Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences,
I am a third year sociology major and gender studies minor appealing to drop GNDS 315 (Feminist Pedagogies) and SOCY 306 (Introduction to Consumer Culture) past the drop date due to extenuating circumstances outside of my control. I have dealt with anxiety and depression since I began middle school. This past semester (fall term 2018) followed a summer of surgery where I had to be home in a place that is not conducive to my well-being, as well as the winter semester of my second year being incredibly tumultuous due to a traumatizing experience with a housemate who struggled with drug abuse. I already work very hard in therapy and my day-to-day life to manage my anxiety and intense emotions, and due to these circumstances and numerous other life events outside of my control happening all at once around me this past semester I was not emotionally or mentally capable of doing even the simplest scheduled assignments that I typically love and do with ease, and reaching out for help at Queen¿¿s only further exacerbated my anxiety, panic, intense emotions and cemented my belief that the university does not have my best interests in mind. I hope you can understand what it takes for me to even write this letter after the circles I have run in trying to even just access accessibility services here, and the insulting and cold treatment I experienced with the person I was assigned once I was registered with accessibility services. To go about my day to day life was an intense mental and emotional struggle, so interacting with classmates and teachers and anyone but those I can be very vulnerable with was not only impossible without beginning to panic, but it was also deeply upsetting because I get immense joy and motivation from the topics I study. When I am in this state which I perpetually was this past semester, I struggle to compartmentalize my emotions and things in general. Because of this, the material that I study becomes unbearable for me to interact with without getting intensely upset and crying or beginning to panic. I do not want to give any more details in that regard. Falling behind on readings happened very quickly and was exacerbated by my compulsive symptoms that arise when I experience episodes like this which make typing or writing notes and getting through readings impossible. I tried for weeks to get concrete information on what I should do regarding my situation this semester, and I experienced intense re-traumatization throughout my entire experience from trying to access accessibility services to scheduling appointments to interactions with different staff. For students like me who already anticipate the de-validation embedded in institutions that claim they have students¿¿ best interests at heart, just getting myself to open up to those who immediately condescend to me takes an immense emotional and mental effort which has contributed to me taking some time to write this letter as I have already relived telling this to many staff at Queen¿¿s by now and I am incredibly upset that the systems in place for students like me who are really struggling have proven over and over to me that they assume those students coming to their services really struggling and really in need of help are ¿¿faking it¿ or trying to ¿¿abuse the system¿. The attitudes I encountered at accessibility services made this incredibly clear, and the lack of communication between staff even in the same department exacerbated negative effects for me that only I as a student and human suffer from. I know what I need to do and how I need to live in order to succeed in University, and that includes being able to take a reduced course load for at least the next semester (winter 2019) and utilizing my accommodations through accessibility services throughout the rest of my time here at Queen¿¿s. I need to be able to take care of my emotional and mental needs in order to be able to succeed and fully participate in my time here at Queen¿¿s, and I need a reduced course load and my accommodations to do that. I do not want to divulge any more to this institution about my personal information including my plan for the future beyond what I have already disclosed because I have no interest in what the school thinks is best for me, that is for myself and my therapist to decide. I truly am grateful for your consideration and if there are any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me at 15ep20@queensu.ca. My studies are intimately intertwined with my passions, and I only have my emotional well-being and thus scholarly endeavors in mind as I ask you to please consider allowing me to drop these two courses past the drop date.

Sincerely,
Emma Paterson