experienced anxiety attacks. After doing some research, I found that the pills take at least a month of consumption until it has any noticeable effect. As a result, I failed Math 281. I have been taking these pills but soon stopped because I felt I was doing better. However, I now realize that was not a good decision. I find myself feeling unmotivated and depressed increasingly during this semester. I still struggle to speak to my friends and doctor regarding my issues because I simply feel confused about how to talk about it and am afraid of sounding silly. However, I realize how important it is for me to succeed academically so I have made an appointment with Queen's counselling services for this month. I have also already found tutors for my courses so that I can have weekly tutor sessions and I can set internal deadlines to review coursework before my tutor sessions in an attempt to not only fight my struggles and keep up with my work but also to maintain interest and motivation. I have also taken the time to write out a plan of how I would like my next few years at Queen's to unroll. I have done this in order to remind myself of what is important to me, especially when my mind is clouded with negativity and I find it hard to concentrate. The grades achieved in these courses that I have requested to drop are not an accurate reflection of my actual capabilities. Consequently, if possible, I would like to request that the courses do not show on my transcript at all, this includes showing as a DR or CR. This is because I feel that the break I took from Queen's University in 2013 as a result of my depression and anxiety will already serve as a huge hurdle in my future ventures and I would like to minimize the effect my mental issues will have in my future as much as possible since I strongly believe that these grades do not reflect my full potential.