Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Mitchell Blasko, and I am a first year, part-time student in the faculty or Arts and Sciences. I am currently enrolled in three full-year courses worth 6 credits each. Today I am appealing a late drop for the course Psychology 100, and I am appealing for Credit Standing for Philosophy 111 and Sociology 122.

In the month of June in 2018, I suffered an injury to my knee which resulted in a torn ACL and medial meniscus. This was prior to my enrollment at Queens, and prior to my signing to play on the football team here at Queens. In order to play for the 2019 fall season, I required surgery. On November 9th, 2018, I underwent an ACL reconstruction and Meniscal repair surgery. This left me bed-ridden for weeks while highly medicated, as well as crutches for five weeks. I originally applied for academic consideration, assuming I would be okay to return to school just two weeks after surgery, however found out the hard way that that was not true. For the timeframe of November 9th to December 11th I was on crutches and still dealing with pain. I could not get to class due to the winter weather mixing with crutches.

During the time of recovery from surgery, I attempted to complete an assignment in SOCY-122, and was given an F. I firmly believe I was given this grade because I attempted to complete the assignment while medicated and I was influenced by the effects of the medication. I failed to complete tasks and assignments in ALL three classes due to the surgery and recovery. In Philosophy 111, I failed to hand in a paper (which I do not recall receiving) worth 10 of our final mark. I have reached out to my professor in regards to this incomplete paper, however he has yet to return a single email, even after I spoke with a TA about the issue and his unresponsiveness. In PSYCH-100 I had a few incomplete tasks due to the lack of energy and circumstances from surgery and the medication. With all this being said, I attended all 3 of my exams (on crutches) and failed to pass any of the exams. I believe this was due to the fact that I was unable to study properly and unable to complete the work that was due prior to the mid-year exams.

I am confident that if I had not underwent surgery, I would not be in this situation. Since, I have received a B+ on both my final papers for Philosophy 111, as well as a B- on the largest graded paper in Sociology, including a B on another assignment. I am applying for the late drop in Psychology because after discussing the circumstances with my professor, she suggested I drop the course and take it at a later date, like the next fall or this summer. I am keen on this idea, as Psychology is my desired major and I was unable to achieve the grade I desired due to the circumstances revolving around my knee. I have attached the form I was given by my surgeon¿¿s secretary, which even states that I should have taken 4-6 weeks off of school, and not the 2 I applied for.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my appeal,
Mitchell Blasko
20140581