Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson

I am appealing to drop GRMN 101 (Fall, 2020).

An acute mental health problem is the reason for my appeal today. Throughout the term, and most acutely over the course of the last 30 days, I have been dealing with depression. The cycle is somewhat damning. I would wake up in the morning and curse the person I saw in the mirror. I would get through the day by pretending to be perfectly fine. This worked for the outside world, and my friends and housemates did not suspect a thing. When I looked at my work, however, the feeling of self-loathing came back. I did not like the words I was writing. All this self-loathing led to a complete lack of motivation. I would lay in bed all day, and thus my sleep and physical health suffered as well. Because it is tough to describe things so personal as this, I feel odd going into too much detail. I will cut to the chase. My academics suffered because I was, and am, dealing with depression.
GRMN 101 is the only course I am appealing to drop. I should have dropped it before the deadline, but I was stubborn and ignored the signs of my downwards slope (I was also not failing the course at the time, I had handed in the majority of assessments). In the other three courses I am taking, all History courses part of my major, I have managed to be slightly farther ahead. Discussing my Academic Accommodations form (see supporting documentation) with these professors (one has not responded as of writing but my outstanding workload in that course is the smallest) has shown a path and a plan forward to catch up and receive credit in these courses. My elective, GRMN 101, not so much. My professor, Monika Holzschuh, believes the best option for me is to drop the course. In my conversation with her, she added that you could contact her, and she would support my appeal.
Finally, the future. I am in sessions with a SWS counsellor, and I am starting Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy with that counsellor (a Registered Psychotherapist) soon. I am also trying to get an appointment with a physician through SWS (at the recommendation and referral of my counsellor), and if my family doctor would answer her phone lines (always tough), I will have an appointment with her as well. Depression is not a new thing for me, but I freely admit that this is the first time I am sharing the load. Medication has been discussed. I have moved back home for the rest of the semester, and I am chugging along catching up on lectures, readings, and assignments in my history courses.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Jason Bowles Conover