Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

My name is Treno Morton, I am writing this letter to request Credit (CR) Standing in DEVS 100, GPHY 203, (Fall, 2018) as well as GPHY 250, and GPHY 330 (Winter 2019). I feel the classes that I did excel in were the classes I had prior knowledge in. Such as my Environmental Geography courses (GPHY 336, 368), my courses centred around Indigenous culture (LLCU 295, DEVS 221), and finally, my course centred around Economics which was my previous major (GPHY 228).

My reason for these requests, is based on the ongoing situation I was facing with my partner at the time, who had attempted to commit suicide twice, once during each semester, and three times over the entire course of the relationship. This had an impact on me physically and mentally, and as a result went on to affect my academic performance as well. These incidents took place during the Fall semester, and a few weeks prior to Winter exams, with both incidents being deescalated by me. With this situation being a reoccurring one, I was fearful of what may happen in the case I was not there to prevent an incident, forcing me to shift my focus from school to the protection of another individuals life.

I feel I did poorly in the courses I specified due to one (DEVS 100) being comprised of new material that is new to me, while also being a full year course and going through everything that I did concurrently, affecting my attendance to class and ability to study as well. It was the same circumstances in GPHY 203 and GPHY 330, consisting of material which was new to me, and unfortunately not being able to invest the adequate amount of time needed into familiarize myself with course material, due to my circumstances.

As stated above, the situation forced me to have to live not only for myself but for another person as well, and due to my worry of seeing them hurt, I was forced to make my needs and priorities secondary to ensure they were safe. My schedule was not my own, and I spent time with none of my peers, and was at a very low point. Reflecting on the situation now, I can see I did not take the steps necessary to take care of my mental health. I had discussions with my mother about my situation, but I did not seek the professional help that I should have to discuss what I was going through and the effects it was having on me.

Furthermore, I am now separated from that partner, and thankfully they have been able to seek the help needed. I have since spoken with a social worker that I know very well about the issues and challenges that I faced, as well as the next steps for getting back to living a healthy, happy, and more focused life.

The reason for me submitting this appeal letter so long after the twenty-one-day deadline is because it was a situation I was struggling to talk about with many individuals, as well as not knowing if my situation was something worth submitting an appeal for. After building the courage, I finally spoke with Tess Grant, an Occupational Therapist at the Student Wellness Services. Tess encouraged me to submit an appeal, knowing the large emotional, physical, and mental impact my situation can have on an individual, especially coupled with the pressures of deadlines, studying, and exams.

Finally, my future plans for achieving, and maintaining academic success consist of focusing on my academics, as well as my mental and physical health. I will do so by staying in touch with this social worker, and also creating a schedule to follow throughout the school year, now that I am not forced to deal with the problems that I previously faced and now only have myself to focus on, which will provide more structure to my life, and also ensure my academic success. I have faced many hardships throughout my University career and believe that I should only be judged on the quality of work that I am able to produce when I am physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy and have the ability to do so. I take a great deal of pride in my work, which is why I thought it was important to reach out to Tess, and opened up about my experiences, because I know my grades are not reflective of me as a student.

Thank you for your time,

Treno Morton