Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: My name is Olivia Hanham and I am a first-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Science, Bachelor of Science Program. I am writing this first level appeal letter to drop my BIOL102 course, past the drop date. I am in the process of going on medical leave for the remainder of the 2020-2021 academic year due to a drastic decline in my mental health. I have already dropped my other four courses for this year through SOLUS.

I began to experience mild symptoms of depression and anxiety around late October. However, at this time I felt I could still pull myself out of it and get back on track with my academics. It is for this reason that I chose not to withdraw from my BIOL102 course by the November 2nd deadline. My symptoms progressively got worse. I found it was very difficult to concentrate, complete small tasks and remember what I had learned. It was after four weeks of my struggles seriously impacting my academics that I decided to speak to a psychotherapist through the Queen's Student Wellness Services. Over these weeks I had withdrawn from social contact with my friends and family, my sleep schedule had become warped so that I was staying up all night and sleeping during the day, and it became difficult to get myself out of bed to eat regular meals due to profound fatigue, resulting in a significant weight loss. My parents weren't hearing from me and became concerned to the point that they called campus security to come to my dorm room and make sure I was alright.

Going to university for the first time at the age of eighteen, without the support of my family and with the extraordinary circumstances of COVID-19 has, I believe, in part contributed to these mental health problems. I have experienced milder symptoms of depression and anxiety from time to time during my years in high school but found it difficult to speak up and ask for help.

My registered psychotherapist, Nadia Sawaya Fehr, strongly recommended after our meeting that I drop my courses and go on medical leave as soon as possible. During this medical leave, I will be focusing my time on my mental health and recovery so that I can return to Queen's in Fall 2021 with renewed health and strength. I will find a psychologist in my hometown to help me work through my problems, I will improve my physical health, and I am already in the process of getting a job to keep me busy. I would appreciate it very much if I could have my biology course dropped so that the marks for all five of my courses are expunged from my transcript, and I can return to my university studies at Queen's next Fall without academic penalty for a fresh start. Thank you for your consideration.