Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Academics),

This letter is in regards to the reason why I am appealing to have the courses that I have failed to be dropped.

With the school year of 2019-2020 there were many extenuating reasons, beyond my control that I wasn¿¿t able to perform to the best of my ability academically. During the school year, I was in rough situation with my life as I had to go to the Student Wellness Centre a lot to get some counselling because I personally did not know how to cope with my stress and the circumstances with my life. There were many reasons that impacted my life but mostly it is due to the fact it took a psychological challenge on me because I was in a situation where my ex-girlfriend at the time was pregnant and wanted to keep the baby. My ex-girlfriend did create a hostile environment where I was uncomfortable at all because I had to be there to support her at all times even when she was getting suicidal. To points where she has called the police on me to get in trouble, spread rumours about me, degrade me as a human and constantly put me down because I personally I didn¿¿t want have a child at a young age. It was constantly getting harder every day because we both wanted two different things. As everyday it was getting difficult or me, to leave my house, to go to classes, and just difficult to have an everyday life as I was always worried about my future of having a child but also making sure my ex-girlfriend was mentally okay. From the start it was difficult to open to my parents because they were accepting of my ex-girlfriend being pregnant, I was never brave enough to try to reach out for help but at one time I did realize that is the best option for me. As Student Wellness Centre provided me with the help when they can, and I used the tips and knowledge I received to try and a make a change. In my head, there was no way of getting away from the situation because my ex-girlfriend would always make me feel so small and vulnerable because of her being pregnant but also suicidal at some points and blaming me for all of it. There were days, where I would wake up and planning to go to class but there was always issues between my ex-girlfriend and I, or even with the putdowns and verbally assaulting me, I would just stay in bed and not be able to socially interact with anyone but let alone focus of anything. With the constant verbal harassment, having the pregnancy over my head, making me feel horrible, I was unable to concentrate with all the work I had ahead of me and also concentrate on my persona;/ social life as well because I was always feeling upset or down. Some nights it used to get really bad that I wouldn¿¿t be able to sleep or during the day I wouldn¿¿t want to eat because there was always so much on my mind that I always started to overthink, and making it much harder on myself. My personal life was a big factor in my psychological challenge that I had to experience because it was an environment that no one should ever have to go through. Although I have gone to counselling and have been working myself. This experience still has an effect on me, as this effected my school work, my personal life, my relationship with my family and mostly took a mental strain to cope every day and to find a purpose to keep going. With the help of the Student Wellness Centre I was able to get tips and knowledge on how to move forward and learn different ways to cope with my issues.

With myself speaking about the events, I have made such changes to my life so I can move with what I do with school but also be happy in my personal life. With Covid-19, there has been many times where I was able to learn about myself more and understand what I need personally to be successful. I am hoping to retake the courses that I have failed because I was personally dealing with everything from end of October to March. I want to get my grades up but also be on the right track to graduate. I understand taking 3 courses per semester is ideal for myself as I don¿¿t need to overwork my school but also take care of myself mentally. I hope my appeal for the courses being dropped is accepted and I can be able to move forward without having a traumatic experience ruin more for than it already has.


Thank you,

Ajeerthanan Riseenthiran
10146188