Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

I would like to begin this letter by saying that I have been putting off writing this appeal for the past two years. Having to not only revisit the period of my life that I will be disclosing in this appeal, but dealing with the disappointment I feel towards myself about my academic performance and putting my desire for a better future in the hands of complete strangers is daunting to say the least. Every time I sit down to begin writing this I experience a tightness in my chest that I will do almost anything to alleviate, and that includes not writing this appeal. I know this has been a long time coming.

I am appealing for credit standing for the Summer 2017 term (BIOL 102), Fall 2017 term (BIOL 201, BIOL 205, PSYC 202, PSYC 251, PSYC 271), Winter 2018 term (BIOL 202, BIOL 206, PSYC 203, PSYC 221, PSYC 236), as well as BIOL 339 (Winter 2018) and CHEM 112 (Winter 2019).

I was referred to the Outpatient Mental Health clinic at Markham Stouffville Hospital on December 30th 2019 and had my appointment by phone on May 25th 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this appointment, I spoke with the physician about the symptoms I had experienced between the summer of 2016 and the fall of 2018 as well as the extenuating circumstances I had faced leading up to and during this period of time. He noted that my symptoms were consistent with a major depressive episode that was most severe between the summer of 2017 and the fall of 2018 that was likely brought on by these extenuating circumstances. For additional context, two of my immediate family members and two of my extended family members have been diagnosed with complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder due to the severity of these events.

During this period, I experienced a consistent feeling of apathy, detachment from myself and others, and severe sleep disturbances to the point I was in bed for 15+ hours per day. My sleep schedule was so disturbed that, at its worst, I would wake up at 5pm, eat something, and make my way to Stauffer Library where I would sit and stare at my computer in a haze and unable to concentrate until the library closed at 2am. I would push myself to attend my 8:30am lectures but would experience heart palpitations, excessive sweating, blurred vision, and severe light-headedness that would render me to my bed for the remainder of the day. This severely affected my ability to attend classes, concentrate on course content, and reach out for any kind of help. In hindsight, I know I could have attended office hours, reached out to Student Wellness sooner, or dropped certain classes before the academic deadline, but looking back, I didn¿¿t even have the ability to stand up in the shower let alone the motivation to be proactive about my studies or my own wellbeing.

I have worked very hard in the past few years to better myself and recover from this period of my life. Starting a new job in the summer of 2018 and having a consistent routine is something that really helped me on my road to recovery. This is what the Outpatient Mental Health physician called behavioural activation, which is the first step in cognitive behavioural therapy and helps to explain why my mental health began improving at this time. Additionally, I have removed myself from the environment and severed contact with the individuals involved in the events that led to the deterioration of my mental health. In the past year, I have been living in a very stable home and have been able to hold and excel at my job, become involved in extra-curricular activities, while also carrying a full course load with high marks. I fear that the grades I am requesting to appeal, which are reflective of my extenuating circumstance, will limit me in being able to apply to graduate programs moving forward. As you can see from my transcript, my academic performance has improved significantly along with my health over the past couple of years.

On February 26th 2021, I had an appointment with academic advising and learned that there was a deadline to appeal because I graduated in June 2020. As I mentioned at the beginning of my letter, I have been trying to write and submit this appeal for two years, but have found this to be a very difficult process due to the fact that it meant re-living this difficult period in my life. Learning about this deadline was a realized fear because I worried that the appeal would be denied because of the length of time that had passed. I sought out help from Student Wellness to finish this letter and they helped me to realize that the reason why I have been putting this off for so long might be due to this anxious/avoidance cycle that has also made the process of writing and submitting this appeal even more daunting. With their support, I was able to submit my letter and hope that you will consider my appeal despite that it was submitted past the deadline.

If you require additional documentation or clarification regarding anything I have outlined in this letter please let me know. I would be happy to set up an appointment to discuss this further.

Sincerely,

Siobhan Wilson
20019262