Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,
My name is James Robert Wright Southey, and my student number is 20158845. I am Submitting an appeal to drop ENSC 290 Taught by Steven Moore. I understand that this appeal is coming at the end of a term. The reason I am dropping this course so late is that I have multiple circumstances which lead me to miss the drop date earlier in the term that also made me unable to focus on this course. At the beginning of the year my cousin with whom I grew up with was unexpectedly diagnosed with liver Cancer. Within a few weeks of learning this it had metastasized and spread to a point where it was terminal. I was fortunate enough to go back to Toronto and have a final dinner with him before he passed away a few weeks later. This event paired with extreme anxiety issues and attacks lead me to a very dark place for the next few months. My anxiety took control over my life and I was unable to attend many tutorials and focus on work. My anxiety developed to the point where I would frequently contemplate taking my own life. Naturally this made it very difficult for me to work. I made the decision to leave Kingston where I was mostly on my own and return to my family. At the beginning of December, I sought out the professional help of a Psychologist in Toronto named Larry Borins through the direction of my doctor. I am slowly improving and was able to focus on my exams during the month of December. I wish that I could have dropped this course in the timeframe that is more than generous, but I wasn¿¿t in a place where I was able to do so. The problems I was going through matched with the isolation of Covid-19 resulted in a complete breakdown and a paralyzed state of mental health. I have been struggling with anxiety for the past year and a half which resulted in lower grades in first year. Due to extended time in lockdown my anxiety got much worse this summer and resulted in me failing a course, but I wasn¿¿t strong enough to get help then. With everything going on in my life and inside my head it was extremely difficult to get through any of my courses and I didn¿¿t have the ability to work on ENSC 290 at all. I was hoping that I could drop this course and not have it count as a failed course. I will attach a copy of my cousin¿¿s obituary his name is Fraser Gooderham, and he is my first cousin. We spent our summers growing up together at the family cottage and he would frequently baby-sit me. I understand that he isn¿¿t a member of my direct family, but we were similarly close on an emotional level. I have only had one session with my phycologist so I am not sure how much help he can be in this situation. I have asked him to send a referral and this was only accomplished recently. Thank you for your time. I hope that I can reduce some of the permanency of this dark period in my life by dropping ENSC 290. My struggles in this period are already reflected in my grades but I am hoping to reduce some of the damage I have caused on my academics. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,
James Southey

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theglobeandmail/obituary.aspxnfraser-grenville-gooderham&pid196854217