Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Mary Pegoraro
5296 Bromely Rd, Burlington ON
289-838-2354
16mp8@queensu.ca
September 4, 2019

Associate Dean of Arts and Science
Queen¿¿s University
Kingston ON

Dear Associate Dean,

My name is Mary and I am writing this letter to respectfully request a review of the failing grade I received in CLST 205 for the summer term of 2019. This is my first academic failure and it was the consequence of mental illness caused by a traumatic event in my life. If I passed CLST 205, it would have been the final elective of my POLS undergraduate degree. I planned to take a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate this September and planned to move to Japan in the winter and work for a year.

My plan to graduate this November was disrupted when I decided to leave a year-long emotionally abusive relationship in the first week of June. Although I am extremely proud of myself for making this decision, the weeks before and after the breakup were the hardest days of my life. I felt depressed and decided to see a therapist for the first time (who I am still seeing to this day). Despite my efforts, my soul was beaten up and I felt estranged from myself and any previous visions of my future.

I managed to hand in the first major assignment a day late and received a C-. I felt guilty for this mark and knew I could have done better if I could only focus and ¿¿get in the zone¿. I was the lowest I have ever been around this time, so I tried an SSRI medication which was suggested by my doctor. Unfortunately, I had severe side effects from the medication such as exhaustion and surreal nightmares. I was so unmotivated and depressed at this time that I was unable to complete the online Forum Debate Assignment and took a leave from work. Note: A few days ago my therapist told me that a doctor¿¿s note for mental illness would have been taken seriously and might have extended my deadline. I did not realize that mental illness was recognized by university professors and unfortunately missed this opportunity in my darkest times.

In late June I came off the medication and felt a lot better doing the third assignment, ¿¿Pop Culture Quacks¿. The assignment was to choose a professor from pop culture and write them a break-up letter based on the character traits of ¿¿quacks¿ in ancient humour. I received a C-. Professor Callon¿¿s comment in the grading section was: ¿¿There is no connection at all to course content in this assignment¿. While I failed to cite correctly, I felt strongly that my letter was well written and deeply connected to the course content.

I emailed Professor Callon regarding the comment and asking if she could look over the assignment again. I sent a copy of the same letter I handed in originally ¿¿ but this time I included correct citations indicating where I got each idea, either from the textbook or audio lectures. I highlighted each of my ideas in different colours which correlated to the pages and chapters which inspired them. Additionally I wrote a page long explanation where I broke down the assignment in detail. I felt hopeful that she would see all the thought and planning I had done in my original assignment. I was devastated when she did not respond or acknowledge my email. By the end of June I had a good support group and began to feel like I was on the road to healing. For the final assignment in the course I received a B+. My final percentage calculated based on letter grades is a 48.4.

I am grateful for the opportunity to write this letter and thank you for taking the time to read it. This grade does not reflect my best work, but I hope that my circumstances and efforts can be taken into consideration regarding a re-grading of my coursework. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Mary Pegoraro